Sharkey18

Thanks so much to everybody for their help! I have decided to add the following in this order: A new Sump (to fit my new skimmer) A new Skimmer (ok, technically not fish but you've convinced me I need these first. ) THEN A goby wait 4 weeks A pair of clowns wait 6 weeks A pygmy angel if the tank allows. Let the patience begin! Laura

Thanks, I'm upgrading this weekend! Your signature is SO spot on.... in my case it was a $20 chromis...I now have a QT (and a new sump to fit my new skimmer....etc.etc.etc.) Laura

Thanks so much for the help. I will definitely invest in a new skimmer. I thought it was inadequate but a lot of my reading indicates that it's very simple mechanically and chemically so i wasn't exactly sure what a bigger and more expensive skimmer would add to the equation. My plan has always been to add one or two fish to start, wait a few weeks/months, watch the tank and levels and then add more if possible. At about the same time all the fish died I was also dealing with a horrible cyano outbreak followed by an even worse hair algae problem. Tank was a mess from too much bioload. Losing all the fish was a blow but it also helped me get the tank in better condition seeing as it was a lot easier to eradicate the hair algae without having to feed fish. Like zygote suggested, I'll probably stay away from Tang's until the 90 is up and running and go with a goby, and a clown to start. (I'm actually planning on keeping the 55 and adding the 90... ) Thanks so much for everyone's help. This group has been great! Laura

Here is a pic of the skimmer in the sump and the skimmer out. I've been thinking that it's probably inadequate. http://gallery.me.com/sharkey18#100142&amp...lack&sel=13 Laura

Sure. 4 to 5 inch sand bed. About 50 lbs live rock (some in the sump) 10 gallon sump with built in skimmer (came with sump) 100 micron filter pad in sump Remote algae scrubber T-5 Fluorescent, 460 / 420 dual blue actinics, 65 Watt dual daylight 2 Koralia 1 (400 gph) pumps 1 Maxijet 400 powerhead All three on wavemaker power source, rapid cycling 1 Aqua clear 50 powerhead (270 gph) running an in tank particulate filter 100 micron particulate I think that's it..... Here's a pic of the tank: http://gallery.me.com/sharkey18#100142/IMG...p;bgcolor=black Sorry i can't figure out how to upload a picture on a mac! Laura

Thanks for the link and the suggestions of ranking. It has helped me plan what I would like to see. I am happy to limit my fish stock to 4. I plan on adding slowly because I've already made the mistake of overstocking, creating a nasty algae problem and crashing the system. Finally running well and NOT going to do that again. My List Tang (Powder blue, Yellow, powder brown, hippo,) Angel (Coral beauty, other pygmy) Goby (any ACTIVE sand sifter) Clownfish (only if I can get an anenome to survive that can host it. Already killed one BTA.) I really want a tang but my luck with hippo tangs has been bad (3 dead) and I don't want to be responsible for any more unnecessary blue tang death. I considered a yellow but it would outgrow the tank so that's out. I would love a coral beauty but I've read they are not really reef safe. I really like watching fish behavior so i am drawn to fish that "do things" like pick at rock, sand sift, clown with anenome etc. Thanks for the help! Laura

Hi all, after 6 weeks of no fish following ick, I am ready to add fish back. During this time I have gotten rid of all my nasty hair algae and everything is looking great. Question is what fish to add back. I want to be more careful this time in planning the additions. My tank is 54 gallon with softies and LPS. Live rock and a 5 inch sand bed. I am thinking about a single "main" fish at least one sand sifting goby. Suggestions on what might work in this system would be appreciated. Thanks, Laura

The reef tank at the Museum of Natural History has about 7 clownfish. There is a pair hosted in a giant clam and about 5 or 6 others that take turns entering the space and being chased out, and generally just hang around the edges. I spent about 30 minutes just watching them. The mated (?) pair also occasionally dive into the clam. It's fun to watch especially if you want to see the behavior of a bunch of clowns! Laura

I just lost all my fish to ick so I really sorry to hear about yours. A couple of issues: You had better move faster. Even though the fish are eating, IME, they can eat in the morning and be dead by night. Also keep in mind how long you need to keep the fish out of the display tanks. If you add them back too fast you will still have ick parasites in the main tanks and the fish will get re-infected. I was told 30 days in QT tank. Good luck, sounds like your in a tough spot. You can check out the "all fish dead" thread in the beginners forum. I got a lot of great advice. Laura

Yeah I KNOW! I am already itching to put some fish in there... but I am going to TRY and hold off a little longer and be really careful about what and how many I add back. Laura

