Nemo

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Hi all

My name is Amanda. I bought a Nanno tank from a Shop that used it as a display tank. I got everything to go including LR and Fish. Got home, put everything back in the tank and hoped for the best. There was LR with some tube worms, a little crab living in one of the rocks, a clown fish and a half pink and yellow little fish. Everything looked so good and water tests turned out to be perfect. About a week later I added an Anemone for my little Nemo.

I made the huge mistake of purchasing a Domino and 4 Stripe Damsel of which the Domino was dead the next morning. From there everything went wrong and everything died.

I've now done a pratically complete water change with only LR in. The readings of the water has gone haywire. I am a beginner at this hobby and I feel already like I'm starting off on a bad foot. The Nanno tank with 4 light globes in the canopy (2 white ones and 2 blue ones).

I desperately need advice. In the last couple of days a whole bunch of Bristleworms have made their appearance. Are they good to have or are they bad. I have counted at least about 10. I have lots to learn, I know. I have had tropical tanks for about 5 years, but this is new to me.
 
Patients is the key word in this hobby. There are quite a few good threads to read for new people starting up. This is definately the right place to be and you will most certinally get all the help and encoragement you need.
 
Thanks a mil. I need the encouragement.


Sunburst, you mentioned earlier about a skimmer. What does it look like. This tank I have has a sponge at the back and and on the right at the back we've put some Sera Siporax.
 
250px-Deltec_skimmer_902.jpg

A protein skimmer
 
Amanda, the picture I posted is just a general idea of what a protein skimmer looks like. You get many versions from in tank skimmers to stand alone units like in the pic. They are an essential part of maintaining good water quality.
 
I suggest you post some pics of your tank so everyone knows what they are dealing with. Everyone loves pics.:thumbup:
 
Upload bigger pics, like 640 x 480, or 800 x 600. We be able to see more detail ;)
 
Welcome to MASA Amanda :)
from what it sounds like,your tank probably broke out into a mini cycle causing you amonia and nitrates to shoot up,which has caused all the deaths.i would say just leave the tank cycling for a few weeks and monitor you basic water parameters before adding any more livestock :)
 
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Hello Amanda - a very warm welcome to MASA! I am very glad you found us. Just very sorry too that you only found us AFTER things went bad...

Can you please elaborate on where you are located?

Unfortunately, I have to be the bearer of bad news (you already experienced the effects of what I am about to tell you):
Keeping marines is a thing that requires the UTMOST of patience. Too many times when people don't know, or are impatient, they end up losing the pets that they have bought.

OK - here's my take on what happened, and why it happened:
- even though the tank was already a display tank, you did not know how long the tank was up and running for - it could have been a very short while. The absolute minimum period that a marine tank has to "cycle" for (referring to the nutrient/ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle) WITHOUT live stock) is 6 to 8 weeks...
= this means, the "normal" and suggested way of setting up ANY marine tank. This has to do with the all the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels coming down to 0 (zero) - in the case of ammonia/nitrite and as close to 0 for nitrates... This also give the micro critter "cleanup crew" (tiny copepods, amhipods, isopods, worms) chance to start to breed and multiply. As well as give the bacteria population chance to build up.
This cycling period is usually done only with sand, live rock and water in the tank.

- Fish are usually only added to ANY marine tank after this 6 to 8 week period. And then, a minimum amount of fish is added. The number of fish added does indeed depend on whether you have a skimmer or not, and what size skimmer you have. A skimmer assists greatly with the short term filtration of the tank, and allows for slightly more fish to be added that you would be allowed to do, if you would NOT have a skimmer. You have a nano - some nano tanks come WITH built-in skimmers. BUT, usually nano's WITHOUT skimmers cannot handle MANY fish at all, unless you can add a "hang-on" nano skimmer (small skimmer that hangs on the back of the nano tank)....
= So, in your case the fish was added FAR too quickly...

- Lighting: nearly all "factory made/built" nano's (ie, brand name nano tanks, JBJ, Boyu, etc) have "built-in" POWER COMPACT FLUORESCENT globes. With the standard globe strength being 24 watt each. You have TWO (2) globes, and not 4, as these are "folded back upon itself" and seems to be 4 globes. So, in total you have 48 watt of lighting over the nano.
Anemone's have a LOT of SERIOUS requirements:
- VERY STRONG lighting
- EXTREMELY pure water (where the water filtration is EXTREME, is, WITH skimmers, sump, macro algae scrubber, deep sand bed for extra filtration, etc)..
- Well aged tank (mature - at least 6 months old)
- THEY NEED TO BE FED as they are animals (small (around 1cm pieces maximum) pieces of either fresh- hake, mussel, shrimps, crab).....
It is well known, that without decent filtration and a biog enough skimmer - when an anemone dies it can foul the tank SO badly, that you have HUGE ammonia spikes and nitrite spikes, that can indeed kill ALL or most of the livestock in a marine tank.

Now - don't feel to bad about this. The biggest mistake you probably made, was to listen to a LFS sales person.

Too many of us have fallen into that EXACT SAME TRAP too many times. We have all lost lifestock.

So - now you MUST GO FORWARD - with the correct knowledge, and expectations. And you will end up being a successful reefkeeper, with an AWESOME TANK to show for it, with lifestock that lives happily and long.

Here's how you start:
1) read up as much about marines and keeping marine fish as possible, and ask as many questions as possible!
2) BE PATIENT!
3) let your tank stand "as is" with only live rock and salt water in, until ALL your water parameters is 100% spot on - you must let us know what testing kits you are using, as well please? It might not be 100% suitable for marines - this includes the following parameters/testing kits: ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, salinity/SG, temperature (gauge)
4) once your water parameters are spot on, you can look at getting another starter fish... and then take it VERY slow with the addition of life-stock to your tank

Once your tank has cycled, you MUST be EXTREMELY diligent with keeping up your maintenance and water changes. At least 10 to 15% every week with a nano.

We will be here, and rest assured, you have people with MANY MANY years of experience on this site, who can assist you and guide all the way.

Good luck with your journey! And persevere! You will succeed in the end in having an AWESOME TANK!
 
Hi Amanda! Sorry to hear about the trouble so far. Our tank has been up and running for about 5 - 6 months now, and I can tell you, it's very rewarding. The learning curve is quite steep in the beginning, but once you get used to it, it's a breeze :)

Even if a question seems stupid, don't be afraid to ask - there are a lot of people willing to help :)

Last of all, but definately not least important, Welcome! :D

Tinus :)
 
Morning Amanda. Glad to see you are beeing flooded with advice this morning. You will only receive the best advice from these guys. BTW, I found the quickest way to post pictures here is firstly to take them on VGA on your mobile phone then bluetooth them to your computer and simply copy and paste them straight into the message.
 
Hi Amanda,
Did you buy that system from the pet store near the centurion mall - if so, they got good stuff; are really, really, really expensive and their advice is very extremely dodgy.

jacques has given some really good advice above - listen to him and ask as many questions as you want - before you do or buy anything

good luck - we will all help
 
:welcometomasa2: to MASA, the place for the best advice!!
 
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