help me improve my setup

[markietan]

Hi all,

was intending to let my tank cycle for another week before adding LS but who knows today when i came back home, got 6 fishes in my tank le... daddy went farm mart and bough 6 damsel type of fish. haha

but anyway i'm intending to keep some beginer coral, so pls help me improve my tank and guide me along. I've invested quite abit in this new setup and after it crashed the other time due to my stupidity, i think i need to be more active in the forum asking questions instead of reading other pple's tread.

for starters, i'll post some pics of my current setup and u pple can comment on it. =)

[markietan]

the overhead filter box. i have a bag of charcoal, a bag of Sea Chem phosguard and some zealite(?) stony thingy thats suppose to work like charcoal?

i'm thinking of removing the whole thing, just leave the cheapo powerhead in the main tank for circulation and then move the phosguard into the glass bottle( can be seen in later pics) at the output of my skimmer

am using T5 HO lights, bought from a fellow reefer. using 1 white and 1 blue light. have arctic or is it artinic tube too but not using. dunno whats the diff, but prefer to have more white light

[markietan]

sump tank / refugium

about 2 inches of sand, not partitioned

overflow pipe flows into sump

macro skimmer with a glass bottle filled with filter media at the exit portion to trap air bubbles

basket with chaeto and dying ulva inside

PL light

cheapo atman return pump

[markietan]

closeup of basket with chaeto and ulva

thinking of getting grapes too to reduce the phosphate lvl

ulva seems to be taken over by red algae growing on top of it...

chaeto not really growing since cycling of tank

[mansiz]

Your tank is 2 feet? The sump tank you intend to convert part of it to a refugium? I would suggest you on the lights for 24 hours, or some of them prefer to on the light of the sump when the main tank lights are off. What is the temp of your aquarium? I would suggest you add a chiller before your buy corals. If not they won't last long.

[jervismun]

Perhaps adding a bit more LR since you are cycling now... might as well... coz you will find it very hard to add in later.

[lyz77]

Make sure you setup your refugium sump correctly, else, it will become a time bomb and crash your tank eventually!

Damsel is pretty hardy fish so shdn't be a problem. But if u wanna introduce other fishes, then they may be bullied by the damsel. Previously, my damsel is so aggressive and it start to nib on my soft coral! Manage to get it out and leave it in my sump!

Juz my 0.02 cents!

[jervismun]

There are fishes to avoid... and Damsel is actually one of them (esp. for experienced reefers)... they are hardy but very aggressive and territorial... if you go Pasar Malam section, all other FOC fishes will find takes except Damsels... so you get what I mean.

If I were you, since your tank is not big and very easily conquered fully by the Damsel... I will catch it out, bring it back to the LFS and give them back for free. Usually they will take it one. Start with something less agressive/territorial... even some types of NEMOS can be very problematic too.

A simple guide for stocking a small tank is ---> less agressive fish/smaller fish go in first ---> medium size fish ---> large fishes/semi-aggressive add in last

This will allow the shy fishes to established in the tank first... or else they will not stand a chance in a highly competitive and aggressive environment.

You may also find a lot of fishes require a lot of caves to hide and to swim around... that's why I think your LR is insufficient right now... bearing in mind that the LR will eventually act as a biological filter... no harm having a bit more

Better to add in now than to add in later... coz any mishap later can wipe your tank entirely

[markietan]

okie... i've added more lf le. about 3 more kg.

i've found out the species of fishes my dad put in

2 x normal clown fish

2 x yellow back damsel (looks like yellow tail, just that the yellow spreads across the back)

2 x bi color angel (dwarf angel)

i added a sand dollar and a boxer shrimp ( the more peaceful kind according to Henry)

my dad added another boxer shrimp ( the big and cheap kind) and a pink color cauliflower lookalike soft coral

the coral seem to be like shrinking... haha help helpppp

i've removed the overhead filter and placed the phosguard media in the glass jar at the skimmer output.

[Jameshong]

okie... i've added more lf le. about 3 more kg.

i've found out the species of fishes my dad put in

2 x normal clown fish

2 x yellow back damsel (looks like yellow tail, just that the yellow spreads across the back)

2 x bi color angel (dwarf angel)

i added a sand dollar and a boxer shrimp ( the more peaceful kind according to Henry)

my dad added another boxer shrimp ( the big and cheap kind) and a pink color cauliflower lookalike soft coral

the coral seem to be like shrinking... haha help helpppp

i've removed the overhead filter and placed the phosguard media in the glass jar at the skimmer output.

[jervismun]

Bro those cauliflower type corals are not easy to keep... beware!

[jacobus]

bro ... boxers cannot be together one ... sooner or later one will die and the other one injured .. unless they are mated pair ..

[markietan]

Make sure you setup your refugium sump correctly, else, it will become a time bomb and crash your tank eventually!

Damsel is pretty hardy fish so shdn't be a problem. But if u wanna introduce other fishes, then they may be bullied by the damsel. Previously, my damsel is so aggressive and it start to nib on my soft coral! Manage to get it out and leave it in my sump!

Juz my 0.02 cents!

hi,

any comments on my refugium / sump now?

btw i've removed the waste paper basket and use satay sticks to make the chaeto and ulva stay in place.

[markietan]

Bro those cauliflower type corals are not easy to keep... beware!

yup just saw the thread on soft coral section... haiz... oh well my dad bought it. will explain to him later. heh

[mansiz]

Agree, cauliflower corals are not easy, they need lots of feeding, but for small aquarium, the amount of feeding they required may pollute your tank. So I would suggest you bring back to the shop and change it for another coral, maybe green mushroom. Your bi-colour angel is it feeding? You've got the more difficult to feed dwaft angel compared to the others. Hope the 2 of them you got are feeding well. Don't let them depend on the food from LRs, if they are constantly grazing on LRs and not feeding with any food you gave them, then they will be a goner sooner or later. Any way 2 of a similar species is not a good number, I wish you well in your aquarium, hope to get good news from you soon, like e.g. your fishes are feeding well etc.

[jervismun]

Bro... I'm not trying to discourage you or whatsoever... but you seriously need to be in control of the tank... at least one of you... whoever willing to learn/read more... you can't have 2 masters controlling the tank... coz in Marine... there are too many factors to be properly coordinated and planned... and this is where 2 may not necessarily be better than 1...

Start with the simple stuff first... here's a good website for you.

www.liveaquaria.com

And you really need to explain to your dad how Marine is different from Freshwater

All the best