# New 55 gallon tank...where to start?



## Mahunky06 (Jan 27, 2008)

I have a newly set-up 55 gallon tank.
It has been set up for 10 weeks now with live sand (~2.5inches) from week 2 and live rock (~40kg) from week 3.
I have 2 T8 marine lamps (1 blue, 1 white) .
I have a Fluval 205 external filter with 2 Maxi-jet 680l/h power heads for circulation (Need to add a protein skimmer? When?)
pH = 8.2, Amm = 0ppm, Nitrite = 0ppm, Nitrate = 0ppm
Temperature at a steady 25/26C. 

I have been looking at all of the species of fish available to me, and obviously, being a beginner in Saltwater fish i have no idea about the compatibility of the fish. I am looking to eventually establish a mixed reef aquarium with some hardy corals/polyps some fish and a few inverts.

The fish i have been looking at are listed below but i have no idea about eventual sizes, compativility, which to add first, how long between, how many at a time etc so any help would be greatly apprectiated.

Clown fish (Occelaris or black?)
Yellow Tail Damsels OR blue/green chromis?
Blennies OR Gobies.
A tang/surgeon of some sort OR a foxface rabbitfish?

Obvioulsy i won't want to add all of the above but wanted to leave my options open incase of some clashes??

I also recently (~4 weeks ago) had a massive brown Algae outbreak which has now just left me with lots of dead algae. Can i get in a clean-up crew to sort this out? Hermits/Starfish/Shrimps?? Obviously i want to keep fish/inverts that are going to be compatible with the LR and any hard corals/polyps (any particular suggestions?) i may add later.

Thanks for your help. 8)


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Mahunky06 said:


> (Need to add a protein skimmer? When?)[/quote="Mahunky06"]
> 
> *The sooner the better, especially if this is going to be a reef tank.*
> 
> ...


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## Mahunky06 (Jan 27, 2008)

*NO FISH!*

I went out at the weekend and found possibly the BEST LFS i have located so far. They were very clued up and spot on with the water testing. My water was perfect with regards to Amm, Nitrate, Nitrite, PH, temp but when the dKH was tested i ended up at a value of 20! spg was at 1.031 so a little high also. They advised i bring the spg down with water changes with RO water and the dKH should follow. I have changed ~8 gallons in my 55gallon now and the dKH has only dropped to 18. Am i right in thinking that the ideal is between 8-14 dKH? Shall i just continue with water changes until i get to the desired dKH? My spg is fine now at 1.024, so i'll need to continue with salt water... I have also bought Ca/Mg test kits and will test these as soon as i have sorted out the dKH. Is there anything else i should be doing or is this all good? So so far no fish, but i'm glad of that in a way and the LFS seem pretty good, not allowing me to have them. I have also purchased a Refractometer, how handy!

Thanks


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Did they give you the test results in numbers?
Without us knowing all of the numbers, there isn't much anyone here can do to help you. Each number individually means something, but also how they balance together. Quite often when 1 thing is off, the cause is found in other readings for other levels. Everything works together.
If you post all of the levels, we can take a look and see what matches up where... and the calcium & magnesium numbers will help also.

It's going to be very important for us to always know those test result numbers before we can do much to help... even the simplest of problems will usually show something there. Those of us with the experience in this hobby/profession will tend to recognize things that the newbie will too often miss. 

Also, be aware, the lighting you have right now will likely not be enough when it comes to adding corals... what bulbs are in you fixtures? Blue and white doesn't tell us anything about them, really.


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