New to reef hobby

[Dawny11]

Hi, I joined this site yesterday in hope that I will be further educated about this wonderful hobby. I have recently set up a 60ltr Fluvel Edge tank with 4kg of live rock, and sand. I have the lightening and temperature installed and correct to. The first 6 weeks have been a disaster and having been advised by the local aquatic store, I started all over again, but I'm getting there and thankfully I haven't brought any fish yet. I'm off to buy cleaner shrimp and hermits today and maybe one or two snails to start some life in the tank. Having read some of the threads here and far too much information on the net, I am horrified by the different numbers and chemical equations that I keep seeing. Could someone tell me what I should always be testing for and why, but in layman terms please as I really don't understand some of the jargon. I know there will be people that will say i shouldn't do this if I don't know what I'm doing, but I have to start somewhere and do have a very basic knowledge. Hope to hear from new friends soon. Thank you

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

The first thing you need to do is cycle your tank. This is the process of establishing beneficial bacteria that will convert your ammonia to nitirites and then to nitrates. The things to test for, not just now but always, and PH, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. You can get a master salt water test kit that will do the trick. There are also other things to test for like phosphates, but while you are cycling I wouldn't worry too much about that. You will also need a hydrometer or refractometer to test salinity. In the cycling process, you will see a spike of ammonia and nitrites. When those numbers get to 0, and you see a nitrate reading, you have cycled. Once that happens, you will need to do a larger water change to bring the nitrates down. A smaller water change must also be done weekly for the same reason (about 10%). During the cycling process, do not do any water changes, just top off any water loss from evaporation with fresh RODI water (all top offs with be fresh water, not salt water- if you top off with salt water you will be raising your salinity, as when water from the tank evaporates, the salt stays in the tank and raises it. Adding fresh water will maintain it where it was. Top offs are VERY important as it maintains salinity and in turn is much better for the fish). Hope this helps a bit, ask as many questions as you can, it will only help your experience! Good luck and welcome to AA

 

[Dawny11]

Hi AA, Thank you for the info, it really made sense! I now know my first mistake, I was topping up with salt water with the first tank I had. I took a sample of the water to be tested today and all is great! I am now the proud owner of 5 little red legged hermits and 5 pink snails. Hopefully next week I will introduce a couple of cleaner shrimp and the week after the long awaited clowns and nem!

 

[Mrc8858]

An anemone will need an established tank with strong lighting to survive (if they die they can nuke the tank : / ...) And I would be getting a liquid test kit before adding anything else because 99% of the time the stores will tell you your water "looks good" so they can make a sale. If you do have them test for you again ask what type of test they are using and what the numbers are so you can make an informed decision. Small mistakes can cost a lot in saltwater unfortunately.

 

[Mrc8858]

Also in a tank that size I honestly would be against the anemone at any point since they can do major damage to corals and walk around so in a limited amount of space they could start trampling and stinging your corals

 

[Dawny11]

Thank you. Once again you have been a great help. The shop told me it would be fine to have nem in a few weeks, in fact they said I couldn't NOT have one if I wanted Clowns! So pleased I joined this site, you've been a great help. D.x

 

[Schism]

Thank you. Once again you have been a great help. The shop told me it would be fine to have nem in a few weeks, in fact they said I couldn't NOT have one if I wanted Clowns! So pleased I joined this site, you've been a great help. D.x

Dont listen to that shop they are feeding you crap. This is what fish stores do to make money.

Clowns never REQUIRE a nem.

Also nems need an established tank usually recommends a tank be atleast 6 months old.

Also high intensity lighting is needed for nems, if you do not have enough it will bleach out and die.

Get your info from us here at AA and we will make you a lot more successful than that fish store. No offense or anything meant to you, i just hate fish stores that blatantly give out false information to sell more.

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Dont listen to that shop they are feeding you crap. This is what fish stores do to make money.

Clowns never REQUIRE a nem.

Also nems need an established tank usually recommends a tank be atleast 6 months old.

Also high intensity lighting is needed for nems, if you do not have enough it will bleach out and die.

Get your info from us here at AA and we will make you a lot more successful than that fish store. No offense or anything meant to you, i just hate fish stores that blatantly give out false information to sell more.

+1... There are so many people out there who have clowns and no nem... Myself included

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Same here two clowns and no nem! Haha i think its hilarious how every noobie thinks that a clown/nem combo is the greatest thing in the world. Haha

 

[Gboy66]

+1... There are so many people out there who have clowns and no nem... Myself included

Yesh! And myself! But...i do want one eventually

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

I totally do too!

 

[Beengirl]

I don't have a nem either and my clown is perfectly happy.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I am not a fan of anemones. My clowns love to host in my waving hand coral (which doesn't seem to sting anything). They won't do it in any kind of waving hand as I grow several varieties. They like the long tentical type that is light tan in color. I have a few videos posted on YouTube showing this hosting.

 

[carey]

I've had a maximum of 9 tanks up at one time and have not had any anemones for any of my clown pairs and they do just fine. A popular misconception in this hobby about clowns and nems.

Based on what you say the store is telling you i would definitely find another store, even if it means a little bit of a further drive. I personally will drive an hour for the good stores and to ensure i am dealing with people who know the hobby and won't steer me wrong. As mentioned above, there are usually a ton of people on this forum that will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. The good thing about the forum is no one is out to make money from you so there is no conflict of interest as there seems to be with your current shop.

For a new tank i would be testing salinity, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates regularly. Once you acquire some corals you may have to test for a few other things but i wouldnt worry about them right now.

Good luck!

 

[Dawny11]

Thanks everyone, Im pleased I joined as this was just the kind of advise I needed.

 

[Dawny11]

new "small" problem

Me again! I woke up today with a small amount of brown algae re-appearing plus a minute white "bug?" on the thermometer. It's been fun watching the snails trying to catch the bugs, but should I be concerned the bugs are there? They are very tiny and white in colour and have only just appeared. I understand brown algae must go through a process in the tank but should I do anything to help or leave well alone?

 

[Mrc8858]

They are pods which are a great part of the cuc and a naturally occurring food source for your fish

 

[uh.oh...]

I am not a fan of anemones. My clowns love to host in my waving hand coral (which doesn't seem to sting anything). They won't do it in any kind of waving hand as I grow several varieties. They like the long tentical type that is light tan in color. I have a few videos posted on YouTube showing this hosting.

That is anthelia I believe

 

[Gregcoyote]

You are right.

 

[Dawny11]

update

Well so far so good....Or so I thought. I noticed a little red legged hermit that had squeezed its way between two snails that where stuck together and I assumed the crab was cleaning their shells....I guess not! because now, I have two empty snail shells! My guess is the hermit ate the two snails? Is that possible?? The size of the hermit compared to just one of the snails would be a variable feast! I can't believe it would have eaten two of them, if any? Any ideas?