Live Sand

[crashoverride]

Hello, I have a 24G nano cube that has been running for 2months now and cycle is almost complete. Ammonia-0,Nitrite-0,Nitrate-between-0& .20(almost gone), Alkalinity-180, SG-1.025, Temp.80F
I do 5g water changes every week. For some reason this Red Stuff is growing on the LS, on one side of the tank. What is this? Is this natural? How do I get rid of it? There is also some brown stuff on the LS. I have taken some pictures. Please check them out and let me know.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w119/hectorolivares00/nano017.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w119/hectorolivares00/nano016.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w119/hectorolivares00/nano015.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w119/hectorolivares00/nano014.jpg

[scowiii]

Its just your tank cycling. Time to order that cleanup crew.

[sir_dudeguy]

2months now and cycle is almost complete.

your cycle is done...amonia and nitrite are 0...you're good to go. Nitrates are the end product but may go down on their own in time because live rock can also grow the bacteria to break them down further.

The red is cyano, aka red slime.
The brown is either dieing cyano, or just diatoms.

Both are very common in new tanks. Keep in mind that for the first year you can have a number of normal alga outbreaks. Diatoms and cyano tend to just go away on their own as long as you have adequate flow, and low/no nitrates and/or phosphates.

[crashoverride]

Thanks, I do have a clean up crew, 3 red leg scarlet hermit crabs, 2 astrea snails, 2 Cernith snails, 2 Nassarius snails. Does this mean I can add fish now? what about corals? What are some good corals for beginners?
I was planing to start of with 2 black/white clown fish, 1 purple fire fish, and a blenny.
How do I acclimate them? what is the process? should I get fish first and then corals or the other way around?

[kool-cat]

Natural during the cycling process. I started with that red slime too. Make sure your using ro/di water to do topp offs and water changes. The red slime should go away. Use a turkey baster to remove the red slime.

[sir_dudeguy]

Ya, if you have 0 amonia and 0 nitrite, you are done w/the cycle. I usually add corals first, just because i have spares of those "laying around" in my other tanks, and i usually dont have any money to go out and purchase a new fish lol.

But IMO, you could do it either way you wanted...but you say you have nitrates up to 20...you might wanna test again to make sure what they are exactly...if they're too high, dont add corals just yet, because they can harm corals, but not fish.

For those fish, i think that you have a good stock list (assuming the blenny is a smaller one)

I would add the firefish first, and depending on what type of blenny, him next, and the clowns last.

To acclimate them, I just drip acclimate them with an airline...get a small siphon going from your tank, tie an knot so that it slows the water siphon to just a drip...put the drip in the container w/the new fish and let it sit for an hour or so...then maybe float the fish bag in your tank to get it used to the temp.

Or you could just pour like a shotglass of your water into the fish's bag every 5 minutes for an hour or whatever...then float him to get him used to the temp. Then release him :)

[crashoverride]

When I do water changes, I usually purchase the water from my LFS (premix saltwater). I have also purchase the RO/DI water from them and do topp offs with that. It is easier for me to purchase it than to make it my self, or should I premix the saltwater my self? and buy an RO/DI Unit? I have a dip test and the Nitrates are closer to zero than it is to 20.
Why should I add the fishes in that order? Does it make a difference if I add the clownfishes first and then the Purple firefish and last blenny? Just curious....

[Illuminati]

I personally would add the clowns first, they are a much hardier fish than the firefish.
What kind of Blenny? I have heard the bicolor blenny is a good choice.

When I acclimate fish I pour the water it came in with the fish into a container. Empty half of the water, replace that half with my tank water, repeat every 5 minutes for a half an hour. After you acclimate the fish you don't need to float it in a bag to get the temps right, the fish will basically be swimming in your tank water after acclimation, just put him right in the tank.

[sir_dudeguy]

I have a dip test and the Nitrates are closer to zero than it is to 20.

You should just go ahead and toss those tests...dip tests arent accurate at all (i think you're talking about those little test strips?)

As for the water...it will be a lot cheaper in the longrun if you just buy your own RO/DI unit and salt, and just mix it yourself. The cheapest i've seen RO water for at any stores is 25 cents per gallon. RO water from a unit at your house would be like 10 cents a gallon tops.

