12G newbie. Project so far and advice welcome

[Benn2410]

Hi all

I have finally started a thread on my 12G nano. And my progress so far.
The addiction has began I must say. I am new to salt water so I will probably need some help along the way. Reading a lot of your threads has already grew my knowledge on keeping a nano tank.
Right pics from start - today
Advice and suggestions welcome:





Day 1



Day 2 nicely cleared



T5 lighting. I hope this is enough of soft corals to thrive



First addition around a week feather duster. Very nice!!



More rock and front view



Around day 20 more rock



Day 23 new mushroom coral frag a friend gave me.



Day 25 CUC added 3x hermits love them



Doing very well



New stand which looks the part



New scape once I moved the tank

 

[Benn2410]

After Christmas I will be ready for fish ammonia 0 nitrite 0
I will want more soft corals any suggestions on what to get for a 12G??
And fish : I was thinking of 2 small clowns and mayb a cleaner shrimp and a good CUC ??

I will be doing my water changes religiously every week as I do not have a skimmer.

I have been feeding my 2 corals plankton around 2 mil each every 3-4 days and my hermits Artemia which I hope my clowns will take too

 

[Benn2410]

Isn't this ready?
It will be 4 full weeks on the 4th January

 

[Beengirl]

What did you use or ammonia source for the cycling? And how high did the ammonia get? Need to make sure that the ammonia got up to at least 4ppm to ensure a good strong cycle and prevent a mini cycle when you add fish.

Aldo, 2 clowns seems like a lot for a 12g tank. I would suggest 1 oscellaris clown and maybe 1 other vary small fish, like a clown goby or Firefish. Or a yellow watchman goby and a pistol shrimp with 1 oscellaris clown.
Good luck with the tank!

 

[furrymurray]

+1 I agree. Two clowns in a 12g is too small especially when they go thru sexual maturity. I had two in a 58g and one almost killed the other trying to be the dominate female. I had to move the other one to another tank for his safety.

 

[Benn2410]

Thanks for the advice.
The man in my LFS told me it would be fine to put 2 clowns in as long as I'm doing my water changes. After reading alot of threads I have been wondering if it is even possible.
It's the Welfare of the fish I'm worried about. Is there any corals that would be suitable for my tank that a clown would host with?

Update of my mushroom and feather duster :

 

[Benn2410]

I used a fish in cycle 2x mollys , which I know isn't really fair but the fish are doing fine in my mums tank. Added them after a week and took them out at around 17 days . Anomia never went as high as 4 but not too far off it.
The first few pieces of rock I put in was really mature as it was out of a 3 yr old tank so maybe that stopped it from going high? I hope that I don't get a mini cycle when I add fish . Fingers crossed!

 

[furrymurray]

Mushrooms would be good. Some soft corals will take over very quickly so you have to be careful what you pick. Xenia and some clove polyps grow very quick so I would avoid those since you have limited space. My clown has been hosting an elephant ear mushroom for some time but I would avoid the elephant ear mushroom because they get huge. Mine is the size of a dinner plate. But most other mushrooms should be fine. Toadstool leather also can get very large so I would avoid those. Clown fish are funny sometimes. I have one that is hosting an elephant ear and another one that is hosting the heater even though there are plenty of corals in his tank

 

[Benn2410]

That's strange lol.

Torch corals are nice and I've heard that clowns host them too. I'm possibly moving house in a few months so I'm going to upgrade to a 95 liter tank . If I have the one clown and when I get the new tank up and running then possibly get another.
Is it ok to put a couple of different corals in at the same time in a 12G ?

 

[furrymurray]

I have a torch coral and they are a little more delicate than soft corals. I had a head of my torch die because of too much water flow. I would think a clown rubbing up against it all the time would be too rough for it. Also torch corals are very aggresive and will sting any coral too close so that would also limit the corals you could put in there

 

[Benn2410]

That's great to know. Thanks for your advice.
Any others that a clown could go into? Is a goby and shrimp a good combo for a 12G? I hear that it can be a mess lol

 

[furrymurray]

Its hit or miss with what a clown will host. They make up there own minds sometimes no matter what you put in the tank. I never has a goby/shrimp set up so I cant help you there. Fire fish are a nice colorful fish. And maybe some sexy shrimp. I have a few in my 30g and they are pretty fun to watch. Mine like to hide in my yellow polyps and come out and "dance" when I feed the tank

 

[Benn2410]

Sounds cool. I must look into that one mate .

I'm pointing my power head at the back of the rocks and it seems to be getting a good flow through the rocks and my 2 corals are moving so is that ok? Or would I point it in the middle of the rocks?

 

[furrymurray]

You have to play with the power heads to get the right flow. You want flow that will keep stuff from settling on the sand without blowing sand every where. You also want is flow around your rock so you dont have dead space where food and junk will collect. Each tank is different on the best place to put them. Mushrooms usually dont like a lot of flow, just gentle enough to hardly move them. If you have too much they stay shrived up and wont open all the way.

 

[Benn2410]

Well the little frag I got has opened nicety and is bright so he must be happy enough where he is at. The only thing I have at the min is 3 hermits. Will I feed them every day?
I feed them Artemia about 1|5 of a block . I know it's hard for you to know until you see it but its around 20 wee Artemia that come out of it.
At the min I'm feeding them every 2 days. They just seem to stick to the rock or Ly at the front of the glass and look out. They are not that busy

 

[furrymurray]

That should be plenty dor them to eat

 

[Benn2410]

Cool. Didn't want to feed to much for water quality and not too little to starve my crabs lol

Thanx for the info furrymurray

 

[Dude1982]

Wow coming along nicely mate. You can get some real nice small gobies for nanos, I would love a small gobie in my tank but it would get lost and never see it lol I get jealous of lovely nanos

 

[Benn2410]

Upgrade and update

I wanted 2 clown fish badly and I knew my 12g just wasn't big enough . So before I started stocking my tank I have decided to upgrade to a river reef 94L which is a fantastic tank. Here are some updates
More rock:
Torch coral 2 heads:
Which I am waiting to come out as it is stressed a little
I will post some up to date pics later when I finish work

 

[Beengirl]

Yea!! Now you can get the 2 clowns when the cycle is done!! glad to hear you didn't ignore us all and get the 2 clowns in the 12g anyways. I like the rock work too.