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Old 04-09-2010, 07:17 PM
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mike31154 mike31154 is offline
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Every new system will go through a cycle and I imagine your store advised you regarding this and allowed you to introduce the livestock based on the tests they did for you. Not sure if they advised on how many fish to add, but for a system your size, four at once is certainly ill advised.

It is best to have your own test kits on hand for the cycle so that you can monitor how that goes. You need to introduce the livestock slowly, one, maybe two fish at first, no more than that. This will minimize the chances of an ammonia spike which will almost certainly be fatal to your livestock. Some fish are hardier in that regard than others. Clowns are considered to be fairly tough little guys, but you saw the unfortunate result in your case.

Do some research on your own on this site and others related to saltwater fish/reef keeping. There's plenty of info out there. Some key points are the cycle, filtration and water movement. Most systems use protein skimmers and sumps in conjunction with the live rock to provide the filtration. Plenty of water movement is required through the use of powerheads, closed loops and flow from the return pump on a system using a sump.

You should be ok to try another fish by now, but do a bit more research on the points I metioned above, this will give you a better understanding of where to go from here. Most of the main stores dealing in salt water tanks in Vancouver should be quite knowledgeable and not steer you wrong, but it's not always the case, depending on which employee you might talk to. Your best defense against mishaps is educating yourself with some research on the subject.
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