new black and white clowns

[blayz77]

well that depends on you and how fast you want to add. but i added as follows once my tank was cycled. which varies on teh lenght of time that takes.
first i added my cleaning crew which is all the shrimps and snails and crabs
im sure prople are runnign more inverts on average then me in a 28g probably.
but i felt like starting kinda small so i started like this
2 emerald crabs
1 pom pom
1 fire shrimp
1 cleaner shrimp
5 nass snails
6 astrea snails
after like 4 days i felt that i needed a little more so i added
2 turbo
4 scarlet hermit
i am probably still under what most people run for a cuc
after like 3 days i added the diamond goby and the next day after that i added the clowns.
i would have probably waited a week before adding the clown after the diamond goby but it seems these black and white clown are a little scarce so i saw them in the shop i watched them for a while liked what i saw cause the striped went all the way around and the fins looked in good shape so i jumped on em.
however i will not be adding any more fish to the tank for a little while cause i want to add some corrals now so i picked up some extra testing stuff which im testing right now to see if i can prime my water and get it ready for corals before i put them in there so ill ahve to see what my lvls are and then if they are within the limits needed ill prolly add a corral or two provided my water remains stable

 

[crypt keeper]

I would wait a month. You added stuff quickly. Let your tank get used to the bio load and get better established. Let everything eat and poop. Just be patient. That is the key. You were with your cycle. Continue that.

 

[blayz77]

will do, i didnt plan on adding anything more for a while, i want to make sure my water lvls are ok and stable. i did a test of a lot of things last night and found some of my lvls are low or 0 with the alk.magnesium, etc and my calcium said it was high in the 515 area.
would it be ok for me to dose a little bit or should i wait a while. i dont want to do anything that will hurt my fish

 

[tad]

Originally Posted by Blayz77
http:///forum/post/2953620
hey everyone,
so today was a big day for me as i just dove into the whole reef tank thing without really knowing anything about it except for bits and pieces i ahve read and seen online. so im pretty nervous about the whole thing.
so my tank is set up and its been running for about an hour now so far so good i guess. nothign to exciting as of yet just water rocks and sand. gonna try to post a picture so you can see it, hopfully it comes out.
so i gotta couple questions mayby you have the answers.
1. i currently have the hqi light running, since all i have is rocks how long if at all do i need to have the light on?
2. i know that around 81 and 82 degrees is to hot for the water but can it get to cold? whats the minimum temperature the water can be for a reef tank. right now the water temp is 71.5
3. there are lots of little particle looking things flying around the tank right now i think they are tiny bubbles.. how long should it take for these to go away..
4. what exaclty is cycling? is that just what you call the period of time that you have your tank running with nothign in it? i plan on running this for about 30 days before i start to put anything in like corals and fish
ohh and one last thing in the instruction book i read that i shouldnt run the protien skimmer until the nitrogen cycle is done.. how long is the nitrogen cycle?
thanks in andvanced for any answers suggestions or advice in advanced!
2-13-08
Originally Posted by Blayz77
http:///forum/post/2955927
so ive had my 28g nano running for 3 days and i see everyone on here testing their own water which makes sense to me so you dont always have to go to the LFS and have them do it. "im new to all this" so i swung by the LFS and picked myself up a test kit.
so tonight just for kicks i decided to test my waters even though i know 3 days is too soon but im shocked by my results. if im not mistaken granted im not an expert id say my water is almost set. here are the numbers i came up with..
PH - 7.8 - 8.0
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5 - 10
based on my findings would you say its almost time for me to put a clean up crew in there? i think my ph is suppose to be a little higher not sure about if the nitrate lvl is ok lower is better on that i believe..
let me know what you guys think
thx
2-14-08
Originally Posted by rong>Blayz77
http:///forum/post/2967195
finally decided to get my first fish after having my cuc in the tank for a while.
kinda picky when it comes to picking out my fish i guess, but i saw this little guy in my lfs today and he looked to be in good health and was small which is what im looking for so i can watch them grow. here is a picture
sorry for the crappy quality of the picture but its night time and i have a lot of the lights off.

