Ready to add fish ??

[Christyef]

Hello all. I am brand new to this fascinating hobby..and this is my first post. I have had my 55 gal set up for 7 weeks. All my algae cycles are complete and my levels are good.i e had crabs and snails for about 2 weeks. All are doing well. I am ready to add fish! I'm asking for suggestions of hardy fish and coral bc to quite honest, I have no clue what I'm doing. ? I appreciate all of your help!

[jolt]

How exciting for you I think a Royal Gramma might be a good first fish.

[+KimP]

This is exciting! Have you thought at all about what type of tank you want to have? Like, do you want more aggressive type fish or peaceful? Is there any fish in particular you're really interested in? You might want to consider some maintenance fish, like a springer's damsel and a foxface (I think that size tank is big enough for a foxface). It's worth it to look at the bigger picture before you start stocking because fish are hard to remove.

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[Christyef]

Thank u! I'll be heading to Aqua done today after work! [emoji122]

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[Sascha D.]

For me, it's easier to decide what types of corals I want and then match the fish than the other way around. Many fish need specific planning in order to keep them successfully because they either eat corals or need a specific environment. After that you need to decide if you want a peaceful tank, semi-aggressive or aggressive tank.

Most wrasses are hardy and a great choice because most will eat anything, but they need at least 3" of sand to bury in. If you don't have that much sand the you can still get some cocoon wrasses.

Some dwarf angels are a good choice. IMO the Flame, Coral Beauty, and Rusty are the safest choices, but you can't keep more than one in that tank. If you don't care too much about whether they nip corals then others are great as well. I would research it further based on your risk tolerance.

Most references you read will say not to put a tang in a tank below 70g, but some of the smaller ones can be housed for 1-3 years. I wouldn't get more than one because they fight more in a smaller tank. The same goes for the One Spot Foxface, who will outgrow that tank in a few years.

The Royal Gramma, Spendid Dottyback, Orchid Dottyback, various Clownfish, Fire Fish, various Blennies, various Gobies, and various Cardinalfish are good choices. You may also try hawkfish, but they're more aggressive.

I would avoid damsels in a tank that size unless you're prepared to get 15+ because they're aggressive and need to be housed in semi-aggressive tanks. You would treat them similar to African Cichlids and house many of them to avoid aggression. I would also avoid the Mandarin Goby, any large angel, butterflies, grunts, groupers, hogfish, goatfish and large wrasses.

If you want to go aggressive, then the Snowflake Eel, various Dwarf Lionfish, and Waspfish are good choices. Some groupers may be housed 1-2 years. Beyond that you're pretty limited.

[Dean]

Live Aquaria has a wealth of information including compatibility as well as tank size requirements. Do some research there before you go pick out your fish. It will very likely save you some time and money.

[Jimbo662]

Live Aquaria has a wealth of information including compatibility as well as tank size requirements. Do some research there before you go pick out your fish. It will very likely save you some time and money.

This is what I always do. Pick a fish, research on the site and if it's a good fit hit all the stores to see if you can find it.

[Christyef]

According to liveaquaria.com I need to add coral first... Thnx for all the help!

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[Jimbo662]

What fish did you pick?

[Christyef]

Haven't picked any yet. I'll head to AD after work and discuss everything w/ someone there. I tested my water last night and have very high nitrates. Also need to learn how to fix that

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[jestep]

What level are you measuring your nitrates at? Also, what test kit are you using?

"High" is really relative to the type of tank you are setting up. Most soft corals and LPS are going to grow much better in a higher nutrient tank. Conversely, most SPS will suffer if not slowly die in a high nutrient tank. Most of us with mixed reefs tend to aim towards the lower, but not zero, end of the NO3 and PO4 spectrum and supplement with feedings and other additives like amino acids and coral food.

As far as NO3 reductions, it's tricky. First is to limit the amount of nutrients in the tank. After your initial cycle, you'll want to do a series of good sized water changes. It's normal to have high nitrates after the cycle, but your tank isn't going to be able to get rid of it so you need to do water changes. I typically aim for 50% of the tank volume per week for at least 3 weeks after a cycle. Then get on a schedule and stick to it. For a tank that size, I would probably aim for something like 10 gallons a month as a starting point, more and more frequent is better though. Reducing the amount of nutrients being added to the tank is hugely important moving forward. Food is the largest source of nutrients. Limiting feeding frequency and amount can literally make or break the success of a tank on its own. Some fish such as anthias require multiple feedings per day. unless you love changing water or are going to invest in an expensive way to reduce nitrates, I would avoid high maintenance fish like this on a tank this size. I typically feed 2 to 3 times per week, alternating between pellets and rods frozen.

Over the course of about a year, your tank will be able to process some NO3 on its own. Normally takes a lot longer than the initial cycle to remove ammonia, probably 6 months minimum.

