Uncharted territory for me... and first time posting in this section. Don't mind the noob terms. And long story.

About 4 weeks ago, bought myself a 2 feet aquarium to start a marine tank (with chiller and all..).

After letting the water pump and for the water to clear for 1 week, I was told my tank is ready to add fish. (?)

On the second week, fish were added ; 4 clownfish and 2 tangs. (?)

On the third week, got myself a bubble point anemone.

On the fourth week, one-by-one, fish were dying.

Thanks Marine Ich.

Since I was so new to this, and listened to the pet shop fellow (Pets Wonderland IKANO), it turns out that marine ich outbreak had occured and I failed to control it.

The timing, the waiting time before adding, etc. all in accordance to the recommendation.

Now ALL my fish are dead. And having spent nearly RM2k (RM1.5k was my absolute max), I feel I have missed an opportunity to start my marine tank properly.

Having Googled around and read a lot about marine ich, I realized the whole timing (wait 1 week then add fish, then add anemone) was ridiculously short.

The fishes were stressed, and I added too many fishes too quickly. New hobby poison? I don't think so... I followed instructions BUT it was my fault for not doing research first.

Now I'm thinking what is the best way to start over.

I'm thinking draining out all the water, and adding new water, changing the carbon filter, etc.. and leave the tank to run for 4-5 weeks. The life cycle of the ich would be over by the end of 5th week. Then slowly, add one fish, wait 1 week, all is well, add another fish in week 2 (clownfish only, no tangs), etc. etc. then after a good few months add anemone.

What say you sifus?

Wow... there ARE places other than East Aqua? Those guys at IKANO East Aqua is where I have been going 100% all the time. My experience has evolved in saltwater aquarium and my last post here was regarding how to restart my aquarium... well, believe it or not I have read a tonne of info and have become quite confidence. *Confidence in knowing what to do/not to do... not simply adding stuff

Will definitely check out these places! Why didn't I stumble on these places before... sigh. My tank is still alive and running. After white spot outbreak, I restarted everything and kept the tank running for well over 8 weeks. Currently have all corals only, and no fish because I have NEVER been satifisfied with what fishes (and quality) East Aqua has had. Been waiting forever for a good specimen.

This "hobby" - I had a budget of RM1.5k to RM2k. Ha ha... what a joke. It has blown over RM3k for my 2 feet AQ.

Plan on getting a Powder Blue Tang, Blue Tang and a pair of clownfish, that's it. For a 2 feet AQ, it is quite small, I know, maybe next year will go bigger. Both tangs are "very" white spot prone.

I am looking for some nice red/yellow corals to brighten up my AQ. Also, for a really nice BTA for my future pair of clownfishes.


The left most coral and the fingers haven't opened fully, both take a good few hours to open and sometimes only in dimmer lights.

Edit: I wish this hobby is more popular here... not many reefers around. I still consider myself a complete noob in this, but compared to when I started out, I would say I understand much more now. The one thing this hobby has taught me - - patience. If you are not prepared to spend $$$, suggest doing something else or just keep a FOWLR.

This post has been edited by defaultname365: Apr 9 2013, 03:35 PM

Ha ha... I can barely remember my last post here in this thread.

Anyways, Aquatics International Subang is THE place to go for corals, fish, and invertebrates. They have them in abundance. The first time I walked into it, I couldn't believe it (after going to East Aqua all the time). Folks building a big tank should go here. I still buy my equipment from East Aqua, stopped buying fish from them entirely.

Can you clarify on

The only sea tanks without any disease problems was the one with some sunlight.

and
why you
I stopped using Red Sea.?

I can't quite recall a tank not having diseases because it has sunlight. You can replicate sunlight in a tank with sunlight T5 lights. If anything, direct sunlight exposure will cause unwanted algae growth.

As for Red Sea, I used to use their A, B and C formula for corals. I also still use their Coral Pro Salt all the time. Expensive, but I like it.

..................

On a different note, I have been trying to keep a Blue Tang and a Powder Blue Tang - - I always quarantine before putting them into my DT. They just don't make it after 2 weeks - - I blame it on tank size, nothing else. Need at least 75 gallons and a mere 15 gallons is ridiculously small as I have learnt the hard way.

