Quote:
Originally posted by packisbak1
I started a new 12 gallon Nanocube Dx 1.5 weeks ago with 10 pounds of LR and 15 pounds of live sand. I have never kept a reef or saltwater tank before and have been asking a lot of questions at a few local fish stores in addition to doing a lot of reading on this site. As a result, I am getting really confused and a lot of contradicting information. I thought I would ask all the experts on the board to help provide some guidance based on your own experiences. All thoughts and information are appreciated. Below are my questions:
1) I was told that I need to add hermit crabs in
order to clear off all of the debris and algae off of
the live rock. I have read elsewhere that snails will
do a fine job and that many people don't use hermit
crabs because they will eat snails. Which is correct?
2) I was told to do a water change at the two week
mark while the guy who I spoke to originally told me
to wait "a few weeks". Which is correct and how do I
know when it is appropriate to start doing regular
water changes?
3) When doing a water change I was told to siphon the
sand bed. The guy who I spoke to last week told me
not to touch the sand bed. My sand bed is about 1.5- 2
inches deep.
4) There is all of this lose "stuff" that is blowing
around on my rocks. One guy told me I can pull it off
while another guy said I should just leave it. What
is the correct answer?
5) How will I know I can start adding hardy soft
corals? Should I add snails/fish first? I am only
planning on having 1-2 small fish but would like to
have some nice, easy to keep soft corals.
6) Will I need to dose anything to my aquarium (calcium, iodine etc.) if I plan on doing regular water changes and only having soft corals? I have read that people are fine without dosing but my LFS insists that I should start dosing immediately.
Any thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
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Hi packisbac1 and WELCOME TO REEF CENTRAL! Good luck!
1. Has your tank finished it cycle yet? If not, do not add anything at all. The LR and LS will cycle for you. Snails and hermits area great part of your clean up crew. So are bristle worms. Hermits will eat the snails occasionally, as hermits are opportunistic feeds and also look for newer homes. The hermits won't however do much for any algae. That's where the snails come in. I have lost some snails to hermits...I just buy more snails.
2. I would not change your water if your tank has not cycled yet. Let it cycle. After that, water changes weekly to biweekly are fine.
3. Typically, you do not want to disturb your sandbed, or if you do, you'll want to do it as gently as possible. Disturbing the sandbed will bring up the detrius and bacteria that's in the sandbed. But, that statement is more true for someone with a deep sand bed, I'm guessing 5 inches or more. Since you're stating your sand bed is only 1.5-2 inches deep, you would be safe if you needed to siphon your sandbed, but I would stick with gently doing the top layer only.
4. The stuff that's settling on your rocks at this point is probably a mixture of sand and loose rubble from the rocks as well as "stuff" from the sand bed and rock itself. Using a turkey baster to blow it off the rock is a good idea. Keep your filters running and clean the pads/filter often after you've blown the rocks clean. Also, if you have a skimmer run it "wet" so that it helps get the debris up as well. Although, at this point, if your tank is that new, a skimmer most likely won't do much yet anyway.
5. You'll be able to start adding stuff to the tank once it cycles. This means your amonia has dropped to 0, your nitrites have dropped to 0 and your nitrates have dropped to 0, or at least under 10-20, but shoot for 0. I don't actually think it would make a difference if you added the corals, fish or snails/crabs in any particular order. I personally added the fish first. But, take it slow so that you do not put your tank into bio load frenzy! LOL! After adding a fish, or two keep tabs on your water parameters. Once your tank adjusts to the fish, then go ahead an add your next purchase. Typcially, there's not a big bio load with the corals anyway, but slow and safe is always better.
6. As far as dosing with a nano tank, most likely not. But, it's probably a good idea to keep certain things "handy" just in case. I always keep a bottle of Amquel for amonia spikes. That may be all. You most likely will not need to dose for calcium or anything like that because of the nano tank and as long as you keep up with your water changes.
Definitely invest in a test kit and test for:
PH - Should be 8.2
Amonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates -0
Salinity - most shoot for 1.025
Phosphates - 0
Calcium - you should be fine just testing. It probably won't go below 380 with weekly or bi-weekly changes in your tank
dKH - 9-12
I hope this helps and good luck!