Hi very new to saltwater.

[Ginanlou]

Just started my 14g biocube. It's been a month. I put 15lbs live rock and 18lbs live sand. I just put 8 tiny blue legged hermits in, 2 white legged hermits, 2 Scarlett hermits, 2 emerald crabs, 2 peppermint shrimp, 2 serpent starfish and some snails. Hoping I didn't go overboard. What can I feed them beside the algae they are enjoying. I put some sinking pellets in for them. Don't really have a lot of algae yet. Hoping I have enough for them. All the inverts are very very small so hopefully they don't need much. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[Fishguy2727]

Get the emerald crabs out, they will become very destructive (especially in such a small tank). I have had customers and clients watch them kill snails, hermits, shrimp, even small fish. I would also remove the stars.

 

[iDream]

all of those eat mostly(or all) detritus and not algae, i have a biocube 14 myself and my CUC looks like this:

6-7 blue leg hermits
6-7 turbo snails
1 peppermint (was to finish off my aiptasia problem, but now he's a part of the family )

now my tank isnt always algae free, but it was enough to stop a huge hair algae outbreak (along with cutting down on lights, and lessening feedings)

so my advice would be to return some of those hermits, they'll fight anyway. get some snails like ceriths, nassarius, and turbos (keep in mind theyre known for being bulldozers, so make sure your rockwork is fairly stable!)

and make sure you have some extra shells for the hermits to grow into

glad to have another BC14 owner here, make sure to stick around and post pictures of your setup!

 

[melosu58]

Moving thi to the SW general discussion forum. You`ll get more answers there.

 

[mr_X]

you can put some nori on a clip for the snails. the emerald crabs will probably go for the algae also. i haven't had bad luck mithrax crabs, so i would just say to keep an eye on them.
the serpent stars and hermits will eat the sinking pellets.

 

[Ginanlou]

Thank- you for the advice. I will try to post some pics if I can figure out how to. Kinda new to phones and computers too. I will get some nori for the snails. Is that seaweed? Everything is still alive this morning so I was very happy. How long should I wait to introduce a fish. Also what kind don't want it to outgrow the tank. Thanks again to everyone!! Have a great day.

 

[iDream]

well first off do you have a test kit? if you dont i suggest that be a first, make sure you also get liquid test kits, the strips have proven to be inaccurate. you'll need to start out with a test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH (high range) the saltwater master test kit by API is a good one, and somewhat inexpensive

and yes nori is seaweed, the stuff you use to wrap sushi

and once your tests are reading 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, and <20ppm nitrate, you can add your first fish. but first you should see a rise and fall in ammonia, then nitrite.

ocellaris or percula clownfish, firefish goby, clown goby, yellow watchman goby, you have several options. look through here (Nano Fish) for nice smaller fish, since you only have about 14G to work with, stocking will be limited to about 2-3 fish, depending on size

 

[Ginanlou]

I wasn't even thinkin sushi. Wow that's cool. I know what nori is great! I have been testing my water but guess I've been doing the wrong thing. I bought the strips should have bought the kit. I will pick one up. So I figured maybe awhile for a fish but I will get the kit first and make sure water is stable. I was thinking 2 fish also. Don't want to crowd it. What else will live in there. It's looking like some of the corals will survive in my cube. Am I right? Thanks again for all the input. It is nice to be able to get info from experience instead of someone trying to sell me stuff that won't possibly survive. Had a smaller cube years ago and they sold me a seahorse that didn't last very long. It was very sad to watch. I didn't have Internet then and didn't investigate just believed the guy at the fish store. Had to move out of state go 3 years due to a military move so I gave my friend my fish. We just moved back and I tried to set up my smaller tank. Everything was broken from sitting empty for 3 years so decided it would be cheaper to invest in a new tank. I am truly loving my new tank. It is hard to be patient sometimes but it is a must.

 

[iDream]

yep, its said around here often that nothing good happens in SW fast.

but yes there are corals that will live in your tank, look for zoanthids, mushrooms, ricordeas, xenia(make sure to research first, some people dont like how quickly it spreads), star polyps, palythoas are all some very hardy beginner corals. soft corals are generally what you'll be able to keep

there are some LPS that will survive, but if it were me id wait until i got the hang of the easier ones first

2 fish sounds good, thats what i have, as my signature says i have a firefish goby and a starry blenny, both of which are great friends in my tank. though i am looking to buy a small percula clown and leave my stocking there

 

[uscamaro]

Don't forget to put other shells of various sizes in there. I've lost 2 hermits because I wouldn't allow them to grow. They do but their shells don't.