My First SW Tank 24 Gal Aquapod

[blazin2k6]

Here is a photo of my first saltwater aquarium so if any of you could give me help or advice on getting this 24 gallon aquapod looking nice for me i would greatly appreciate any feedback. I am very very new to all of this. So please help me anyone if you can. Also let me know how everything looks so far. Right now i only have about 7 lbs of LiveRock and 30 lbs or so of LiveSand and 1 Yellow Tail Blue Damsel. The LFS said i need to start with that and wait for about 4 weeks to put anything else in. I have had the damsel in for a day now and seems to be going great. Thanks

 

[reefer545]

Take the damsel back, if you can get it out! Buy at least 20 more lbs of CURED Live Rock. Buy an extra powerhead or two and place them on the opposite side of the tank from where the inlet is, and pointed across your rocks or toward the front center of your tank. After any die off from your new LR (although there should be none, watch the water levels for a week) levels off, then put a fish in, NOT a damsel, unless you really want damsels. That is just my opinion. Damsels can become really aggressive. Research what kind of fish you may want, along with what kind of corals you may want. Then buy them. Good luck. Great Start.

 

[blazin2k6]

Thanks reefer545. I only got the damsels because that is what they said to start off with at the petshop and it was a cheap fish so. But yeah i want to add more live rock than what i have and have a nice coral setup with some shrimp and fish. I would like to add these fish. Anyone know if they would all be able to get along ?
Cleaner Wrasse
Mandarin Dragonet - Spotted
Orchid Dottyback
Orange Skunk Clownfish
Bubble Tip Anemone
Lawnmower Blenny
Fire Shrimp x2
aND a couple crab or snails to help keep it clean also.
Would that sound like a good start after the water is finished cycling?

 

[clay12340]

The dragonet and lawnmower blenny are probably not the best choices. They both have very specific diets and will deplete a small system of their needs and starve to death. Some people have success converting them to other types of more readily available foods, but it is certainly not guaranteed and would not be a good introduction to salt water.
A start should be one fish or a mated pair. Adding more than that might tax the biological filter too much and not allow it time to grow to meet the newly increased needs. A few weeks or more after the first fish settles in add your second. Slow and steady is the way to go with salt water.
Five fish is probably too much for a 24 gallon tank. A reef tank especially will generally need to be much lighter on fish than a typical freshwater tank.

 

[kerriann]

I would strongly advise against the Mandarin. These are very tempermental fish that are hard to get to eat. I had one for 10 days(by accident - never should've got the thing) in my 24gal JBJ nano and it basically starved itself. The cleaner wrasse is a nice addition, but has a high mortality rate. If there aren't enough parasites for it to eat off the other fish it too will starve. We got pretty lucky with our BTA because we added it after only 3 months but I'd recommend cycling the tank for 6 months or so from what I've learned. The dottyback I know nothing about so I won't pretend like I do and clowns are always a great addition to any tank! I'd absolutely get a decent amount of cleaners - we have 2 green emeralds, a sally lightfoot (excellent for hair algae), 8 hermits and 10 snails (nassarius to clean the sand, astreas to clean the glass). i like our six lined wrasse a lot - she's got a lot of personality and very nice looking fish!

 

[blazin2k6]

Thanks for the feedback Clay and KerriAnn. I would not buy all the fish at once. Just was wondering if all them went together. I am going to take the damsel back to the lfs after 4 weeks and they said i could exchange it for another. Well Thanks for all your information. It helped me alot.

 

[peef]

Alot of people say no to the BTA's until the tank has been up for 4-6 months. I understand why, but in my case, before I decided to really research and figured out how much I really love this hobby I put mine in immediatly after my tank cycled. (Before first water change even) Not proud of this but point being he is alive healthy and loving life, although he does poop alot

. I agree with above statements stay away from mandarin and damsels. Firefish, cardinals, clowns, blennies, gobies, some wrasse but investigate (recently had a disheartening leopard wrasse incedent), are nice starting fish. A basic rule of bio load is 5 corals to 1 fish. Stick with that and you should fill your tank and not really excede the bioload. I would get more than a couple of hermits and snails. You want at least like 5-8 of each. After full tank cycle I would remove all stock sponges also, they are nitrate FACTORIES, put live rock rubble in chambers and run some filter floss instead. FF is cheap to replace and I find more effective than sponge.

