Optimal light sequence for Clownfish

[NanoNoob]

Hey all! Newbie here, just set up my first Nano 20 cube with live rock - am cycling with two juvenile clownfish and wondering what the best lighting sequence is for these cute little guys.

Currently just the live rock and 2 clowns. I have an AI Prime HD.

Eventually I plan to add some soft corals, but for now just trying to get the hang of all this.

Thank you for the tips!

 

[cmcoker]

You are cycling with fish? Best to cycle without fish and when no ammonia add a couple fish.
Are you monitoring ammonia? I'd put an ammonia alert badge on the tank and do water changes, probably daily, to keep it at 0. That's if you can't return the fish.


As for light the fish won't really care, so long as you set it to go on and off a certain time period they will adapt to it.

 

[Tony's Reef]

Yea, they are hardy fish, but not waiting for the tank to have the initial ammonia spike will hurt their gills pretty severely. Definitely do daily water changes for about 2 weeks if you are going to leave them in there.

 

[NanoNoob]

Thanks for the info - I've had the tank set up with the live rock for about a week or so. I did a partial water change today before adding the fish (not sure if it was needed or not as all my levels were ok). I am using RODI premix that I got from my local aquatics store (where the fish came from, too), and used a 1-ounce bottle of Fritz-Zyme Turbo Start just before I added the fish (which was just today). I'm monitoring ammonia (zero presence as of now), and other levels (Ph, salinity, etc.). I certainly don't want to hurt the little guys. This is all so new and I watched so many videos and did a lot of research - the only reason I went with cycling with the fish is b/c so many sources said it was okay, but I guess it's all part of learning! I'll keep a close eye and will do frequent water changes to make sure I don't have problems with ammonia.

 

[cmcoker]

Feed very sparingly, get an ammonia alert badge, have saltwater ready always, and a bottle of prime wouldn't hurt.

If your live rock was cured and truly live you may be ok, if not your most likely gonna have problems.

Ever took a whiff of ammonia? Imagine swimming in it and that's all you can breath. Be sure to keep that level
Undetectable. It can take a few days to see ammonia start to climb so dont get a false sense of security after a day or two.

 

[NanoNoob]

Going on day 4 and no detectable ammonia. Did a 3-gallon water change this evening. Fishies are happy and well so far so good.

 

[infinite0180]

Before i added corals to my tank i had my AI prime running on the cool white setting only. I started it at about 5% and brought it up slowly to about 14% over a month as to keep algea down. I only had two clowns in the tank and just wanted to give them enough light to know when it was night and day. I had it ramp up and down for 2 hours or so, with a total of probably 9 hours a day. I offset it alittle so i could enjoy the tank at night after dinner.

 

[NanoNoob]

It's been a week with the two ocillaris in my tank. I've done two small water changes, have been feeding them twice a day, have had the lights on for most of the days, and so far there is no detectable ammonia level, no nitrates, no nitrites, the Ph is great, salinity on the mark, and they're happy as can be. Hmm... I wonder what I'm missing here.

 

[CindyKz]

It's been a week with the two ocillaris in my tank. I've done two small water changes, have been feeding them twice a day, have had the lights on for most of the days, and so far there is no detectable ammonia level, no nitrates, no nitrites, the Ph is great, salinity on the mark, and they're happy as can be. Hmm... I wonder what I'm missing here.

Maybe not missing anything. As mcoker stated, if your rock was good and "alive" you might not have an issue. It would have come into your tank with plenty of good nitrifying bacteria. For the sake of your clowns, let's hope that's the case In the meantime keep a close eye...as also stated, don't get a false sense of security and skip checks. Ammonia can sneak up on you and it will be a death sentence for your new fish friends.

That having been said, most of the reefers I know (including myself) feel it is cruel to cycle a tank with live fish. It's safer for the fish to cycle with another source of ammonia (ie bottled or a dead shrimp, or "ghost feeding" which is where you throw small amounts of food into an empty tank to "feed" the bacteria). There are many differing opinions out there of course.

Hoping your tank continues to grow

 

[NanoNoob]

Maybe not missing anything. As mcoker stated, if your rock was good and "alive" you might not have an issue. It would have come into your tank with plenty of good nitrifying bacteria. For the sake of your clowns, let's hope that's the case In the meantime keep a close eye...as also stated, don't get a false sense of security and skip checks. Ammonia can sneak up on you and it will be a death sentence for your new fish friends.

That having been said, most of the reefers I know (including myself) feel it is cruel to cycle a tank with live fish. It's safer for the fish to cycle with another source of ammonia (ie bottled or a dead shrimp, or "ghost feeding" which is where you throw small amounts of food into an empty tank to "feed" the bacteria). There are many differing opinions out there of course.

Hoping your tank continues to grow

Thanks, CindyKz - I have learned a lot in the past week even, and will never cycle w/ fish ever again! That said, the live rock was very healthy, and I had it in the tank before I put the fish in, so I suspect that helped. I also have an ammonia alert badge, and I test every day w/ testing strips.

 

[Reab]

Feed very sparingly, get an ammonia alert badge, have saltwater ready always, and a bottle of prime wouldn't hurt.

If your live rock was cured and truly live you may be ok, if not your most likely gonna have problems.

Ever took a whiff of ammonia? Imagine swimming in it and that's all you can breath. Be sure to keep that level
Undetectable. It can take a few days to see ammonia start to climb so dont get a false sense of security after a day or two.

Prime won't help with your situation if you even have one. Prime brakes down chlorine and helps nitrite become nitrate for removal purposes. You did the smart move of adding the kickstart, cycling with fish, in this case, should not harm them. If you are worried pick up seachem stability as this is similar to the kickstart. The way these products work is they introduce bacteria to the tank that converts the harmful ammonia through the nitrogen cycle. It is the ammonia that will hurt the fish and without the product, you have to wait for nature to kick in and spring up some bacteria.

Would love to see a picture

 

[madweazl]

Typical photo-periods are in the 8-12 hour range. Many people adjust that window so it corresponds to when they're home to view the tank. In my case, the lights come on at 10am and shut off and 10pm.

 

[cmcoker]

Prime won't help with your situation if you even have one. Prime brakes down chlorine and helps nitrite become nitrate for removal purposes. You did the smart move of adding the kickstart, cycling with fish, in this case, should not harm them. If you are worried pick up seachem stability as this is similar to the kickstart. The way these products work is they introduce bacteria to the tank that converts the harmful ammonia through the nitrogen cycle. It is the ammonia that will hurt the fish and without the product, you have to wait for nature to kick in and spring up some bacteria.

Would love to see a picture

It is not a fix, it is a stop gap to give you time to do a water change but it does work on ammonia

I have also found Stability to be an inferior bacterial additive to Biospira, when there are fish in the tank already

 

[NanoNoob]

It's now been over 2 weeks since setting up my tank, and I've been diligent about doing small, frequent water changes, monitoring for ammonia (combination of water test kit and an ammonia alert badge), as well as monitoring nitrites/nitrates/PH/alkalinity/salinity.... and so far, NO problems. No detectable ammonia. Nada. I'm scratching my head a bit wondering when I'll see ammonia rise. Hmm.