Diving into my fear of Saltwater

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Shark_Bait

Shark_Bait

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
414
Location
Chicago Illinois
Hey everyone, so i got a decent deal off CL for a 24gal nanocube. Everything works good on it except the lights which i need to replace. It came with bio balls which from my understanding help breed useful bacteria to eliminate ammonia out of the water. It also came with live sand but the guy said he had it sitting in his garage for a month. I don't know if this sand is still considered safe/live anymore. Anyways, I have been keeping freshwater for some time now but have always been afraid of the SW.:banghead: Well i want to begin with this biocube.(y) I am planning on starting out with a FOWLR tank and see where that takes me in time. I honestly don't know where to begin. I guess i need to figure out if this sand is good or not so i can replace it. Then I should pick up the pre mixed saltwater for my tank. I know i need live rock to add but don't know how much or what kind for that matter. Once i have that it's cycling time. I am a slow cycler because i want to make sure water conditions are as "perfect" as they can be before adding any tankmates to it. PLEASE lend me your advice and experience as I do not want any fatalities but at the same time I would like to keep my wallet alive haha. Thanks everyone you rock!!
 
nano cube.jpg

This is what the tank looks like pre build---by the way it was caked with green and red algae. That was fun cleaning it.....4 hours of scrubbing :(
 
Honestly better off starting with fresh sandbed. When you purchase some live rock the bacteria and critters will seed the new sand and will become live in no time. If you plan on doing corals in future best off doing reef save fish only tank so can add corals in future. With a 24 gallon you can probably only have 2 fish. Unless you have a hefty sump under tank to add water volume.
 
Mpfaff77 said:
Honestly better off starting with fresh sandbed. When you purchase some live rock the bacteria and critters will seed the new sand and will become live in no time. If you plan on doing corals in future best off doing reef save fish only tank so can add corals in future. With a 24 gallon you can probably only have 2 fish. Unless you have a hefty sump under tank to add water volume.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I do not have a sump for it. Its just the nano cube and stand. 2 fish would be alright as long as there can be some clean up crews added. ill get new sand thanks for the input i really appreciate it.
 
So i won't be adding any livestock for at least a few weeks. But i'm doing a lot of research and i am choosing to go with a nano fish tank. These are what I'm leaning towards but please correct me if you notice something wrong. From my research these species will co-exhist nicely and not bother each other. Keeping in mind that I have a 24 gal to work with, how does this list look?

Clown Goby, Green
Firefish
Ocellaris Clownfish, Tank Bred
Jawfish, Yellowhead
Orange Stripe Prawn Goby
 
Gotcha, that's what i figured but there is alot of new SW lingo so idint know if it refered to something else. What kind of cleaners are you stocking?
 
No clue actually. That's where my research has stopped :)

I plan to start looking into that and what fish to get over the next couple weeks. The emerald crab is one cool looking dude though. I have a 29gal so I think my options for fish will be a bit more extensive then yours, but should be fairly close. I'll let you know!

Oh and if you decide to do a deep sand bed (which has its pros and cons) you can get certain guys for your cuc.
 
Shark_Bait said:
So i won't be adding any livestock for at least a few weeks. But i'm doing a lot of research and i am choosing to go with a nano fish tank. These are what I'm leaning towards but please correct me if you notice something wrong. From my research these species will co-exhist nicely and not bother each other. Keeping in mind that I have a 24 gal to work with, how does this list look?

Clown Goby, Green
Firefish
Ocellaris Clownfish, Tank Bred
Jawfish, Yellowhead
Orange Stripe Prawn Goby
Click to expand...

This is way too many fish for 24 gallon tank. Bio load be way too much. 2 fish is max. Territory is also issue. You will stress out your fish.
 
That's strange because i was told i could keep up too 6 or 7 fish as long as they were nano species. I figured 4-5 would be fine. Hmmm
 
Shark_Bait said:
That's strange because i was told i could keep up too 6 or 7 fish as long as they were nano species. I figured 4-5 would be fine. Hmmm
Click to expand...

I would say 3 tops. "nano" refers to the size of the tank not really the fish. Small tanks much harder to keep stable as well. Things can change fast. Jawfish and clowns Both get fairly big. 4" or so for clown and Jawfish prolly closer to 5" or so full grown. Fire fish are small and so is clown goby. Good rule of thumb is 1 fish per 10 gallons of water. Hope so more guys will back me up. Make sure you add fish slowly as well.
 
Mpfaff77 said:
I would say 3 tops. "nano" refers to the size of the tank not really the fish. Small tanks much harder to keep stable as well. Things can change fast. Jawfish and clowns Both get fairly big. 4" or so for clown and Jawfish prolly closer to 5" or so full grown. Fire fish are small and so is clown goby. Good rule of thumb is 1 fish per 10 gallons of water. Hope so more guys will back me up. Make sure you add fish slowly as well.
Click to expand...

I agree, 3 is good. Just add 1 fish at a time, and when you get to 3 let the tank settle and everyone get used to each other. If you think you can add 1 more go for it, but you are taking a risk. It could def work out or they might all start fighting.

I was planning on only getting 5 fish max in my 29gal long, and i have more floor space than the 24 cube
 
Alright tell me how this sound. What if I do the clown, Dwarf Goby, and a couple firefish? this will decrease the bioload and open up a little more space in the tank. Is this better?
 
I would have to agree with 3 fish. I have 5 in my 29g and it is slightly over stocked. I have 2 occ clowns, yellow watchman goby, helfrichi fire fish, and pakistani butterfly. And I am pretty much at the limits of my tank. I have started doing pwc once a week because of this. Error on the side of caution especially when starting and it will save you a lot of headaches. Nano tanks also like someone else said are very "touchy" the water paramaters can change overnight so just take it slow and do tons of research
 
Depending on the fish picked you can fit a good amount in a 24g tank. But not the ones you have in your list mentioned above.

When i say nano or micro fish, I'm talking fish that get to about an inch or so- WHEN FULLY GROWN! In a 24g nano I would probably get like 3 clown goby's, a small blenny like the two spot and maybe one more fish in the same size range. I would however go nuts with inverts. lol I love shrimp and crabs so i'd have a bunch of them. :)

Just so you know, clean up crew is not NEEDED. If you like snails and hermits then get some, but you can't rely on them to keep your tank clean. that's all up to you.
 
Thanks carey!! How does this stock list of inverts sound...
3- Trochus snails
3-Nerite snails
4- Nassarius snails
2- Emerald green crabs
1-Red legged hermit crab
1-Blue legged hermit crab
and then i dont know how many but Cleaner shrimp.
Hows my aim on them?
 
Just a heads up if your tank is not producing enough algea you will need to supplement their food supply. Just a heads up
 
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