Decreasing Ammonia but no nitrites

[brandon429]

And if you plan on only clowns and a goby those tend to just fine without disease preps, 20 years of posts at nano-reef.com shows. sometimes occasional losses occur but not too often, they mainly do well.

 

[Bentheclownfishman]

Do you have a LFS (local fish store) other than PetCo? I do not have a quarantine tank and have been reefing since the early 90's. My method is to only buy from a reputable LFS and never buy a fish that has just arrived to the store. If I see a fish I like, I will wait a week or two, watching the fish for signs of illness before purchasing.

If you plan on ever having coral in that tank, you can never add copper to it. If you do, it will be a fish only tank.

I have some in St. Louis which is quite a drive, but doable. It’s about a 2 hour drive… so it makes observing kinda impractical. I hate living in a rural area because it makes getting stuff hard.
I do have a Kenya tree in the tank. If I lost it though it wouldn’t kill me. I got that rock and the Kenya, and macro algae for 10 bucks. (Going out of business sale at my only close LFS… now I have none that are close .
I’m thinking I’d just add the clowns (I’ll look into the stores in St. Louis to see what they have) and then avoid getting corals and other additions until I can afford a quarintine tank. Not ideal but my options are linited. If they do come down with something I can dose directly and loose the Kenya….

 

[Bentheclownfishman]

And if you plan on only clowns and a goby those tend to just fine without disease preps, 20 years of posts at nano-reef.com shows. sometimes occasional losses occur but not too often, they mainly do well.

That makes me feel SO MUCH BETTER. I know it’s out of the ordinary but my dream is really just the clowns and some softies. I love elaborate scapes and such, but it’s not my thing.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

I have some in St. Louis which is quite a drive, but doable. It’s about a 2 hour drive… so it makes observing kinda impractical. I hate living in a rural area because it makes getting stuff hard.
I do have a Kenya tree in the tank. If I lost it though it wouldn’t kill me. I got that rock and the Kenya, and macro algae for 10 bucks. (Going out of business sale at my only close LFS… now I have none that are close .
I’m thinking I’d just add the clowns (I’ll look into the stores in St. Louis to see what they have) and then avoid getting corals and other additions until I can afford a quarintine tank. Not ideal but my options are linited. If they do come down with something I can dose directly and loose the Kenya….

Yeah, that's tough. Two hours is a long way to drive for a LFS. Transporting the fish that far could also be tricky. I would have a styrofoam cooler and make sure that they bag the fish separately in a lot of water for the journey. Just my opinion. I would also try to purchase from a store that keeps copper in their fish tanks, just remember not to put that water in your tank. Net the fish from the LFS water and then release them into your tank.

I would trust a true saltwater fish store over a big box store most any day. Not to say your PetCo isn't good, I would just be leery myself.

 

[Bentheclownfishman]

Yeah, that's tough. Two hours is a long way to drive for a LFS. Transporting the fish that far could also be tricky. I would have a styrofoam cooler and make sure that they bag the fish separately in a lot of water for the journey. Just my opinion. I would also try to purchase from a store that keeps copper in their fish tanks, just remember not to put that water in your tank. Net the fish from the LFS water and then release them into your tank.

I would trust a true saltwater fish store over a big box store most any day. Not to say your PetCo isn't good, I would just be leery myself.

Yes, it really stinks. I have a couple coolers, but no styrofoam. I could buy one though. Maybe today I can go explore the Closer stores and talk to the staff.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Yes, it really stinks. I have a couple coolers, but no styrofoam. I could buy one though. Maybe today I can go explore the Closer stores and talk to the staff.

Coolers are fine, the fish will be bagged. Its just something to keep the temp stable.