Originally Posted by Blayz77
http:///forum/post/2968219
welp i went to another fish store today and saw these little black and white clowns. so i went ahead and picked them up. here is a pic they are floating in the tank. ill try to get better pics later.

I hope this all works out for you, but it goes against everything I have ever learned about building a reef tank. To much to fast.
Can someone tell me I am wrong please. I want to be wrong. I want to have a tank with LR LS CUC and three fish in 11 days but I dont want it to crash. You posted on the second day after putting sand and rock in that you thought your water was almost ready. I am getting more confused the more I read.
And believe me when I tell you I am not being an azz, I just want to get it right when I start, which will be as soon as I understand the cycling process and know what equipment to buy first so I dont have to buy it twice. Then I will be ready.

 

[blayz77]

mayby to fast with the addition of my diamond goby and then clownfish...
i know it may be a little fast, but as for my tank being ready the live rock that i bought had been sitting in there tub for about 4 months once i set it all up i sgot my test kit after like 3 days. i have been testing the water every day since ive had the test kits.
the very firs ttime i tested my water the nitrate was between 10-20 everythign else was 0. and the next day i tested again and everythign was 0 and has been since.
i should also mentioned i did dose fritz zyme or somethign like that just for an extra thing. but after the 2 week mark i had diatoms or brown algea all over the rocks and sand especially. my lfs guy said thats a sign your tanks ready, and ive also read many times people say the same thing.
so about 2-3 days after watching my brown algea cover everything and it was a noticable difference each day how much more there was. so then i decided to add my cuc.
after my cuc was in for 4-5 days i added my diamond goby. now like i said i would have liked to wait on the clown a bit longer but i saw a small black pair which is what i was looking for and they are harder to come by so i jumped on it.
but ive been testing my water everyday and i do mean everyday since ive got my test kit and everythign is still good. i even dropped 200 more dollars on tests yesterday for the magnesium clacium kh/alck strontainum and whatever else. so i can prep my water for coral in a few weeks.
ive seen a post were someone said there water cycled in 7 days. its random for everbody i guess or what kinda of rocks you use..
believe me i dont really want to spend all this money for nothing so im trying to do it right and take my time. im not gonna be adding anything else to my tank for a few weeks at least. i want to make sure what i have is gonna be good.
and will most likly be testing my waters every day still.

 

[tad]

Originally Posted by Blayz77
http:///forum/post/2969089
but after the 2 week mark i had diatoms or brown algea all over the rocks and sand especially.
Ok I must have my days wrong cuz you posted you started it on the 13th So today is the 25th so thats only 13 days today from start to finish.
I hope it all works out. I am sure it will you seem to really know your stuff. Good luck

 

[blayz77]

hah i dont know anything, reading on message boards for months and real life practice is not the same. this is my first fish tank ive had so im on a big learning curve. im relying on books/research and lots of questions to guys on the forum and in multiple lfs stores.
i hope it works out too lol, everythign is still alive

 

[crypt keeper]

did you start your tank on the 13th or not?

 

[saltagain]

Are you sure your tank had a chance to cycle.13 days isn't very long i put cured lr in my tank and it took 5 weeks to cycle.Good luck to you and i love your clowns...my favorite salt fish.

 

[blayz77]

no i started my tank a few days before the 13th, thats just when i put my first post up cause i was excited and wanted to share.

 

[crypt keeper]

did you make your own water or buy pre made water? Some people never see a cycle. Your water params are stable and you may never see one. I hope you dont.

 

[blayz77]

i got my water from my lfs, mayby later ill try mixing my own but im trying not to get in over my head there is so much that i read and wanna try like a fuge and stuff but i think for now i should keep away from all that stuff.
my lfs guy was telling me the other day about some ultraviolet light thingy that goes in the tank and kills harmful stuff. im sure it has its purpose but i havent read about many people using these things. got any comments on them

 

[crypt keeper]

I have never used one. I have a nano. Its about 4 months old or so. I buy the sea pure salt water for all my water changes. Been doing it since I started it. Its easy. Cost about $15 a month and its perfect everytime.

