First Saltwater Aquarium - Assistance Required

[Ratvan]

Greetings All,

 

I have been keeping Freshwater Fish for a little over 10 years now. I was wanting to upgrade my Betta Tank to something larger so that I can split the tank and have a clear out of some of my Nano Tanks when I stumbled upon the tank of my dreams Fluval Sea Evo 13.5G. It was perfect, i already knew how i was going to do the splits. So i went along to the person's house to inspect the tank, it was full and set up so I could see that there were no leaks or issues with the equipment. We decided on a price and shook on it, this is when he mentioned that the tank has an occupant. 

 

The conversation went along the lines of if I didn't take him (I'm assuming its Male, fairly small and thin) then he would be carrying out a Clove Oil treatment, I didn't particularly want a Marine tank but I didn't like the idea of the fish being put down after I took his home, so I took the fish as well. I took down the tank and transferred everything that I could into separate buckets, fish bags and containers and re assembled the tank at home, got the temperature up to the level it was before I moved the tank and re-introduced the fish. (Kept warm with Ouro and Kojin my Betta's since their temp was 80 degree's.) I have attached a Photograph of what I purchased below. This is most likely wrong, but I didn't intend to bring home an occupied tank and hope that I did the correct thing. 

 

So, since I am the proud new keeper of a Ocellaris Clownfish and have no idea what I am doing, but have the best intentions I need some help. I am confident (ish) with Water Parameters and have tested the following this morning Temp 79 Degree's, Salinity 1.023. I've left this logging temperature every hour so I can see if I have large fluctuations in temperature. 

 

I would like a clean up crew to go into this tank, to be completely honest I have no idea what so ever would be a good choice, if it were freshwater I could rattle off 100's of combinations but I have no idea currently with this, Sexy Shrimp look interesting as do the Turbo Snails. I would like to keep this as cheap as possible as I most likely will be looking at Corals and Anemones which I figure will most likely bankrupt me.  

 

I know that I am unable to have a planted tank? But would could i add decoratively that will enhance the Clown's life while i have him? Anemones and Corals? What would be the best for a low light set up?

 

Thanks for your time and responses in advance.

Matt

 

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

 to nano-reef

Temp and salinity look good. Salinity is a little low if you want to add corals and You'd have to let us know what the light is to see if it would be enough for corals. Good for you on not letting an animal be put down . 

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

I would like a clean up crew to go into this tank, to be completely honest I have no idea what so ever would be a good choice,

You can always check out reefcleaners.org, they have a great selection and lots of info on what to get. 

I would hold off on corals and do as much reading as you can. There are a lot of people that will help you out on this site. I'm sure some of the more experienced guys and gals will chime in as well.

 

The rock scape looks good too, nice and simple. I'm not too familiar with that tank; i'm guessing its an all in one? If it has a media basket look and see what's in it. If it has a sponge filter you'll want to get rid of it as it will build up nasties and cause a nutrient spike. You'll want to run filter floss and change it 2-3 times a week.

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

hat would be the best for a low light set up?

For lighting you have options, I use the AI prime Hd and you can pick one up for $200 new or check the market place and get a used one.

there are others that some of the other forum members have used that might be on the lower end.

 

Hope I helped you a little bit and one thing to remember is read, read and more reading. You probably have a good idea of how an aquarium works since you've been in the freshwater game but look over this site, tons and tons and tons of good reads.

 

Good luck with the tank.

 

edit: You'll want to make sure you get a pump for water movement. Water movement in a saltwater tank is really important...It helps stir up detritus that builds and lets the filter floss catch all that stuff.

[Clown79]

Hello and welcome

As of right now the care is pretty simple but it does get further in depth as you start adding corals. An anemone, I would wait on till you are more experienced and do lots of research on that.

 

Corals require certain needs and I would stick with easier corals but do a lot of research before getting into them 

 

The evo light is good for soft corals and lps.

 

This hobby is not cheap, just a heads up.

There will be things you will need if you plan on keeping this tank. 

 

First piece of advise, do a lot of research.

 

1. Maintenance

2. Water chemistry

3. Lighting

4. Coral needs

5. Nitrogen cycle

 

Go through lots of journals on here to get an idea of what others do and whats necessary for SW.

 

If you reused the old sand I would test ammonia levels in the tank or have an ammonia alert badge in place and seachem prime on hand in the event there is a spike.

 

Here are a few things to get you started

 

Maintaining proper salinity level

- You will need to top up daily with fresh water(rodi or distilled- tap not good for saltwater)

 

The chamber where the pump is, it evaporates. It needs topping up to the same level every day, so either put a piece of tape on the outside glass to mark the full level(top up to this every day), or have a visual in the pump chamber.

 

Weekly Waterchanges

 

Doing weekly waterchanges is most common. 15-20%. Using Distilled or rodi water you will need to mix salt water.

