55 gallon clouding problem HELPPPP

[directional]

I have noticed that in my 55gal tank I am getting some cloud about a day or two after I clean it. After a while it starts to get pretty bad but the fish seem fine.

The fish in the tank are:

Clown Trigger
Niger Trigger
Blonde Naso Tang
Banana Wrasse
Dogface Puffer
Snowflake Eel

I am running two 55gal Aquaclear filters, and I have approx 12lbs of live rock (one big rock).

Any ideas of what I can do? ( I am on a pretty tight budget, I was looking at protein skimmers would that help me out? )

[drunktank]

if ur keeping it FOWLR, i highly recommend a skimmer, u have very messy eaters- not to mention they pollute the tank a lot.

[jerehmy]

if you only have 12lba of LR the I would get about 40lbs more.
A skimmer will greatly help the waste load. Are the levels o.k.

All the fish sound too large to be in a 55g together IMO

[directional]

Right now I am on a pretty tight budget is there any specific rock or skimmer you would recommend?

Thanks for the help though... Also what is FOWLR and IMO???

:noob:

[sir_dudeguy]

wait..this is all in a 55?!!! none of the first 3 fish will even fit in there when full grown (ok they can fit, but thats way too small) and i'm pretty sure its the same for the last 3 but i'm not sure on them...you seriously need to either get rid of these fish, or get a huge tank...even if they're still "small". The nasso tang alone needs a ton of swimming space, no matter what size it is.

[sir_dudeguy]

and fowlr is "fish only with live rock" and imo is "in my opinion"

[directional]

Yeah this is my only tank.. I didn't think they would grow that big when I bought them. People always have different opionions in the stores by me. Thats why im here.

What type of fish would go in a 55gal?

What would I do with the fish I have? I like them :-\

[sir_dudeguy]

and imo, its no wonder it gets clowdy fast...the triggers for sure are very messy eaters..(not to meantion they poo a lot) and i would think that the puffer and eel are too

[Kiel'thalin]

Yes the skimmer is the way to go to get the cloudy out of the water after you clean, but your livestock will quickly outgrow that size of tank if in fact they have not already.
1. Did you buy all the fish at once, because you could of used that money to get all the equipment you need and your rock before adding any fish.
2. How long has your tank been up?

[sir_dudeguy]

ya i'd say get rid of ALL the fish..sell them back to the lfs, or other people, and buy your setup and equipment first...sorry, but i really hate to see when people do this and dont research first...if you had researched, you would have found that you need at least 50 lbs of live rock, and that you dont need the aquaclear filters (unless you were to use them for flow or a hang on fuge), and so on...

[jerehmy]

All LFS (Local Fish Stores) will tell you anything to sell sell sell. Sometimes you will find a person woh cares more about the animal then making $ and they will tell you the truth.

Before making and decisions do your homework and research. You will be glad you did in the end.

As for what to do with the fish try and trade them in where you bought them, mabye they will understand if you tell them how big your tank is?

[sir_dudeguy]

yes please do...and as long as you're buying your equipment fromt them, they wont have any problem takin the fish back (they'll just give you store credit anyways)

[directional]

Okay... what type of fish do you recommend putting in a 55gal tank? how many etc... I NEED 50lbs of live rock?

BTW my tank has been up for about 7 months now..

[jerehmy]

make sure they don't rip you off though. Sometimes a LFS will only give you 1/3 or 50% of the price they sell the fish for

example
blue tang new $55
blue tank credit $18

tell them you will be in there lots more and to please help out a new guy

[sir_dudeguy]

oh ya i forgot about that...be very carefull bout that. if they wont give you full or close to full price, sell somewehre else

[directional]

Is there anyway where I can look up the value of a fish I have.. ?

[Kiel'thalin]

Originally posted by directional
Okay... what type of fish do you recommend putting in a 55gal tank? how many etc... I NEED 50lbs of live rock?

BTW my tank has been up for about 7 months now..

You do not need 50lbs, it is all in your preference. Many individuals recommend adding 1lb per gallon, (i.e. a 55 gallon tank would need 55lbs of live rock). There are many benefits in adding rock in that type of quanity but it is not a requirement. I personally would put more rock in there to provide a more stable enviroment. Just a few benefits from liverock:
1. Provides a biological filter.
2. Provides many hiding places for your critters.
3. May provide Food for a variety of critters in your tank.
4. Makes your tank more attractive.
There are many more benefits to having a good amount of live rock. What you don't want to do is go out and buy a bunch of live rock and throw it in there with all of those fish. This would start a potential fatal nitrogen cycle if the rock is un-cured. So, make sure if you get your rock that is is already cured or cure the rock yourself in a seperate container. Good luck...

[directional]

OK thanks

[chip721]

Originally posted by directional
Is there anyway where I can look up the value of a fish I have.. ?

F&S and MDL just for comparison.

[m3rcury]

also, if you are on a budget, try to find a reef club near you and post that you want to buy live rock. with an already established tank, buying live rock from your LFS will cause another cycle to occur which will stress out any fish you still have in the tank.

if you buy the LR from another reefkeeper, you will probably pay under $3/lb. at the LFS, it will be $6-8/lb.

i personally think your best bet would be: get rid of all the fish, leave your tank without any fish while you set it up properly. then, get fish that are appropriate for your tank.

i know this doesn't sound exciting, but it will actually save you money in the long run. if treating the fish bad is not reason enough to get better filtration, think about this: if you are paying $40-80 per fish, you risk losing those fish because your tank is not set up properly. not to mention the frustration you will go through trying to solve problems that will come up as a result of not having good filtration. taking a month or two off to set everything up right is a small price to pay for years of enjoyment.

you can find forums for local fish clubs here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...?s=&forumid=80

oh, and try to get as much as you possibly can used. that will save you TONS of money and as you will find, reefers accumulate excess equipment at an alarming rate

[jerehmy]

m3rcury is right on the money ---

Did you buy the fish to begin with ???

and good luck geting full price or close to it for your fish. I breed African Cichlids I always have close to 400 fry and juvies, every month or so I need to "unload" about 50-100 and the LFS always rip me off ( I guess when the fish are free its not than bad but still.....moneys money)

most of the fish I trade/sell are worth about $15-25 each but I only get $3-10 each.

Its even worse when you need to get rid of a fish that was $50 and the store gives you $15 credit. They claim that you can't give a "guarentee" that the fish will live and their normal suppliers can give a "guarentee". So either way youre screwed I don't think that you will need to wait 2mo for new fish but I would wait at least 2wks mabye get a nice skimmer, I would recomnd a Aqua C Remora HOB. A pair of perculias or something small clean and simple, then add LR slow and a few more fish. (easy dose it)
Youre in the right place lots of helpful info on reeefcentral
Good Luck

[sir_dudeguy]

ya i hate how they say that...the "you cant give us a guarantee" thing...i've always wanted to say "well you dont guarantee YOUR fish!! why should i?"!! lol, oh wel tho..
and dang, 3-10 bucks a fish, at 50 fish? geeze..wish i had those fish..that would pay for itself.

[jerehmy]

the cichlids pay for themselves and some of my SW stuff but I have to grow them out to almost 2" which can take 4-8mo and lots of space. Its almost a give and take deal, lots of fun and lots of work

no matter how much $ I get I still need/want more

[LivinThaLyfe33]

if you only have 12 lbs LR im not sure how you're keeping an eel...they need TONS of LR to swim through an around and WAY too big fish for the tank...sell them back to you LFS keeping the puffer and eel (if you'llbe getting more LR) if anything...im sure those are very aggressive fish...they look it...and if the eel is big you wont be puttin much in there that wont become fish food