Im New here..

[timberwollf]

Hello Everyone ,
i have had a Saltwater fish tank for about 6 years now and must be doing somthing wrong cause it looks like the dead see all i can get are these little white feather dusters and Red feather dusters whinc im told are good there some kinds of worm which is good to have so im told, So in my fail atempt im going to try again. Im hoping to have good luck this time i thought it was my lighting upgraded that. then upgraded my filter system, then during summer months i noticed my tank would climb into the mid 80's well i got myself an 1/2 horse chiller havent hookered it up yet tryin to figure out how to run everything. and at times wondering if its worth all the trouble til i look at some of your pictures of your tanks i love them so it has to be. i have a few trouble area's like my 2 nemo's are super aggros now that they have the tank to them selfs they killed a damsel cause they ganged up on him i couldnt save him in time, then my other problem area is my choclate chip star fish im told he's not suppose to get as big as he is from 1 leg to the next he's 9 inchs almost pushing 10 and eats anything new i put in the tank. i need help
Any advice anyone willing to mail me frags, for a cost of course nothing in the world is free So please someone help me before i give up all togather.
Thank you for reading this.
Timberwollf

 

[tike]

Welcome Timberwolf!

First you should've located this thread in the "new to reefkeeping room" Hopefully the mods will move it there and you will get many more reply's.

Now we need to know a little about your tank before we can help, How big is your tank? How much Live rock do you have? What type of lighting do you have? What other equipment are you running? What are your water parameters, pH, Alk, Calcium?

Give us this info and we will do are best to help you succeed.

 

[krisfal]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!

I wouldn't get any more frags until you do something with that chocolate chip star. They eat coral not considered reef safe!

As for the clowns you might try re-aquascaping when you add a new fish, sometimes this works with territorial fish, change the territory. Another option would be to catch them and put them in another tank and re-introduce them to the display after you add some other fish!

 

[timberwollf]

My Tank..

72/90 bow front its the 90 gallon.
2 canister filters
1/2 horse chiller ( not hooked up as of yet)
heaters
the Lighting is a bit hard to discribe , it has 2 10k and not sure the other bulbs it has 2 blue , 2 white and a moon lighting built into the hood i just bought what i was told was good for the tank .
As you see my tank is nothing special as of yet, i know the star fish is a problem just hate to get rid of him he's hung in there with me for 6 years i got him as a baby.

 

[tike]

Okay that's a start! I am going to assume that your lighting is power compact bulbs. Is that right? If so you are limited in what type of corals you can keep....basically soft corals and some LPS corals. What is in the canister filters? Do you have Live rock, if so how much? Water parameters are important...... what's your nitrate level? Do you have a protein skimmer? If so what brand and model are you running? How often do you do water changes? What brand salt do you use?

As you can see by now much more information is needed before we can access your problems.

 

[timberwollf]

my tank

Nitrate lvls when tested are always normal never had a problem with them
i don water changes about 1 a month somtimes longer cause it dont seem to need it, ive test for most everything and everything seems fine, not sure if i can ever get false readings. Protein skimmer just bought a brand new one
and is a Pro Clear Aquatic Systems out of Jacksonville Florida with a Rio 800 pump, suppose to go into tank under the main which i do have just not running as of yet. inside my canisters are 6 differnt filters, ceramic pieces and i do put carcoal bags in the top, the light is compact 48' inch long as for the salt im using is oceanic *natural Sea salt mix*

 

[tike]

So what kinds of corals have you tried and failed at?

 

[timberwollf]

Ive tried anmones , polyps but star fish ate them and mushrooms star fish ate them thats really about it after that i have gotten frustrated

 

[tike]

Well first, like stated above the starfish has to go! Anemones need a strong light and pc's aren't strong enough for them. You will need either T-5 lighting or Metal halides to keep them. Once the starfish is gone you should have no problem keeping mushrooms, leather corals, zoanthids, xenia, star poylps.

 

[timberwollf]

One problem with that how do i make my wife realize that she loves that silly thing

 

[timberwollf]

My tank

So my next question is my 5-6 year old Live rock that only grows these little red feather dusters is it dead or still good nothing else lives on them or do i need to start over?

 

[tike]

To keep corals you should have 1.5# of live rock per gallon of water. I am sure your rock is fine! The little tube worms are hitchhikers.... a good thing.

 

[Maxx]

Hey Timberwolf, welcome to the board!

There are some good replies here, moving you towards the right direction. I'd also like to point out the Reff Frontiers Resource Library which is full of all sorts of information that can help you out quite a bit as well. You'll find a link to the RF Resource Library in my signature at the bottom of this post.

Before things get too far, I would reccomend that you get several test kit to know where your water parameters are. Before you start making changes to things, you need to know where you're starting from. You can also take your water to a reputable fish store near you, and they will most likely be able to test your water for free or for a small fee. Write down the results of the tests so you know where you're at. This will give you a baseline for any futher water chemistry changes you see in your system. You will need to test for:

pH
Nitrate
Ammonia
Alkalinity/DkH
Calcium

The Alk and Calcium are really only important if you want a reef tank. For right now, I would suggest on sticking with a Fish Only, (FO) tank, especially if your wife is really attached to the choclate chip star. One of the advantages to a FO tank is that you dont have as many variables to watch out for....water parameters, lighting, etc....Fish are also more tolerant of water parameter swings than inverts, so you have a little lee way there too. Another advantage is that you have a wider array of fish you can choose from to put in your tank.

