Nano tank noob questions

[vacuumlad]

So as I've mentioned in a noob when it comes to saltwater. I'm setting up a fluval evo tank and want to add 2 clownfish a cleaner shimp and maybe an anemone. I'm not looking to spend lots of money on coral.

Questions
What anemone can I have in the tank with the shrimp and clowns?

How do I keep/care for an anemone? Do they need feeding? If so how/ what do I feed it?

Will the anemone be ok with out light for a few days if I'm not home to turn it on?

How do I handle an anemone?

Should I add the shrimp first after cycling the tank or last? Does it matter?

Should I get both clowns at the same time or one at a time?

if you think I need to know anything else about nano reef tanks please let me know. Thanks


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[BigRedsReefs10]

First things first, the tank is way to small for a pair of clowns, you'll want something in the 20 gallon range. And as for nems, they require a mature tank (year +) and very strong lighting ( the included light with the Evo kit will not be strong enough).


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[vacuumlad]

The evo has a 11000 k. That's not good enough?


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[BigRedsReefs10]

11000 k just means that it's on the very white end of the lighting spectrum, k or kelvin is a measure of color temperature (how white or blue) not intensity. The thing that tells me it's not strong enough for much more than soft corrals is that it uses almost 40leds that total only 10 watts. Quality units use individual LEDs that are rated at 3 watts each. So no the light is no where near strong enough for an anemone


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[bribo12]

Plus the tank isn't big enough for a nem. They need stable tanks, my rose bubble tip in my 40 is probably 6" in diameter


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[vacuumlad]

Ok. What about my other questions above? I will now consider other tanks but in the mean time I need the other questions answered. Thanks for your help.


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[BigRedsReefs10]

So as I've mentioned in a noob when it comes to saltwater. I'm setting up a fluval evo tank and want to add 2 clownfish a cleaner shimp and maybe an anemone. I'm not looking to spend lots of money on coral.

Questions
What anemone can I have in the tank with the shrimp and clowns?

How do I keep/care for an anemone? Do they need feeding? If so how/ what do I feed it?

Will the anemone be ok with out light for a few days if I'm not home to turn it on?

How do I handle an anemone?

Should I add the shrimp first after cycling the tank or last? Does it matter?

Should I get both clowns at the same time or one at a time?

if you think I need to know anything else about nano reef tanks please let me know. Thanks


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I'll answer them in order
1. Any will be fine with a cleaner shrimp.
2. They need stable mature systems with pristine water quality and strong lighting. No you don't need to feed them they are photogenic and will get all they need from the lighting.
3. Most likely no, this will stress the nem and cause it to wander and possibly get sucked into a power head nuking the whole tank. Can be solved by buying a cheap timer or most good lighting units have one built in.

4. Carefully, don't force it off of what it's attached to or you could injure it's foot. In terms of touching them most people are fine doing so, they are just very sticky when they're healthy so it can be a pain. Some people are allergic ( I'm pretty sure one of the members here is) so you may want to consider gloves.
5. Shrimp tend to be more sensitive than most other inverts so I'd wait a couple months on them.
6. I generally like to add my clowns as a pair that are the same size, but in a freshly cycled tank that's probably a bad idea since it may cause a spike in ammonia. So go one at a time and just be sure that the second one you get is smaller than the first.



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[vacuumlad]

Thanks so much I appreciate the help. Out of curiosity what happens when a nem gets stuck in a power head?


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[54seaweed]

There is no need to be concerned about stock just yet you haven't even started your cycle ,
you should look into the nitrogen cycle and learn about that first .
Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice
you have plenty of time once your cycle begins to think about your first fish ,
everything in saltwater is best done slowly in steps , since the tank is new you need to give the tank time to build bb (beneficial bacteria) between fish ,
live aquara can help you find the right fish for your tank . with that small of a tank you need to understand you wont be able to have many fish . you'll be lucky to get 1 or 2 small fish

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Thanks so much I appreciate the help. Out of curiosity what happens when a nem gets stuck in a power head?


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Think fruit in a blender


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[54seaweed]

Thanks so much I appreciate the help. Out of curiosity what happens when a nem gets stuck in a power head?


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the best way to describe it is think about a blender . they get chopped up and pollute the water

 

[vacuumlad]

Yikes. That would nuke a tank. I'm starting with live rock and sand. Don't worry I will fully cycle the tank before fish. When I went to my local pet shop to get some supplies (I go there because I'm only 13 years old and don't have excess cash to spend at my lfs as they over price all dry goods) and I got a 45 lb bucket of salt for $16 on clearance. Yay me!!


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[54seaweed]

sounds like you got lucky on salt I usually get mine between 45/60 depending where I get it . don't over burden yourself just be sure you can afford to keep the tank running ,
saltwater is a expensive hobby. this is something you should read ,
it may give you a better understanding of costs . you need to be aware of what your committing too .
Responsibilities of a Saltwater Aquarium Owner

 

[vacuumlad]

I've priced everything out and it only came up to around $250. This includes the all in one tank for $100 the salt, sand, food, hydrometer, rock and live stock I also have a rodi unit. I also have a heater and thermometer. Is there anything else I should know before getting into the hobby? I've mastered fresh water and would like to try salt.


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[vacuumlad]

And for the small tank there isn't much reoccurring cost. I have salt for a life time free rodi water and food is cheap. I'll probably do fish only and maybe one shrimp.


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[vacuumlad]

Also I'm going to use live sand and a bottle of dr tims nitrifying bacteria. Live rock is a lot more expensive. Would it be OK to use dry rock that will become live over time?


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[BigRedsReefs10]

Keep in mind that you'll only be able to keep one very small fish, a clown goby would be a great choice or maybe one of the small shrimp gobies and a pistol shrimp. Yes dry rock is fine, and I'd also skip the live sand as its really just wet. Just get an aragonite based sand. I'd also skip the dr tims because products like that are a waste of money and you'll still need an ammonia source to cycle the tank


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[vacuumlad]

Well I already bought those things. Oops. Anyway I'm going to cycle the tank using a bit of fish food


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[BigRedsReefs10]

Don't use fish food because this will add phosphate into the system and combine with high nitrate produced by the cycle and your new tank will turn into an algae nightmare. Use pure ammonia or a raw cocktail shrimp


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[vacuumlad]

Well shoot. I almost ordered some animus from Amazon when I was ordering the other stuff. I guess I'm going to be doing a lot of algae scrapping.


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