Dont know what I did wrong...now they're both dead!

Hmmm... that is good. I doubt it was the acclimation then.

I agree with sostoudt about adding one fish at a time. That plus lack of good filtration may have been the cause. I agree with others about the skimmer and rock.

 

I agree with everyone about the liverock thing too. Did you add anything "live" when you cycled the tank? Like live sand or something? Did you test the nitrates, etc before you added the fish? Maybe you never cycled it or it wasn't finished?

 

Oh, I didnt know that it has to cycle for that long, I read that with live rock it takes about 6-8 weeks for the cycle to be complete, and thats one of the reasons I decided to go with fish only. Unfortunately when I started researching on the Internet about tank setup I found 20 different versions on how to do it, I feel more confused than educated to be honest.
Now the big masterplan is to get a 120LT in a few weeks, I just dont want any casualties again, it was absolutely heartbreaking having to fish them out of the tank and flush them down...

 

Where did you get the water from?

Is it tap water? or RO/DI?

Do you have live sand?

It sounds like the water might be contaminted with something toxic. What brand salt do you use? How do you measure your salinity? and why was it at 1.021 to begin with?

A picture of your tank would help.

Before you start your next tank, post a thread here and tell us exactly what you plan on doing so that this wont happen again.

 

alot of petshops will give you bad info either because of ignorance or wanting to make a sale.

when you cycled it did you put something in the tank like food to break down. with out a source of ammonia a cycle won't happen.

live rock can be ordered online at various places. the stores in my area suggest it religiously to people when setting up a new tank(im sure there mark up may have something to do with it lol). anyway its important plus you may get some cool stuff on it. just make sure you know what they hitch hikers are, almost all bad ones can be easily treated in a tank with not fish.

also don't feel bad most people that start the hobby lose there first fish, but it spurs them to find out why and thats what is important.

as far as organic aqua, most bacteria packets are just snake oil(i guess thats the term), the best way to get the bacteria is live rock. i would buy some water dechlorinator(or rodi if you get interested in corals) because upon searching the product most of its claims seem kinda of shady and are possible to do in a regular aquarium thats set up right with out having to dose every month.

 

I think you will find the bigger aquarium to be easier in the long run with more water volume - the water will be more stable. Good move.

 

I had live sand if that cound for anything...
Also I was told that clownfish you have to add in pairs, or else when the next one is added they tend to get territorial and fight!

 

if there perculas they should probably be ok, perculas are the most peaceful.
just if you buy them make sure you buy to really small ones(that way there both juveniles and will pair in a a year or so.)

i suppose if you have enough live rock and it cycles you can add both at the same time.

and to start off after it cycles and you want to add fish add some hermits or snails as a test, if they die then the fish definitely will. you need a clean up crew any way to eat left over food and algae.

edit: also i would avoid most all in on kits, usually the tank will be better if you piece it together your self to fit your needs. for a FO a skimmer and LR is the most important

 

Right, water parameters:
Gravity 1.021
PH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nirtite 0
Nitrate 10
Hardness 8
all that on 25 degrees celsius
(sorry it took my a while to reply, I had to find my notebook)
Unfortunately the water in Dublin is very poor, so I used filtered water...

 

i would get the rock and try again after it cycles again with it. btw hows the water movement do the fish have enough oxygen? and do the fish have hiding places in the tank often the first fish is extremely jumpy and stressed when added to the tank especially if its wild caught