Couple easy questions.

[rotarygeek]

Ok my tank (30 gallon - 15 pounds live rock at the moment) has been cycling for almost 2 weeks now. Yesterday i went to a lfs and bought a Nano skimmer. It was broke before i even got to use it, so i took it back. They would only give me store credit, so i bought a couple more pounds of live rock, and a damsel. Now my questions are...
1. How important is a skimmer in a smaller tank like mine, and can you point me to a good one. Do i absolutely have to run one?
2. Will the addition of a fish midway through the cycling mess it up?
3. And is a 30 gallon hood from walmart enough lighting to keep a few fish and live rock?
4. And cleaner shrimp, does this count as a fish for the 1 fish for every 10 gallons rule? Or is it just there to help clean.
5. Same question, just for snails. I want basically 1 fish (lionfish) but i want this tank to be crystal clear and immaculately clean.
As it sits it has a 70 Gallon penguin bio wheel filter, and 15 pounds of live rock (as soon as more money comes in ill up it to about 30-40 pounds). Once its fully cycled and im ready to invest in a lionfish, ill be getting rid of the damsel.
Here is a picture of my test results im guessing about Midway through the cycle
http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tank001fv3.jpg
http://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tank002af6.jpg
http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tank003hu6.jpg
The levels are a bit high, but i guess thats expected midway through the cycling. The ammonia i didn't get a pic of, but it has gone from 4.0 ppm two days ago, down to 1.0 ppm yesterday. Ill check it again today.
*ninja edit
What about a background? I don't want to paint this one because once i get the hang of saltwater, ill be upgrading and this will go back to being my albino clawed frogs home. How important is a background?

 

[sigmachris]

Originally Posted by RotaryGeek
http:///forum/post/2467992
Ok my tank (30 gallon - 15 pounds live rock at the moment) has been cycling for almost 2 weeks now. Yesterday i went to a lfs and bought a Nano skimmer. It was broke before i even got to use it, so i took it back. They would only give me store credit, so i bought a couple more pounds of live rock, and a damsel. Now my questions are...
1. How important is a skimmer in a smaller tank like mine, and can you point me to a good one. Do i absolutely have to run one? IMO skimmers aren't required for a small tank. Will it help, yes but not an absolute.
2. Will the addition of a fish midway through the cycling mess it up? It can be torture on the fish, just wait a couple of more weeks.
3. And is a 30 gallon hood from walmart enough lighting to keep a few fish and live rock? Good for fish and rock, but not good for corals.
4. And cleaner shrimp, does this count as a fish for the 1 fish for every 10 gallons rule? Or is it just there to help clean. Shrimp have a positive affect on the bioload, so no they don't count as a fish. Shrimp are extremely sensitive, so wait a couple of months before adding.
5. Same question, just for snails. I want basically 1 fish (lionfish) but i want this tank to be crystal clear and immaculately clean. Not familar with lionfish, but snails and hermit crabs don't count towards the bioload, they clean up the tank and have a positive affect on the bioload.
As it sits it has a 70 Gallon penguin bio wheel filter, and 15 pounds of live rock (as soon as more money comes in ill up it to about 30-40 pounds). Once its fully cycled and im ready to invest in a lionfish, ill be getting rid of the damsel. Depending on the rock and how cured it is, you can have a small cycle everytime you add more rock. Once again, I would add the shrimp after all the rock is in place.
Here is a picture of my test results im guessing about Midway through the cycle
http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tank001fv3.jpg
http://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tank002af6.jpg
http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?i...tank003hu6.jpg
The levels are a bit high, but i guess thats expected midway through the cycling. The ammonia i didn't get a pic of, but it has gone from 4.0 ppm two days ago, down to 1.0 ppm yesterday. Ill check it again today.
*ninja edit
What about a background? I don't want to paint this one because once i get the hang of saltwater, ill be upgrading and this will go back to being my albino clawed frogs home. How important is a background?
Good luck,
Chris

 

[mcbdz]

What lionfish are you planning on? Unless it is a dwarf your tank will be too small. Also with a lion they are a big load on a small tank so a ps would help, but not a nessesity. You will have to do frequent water changes and good filtration. Not sure if clean up crew will survive lion?

 

[natclanwy]

Not sure about snails but I would guess the Shrimp will definetly not survive the Lion.
You will definetly want to wait until the cycle is completly over before you add fish and there are better ways to cycle a tank than adding a damsel not meaning to flame you just for future reference or anyone else that is starting a tank. It is hard on the fish if they even survive but after the cycle they are very difficult to remove you may be alright with a small tank and only 15lbs of rock but try this in something like a 55 with 30 or 40 pounds of rock and you will be bald by the time you get it out if you ever get it out

. Very entertaining to watch someone else try to remove it though

.
Snails like someone already said aren't counted towards the bioload
I would suggest using a PS if you are looking for a immaculant tank and maybe look into a canister filter also.
Lights should be plenty for the rock and a lion but coming from the cheap walmart hoods your tank will look much nicer if you invest in power compacts I never liked the look of my tank with a single NO flourescent on it.

 

[rotarygeek]

Ok so the shrimp and snails don't count towards the bioload. The more the better then i guess. Also, im not done adding lr, i want it around 30-35 pounds for this tank. I would really like a lionfish, but if its going to be hard to take care of for a beginner fish, then ill try something easier. The lighting is all i can afford right now, Im going in small steps so i need to work within my abilities here. Can anyone suggest a good fish for me? i wanted clownfish, but then i realized i would have to take care of an anemone and i don't know how to do that yet, so i don't know about that.

 

[natclanwy]

You don't need an anenome to keep a clown, clowns are perfectly content without one. If you like clowns they are probably a good choice to start with. I'm not sure how difficult a lion is to care for other than I have heard that they have a pretty heavy bioload so you would have to pay extra attention to your water quality. Also you are pretty limited as to what you can keep with them since they will generally eat any fish that will fit in their mouth and will also eat shrimp and crabs. You will also be limited to dwarf lions not sure which type of lion you were looking at but a Voltian will reach 12-15" in length and need a much larger tank.

 

[rotarygeek]

So i have decided against getting a lionfish for now. Just too much of a bioload for me to deal with since i work odd hours and don't want to end up having to moniter this tank for hours a day. Are there any other interesting fish that are good for beginners? I don't really want to have damsels other than the one i have now for cycling. And exactly how hard is an anemone to take care of?

 

[leeleeah]

The lion fish is definately not a good choice for your tank size. They grow quite large, prefer live food, and they are extremely poisonous. I would go with the clowns, maybe royal gramma, or some other small hardy fish only after your tank is fully cycled in.