tips and advice

wammy · Jan 25, 2009

hey all i am kinda new to saltwater i had a bio cube but i really couldnt do what i really wanteed because it was so small . . ok i have a 55 gall with 60 pound of live sand and about 12 pounds of rock now i just set it up about a month ago and i have domino damsle . like a few tips on fish would be nice im not keeping the domino so i would like a few suggestions and like i really want to start a reef atleast a novice reef the lighting i have on the tank is t5 ho flourescent lighting system and im going to buy another lihgt just dont know how high i should go and is the t5 good enough to keep some corals alive. what type of fish could i keep period in a 55 i know i can keep hundreds of hermits rite? and hundreds of sand sifting snails and like i like crabs alot what kid can i keep in a reef and shrimp how many can ikeep i like cleaner shrimp but when i had my bio they wouldnt stay alive for some reason. i want a super diverse tank i want my rocks to come from diff place all my fish from diff place alot of diff crabs snails all of that you get the piont but some tips would be nice tha;Dnks

PharmrJohn · Jan 25, 2009

wammy said: ↑

hey all i am kinda new to saltwater i had a bio cube but i really couldnt do what i really wanteed because it was so small . . ok i have a 55 gall with 60 pound of live sand and about 12 pounds of rock now i just set it up about a month ago and i have domino damsle .
Good enough on the LS. Sounds like you have that under control. And 12 lbs is a good start on your LR. From here I would buy base rock, just because it is sooooooo cheap by comparison. Base rock used to be LR. It's just dead right now. It would condition with your tank. For a reef tank you are going to need about 90 lbs of rock in there give or take.
like a few tips on fish would be nice im not keeping the domino so i would like a few suggestions and like i really want to start a reef atleast a novice reef the lighting i have on the tank is t5 ho flourescent lighting system and im going to buy another lihgt just dont know how high i should go and is the t5 good enough to keep some corals alive.
With a 55g, the T5s are great. Wonderful. T5s can penetrate with effectiveness to about 21 inches. You will want about 4W per gallon just as a point of reference. And you will be able to keep just about anything.
what type of fish could i keep period in a 55 i know i can keep hundreds of hermits rite? and hundreds of sand sifting snails and like i like crabs alot what kid can i keep in a reef.....
Well, I don't know about hundreds. In fact many reef aquarists do not keep hermits at all. They can cause some mischief on the reef. I keep one large one myself just for fun and I think I have maybe 3 more small blue legged HC from a visit to the LFS many months ago. When they die, I do not intend to replace them. In terms of snails, you can have many, many, say...dwarf ceriths and a few florida ceriths to combat cyano if an when it comes....and they will of course keep your tank clean in general. See John Maloney at Reefcleaners.org and have him put something together under the Custom order section of the website. IMO, that is the best way to go. Otherwise, you are just guessing.
and shrimp how many can ikeep i like cleaner shrimp but when i had my bio they wouldnt stay alive for some reason. i want a super diverse tank i want my rocks to come from diff place all my fish from diff place alot of diff crabs snails all of that you get the piont but some tips would be nice tha;Dnks
Sounds like you want it all.....and I understand that feeling. So do I. But in a 55g tank, you are going to have to plan very carefully. You are not going to be able to fit much in there. You're one that would do well with a tank that is a couple hundred gallons. Now, you can have lots of diversity in there.....as there is space. I have a 90g myself, and I consider that on the small side. What you need to do, is start researching and figure out EXACTLY what you want your tank to look like a year from now. And then start slow and move forward. Don't go fast. Don't add any corals until your tank is mature. Add fish at a rate of one fish every two weeks until you have your desired population. That is after your tank has cycled. Keep in mind that it does matter what fish you keep with corals and inverts (compatablility issues), as well as the order you intruduce them into your system. The more aggressive fish you add last. So just take a step back and regard your future ecosystem carefully. Moving slow will save you money, time and, most importantly, the lives of your fish.
Click to expand...

Peace.......John.

wammy · Jan 25, 2009

thanks bro ha i do want a 180 but i can afford it yet but so as far as the crabs and things i shouldnt get to happy about them and really just not add them at all for real

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