# My 55 Gal Saltwater Build



## brandonmayberry

Bought a 55 Gallon tank off a guy with a stand a few weeks ago, and thought i would share some updates of where im at so far. 

I got my protein skimmer 
in
















And also ordered and received my refractometer.









Then i got my Overflow in


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## brandonmayberry

Then i ordered an aquaticlife t5 4 bulb light and got it installed over the tank. The tank is only half full because I was still waiting for my rocks to come in the mail. I had my sand bed in already, about 4 inches (80lbs)
.


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## brandonmayberry

Finally got the rocks in the mail and my return pump for my sump. Both came in the same day, so it made me extra excited that i would be able to fill the tank and get the sum
p started.


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## brandonmayberry

And where im at now, is waiting for my sand to settle down again after installing the rocks and topping off the tank. Once it settles im going to get a few pics of the rocks and maybe move them a little more to make sure they are in good spots. My salinity is in a decent spot right now, but im going to check it again here shortly since i just added quite a bit of water to top it off.


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## badxgillen

NICE!!! Looks like your going for some coral with those lights. Have yet to see that brand of overflow boxes in uses yet, you will have to chime in on a review when you have used it for some time.Where did you snag your rock from? looks like a big order,better get that skimmer rockin.


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## brandonmayberry

badxgillen said:


> NICE!!! Looks like your going for some coral with those lights. Have yet to see that brand of overflow boxes in uses yet, you will have to chime in on a review when you have used it for some time.Where did you snag your rock from? looks like a big order,better get that skimmer rockin.


Yea, i would like to do some coral. So far the overflow is working good, its pretty quiet. The rock came from saltwaterfish.com about 50 lbs of live fiji rock. The skimmer already went through its break in period and seems to be working good. 

This is my first saltwater tank ever, and ive been researching and reading up for the last few weeks. However i'm still really new, so if there's anything anyone sees that im doing wrong, or any suggestions, please let me know!


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## badxgillen

Actually for a first setup its looking really clean and almost like you have done it before. Did you keep fresh water previously? When you get some nitrates after some time since the rock needs to cure or establish I will give you some coral.You will have to pay shipping but you should be pleased with what I can throw your way. I always try and help out the new guys ,it can be rough in the beginning without assistance in getting ones feet wet in the salty side of things.


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## brandonmayberry

I did a little freshwater when i was younger. Me and my fiance are renting a place for school, and the landlord wont let us have a dog so i decided it was time to go all out on some fish instead. When i decided i wanted to do it, i have no idea about saltwater fish at all. I just thought you put them in some saltwater and called it a day. However i made sure to do some research and everything before i started to make sure i don't royally screw up, but that's yet to be seen. I just got the rock in yesterday, and the water actually is cleared up already this morning, Ill post a picture of it this evening after work so you can see how it looks. I would be ecstatic if you would be willing to send me some coral,and id be happy to pay shipping on it. 
Right now im just playing the waiting game and testing game to see when the tank cycles and when its okay to get a fish. Ill probably start with a clean up crew, and then a clown fish or two and go from there. I don't want to overpopulate it by any means, just simple and visually pleasing.


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## brandonmayberry

Heres a few pictures of the tank with the rocks set up in it. Only have the blue lights on in the pictures. I moved some stuff around and added a new powerhead so its cloudy again for a bit, but ill try to get a picture or two with the white lights on later
.


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## badxgillen

Those are some nice sized pieces there. Do you have a local fish store whom you ca n snag some live rock and sand to seed the tank with more organisms? You would only need a small amount to inoculate the tank.Pardon my asking but the tropical fish keeping .com logo on the bottom of the pics is that because you wanted it there for promotional purposes or is it just there? Not thats its all that important just inquiring minds like mine want to know.

Once you tank has some nitrates be sure to bug me about some goodies.Get an idea of what you are wanting to do with the tank.I bet your way ahead of schedule there.I know I was on my first tank.