 

- add water to bucket, add powerhead, add heater, slowly add salt and stir with new spatula. Check salinity. Continue adding salt until it reaches correct salinity. (1.023 for fish only 1.025 or 1.026 for full reef)

 

Water must be clear to use before adding it.

 

 

During waterchange

 

- scrape glass, use a new Turkey baster to blow the rocks of detritus, and vacuum sand.

 

- back chambers need siphoning every other week. Not empty but to remove poop, food, etc.

 

- filter media needs taking care of(sponges need rinsing etc etc) 

 

Refill tank with new salt water and check salinity.

 

 

Unfortunately if you want a reef, changes will need to be made for the tank.

 

Filtration- stock media is not good for SW. 

 

Buying or making a media basket is the first upgrade.

 

Media upgrade: get rid of the current media. The sponge should be cut and reduced each waterchange since it's now a form of bio filter(no need with liverock)

 

cheapest is buying filter floss which needs changing 2 times a week. It can be purchased in bulk to make it cheap.

 

Buy a good carbon in larger containers and media bags. Bag your own carbon. Use smaller quantities. Dump the carbon out of bag every 2 weeks and add new carbon.

 

 

What you will need on hand:

 

Buckets, small containers, gravel vacuum, Turkey baster, tweezers, an extra cheap powerhead and heater for salt mixing, salt, rodi or distilled water, filter floss, carbon.

 

Filter media, seachem prime for emergencies.

 

 

For corals, you will need a powerhead in tank, upgrade to refractometer if using hydrometer, test kits, 

 

 

Definitely do a lot of reading and ask lots of questions.

 

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

[Ratvan]

Thank you both for the welcome 

 

@DSFIRSTSLTWATER; thanks. In actual fact I think that I have only had 1 Animal that I actually paid for, the rest have been rescues, adoptions or in the case of my two current Betta fish. Looking after for a friend when they went away on holiday, when they came back they no longer wanted the fish. 

 

I would like some Corals as I can imagine that this will improve the tank for my Clown, the lighting is the stock in the AIO; I have 31 LEDS, 16W and Range of 14000K. I am more than happy to wait to include these as I have no idea what I want, what would be a good 1st etc. I know that I want movement in the tank as opposed to colour. I'll check out reefcleaners.org thank you.

 

I don't like the Hardscape to be honest but kept it in the tank to keep as much bacteria in as i possibly could. I would like to rescape but I know I need to wait until payday to get the items that I want, I need to do a lot of reading and ask a lot of questions. At the minute I just want to keep the tank stable for as long as possible to reduce stress on the little Fella.

 

Tank is an AIO yes, it has a out put of 500L/H (132G/H ish) the filter media is a sponge basket with space for activated carbon and biomax inserts which are currently present from the original owner (in an attempt to keep as stable as possible) I will look at picking up some of the floss as suggested. I have a spare pump that I am currently using in a large 5 gallon container to mix my salt water (so I have a ready source) and have fished out a spare 50w heater from work to go into this as well.

 

Lighting will be low priority, most likely be towards November/December unless i really need a coral and lighting for him? 

 

Do Clownfish require shade like the Betta Fish? or is his current set up good for him to thrive? Can I keep him alone or are they better in pairs?

 

@Clown79 I test Ammonia levels daily on all my tanks (freshwater) so not going to be an issue to add another to the list. I have a care package waiting for me at my LFS which includes an Ammonia Alert system, refractometer and Prime. I do want to find a system that I can use for my fish rack

 

I have the Fluval Spec III and V so I am aware of the evaporation issues from the "sump" area, it is a very good point and I don't think anyone has ever pointed that out to me before. I was planning on doing a 10-20% water change on a weekly basis, this fits in with my current maintenance for my FW tanks. Just have to remember to use different equipment!!!

 

In all honesty I do not know what I want, I would like to add more to the tank but only if it is beneficial for the current occupant, I want to give him a good life while I have him but the long term goal is to transform this tank into FW, hopefully after a good long life so realistically Corals and Anemones are out, unless you can get silk versions for salt water?

 

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

4 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

Do Clownfish require shade like the Betta Fish?

Nope you'll be fine, he'll swim around in the current. He'll probably pick a spot and that'll be his area lol.

 

6 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

thanks. In actual fact I think that I have only had 1 Animal that I actually paid for, the rest have been rescues, adoptions or in the case of my two current Betta fish. Looking after for a friend when they went away on holiday, when they came back they no longer wanted the fish. 

That's awesome, need more people like that in this world :-)

@Clown79 is super knowledgeable and I've learned a great deal from her. She gave a great run down on what to do. More detailed than myself, sorry for that lol

 

Can't wait to see what you end up doing with this tank 

[Daniel91]

So I was looking through the tips from DFS and Clown to see if I could add on but they pretty much covered everything.

