12 Gallon Nano Newb Questions

M

metalhead

Guest
So heres my story, Ive been wanting a salt water aquarium since grade 6, im currently in grade 9, and over the summer i bought myself a nano cube 12 gallons. Ive done alot of research, but im having problems so i need your help, and i know that at first i need to put in a raw shrimp. So i did, i put in a raw shrimp in the BARE tanks, and this was back in jully. It is now January (obiosly :joy:) and my ammonia is STILL like 7-8. So im moving soon, and im lousing all hope in this whole raw shrimp idea. So what im thinking is to get live sand and cured live rock then wait a week, then on week 2 get a molly and put it in the tank and feed it and such, Then week 4 get another molly, and wait a week. So during week 4 i will have live rock, and it will be cured and should seed the live sand, and i will have 2 mollys, then after that my plan is to switch a molly with a fish of the same bioload, and put the mollys either to the LFS, OR another established aquarium. So would that work?
 
mopar9012

mopar9012

Active Member
So youve had your tank set up for about half a year? I think you need to buy live sand and LR and let it cycle, this will take about a month. Even though you have had your tank set up for about 6 months, adding these new things will need to cycle again. During the cycle you should test your water. You ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites should go down to zero.
Are you talking about those black mollies? I thought those were freshwater?
Your ammonia is 7-8? ive never heard of anything like that. What test kits do you have?
 
M

metalhead

Guest
Originally Posted by mopar9012
So youve had your tank set up for about half a year? I think you need to buy live sand and LR and let it cycle, this will take about a month. Even though you have had your tank set up for about 6 months, adding these new things will need to cycle again. During the cycle you should test your water. You ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites should go down to zero.
Are you talking about those black mollies? I thought those were freshwater?
Your ammonia is 7-8? ive never heard of anything like that. What test kits do you have?
well i know that black mollies can addapt to either fresh or salt water
 
M

metalhead

Guest
Originally Posted by mopar9012
why not just start out with a clownfish?
But i dont think you are ready for a fish right now.
yeah, and clown fish are expensive,a nd not worth the risk of dying, mollys are cheap and hardy
 
mopar9012

mopar9012

Active Member
Not to be rude, but this isnt a cheap hobby. Clown fish are pretty hardy, thats why i would recommend them. I dont know what price you would get yours for but I could get one for about 20 bucks give or take, that doesnt sound like a lot to me.
If you really want a HARDY and CHEAP fish, then get a damsel. They are saltwater fish and they can live threw a lot, plus they are like 5 bucks.
Do you have a test kit? What are you testing for?
 
M

metalhead

Guest
Originally Posted by mopar9012
Not to be rude, but this isnt a cheap hobby. Clown fish are pretty hardy, thats why i would recommend them. I dont know what price you would get yours for but I could get one for about 20 bucks give or take, that doesnt sound like a lot to me.
If you really want a HARDY and CHEAP fish, then get a damsel. They are saltwater fish and they can live threw a lot, plus they are like 5 bucks.
Do you have a test kit? What are you testing for?
kk ty man
 
gmidd

gmidd

Member
So if I have this right you have nothing but water in the tank? If your levels are 7 and up you just need to start from scratch. Depending on how soon your moving you may just want to wait. Once you add sand and rock you will need to start your cycle all over anyways. A normal cycle takes 4 to 6 weeks. With the raw shrimp, you should only keep it in there a few days to get the cycle to jump start. Another method is to do a normal feeding every 2 days.
As for the fish, just keep in mind Damsels are pretty aggresive and will bully and likely kill other fish. Clownfish and Sixline Wrasse's are pretty popular in the hobby. Both are in the $20 range.
 
rad

rad

Member
No one has mentioned this yet but I just want to be sure the shrimp is out of your tank. You only leave it in there to get your ammonia to spike, not to feed your tank. and I didnt even use a shrimp, just get live rock and sand. for my 12g cost it me about $115 for those two items, just to give you an idea of what type of cost you will be looking at. but definately dont add fish, because I can guarantee it will die. and what type of kits do you use? the more info relating to your tank you can provide, the better.
 
M

metalhead

Guest
ooooooo i havent taken the shrimo out....wow sorry about all this, im a moron
 
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