3.5 Month Old Fish Tank

[shsam890]

I am new to the reef tank hobby, and just wanted to check with some experts on how my tank is doing. I started this tank in May with no prior experience with freshwater or saltwater tanks, and I hope I am worried that I have made mistakes. So far I have lost a Yellow Longnose Butterfly to very aggressive Blue Eyed Tang (returned to LFS) and a small hermit crab to an unknown reason.

Tank Specs:
75 Gallon
Fluval 306 Filter
No protein skimmer
No sump
LED lights

Stock:
2 Ocellaris Clownfish
1 Bluejaw Trigger
1 Small hermit crab
1 Cleaner shrimp
1 Coral (not sure what type, but I have attached pics)
1 Condy Anenome

Fish Behavior

Clownfish
The black clownfish has dominance over the orange, and can be very aggresive (to me) and bite me while scrubbing tank glass (weirdly she doesnt bite me without the sponge). The clownfish both tend to resort to a corner of the tank and don't like to move out of it often, but I have been told that is common behavior of tank bred clownfish.

Trigger
The Trigger was at first very shy when first added (with the presance of the LNB and the Blue Eyed Tang) and felt intimidated by the tang. After removal of the tang the trigger likes to swim in circles and gets close (a bit more than I would like) to the clowns to try and claim his territory I guess.

The shrimp and the crab kind of keep to themselves, and seem very healthy.

I am also concerned about the great amount of algae in the tank since it makes it hard to clean the glass at times and at times can look a bit gross. I am also worried such an amount can be detrimental to the fish.

I do water changes to the tank twice a month, and have not touched the filter since setting up the tank.

Currently in the morning I feed the tank pellets (only the clowns and the shrimp seem to have them) while the anenome and blue jaw seem to ignore them (another cause of concern). I wonder if I need to change up the food that I'm feeding in the tank.

Sorry for the excess amount of questions and concerns, and thanks for taking a look at my tank!

Please put suggestions/concerns/etc.

Also sorry for the cloudy water, I just cleaned the glass

[mcgyvr]

oh newbies...so cute... great amount of algae? Where?
Seems like all is fine.. Give it time..
Go slow... learn first .. then react..
Nothing good happens fast in this hobby..

[lpsouth1978]

Good start, but don't add anything to your tank without first researching it. You will save yourself a lot of time and headaches.

Also, canister filters are not really meant for saltwater tanks. It is not impossible to have a healthy system with them, but it takes A LOT of work. Make sure you clean it regularly, like every week. If you don't, it will trap everything and produce nitrates at an alarming rate. If you can't drill the tank, Hang on filters are a better choice. Aquaclear filters are used a lot in this hobby and can be easily modified.

One last thing, if you plan on keeping corals, I highly recommend getting a skimmer. It will help you remove waste before it turns into nitrates in the system, Again, not a necessity, but things will be much better with one.

Keep us posted, and pics are always good. The more the better, IMO.

[hkgar]

Here are a couple of good guides to refer to for stocking questions. Bookmark them!

https://www.liveaquaria.com/general/...lity_chart.cfm

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1946079

And here is one on how to acclimate new fish

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1946079

And do not forget ALL new fish go through TTM and QT. Search for the TTM threads.

[Uncle99]

Having great water, stable, consistent, and to NSW ranges, goes the longest way in this hobby. Become an expert at making, mixing and deploying water, this amongst all, will reward you.
I can run a tank without a filter, without a skimmer, without a sump, reactor, ATO, but I would fail without LR, heat, lighting and water. Some of the best tanks I have seen just have this four things.

Your filter will not hurt provided you keep it clean (I do mine every week), but I don't see any mention of the Live Rock and amount, I know you have it cause I see the pics, ...this is the true filter....and is one of the four must haves...

[Tyler438]

I have the same filter on my 50 gal tank. If you take canaster to sink and use tank water to rinse the filters during your water changes you will be just fine. They will build up fast if you don't.

As for the Condy, he is bleached I wouldn't worry about him, mine was the same way. I sat him higher in the tank on a rock and he has been happy since. He should start turning green as he gets healthy.

The algae is common on new tanks, lower feeding amount and keep lights down. It will pass

[albano]

Originally Posted by Tyler438

As for the Condy, he is bleached I wouldn't worry about him...He should start turning green as he gets healthy.

Not sure that I’ve ever seen a green condy... any pics?

[Tyler438]

Mine was white like your when I 1st got him.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[albano]

Hard to tell from his pic, but I’m not sure that OPs condy is bleached... white is the more common color for them usually with pink or purple tips, but they can change colors.

[Coral Lab]

Originally Posted by uncle99

having great water, stable, consistent, and to nsw ranges, goes the longest way in this hobby. Become an expert at making, mixing and deploying water, this amongst all, will reward you.
I can run a tank without a filter, without a skimmer, without a sump, reactor, ato, but i would fail without lr, heat, lighting and water. Some of the best tanks i have seen just have this four things.

Your filter will not hurt provided you keep it clean (i do mine every week), but i don't see any mention of the live rock and amount, i know you have it cause i see the pics, ...this is the true filter....and is one of the four must haves...

+1