Advice on Saltwater Tank/Nitrogen Cycle!

[artemk]

Hi everyone!
I recently purchased a 14G fishtank, and decided to turn it into a saltwater tank. Have a filter, heater, protein skimmer, and live rock in the tank. It has been 6 days (filled it up on Saturday 9-24) with water and mixed my own salt.
The salt level has been constant everyday (1.023-1.024). My pH level has been pretty constant as well (8.3-4). Ammonia is almost at Zero, however it is very hard to tell with the kit I have (hold up the test tube to a color scale), but the water matches between the .25 and 0 level, being closer to 0. I have 5 pounds of live rock in the tank, and regular white sand. Temperature has been between 77-80.
Since I have a small tank, I wanted to know a few things. 1) how long, or how do I know when I am able to put fish in it. I am probably going to have 2 clown fish at first, and a tang later on. Thats about as many as I can have. (I should've bought a bigger tank)

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated, since I am new to this (never owned any type of fish before) I am sure I missed some important questions to ask, so I am calling all you experts out there!!! Thanks for your time guys!!

 

[katiebug545]

Hi! First of all welcome to the hobby! This hobby can be very rewarding when done the right way.
First thing you need to know is research, Look up EVERYTHING you want before you buy it. Know what your purchasing. There are lots of people on this thread that will be happy to help you, but another thing you need to learn right now is patience. That is one of the downfalls to this hobby, things are very slow moving. the slower you go the better.
Read this,, and it will tel you everything you need to know about cycling.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/386044/lets-talk-about-cycling
Another thing, is that a 14 gallon tank is WAY to small for All tangs. If you are interested in tangs i would suggest upgrading to a larger tank. Please understand that larger tanks are in my opinion, easier, to maintain.. because if something goes wrong, then there is more room for error. If somethign small goes wrong in a small tank, its easier for everything to fall apart.
What kind of equipment to you have? Filter, protien skimmer.. etc Need to know deatils!
There are lots of great article on this forum, take the time to read them! Im sure you will find them VERY helpful! if you would like me to inbox you some of these threads ill be happy to! Good luck!

 

[deejeff442]

+1 no tangs .look into the blennies for another choice.you need to add a powerhead.i suggest a korilia nano or #1.if you get another 5-8 lbs of live rock you wont need the filter.you said the ammonia was at zero or close.well you need to get the cycle going.either add a raw piece of shrimp and let it stew in there for 4 days then take it out(prefer ed method) or get some frozen fish food(mysis) and add a cube.the tank will get an ammonia spike in a few days to a week.then test for nitrites .the ammonia converts to nitrites then to nitrates.takes about 3-4 week.when there is no more nitrites or ammonia and the nitrates are around 10-20( hard to ever get zero) add the two clowns.

 

[artemk]

Thank you for the warm welcome!
To address your concern about all tangs, I am only looking to get one tang, and two clown fish! From what Ive read, I should have enough space to accommodate their needs, but I might be wrong.
My equipment is pretty standard, since I bout a 14 gallon tank kit.
Protein Skimmer (purchased separate) - Oceanic, Biocube for 14/29 Gallon Tanks.
Filter - Quiet Flow Power Filter 20 Gallon
Heater - 50W Submersible Heater
Hood - 20'' w/ two 15W Incandescent lights
And yes, if you don't mind, inbox me a few articles! I have started to read the one you sent me!
Also, should I be testing for anything besides pH, Alk, and Ammonia right now?? What about water change? I am sure I will read about that in the article you provided, but just in case!
Thanks a bunch Katie!
---Artem

 

[katiebug545]

a 14 gallon tank is entirely to small for a tang, even it was the ONLY fish in the tank. The bare min for a tang is 50 gal. here are some fish that would be great for your tank! Check them out!

Royal Gramma Basslet

Orange Striped Cardinal

Yellow Watchman Goby
Diamond Watchman Goby
Yellow Clown Goby
Warpaint Clown Goby
Yasha White Ray Shrimp Goby
Orange Spot Prawn Goby
Blue Neon Goby
Orange Firefish Goby
Red Crown Algae Blenny
Tailspot Blenny
test pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. Your pH should test around 8.0 to 8.3. Ammonia should read 0 before adding any fish, and so should your Nitrite. Nitrate should be 20 ppm or less, and the best way to keep these down is regular water changes.
Please know that im not sure that irrcandesent lights are ok for a saltwater tank. I may be wrong (and someone correct em if im wrong) but i think they are mainly for freshwater. and im not sure if you are interested in one day adding corals, but i KNOW its not ok for corals. Having the wrong lights can add to unwanted algae growth, You might want to look at some better lights. If you need some suggestions ill be happy to help!

