Hey there. I just wanted to say that when i started out I had the same thing happen with clowns. The biggest thing I can attribute my loss to was a lack of knowledge. One thing i found and this is my own personal experience is big water changes are bad. Especially with a new tank. You have to imagine that your whole tank is a living organism. When you take a large amount of water out all the beneficial organisms and bacteria are now replaced with a large amount of clean water that has no life in it. I know its really hard to stand back and watch a tank that is full of rock and nothing else but it is a truely necessary step in saltwater. IMO you should start with a clean up crew. A tang is not a starter fish for cleaning a cycling tank. He might survive but I can assure you he's not happy. Really try to slow down and watch the tank. You'll learn lots from that too. I just recently set up a new tank after being out of saltwater for about 4 years and I'm taking it slow. You will see small changes as the tank starts to cycle. Algae growth, copepods, and little 'bugs' and organisms in the rock are what I'm iust starting to see now, which tells me my tank is starting to cycle. All my rock came from a well established system but it's still taken almost two months for me to start to see the 'small life' in the rocks. Take your time and don't give up. A couple extra months here and there is nothing in the big picture. Saltwater is a big learning experience that just keeps on with suprises and lessons. Good luck with your tank and I'm sure you'll find lots of people here to help you out when you need it.
|