50 Gallon NANO Stocking IDEAS.

[Paleoreef103]

Great!

 

I am playing around with the lighting and still installing the fans. The weather has been crazy lately which has allowed me to see what this house has in store for the aquarium. Lately, because of the heat, I have been having heating issues where the temp would go up to 84F-86F, because no one was home to tend to it. However, last night was the first cold night in a while, I woke up pretty early this morning and noticed the temp for both the 10gal & 50gal was very low, each at 74F. All polyps in the 10gal have opened up beautifully so I am not that worried, still means I have to keep a closer eye on the temp. I have a 300w heater in the 50gal which should have kept the temp at bay, but I will be adding the 50w heater from the 10gal once it is emptied out.

 

Someone suggested a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse to the list. What do you guys think? I haven't found much on these guys, something about flashing each other in schools of 3. I don't know what that means, except for buying 3 of these guys?

Honestly, it's not easy to give advise without a lot more knowledge of the system. Is your 50 gallon tank sumped? Is your system a 36x18x18 50 breeder or a 24x24x20 cube? If it is sumped you can use a 6" clip on fan from walmart to keep the tempeatures down. 74 degrees F isn't into the danger zone for temps. I wouldn't keep it there, but it's not a huge deal if it drops that low on occasion.

 

Honestly, I'd advise against a mandarin all together. They require a lot of work and a 7 gallon fuge isn't near enough to keep one. My fuge area is about 7 gallons on my sumped 40 breeder and I would not in any way feel confident in keeping a Mandarin happy. Yes, you can train them to eat frozen, but that is a roll of the dice if they'll adapt and otherwise you'll condemn them to a long, slow, wasting death.

 

What kind of cardinals are you keeping? Some are peaceful with other cardinals, others aggressively pair off, and others are territorial.

 

Flasher wrasses are cool. You definitely can get three of them in a 50, but they are active fish and should be fed at least twice a day to be kept happy. When they "flash" they puff up their fins and kind of flush themselves up a bit. If you're getting three get two females and a male or three females. If you get three females and all stay alive long enough, one of the females will become dominant and turn to male.

[anizato]

Yes it is sumped with a 29 gallon. Pump and ATO in the middle section, 7 gal Fuge on the far left and skimmer in the intake chamber with the heater and reactor.

It is 36" wide, 15" deep and 20" tall ...so 45 gallons.

I took note of your advice with the pods and the Mandarin. I will be dedicating my 10 gallon tank to a pod sanctuary for the Mandarin, that way I can feed him daily and seed the Fuge constantly. However, the Mandarin won't be purchased until things are right.

 

We want 3 Kauderni Cardinals.

 

Awesome I am looking forward to adding the Wrasses to the list.

 

Is there a particular order I should add the fish in after the Clownfish? I have heard and read about territorial "pissings" and they can be avoided by allowing one fish to dominate before another more aggressive type of fish.

[1.0reef]

Only get 2 cardinals, as adults 2 of the 3 will pair up and the last one may be bullied by the other cardinals.

[anizato]

Only get 2 cardinals, as adults 2 of the 3 will pair up and the last one may be bullied by the other cardinals.

very well bud, I will only get two, thanks for that note!

 

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On another note, I wanted to ask, however ridiculous this question might be at this stage. I just want to make sure I do this right. Its my second reef, and my first was a very bumpy ride, I just want to have a smoother ride this time.

 

When is it safe to add livestock into the tank and what should I add first?

 

I have 2 clown, 2 Blue Hermit Crab, a Mexican Turbo Snail 2" big ...plus, whatever is on the wish list. I am also getting some stuff from ReefCleaners but haven't ordered anything yet. I have a Red Gracilaria in the 10 gal where the 2 clown, crab, snail and 4 zoa frags live.

 

The ONLY thing I feel most insecure about, the reason I don't leap into putting stih into my tank is because I only have 1 Kessil A360W and it disperses 24" of light, when the tank is 36"... so I will be getting another... plus a PAR38 will be pointing directly down at the rock at the far right of the tank.

Anyway, my parameters are:

 

AM,NI,NA= 0

ph 8.3

1.025

NWB-150 Reef Octopus Skimmer

GFO Reactor

JBJ ATO

Carbon and PolyFilter

 

Thanks for the guidance.

[1.0reef]

very well bud, I will only get two, thanks for that note!

 

-----------0------------

 

On another note, I wanted to ask, however ridiculous this question might be at this stage. I just want to make sure I do this right. Its my second reef, and my first was a very bumpy ride, I just want to have a smoother ride this time.

 

When is it safe to add livestock into the tank and what should I add first?

 

I have 2 clown, 2 Blue Hermit Crab, a Mexican Turbo Snail 2" big ...plus, whatever is on the wish list. I am also getting some stuff from ReefCleaners but haven't ordered anything yet. I have a Red Gracilaria in the 10 gal where the 2 clown, crab, snail and 4 zoa frags live.