I wonder if you guys QT your fishes as well... how you'll do it, what has worked, etc.. I am using Cupramine + Prazipro for my QT. After 6 weeks of quarantining my False Pecular Clownfish, I put them into my DT.

Just a few days into it, they started flashing and scratching to my horror. I started feeding them pellets with Beta Glucan and the flashing/scratching ceased. I read that Beta Glucan is a bit of a 'magic bullet' against diseases (can read on advancedaquarist.com) Looks like Brooklynella to me from the looks of one of the clownfish. I quickly purchased Paraguard and planning to start this week.

...........................

As for my corals... well, they all 'disappeared'. Long story short, I did a drastic water change and due to my tank size, the corals hated it. My absolute noob mistake. One by one, started dying and a die-off occurred. Two days later, all died. I was a sad chap.

Right now, I only have coral decors. I have decided to go with artificial corals for two reasons - for (hopefully) long term easy maintenance and two, in the event of a blackout/power failure/equipment failure, the chances of the whole DT coming down is lesser. I've tried corals, they were pretty and I'm done with them. That is why I plan on putting Paraguard directly into my DT since no corals. If any diseases brews from within the DT, hopefully Paraguard will help.

.......................

Planning to go big at the end of this year. The fear factor is there. Once I dip my feet into a big tank, the money will start flowing uncontrollably. Like a reefer once said :

"Saltwater aquarium is like a bottomless pit where you pour your money in"

There is no 'I am done with my saltwater tank'. It is always a work-in-progress hobby.

Corals not making it is largely due to water parameters - the stability or the lack of it. Whether SPS or LPS, corals need a constant balance of (as low as possible) nitrates, sufficient lighting and filter feeding. Calcium and Magnesium play a vital role to the vitality of corals as well.

When a coral starts to look bad, there has to be a parameter or two lacking. Test for Am, No2, No3, Phos, Cal, Mag, dKH and PH. Some dose Cal & Mag (2 part dosing), but to me, a constant and religious weekly water change should do the trick for depleted elements! If the tank is stable enough (attributed from test results of test kits), monthly water changes should do it.

I have since found that no matter the brand of product, it all comes down to water params. You can't go wrong with it, unless the test kits are faulty/expired.

Exposure to sun light is interesting. Corals out in the ocean have natural sun light but in our closed-loop aquariums, sun light = potential for algae growth is much higher. The timing of the exposure is almost going to be non-consistent since sun light is not constant all the time (rainy days, sunny days, cloudy, etc.) And surely there has to be a better way since sun light on aquarium glass/acrylic = as you said, heat it, potentially a disastrous consequence in the making in the months to come.


By doing so the rocks essentially are 'dry rocks' instead of live rock. Not a bad thing, but you lose potentially some beneficial bacteria and some critters that go along with it. Doing this would also mean a less 'dirty' looking tank since it has been rinsed thoroughly and die-offs probably got rinsed away as well.

I would recommend cycling your tank with bacterial additives. The most effective (and proven to work) based on feedback:

- Tetra SafeStart
- Dr. Tim's One & Only
- Instant Ocean Bio-Spira
- Microbe-Lift Special Blend/Nite Out II

The above contain the 'exact' bacteria needed - Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. It will take from 1 - 2 weeks to cycle, for the bacteria to grow on your substrate of choice (sand bed, filter media, heck even the sides of the glass plane). You need to add ammonia to "feed" these bacteria - a good and clean source would be mysis shrimp (e.g. Hikari Mysis Shrimp). Drop a cube or two into the tank and let it be. Ammonia and Nitrites would peak in first week, and drop in the next. Once Am and No2 are zero, do a water change = 30-50%. The cycling is then over.

I have a 4x2x2 (12mm) glass aquarium for sale.

Quite old-ish, but still sturdy.

Comes with...

- Fluval Sea 4-feet white/blue lights
- Heavy-duty Cabinet
- 12-mm thick glass
- I can throw in the crushed-coral/bio balls/filter media as well

Been sitting around for quite sometime, a real pity when it could be filled with fish (fresh/salt also fine).