 

One thing I would like to outline is how important and cheap PATIENCE is.

Take your time with everything in this hobby, whether it’s research, coral/fish buying, cycling etc.

People without the patience often end up spending way more money than they have to - extra equipment, fish not fit for aquariums, didn’t know the specific requirements of certain corals

 

Good luck - it’s a blessing to have a piece of the ocean next to you.

[Reefgeek]

3 hours ago, Ratvan said:

I know that I am unable to have a planted tank?

You can have a planted tank! There are plenty of saltwater plants available to the hobby. There are some really nice examples of planted saltwater tanks on this site. Here's a couple:

 

 

[Clown79]

The lights you have are fine. They are designed for corals so you don't need to spend money on upgrading those.

 

You can do a macro algae tank(sw plants) there are lots of beautiful macro's.

 

You could add some cool mushroom corals and they are simple to care for.

 

A good clean up crew that will bring life to the tank are:

 

Scarlet and blue legged hermits

 

Trochus and nassarius snails

[Ratvan]

1 hour ago, Daniel91 said:

So I was looking through the tips from DFS and Clown to see if I could add on but they pretty much covered everything.

 

One thing I would like to outline is how important and cheap PATIENCE is.

Take your time with everything in this hobby, whether it’s research, coral/fish buying, cycling etc.

People without the patience often end up spending way more money than they have to - extra equipment, fish not fit for aquariums, didn’t know the specific requirements of certain corals

 

Good luck - it’s a blessing to have a piece of the ocean next to you.

Thank you, it apparent who has been doing this a while from the suggestions given. Yes patience is very cheap, thankfully I have it in buckets. I have a 20G Freshwater Tank that for the past 10 years I have only propagated plants in the tank. I originally purcahsed maybe 7-10 plants of different types. I just kept propagating them and adding the off shoots to tanks replacing the cheap and often nasty silk and plastic plants. I actually have had so many from this tank the past couple of years I have been giving it away to LFS and/or using it to barter and trade for what i need.

41 minutes ago, Reefgeek said:

You can have a planted tank! There are plenty of saltwater plants available to the hobby. There are some really nice examples of planted saltwater tanks on this site. Here's a couple:

 

 

They're nice but doesn't really scream planted tank to me (i'm talking like my Tanks at home 60-70% covered as a minimum) I've attached a shot of Kojin's tank as an example, not the best example and needs a bit of a trim. I'm used to coming from tanks where if I can immediately spot my fish, I add more plants. 

 

Saying that some of those are very nice, especially the deep greens and paler/washed out reds

25 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

The lights you have are fine. They are designed for corals so you don't need to spend money on upgrading those.

 

You can do a macro algae tank(sw plants) there are lots of beautiful macro's.

 

You could add some cool mushroom corals and they are simple to care for.

 

A good clean up crew that will bring life to the tank are:

 

Scarlet and blue legged hermits

 

Trochus and nassarius snails

Thank you so much, all of you. you all have been a great help. 

 

I have a list now of "plants" and CuC that I need to look at and check avaliability. It'll be a fair while before I make any purchases/swaps/thefts 

 

[Clown79]

5 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Thank you, it apparent who has been doing this a while from the suggestions given. Yes patience is very cheap, thankfully I have it in buckets. I have a 20G Freshwater Tank that for the past 10 years I have only propagated plants in the tank. I originally purcahsed maybe 7-10 plants of different types. I just kept propagating them and adding the off shoots to tanks replacing the cheap and often nasty silk and plastic plants. I actually have had so many from this tank the past couple of years I have been giving it away to LFS and/or using it to barter and trade for what i need.

They're nice but doesn't really scream planted tank to me (i'm talking like my Tanks at home 60-70% covered as a minimum) I've attached a shot of Kojin's tank as an example, not the best example and needs a bit of a trim. I'm used to coming from tanks where if I can immediately spot my fish, I add more plants. 

 

Saying that some of those are very nice, especially the deep greens and paler/washed out reds

Thank you so much, all of you. you all have been a great help. 

 

I have a list now of "plants" and CuC that I need to look at and check avaliability. It'll be a fair while before I make any purchases/swaps/thefts 

 

If you aren't interested in sw you could just trade the clown in to a store for credit or find a home for him and then convert the tank to a planted fw.

 

 

Here are some examples of macro reef tanks

[Ratvan]

9 hours ago, Clown79 said:

If you aren't interested in sw you could just trade the clown in to a store for credit or find a home for him and then convert the tank to a planted fw.

