Cycle almost complete, I hope....

[dkw27]

My 125 gallon tank has been setup and running since 7-17-07 with 140 lbs of LR and 120 lbs of LS...2 chromis still healthy and happy and I noticed my first sign of brown algae on some of the LR, I'm so excited

My ammonia and nitrite are low, but not zero yet, everything else looks good...I'm hoping in the next week or so the tank should be fully cycled...I'm going to wait until the first of the year to add any coral, just to be on the safe side, but I would definitely like to add some reef safe fish fairly soon..Clean up crew will come first, of course, but having a hard time deciding on which fish to be the first...I like clownfish, blackcap basslet, blue chromis and many others....Decisions, decisions...Any suggestions?

 

[renogaw]

yes, take your chromis out of the tank. poor things you shouldnt have any fish in there until you are at zero ammonia and nitrites.
other than that, start out with the clown fish they are hardy enough where you can get used to the daily grind of owning a fish tank. don't necessarily get perculas, but don't get the more aggressive ones either. i love my percs, but i seriously wish they were maybe black and white clowns or something.
firefish, basslets, gobies, dwarf angels, etc are great choices. if you're going to have inverts and corals you need to choose your fish based on that. some of the nicer looking fish will eat them so you'd be stuck with having to keep making trips for inverts or getting rid of the fish.

 

[dkw27]

The chromis are doing great, they're healthy, very active and have a hearty appetite...I don't have anywhere to put them anyway, but really they are fine...
I was hoping to have percs and black and white in the same tank...I've read where the black and whites are the only clowns that get along with other clowns...I really like the flame angel, some say they are reef safe and other sources say they may nip at coral and should be the last fish introduced in a tank...Anyone with a reef tank have a flame angel?

 

[renogaw]

lots do, but seriously how do you know the chromis are doing ok? even small amounts of ammonia will chew at their gills. go put your finger in some cleaner, put it up to your nose, and see if you're comfey now do it all the time. i realize it's probably too late, but whatever lfs sold you live animals to cycle your tank really gave you very bad advise.
i have a coral beauty. there are multiple posts about dwarf angels (no matter the type) nipping at corals, multiple posts about them not nipping, multiple posts about aggression or no aggression. it seems that it really depends on the fish.

 

[dkw27]

It was never my intention to hurt the chromis, so I am sorry for that if I have...They have been in the tank since 7-19-07 and I'm hoping they will be there for a long time...I will definitely wait until the levels reach 0 before adding any more livestock....

 

[dkw27]

Will clown fish be happy with only LR in the tank? I don't plan on adding any coral until the first of the year....

 

[renogaw]

yes they will be

 

[ncacura]

your clownfish should be fine......anemone eventually will make them more happy

as far as a flame angel goes, they are hit or miss. I have one in my 75gal with a bunch of corals and its fine. never had a problem with it. my ex g/f had one and it picked on everything, so its really a matter of the fish, you just need to watch them closely the first couple days.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by dkw27
Will clown fish be happy with only LR in the tank? I don't plan on adding any coral until the first of the year....

Remember that technically anemones are not reef safe. Many of us have them in our reef setups, but they can choose to move at any time and can/will sting other corals (and often kill them).

 

[dkw27]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Remember that technically anemones are not reef safe. Many of us have them in our reef setups, but they can choose to move at any time and can/will sting other corals (and often kill them).
Should I just avoid getting anemones all together? Maybe just get some toadstools, mushrooms, frogspawn etc....I don't have MH lighting, just Coralife Aqualight compact fluor. Thanks for your help in all of this...

 

[1journeyman]

Up to you. Just wanted to warn ya so you make an informed decision.
I am a fan of Halides for anemones though.
Your clowns will be fine without an anemone.

 

[ncacura]

I agree that your clowns will be fine, however, without one, and if you decide to get frogspawn and other like corals, the clown fish COULD host the coral and SOMETIMES the corals don't like that and they CAN die. Notice the emphasis......A lot of anemones will stay in one place once their happy, however some like to roam a lot, read up on what you get before you get one. If your going to get corals and stuff I'd reccomend metal halide, good luck.

 

[renogaw]

i've seen pics of clowns being hosted by a clam... and the darn clown was acutally INSIDE the mantle!

 

[eugenez_21]

I personaly love seeing clowns with a anenome. Anenomes are non predictable but i know people who told me to get one let it find a spot and sit there for a month and if its happy and hasnt moved you souldnt have a problem with corals.

 

[dkw27]

Originally Posted by ncacura
I agree that your clowns will be fine, however, without one, and if you decide to get frogspawn and other like corals, the clown fish COULD host the coral and SOMETIMES the corals don't like that and they CAN die. Notice the emphasis......A lot of anemones will stay in one place once their happy, however some like to roam a lot, read up on what you get before you get one. If your going to get corals and stuff I'd reccomend metal halide, good luck.
I'm not going to go with MH for several reasons, so I've been doing some research on what types of coral will do well with CF...So far I've come up with; toadstool, mushrooms, sinularias, frogspawn and hammer coral...Am I missing any that will work with CF?

 

[dkw27]

Another question...The brown algae is really starting to accumulate on the LR in the tank and on the sand in the refugium...The refug plants seem to be doing well, but do I need to add some sort of clean up crew to live in the refug and keep the sand clean?

 

[rstiles]

yes, add clean up crew to both.

 

[dkw27]

Originally Posted by rstiles
yes, add clean up crew to both.
I have a 125 gallon tank, but I'm not sure how big the refug is, it has 20 lbs of LS in it, plus LR in a separate chamber....Any clue on what should live in there and how much? Eventually, I would like to breed copepods in the refug, so that needs to be taken into consideration....

 

[florida joe]

What Fish ? a buyers guide to marine fish by Tristan Lougher is a very good soft cover book on mairne fish

 

[dkw27]

Originally Posted by florida joe
What Fish ? a buyers guide to marine fish by Tristan Lougher is a very good soft cover book on mairne fish
I only have 2 chromis at the moment, my tank is on its 4th week of cycling...My question was what sort of clean up crew and to add to the refugium....I was thinking of a few snails would be enough to take care of the refugium, but just looking for feedback...