Hi All. I posted a few weeks ago about all my fish dying from ick. I am in the process of setting up a QT and also decided not to add any fish back into the display tank for 6 weeks to be sure all the ick parasites are gone. At about the same time I removed the bio-balls from the sump and a ton of built up detritus that I thought was increasing my ammonia -->nitrates. I am also running an algae scrubber which is only growing hair algae so far but it consistently grows back after cleaning. Hopefully I'll have real turf one day . The results: ALL of my nuisance hair algae is gone!! I know it all makes sense. Less waste, less ammonia, less nutrients for the algae etc. etc. But it is awesome!!! My rock is all clear, I am finally starting to get some healthy coraline (not overgrown by hair) and my corals are doing better too. I am feeding them heavily now and they are responding by growing, dividing etc. My tank is less than a year old, 9 months I think, and I believe it was either not completely cycled or overloaded or a little of both... probably both. Readings today: no ammonia, low nitrates (5), and no phosphate. So my question is this: does anyone run a tank with NO FISH? Coral only with Live Rock COWLR. I do plan on adding fish back but I will probably wait longer than the 6 weeks for the ick. I want to let my tank mature more, let the coralline grow and continue to feed the coral. What I will do is when I add fish back I will do it very very slowly and follow all levels closely. I think Ill let the tank tell me what it can handle rather than the other way around. Laura

Wow, thanks. That would be awesome! I am heading out of town until next week but I'll be in touch after. Laura

Hey Zygote, can you share any info on building and maintaining a DSB. I have a 4 inch sand bed but am concerned about proper care. Right now I do nothing...and I don't see much. No worm tracks, no visible pods etc. Suggestions much appreciated. BTW, I am not planning on adding a closed loop to my 90, especially since it is plumbed with dual overflow boxes and split returns. Thanks for the help on that. Laura

What if you don't see any pods in your tank at all? I see pods on my algae screen (visible in microscope) but never in my tank. I will try the rubble piles. Can I seed the tank from the algae scrubber? Any other suggestions? Laura

Got it. So it's a water mover....no filtration... THANKS! Now....should I include one in my 90 gallon build??

OK I give up. I have searched and found some beautiful plans for closed loop systems but I can't figure out how they work or what they do....please help! I am in the planning stages for a 90g and trying to design my sump / refugium. Laura

So I posted about losing all my fish to ick. Now I am setting up a quarantine tank while I wait for the ick to die off in the main tank. I am setting up a 29 gal acrylic tank. No plumbing. Can anyone recommend an article, web site, advice on how to get it going. Can I set up a FOWLR (no sand) or is it best to go with fish only? Also what kind of filtration do I need on a tank like this. I would really like to avoid another sump system...I am running out of space in my little house!! I guess I could always take out the stove... I don't cook much anyhow. Thanks for the help. Laura

I recently removed all my bioballs and cleaned out a lot of detritus etc. My question is this. If the wet dry trickle over the bio balls was housing the bacterial colonies that convert ammonia to nitrite to nitrate, what will do it now? I have a DSB and LR. What else should i be doing? Ammonia is .25 but it was at .25 before i removed bioballs as well. Laura

Wow, thanks for al the great info. Right now I am planning on setting up a QT. If I am careful I am hoping to prevent any more infections, but I am definitely open to UV if it doesn't work. I do love hearing about all the ways to get stuff done and appreciate all the info so I can make an educated decision and know what my options are. Just a general thanks to this group for the warm welcome and willingness to help a newbie!! Laura

Cool. I am trying to go more natural. I removed the bio balls and tons of detritus from my sump today and have been running an early stage ATS for a few months now. My goal is skimmerless but I need to learn a lot more first. I am also planning my new 90 build so I appreciate your input. If I decide against UV, how long do I wait before attempting fish again. I also set up a QT, which I didn't have before... thus the ick epidemic. All my fish were great for months then I added a chromis without quarantine. It was all downhill after that. Definitely in the "learning' column.

Thanks for the help and the advice! I actually paid my 20 bucks at the meeting today (my first) so hopefully my membership will get the "update" soon! Thanks for the info on UV sterilizers. I was thinking about going that direction and definitely will! Laura

I am new to this group and forum, so thanks for having me. I have a 54 gallon corner reef tank operating for 9 months now. I am going through all of the new reef keeper problems. Currently I am fighting algae as best I can and recently lost all my fish to ick. 2 clowns, 1 goby, 1 6 line wrasse. How long do I wait before adding fish again? I've heard everything from 6 weeks to 3 months. Also is there anything I should do in the meantime to rid the tank of eggs/ larva. etc. I'll save my algae questions for later.... laura