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## brandonmayberry

I do have a LFS, but dont much care for them. I have my old 48" light from the tank that i may trade for some rock from them, but dont know yet. The logo, is there because thats where the picture is hosted. No advertising or anything like that on purpose, i just loaded them in my aquarium log on this page and then put that link as the picture, and it automatically added the link. Just easier that way and looks cleaner than the way i was adding pictures before. 
I just took parameters, it may be a bit premature to tell anything, but i wanted a baseline of where im starting at so i can compare for the next few weeks. Right now im at 
76.8F temp. 
8.2 PH, 
.50ppm Ammonia
.50ppm Nitrite
20ppm Nitrate
300ppm Calcium
1.21 Salinity


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## badxgillen

If you add some more live rock,bump up the temp a little and increase the flow you can speed up the bacterial process slightly and have a shorter cycle, Is your skimmer pulling gunk out?


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## brandonmayberry

badxgillen said:


> If you add some more live rock,bump up the temp a little and increase the flow you can speed up the bacterial process slightly and have a shorter cycle, Is your skimmer pulling gunk out?


I havent seen any gunk in the skimmer yet, but ima clean it in a few minutes actually. I may make a trip to the LFS tomorrow to buy some of their rock or trade for it hopefully since i dont need this old crappy light anymore. I wish i had a good LFS around here, but unfortunately i dont, and im not much for petco and online takes so long to get anything and cost a ton for shipping. It would be nice to shorten the cycle, but i know these things take time, and im already prepared to wait for the cycle to start and finish. 
What would be a good temperature to have the tank at? i know alot of fish need 72-78ish so i was trying to keep it around that.


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## badxgillen

since your not doing fish yet 78-80 would be ideal.then you can bump it down. If you want I can ship you some live sand and maybe some rubble for a future trade in a coral,if your up for it?


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## brandonmayberry

badxgillen said:


> since your not doing fish yet 78-80 would be ideal.then you can bump it down. If you want I can ship you some live sand and maybe some rubble for a future trade in a coral,if your up for it?


not sure i understand what you mean by a future trade in a coral.


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## badxgillen

Forgive me,I have not been on this forum for some time. On a couple other forums I frequent and were I live,it is a common practice to exchange corals as to reduce price,increase availability, and reduce collection of the corals them selves. Basically sometimes instead of cash one would take a small piece of one of there corals ,that the other person does not have, and exchange it for something else they want for there tank.

A "future" coral exchange would be later when you have things going your way and you actually have some thing you can take a frag from and feel comfortable doing so.

In this instance I would be willing to send you a jump start package with macro algae,rock,and sand if in the future you would put a tiny coral back into the box that the package came in and send it back to me with the coral frag.
If thats something you might be interested in then I am down,if you like to spend money that alright too. I am sure there is something at your Local Pet Store, or maybe they can order you something on there shipments.


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## brandonmayberry

Oh ok, Sorry, im new to the whole thing, so i dont know any of the terminology. That would be great if you were willing to do that for me.


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## badxgillen

I sent out your jump start package so you should get some inoculating goodness here by thursday at the latest. Just open the bags and add some of you water to them,wait about 15-20 minutes and repeat,then add em to your tank.I sent a small amount of various micro animals so some of them should get you going along with the bacteria.


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## brandonmayberry

badxgillen said:


> I sent out your jump start package so you should get some inoculating goodness here by thursday at the latest. Just open the bags and add some of you water to them,wait about 15-20 minutes and repeat,then add em to your tank.I sent a small amount of various micro animals so some of them should get you going along with the bacteria.


Sounds awesome. Im really looking forward to it. Cant say thanks enough!


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## arnoldrew

badxgillen said:


> I sent out your jump start package so you should get some inoculating goodness here by thursday at the latest. Just open the bags and add some of you water to them,wait about 15-20 minutes and repeat,then add em to your tank.I sent a small amount of various micro animals so some of them should get you going along with the bacteria.


What a swell guy.


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## aussieJJDude

Wow, your tank is super awesome! I love it!
Can't wait to see more pics, one day, I love to dip my feet in to the salty area!


