sad sad day for a newbie

Don't add any fish yet. Leave it with just the two fish you have until it stables out and you get your perimeters under control.

First thing I would invest in some test kits so you can test the water yourself. When a LFS does the testing they tend to just say "its fine" or "you need to do a water change" but don't really give you any details.

If the new tank fits in the stand of the old one you could make it into a sump, or use it as a hospital tank.

You won't be able to get a clean up crew because of your trigger so what you are going to need to do is clean the rock and sand yourself during water changes. A turkey baster works well on the rocks.

EDIT: SAY and Schackmel: It says he has a skimmer in the first post.

 

dont think you understood what we have in the tank
approx 50kg rock, just added a new 2.4kg one aswell :S
do have a skimmer!
only have 2 fish in the tank, lion and a small picaso 3 inch? maybe a little bigger

 

Well, I would recommend you add nothing new for at least 4 weeks. That doesn't mean wait 4 weeks and then start adding. It means wait 4 weeks, making sure all parameters have been stable during that time period, and then start thinking about adding something. If you have any fluctuations during the next 4 weeks, start your 4 weeks over again. Seriously.

 

awesome thanks for the heads up everyone
fish are looking much better!!
btw serisously stupid question but, how do you guys feed your fish?
as in something like frozen shrimp, just melt the block in water and pour it into the tank?
i find that the fish wont eat it all and some will be left floating at the top?

 

your lionfish probubly has ick