Stocking my new cycled 55 gallon tank

[Turbotank123]

Hey everyone! I set up my first saltwater aquarium(as seen in profile pic). It is a 55 gallon and I have just a few questions for the experts out there. It's been cycling since January 1st with live sand and live Fiji/ Tonga rock and has had an explosion of tiny clear shrimp which from what I've read is a sign of a healthy tank. The temperature is holding at 77-78 degrees. Ammonia is at 0, Nitrite is at 0, Nitrate is between 10 and 20. The PH is about 7.8- 8.

I have been topping it off with about 1-2 gallons of tap water every week. We are on a well and have an in line water filter. Should I be adding salt? The salinity has been holding steady at .025.

Should I be cleaning the sand in any way? I have been scrubbing the algae off the sides of the glass every other week. I have had the small white starfish like things that live on the rock die and bury themselves in the sand. There are still some that are alive on the rocks. I have a canister Aquatop water filter with UV sterilizer, but not sure if I need a protein skimmer?

Finally, I want to end up with a puffer fish. Would that be safe in the size tank I have? What other fish should I start stocking now that would work well with a puffer? How many fish total could my tank hold? I have yet to add anything, because I want to be sure it's done right. I would like to get a blue damsel and yellow tang and a couple clownfish, but not sure if my tank is big enough. I know I need to add invertebrates to start with, but not sure which to select for the fish I want to end up with.

Thank you!

 

[michellejy]

Congratulations on the new tank!

Did you set up a quarantine tank as well? As someone who had to leave a brand new tank fallow because I transferred some rock from an infected tank, I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. A single ich outbreak means leaving your tank empty for 11 weeks, and that is aside from the heartbreak of potentially losing fish.

It looks like you don't have much rock in there from your profile picture. You will probably want more for hiding spaces for your fish.

A yellow tang will get too big for your tank, unfortunately. I actually can't think of any that will work in a 55, but I am sure someone will be able to correct me if I am wrong.

There are toby puffers (valentini and leopard) that stay quite small and would work in your tank. A couple of the spotted guys should work too. I am *pretty* sure they will munch your clean up crew though.

You only need to add salt to water when you do a water change. For everything else, just topping off with freshwater should work.

Some people swear by protein skimmers, but you can get by without them. Although, since you are using a canister filter, a protein skimmer might be a better substitute. (Again, I will defer to filtration experts here.)

As long as you are getting juveniles, clowns are a good start. I would avoid the tomatoes and maroons, personally. They are pretty, but if they decide to be aggressive to tankmates in a tank your size, it would be really miserable.

 

[Turbotank123]

Thank you! I am going to set up a new 25 gallon quarantine tank this weekend. It will be brand new and will need to cycle through. Could I still start with a couple clowns then? Should I skip invertebrates to start? I have about 40 pounds of live rock and will be getting more soon.

 

[tankstudy]

Hey everyone! I set up my first saltwater aquarium(as seen in profile pic). It is a 55 gallon and I have just a few questions for the experts out there. It's been cycling since January 1st with live sand and live Fiji/ Tonga rock and has had an explosion of tiny clear shrimp which from what I've read is a sign of a healthy tank. The temperature is holding at 77-78 degrees. Ammonia is at 0, Nitrite is at 0, Nitrate is between 10 and 20. The PH is about 7.8- 8.

Growth of life is usually a good sign. I would recommend doing water changes to bring your nitrates to under 10 or start on incorporating a nitrate removing system in to your tank.

I have been topping it off with about 1-2 gallons of tap water every week. We are on a well and have an in line water filter.

You should run a TDS meter on the inline water filter to make sure it is good. Although I have kept tanks with 22-30 ppm on a TDS meter, some corals and fish didn't do so well in it. Even with a water filter on the well water at my parent's place, I still run it thru a RO/DI unit and will still get a varying amount of particles.

Should I be adding salt? The salinity has been holding steady at .025.

If the salinity is stable, you do not need to add any salt. If you get a protein skimmer and are skimming dry, rarely will you have to add salt. On my 20 nuvo, I remove a cup of skimmate every 2 weeks. I know many out there who are wet skimming and remove a cup or a more a day. Wet skimming will generally cause you to adjust the salinity more often as you are removing a lot of salt water which the Auto Top Off unit replaces with just fresh water. Evaporation replaced by fresh water manually or automated, usually will not change your salinity. Now if your water is splashing constantly and getting out of your system, your salinity can change based on how much water actually gets out of the system this way.

Should I be cleaning the sand in any way?

It really depends on you and your tank's circumstances. There are many varying opinions on this. I don't have wrasses or fish that eat a lot of copepods or bugs. My sandbed is covered in bugs and swarm any uneaten particles. Because of this, I don't clean the sand bed at all, its already being dealt with. However, I would say that in a system where you don't have anything cleaning off the particles on your sand bed, cleaning it may help you, as these particles will sit there for longer periods of time.

I have been scrubbing the algae off the sides of the glass every other week. I have had the small white starfish like things that live on the rock die and bury themselves in the sand.

These are usually called asterina star fish but their are many variations of them. Some are reef safe and some are not, I have seen them destroying my corals first hand in some of my tanks. While, in other tanks, different variations of asterina star fish seem to never bother anything of mine. These days, I keep them out of my system at all times just be safe but some people don't mind them, atleast until they destroy something.

I have a canister Aquatop water filter with UV sterilizer, but not sure if I need a protein skimmer?

If you plan to feed a lot, get a skimmer. It will help you greatly in keeping the tank stable.

