SW Newbie! First setup, help and suggestions please!

aircrowley

Reefing newb
Hi all,

I'm new to the site and new to saltwater aquariums. I've had African Cichlid tanks for years, wanted to try something new. I just purchased a 14 gallon Oceanic BioCube Aquarium. Also, purchased, the chiller/heater and a bigger pump, which was suggested since I want to have coral. I have the live sand and have added live rock. I've done all my water tests, everything looks good. I recently added a Clownfish and a Blue Tang. A few questions from a beginner, any help would be a appreciated.

1. Is this the maximum fish I can add?

2. I need suggestions for my coral reef, with these fish. I have nothing right now and not sure what would go with these fish.

3. Can I add a starfish, seahorse, or crabs?

4. Do I need a protein skimmer?

5. It was suggested that I add the fish and then wait a week before adding coral.

6. If I get saltwater from a store, how long is it good for, when sitting inside containers.

7. Should water changes be done once a week, or every other week?

8. I tested for salinity, nitrates, ammonia and ph. All came back good, according to the test kit. What is the idea range for these test. I know sometimes what paperwork says can be off somewhat.

Any suggestions and help , would be greatly appreciated. Anything thing else that I may need for this quarium would be appreciated as well.

Thanks,

Aaron
A Saltwater Newbie
 
Hi all,


1. Is this the maximum fish I can add?
Not many, Get that blue tang out asap, they need atleast a 75 gal tank. Since the tank is small a clown and a few small fish.

2. I need suggestions for my coral reef, with these fish. I have nothing right now and not sure what would go with these fish.
Depends on what fish you get.

3. Can I add a starfish, seahorse, or crabs?
Crabs yes, others doubtful.

4. Do I need a protein skimmer?
It helps but dont have to have, since its a biocube.

5. It was suggested that I add the fish and then wait a week before adding coral.
Rule of thumb, add 1 fish every 3 weeks. Let your tank mature for a little while before you add coral

6. If I get saltwater from a store, how long is it good for, when sitting inside containers.
Good while.

7. Should water changes be done once a week, or every other week?
Some people do every week some people do every other week.

8. I tested for salinity, nitrates, ammonia and ph. All came back good, according to the test kit. What is the idea range for these test. I know sometimes what paperwork says can be off somewhat.
Salinity- 1.026
Nitrates- Want as little as possible
Ammonia- as small as possible


Any suggestions and help , would be greatly appreciated. Anything thing else that I may need for this quarium would be appreciated as well.

Thanks,

Aaron
A Saltwater Newbie

Also how long has your tank been set up, are you done with your cycle?

Also check here for fish.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124
 
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Also how long has your tank been set up, are you done with your cycle?


Tank has been setup for a week. I know you can get some mixed advice at aquarium stores. I added the fish after two days. How long should I cycle? He said the tank only had to cycle for a couple of days as long as the water tests were good. Sounded weird, but I went with it. What do you recommend with the clown fish? Any help on the reef, would be great to, I haven't a clue when it comes to coral reefs. And I know only certain fish go with certain corals. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Aaron
 
The cycle is where the Nitrates and Nitrites will spike and if you have fish in there they will probably die. The cycle will be done when your nitrites are at 0. Then after that you need to do a big water change and then you can start adding fish.
The cycle can take up to a couple of weeks to a couple of months. The clown fish is fine for anything really. Just look at corals on www.liveaquaria.com and look at soft corals and mushrooms to start off with, but since your tank has been set up for a week it might be a little while before you put some in.

Also get that blue tang out asap, they require a big tank and its probably stressed out in there, with not knowing if the cycle is over or not the tang will probably get sick.
 
welcome to this site. First of all I would recommend getting rid of the blue tang because a full grown blue tang can reach 1'. Unless it is really tiny and you move him out when he gets bigger. I would wait 2 weeks at least before adding fish. Just add the sand and live rock for now and test daily for ammonia then nitrates and do your partial water changes until the water stabilizes. Then for that small of a tank I would go with a nice firefish and small yellow goby to compliment that clownfish.
 
