Nano 24 tank newbie. How do you turn off the lights??
- Thread starter nbram
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Anonymous
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If you have no rock in it I would just run the filter - no lights neccessary. However cycling a tank without rock you won't have a source of ammonia or bacteria to get it going. Some people say add a damsel or something like that but I don't agree. IMO it is better to just start adding rock to get things introduced to your tank. As you add rock though you want to turn lights on. If it is high quality cured live rock do about a 6 hour photoperiod for a couple weeks and if everything is testing out well you can add a little more stuff at a time. If it is fresh and not completely cured rock use even less light at first to make sure you don't get an algae bloom and slowly build up an hour a week or so for about a month. There are a lot of variables in the early stages of a tank the most important thing you can do for long term success is to be patient. Add things slowly and let the tank balance out and make sure your ammonia and nitrites go back to zero before you add more.
yes you should still add the live rock and cycle the tank
the live rock has a bunch of living organisims
that will die off and create the cycle so in short get the live rock first
the cycle will take anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 weeks to compleate
testing is a must during this period of time once all are at 0 you can add a fish test again once every thing is at 0 again you can add anothher fish
the live rock has a bunch of living organisims
that will die off and create the cycle so in short get the live rock first
the cycle will take anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 weeks to compleate
testing is a must during this period of time once all are at 0 you can add a fish test again once every thing is at 0 again you can add anothher fish
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Anonymous
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I would, its called a FOWLR tank. Live rock will provide all the biological filtration you need. Make sure it cycles completly (as I said this may take a month) and then add fish slowly - like one a week at most to let the system adjust. Also with a 24 your not going to be able to have many fish so choose wisely and research your choices carefully. Some fish commonly sold are not neccessarily good choices and combinations in small tanks, and after all, you have a month to think about it.
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Anonymous
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Not a good choice for a new tank at all. They are filter feeders and need a lot of planktonic foodstuff. They have a poor survival rate even in established tanks.
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Anonymous
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well I would keep the bristle worm because you will be needing it to eat the dead flame scallop in a month or so
seriously though, most bristle worms are not the menice they are made out to be, if it really bothers you a little bait and tweezers and a flash light at night will nab him.
seriously though, most bristle worms are not the menice they are made out to be, if it really bothers you a little bait and tweezers and a flash light at night will nab him.
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Anonymous
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sorry nbram but you need to slow down .......... please!!!!!
Many people came in and tried to help you with the cycling process and here it is not even 2 weeks yet and you have a flame scallop (an extreamly poor choice in any tank let alone a new one) and an anemone, which may easily be one of the hardest of all the cnidarians to keep. They say that only about 1 % of the wild caught ones survive for more then a year in a reef tank due to poor collecting and handling practices. If you bought a captive breed BTA your odds are much better. But since you own it already your best chance may be to try feeding it just before or after the lights go out. Also do a small water change like a gallon a day for a while so as not to further stress it. Your LFS should never have sold you either of those to animals knowing your tank was just set up on july 19th, and you need to research your choices more as well. PATIENCE!!!! your going way to fast, I know its hard but in the long run both you and your animals will be better off.
Many people came in and tried to help you with the cycling process and here it is not even 2 weeks yet and you have a flame scallop (an extreamly poor choice in any tank let alone a new one) and an anemone, which may easily be one of the hardest of all the cnidarians to keep. They say that only about 1 % of the wild caught ones survive for more then a year in a reef tank due to poor collecting and handling practices. If you bought a captive breed BTA your odds are much better. But since you own it already your best chance may be to try feeding it just before or after the lights go out. Also do a small water change like a gallon a day for a while so as not to further stress it. Your LFS should never have sold you either of those to animals knowing your tank was just set up on july 19th, and you need to research your choices more as well. PATIENCE!!!! your going way to fast, I know its hard but in the long run both you and your animals will be better off.