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## badxgillen

Did everything arrive in decent condition? I did not include a heat or cold pack inhopes that the weather was spot on, I know here in my part of Oregon it is perfect for shipping but I am not so sure about your neck of the woods. I tried to check and pack accordingly but sometimes a 2+ day transit can be hard on some of the guys. Thats also why everything was bagged separate.


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## brandonmayberry

Yea, it all arrived good. It has been pretty hot here, but it didnt have to sit outside to long after the mailman delivered it. Everything seems to be in good shape still except one coral dies this morning. I have two other that seem to be doing good. They look good still. The starfish are going all over the place and so are the snails. I think my cycle has really taken off, as im having diatom blooms all over now. I am going to do readings here in a few hours and will post what they are.


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## badxgillen

Dont worry about the coral as I just scraped em off the side of my galss,there is more where that came from  If one makes it thats a really good sign about the tank. Glad the little guys are active,both are algae consumers that will reproduce in your tank without intervention. I also have some stomatelas and some brittle stars if you can't find em where your at. Both of those are other good scavengers that reproduce in the home aquarium,basically free clean up crew. I look forward to your progress.


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## brandonmayberry

Took my readings this morning. Its been a close to a week and a half since i got the tank going.
PH 8.1
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Calcium 50
Salinity 1.020


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## badxgillen

With readouts like that and algae forming I believe your cycle is almost over.I would add some salt after checking parameters today to make it about 023. The calcium looks really really low so maybe check it again or just let it ride for now as you have no calcium demandng things in the tank,seeing as this is the cycle stage.


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## brandonmayberry

Well i left this afternoon at about noon, came back about 5 and the diatom has gone crazy in the tank. My sand and rocks are covered in brown spots now. It had been real slow at first, but i guess today when the light kicked on it started growing. One of my corals also moves from the spot i put it and climbed down to a more secluded spot. Hes kinda hiding behind some rocks now and hard to see, but ill leave it there seeing as how it wants to be there. The other coral doesnt really want to open up. One of the leafs (i guess thats what they are) kinda opens and the rest stay closed, while the other one opens and closes fully based on the lighting cycle.


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## brandonmayberry

Here is a picture from the day before yesterday when the diatom bloom just started.'









Then here it is today, When i woke up this morning, it looked like ^^^ that picture. About 6 hours later it looks like this.








And then here is just a few other pictures ive taken over the last few days. Got a few of the stuff BadXGillen sent me. Thanks again!


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## badxgillen

I just noticed you have fine sand. This will make it hard to get the high flow you want to help with keeping the various algaes ,particularly cyanobacteria,at bay. You may want to add some absorption media to alleviate some of the unsightly issues and look into a creature that can stir the sand some for you.There are plenty of candidates out there.


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## aussieJJDude

Wow, the tank looking cool! On the road to salty success! 
Can't wait to see more pics of the setup!


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## brandonmayberry

badxgillen said:


> I just noticed you have fine sand. This will make it hard to get the high flow you want to help with keeping the various algaes ,particularly cyanobacteria,at bay. You may want to add some absorption media to alleviate some of the unsightly issues and look into a creature that can stir the sand some for you.There are plenty of candidates out there.


I was planing to get something to move the sand around. Maybe a starfish or something. Do i need to wait until my cycle is complete thou?


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## badxgillen

Seeing as your ammonia has passed and you are getting nitrates you should be able to start with some light livestock.Remeber that the sand sifting stars are voracious and will clean out a bed of sand in a matter of a few days than be left with not much to eat.If you want a star I would wait but remember there are still a number of other sifters. Nasarius snails,pistol shrimp,certain sea cucumbers,good sized hermit crabs,diamond gobies and there relatives. Thats just off the top of my head.


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## brandonmayberry

Yea i forgot about the starfish have a problem with starving. Ill probably start with some snails and crabs then. I may wait a few more days and do some more readings to make sure.