Finally, I want to end up with a puffer fish. Would that be safe in the size tank I have? What other fish should I start stocking now that would work well with a puffer? How many fish total could my tank hold?

Unfortunately, I've never kept a puffer. Aren't most non-reef compatible?

As for total fish, it can vary greatly depending on what you plan to do. If you plan to get corals, having a lot of fish means your water parameters will need to be maintained and monitored more frequently while having less fish will mean a little less of the two. For starters, I recommend stocking pretty light if you want corals. Your less prone to run in to major problems which can make you leave the hobby. Once you understand the science behind the hobby, you could probably stock much heavier.

Now if your going just all fish, you could probably stock a bit heavier.

The number of fish will also vary on their adult sizes and species. Fish that swim around a lot, tend to eat a lot and therefore poop a lot. While fish that lay around like a rock a lot, tend to eat a bit less but isn't always true either. Blennies lay around a lot but they eat a ton and poop tons more.

I would like to get a blue damsel and yellow tang and a couple clownfish, but not sure if my tank is big enough.

I would drop the damsel. These guys are hit and miss. If they are mean, they are viciously mean. They are pretty and cheap but they aren't worth the trouble unless you only plan to keep damsels.

 

[michellejy]

Thank you! I am going to set up a new 25 gallon quarantine tank this weekend. It will be brand new and will need to cycle through. Could I still start with a couple clowns then? Should I skip invertebrates to start? I have about 40 pounds of live rock and will be getting more soon.

You can seed your quarantine by floating a sponge in your main tank. You have been ghost feeding the tank, right?

I always start with clowns, but don't cycle the quarantine with them, of course

 

[michellejy]

I'm actually not sure how to answer your invert question since I have never had them in a tank with fish that will eat them. Maybe ask in the predator section about that. (They may just be considered acceptable losses.)

 

[Turbotank123]

Growth of life is usually a good sign. I would recommend doing water changes to bring your nitrates to under 10 or start on incorporating a nitrate removing system in to your tank.



You should run a TDS meter on the inline water filter to make sure it is good. Although I have kept tanks with 22-30 ppm on a TDS meter, some corals and fish didn't do so well in it. Even with a water filter on the well water at my parent's place, I still run it thru a RO/DI unit and will still get a varying amount of particles.



If the salinity is stable, you do not need to add any salt. If you get a protein skimmer and are skimming dry, rarely will you have to add salt. On my 20 nuvo, I remove a cup of skimmate every 2 weeks. I know many out there who are wet skimming and remove a cup or a more a day. Wet skimming will generally cause you to adjust the salinity more often as you are removing a lot of salt water which the Auto Top Off unit replaces with just fresh water. Evaporation replaced by fresh water manually or automated, usually will not change your salinity. Now if your water is splashing constantly and getting out of your system, your salinity can change based on how much water actually gets out of the system this way.



It really depends on you and your tank's circumstances. There are many varying opinions on this. I don't have wrasses or fish that eat a lot of copepods or bugs. My sandbed is covered in bugs and swarm any uneaten particles. Because of this, I don't clean the sand bed at all, its already being dealt with. However, I would say that in a system where you don't have anything cleaning off the particles on your sand bed, cleaning it may help you, as these particles will sit there for longer periods of time.



These are usually called asterina star fish but their are many variations of them. Some are reef safe and some are not, I have seen them destroying my corals first hand in some of my tanks. While, in other tanks, different variations of asterina star fish seem to never bother anything of mine. These days, I keep them out of my system at all times just be safe but some people don't mind them, atleast until they destroy something.



If you plan to feed a lot, get a skimmer. It will help you greatly in keeping the tank stable.



Unfortunately, I've never kept a puffer. Aren't most non-reef compatible?

As for total fish, it can vary greatly depending on what you plan to do. If you plan to get corals, having a lot of fish means your water parameters will need to be maintained and monitored more frequently while having less fish will mean a little less of the two. For starters, I recommend stocking pretty light if you want corals. Your less prone to run in to major problems which can make you leave the hobby. Once you understand the science behind the hobby, you could probably stock much heavier.

Now if your going just all fish, you could probably stock a bit heavier.

The number of fish will also vary on their adult sizes and species. Fish that swim around a lot, tend to eat a lot and therefore poop a lot. While fish that lay around like a rock a lot, tend to eat a bit less but isn't always true either. Blennies lay around a lot but they eat a ton and poop tons more.



I would drop the damsel. These guys are hit and miss. If they are mean, they are viciously mean. They are pretty and cheap but they aren't worth the trouble unless you only plan to keep damsels.

Thanks for all of the great information! I will definitely be referencing this. I think I'm going to invest in a RO unit, so I can do water changes. How often do you recommend doing this/ how much water should be changed? I don't plan on adding corals yet, but would like to down the road once I'm a little more experienced. Scratch the damsel, maybe I will start with 2 clowns.

 

[Turbotank123]

You can seed your quarantine by floating a sponge in your main tank. You have been ghost feeding the tank, right?

I always start with clowns, but don't cycle the quarantine with them, of course [/QUOTE
Great idea, thanks! Yes, I have been ghost feeding and all of the little shrimp come scurrying out of the rocks to grab the pellets.

 

[michellejy]

Thanks for all of the great information! I will definitely be referencing this. I think I'm going to invest in a RO unit, so I can do water changes. How often do you recommend doing this/ how much water should be changed? I don't plan on adding corals yet, but would like to down the road once I'm a little more experienced. Scratch the damsel, maybe I will start with 2 clowns.

10% a week works for most people. You will notice if that isn't enough for your tank.