Need advice for Stocking a Nano

Michael W. · Sep 30, 2018

I'm about to start my first nano saltwater (a Fluval EVO 13.5) and I need some ideas for stocking. Fish, corals, cleanup crew, anything that worked for you could work for me. Thank you!

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

In my evo 13.5 I have
1. Purple Firefish
1. Oc. Clownfish
3. Astrea snails
2. Scarlet hermit crabs
1. Emeralds crab
1. Nassarius snail
1. Bumblebee snail (carnviore)
And I ordered a pistol shrimp, watchman goby and a scarlet cleaner shrimp. Goby was DOA and pistol shrimp and cleaner shrimp died 24 hours into the tank. They didn't handle shipping well. I know it wasnt my fault because I got a emerald crab 2 days later and it's doing amazing

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

Oh and for corals I have
2. Zoanthids
1. Seasons Greetings Montipora
1. Frogspawn
2. Different species of mushrooms. I have everything under stock flow and lighting but the monti is pretty high up and quite close to flow nozzles and it basically being blasted

Michael W. · Sep 30, 2018

Joshua2598 said:
In my evo 13.5 I have
1. Purple Firefish
1. Oc. Clownfish
3. Astrea snails
2. Scarlet hermit crabs
1. Emeralds crab
1. Nassarius snail
1. Bumblebee snail (carnviore)
And I ordered a pistol shrimp, watchman goby and a scarlet cleaner shrimp. Goby was DOA and pistol shrimp and cleaner shrimp died 24 hours into the tank. They didn't handle shipping well. I know it wasnt my fault because I got a emerald crab 2 days later and it's doing amazing

I haven't been in saltwater long enough to know but all the crabs and snails seem like they'd be a pretty heavy load on the tank, or do they help enough to make up for their bio-load? I was also thinking about going for the goby/ pistol shrimp pair so it's good to know that they would fit in this tank.

Michael W. · Sep 30, 2018

Joshua2598 said:
Oh and for corals I have
2. Zoanthids
1. Seasons Greetings Montipora
1. Frogspawn
2. Different species of mushrooms. I have everything under stock flow and lighting but the monti is pretty high up and quite close to flow nozzles and it basically being blasted

I just looked up the monti and that thing is BEautiful! You definitely just changed my ideas for corals a bit. Does a plate like that monti need high flow or would it be okay lower in the tank?

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

Michael W. said:
I haven't been in saltwater long enough to know but all the crabs and snails seem like they'd be a pretty heavy load on the tank, or do they help enough to make up for their bio-load? I was also thinking about going for the goby/ pistol shrimp pair so it's good to know that they would fit in this tank.

Honestly the astrea snails do poop a ton but where does all that poop come from? The algae they eat. They are little lawnmowers. I honestly would add a bit more snails and hermits. I got the emerald crab just deal with nuisance bubble algae. It seems most people dont even take into account the bioload when stocking a tank with cuc.

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

Michael W. said:
I just looked up the monti and that thing is BEautiful! You definitely just changed my ideas for corals a bit. Does a plate like that monti need high flow or would it be okay lower in the tank?

I believe they need flow on the higher spectrum. Same with light. They are an SPS coral so they will be tough. Honestly its just my "test" sps to see how itll do. I'm spot feeding it every couple days with really fine frozen foods. It will also be sensitive to most minor swings in the tank. Your tank will need to mature ~4 months imo. Others opinion may be a year and there might be someone out there that might say go ahead and put it in as the first coral. My tank around 4 months old and so far so good with it.

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

But lol dont put it in as first coral. See how some LPS fair first like candy canes/trumpets, frogspawn and hammers

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

And here's some bad pics of mine ~1 inch

Michael W. · Sep 30, 2018

Joshua2598 said:
But lol dont put it in as first coral. See how some LPS fair first like candy canes/trumpets, frogspawn and hammers

That makes sense. And the stock return flow is working for you so far?

Michael W. · Sep 30, 2018

Joshua2598 said:
And here's some bad pics of mine ~1 inch

Looks awesome! Hopefully it stays healthy, that would be a great start for the harder corals.

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

Michael W. said:
That makes sense. And the stock return flow is working for you so far?

So far yes it's working fine. I would clean it every 6 months or less though. It can really affect flow

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

Michael W. said:
Looks awesome! Hopefully it stays healthy, that would be a great start for the harder corals.

I've heard monti are some of the best beginner sps especially Montipora Capricornous. Look into that maybe.

Michael W. · Sep 30, 2018

Joshua2598 said:
I've heard monti are some of the best beginner sps especially Montipora Capricornous. Look into that maybe.

I will. And since you've been nano reefing for a bit now, are there any other fish you would recommend besides the ones you have right now?

Joshua2598 · Sep 30, 2018

Michael W. said:
I will. And since you've been nano reefing for a bit now, are there any other fish you would recommend besides the ones you have right now?

You will need a decent skimmer for more than 2 fish imo. But a geometric hawk fish, neon goby and tail spot blenny are also good choices just look into care on these

Michael W. · Oct 1, 2018

Joshua2598 said:
You will need a decent skimmer for more than 2 fish imo. But a geometric hawk fish, neon goby and tail spot blenny are also good choices just look into care on these

Will the fluval protein skimmer sold to fit on this tank do the job? I was looking at the hawk fish too I just hope it doesn't get too big.

Joshua2598 · Oct 1, 2018

Michael W. said:
Will the fluval protein skimmer sold to fit on this tank do the job? I was looking at the hawk fish too I just hope it doesn't get too big.

Itll work yeah, theres also a tunze 9000 something skimmer I heard would work