New to Marine!

tyler.e · Aug 24, 2012

Hi all,

I am extremely new and green to the SW Marine world! It's all very over whelming and quite exciting!
I have so many questions and very little answers; hopefully this is the place I need to be to ensure I get some great feedback and answers...

I have a 23Litre tank and currently it's at the .. 'cycling' stage prior to putting new fish into the tank. It has the liverock in there at the moment and it all seems to be going okay thus far (it's been 24 hours... ). I plan on putting 2 clown fish, royal dottyback and a cleaner wrasse fish. I was also hoping to add a cleaner shrimp into the mix. I am hoping that these 4 can all live together well with the addition of a shrimp.

My first question is; where the hell sells cleaner shrimp? I have searched the internet high a low for areas surrounding the Melbourne CBD and I come up dry. Everywhere I ring says they may get some in; but god only knows when. Does anyone know a reliable place to purchase this little critter? This leads me to my second question...

So I have my live rock in the tank, water and the 101 potions salt etc; now to add the fish and coral.. what is the exact order and time-frame I should be leaving between events? I am not getting the fish for an additional.. 2-3 days until the tank is 100% ready. Also; to add more liverock (should it be 20% of the tank?) is this a lengthy process? Or can you simply put it in the tank from the LFS?

I hope you guys can assist me! Any advice or feedback is greatly appreciated.

:neutral:

Ron Reefman · Aug 24, 2012

Tyler, don't rush the process. Cycling the tank is just the very first step. Your tank takes time to mature. You may still have a diatom bloom that can last days to a couple of weeks, an algae bloom (maybe more than one) and a possible cyanobacteria bloom. In a tank your size, these are probably even more likely than in a big one. My 22g frag tank is now 4 weeks old and in a bloom of diatoms. I'd give the tank at least a couple of weeks, then add the shrimp, the dottyback and the wrasse. Give the system another 3-6 weeks to balance bacteria and detritus again and then add the clowns. Least agressive stuff first, more agressive stuff last.

Search for info on 'acclimating' your fish. You need to mix some of your tank water with the LFS water so the fish can get used to the change from one water to the other. things like temperature, salinity, pH, alkalinity will all be different and you need to take a hour or two in order to get the fish and shrimp adjusted.

Good luck.

tyler.e · Aug 24, 2012

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the feedback; greatly appreciated.
I am in no means trying to rush - simply trying to do it right the first time.

A question re; Diatoms... and the rest of your post in general.
The assistance I received at the shop was that; let the tank cycle for 48 hours; add the fish; then the coral; and I may want to put a 'cleaner' type species in there prior to the fish entering the tank to commence the cleaning of the bottom etc. is this advice completely off the mark?

Thanks!

uall8up · Aug 24, 2012

A cycle of your tank will take at least 4 to 6 weeks. Anything you add right now will die. You will need to get a marine test kit and test your ph, ammonia, ntrite, and nitrate. You will see nothing at first. Then your levels will climb and eventually theu will top out and start to fall. When you have a ph level of 8.0 to 8.4, nitrite 0, ammonia 0, and nitrate 0 your tank is cycled and safe to add fish, coral, and inverts.

revsgirl · Aug 24, 2012

Hi there!! Welcome to R2R!! I am sure you will find all the help you need right here!! If you have any questions on anything, just start you up a thread, the folks around here love to help!

revhtree · Aug 24, 2012

Welcome to R2R!

We appreciate your membership!

Thanks for joining and please make sure and post often!

Ron Reefman · Aug 25, 2012

uall8up said:
A cycle of your tank will take at least 4 to 6 weeks. I'm going to disagree with you a bit here. First thing is a tank can cycle in as little as a few days if it's done with the correct materials (good LR, live sand, seasoned water from another tank). However, if you start with dry rock, dry sand and fresh RO/DI saltwater, you are right, it can take 4-6 weeks. So that's juat a matter of how you start.

Anything you add right now will die. On this one I'm going to disagree a bit more. If you are doing a long slow cycle and add too many live animals, yes, they may all die. But if you are doing LR and good water, a small CUC and a hearty fish or even a pair, like clowns, will be OK. It's all a matter of how high you are going to allow the ammonia and nitrite levels to get.

You will need to get a marine test kit and test your ph, ammonia, ntrite, and nitrate. On this one you are right on the mark. Test kits are an absolute must have. Don't take water to the LFS and relie on them, get your own!

You will see nothing at first. Then your levels will climb and eventually they will top out and start to fall. When you have a ph level of 8.0 to 8.4, nitrite 0, ammonia 0, and nitrate 0 your tank is cycled and safe to add fish, coral, and inverts. Ammonia will spike up first, a bacteria will develop and process the ammonia into nitrite. Another bacteria will develop and process the nitrite into nitrate. Nitrates processing bacteria are slow to develop and need an anaerobic environment (no oxygen) like a DSB (Deep Sand Bed). Most new tanks get nitrates lowered by doing a water change. Don't wait to see nitrates go down on their own, it's not likely to happen. After the water change you can start adding other critters, but do it slowly. Every new animal puts a bigger bioload on the bacteria colonies and they will need to increse their population in order to deal with the increase in dentritus which will become more ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

tyler, you asked,"A question re; Diatoms... and the rest of your post in general.
The assistance I received at the shop was that; let the tank cycle for 48 hours; add the fish; then the coral; and I may want to put a 'cleaner' type species in there prior to the fish entering the tank to commence the cleaning of the bottom etc. is this advice completely off the mark?" Yes, the LFS was pretty much way off the mark. Always remember, the LFS is in business to sell you stuff, not educate you on how to do this correctly. The 48 hour time frame is absurd. I wouldn't put any animal in a new tank with new water for at least a week, even with good quality LR. A small CUC (like a snail and a hermit crab for every 5-10 gallons of water in your tank) and a fish like an algae blenny are good places to start. And remember that having a cycled tank doesn't mean the tank is ready for anything you want to throw at it. There is an old saying in this hobby, "Nothing good happens quickly in a marine aquarium!"

I hope this helps? Good luck and keep asking questions and read everything you can find about the hobby. There is a lot of really good material to read at:
Reefkeeping Online Magazine - Articles by Subject