[mike glaw]

i have setup a 77 gallon folr tank with a penguin 330 filter, an aquaclear 300 with surfaceskimmer (running a sponge and carbon) 2 power heads a 402 and an 802 one on each end of the tank and smaller one near the bottom of the tank just behind the live rock (approx 20lbs looking to add more) and approx 10 lbs of coral rock. i am also running a prism protein skimmer currently the tank has been running for 2 weeks with a perc clown/hermit crabs, and snails i am using a sand/crushed coral substrate approx 3inchs thick. i am looking at adding a clown trigger in about a month after i get another 20lbs of live rock just wondering if anyone had any thoughts or ways to improve my setup? aswell as i was wondering just how agressive the clown trigger would be because i was also looking at having him and a nigger trigger.

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND, MIKE.

The speed at which you're going is fast. The best approach to this hobby is to make changes slowly.

Some observations I'd make about your system:
1. Too little live rock
2. Adding live rock later can cause a system crash or death of inhabitants
3. Your tank isn't large enough for more than one triggerfish and even then, should be at least 100 gallons for the triggerfish you have on your list
4. The Clown Trigger is known for its bad temper -- it will not get along with any other fish and will, if it can, bite or hurt the aquarist
5. Your tank hasn't matured yet and should not contain much in the way of any marine life above that of snails, shrimp, etc. -- see: The Mature Aquarium
6. You really don't want crabs (besides the fact that the planned triggerfish will eat them, they do little good for an aquarium and do create more problems then they are worth).
7. You don't mention testing water quality. I hope you're testing for ammonia, nitrite, pH and temperature daily. This ties in with item 5.

You might get some tips by reading this thread: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

Ask any questions you might have. There are many people here willing to help and lend a fin!

[mike glaw]

thanks for the info apparently i will have to rethink things here. are hermit crabs not recommended for a setup such as mine?. what do you guys think of the equip and setup i am going with? i have only tested ph and salinity so far i figured i would wait a few weeks before checking nitrates amonia etc what ph test kit is good? i am using the hagen one but find it hard to read.

[leebca]

You began a new marine aquarium and you have fish in it, but you have not yet tested for ammonia or nitrites?

Who is providing you with help or where are you getting help, on setting up your system?

Some of the easiest test kits are the Salifert kits. They are reliable. Everyone has their own favs.

[mike glaw]

yes i have one fish in the tank the local store said that after a day or two aslong as i have a bit of live rock and add some additives prime etc that it would be fine and speeds up the proocess. i checked the ph and salinity before i got the fish. he also told me to get some snails and crabs in there aswell. what are the negatives of hermit crabs?

[leebca]

I'm afraid that your local fish store (LFS) has not provided a responsible course of action that protects the life and health of marine fishes.

Your aquarium, when finished and up and running will be spectacular, but the guidance you've received so far is below the average for the hobby. You need to get a hold of a good beginner's book. In any case, you need to stop making any changes to your system until you've done a lot of reading. You need to know so much that picking up bits and pieces here and there will not be a good idea.

Go to the bookstore or your LFS and browse their books. Find one that is easy to read for you. You'll find that they will pretty much follow the pattern in the post: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium with regards to general recommendations.

Hermit crabs are generally considered undesirable for a marine aquarium, unless you plan/want to just keep hermit crabs. They are omnivores and will eat whatever they can get their claws on. The LFS pays pennies for them and sells them at a very good profit. I'm afraid that that greed is driving their appearance in our marine aquariums. In the aquarium they will harass fish and other invertebrates. If they get hungry enough, they may even try to grab a fish while they sleep. Not worth the risk.

More reading for you to do on the hermit crab and clean-up subject, too:
http://www.reefland.com/rho/0305/medprod3.php
and
http://web.archive.org/web/200104100...=&RecordNo=166

[mike glaw]

well thanks for all the info i will have to certainly research things a bit more throughly from now on. things in my tank seem to be going smoothly so far i did a nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia tests today and they all showed as fine what would you guys say my water change frquency would be my tank has been running for 3 weeks. asswell as far as filter media is concerned how do i determine how much carbon i should be running? is there anything else i should be using besides carbon, and the foam inserts for my aquaclear 300 and penguin 330?

[leebca]

You have several choices for water changes. You can change a little water very frequently, or a lot of water infrequently, and anything else in between.

On the frequent side: 10% every week; and
On the infrequent side: 30% every month.

Some aquarists like 25% changes every 2 weeks.

Reefland has a good filtration and basic equipment forum. You can get all equipment answers there.