Hi everyone I'm new here and to sw., I've had freshwater for a few years. anyway I started a fowlr tank at the start of march.It's 55gal. live sand live rock some of the rock was not "live" hang on protein skimmer and hang on fuge with chaetomorpha. last week I added a banner fish and a bangai cardinal. today the banner would not eat and started breathing fast and ended up dying. I tested the water and there was some amonia after getting a 0 reading last week. could it be because some of the rock was not live and it could be cycling still? I almost wanted to give up on saltwater but I'm hoping to figure it out.
bad start
- Thread starter juice303
- Start date
JohnVH
Reefer Madness
Did you let your tank cycle? How much live rock did you start with and did you put in a raw table shrimp or add some food to kick start your cycle. You need to start with an ammonia source (Raw shrimp or fish food) to get the cycle going and wait for an ammonia spike and a nitrite spike then after a few weeks (usually) you should see your levels go down to zero and then you can add a fish usually a small hardy fish like a Clown Fish or a Damsel beware of adding Damsels though they can be very aggresive to any new additions and will try to rule your whole tank. Try not to add anything to delicate at first until your tank matures.
JohnVH
Reefer Madness
Just be patient you'll figure it out. Patience is the biggest part of this hobby. There are a lot of good people in this forum that are willing to help with good advice.
marcah
Reef enthusiast
you are going to want to put a few more pounds of rock in.. at least another 15 pounds. Rule of thumb is 1 to 2 pounds per gallon of water..
blando
Reefing newb
I gave a month maybe little more until my cycle was over to make sure and all. Be patient dont rusb because cause issues down the road and u want ur fish healthy and all.. And like he said u need little morr live rock..specially down tje road if u add more my buddy added more to his tank and it started a cycle.
little_fish
Reef pro
Hello and Welcome!!
Also your choice of fish wasnt great for a new tank. Banner fish are a type of butterfly, which are very sensitive and they need a larger tank.
You should also wait 3 weeks before adding another fish, so you have plenty of time to let your tank stabilize while you plan your next move
Also your choice of fish wasnt great for a new tank. Banner fish are a type of butterfly, which are very sensitive and they need a larger tank.
You should also wait 3 weeks before adding another fish, so you have plenty of time to let your tank stabilize while you plan your next move
