New Reefer :)

[OSXFreak]

First off I'd like to say HI, I'm a new reefer or soon to be reefer. I've in the past long long ago had a salt water tank, but based on my recent research and learning, I realize it was doomed form day one.

So I do have a few questions, Hope I'm not asking too NEWBIE of questions.

I currently have a 46 Gallon Bow Front Tank made by MarineLand.
I purchased 2 x 40lbs, bags of Live Sand
50 lbs of Key Largo Dry Rock from MarcoRock
I have a AquaC Remosa Protein Skimmer (Non Pro)
A hang on back Refugium that I will fill with live sand, some of the fragments of dry rock, and Algae.
A 300w Heater.

I'm going to purchase 2 x 750gph power heads and Salt Water from my local fish store.

I plan to put this all together tonight, and wondered a couple things.

I understand the Cycling process, and have no intention of putting anything in the tank before it is tested and all good. But I did have a question about the CUC. My intention was to get a Peppermint shrimp or a cleaner shrimp, Striped Blenny and a Mandarinfish. Would this be enough of a Clean Up Crew? Or should I add in a couple small snails?

Thanks for any advise you can offer in this newly invigorated Hobby

Chip

 

[Homer]

no mandarinfish, please... and no blenny.. for the cycling process first 4 days,I would say no CUC at all... after that just some snails and hermits... please,no shrimps and fish..

oh,and buy some live rock... :)

 

[OSXFreak]

oKay sounds good to me, I had no intention to buy these fish for some time. I need to make sure it's safe. was gonna give it a month, or more if needed to cycle.

So are you saying No MandarinFish EVER???? I thought with the expected high sub-level, 2"+, it would be good to get something to turn that sand over.

Thanks for the info, still a lot more to learn. And yeah agree would have loved the Live Rock, but elected to go with dry live to make sure there were not many unwanted visitors.

Thanks

Chip

 

[Homer]

The visitors are the things, that make this hobby cool :)

Anyway... Mandarin fish... only when You are sure, a) it eats frozen food, b) it eats live food, c) Your LIVE ROCK has enough food on them (copepods, isopods etc). 2 inches is not that bad... I have 6 inch layer of sand :) :) ... But for the turning, just buy some snails that dig in.. but not in the first 4 -5 days.. because that is when there is the highest ammonia spike, it could kill them... :)

 

[Paste]

Homer is right on the money about the Mandarin.
They need an established tank with many pods, basicly little bugs that grow in the sand and live rock.
you can get your tank setup, and "seed" some pods (basicly a bottle of them you spray into the rocks) and give it a few months for them to start multiplying.

Mandarins almost NEVER eat non live food. you can train them to,but it takes patients and you need to have pods in there that they will eat or they will die.

As for something to turn the sand over, there are a bunch of cool sifting fish out there. The Diamond Goby is AWESOME (so long as you have a lid on your tank.. they jump) and Snails, a Cucumber lots of stuff will help keep your substrate clean.

 

[Neno reefs]

Yes you can have a Mandarin in the tank just not anytime soon, You first need to get your tank very steady and get a lot of pods in the tank. Thats going to be probably several months. But once everything is good to go you can try a Mandarin.


( not to be rude but homer i think you need to be a bit more clear with what your saying)

 

[OSXFreak]

Thanks guys... wasnt imagining I would have any fish until it is well ready. And alsounderstand the need to hssve plenty of pods.

Does having a refugium with live sand live rock and algae breed the pods.. how does one know when enough...

Chip

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

Aquacultured madarians are more expensive, but worth it. They were raised on man made food and should be good to go. Do not get a reefed mandarian unless like the dourms been saying, 8months pkus

 

[cvcdrk]

I think we should clear up a few things:

1. 4 days is not enough time for the tank to cycle. The cycle is subjective and different for every tank but the general rule of thumb is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-5 weeks. So I don't know where anyone got 4 days.
2. A CUC consists of inverts. Fish aren't generally considered part of the CUC, although some can contribute in their way. Snails, hermit crabs, etc. are part of the CUC.
3. 99% of tanks will not be ready for a Mandarin Dragonet after a few months. Most won't even be ready after a year. It's a good idea to find some other fish ideas. This one is extremely difficult to care for, for many of the reasons listed above and many others. I don't know where you got the idea that this fish is a sand sifter....they are not. They primarily eat copepods, which are found in the water column in and around live rock. They eat a LOT of them. A fuge is a good place to try to breed pods, but this is typically a fruitless effort. A single mandarin can decimate a pod population quickly....and then you're stuck with a fish that is going to starve. Honestly, it cannot be stressed enough...this is a very difficult fish to care for.....and should be reserved for advanced aquarists.
4. You'll want to introduce some live rock at the very least. There's nothing wrong with using primarily dry rock but it is useful to seed that rock with a piece or two of live rock to speed up the cycling process. Have you read about the shrimp method for cycling?

Do you have an accurate liquid test kit to watch and measure the cycle as it progresses?

It sounds like you have a lot of research to do still. Some of the articles here on this site would be very helpful to you as they answer a lot of the questions you've already asked in this topic. I recommend reading a lot more of them and the ones on other sites.

 

[OSXFreak]

Thanks for the valuable info. I also agree maybe these are better off saving for a Much Much Much later time.
I don't ever want to rush it... Would rather this thing be perfection before I even put one fish in it, mo matter how hardy some can be.

Right now just waiting for my tank to settle down and the cloudyness to vanish :(

Thanks

Chip

I think we should clear up a few things:

1. 4 days is not enough time for the tank to cycle. The cycle is subjective and different for every tank but the general rule of thumb is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-5 weeks. So I don't know where anyone got 4 days.
2. A CUC consists of inverts. Fish aren't generally considered part of the CUC, although some can contribute in their way. Snails, hermit crabs, etc. are part of the CUC.
3. 99% of tanks will not be ready for a Mandarin Dragonet after a few months. Most won't even be ready after a year. It's a good idea to find some other fish ideas. This one is extremely difficult to care for, for many of the reasons listed above and many others. I don't know where you got the idea that this fish is a sand sifter....they are not. They primarily eat copepods, which are found in the water column in and around live rock. They eat a LOT of them. A fuge is a good place to try to breed pods, but this is typically a fruitless effort. A single mandarin can decimate a pod population quickly....and then you're stuck with a fish that is going to starve. Honestly, it cannot be stressed enough...this is a very difficult fish to care for.....and should be reserved for advanced aquarists.
4. You'll want to introduce some live rock at the very least. There's nothing wrong with using primarily dry rock but it is useful to seed that rock with a piece or two of live rock to speed up the cycling process. Have you read about the shrimp method for cycling?

Do you have an accurate liquid test kit to watch and measure the cycle as it progresses?

It sounds like you have a lot of research to do still. Some of the articles here on this site would be very helpful to you as they answer a lot of the questions you've already asked in this topic. I recommend reading a lot more of them and the ones on other sites.