And when you buy premixed saltwater...thats even more expensive. Best to just buy a big bucket of salt and mix it yourself. From drsfostersmith.com you can get a 160g worth bucket of Reef Crystals salt for 44 bucks shipped. I like this salt more than any others that i've tried (Oceanic, Instant Ocean....oh, and Reef Crystals is actually made by Instant Ocean...just higher levels of all the calcium and whatnot in it).

That would last you a very long time. I've got a 40 and 29 and another tank system that is about 30 gallons and i'm not even halfway through this bucket and its been like 4 months. For your tank, the bucket would last a longer time yet.

For the order of fish...i still say firefish first. While clownfish are a very hardy fish, its not like the firefish is a weak one (health wise). Once you add those clowns, they'll prolly think they're boss of the tank (and they will be...i've got a pair of the black and white ocellaris that you want to get...my female bites me every time i put my hand in the tank. Sometimes she'll bite BEFORE i even get in the tank lol). So thats why i say it would be better to put in the weaker fish first. That being said, i've always added the clowns first (i've had 3 pairs now), which is why i suggest putting the smaller/weaker fish first.

For the blenny....i agree that a bicolor blenny would be a good choice. I've had one in my 40 and it was very cool to watch hop around the tank and perch on top of the highest thing it could find. Mine always went perched on top of my seio. Never bothered any other fish really...every now and then him and my clowns would squabble over food, but thats about it. But he did seem to like my sps corals, so if you plan on getting sps corals...beware...mine killed off 2 of my digitata corals.

[crashoverride]

What kind of food do you guys recommend? How many times should I feed the fishes? I have also read that when you acclimate fish, the light should be turned off? is that true? it stresses out the fish?

[crashoverride]

Another question I forgot to ask was, If I do the water change early in the morning Saturday, can I add the fishes later on that same day? or should I do the water change on Saturday and add the fishes on Sunday?

[sir_dudeguy]

What kind of food do you guys recommend?

a variety. I like frozen foods. Stuff like frozen mysis shrimp, plankton. I dont like brine shrimp and many people say not to use bloodworms in saltwater tanks. I also sometimes feed flake...i think the brand is prime reef or something like that.

How many times should I feed the fishes?
I feed once daily. Feed just enough to where they eat it all in a few minutes and theres very little/none of the food settling on the bottom/rocks (which if it does, then you probably dont have that good of flow but thats a different topic :) )

I have also read that when you acclimate fish, the light should be turned off? is that true? it stresses out the fish?
eh...might be a good idea, but honestly, i've never really done that and it always seems fine for me. Actually i guess i do sort of turn off the lights...i just leave the actinics running and then about a half hour/hour later i turn the daylights back on.

Another question I forgot to ask was, If I do the water change early in the morning Saturday, can I add the fishes later on that same day? or should I do the water change on Saturday and add the fishes on Sunday?

IMO you could do the water change, then a few hours later add the fish. Its not like its gonna make any difference to them...your water will still be new to them, so its not like it would be any worse than normal, you know what i mean? Also tho, by reading that, i took it that you were planning to add more than one fish at the same time? The only time i'd do that is if you're adding the clown pair, but other than that, its best to add only one fish at a time so as to allow the bacteria to bounce back from the new heavier bioload. Wait about 3 weeks in between each fish

[crashoverride]

Thanks for all the info Sir_dudeguy, I did mean the pair of clown fishes to add this weekend.
I still have more questions, I hope you don't mind
When feeding the fish, should it be at the same time everyday?
When I add the clown fishes this weekend, can I add some corals the following weekend, the same day? or how long should I wait before I can add my first coral?
I am going to wait about 3-4 weeks before I can add my next fish and the same process for the last one.

[sir_dudeguy]

When feeding the fish, should it be at the same time everyday?
its best if it is IMO but if you think about it...out in the wild it probably isnt a specific time every day...just whenever food happens to come by. So I dont think it really matters.

When I add the clown fishes this weekend, can I add some corals the following weekend, the same day? or how long should I wait before I can add my first coral?

yep, you could add some corals at the same time provided all your levels are correct (and make sure your nitrates are down to around at least 10...but dont trust those test strips...they're not correct).

