Basic Questions

Erick Merfeld · Nov 25, 2015

I have a 55 gal tank. I currently have 5 fish and one coral. I have been doing this for about a year now but still trying to figure out little tricks that make a huge different when trying to develop and grow your tank. I have a few questions for you all.

How often should I be doing water changes and how much water for every change?
Also I have been feeding my creatures frozen brine shrimp. Any other suggestions on food? And how much I should be feeding them and how often?
Clean up crew-how many snails and clean up creatures should I have in my 55 gal tank?

Thanks for your time!

Erick

mikejrice · Nov 25, 2015

Erick Merfeld said:
How often should I be doing water changes and how much water for every change?

10% weekly is a good place to start although a lot of people find that twice or once a month works well for them.

Erick Merfeld said:
Also I have been feeding my creatures frozen brine shrimp. Any other suggestions on food?

Variety is the best way to go. Check out a product that mixes different foods together such as Rod's Food or even make your own. Mysis, krill, plankton and bloodworms would be good single foods to look at adding into your feeding regime.

Erick Merfeld said:
And how much I should be feeding them and how often?

You should try to feed only enough that your fish clean out the water in a couple of minutes every other day to start. This will help keep algae under control while you adjust your feeding to your systems unique nutrient cycle.

Erick Merfeld said:
Clean up crew-how many snails and clean up creatures should I have in my 55 gal tank?

The most common rule of thumb is one member of the clean up crew per gallon of tank although I wouldn't start off nearly this heavy. I usually start with about one third that and add more slowly as I learn how many inverts the system can support long term.

Erick Merfeld · Nov 25, 2015

I was looking at a cleaning crew package but that comes with like 50 to 100 different snails and crabs. So I should start with 15 or 20 turbo snails? And build up from there?

mikejrice · Nov 25, 2015

I'd start with a mix of different snails and a few hermits. Each species will have different skills and preferences in its diet.

Reefing Madness · Nov 25, 2015

I'd stay away from hermits, they are scevengers, and if they get hungry they could eat your coral.
Theres also no need to get hundreds of snails, as suggested by the companies that sell them, you will just starve out a bunch anyways. Just a handful of a few different ones will do the trick. It all depends on your water quality, as to how messy the tank will be.

Erick Merfeld · Nov 25, 2015

What would you suggest for species and how many to start?

Reefing Madness · Nov 25, 2015

I like Turbo Snail (10) and Bumble Bees.(20)

mikejrice · Nov 25, 2015

Bumble bee snails are predatory towards other snails. I'd look at nassarius, turbos, trochus, nerite or ceriths.

Reefing Madness · Nov 25, 2015

Bumble Bee snails are great, and bullet proof, and will only go after other snails if there isn't enough food for them.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+2857+565&pcatid=565

mikejrice · Nov 25, 2015

Reefing Madness said:
(fill in the blank) will only go after (fill in the blank) if there isn't enough food for them.

In my experience statements like this mean it's just a matter of time...

KingTriton · Nov 25, 2015

What type of corals are you keeping?

5-10% weekly changes.

Is this a bare bottom or sand tank?

I personally would only keep trochus snails. If you have sand I would include some nassarius as well. Probably about 10-15 trochus snails in your tank would be ideal depending on how much algae is present. You definitely don't need more than that.

Brine shrimp isn't really nutritious. I use Hikari /PE Mysis, Hikari Oceanplankton, NLS pellets (so that my clowns can have some algae in their diet)

http://www.hikariusa.com/diets/mysis-shrimp/
http://www.hikariusa.com/diets/oceanplankton/
http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Smal..._UL160_SR141,160_&refRID=18ZC5W9AEKKTXBGYHGEB

Reefing Madness · Nov 25, 2015

mikejrice said:
In my experience statements like this mean it's just a matter of time...

I still have both in my tank to this day. And have had them for well over 10 years now. So how long is a matter of time??

Erick Merfeld · Nov 25, 2015

KingTriton said:
What type of corals are you keeping?