 

[reefer545]

Originally Posted by Blazin2k6
Thanks reefer545. I only got the damsels because that is what they said to start off with at the petshop and it was a cheap fish so. But yeah i want to add more live rock than what i have and have a nice coral setup with some shrimp and fish. I would like to add these fish. Anyone know if they would all be able to get along ?
Cleaner Wrasse
Mandarin Dragonet - Spotted
Orchid Dottyback
Orange Skunk Clownfish
Bubble Tip Anemone
Lawnmower Blenny
Fire Shrimp x2
aND a couple crab or snails to help keep it clean also.
Would that sound like a good start after the water is finished cycling?
The clown, dottyback, shrimp will be great. BTA not so much, esp[ecially in a small tank. I twill move most likely and sting anything in its path. Maybe a diamond watchman goby instead of the lawnmower. Maybe a sixline instead of the cleaner. Pick your crabs carefully. Good work otherwise.

 

[blazin2k6]

OK small update. Today i went to lfs and grabbed a couple crabs and 2 snails. They seem to be doing great in the tank so hopefully they will keep it clean and the cycle will go smoothly and i will have added a new fish in 3 weeks or so. Well i'll post more photos tomorrow when it is daylight. Hope that is ok to add the 2 snails and 2 crabs for now.

 

[clay12340]

A basic rule of bio load is 5 corals to 1 fish.
Could you elaborate on that Peef? It doesn't seem to make any sense to me.

 

[bjoe23]

gotta be carefull with a damsel as ur first fish

 

[peef]

Originally Posted by Clay12340
Could you elaborate on that Peef? It doesn't seem to make any sense to me.
If you put 5 corals into your tank per every one fish....safe amount of fish to have so you don't overstock. It will allow time for tank to adjust accordingly if you say add 1 fish today, then spend time on corals, after you have five or so, whether its 1 month later or a year, get another fish if you want. By the time you have 3-4 fish you have a beautiful tank that is not overstocked as far as bioload. Fish are a lot more stress on equilibrium of tank than coral.

 

[blazin2k6]

Hey if i took the damsel back to the lfs. What would be a good recommendation on another fish to help build my cycle. I don't care if i waste money and it happen to die. Hopefully it won't die. I got copepods running around my LR and 2 snails and 2 crabs running around in my tank and the damsel been in there for 5 days now and seems to be doing well. Only had tank running for 6 days. So let me know if i could put some other type of good starter fish in there. one that i could keep for the long haul. But i am not worried about the price of it in case i lose it or something. Would a mandarin work ok as a starter fish by itself ? Or a clownfish or what ? i just want something different than this devil damsel.

 

[clay12340]

No a mandarin won't work they shouldn't be in a tank that small and definitely not one less than a year old.
Don't add another fish yet. Give the tank two or three more weeks and then fish the damsel out and give it back to your LFS and get something else. A clown, neon goby, firefish, or barnacle blenny might be a good choice.

 

[blazin2k6]

Ok thanks for the suggestion Clay. Ill just keep letting the water cycle then and be PATIENT. The one thing i am not good at but i know i must be patient if i want it to work out good. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[blazin2k6]

Ok well so i decided to go ahead and keep the Blue Yellowtailed Damsel. The lfs said they are the least aggresive of all the damsels so hopefully after i put another fish in there i will see if it puts up with it or not. If it is harrassing the new fish then i guess i will have to remove it. And i have noticed there are plenty of those little Fireworms around my LR. Well hope to have some new photos on Sunday of the tank and let everyone see how it is going. Everything seems to be thriving in my tank at the moment though.

 

[blazin2k6]

Ok here goes an updated photo. I Have some type of algae starting to form on top of my Livesand. I just went and purchased a Green Star Polyp but as you see it is not open. Will have more photos of it when it opens up. Let me know how everything is starting to look.

 

[blazin2k6]

What is my Yellowtail Damsel doing ? He keeps getting in a corner and looks like its biting on the glass and then he starts shaking and kicking up sand with his tailfin. Anyone know what is causing this behaviour ? lol. Its kind of funny to see. Otherwise it is swimming around the tank just fine. Well thanks if anyone knows.

 

[blazin2k6]

New Updates pics of tank. Hope everyone likes them. Let me know what you think please. Take care everyone. Also could anyone tell me what would be good tankmates with my Orchid Dottyback. Would 2 Black and White False Percs be ok or should i just go with 1 ? And also how would a Twin Spot Goby be as well ? Thanks

 

[grabbitt]

Tank looks good so far. Excellent choice on the Fridmani

He looks really healthy. I've got one in my 30 gallon and he is by far my favorite fish.