A couple of questions before I add fish

[cypike]

After over 20 years in the hobby, clowns are still my favorite fish. My wife says theyre the golden retrievers of fish. The perfect combo of cute, derpy and smart.

They do seem to have personalities

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ammonia is zero and has shown movement down every time that I add it in. Isn’t that what I’m looking for mainly?

Yes but question is - IS IT ACCURATE? reason I suggested taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api to verify its accuracy.

 

[cypike]

Yes but question is - IS IT ACCURATE? reason I suggested taking a water sample to a store that does NOT use Api to verify its accuracy.

I can take a sample, I would guess it’s pretty accurate though because it went to 2 ppm when I originally added ammonia to the specifications on the bottle. But, I can bring a test of water in to the store tomorrow I think.

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

First thing to consider is you will now be adding food and fish waste to your very new system. This will provide fuel for both desirable and undesirable processes. It will be worth thinking about the following. What’s your nutrient management plan post fish addition? How much light energy are you inputting to the tank post fish / pre coral? Have you used live or dry rock? What’s your clean up crew plan? Ideally you want to avoid problematic algae issues that will force you into overly reactive measures and delay steady progress.

 

[cypike]

First thing to consider is you will now be adding food and fish waste to your very new system. This will provide fuel for both desirable and undesirable processes. It will be worth thinking about the following. What’s your nutrient management plan post fish addition? How much light energy are you inputting to the tank post fish / pre coral? Have you used live or dry rock? What’s your clean up crew plan? Ideally you want to avoid problematic algae issues that will force you into overly reactive measures and delay steady progress.

So I plan on getting a clean up crew but good point I’m not exactly sure when to do this. Do I do it before I see signs of algae or after?
I used dry rock and have a singe AI Prime light in the middle (eventually getting two).

 

[Seansea]

Api tests are fine for where your at. THey give you the close enough results that work for the stage your at. Once you get into adding sps to your tank you will want to get tests that are more dialed in.

You are definatly ready for clowns. And like rusty said no tank is complete without a pair or 2 depending on your size tank.

And what coastal said is def true. You want to think about the results of feeding the fish and waste production that fuels algae. I used a algae scrubber out the gate day 1 on this tank and have had no nasty algae in display what so ever. Create a better environment for the stuff to grow in and you'll be alot happier than seeing this nasty stuff all over your tank.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

Your tank seems cycled. I never had aggression problems with my ocellaris clowns, but once, one jumped..make sure you have a cover for your tank. I had a cover, do not know how it happened.

 

[Jesse Sunday]

I’m going to potentially get some clown fish tomorrow but before I do I wanted to check in here and make sure that I’m doing everything correctly. I’ve been cycling my tank for 19 days as of yesterday.

Temp 80 but will bring this down to 78

Anything else I need to be made aware of before I get fish? I’ll be drip acclimating them tomorrow unless I’m forgetting something.

You might want something to take care of the algae that's certain to come. Snails, urchins, etc., since you're likely going to hit that phase after adding some livestock.

What size tank and what lighting are you running?

Also, is the temp at 80 due to a heater?

Can't wait to see what you choose! Post pics!

 

[cypike]

Your tank seems cycled. I never had aggression problems with my ocellaris clowns, but once, one jumped..make sure you have a cover for your tank. I had a cover, do not know how it happened.

 

[cypike]

You might want something to take care of the algae that's certain to come. Snails, urchins, etc., since you're likely going to hit that phase after adding some livestock.

What size tank and what lighting are you running?

Also, is the temp at 80 due to a heater?

Can't wait to see what you choose! Post pics!

80 to help bacteria reproduce faster

 

[cypike]

Sorry for the potato quality photo

 

[Reeftanktraveler]

Beautiful fish! They will provide the ammonia from now on so you should not be adding. Keep the water changes weekly and go slow. Try to keep your hands out of the tank and let things settle in. You should be thinking about adding cuc as you will get algae.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I can take a sample, I would guess it’s pretty accurate though because it went to 2 ppm when I originally added ammonia to the specifications on the bottle. But, I can bring a test of water in to the store tomorrow I think.

You're fine. API tests are NOT BAD! They are just not as precise as others. They give you larger ranges so if you need to know an exact (or close) value, use a different test kit. BUT... ZERO IS ZERO! LOL. For establishing a biological filter in a new tank, API is perfectly fine.

 

[cypike]

Beautiful fish! They will provide the ammonia from now on so you should not be adding. Keep the water changes weekly and go slow. Try to keep your hands out of the tank and let things settle in. You should be thinking about adding cuc as you will get algae.

I’ll definitely add a clean up crew just wasn’t sure of things for them to eat right now

 

[cypike]

I’m acclimating them currently but the big one already is picking on the smaller one……

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I’m acclimating them currently but the big one already is picking on the smaller one……

How much of a size difference is there?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I’m acclimating them currently but the big one already is picking on the smaller one……

Often it's best to get 2 of the same size and let them work out who will be dominant.

 

[cypike]

How much of a size difference is there?

Not too much but there is one for sure

 

[cypike]

Often it's best to get 2 of the same size and let them work out who will be dominant.

I thought they already might have worked that out since one is smaller, my bad they were in the same display tank at the LFS

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I thought they already might have worked that out since one is smaller, my bad

Were they the only 2 clowns in the tank at the LFS?

If so, and if they were together for a little while, they certainly may have, and if so, the female(larger one) may just be annoyed by the cramped conditions.

But, to be safe, when you add them to your tank, you might put the larger one in an acclimation box for a few days and let the smaller one free to roam the tank. This *could* help with aggression since when you release the larger one, it will be the "newcomer".