Later down the line, if you want you can upgrade your system to a reef tank without breaking the bank. One of the unfortunate aspects of this hobby is that it has a rather steep learning curve, which often causes new hobbyists alot of frustration and expense, and acan lead them to leave the hobby.

I would definately reccomend that you hook up the skimmer as soon as possible, as it will help out with your tank. I would also reccomend buying two books as soon as you can:

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists

and

Book of Coral Propagation, Volume 1: Reef Gardening for Aquarists

Later, if/when you decide to move up to having a reef tank, I would suggest buying this book:

The Reef Aquarium: Science, Art, and Technology, Vol. 3

The last one is a great book, but its very technical, and the chemistry chapter had me struggling to stay awake....but its very good information to have if you're going to be keeping a reef.

Nick

 

[tike]

Thanks Nick!

 

[timberwollf]

the thing is i hate having a FISh tank if i wanted that i would buy a gold fish im all about the corals and the star fish was a Wife thing if he has to go she will just have to buy herself a smaller tank to keep him in i have to much money sitting here not bein used atm cause i dont want the star fish eatting everything.. i know my Nitrates and Ammonia is fine in there the rest yes i dont have a hill of beans clue what they are.i will start working on getting the protein skimmer and everything put togather, ive been looking for a Electronic Temp controller for my chiller but not much luck here in the middle of No where ville, and there isnt any pet stores near me for about 100 miles that can test my water so i will have to get a tester for that and do it myself but this site has been a huge help and everyone whom has talked to me has been great.

 

[Maxx]

the thing is i hate having a FISh tank if i wanted that i would buy a gold fish im all about the corals

I totally understand, I felt the same way.

the star fish was a Wife thing if he has to go she will just have to buy herself a smaller tank to keep him in i have to much money sitting here not bein used atm cause i dont want the star fish eatting everything

Thats certainly an option too. You can plumb a smaller tank into your main system and keep the starfish in that.

i know my Nitrates and Ammonia is fine in there

When did you test them last? What kind of test kit did you use? How long has the test kit been open? Some test kits are more accurate than others, test kits will go "bad" after a period of time and begin to give false readings. Just something to think about.

There are alot of test kits you can buy through the internet...Salifert, Elos, etc...I've never used Elos, but have been using Salifert kits on my tanks for several years now. I like them because they are accurate, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive. You can buy them online from Premium Aquatics, Marine Depot, and several other online retailers. Check out the Sponsor page here at RF....it will give several links to places you can buy things from. I've bought most of my stuff from the two I mentioned earlier.

As far as temp controller's go....I would reccomend a Ranco dual temp controller. They are not cheap, but are very reliable and willl control both a heater and chiller, turning either one off once a set temperature is reached. I've seen those for sale at Dr's Foster and Smith.

Nick

 

[timberwollf]

Thanks Nick,
I know my testing kits is about 4 years old so you think its time to get a new one?
I was hoping to find a used one and see how it goes before i get all nuts about buyin a high priced one. which in time i willbut the chiller is used and been checked to find out that without a controller the water will drop down to 33 degree's we did a run with it and let it run for 30 mins the water was so cold it hurt to touch it for to long so i know it works well. So is my Live rock that ive had for 5-6 years any good anymore all i have red feather duster tiny little things are the only thing that is growing on them so what do you think? should i start over with my rock ? or is it super cured

 

[varpanus]

one option may be like they've already said, hook another display tank up to your main tank. even just a small one to keep a couple pieces of LR and your beloved starfish. you wont need fancy lighting and all that since you wont be keeping coral in that tank. I would find even a chain lfs, and spend the $30 on a saltwater starter test kit. I got mine at petsmart and it had ammonia,nitrite,nitrate and high range ph. it will also tell you what all those tests are and what they do for your tank.

you've got most of what you will need for a successful reef tank. Information is the biggest and cheapest equipment you can have to keep a good tank. start reading and start testing!

 

[NaH2O]

You have many options. I would most certainly find a new home for the starfish, since you want corals, even if that means another tank in your house. There are other reef safe options for starfish that your wife can enjoy, as well.

Please take Maxx/Nick's advice with the test kits. Telling us your parameters are fine doesn't help us to help you. We need actual numbers to see how far off from "reef tank parameters" you are.

As for your tank temperature. Do you have a thermometer in the tank to see exactly how far your chiller dropped the temperature? You said it dropped the water temperature to 33 degrees. Was that on the tank, or were you testing it out on something else. I can't imagine livestock (other than cold water marine animals) survivng in 33 degree water.

I wouldn't worry too much about your live rock. All of those feather dusters are simply filter feeding the water. When you start running your skimmer, it will remove some of the food source the feather dusters are feeding on, so their population will reduce. The first thing before you begin to add corals, though, is remove the starfish and get your water parameters in check.

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!

 

[timberwollf]

Ya i will buy a New Test kit tomorrow and let you guys know the numbers of them tests. I tested the chiller out on a 50 gallon tank just running normal water wanted to make sure the chiller worked liked it was suppose to and it did to the point that it frosted up the outside glass so it worked well.No Fish or corals were hurt in the testing of this equipment.