Reef Discussion

[Brad Gamble]

Hi guys,
Im new to the salt water aquariums and i have recently set up my 160litre tank. Its been going for around 2 months now with fish added around 2 weeks ago. I now have 4 Occelaris clowns (2 black and white, 2 orange and white) and 2 banded coral shrimp in the tank all doing well. I have been feeding them every second day with all food being eaten. I also had a blue tang in the tank but yesterday it died suddenly. It showed no signs of ich and had been a very friendly playful fish. A few minutes before it died it was swimming around uncontrollably, swimming into the glass and sand as if it had no control of where it was swimming, Any ideas?
I have also had an outbreak in brown algae the last 2 days which is covering my sand and live rock rapidly. Any help would be great.

 

[MagicJ]

Hi @Brad Gamble :welcome

What size is this tank?

The brown algae is probably diatoms which is a normal part of the tank cycling process. But, it does indicate that your tank is still cycling....

When we rely on our live rock, sand etc to harbor the beneficial bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate we need to give the bacteria time to react to a change in the amount of ammonia etc being added to the system. Based on your post, it would appear that the tank was empty for around 6 weeks, and then 5 fish were added 2 weeks ago. The bacteria takes some time to adapt to the increased ammonia and nitrites and my best guess is that ammonia and/or nitrites have built up to a level which effectively poisoned the blue tang. You need to add your livestock slowly i.e. 1 or 2 fish every 3-4 weeks so that your tank has time to adapt.

By the way, unless you plan to upgrade to a 5-6 foot tank within 12 months, a Blue Tang is not really suitable for your tank as it will grow too big fairly quickly.

Cheers

 

[Brad Gamble]

Thanks for the reply
Fish tank dimensions are: 90 x 42 x 59 cm (LxDxH)
I had ammonia nitrate and nitrate levels all at 0 before i added fish and i only added fish every 2 days to try to avoid having problems with ammonia. Thanks for the information on the blue tang, my local fish shop guy told me the blue tang would be fine in the tank but i will avoid this in future. Any suggestions on suitable fish for the 160 litre? Also does the 1-2 weeks between adding fish apply to live rock as well?

 

[DavidS]

I had ammonia nitrate and nitrate levels all at 0 before i added fish and i only added fish every 2 days to try to avoid having problems with ammonia. ?

That's often where people get caught when they start out - the fact that the readings are now zero doesn't factor in the systems ability to deal with biological load - ie. when you added a fish... and in this case, a blue tang that excretes a lot of waste!

The cycle is only really starting when a lot of newcomers think it's finished. When the initial ammonia to nitrate levels go to zero, all you've done is established enough bacteria in the system to deal with a small amount of ammonia (usually whatever amount you started with). Over time that bacterial colony grows and can handle higher levels... which is where the slowly adding fish bit comes in (the slower, the better especially with small systems). Some people work on a 12 week cycle before they'll add their first fish, and this time usually has allowed the initial diatom blooms to come and recede (ie that brown algae that's making a mess).

In this case mate, I reckon it's just a case of small tank, a little new, a fish that excretes a lot of waste (and really needs to be in a 6ft tank), system not ready for that waste... everything that @MagicJ said.

As for fish suggestions - a bicolour blenny is a cool little fish that will nibble algae, a pair of occelaris clowns are always cool.... :)

 

[MagicJ]

Where abouts in Tassie are you ?

Two days is not really enough time for the bacteria to develop - I normally prefer a couple of weeks between adding fish.

Not knowing what shop you are talking about ;) but, as a general rule, the LFS is out to make a sale - many of the sales people in Tasmania wouldn't know a lot about marine fish so that is where forums like this come in handy.

Live rock can cause a mini cycle depending on how much life is on it, and thus how much is likely to die in your tank - all depends on the rock.

Perhaps start up another thread about fish recommendations.

If you are down South I can refer you to a guy how brings in fish/corals a bit cheaper than the LFS's - and will order what you want.

 

[Brad Gamble]

Im down in Hobart, i've been looking at corals but i wont be adding them till much later in my tanks life.
Thanks for your help guys its given me a bit more of an understanding. I reckon i'll give it a few more weeks, or even months before adding any more fish.

 

[MagicJ]

Brad, how about starting up a tank journal - then we will all know some details of your tank so we don't have to ask :D

It also gives you something to look back on in 12 months time to see how far you have come.

And, as is required of all Reefuge members in Hobart, I have a nice frag of a Green Star Polyp waiting for you when you are ready - just let me know.

Cheers

 

[Ian G]

I recommend slowing down and reading this article.

5+ fish at the 6 weeks mark is overload. It's too early to support that population and it's too much in one go. In reefing you need to add one or two things then let the ecosystem within your tank adjust to the load, bacteria to grow to compensate for increased organics, etc. There's a truism in this hobby, "Only bad things happen quickly in reefing".

As for starting a tank journal, I highly recommend it. It's good to share your journey and you'll often get great tips from those reading your journal. More importantly, it gives you a record & reference that you can refer back to. It's not unusual to get a problem and have no idea why. Then looking at your own TJ it strikes you - "a shit I forgot I did this on that day. Maybe that caused it".

And most importantly (at least for me) it helps get your thoughts in order and really think about what you are doing.

:welcome


Good luck,

Ian G

 

[Scottrotton]

I did a similar thing when I started, you see all the issues I had in my Tank Journal, as everyone has said, take a step back slow it down, i would add some easy to keep corals like mushrooms, once you have cycled if you like me an impatient to start going, and only add 1 fish per month or bi monthly.