watergryphon Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Hey i just found this site today and been wondering around for a few hours and found some help but not all i was asking. to start i want to set up a bio cube 14. i was thinking about getting a couple of Ocellaris Clownfish ,Damsels and maybe a few other doscile fish. but i was wondering how hard it was to take care of a Bubble tip or an open brain anemone. id like to have the full effect if there not to hard to take care of. also would it be better to cycle the tank with fish or without. i set up a new freshwater tank a month or so ago and ended up with new tank syndrome and read there was a way to cycle it with amonia. would that work. also what would be the benefits to live sand and rocks. i think i mentioned that im new to the saltwater crowd. but im sure i have more questions and if you think of them before i do please answer them. the more help the better Link to comment
airangel Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Lotta fish planned for a 14 gallon cube. Damsels are not docile. Cycle w/o fish. Your best friend is patience, you can't rush Mother Nature. Give your tank time and do a lot of reading while waiting. I keep freshwater fish too and you can't rush the tank into cycling there either, time is your best friend. Link to comment
jm82792 Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I'm a newbie like I have not gotten a tank setup but I saw a setup in person it was a 12 she has 2 clowns and she said thats all fish wise you can put in there,unlike freshwater where I have 14 1 inch fish in a 10 gallon. I would try to get your freshwater tank going first then try since (for me atleast), likes have some sorta fish confidence. You don't/shouldn't cycle with fish generally the die off from the LR is suitable for the cycle. For anemones I'm not sure haven't done reading on them since there kinda pricey and I want to keep idiot proof things like zoas,shrooms and so on. If you want to get your freshwater tank going I suggest using ammonia since it doesn't put stress on the fish unlike fish cycling. To know that your cycled buy a 5 In One kit or a simple Nitrite,Nitrate Ph test/tests when you see some nitrites then you know your cycling then when you don't see any (they drop)you can add fish slowly so you don't get any problems. Hope this helps,if you have nay freshwater questions I can certainly help you out, on reefs and saltwater I have no real experience just reading so I'll let other members fill you in on more questions Link to comment
Darklyte24 Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 check out my thread, and there are many others. they say 1 inch of a fish per 5 gallons or so.. i have a clown and a blenny. usually thats the max but 3 could also be the max. read read read learn that cycling can take at least a month.. Link to comment
kgehrke Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Welcome to nano-reef.com!! 1 pound of rock per gallon is the going rate on that. It will hold bacteria that clean the water of nitrates. It is very important to have. Anemone's are hard to keep. They require very good lighting and very good water. They also get too big for biocubes. Some people have tried it though. If you do, wait 6 months at least for your tank to mature and get better lighting. Biocube stock lighting can't support much besides soft corals. Open brains aren't anemone's, they're large polyp stony coral. They need better light than stock also. Your going to learn a lot here, its a good site to have on your side. Link to comment
jm82792 Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I've done 3 months of just reading I though my limit would be say $200 then $300 now finally I'm going to spend around $420 I jsut don't want to skimp on things so it just went up and up. Link to comment
muaz Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Do we need to skim the water well or just live rock is enough to grow corals? Link to comment
watergryphon Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 let it cycle for a month with out fish, how would i do that? how would clownfish do without an anenime or would an artifical one be ok if they make one? also that 5 gallon to 1 inch fish rule...would that apply to snails too? with all this advice i think a pair of clownfish and maybe a small snail would be a good starter set up. any ideas? Link to comment
airangel Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 sand, rocks water....it will cycle w/o a fish or addition of any additives. Wait till your test kits show zeroes (ammonia, nitrates, nitrite) before adding anything. clownfish do not need anemones to be happy campers. cuc...to my knowledge no rule on quantity. Start small and add as you need, each snail does something different, so you'd want an assortment. 2 fish sounds reasonable. I've got 2 small yellow clown gobies (ycg) in a 24g aquapod (see my link below) and will be adding one more fish to the tank and thats it. I am also going to add a peppermint shrimp. Link to comment
Darklyte24 Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I've done 3 months of just reading I though my limit would be say $200 then $300 now finally I'm going to spend around $420 I jsut don't want to skimp on things so it just went up and up. this hobby takes time. read up more and more. more you know the better. Corals grow from elements in the water, calcium being a big one. They attach to rocks but dont get anything from them. The hobby isnt that cheap either, tank, water, salt mix, rock, sand, corals, fish, heater, pump, lights if its not a all in one.. im on the lower end and prob spent close to 500-600$ so far in a years time, some people might spend over 1k getting started. Link to comment
jm82792 Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I'm 15 so I'm not skimping but not spending a ton I know what you mean I've done alot of reading and am about to get a Aquapod 24 with eveyrthing else like tonite. Thats going to be $370 in dry goods Link to comment
kgehrke Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Most don't skim their small tanks here. It's not necessary if you do 10 to 15 percent water changes weekly. Link to comment
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