Finally Starting Up!

[chaseter]

I bought a 14 g Biocube yesterday because I have been wanting salt water fish for years and finally mustered up the courage to start up.
I have read that I don't need a protein skimmer if I buy live rock as it contains the micro fauna to properly clean and keep nitrate levels normal. Is that correct? How often do I need to change water?
So, that said, I will be purchasing live sand, live rock, some various flora, and other essential reef tank life. But, my big question is what fish to purchase and how many am I allowed??? These are the fish that I have researched for tank size:
Royal Gamma - 1
False Percula Clown - 2
Mandarin Dragonet - 1
Yellow Goby - 1
Is that good for 5 fish total along with cleaner crews? Are there any other fish that are recommended that I could exchange or possibly add without going over my tank limit?
Any help is appreciated and I thank you all for your time.

 

[deejeff442]

welcome to the saltwater world.
lots to be learned and there are alot of good reefers here to help.
first a skimmer will definitly help the water quality especially in a small tank.
you will need a powerhead for the tank i would say a koralia nano or a #1.
you wont be able to keep a mandarin in a tank with out alot of live rock or a sump with live rock because the manadrins eat pods to live and your tank wont support the breeding of them.
you will need a hang on filter also.
unless the cube has one built in already.
did you read about cycling the tank?
get the tank together and put a small piece of raw shrimp in it for a few days then let it run for a month empty.
buy a good test kit and watch the ammonia and nitrites go up then back to zero ,takes about a month then the ank has the good bacteria in it to support fish.
if you do not cycle the tank and just put fish in the ammonia spike will kill the fish.
hope this helps any other question we would love to help.
good luck

 

[fishkid13]

Originally Posted by deejeff442
http:///forum/post/3085220
welcome to the saltwater world.
lots to be learned and there are alot of good reefers here to help.
first a skimmer will definitly help the water quality especially in a small tank.
you will need a powerhead for the tank i would say a koralia nano or a #1.
you wont be able to keep a mandarin in a tank with out alot of live rock or a sump with live rock because the manadrins eat pods to live and your tank wont support the breeding of them.
you will need a hang on filter also.
unless the cube has one built in already.
did you read about cycling the tank?
get the tank together and put a small piece of raw shrimp in it for a few days then let it run for a month empty.
buy a good test kit and watch the ammonia and nitrites go up then back to zero ,takes about a month then the ank has the good bacteria in it to support fish.
if you do not cycle the tank and just put fish in the ammonia spike will kill the fish.
hope this helps any other question we would love to help.
good luck
+1 You don't need to use protein skimmers but in a tank that small I would highly recommend it. And a no with the Mardain.

 

[chaseter]

Thanks so much.
I will purchase a protein skimmer and start the cycle for the tank tomorrow.
I am also going to purchase live rock but is it too soon to purchase a Mandarin or are the rocks ready to support them since I will be getting the rocks from a local store? Do the rocks need to grow for a specific amount of time to produce pods? Do I cycle the tank with live sand or do I need to put the live rock in with it?
Lastly, are 4-5 small fish good for my tanks size?

 

[deejeff442]

you dont seem to understand.you cannot have a mandarin with that setup EVER.
no matter how old the tank is.mandarins need alot of pods to survive.
pods need a place to breed meaning a sump with lr in it.a safe place where the mandarin cannot get to them while they breed.even if you had 100lbs of lr in the dt the mandaring will exhaust the supply in a week and starve.
just put the tank together lr and ls add a small piece of raw shrimp for a couple days ,take out the shrimp then watch the cycle.

 

[gypsana]

Originally Posted by chaseter
http:///forum/post/3085531
Lastly, are 4-5 small fish good for my tanks size?
I would keep it at three. Smaller tanks are harder to maintain and overcrowding is a recipe for tank crash. And defiantly no on the Mandarin. I had a hard time feeling comfortable putting one in a 90 gal. I only have 4 fish in that and I do not want to add any more. Also patience is crucial in this hobby. It will be at least 6 weeks before you and any fish to your tank. Get some sand, live rock and the saltwater in the tank first add a piece if raw shrimp to start the cycling process as deejeff442 already suggested. If you try to rush the cycling process your fish will not survive. If you do some research on these boards there are plenty of threads about that problem. Good luck and BTW welcome!

 

[gypsana]

One more thing, a lot of LFS will try top sell you damsels to cycle your tank. I would not do that because they are hard to get out and they are more than likely going to be a aggressive fish. There is also the issue on how humane of a practice it really is.

 

[chaseter]

Originally Posted by gypsana
http:///forum/post/3085581
One more thing, a lot of LFS will try top sell you damsels to cycle your tank. I would not do that because they are hard to get out and they are more than likely going to be a aggressive fish. There is also the issue on how humane of a practice it really is.
Speaking of cycling, my local store sells salt water pre-made. They have already cycled all of their water so do I need to buy the water and cycle through again?
I don't want to buy any fish to cycle a tank as that is wasted money and as you said, isn't humane.