 

[blayz77]

alright thx ill ahve to look into that 15 dolars a month beats buying it from the lfs

 

[tad]

02-13-2009, 01:18 AM
Blayz77
Yellow Tang Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 79
just starting out 28g nano

[hr]
hey everyone,
so today was a big day for me as i just dove into the whole reef tank thing without really knowing anything about it except for bits and pieces i ahve read and seen online. so im pretty nervous about the whole thing.
so my tank is set up and its been running for about an hour now so far so good i guess. nothign to exciting as of yet just water rocks and sand. gonna try to post a picture so you can see it, hopfully it comes out.
so i gotta couple questions mayby you have the answers.
1. i currently have the hqi light running, since all i have is rocks how long if at all do i need to have the light on?
2. i know that around 81 and 82 degrees is to hot for the water but can it get to cold? whats the minimum temperature the water can be for a reef tank. right now the water temp is 71.5
3. there are lots of little particle looking things flying around the tank right now i think they are tiny bubbles.. how long should it take for these to go away..
4. what exaclty is cycling? is that just what you call the period of time that you have your tank running with nothign in it? i plan on running this for about 30 days before i start to put anything in like corals and fish
ohh and one last thing in the instruction book i read that i shouldnt run the protien skimmer until the nitrogen cycle is done.. how long is the nitrogen cycle?
thanks in andvanced for any answers suggestions or advice in advanced!

 

[blayz77]

not sure why you want to post up all my previous messages, still doesnt change the fact that my tank may have cycled fast. never claimed to have had it running for a long time. correct me if im wrong here but everything i have read has stated when brown algea forms or diatoms its a sign of your tank being ready and done with cycling.

 

[crypt keeper]

Tad get over it.
anyway. You should be fine. Just watch your levels over the next month. Wait to about 3 - 4 weeks to add any fish or coral.

 

[jaybroreef]

HEY!!! YOUR GONNA NEED TO SLOWLY RAISE YOUR WATER TEMP TO ABOUT 80- THAT IS THE AVERAGE TEMP OF A REEF. I KEEP MINE AT 82, AND HAVE FOR 12 YEARS...EVERYTHING IS VERY HEALTHY AND REPRODUCING...JUST BE SURE U RAISE IT SLOWLY. I BELIEVE YOU ARE THINKING OF A UV STERILIZER.. THE UV LITE KILLS ORGANIC MATERIALS, PREVENTS DISEASE, ETC. IT IS NOT A NECESSITY, BUT THEY ARE NICE, I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT ADD ANYTHING ELSE FOR AT LEAST A MONTH, LET EVERYTHING CATCH UP!!! SURE DONT WANT TO LOSE THOSE BEAUT. CLOWNS! ALSO, WATCH OUT FOR UR LFS SALESMAN, SOME OF THEM WILL TRY TO SELL U THINGS U DO NOT NEED!!!! GOOD LUCK

 

[tad]

Originally Posted by crypt keeper
http:///forum/post/2969846
Tad get over it.
anyway. You should be fine. Just watch your levels over the next month. Wait to about 3 - 4 weeks to add any fish or coral.
I am over it, just dont care for being lied to. Thats all. And understand it a lot easier to get the facts you need if people tell the truth. I will not post on this thread again. PEACE.

 

[blayz77]

80 degrees eh. i see a lot of people running around 77 or so which is where i am trying to keep mine. when i first got my tank i am not sure why since my house is always around 72-75. but my tank would be min of 80 in the morning and a high of 86 with the light on.
so after trying fans which kept the water at 80. i did not like the noise so i bought a chiller which does a good job. once i got the chiller it would bring my water to 77 and once it got close to 79 it would kick on and take it to 77.
i noticed the last couple morning the water has been more on the cooler side and right now the water is 76.5 which is the first time its dropped below 77.
so today when my lfs opens i guess im gonna go get a heater.
and yes i did have the chiller and water temps more stable before i put anything live in there i wasnt about to put somethign in with a 5-6 degrees swing.