 

The ONLY thing I feel most insecure about, the reason I don't leap into putting stih into my tank is because I only have 1 Kessil A360W and it disperses 24" of light, when the tank is 36"... so I will be getting another... plus a PAR38 will be pointing directly down at the rock at the far right of the tank.

Anyway, my parameters are:

 

AM,NI,NA= 0

ph 8.3

1.025

NWB-150 Reef Octopus Skimmer

GFO Reactor

JBJ ATO

Carbon and PolyFilter

 

Thanks for the guidance.

It's safest to add fish once general parameters are stable and have no ammonia or nitrite, same with inverts like snails. Corals are safe once general params are stable and alk, cal, mag, phos, and nitrate are at good levels.

Why is the light an issue?

[anizato]

It's safest to add fish once general parameters are stable and have no ammonia or nitrite, same with inverts like snails. Corals are safe once general params are stable and alk, cal, mag, phos, and nitrate are at good levels.

So then I shall place part of my CUC from the small tank into the 50g.

Why is the light an issue?

Well, long story short... I hadn't planned to move from where I was so when I was asked to move within 60 days , the idea of purchasing the 2nd Kessil , has had to be placed on hold.

 

 

I have these questions:

 

I cycled my rocks in a dark bin for like 2 months before placing them in the tank, they have been in the tank for another 2 months, with no light, just sand and water, then a 100% water change was done when the move happened and here we are, coursing through the 5th month of cycling the rocks.

Will I still see a diatom/algae bloom? If so, how long do you think it will take to sprout? If not, can I still add the CUC or will they just die for a lack of food?

[Halo_003]

Yep definitely stick with 2 cardinals. I say add a clown pair last because they will run the tank. I do like your list but here's some ideas I'd personally be looking at:

1x Kole Yellow Eye Tang

2x clowns+RBTA - my choice would be ORA Premium Picasso pair, but this is really up to you. - add these last IMO.

Flasher wrasse harem

Leopard wrasse - this is just my pick, don't get one though as it would compete w/ the mandarin. Additionally they're listed as expert only. (this is just one of my favorite fish.)

mandarin - add after six+ months, you really need a ton of pods and you'll still want to train it on frozen unless you have a mega fuge.

Helfrichi Firefish - if you have a TIGHT lid/mesh, add first if you get one.

Some sort of shrimp goby+shrimp

 

These are just some ideas off the top of my head.

 

Hope it helps!

[anizato]

CLEAN UP CREW is in the tank!

 

I have placed an order for the first batch of livestock. I started off with the Helfrichi Firefish, Wheeler Goby, Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp and Randall Pistol Shrimp.

 

Later on we will be adding the Starry Blenny, Cardinalfish and the 2 Clownfish from my 10G Nano. Finally, like next year I will reconsider the Mandarin. I have seen them by ORA, where they are aquacultured and don't only eat pods.

 

I also intend on adding Wrasse. I want to have two different wrasse. 2 McCosker's Flasher and 1or2 White Banded Possum Wrasses.

What do you guys think?

[Halo_003]

I hope you have a very tight lid for the firefish lol.

 

I'd go with a harem of wrasse if you can, flashers would be sweet.

[Smurf]

What are the tanks params?

 

Also, what kind of Kessil lighting are you looking into?

[anizato]

I will be running two A360WE, the second bulb should be here on Monday.

 

I hope you have a very tight lid for the firefish lol.

I'd go with a harem of wrasse if you can, flashers would be sweet.

Harem. So two female and one male McCosker's Flashers, would that constitute as a harem?

 

 

[Smurf]

Use photo bucket or flikr to upload images and post them.

 

Its easy!

[anizato]

I hope you have a very tight lid for the firefish lol.

 

I'd go with a harem of wrasse if you can, flashers would be sweet.

 

I will use acrylic on the top, only at night, I want the light full blast, plus he has trillions of places to hide below, going upward is too much exposure.

 

What are the tanks params?

 

Also, what kind of Kessil lighting are you looking into?

 

Sal.:1.025 Temp.:76-80F

Haven't gotten a phosphorous checker yet. I'm not dosing, so I am not testing for anything other than vitals, since I use good salt.

I am running two Kessil A360W-E.

[anizato]

The Helfrichi is IN! ...as well as a bunch of coral I just tossed in to acclimate properly, before I begin to look for proper places for each of them.

 

PICS HERE! & ALSO HERE!

[anizato]

Pygmy Wrasse of some sort...I need someone to get one so I can live vicariously thorugh them until I set up a larger tank!

 

Both of these are in the Diver's Den on Liveaquaria

 

Tanaka's Pygmy Possum Wrasse

I will be keeping the White banded possum. I Will house it with several other wrasse.