But in small tanks, it's nearly impossible to get any meaningful denitrification without using an artificial method of doing it. Biopellets and vodka or other carbon dosing, are probably the 2 easiest and currently most used methods to reduce nitrates. What both of these do is provide a food source for bacteria. This bacteria which naturally exists in the aquarium, will consume NO3 as they consume the carbon source. This method will often leave an excess of PO4 in the tank which often requires using a chemical PO4 media like GFO to remove it separately. You also must use a skimmer with this method, or this will have the opposite of the desired effect.

Other most common method involves setting up specific zones that eventually will be void of oxygen. Bacteria in these environments can consume NO3 without any additional additives to the tank. Large ceramic blocks in low flow areas or setting up deep sand beds, plenum systems, coil denitrators, and some others are used for this purpose. Some of these have fairly substantial risks if they are setup incorrectly or if they are disturbed once setup, so definitely do a lot of research before going this direction. These used to be very common, they're not used nearly as often as they were even 4 or 5 years ago.

Other methods would be sulfur denitrators and algae turf scrubbers. Less commonly used than either of the above. Both can be very effective when setup correctly.

[Christyef]

Jestep... I'm using the "Red Sea" brand test kit. The phosphate level was good, but the nitrates were the deepest pink/purple color... 64 ppm

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[Sascha D.]

According to liveaquaria.com I need to add coral first... Thnx for all the help!

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I would not add anything until nitrates are zero.

As far as stocking methods, I have had more success when I add fish before corals. I have found the best success with corals after the three month mark.

[Christyef]

Ok. Thank u. I figure I do need to be more patient and learn what I'm doing better before I jump the gun losing money and livestock.

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[jolt]

Do you have everything you need to do a water change in order to get the nitrates down (salt, RODI water, a tank or tub to mix it in, and a pump or powerhead to stir it up) ?

[Christyef]

Jolt- I do. I get my RO water from Nikos. I have one powerhead.... Another is coming in the mail tomorrow

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[FarmerTy]

What level are you measuring your nitrates at? Also, what test kit are you using?

"High" is really relative to the type of tank you are setting up. Most soft corals and LPS are going to grow much better in a higher nutrient tank. Conversely, most SPS will suffer if not slowly die in a high nutrient tank. Most of us with mixed reefs tend to aim towards the lower, but not zero, end of the NO3 and PO4 spectrum and supplement with feedings and other additives like amino acids and coral food.

As far as NO3 reductions, it's tricky. First is to limit the amount of nutrients in the tank. After your initial cycle, you'll want to do a series of good sized water changes. It's normal to have high nitrates after the cycle, but your tank isn't going to be able to get rid of it so you need to do water changes. I typically aim for 50% of the tank volume per week for at least 3 weeks after a cycle. Then get on a schedule and stick to it. For a tank that size, I would probably aim for something like 10 gallons a month as a starting point, more and more frequent is better though. Reducing the amount of nutrients being added to the tank is hugely important moving forward. Food is the largest source of nutrients. Limiting feeding frequency and amount can literally make or break the success of a tank on its own. Some fish such as anthias require multiple feedings per day. unless you love changing water or are going to invest in an expensive way to reduce nitrates, I would avoid high maintenance fish like this on a tank this size. I typically feed 2 to 3 times per week, alternating between pellets and rods frozen.

Over the course of about a year, your tank will be able to process some NO3 on its own. Normally takes a lot longer than the initial cycle to remove ammonia, probably 6 months minimum.

But in small tanks, it's nearly impossible to get any meaningful denitrification without using an artificial method of doing it. Biopellets and vodka or other carbon dosing, are probably the 2 easiest and currently most used methods to reduce nitrates. What both of these do is provide a food source for bacteria. This bacteria which naturally exists in the aquarium, will consume NO3 as they consume the carbon source. This method will often leave an excess of PO4 in the tank which often requires using a chemical PO4 media like GFO to remove it separately. You also must use a skimmer with this method, or this will have the opposite of the desired effect.

Other most common method involves setting up specific zones that eventually will be void of oxygen. Bacteria in these environments can consume NO3 without any additional additives to the tank. Large ceramic blocks in low flow areas or setting up deep sand beds, plenum systems, coil denitrators, and some others are used for this purpose. Some of these have fairly substantial risks if they are setup incorrectly or if they are disturbed once setup, so definitely do a lot of research before going this direction. These used to be very common, they're not used nearly as often as they were even 4 or 5 years ago.

Other methods would be sulfur denitrators and algae turf scrubbers. Less commonly used than either of the above. Both can be very effective when setup correctly.

Well summarized and informative post here! That took me a decade of reefkeeping just to learn what was in this post alone! I am a little slow though...

[Christyef]

I went to nikos and got some RO to do a water change. And a cpl more crabs to clean up. I'll Jst hold off on livestock until I can manage (and understand) the water fluctuations..... Thanks everyone for all the information! [emoji7]

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