 

[chaseter]

Originally Posted by deejeff442
http:///forum/post/3085571
you dont seem to understand.you cannot have a mandarin with that setup EVER.
no matter how old the tank is.mandarins need alot of pods to survive.
pods need a place to breed meaning a sump with lr in it.a safe place where the mandarin cannot get to them while they breed.even if you had 100lbs of lr in the dt the mandaring will exhaust the supply in a week and starve.
just put the tank together lr and ls add a small piece of raw shrimp for a couple days ,take out the shrimp then watch the cycle.
I don't understand and nobody explained it as much as you did so thanks.

 

[deejeff442]

really dont mean to be harsh but fish stores will give bad avice to sell anything.mandarines are hard to keep even for us long time hobbiests.
just like they told you thier water is precycled.
no such thing,water barely contains good bacteria which is what cycling creates.the bacteria grows on hard surfaces like lr and sand.
putting so called cycled water wont work.
in fact the only way they could have so called cycled water is to give you old water out of thier tanks.
my advice get a new lfs.
we cant stress eneough about having patience in this hobbie.

 

[deejeff442]

just reread your post if they sell premixed water that if fine,it has no bacteria in it .you need to add a shrimp to start the cycle.
there is no way of getting around safely cycling in record speed.
this is nature and it has its own pace.
it blows that we cant just get every fish or invert we want but thats the way it is.
before you buy any fish the lfs says is o.k. post it here you will get an unbiased opinion.
little cubes are hard to keep as a first tank ,the more water volume you have the easier it is to keep the water good.
with this hobbie you really need to jump right in with both feet and think down the road before you do anything.

 

[xcali1985]

One of the Local fish stores around me also claims to have water ready to do. They sell it at an amazing 10$ a gallon, however, its simply them running huge tanks in the back with LR and LS and about 30 damsels. They keep it all going and you can go anyday and purchase water. They guarantee it to be able to support fish within 24 hrs.
They even have a "start your tank today package" they very in sizes that includes live rock, live sand, and cycled water. I didn't go this route as I dont see playing all that for something that comes with time for free. Anyways, its an interesting I idea and they claim to be about to do a 1000gallon tank within the next week or so all from the package setup.
Interesting but comes for free with time. Basically all they do is take part of the established tank and transfer it.

 

[deejeff442]

if you anything then you would know ,when you move anything with live baceria it will decay on transfer and cause ammonia.
is this the new lfs scam going around?
crazy fish stores

 

[chaseter]

Originally Posted by deejeff442
http:///forum/post/3085753
if you anything then you would know ,when you move anything with live baceria it will decay on transfer and cause ammonia.
is this the new lfs scam going around?
crazy fish stores

That is why I came on here. I didn't want to get scammed or told I needed something that I don't need so I appreciate all the advice.
As someone said above, they claim that the water is ready to go once the temperature has settled but I would rather be safe and go the slow route instead of the fast route.

 

[fishkid13]

If it is easier they you can get their water just don't add anything untill the tank is cycled. To know you are having a cycle going is to have spikes of the amonia, rite, rate. Like said before don't cycle your tank with living things, damsels mostly. I agree with them being hard to get out of a tank but in a 14 gal they don't got much room to not be caught, expecally if you remove the rockwork.

 

[snaredrum]

The biggest problem with newer people is, now the tank is cycled lets go on a shopping spree. The tank is full the first week and problems start. Add very slowly. Remember this is a long going hobby and you don't need to stock in a week. Everytime you add the tank does a mini-cycle to adjust for the bioload. Just be slow in adding.

 

[extinct 1ne]

I would take out the Mandarin Dragonet. The Mandarins need A LOT of pods. 99% of the time they won't eat anything else, and even if they did they would still need the pods.

 

[king_neptune]

Originally Posted by Extinct 1ne
http:///forum/post/3085970
I would take out the Mandarin Dragonet. The Mandarins need A LOT of pods. 99% of the time they won't eat anything else, and even if they did they would still need the pods.

they can be trained to eat other food, not easy...but do-able.
i talked to a guy with 20 years experiance, he said he can get 9 out of 10 to shift to solids, but it takes a few months.
however, everyone is right, you cant have one in a tank that small. you need a place to breed pods(sump/fuge)...and even then you should still seed it regularly.
otherwise you will just watch your mandarin shrink down to scale and bones, and then die.

 

[deejeff442]

also if they are selling water from a tank with lr and fish how do you know it isnt contaminated with ich,lypo or whatever?
king i believe gypsy has her mandarin eating solids but the mandarine will still need the fatty pods in thier diet.there isnt a prepated food that has the nutrition that the pods have to maintain good health for a mandarin.
i have mine in a 90 gallon with 100 lbs of lr then i have a 30 gallon sump with probably 50 more lbs of rock and rubble for the pods to breed i dont need to supplement pods anymore.

 

[chaseter]

So 2 clowns, and a gamma, and a goby should be fine.
Would a star do fine in my tank?