Newbie Introduction - Advice welcome

[jbicb3]

Hello all,
I recently (9-29-04) purchased a 75 gallon tank which has been setup for about a year. It has about 2" of sand as the floor. When I got it, it had 3 plastic tree stumps in it, 2 standard 4' flourscent lights, a Fluval 404 multi-stage-filter, and the following livestock:
3-stripe damsel
pink & blue spotted goby
12" snowflake eel
lightning whelk
hermit crab

I was only able to carry about 5 gallons of the original water with the fish in an ice chest to my home (about a 30 mile trip). Once at home, I put an airstone in the ice chest to keep the oxygen level up while I mixed the water.
Using Instant Ocean, I mixed up the water 5 gals at a time and tested the specific gravity before adding it to the tank. After getting the tank full, I hooked up the filter, and let it circulate for about an hour, and tested the pH and SG. The pH in the ice chest was 7.6, and the new tank was 7.8. I began transfering 1 cup of water from the tank to the ice chest every 30 minutes for the 1st hour, then did it every 15 minutes, putting some back into the tank to keep the ice chest from over filling. did this for about 4 hours total before introducing the livestock to the tank. The next morning the Damsel was dead.

The other fish didn't eat for the 1st 2 days, then began taking pieces of scallop from a feeding stick. They are all doing well now.

On Oct 1st, I bought 2 Live Rocks, some Tropical Science brand NITROMAX MARINE Maxium-Density Live Nitrifying Bacteria, some Kent Marine brand SUPERBUFFER-dKH, Coralife 10,000k 40 watt 4' light, & Coralife ACTINIC 03 Blue 40 watt 4' light. I also connected 2 airstones to a Profile 9500 air pump, and have them in the tank. The powerhead you see in the pictures is not hooked-up, because it make a lot of noise, and puts out very little flow. Just left it in for the bacteria it may have on it.

The pH was up to 8.2 as of 10-06-04.

My wife keeps wanting to put more fish in, but I told her we need to keep these alive for a few weeks first. Not sure what other fish would go in with the eel either.

Also I need to know what tests to run, and how often. I have the Saltwater Master brand Liquid Test Kit, which tests for pH, Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate.

Also how often should I change out water, and how much at a time?

What about the cleaning the filter? Do I need a Protein Skimmer?

Pictures are available here:
http://users2.ev1.net/~jbicb3/photog...1/Fish001.html

Thanks in advance for all your help.
Jerry

[Samper]

As far as the test kits go Lamotte and Salifert make the best. I test for Calcium, Alk, Ph, Salinity and SG but you may want to test everything possible for a while since you're basically cycling a tank again. I test parameters every two weeks. Definately wait to add fish until it's established itself again and it really isn't recommended to cycle a tank with living animals anymore although some diehard aquarists will argue that it's ok. I'm hoping it cycles pretty fast since you have some of the old bacteria in it to help it along.........still gonna cycle though. The damsel you have is pretty hardy but I'm not sure about the rest.

I change out my water in my 20g every week 5 gallons at a time but in larger systems it's possible to go as long as a month to a month and a half without having to.......even when I move up to a bigger system I'll do water changes no less than once every two weeks and it'll be 10-15 gallons at a time.

You can get away without a protein skimmer in a fish only tank but if you ever plan on adding corals you will have to have one. When you clean the filter change out about half the media once a month leaving some of the old in. Hope I covered it all for you.

[Reefland]

Hi jbicb3, Welcome to Reefland!

Also I need to know what tests to run, and how often. I have the Saltwater Master brand Liquid Test Kit, which tests for pH, Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate.

These are the critical water tests, in addition to temperature and Specific Gravity. Once the tank is cycled and established, there isn't much need to test for ammonia and nitrite unless something dies or there is problems that you can visibly see, then you'll want to test for those.

Also how often should I change out water, and how much at a time?

5-10% water changes weekly or bi-weekly would be best. Make sure that you let the new water age for at least 24 hours at the proper temp and specific gravity.

What about the cleaning the filter? Do I need a Protein Skimmer?

I'm not a fan of mechanical filters therefore I suggest lots of biological fintration with liverock (about 1lb per gallon) and a good protein skimmer. Mechanical filters tend to hold waste which leads to excessive nitrate. Cleaning them can reduce the potential for nitrate increases but also cleaning removes the beneficial bacteria colonies that grow so it's pretty much counter productive. If used, they can be used for carbon or filter floss.