starting a new tank

[evan47]

Hi. In the near future I will be starting my first saltwater tank (after having freshwater for nearly 2 years).
The tank will be the AquaOne Minireef 120 litre complete with sump and lights plus skimmer, return pump and all plumbing. It seems to be a nice, attractive all in one system.
I am planning on upgrading the supplied skimmer and maybe the return pump possibly before set up and intend to add something like the jecod rw4 for added circulation.
My ultimate goal is to have a nice little nano reef system starting with a 50/50 mix of live rock and a ceramic structure for centre piece, adding (after cycling) an interesting clean up crew of shrimp, crabs and not too many snails. letting things settle for a week or two more and then putting a pair of tank bred clowns in.
The next step I have in mind is a few easy corals and later still adding a larger centre piece fish of which I am still undecided.
What I would like to know is what is the best, easiest way to cycle the tank .
Suggestions for a reef safe CUC (without too many snails if possible),
Advice on the second addition of fish for my centre piece, (a single species or maybe a pair that will get along with the clowns) and which corals will I need for a fairly easy to keep reef tank?

 

[Brian Kim]

Welcome to R2R, sounds like you have it all well planned out.
Your tank should cycle rather quickly using live rock, are you going bare bottom? didn't see you mentioning sand, also try adding Bio Spira to help with cycling.
There are tons of reef safe CUC so it will come down to personal preference. I normally go with shrimps, hermit crabs and snails.
Firefish, gobbies, blennies, cardinals are some of the fishes I can think of that would get along with your clown fishes and for corals, mushrooms, zoas and leather should be easy to care for.

 

[evan47]

Hi, yes. I will be putting sand in the tank. Not sure of live or inert yet as most people do not recommend live. It will most likely be medium grade to prevent dust storms and just 2 inches at its deepest.
I am a little worried about hermit crabs and snails though, wont the crabs try to kill the snails for their shells? I wouldnt like to have a dead snail rotting away in my tank and polluting the water column. I was thinking of a pair of mithrax crabs as they can take care of hair and bubble algae should it start to develop in the tank.
If I have 50/50 mix of live rock and ceramic and left the tank to cycle using the die off in the live rock as food how should I continue to feed the live rock to keep the cycle going?
Would ghost feeding a few flakes every few days be enough or will the CUC produce enough nutrients to keep it going?
FYI the reason for ceramics in the tank is so that I will have a one piece structure in there that cannot be upset by any burrowing creatures that could topple it, plus it will also become live after a short time alongside the live rock (it will also be free of any pests too).

 

[Justiful]

Hi. There are different definitions of "best" for cycling. For some that is fast, for others that is most stable, for others that is easiest. Honestly I would start by reading some of the guides in this forum on starting a tank.

Let me focus on personal opinions I have.
1. I added my cleanup crew in stages. You want to slowly add members as adding to much is not beneficial to tank and has the opposite effect. Do not add it all at once.

2. Many clowns do best when placed in tanks LAST after every other piece of livestock is added. They are very territorial, more so if they do not have a hosting anemone. I would highly recommend growing out a host anemone before adding clowns. Clowns are rarely a good first fish choice for stocking, you want to start least aggressive to most aggressive. Also when adding fish it is always better to do 2 at a time regardless of if they are the same or different to dissipate the stress and curiosity or aggression of current fish.

3. Snails are a pretty important part of the CUC. That being said I only have 15 in my tank. 3 turbo, 6 margaritta, and 6 nass. I also have a hitchhiker I believe to be a Hairy Triton who likes killing snails, and gastropods in general. That is for a 46 gallon tank. I do not need more, and barely have enough algae to keep them alive most the time. For me it is the prefect amount atm.

4. I think everyone loves emerald or ruby crabs. They are basically the same thing except one is green and one is red. Red being less common. Hermit crabs are also a pretty important thing to have with many myself including liking Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab, for their preference for annoying algae types and cyano bacteria. For a tank that size you want 1 kind of shrimp only. I would go either cleaner or pistol shrimp. Depending if you get a goby that pairs with pistols.

5. Any NANO fish listed on live aquaria would work in your tank very well. I would check it out and see what you like. Plan on 4-7 fish depending on what you choose.

6. Do not replace your new protein skimmer that comes with the system for 6 months at least. You shouldn't even need it for 4-6 months after starting tank. Best to add if needed then waste money before you know if it even is. Same with pump. Instead get 2 RW-4's to start. Most systems benefit from the cross flow from two power heads instead of one.
You can upgrade pump later if you feel it is really needed, but most AIO systems are designed for a specific flow rate, so upgraded pump would be a marginal upgrade at best done mostly for sound or control-ability or alternate power upgrades.

PS: It is 4 in the morning... I couldn't sleep. Forgive me if this post is horribly written or makes no sense. lol.

 

[Brian Kim]

Seems like you have everything planned out well and know your stuff. Best of luck with your new system

 

[evan47]

Seems like you have everything planned out well and know your stuff. Best of luck with your new system

Thanks. I wont even be filling the tank for a month or more as we should be having new flooring laid soon so I will wait until this is done before starting the tank up.
The good thing is I still have plenty of time to plan things out as so far the only thing that I have bought is the tank.
I have been following other owners of this relatively new to the market tank and have a good idea of what to expect from the supplied hardware and what upgrades are recommended such as a better performing skimmer, quieter return pump and additional powerheads.
It is just the cycling part that worries me as this will be my first saltwater tank and I do not want to cause any of its inhabitants any distress or create extra hassle for myself.
The part I am most interested in is the corals and inverts, a pair of occellaris clowns and one other fish as centre piece will be nice too.

 

[evan47]

The tank is now set up with a single rw4 powerhead and an adjustable pump.
I have live sand and ceramic rock in there at the moment and I am bringing the water up to temperature.
There is a problem with the noise from the drain going in to the sump as the pipe is barely half an inch under the water level so I am going to try extending it by an inch or so to see if things get any quieter.
I am going to have a think about adding a bacteria starter culture and then adding a pair of small clown fish and letting them settle in for a month or more before adding anything else apart a small cuc to remove any detritus and algae.
The basic tank is very nice but everything else is second rate imo.