 

[kiefers]

Hello and welcome. Sorry to tell ya this but a 14 gallon is WAY to small for any Tang. The tight space will indeed stress and eventually the Tang will die from a desease. Not worth it in my opinion.
If I may, the stock list above is a good idea and to add to it I would look into a firefish and maybe a purple firefish with the pair of clowns. Maybe some coral added with your clowns would look really nice.

 

[artemk]

I talked to the person at the pet store, and they specifically specialize in fish, and he said that the lights are okay (as long as I am not keeping corals) in the tank. I am going to upgrade my tank to at least a 60G in probably 6-8 months, where I will have corals, but thats way too far ahead. I also bought some blue LED lights that have air bubbles coming out of them, so the tank has great air flow and at the same time add some vibrant colors to my soon to be marine friends! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioEWjXYrFPM&feature=related).
I JUST added some fish food into my tank, like that article said about cycling, and will check the ammonia levels tomorrow. I have to go out and get the Nitrate and Nitrite test kits tomorrow as well and start testing. Since I have live rock (and I think it was cured) I am on the right track with my cycle, according to the article!
Also, thanks for your advice on what fish to get! Will def look into those!

 

[katiebug545]

I am here to help so keep us posted along the way! i will be happy to help in anyway i can i am sure there are lots of people on here that would love to help.
Here are some links to a site that i personally enjoy ordering from. The first one is the powerhead that deejeff was talking about. Water movement is EXTREMELY important. How many inchs across is your tank? and i can send you a link for some ideas for lights
http://www.xxx.com/
*** Please do not post links to competitor sites. ***

 

[katiebug545]

I have heard bad things about bubblers in saltwater tank. If a bubble gets wedged in a fishes gills, its not pretty. And the bubbles will not give your tank water movement like you need. The only way to create water movement is with powerhead pump or wavemaker.

 

[artemk]

Thanks. Tank is 20 inches across and 16.5 inches tall!

 

[artemk]

Oh really?!? Well the lights have the air bubble feature so that you can add it on, and without its just a blue LED light! So if you think the bubbles might cause a problem in my tank, I will not install them, and just have the blue light.

 

[katiebug545]

I think if you are goin to keep the blue lights, do it without the bubbles.

 

[kiefers]

I agree, I have the same thing in my QT and I just use them as "moon lights" sitting in my canopy. You don't want bubbles or air bubbles in your aquarium, bad for the fish. They get into the gills in the fish and they can die

 

[snakeblitz33]

Bubbles don't hurt fish, they just cause a tremendous amount of salt creep.
+1 on no tangs. Of course, you know that now.
You need to stack that live rock up or add more to it then that. at least 14 - 20 pounds.
Looks like you're in good hands.

 

[artemk]

Seth,
thanks! why do you say I should stack the rock up?? I was also going to get another 5 pound tomorrow. Just curious why up tho?
Kiefers,
I will only use the lights as lights with no bubbles. (3 people saying its bad is good enough for me ) should i have them on the bottom or top though? or is that preference?

 

[katiebug545]

Everything you do it your preference! thats entirely up to you

 

[snakeblitz33]

I only say to stack live rock so that your fish have something more substantial to hide in when they feel stressed. A coffee mug turned away from viewers works just as good. You get the concept... make a little cave.

 

[artemk]

Last night, after I added some fish food to test my biological filter/bacteria to see how it will react to some ammonia, I noticed some worm looking things come out of the rocks to snag on some of the food flakes. At first I didnt think of them as bad, just some worms hanging out, but now I was reading some stuff and read up on the topic.
It appears I should get them out ASAP, because they multiply faster than ever. -- Get them out with a turkey baster?? Just like suck them in there??
I also noticed some thing growing on the live rock and I think it might be Aipstasia -- It says "blast them with Joes Juice" ------How exactly do I blast them?? Can some one help me out?
Thanks!

 

[kiefers]

Quote:
Originally Posted by artemK http:///t/388177/advice-on-saltwater-tank-nitrogen-cycle#post_3421664
Last night, after I added some fish food to test my biological filter/bacteria to see how it will react to some ammonia, I noticed some worm looking things come out of the rocks to snag on some of the food flakes. At first I didnt think of them as bad, just some worms hanging out, but now I was reading some stuff and read up on the topic.
It appears I should get them out ASAP, because they multiply faster than ever. -- Get them out with a turkey baster?? Just like suck them in there??
I also noticed some thing growing on the live rock and I think it might be Aipstasia -- It says "blast them with Joes Juice" ------How exactly do I blast them?? Can some one help me out?
Thanks!
Joes juice is good stuff. When you get it look at the directions and there pretty self explanatory. As far as the worms, what did they look like? Some of these worms are good and are apart of your clean up crew (CUC). They do in fact multiply so you can get some out with the turkey baster, but I would leave some in there. JMO

 

[artemk]

Ill take a picture of them today when I get home. I am not sure what kind they are (good/bad) but they look black with tiny white stripes on them if I remember correctly.