Newbie 24 gallon all-in-one reefer.

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
After the last fish is gone 72 days. Only fish are affected. Without a proper QT system and protocol this will keep happening.
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
That’s just the way they work. BTA isn’t a natural host for the kind of clown you have. Many clowns like them but they can be fickle.
 

3xplorer19

Member
Since percula isn’t a good match, would you mind telling me what is? How about ocellaris? I know they are almost identical.
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Clarkii and maroon. You don’t want either. Both are big clown fish (~6”) range. Way too big for a 24 gal. They are also two of the most aggressive and territorial clowns. The Clarkii is pretty ugly when it is an adult too.
 

3xplorer19

Member
Clarkii looks like the spotcinctus clownfishes that I had and returned it to swap to a Percula. However I didn’t know they don’t like or they stand alone. I just feel bad for my nems cause no clowns go to them. Specially are it split. Sticking to my routine my parameters are ok. So far 3 months on October 5th all is good. Now just a waiting game to see the growth of the 15 corals I got.
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
The nems don’t care, they have no brain, no Nervous system. The clown may go back. BTAs are not the normal host for percs but they will go to them sometimes.
 

3xplorer19

Member
Imforbis, I was finally able to let go of my freshwater tank. Had to really convince my wife to let it go cause the fishes I got in there are getting really big. On a 10 gallon it has 2 oscars, 2 corys, 2 red parrot cichlid and 1 blue crawfish. I donated it to my local fish store and in return he gave me a really nice two paired maroon clowns. One her white band is turning gold and the second is smaller and they are cool to one another. So now I made it a quarantine tank for my saltwater. Had to clean it really hard with chemicals it required. Now I’m just conditioning for whatever I need to put in there when is it sick or something.
What must a QT have and require?
 

3xplorer19

Member
maybe it could be my lighting and it's intensity. how i set my lighting is 8 hours a day. the actinic light is 8 hours total on the lowest settings and my white light is 1-2 hours through out the day on the low too. i am going to adjust my lighting longer perhaps? my water pars are not bad as you see below. what else could it possibly be? maybe it's the way i change my water. i turn everything off take 2.4 gallons ..then refill it in the sump area and turn it back on again? i'm worried and i love my nems. I’ll try and share a pic when I get home today.
 

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3xplorer19

Member
Just sharing new update since last post. Please let me know what else I can do. My reading below shows my alkalinity is high so performed a water change. Today i'm working relocating the coral frag plugs at the sand bed to the magnetic hang on frag rack, so i can perform a better siphoning when i do water change again. any other recommendation for me? My rainbow bubble tip anemone that split before 3 weeks ago are now doing better. both are eating fish eggs no problem. and my rose bubble tip appetite has grown.
 

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3xplorer19

Member
Good Morning. The unfortunate and fortunate. Yesterday, I finally had the guts to rehome my yellow tang and my blue hippo tang. It was fun and I do miss them dearly. I got them a little over month ago, about almost an inch long, and they are growing accordingly and I did realized that they needed more space to swim after I see my 2 maroon clownfishes who was always out on the open are now inside the cave. So sad.So yeah, rehoming them to where i purchased them gave me a store credit which isn't that bad. Now I'm just waiting for a specific corals to arrive to trade it in with. They happy part is the 2 maroon clownfishes are back out and about and swimming freely. So now i'm left with them two, plus my always at the bottom yellow watchmen goby partnered with pistol shrimp and my awesomeness midas golden blenny. So sad and glad day. sigh* Hopefully, one day Santa gives me a bigger tank with all accessories.
 

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3xplorer19

Member
Imforbiz..as you mentioned before i shouldn't worry about my alkalinity being 14 before right cause now it dropped to 13 or maybe 12.5 ... my calcium is maybe around 450-470 ... should be good right, cause i just took my test now with a salifert kit...my pH is good 8.1 Salinity 1.025 and my temp 78.5 as well... magnesium is 1400 nitrate is between 15-20 though so that's bad for corals, lps, sps and softies? also it is hard to keep a long torch? i saw this gold torch blue tip is lovely but cost thousands...would you recon i get it? i've been only reefing for 3 months and 1 month of cycling. my ammonia is 0 nitrite is 0 ..i don't have a test kit for phosphate yet so hope that's good too...now i just have 2 clowns, 1 midas blenny, 1 yellow watchman goby, 1 pistol shrimp, 2 cleaner shrimp, 4 hermits, 8 snails, 1 lightfoot sally crab and my remaining 1 rainbow bta ...the half of that was dying so i threw it out and my original rose bta i didn't like so i send it back to the lfs i bought it form ... also i have acans, ducan, zoanthids, candy cane, leather toadstool, green start polyp, xenia, pink goniopora, montipora, chalice, jack'o latern, hammer, favias, cyphastrea, teal tips grape coral and aussie green tip torch coral. also i have 2 rock flower anemones that i bought it was so tiny size of a dime now bigger than the size of a dollar coin. guess i was feeding it too much 3 times a week M.W.F.. I guess that it for a all in one aquatop 24 gallon tank. what's your tips for me please? also i change water every sunday 3 gallons and times during the week one time of 1 gallon and regularly clean my protien skimmer. on my 1st chamber i also got a chaeto plant. and wait i also got a maxima clam.
 

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Be careful about getting too many coral in a small tank. Corals can be very aggressive. They conduct chemical warfare. If they are too close together they will kill each other. LPS are particularly aggressive.
I’d hold off on a clam for a while. They can be pretty touchy. If one dies it can mess up your water pretty fast, before you realize what’s going on. Let your tank get better established.

your water parameters are good. A little nitrates is fine, often preferred, for softies and LPS coral.
 
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