First saltwater tank and I'm scared!

[Fishy]

I'm sort of an expert on all sorts of animals, freshwater aquarium animals, and ponds but I've never had a saltwater tank. I've always been too petrified. Yet, I'm a chemist so the chemistry part of it shouldn't be scaring me off. I just don't want to be killing lots of rare animals. I ordered my first tank - a 12 gallon nano cube deluxe. I have a billion questions but very little time. I've read some basic information and know the basics of fish keeping but not the reef part so much. Since you guys are busy too, I will just ask a few questions first and hopefully not overburden you. I can return the favor if you have any animal, freshwater aquaria (most everything but cichlids and brackish), or pond questions.

1. I bought 8 pounds of "live" sand. The directions seem to indicate that I just dump it in (but don't actually say that). Do I rinse it in saltwater or put the whole thing in there with the prepared salt water? I read 1/2 pound of sand per gallon but the bag says 1 pound per gallon. Is this enough?

2. I plan to get about 12 pounds of live rock. Is that right? From what I've read, I should turn off the lights for a month and do weekly monitoring of pH, ammonia, and nitrite with a weekly water change. Is that right? If there are good animals and algae on the live rock like coralline algae, won't keeping them in the dark harm them too? Should/could I put the lights on for just a few hours a day?

3. After a month, they say to add a few snails and hermit crabs but I've read conflicting views on how many. They say then wait a month before adding fish or corals. So, do I feed the snails and hermit crabs with anything for that month or will they find enough food on the live rock?

4. I plan on getting just 2 or 3 fish eventually. I was think one or two false Percula clowns and a firefish. What do you think?

5. Once I get corals, what do I need to add to feed them? I know some mostly live off of light while others need stuff in the water. This is where I'm the most scared. I don't want to kill off the corals. A few mushroom corals and a soft coral to start? Which species are easy to find and less likely to die on me?

6. Since I have the deluxe nano cube, is the lighting going to be too intense for some corals (at least at first)? How do I know?

7. The tank has a 106 gph pump. I've read that powerheads are very important for movement in a reef tank. Is that one pump going to be enough? I don't know yet if the tank is such that I can even add a powerhead to it.

So much for a few questions, and I don't even have the tank yet!

Scared but excited newbie.

 

[SaltWaterNewb]

1. If it is the stuff packed in water then add all of it to your tank, no need to rinse. As long as you have about an inch you are good to go.

2. No harm in keeping the lights on. Especially if there are critters on the rock. As far as water changes, generally not advised during the cycle period unless you are doing a soft cycle to try to maintain as much living stuff on the rocks as you can. If you are not doing a soft cycle, then no water changes and do your tests daily until the cycle is done. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all you need to do. Oh, and salinity. But other stuff like pH will be all over the charts during the cycle so no need to start testing them until after the cycle.

3. Snails and hermits are your clean up crew. You add them after your cycle is complete which means your ammonia and nitrites are zero and you have done a water change or two to get your nitrates down. Add a few at a time to see how well they do at eating the algae blooms that will follow the finish of your cycle. No need to feed as long as there is algae and fish waste in your tank. That is what they are there for. You can feed them once in awhile for a treat though.

4. Clowns are good, not sure about the fire fish, I don't know anything about them. Just make sure that when you get the clowns that one is bigger then the other. that helps cut down the aggressiveness since one will already be a dominate one (bigger one).

5. Just look at other members tanks in teh members section and see what you like. Some need just light, some are filter feeders, some need to be spot feed meaty food. Once you find some stuff you like, research them.

6. I am not familiar with your tank or lights, but if you are concerned you can start new corals at the bottom of the tank and move them up towards the lights slowly as they become acclimated. You can also use piece of window screen placed over your tank, like 3 or 4 layers and that will block a lot of the light then every couple days remove a layer letting in more light until all the layers are removed and the coral is now getting full light.

7. You can add a power head to any tank. Some attach using suction cups and some use magnets. You want at least 20 times turnover rate and depending on the corals maybe even more. So in a 12g tank you will need a lot more then 106gph. I have a 10g nano and I have right around 500 gph of flow in my tank and it is jsut about right.

Hope this helped some.

 

[KidNano]

:welcome to Nanotank!