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## brandonmayberry

I went ahead and ordered me some snails and crab. They came in yesterday, and ive been watching them all move around the tank for hours. I got, 20 Nassarius Snails, 20 Cerith Snails, 10 XLG Cerith Snails, 5 Turbo Snails, 20 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs, and 5 Mexican Red Leg Hermit Crabs.Also got 100 extra shells.On a side not, i found another coral in the tank i didnt know i had. It was down hiding behind a rock a little bit and i looked through the side and saw it.


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## badxgillen

Now THATS a clean up crew. They should go to town on that tank. Dont forget that higher flow is a good way to keep detritus from settling as well as making it harder for algaes to get a foot hold. Do you know what the coral is?


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## aussieJJDude

brandonmayberry said:


> I went ahead and ordered me some snails and crab. They came in yesterday, and ive been watching them all move around the tank for hours. I got, 20 Nassarius Snails, 20 Cerith Snails, 10 XLG Cerith Snails, 5 Turbo Snails, 20 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs, and 5 Mexican Red Leg Hermit Crabs.Also got 100 extra shells.On a side not, i found another coral in the tank i didnt know i had. It was down hiding behind a rock a little bit and i looked through the side and saw it.


Any pics of some of the clean-up crew?? 
This thread is worthless with out pics!


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## brandonmayberry

badxgillen said:


> Now THATS a clean up crew. They should go to town on that tank. Dont forget that higher flow is a good way to keep detritus from settling as well as making it harder for algaes to get a foot hold. Do you know what the coral is?


Not sure what it is. I have two clusters of these guys.


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## brandonmayberry

aussieJJDude said:


> Any pics of some of the clean-up crew??
> This thread is worthless with out pics!


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## badxgillen

Gold\Yellow Polyps,Parazoanthus I believe. Although I don't think its set in some yet. They can be fed or can just rely on the zooxanthelae. They can sting other corals especially stony. They look happy


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## aussieJJDude

All those pics are amazing! Thanks! :lol:


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## brandonmayberry

So im starting to have a hair algea problem. What should i get to keep this under control? I have read online that some tang and shrimp eat this stuff, but which ones can i get in my tank?


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## badxgillen

Scopas and the bristle tooth tangs stay small but they may be a tad too large for your tank in the long run especially if you pack it with live rock. I might just suggest a sally lite foot crab as they are cheaper and do a number on hair algaes. I also like mexican redleg hermits and their relatives as they seem to like the hair algae. Another is a sea hare but once the algae is gone you will have to rehome it as that is all they eat and without it they will starve.


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## brandonmayberry

Well i got me a sally lightfoot crab. Also decided to get an emerald crab while i was at it. Here is a picture from when i was getting them acclimated.


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## badxgillen

You will love these guys,functional and stylish.


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## aussieJJDude

Wow, they look so cool!
Any pics of them inside the tank  haha, all these saltie tanks are making me jelly!


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## brandonmayberry

aussieJJDude said:


> Wow, they look so cool!
> Any pics of them inside the tank  haha, all these saltie tanks are making me jelly!


No i dont have any of them in the tank. They are hard to get pics of because the Emerald hides under the rocks during the day, and the sally lightfoot isnt real active yet, its still getting accustom to my tank. Ill try to snap some if i ever get the chance. 

On a side note, i think im going to get my fish next week. Right now my list is 
2 Ocellaris Clown Fish
1 pac blue hippo tang
1 yellow watchman goby
1 tiger pistol shrimp

How does this sound to you guys? anything i should not get, or anything i should get that i dont have listed?


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## arnoldrew

brandonmayberry said:


> No i dont have any of them in the tank. They are hard to get pics of because the Emerald hides under the rocks during the day, and the sally lightfoot isnt real active yet, its still getting accustom to my tank. Ill try to snap some if i ever get the chance.
> 
> On a side note, i think im going to get my fish next week. Right now my list is
> 2 Ocellaris Clown Fish
> 1 pac blue hippo tang
> 1 yellow watchman goby
> 1 tiger pistol shrimp
> 
> How does this sound to you guys? anything i should not get, or anything i should get that i dont have listed?


