When to get rbta?

[JenniferMcK]

How long should my tank be cycled before getting a rbta? I want to get one for my maroon clown pair who are still in qt atm. It's a 40 gal with nothing in it except rock snails and sand and few tiny hermits.

 

[CC13]

How long should my tank be cycled before getting a rbta? I want to get one for my maroon clown pair who are still in qt atm. It's a 40 gal with nothing in it except rock snails and sand and few tiny hermits.

I waited about a year for my tank to cycle and settle and stabilize before corals were added. I might have been able to add them earlier, but I wanted the tank to be stable before adding.

 

[Staggy]

It’s all base off of how stable your tank is. Do you have a good amount of beneficial bacteria?

I have a friend that started a 12 gallon tank about a year ago. Put rock in and a bottle of bacteria. Added fish 2 days later and at the 10 day mark he added a very rare bubble tip anemone. The new has tripled in size and looks amazing.

Weekly water changes and underneath an AI Prime.

 

[Danh Ngo]

How long should my tank be cycled before getting a rbta? I want to get one for my maroon clown pair who are still in qt atm. It's a 40 gal with nothing in it except rock snails and sand and few tiny hermits.

I have about 20 when my tank is about 1.5 month old, depend on your experience with bta, they are tough, as long as parameter is stable, they should do well

 

[JenniferMcK]

It’s all base off of how stable your tank is. Do you have a good amount of beneficial bacteria?

I have a friend that started a 12 gallon tank about a year ago. Put rock in and a bottle of bacteria. Added fish 2 days later and at the 10 day mark he added a very rare bubble tip anemone. The new has tripled in size and looks amazing.

Weekly water changes and underneath an AI Prime.

I think I do have a good amount of bacteria. I am feeding the tank right for my cleaner shrimp and a brittle star that hitchhiked. I've seen no rise in ammonia while doing these feedings. I do want to let my tank mature quite a bit more, so maybe about 3-4 months would be OK?

 

[Mical]

I'd wait at least 6 months and as others above said make sure params are stable.

 

[Oldreefer44]

That time frame should be fine. As others have stated, stable water parameters are key.

 

[Staggy]

Jennifermck I am in the same boat as you right now with a small 10 gallon i setup. I want to get a nem for it but I’m notsure if it’s ready. The levels are solid. I wouldn’t hesitate but I don’t want to kill something and I’m planning on get a black widow so there are pricey

 

[Webslinger]

never before 6 months. Stability is the key. A tank starts to become stable around the 6th month mark.

 

[Dan I]

I would wait 1 year. I had no success when I rushed a RBTA at around 6 months. Been almost 2 years since then, I feel like I should be fine now.

 

[Webslinger]

stability---mine grow like weeds

 

[Danh Ngo]

What I do to control the parameter swing/amonia is to change filter sock frequently. I never let my sock sit in the tank for more than 3 day, most of the leftover food and poop from fish/nem can be removed before they change the water parameter.
As for new tank set up, about 6months water is not quite stable but the swing is acceptable for bta.

 

[JenniferMcK]

Thanks everyonefor all the advice! 6 months it is. It's been running for a little over 2 so far. Everything is looking great. I'll definitely wait so I don't kill anything. I'm excited to be able to make a little sea away from the sea in a sense.

 

[Webslinger]

I don't use filter socks my tanks inhabitants thrive better without them.

 

[Staggy]

I don't use filter socks my tanks inhabitants thrive better without them.

What is the size of your tank? How much live rock do you have? Do you have any source of filtration???

 

[Webslinger]

60 cube, about 120 lbs of live rock. A sump running, a skimmer, 2 reactors ( carbon/GFO and NPX ) and a settling area. ATO with Kalk. I have a very large BIO load with 10 fish and eel.

 

[Danh Ngo]

I don't use filter socks my tanks inhabitants thrive better without them.

There will be no problem with your load, but I have 15 clown, 1 foxface, 3 goby, 3 cleaner shrimps, and 20-21 nemsz thats why I use sock, also it help me to reduce the work for cleaning sump later on. I dont want too much debris sitting on bottom of the sump-> nitrate factory

 

[Katrina71]

A year

 

[Salt1972]

Our experience is limited-- we added a RBTA when our 125g mixed reef was 4 months old. She did well for about 3 months and then crawled into a dark cave and died. No explanation. We waited until our tank was 14 months old and added another and it's thriving.

 

[Cessna89811]

Our experience is limited-- we added a RBTA when our 125g mixed reef was 4 months old. She did well for about 3 months and then crawled into a dark cave and died. No explanation. We waited until our tank was 14 months old and added another and it's thriving.

Your 1st RBTA may have been starving.