New to nano tanks...could someone please help me put

hey i just bought the 24 nano cube....i dont really know were to start...so far i have about 5 pounds of live rock to start..i will be buying more this week....and one clown fish..and one goby..the current inside the tank seems t be going in a circualar motion and the fish seem to be fighting this current....and when i feed them....i thougt the extra food matter would be filtered out...it seems...to just stay in the tank...and float ...what should i add..fish wise...and criiter wise?....am i doing this right...and what should the back set up look like...i have the sponge in the first one...the ceramics...in the second...and the bioballs in the third..is this right?...sorry if this sounds dumb to anybody...im just clueless right now....if someone could please help that would be awesome...thanks...and my email is [email protected]
 

incysor

New Member
How long has the tank been setup? Has it already gone through it's cycle? If not then the first thing you should do is take the fish back out of the tank and return them to the store until the tank is fully set up and it has had a chance to cycle. I apologize if the tank's already cycled, but from your post it sounds like you bought the tank and put livestock in it the same day.

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no it has not cycled..at least i dont think so....it has been set up a week....and the fish stays in the same spot..because of the current...same with the large shrimp i have in there...i guess i was told the wrong instructions..thanks so much for your help..could you steer me in the right direction...sooo i should take the fish out...and just add all live rock?...and the filter situation?
 

cadeucsb

New Member
1-1.5lb pound per gallon is a good estimate on how much LR you should have. If the LR is uncured (smells bad) usually when out of water for a bit, when you put it in the water it will give off ammonia (super toxic to fish). You shouldnt have fish in there during a cycle. Ammonia spikes and falls to 0, then Nitrites will do the same thing, then Nitrates will spike and drop, but not fall to 0.... when you get to that point, you have the beneficial bacteria necessary to break down fish waste etc.

Not sure of a solution, but know that the fish are swimming in fairly toxic waters til the cycle is complete.

Get a test kit, watch for the cycle that I explained and put fish in when done. If nothing else, you will significantly reduce the life of your livestock by putting them through the cycle.
 

incysor

New Member
www.reefcentral.com
www.nano-reef.com
www.reefs.org

There are lots of others.

Use the search function on all of them.

So far all you've done is say that you're new, and that you want info? Well that's all these sites are a tool for sharing info, stories, pics etc....on this hobby. If you can be more specific as to what topic you're looking for information on perhaps people can help you out. There are tons of newbie faqs on these sites as well, on tank setup, maintenance, lighting, water parameters, clean up crews, etc...

Take your livestock back. Go buy some more live rock. Put it in your tank, turn your lights off and leave your pumps running. Go to your local discount book store and buy some books on saltwater aquariums. Try to only buy books written in the last 4-5yrs. Do a weekly water change, and read, read, read for the next 2-3 weeks. Do a few water tests to get in the habit, and to check and see how your cycle is progressing. When that's all done, go back to the store and pick out some appropriate critters now that your water parameters have settled down and won't kill them.

Sorry if this sounds snarky, but any saltwater tank, and especially reef tanks are not gold fish bowls. You can't just add water and a fish and have it survive for any real amount of time. Would you go out and buy a hedgehog or a ferret without doing some research?...Well this hobby is much more expensive and complex than those critters are. It's time to do some more research before you end up wasting a ton of money, and killing a lot of livestock. Everyone on here, and on most of the other boards are willing to help, but we've also spent considerable time making sure that info is easy to find for newbies. All you need to do to find most of it is use the search functions.

Try not to get discouraged, but this hobby requires quite a bit of patience to be successful.

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