Your tank is WAY too small for a hippo tang (or any other tang, for that matter). It needs more like 180 gallons.


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## brandonmayberry

arnoldrew said:


> Your tank is WAY too small for a hippo tang (or any other tang, for that matter). It needs more like 180 gallons.


That was what i originally thought, but the website that is selling that one recommends only a 50 gallon minimum. Which i why i was confused. I didnt know if maybe it was a captive bread tang, therefore it wouldnt grow as much or something. 
Here is a link to the fish.
Pac Blue Hippo Tang, Regal Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus) | Reefs2go.com

However i have just done some more research on the tang since you said that, and found someone asking a similar question about the different sites showing different sizes. I think it would be most humane and logical to just skip on the tang. Therefore im going to need a different fish. I want something bright, colorful, and easy to care for. Any suggestions?


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## brandonmayberry

Now looking at maybe a royal dottyback
Royal Dottyback

Thoughts, concerns, comments?


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## arnoldrew

brandonmayberry said:


> That was what i originally thought, but the website that is selling that one recommends only a 50 gallon minimum. Which i why i was confused. I didnt know if maybe it was a captive bread tang, therefore it wouldnt grow as much or something.
> Here is a link to the fish.
> Pac Blue Hippo Tang, Regal Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus) | Reefs2go.com
> 
> However i have just done some more research on the tang since you said that, and found someone asking a similar question about the different sites showing different sizes. I think it would be most humane and logical to just skip on the tang. Therefore im going to need a different fish. I want something bright, colorful, and easy to care for. Any suggestions?


A site that is selling fish wants you to think the fish is as easy to care for as they can get away with to make it more likely you will buy it. That fish gets a foot long. If you contacted them and asked (and were lucky enough to get a representative who is both knowledgeable and honest) they would tell you a 50 gallon tank is the minimum for the 2" juvenile they would ship you. Those fish selling sites don't always twist the truth (or downright lie) but you need to do plenty of research independent of them. I would consider it the same as advice from my LFS or Petsmart.


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## brandonmayberry

arnoldrew said:


> A site that is selling fish wants you to think the fish is as easy to care for as they can get away with to make it more likely you will buy it. That fish gets a foot long. If you contacted them and asked (and were lucky enough to get a representative who is both knowledgeable and honest) they would tell you a 50 gallon tank is the minimum for the 2" juvenile they would ship you. Those fish selling sites don't always twist the truth (or downright lie) but you need to do plenty of research independent of them. I would consider it the same as advice from my LFS or Petsmart.


I totally agree and understand what you are saying. Which is why im posting here to the vast knowledge you all have, before i buy. I wish i had a decent LFS to get a little more knowledge and such, but there is two around here and one doesnt do any SW and the store is terrible, and the other is really small and the people who run it just sell stuff, they dont really know what they are selling.


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## brandonmayberry

So i have decided to put off getting fish until i get this hair algae under control. My phosphates are reading 0, and everything else is where it needs to be. I have been doing water changes about once a week. changing about 5 gallons at a time. My skimmer is pulling gunk out pretty good. I have also cut back my lighting cycle. I left for the weekend for a trip for my law school and came back and the hair algae grew a bunch, and there was also algae on my glass which was a first I have a pretty big CUC but they dont seem to be even making a dent compared to how quickly this stuff is growing. I have been trying to pick the grass off the rocks and pulling it out of the tank about every other day. I got some phosphate sponge to try and get and phosphates out just in case there are some but im not getting any reading.


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## badxgillen

Many times a reading will test out at zero as the nutrients are already used up in the new grown plant matter. The algae being there is proof.Some test kits do not go as low as needed and also quite often source water can have a small amount of unwanted dissolved materials. You say your crabs are not eating it? A sea hare will work wonders on algae but once its gone you have to rehome the sea hare.


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## brandonmayberry

badxgillen said:


> Many times a reading will test out at zero as the nutrients are already used up in the new grown plant matter. The algae being there is proof.Some test kits do not go as low as needed and also quite often source water can have a small amount of unwanted dissolved materials. You say your crabs are not eating it? A sea hare will work wonders on algae but once its gone you have to rehome the sea hare.