You are right. Anenome died last night. Why did pet store tell me it would do fine? They said they set up a fully stocked NanoCube after 3 days and it did great. When I went in yesterday they said ammonia was just a tiny bit high. Told me to charcoal filter back in for 2 days. I did. anenome looked great after 2 hours. this a.m. dead as a Mackeral. Everything else is looking fine.
What about my clown fish. What will they do without their anenome?
What about my clown fish. What will they do without their anenome?
nbram said:
Your LFS is messing with your head and playing you for a sucker. You are losing money and it shouldn't be that way. Try going somewhere else, and ask them about beginner items to buy for your tank. There was no need to go with the hardest things to keep, as there are many variables to consider when caring for an anemone.
As for your clown, it'll be perfectly fine without one, they dont need it, and chances are, it may adopt something else in your tank. (frogspawn, hammer, etc) Do a little bit of research and do some searching here, you'll quickly learn what are the do's and dont's are.
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Anonymous
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clowns do NOT need an anemone - most people keep them without them. I have had clowns for years without anemones because I didn't want to put an anemone in my reef where it could wonder around stinging things. Now I know there are people out there that will say diferent, but anemones belong in a dedicated tank. They are not compatable with corals!!! - alright I already hear people chimning in and saying "I have kept anemones with my corals for years without problems, bla bla bla" but this is MY opinion and the opinion of many experienced reefers with years, not months of experience. Check out the WWM site for further info and I guarentee they will agree with me. If it is your goal to have anemones with your clowns - dedicate a tank to that goal. You need reasonable light, current, and aquascaping that matches that goal. I currently have done the same thing with one of my tanks. I have a 20 gal with about 20lbs rock, a pair of clowns, a blood shrimp, and a captive breed RBTA - do not buy a wild caught carpet. I may not add anything else to that tank, but if I do I will research compatability before I do. Oh yea 130W PC lighting which is boarder line, but I have aquascaped to give the anemone a choice of height in the aquarium.
Now as far as ammonia yes any is too much! but also the second part of that same cycle - nitrite - any is also too much. This is why all the people who responded to your first post said to wait at least a month before adding animals. The bacteria in a new tank need to build up to handle the biolode and that takes time.
What else have you bought aleady?????
Now as far as ammonia yes any is too much! but also the second part of that same cycle - nitrite - any is also too much. This is why all the people who responded to your first post said to wait at least a month before adding animals. The bacteria in a new tank need to build up to handle the biolode and that takes time.
What else have you bought aleady?????
Thank you for the info! I have Blue Damsel, Yellow Tang, Clown, some snails, some kind of little reddish pink crabs and some really tiny crabs. Live rock with some green polyp corals on it.
Doesn't the ammonia have to spike upwards during the cycle?
I guess the fish biz is just like the horse biz. Anyone new gets treated like an "angel" ie: a sucker.
All I can do is go from here. I want to thank everyone for the advice. REally.
Doesn't the ammonia have to spike upwards during the cycle?
I guess the fish biz is just like the horse biz. Anyone new gets treated like an "angel" ie: a sucker.
All I can do is go from here. I want to thank everyone for the advice. REally.
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Anonymous
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Well you do have your hands full there your not going to want to here this at all:
1) tang - way to small a tank for a tang has to go
2) damsel - mean little buggers will certainly limit choices in fish, hardy but as it grows will beat everything else up including your clowns
3) crabs not a good choice many get large and are predatory
4) green polyps ??? zoas or GSP - good beginer coral eather way
5) way to many fish - period!!! very large bioload in an uncycled tank rocky road ahead
yes ammonia will spike, then nitrites will spike, then both go to zero and nitrates start to be produced which are in turn controlled by water changes.
1) tang - way to small a tank for a tang has to go
2) damsel - mean little buggers will certainly limit choices in fish, hardy but as it grows will beat everything else up including your clowns
3) crabs not a good choice many get large and are predatory
4) green polyps ??? zoas or GSP - good beginer coral eather way
5) way to many fish - period!!! very large bioload in an uncycled tank rocky road ahead
yes ammonia will spike, then nitrites will spike, then both go to zero and nitrates start to be produced which are in turn controlled by water changes.