Aquascaping (recommend..)

[caseynewton]

Hello fellow reefers,

I'm new to the hobby. I am starting a reef. With one fish in a 14 gallon Biocube.

Livestock:
Clownfish

Coral:
Frogspawn
Red mushroom
Brain looking coral (red)
And pulsating Xenia

I don't know the amount of rock but if you refer to the picture it's not heavily stocked.

1.5 to 2 inches of sand.

Light:
a250w 15K

Questions:
1: lots of people love rock, I like the simpler look I the aquarium. Is it a must to fill the tank to the rim with live rock?

2: recommend any other corals?

3: think I could put an anemone in tank?

Nitrates seem to stay below 20 ppm, as tank matures more I think that will drop.

All other parameters are good.

[AquaRick]

1) No you don't have to fill it to the brim. With a small bioload you should be ok.
2) With a 250w MH (I'm assuming Metal Halide here?) You can pretty much grow anything. Get whatever corals you like. A nice tabling acro would look sweet mounted at the top of that rock.
3) Yes, you can grow an anemone in that tank. If you want stony corals and an anemone, you need to get those trates down as close to 0 as you can.

[caseynewton]

Thanks, the light is LED but should cook up any corals too. Yea, being patient with those nitrates. I'd like to put some hard coral sometime, but figures it's to high in nitrates now. Have to figure that one out.

[crister13]

What light fixture do you have? I would love some LEDs...... How much were they?????

[caseynewton]

They are great! Expensive but they will allow me to grow and continue to use them even with larger tanks. The model number is a250w 15K the brand is kessel or something similar to that. So far my corals love it. It cost about $303 with tax, and if you need a gooseneck that's an extra $50.

[Schism]

Originally Posted by caseynewton

They are great! Expensive but they will allow me to grow and continue to use them even with larger tanks. The model number is a250w 15K the brand is kessel or something similar to that. So far my corals love it. It cost about $303 with tax, and if you need a gooseneck that's an extra $50.

Yes you will be able to keep any coral, clam, or nem with that light in a 14g. Great choice.

Also with just that 1 fish that amount a live rock should be fine. Adding some small pieces would definitely not hurt tho. But i like the tank for sure. Just keep up on your water changes and dont overfeed and you shouldnt have a problem with nitrates.

[caseynewton]

Yes I want everything to grow fast except the fish. So I do spot feeding once daily and the fish at same time. Thanks for your comments. I think I'm going to add another layer of caves higher to the surface.

My water won't go below 20 PPM of nitrates. So I will be patient and continue to do water changes weekly.

[caseynewton]

Originally Posted by Schism

Yes you will be able to keep any coral, clam, or nem with that light in a 14g. Great choice.

Also with just that 1 fish that amount a live rock should be fine. Adding some small pieces would definitely not hurt tho. But i like the tank for sure. Just keep up on your water changes and dont overfeed and you shouldnt have a problem with nitrates.

Love the photos on your profile. Nice setup. Motivates to see all of everyone's beautiful aquariums. Mine seems yet so simple and basic. Need more coral!

[Schism]

Originally Posted by caseynewton

Yes I want everything to grow fast except the fish. So I do spot feeding once daily and the fish at same time. Thanks for your comments. I think I'm going to add another layer of caves higher to the surface.

My water won't go below 20 PPM of nitrates. So I will be patient and continue to do water changes weekly.

You may be overfeeding the tank. Spot feeding your corals every day is not recommended. I normally feed my corals once a week or so. They really dont need much of anything to begin with. Being a nano tank your gonna find that something as simple as feeding your corals everyday will have and impact on nitrates.

Things happen much faster the smaller you go. Cut back on the coral feedings and keep up on the weekly maintenance and you should see better nitrate control.

Also what filtration/media you running? Keeping it fresh and cleaned will also help substantially.

[caseynewton]

I'll try that and update in a week. I will also be adding couple more corals on Tuesday.

One feeding per week. If doing 33% water change weekly should I have to add minerals or supplements into the water?

[Schism]

Originally Posted by caseynewton

Love the photos on your profile. Nice setup. Motivates to see all of everyone's beautiful aquariums. Mine seems yet so simple and basic. Need more coral!

Thanks and youll get there. Pick up a frag here and there and it will fill up before you know it.

[Schism]

Originally Posted by caseynewton

I'll try that and update in a week. I will also be adding couple more corals on Tuesday.

One feeding per week. If doing 33% water change weekly should I have to add minerals or supplements into the water?

Nope not at all. No supplements, your saltmix will take care of everything. Mines a 29g and my saltmix takes care of all the corals by itself with weekly 5g change.

[caseynewton]

In the wild, fish just just eat when they're hungry. Is there a way to put live food in the aquarium and the clown fish will just eat when he's hungry. Like circle of life thing?

[Schism]

Originally Posted by caseynewton

In the wild, fish just just eat when they're hungry. Is there a way to put live food in the aquarium and the clown fish will just eat when he's hungry. Like circle of life thing?

Yes, you can feed live brine shrimp. However it should be supplemented with other nutritious food also. Many youtube videos on how to hatch brine shrimp and grow them to adult hood, it is very cheap to do, just take time and some effort to get the first batch.

[caseynewton]

Originally Posted by Schism

Nope not at all. No supplements, your saltmix will take care of everything. Mines a 29g and my saltmix takes care of all the corals by itself with weekly 5g change.

Thanks. I'll update this post in comming weeks!

[caseynewton]

Originally Posted by Schism

Yes, you can feed live brine shrimp. However it should be supplemented with other nutritious food also. Many youtube videos on how to hatch brine shrimp and grow them to adult hood, it is very cheap to do, just take time and some effort to get the first batch.

Maybe I'll keep it simple and just use frozen foods.

[AquaRick]

I like using PE mysis shrimp. A bit bigger than brine, and much more protein for your fish.

[Hardridge]

What in ur filter. I took balls out of my daut. 14 and replaced it with live rock pieces

[caseynewton]

Live rock and bio balls. I use a blue filter media to remove large particle, but no carbon or other.

[caseynewton]

Originally Posted by AquaRick

I like using PE mysis shrimp. A bit bigger than brine, and much more protein for your fish.

I use the same for now. Don't need to feed much for one fish.