I use RO/DI water in all my changes. The emerald hasent been eating it, rather just picking stuff of the rocks that i cant even see, and the sally lightfood ive seen kind of poke at it then run and hide and eat stuff off the rocks that i cant see either. I may look into the sea hare, because that will be the best way to get rid of every trace, then i will rehome it. However im not familiar with rehomeing something,


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## dylanmegyptian

You should get a phosphate hana meter it reads all the way down to .00 and the amount of phosphate that should grasp your concern would be around the .05 range.
But since there is an algae growth that is sure sign of high phosphate levels and that's also normal for a new tank.

Hanna Checker Phosphate PO4 Colorimeter - Bulk Reef Supply


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## brandonmayberry

Did a parameter check today

PH 8.4
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Salinity 1.021
Calcium 0
Phosphates 0


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## brandonmayberry

Well i ordered some fish, and got them in today. I got 2 ocellaris clownfish, a tiger snapping shrimp, 3 yellowtail damsels, and a pink and yellow dottyback. One of the damsels was dead when the package got here, so im down to two already. I was only able to get a picture of the clownfish, who seem to be doing great. The damsels are coming around now, but the dottyback doesnt seem to be doing real well. It has been acting rather lethargic, and went behind the rocks a few hours ago and i havent seen it since. If i dont seem him soon i guess im going to try and find him and make sure hes still alive.


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## aussieJJDude

I hope the dottyback is ok  I would just leave him be, sometimes they take a while to get use to the tank.. LOVE the clowns!


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## brandonmayberry

Yea, I hope its ok too. Bad News this morning however. I woke up to find one of the damsels floating on its side dead. It seemed to be ok last night, so im not sure what happen. The Clowns still appear happy as ever. Still no sign of the dottyback, and i havent seen the other damsel yet, but my lights arent on yet to see real well either.


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## brandonmayberry

Well, When i got home from work yesterday, the dottyback had killed over :-(. Also the only damsel that was left has seemed to disappear now and i cant find my shrimp either. Both clowns are doing great however. They seem happy and are swimming around together and eating good. I sent an email to liveaquaria due to the losses, but have yet to hear back. It is actually kind of disappointing because i spent a little more money going with them over reefs2go because they had a better reputation, however when i ordered my CUC from reefs2go, everything came in alive and in great shape. It kind of angers me that i spent 35 bucks for shipping costs that wont be returned, and only ended up with less than half my order alive.


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## badxgillen

Unfortunately this is a common story among all shipping services. There are a few variables such as weather,livestock sensitivity, and then the packer. Basically I have ordered from many places and there is a certain percentage that all shipments may have some problems,although an over %50 is really terrible. If it makes you feel any better I get angered pretty regularly about livestock shipments. Just voice your concerns to the company and see if they can refund\credit you.There is not much more you can do except what you have done and give you two cents on there service in a short review to fellow hobbyist.


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## brandonmayberry

badxgillen said:


> Unfortunately this is a common story among all shipping services. There are a few variables such as weather,livestock sensitivity, and then the packer. Basically I have ordered from many places and there is a certain percentage that all shipments may have some problems,although an over %50 is really terrible. If it makes you feel any better I get angered pretty regularly about livestock shipments. Just voice your concerns to the company and see if they can refund\credit you.There is not much more you can do except what you have done and give you two cents on there service in a short review to fellow hobbyist.


I hate to ever really leave bad feedback or comments on a company that i have only dealt with once. I will probably try them again in the future, if they are willing to remedy the situation in some way. I have worked in service and understand there are alot of variables and its not always someones fault, sometimes things just happen. This has just turned out to be a pretty bad situation. If i had only paid a small amount of money for these fish taht would be a different story, however spending nearly 200 dollars on some fish and ending up with less than 50% is rather disappointing. On the bright side however, it appears i have won the current war with my hair algae as it has all died off and disappeared.


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