Very New, Please Help!

They're great reef additions. I got mine for about $6. The only trouble is feeding. You'd have to squirt directly into they're shell. If it's open, it's easy. Closed, it'll take minutes to days to open up. It's fun to watch them move around the tank, too.

 

That's a fungia, and a nice one at that.

Also, I spy a yellow banded wrasse and a lubbocks wrasse (I've had both in the past). I like your LFS's taste.

Seems as though everyone here is pointing you in the right direction, and I certainly see nothing in your pictures that looks problematic.

Welcome and good luck. Take the time to learn about what you've got/how things work. You'll enjoy it even more.

 

Your guy is doing a good job. Just tell him what you told us; that you'd like to be a bit more involved.

 

That TV is very distracting from that tank. lol.

 

I also spy a Anampses chrysocephalus. While beautiful, it's a somewhat difficult species. How long have you had this guy?:

 

From the looks and sounds of it, your fish guy is doing a good job. Your getting top quality equipment and a nice setup. However, you keep saying you want to know more, well take some affirmative action. You're the one who's paying for this, ask the guy to explain things to you, ask questions, ask if there are other options. You yourself read and research things, learn about the hobby so you can take care of the tank on your own. You're taking a good step by coming here, but that's just a start. If the guy doesn't have time for your questions or doesn't answer them to your satisfaction, then get somebody else.

I don't think the guy is taking advantage of you, as your setup looks like it should legitimately cost a lot, but you can be saving money by going with alternative options. In the end, you have all of the control and therefore it's up to you.

 

i do have some questions.... do the fish have a long life expectancy? so long as they are maintained correctly obviously. when should i be doing my first water change? he is adding the refugium this weekend and is telling me we should do a small water change next weekend. also, do i need an additional powerhead if i do a 120 gal tank? he wants to add one on the back side when we swap out this tank. and this Oceanic?.. are they the best tanks out there? the overflows seem to take up a lot of room.( i guess thats normal). and what should i be putting in my refugium to benefit my tank?
i love this site you guys all here are the best!!!! wonderful help from everyone

 

that pic of that fish, he just brought it to me today. its only been in there a few hours. any special instructions for helping it stay alive?

 

Life expectancy of fish can vary greatly. I know people with clowns that are 10 years old, while other fish may only last a few days or weeks. It depends on the health that you get them in, your husbandry skills, how often and what you feed them, compatibility with other fish and how old they are when you get them.

Myself along with many other reefers do partial water changes every week, or at least on some sort of set schedule. This is to help remove toxic compounds and waste that can build up if not exported from the tank properly. Water changes also help replenish elements that are used up by corals and fish. However, if you have any decent amount of hard corals, you will need to supplement Ca, Alk (hardness) and Mg. That balancing act is a whole other discussion.

As to the refugium, the most popular macro alage to put in it is Chaetomorpha, but you can use other macro algeas. However, keep in mind that some may go sexual on you and reproduce throughout your tank.

Oceanic tanks are good, but their overflows are larger. You may want to consider one with corner overflows instead.

 

I believe it is a type of wrasse that is a very picky eater. I was looking into getting a similar fish, but decided against it due to it being harder to feed. If your tank has been established long enough and you have enough rock, you may have enough natural food for him to survive, if not, you should try a variety of meaty foods such as squid, mysis, cyclopeeze, clams etc.