There are some good fish at live aquaria.com A Tang needs a bigger tank, 70 gallon or higher. I havent seen a fish that can go in a tank lower that 30 gallons. It takes a while to cycle a tank but it might not take as long because your tank is so small! You could add a clean up crew but i dont think i would just for the fact that your tank is so small! I hope you can use this information!
 
also you wouldn't want more fish then that if you want to put coral in there because you have to feed the fish and that can add to your nitrates once uneaten food decomposes and goes through the nitrogen cycle. I have a 12g nanocube with just a yellow goby that gets 1" when fully grown and a firefish. I have about 15lbs of LR and 2" of sand as well as numerous LPS corals and mushrooms and a couple of other soft corals. I change 2g of water each Saturday and I always have low nitrates if any at all and I dont have a skimmer on it either. All I run is carbon and that's it.
 
+1 Stag....I would definitely get that tang out quickly, your tank is too small. If the tank has only been up a week, it isn't really ready for no livestock at this point.

P.S. To be successful in this hobby, you have to be patient, and do a lot of research, feel free to ask questions, thats why we are here:D.
 
I would add nassarius snails and tiny blue legged hermits. In my 12g they keep things clean. Gobies (small ones) and firefish are about all you would want in that small of a tank. In my opinion at least. That clownfish might be ok but even he should have a larger tank. The clowns in my bigger tanks love to swim around the entire tank and yours would be confined in that little tank.
 
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The cycle is where the Nitrates and Nitrites will spike and if you have fish in there they will probably die. The cycle will be done when your nitrites are at 0. Then after that you need to do a big water change and then you can start adding fish.

I will take back the Tang today. My nitrites look perfect. How much of a water change should I do , since you say a big water change. It is a 14 gallon biocube.
 
As far as fish goes, I should have no more than three fish, correct? So the clown, firefish and goby; would be a nice compliment and some snails and small hermits. One thing I forgot to mention, should I add fish or coral first?
 
I will take back the Tang today. My nitrites look perfect. How much of a water change should I do , since you say a big water change. It is a 14 gallon biocube.


I would say 2g every 2 or 3 days until nitrites are at zero and your nitrates are as low as possible. My nitrates in all of my tanks are barely detectable because I feed sparingly and I do good water changes. I think a small tank is easy to maintain because the water change are small amounts.

I would add the fish first and feed them for a week and test for nitrates daily to see if you might be feeding too much and then adjust feeding to keep nitrates low because coral do not like high nitrates. Once you figure out the feeding and you know how much to feed to keep nitrates low then I would add the coral (acclimate them via drip method first).
 
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Thanks all, the help is greatly appreciated. I tried one other forum and got blasted because I "didn't do enough research". I come to the forums and go to the experts because I always get sound advice. It's greatly appreciated that you have taken your time to help me.
 
Hey I was in class so I had PLENTY of time to help :)

Yeah the clown goby, and firefish look like a good set of fish for that size of tank.

Also I would just do one water change instead of the 2 gal every 2-3 days or whatever. I would do a 4gal water change for the first one and then check your nitrates. The reason you do the water change is because the nitrites convert into nitrates and you need to reduce the nitrates.

GL and let us know if you have any more questions.
 
You can do it either way. I have tried several ways when it comes to the initial water changes. In my 12g nanocube setup I did mine the way I described and it seemed to work fine. Stags recommendation would be fine too.
 
Great advice above.
Welcome to the site.The worst thing you can with saltwater,is get in a hurry.Only bad things happen fast.
 
Yeah the clown goby, and firefish look like a good set of fish for that size of tank.

Haha...sounds like my 10 gallon now :) I have the clown and the firefish, 2 mushrooms, some snails and crabs, and a pistol shrimp.

Sounds like you've already been given good advice. And I agree that other forums have no patience for people who look for newbie advice. We just had a thread that started a couple days ago talking about just that LOL Awesome LivingReef people! You've come to the best place!
 
I'm glad you like us better than other forums!! We are a lot nicer.

I guess, in summary, if you haven't gotten in already:

- get the tang out ASAP, they need 75+ gallons
- clown is a good choice
- start doing 10 to 20% water changes each week (so a gallon or two each week)
- only add one fish every 3 weeks or so, don't rush stocking
- you can add fish and easy corals at the same time
- watch your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates

Ummm, I think that's about it.
 
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