 

 

Here are some examples of macro reef tanks

Ok yeah I change what I said about planted tanks, those look so much more my taste. So it looks like I need to pan my first Macro Tank, It's looking like its goignt o eba  quiet day at work so i;ll sketch out some hardscape designs and read up on Macro's. Is there a Plant Guide anywhere that will help me identify what Macro is what? (I love the one that looks like Limnophila Sessiliflora in the 3rd pic) 

[Clown79]

https://www.reefcleaners.org/macroalgae-care

 

https://www.thesprucepets.com/cultivating-macroalgae-in-your-aquarium-2924568

 

https://aquariumdepot.com/aquarium-life-salt/macro-algae/

 

 

Here are some links on macro

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

6 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Ok yeah I change what I said about planted tanks, those look so much more my taste. So it looks like I need to pan my first Macro Tank, It's looking like its goignt o eba  quiet day at work so i;ll sketch out some hardscape designs and read up on Macro's. Is there a Plant Guide anywhere that will help me identify what Macro is what? (I love the one that looks like Limnophila Sessiliflora in the 3rd pic) 

If you do a macro tank make a journal cause I wanna see how you do it :-) I'm a fan of macros and I'm going to be getting some myself.

[Ratvan]

Thank you all for your fantastic assistance I did not expect such a wealth of information. I've decided to keep my Ocellaris. I have not yet named it as I am unaware of the sex of the fish. I'm sure that i will come up with something suitable soon. I usually go with something that is related to their personality. HOwever I think that it has "hosted" with the heater as it hangs around it constantly...

  

I am currently researching tanks to be able to set up a separate Planted Macro algae tank and then transfer the clown into that one when ready. His Evo Sea will then be converted to FW and split to house the rescue Betta's.

 

So I am looking at picking up a 10G Nano and have been browsing the Macro's, I like the looks of these green and reds

Green: Codium, Caulerpa Prolifera, Cactus Caulerpa

Red: Botrycladia, Gracilara and Dragon's Breath

 

So next question, how many Macro's for a 10G? Or would the livestock affect this?

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Thank you all for your fantastic assistance I did not expect such a wealth of information. I've decided to keep my Ocellaris. I have not yet named it as I am unaware of the sex of the fish. I'm sure that i will come up with something suitable soon. I usually go with something that is related to their personality. HOwever I think that it has "hosted" with the heater as it hangs around it constantly...

  

I am currently researching tanks to be able to set up a separate Planted Macro algae tank and then transfer the clown into that one when ready. His Evo Sea will then be converted to FW and split to house the rescue Betta's.

 

So I am looking at picking up a 10G Nano and have been browsing the Macro's, I like the looks of these green and reds

Green: Codium, Caulerpa Prolifera, Cactus Caulerpa

Red: Botrycladia, Gracilara and Dragon's Breath

 

So next question, how many Macro's for a 10G? Or would the livestock affect this?

I don't think there is a number of macros you have to stay with but you will have to prune them as they over grow(you can sell them to other hobbyist)

 

You will just need to leave swimming room for the clown.😁

 

You can easily set up a standard 10g, powerhead, hang on filter with floss to collect particles, and light. 

 

You will need specific lights for the tank since you plan to use the evo for the bettas.

And new sand as well.

 

If you want to cut cost, it would be cheaper to buy a standard tank and split it for the betta's(they don't need specific lighting) and just use the evo for your macro tank as all you really need is to get a powerhead and deal with the filter media.

 

 

[Ratvan]

20 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I don't think there is a number of macros you have to stay with but you will have to prune them as they over grow(you can sell them to other hobbyist)

 

You will just need to leave swimming room for the clown.😁

 

You can easily set up a standard 10g, powerhead, hang on filter with floss to collect particles, and light. 

 

You will need specific lights for the tank since you plan to use the evo for the bettas.

And new sand as well.

 

If you want to cut cost, it would be cheaper to buy a standard tank and split it for the betta's(they don't need specific lighting) and just use the evo for your macro tank as all you really need is to get a powerhead and deal with the filter media.

 

 

Thank you I have done exactly that and found a 2nd hand 40g breeder that I will use for my Bettas. 

[Wingsong]

On 1/18/2019 at 4:38 AM, Ratvan said:

I've decided to keep my Ocellaris. I have not yet named it as I am unaware of the sex of the fish.

Your fish is probably a female, a clownfish living alone for several months or longer will become a lady. Should you want to get her a companion, make sure to buy the smallest clownfish in a tank full of them.

 

I am really shocked whoever you bought the tank from sprung it on you the tank comes with a fish who will otherwise be put down... it was the previous owner's responsibility to rehome the clown, not pawn it off in a hardware sale.

 

Back when my clown was a baby she loved to sleep in my dragon's breath macro. I don't think there is any limit on how many kinds of algae you can put in the tank, just be aware if they grow well you'll have to trim some. You should look at mangroves, too, since your betta tank has that one plant sprawling out of the water. Seems up your alley! I would definitely buy a powerhead to add flow to your tank, doesn't have to be big or fancy, but I don't think Fluval's stock pumps are quite enough.