Getting back to restarting

I am ready to restart my 55g fish only salt tank and looking for some advice.
The wife wants a yellow tank, the daughter wants a Nemo (Clone Fish) fish, and I am thinking about a small Angle fish.

I would like some info on the order I should get the fish placed into the tank?

How long should the fish be in the tank before I place a maintenance crew in the tank?

 

First things first. What type of filtration plan do you have for the tank?

 

Do you have any live rock and any sort of filtration system?

 

All this talk of yellow tanks and angle fish make me nervous. Tanks are clear, and fish are straight, for the most part.

Seriously, though--a restart is a great opportunity to do it better than you did before--and that goes for all of us. Get your salinity right, get your filtration running, and work on getting magnesium, calcium and alkalinity steady while you cycle with either a single damselfish or a chunk of raw shrimp or the like to begin a source of ammonia.

While your ammonia spikes, no need to run daylights, just actinics. This will help coralline growth early--coralline will set up a scenario where your rocks become efficient biological filters without photosynthetic algae taking over. You will have diatoms, but they will pass.

Once your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are gone (this might take upwards of 16 weeks, so be patient!!), you can then add some starter fish, like the yellow tang and the clown. I'd think you could add them together without issue. Next, you may see some algae growth. This is the time to get a clean up crew to keep your rocks clear of algae. John Maloney at ReefCleaners.org is a 3reef sponsor and a straight shooter who will set you up right.

The main thing is to keep is slow. (I can't remember who coined that phrase! ) Keep asking questions here, and if you're humble enough to take advice, you'll have the distinct advantage of learning through the experiences of others, rather than through mistakes of your own.

We're here for you!

Welcome to 3reef!!!

 

I am using Tom Aquarium Rapids Pro RP3 filter with an Auto Fill System 2 power heads on the opposite end of the tank, 45 lb's of crushed coral (left over from 3 years ago when I shut things down), and 50 lb of LR. I have 220 watts of PC lighting and a used EcoSystem 60 Hang on Back refugium that I need to get a light, pump and substrate for if I use it.

I have just fished the cycle with a shrimp tail that I put in a little over three weeks ago.

 

I have not tested for magnesium or calcium in the past. What does it do for a Fish Only tank?

 

Sounds like your off to a good start. Calcium in a fish only tank will help coralline grow and make your rocks look good. Magnesium will help keep the calcium stable. Other than that I dont think it matters much. I would go ahead and add your cleaning crew now before fish. Wait a week and make sure your water is definitely stable then begin adding fish. I recommend adding on at a time and leaving at least a week in between.

 

The yellow tang you might want to pass on. A 55 is kind of small for them,All your equipment could transfer to a 75 or 90, which would be better off for a tang. You might want to make the switch will allow you to keep much more!