And Kudo's to you for asking about the stuff BEFORE buying it :) Many people buy first, ask last...but the way you're doing it is the best way ;)

[crashoverride]

Thanks a lot, I will keep you posted. What kind of corals should I start off first with? Which one's do you recommend and are easy to take care of?

[sir_dudeguy]

as for what corals to start with...what lighting do you have? I know that its pc's, but how many watts?

I'd say that the easiest ones to start with would be kenya tree, xenia, zoos, green star polyps, etc....lots of soft corals are easy to keep under PC's.

[crashoverride]

I have the stock PC that came with the JBJ 24G DX nano. PC are 36W/110V - 10,000K (the 2 inner tubes are blue- I don't know if that helps)

[sir_dudeguy]

Ya so its 2x36w? I think thats how the DX version is. Either way, with those you could keep any softy you want (well there are a few softies that are difficult, but not because of light i dont think...like sun polyps i think are pretty hard to keep). You could also keep some LPS like hammers and torches probably. I just visited a guy who has the same tank as you and he's got a few sps corals up higher as well. The ones that are doing the best for him tho are digitata corals (as far as SPS goes). A couple of his others werent doing as good as they could under better light.

[crashoverride]

So, If I were to add the 2 clown fishes on Saturday, Can I add 1-2 corals on Sunday? Would there be a bio overload? Is it safe to add them on Sunday? and if so, how do you acclimate the corals?

[sir_dudeguy]

you can add corals at whatever time you like, just as long as your params are all good (like SG, temp, pH...but those are all the same for what the fish need too...except nitrates..those have to be lower for corals. They dont harm fish though).

And corals dont add to the bioload. Not in the sense of creating amonia like fish do anyways. They use up trace elements, but its only the corals that use those and weekly or every other week water changes will replace all that is used up by corals.

[crashoverride]

How do I acclimate Corals? should the lights be on or off when I acclimate them? Where do I place them?

[Kengaroo131]

i would wait till the little bubbles in the tank are gone, that indicates that your tank is not completly ready i belive.

[sir_dudeguy]

I acclimate all my corals a bit longer than fish. Specially soft corals and especially leathers in particular. For stuff like SPS you can usually just temp acclimate them for a while and toss em in. But for softies, i've found it important to acclimate them for at least 45 minutes or so. Sure, lots of people get away w/just tossing them in...but i'm just saying how my experience with them has been, and i've got lots of softies.

As for lights...i'm not sure. I get half of my corals later at night (well..at night for my tank...during the day for me. I run the lights during the night hours since thats when i'm home) so i usually get the corals when my tank lights are off...

But the other half that i do get when my lights are on...i havent really seen any problems. Some corals will shut up if thrown right into light...but then a while later they open up a bit. I personally dont think it really matters on that...others may have more opinions on it. But i usually dont make a big deal about it.

As for placement...depends on the type. If you get xenia, i would ONLY put it up high and on a rock all by itself that isnt near other rocks...it likes to grow towards the light...so if you put it down low, it will crawl up all your rocks till it gets as high as it can, leaving little baby xenias all over which grow very quick. If you put it up high or away from everything...it cant grow any more towards the light, or it just cant reach anything else.

But for softies in general, they'll all do good all the way throughout your tank. For LPS, maybe put them mid-way. But i think some LPS like lower light, but i might be wrong.

SPS...dont really recommend them to you for now since you're just starting off, but they would have to go up top.

[sir_dudeguy]

i would wait till the little bubbles in the tank are gone, that indicates that your tank is not completly ready i belive.

what? I've never heard this before. The only way to REALLY know if its ready is to test. Dont go by "when the rock doesnt smell" or "when the algae is gone" or stuff like that...every tank is different except for the tests. Once it cycled, its cycled. Give it a week after its cycled (which the thread has already been almost a week long and at the very beginning you posted your test results...and they indicate that it is cycled...so this weekend would be fine to add stuff IMO)

[crashoverride]

Cool! So I acclimate the Corals like the fishes, but longer? I will post pics of the clowns I get and corals if any. What kind of RO/DI unit do you recommend to get? How does it work?

