Rock and Fish questions

[Cortez]

Okay so i got a good heap of rock from a fellow who was getting out of the hobby. They were out of the water for two weeks and were bone dry so i stuck them in some water to get rid of the algae and "cook" the rocks and oh boy did they stink when the air escaped out of the pockets in the rocks. i also recieved some dead coral skeletons (i think thats what they are called) either way, (1) will sticking the dead coral skeletons (once cleaned) in the tank effect anything?
(2) how long will it take for the dead rock to become live? its about 30 pds of lr
(3) I have this one piece of rock i think that looks like a jumbo size piece of dead coral, can anyone identify it for me? what kinda rock is it if its a rock?

[ IMG]http://www.reefsanctuary.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/15966/size/big[ /IMG]

other question is about fish
it seems as my tank is done cycling and time to add fish!!
the list of fish i want goes on for days lol but i have cut it down and want the these fish

coral beauty
flame angel
2 clowns tank raised
six line wrasse
one of those small purple fishes, cant remember the name (debatable)
cleaner shrimp
yellow watchman goby, or a bicolor blenny
i think thats it
question is which one do i add first?
and is this to many fish for a 30 gal fowlr?
If not can i add a mystery wrasse
i have approx 25 pds of lr now, getting more soon

thanks in advance

 

[Cortez]

does not look like the link worked but the pic of the rock is in my gallery

 

[Jeremy0322]

Alright, i think im going to be mr. killjoy sadly but thats why you came here. First off whats the tank size. Because with that list of fish you either have far less live rock than you actually need or are going to completely overstock a tank, i would guess somewhere between 20-40 gallons for the tank, but thats just going off the LR rule of around 1lb per gallon.

And, what are you testing for and what are those readings? The cycle isnt done until all readings hit zero and stay there for a little bit. What you need to do, and you may have already done this, is put the rock in the tank and then throw a cocktail shrimp in there, the decay will start the cycle and the rock will slowly become live as the bacteria regrow on the rock. Then when all of the levels hit zero that means they did their job and you can put a fish in. Make sure you go slow with this, its better to go slow then go real fast, lose everything, and start again.

And i finally saw the tank size, so forget that first part..haha. That is too many fish in my opinion. I think the rule for that is something like 1 inch of adult fish per 5 gallons, there are a bunch of these little unwritten rules, but it gives people a general idea about whats going on.

And adding which one first is your call, i would probably do one of the two clowns but they can be territorial, however they are hardier and can take a new tank setting a little better than many other fish. But once you revise your list you can ask that again.

And welcome to RS, this is an awesome place to be

 

[Cortez]

my lfs and i both tested for ammonia nitrate and nitrite and all are zero, they said my ph needs to go up a little and i am working on that.
dang i knew it someone would say it was to much oh well

and what about my picture, do u think its a rock or a jumbo piece of coral
thanks

 

[Jeremy0322]

That picture looked like a giant piece of super dead coral haha What is the Ph at now?

 

[new reefer 03]

i would probably do one of the two clowns but they can be territorial.

IMO if you want the clowns to be a pair (one male, one female, and they get along) you need to add them at the same time, and buy them as a pair. if you cant buy them as a pair buy 2 that are the same size but no bigger than 1 1/2"

 

[Jeremy0322]

For some reason i thought there were 2 different types of clowns listed, that was a misread on my part. I just woke up(i know i know. its 5 in the afternoon lol). Anyways, he is right, if you want a pair add them both. But i didnt do it that way and mine instantly paired up as soon as i dropped the smaller one in the tank (dropped is not the right word up whatever). And keep the questions coming, better to ask here than at the LFS.

 

[Cortez]

Dead coral dose not do the same thing as lr can it?
what should i do with it i dont want to add that jumbo thing in a tank so small if it has no benefits, that piece is huge, its about 12" wide, 15" long, and 7-8" high or thick. you think anyone will buy it or will the lfs take it.

and ill try my hardest to tell myself that i cant have to many fish!!, its hard i tell ya

 

[Cortez]

o and when "I" tested my ph it was inbetween 8.3-8.5, i use a saltwater master somethin aquarium test kit some one gave me. When the "LFS" did it it read like 7.8 or so? dont know why, cause when i started all my test read around 8.3

 

[Reefmack]

I think that rock in your gallery picture is awesome! I wish I had it! By the way - live rock is composed of the calcium based skeletal remains of coral, built up over thousands or millions of years. So yes - even if that rock you have is a dead coral skeleton it's really the same as live rock, except it's now "dead". It would eventually become live rock after time in your tank.

 

[WhisperinLoudly]

Before you add anything in your tank,I would address the ph issue.
Your test of 8.3-8.5 and the lfs test of 7.8 is a big difference. If the test kit was given to you and you don't know how old it is, check on the box for an expiration date. It's usually on the bottom of the box.
Next is the fish list. Those 2 angels are going to fight, especially in a 30 gal tank. Your tank should house one dwarf angel unless the tank is bigger than 55 gals and even then you might have issues with them fighting.
This is just my opinion and i'm sure others will add their .02
good luck

 

[Jeremy0322]

And if you are looking for a pair of clown fish depending on what type you want i know that Welcome to Pacific East Aquaculture sells pairs of them for pretty cheap, and depending on where you live the shipping wont kill you, so you should check that out.

 

[BuDZnSuDS]

the clowns should get added first and the more aggressive fish such as the sixline should get added last becasue he can pick on newer fish added to the tank. also make sure you have no holes in you tank because they jump and i found that out today as some of you might have read. If they are added last they eat the worms and also parasites off of other fish if you come into that problem. GOOD LUCK!

 

[Limpits Reef]

I am going to take a stab at your old dead coral skeleton as being Stylophora sp. (a.k.a. cats paw)
They can grow to be very large in the ocean, larger than a full size van.