5-10% weekly changes.

Is this a bare bottom or sand tank?

I personally would only keep trochus snails. If you have sand I would include some nassarius as well. Probably about 10-15 trochus snails in your tank would be ideal depending on how much algae is present. You definitely don't need more than that.

Brine shrimp isn't really nutritious. I use Hikari /PE Mysis, Hikari Oceanplankton, NLS pellets (so that my clowns can have some algae in their diet)

http://www.hikariusa.com/diets/mysis-shrimp/
http://www.hikariusa.com/diets/oceanplankton/
http://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Small-Formula-Sinking-Pellet/dp/B00176CSYW/ref=pd_sbs_199_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51EKZpWDwyL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR141,160_&refRID=18ZC5W9AEKKTXBGYHGEB

Erick Merfeld · Nov 25, 2015

How often do you feed your fish?
Do you feed them all of that at the same time or different times?
How much do you feed your fish?

Reefrookie220 · Nov 25, 2015

Feed no more than what gets eaten in 2 minutes or less.

Mix it up. I'd get a bag of LRS reef frenzy, pe mysis, and your brine shrimp. Feed a different one each time you feed the tank.

Hermits that eat coral do so because there are too many in the tank or not enough food, I use them in all my tanks, No issues.

For a starting cleaner crew I'd get 10 hermit crabs,10 snails (4 turbos, 3 margarite, 3 trochus) and add more as needed.

Water changes vary from tank to tank, if I were you I'd just change a 5g bucket ful every week or double that every 2 week's.

Erick Merfeld · Nov 25, 2015

Awesome thanks for the help guys

KingTriton · Nov 25, 2015

I generally don't like to feed longer than 30-40 seconds, especially if target fed without flow.

I generally feed them 3 times a day. Normally it's separated but sometimes I will mix two of the foods together.

Rod's food is a good one too if you have fish with corals. It can get messy as some of the food is small and goes uneaten which is why I mentioned food for corals.

PE is healthy but pretty oily which is why I normally stick with Hikari's mysis. It can mess with you skimmer.

Erick Merfeld · Nov 28, 2015

I did a huge clean and water change last night. I can tell that my fish and coral are much happier now! While cleaning my tank I thought of a few more questions I would like to ask you guys. I forgot to take pictures of my tank before coming into work. I will do that after work and post some pics for you guys. I am looking for ideas on what to do next to better my tank.

I need more rocks in my tank. Any certain kind? A good cheap place to buy them?
Also I have live sand/rock at the bottom of my tank. Should I switch that out for the fine white sand?
Looking to upgrade my power head in the near future. Any suggestions on that, that won't break my bank account?

I will post pictures of all of my equipment and also pictures of my tank and the little buddies that are living in it.

Brian Kim · Nov 28, 2015

Erick Merfeld said:
I did a huge clean and water change last night. I can tell that my fish and coral are much happier now! While cleaning my tank I thought of a few more questions I would like to ask you guys. I forgot to take pictures of my tank before coming into work. I will do that after work and post some pics for you guys. I am looking for ideas on what to do next to better my tank.

I need more rocks in my tank. Any certain kind? A good cheap place to buy them?
Also I have live sand/rock at the bottom of my tank. Should I switch that out for the fine white sand?
Looking to upgrade my power head in the near future. Any suggestions on that, that won't break my bank account?

I will post pictures of all of my equipment and also pictures of my tank and the little buddies that are living in it.

I would get live rocks from a lfs that is already fully cured, if its for sole purpose of adding more to the system, unless you have the time to cure them outside your system before adding them
Fine sand gets blown away easily by powerheads, would stick with 2.0mm and above
Try jebao rw-8, they are pretty affordable and versatile.

Erick Merfeld · Nov 28, 2015

I am looking for new rocks that I would be able to build like an arc or something. That way I can have some places for the fish to hide and feel safe. Looking for rocks that I would be able to attach coral to eventually as well. The rock I have now I just bought from Petco.