[sir_dudeguy]

ha, i'm the wrong one to ask about RO units. I dont have one...i just use watermart's RO water since they turn out good in my area.

[crashoverride]

You didn't answer my other question. Do I acclimate the corals the same way as the fishes, but for a longer time?

[cmb88]

thought id throw my imput here.. you asked the same questions i researched asked and got answered by a friend whose been doing this a long time. thought id share my experiance.. I have a 14 gallon oceanic..

I covered the tank ad kept it extra long on complete dark cycle to kill of anything that may have lived algae etc..I was warned to bee veeery patient. lol

made sure full cycle was complete not just mini cycle...then added lights slowly 6 hrs a day...added clean up crew. I had pink coraline starting to grow some brown (not as bad as yours)

then after two weeks i added 1 zoo and 1 star paly..increased lights 12 hrs a day.. 1 hour actinic, 10 hrs 10k, then 1 hr actinic, then 1 hr actinic then 3 hrs lunar.

The zoo was doing well and so was the star polyp..so my friend said i could add a pistol an yellow watchman goby!! YAY.. I tried soo hard to get him to come out of cave and eat..I used brine shrimp (they say flavorful no nutrients tho) to lure him out and mysin shrimp. Nothing..He starved to death!! waaa...then i added a ric i ordered from a store..it looked sick and disenagrated in my tank!! caused a nitrate spike. WHOA!! what a pain. I use RO water and mix with "instant oceanic" salt.. I also invested in refractometer..(life savior)..I do use the test strips for nitrate and love em.. Maybe not exactly accurate but peace of mind. Im a vet tech and use them all the time!! if there is trace i take water in to petstore...also my tank is 84 degrees, spec grav 1.025...I do a water change 1 gallon (10%) once a week.

So now i have 6 other zoos doing well.. but have been warned not to jump the gun and over crowd my tank with too much at once. frags or fish..can spike water high..especially with a problem... Oh as for acclimation..I float the frags for 30 min..cut hole in bag and drop some of my tank water in it through out..then dump almost all water out into tub..(you dont want their water) and gentley pull frag out..Fish are harder..same process just drop your water in the bag while they float a little longer hen let them gentley swim out on their own.. Hope that helps!! anyway just thought i would share!! gl PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE!! lmao i know its hard!! GL
look me up i have pics too!! etc...poor "mooch" my fish that sucked stupid fish!! ohh also look into your lights.. i almost bough that tank but not a lot of light..some people say dont get sps in that thing!! do some research..mines gonna be a ric/zoo/shroomy tank!!

[sir_dudeguy]

crashoverride...yes, you acclimate the corals the same way, just longer. Sorry, forgot that part ;)

also my tank is 84 degrees

That very well could have been why your watchman died. 84 is a bit high IMO. 82 is the top i let my tank get. My temp has gone up to 84 before, but i get it down right away, so nothing usually happens. Sometimes a coral might close up for a day or so. But if you keep it there longterm, it may cause problems.

frags or fish..can spike water high
Not entirely true. Fish...definitely. Corals, no. Not unless one of them dies. But like i said in a way earlier post (i think), corals dont add to the bio-load in the sense of producing amonia like fish do when they poop. Corals just use up trace elements, which if you do your weekly/biweekly water change, you wont have any problems w/that. I actually havent done any water changes for about a month (i do this quite often) and all my corals (mostly just softies, granted...) are still taking off. All my levels are fine, so i see no point to change the water.

[cmb88]

typo my water is 81.5 not 84!! hehehe sorry..um i did have a sick coral ship and disenagrate thus spiking the nitrate levels..also was worried about overfeeding fish for same affect, but all that has been under control for awhile now. I think he wasnt good when shipped from same place as dead coral.. He just would not come out and eat no matter what i did..wwaaaaa

[cmb88]

omg im just gonna stop writing threads now until i sleep..im tired im such a freaking doofus!! MY TANK IS AT 78 degrees.. dont know what the hell i was thinking 81-84 degrees oops. soo sorry for making yall think that..i finally looked at the temp gauge today..just to make sure..lol i have a lot of exams right now in school dont know where i pulled that number from!!