Sltwtr4lfe Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 ok..... I have a 12 gallon JBJ nano-cube I am wondering if i am off to a good start or not? i set the tank up with 15 lbs of live sand and about 2 lbs of live rock and 10 lbs of "dead" rock, i let that sit for a week and then i added a clown, 2 hermits, and 2 margartia snails. i have been adding iodine, liquid calcium, and sorbitum and munbitum ( dont know how to spell) since the start. so after my first inhabitans i wited 2 weeks then got a scooter blenny, it has been 4 days scince then and eventually i want to add alot of corals, ( candycane, mushrooms, zoos, open brain's ect., ect.) am i of to a good start ne help would be appriciated Link to comment
SeaMountain Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 What about the cycle? Completed? Have you checked? One week is not the norm for a tank to completely cycle. I would wait a couple of months to really start loading up your tank if this is the first one you've done. With all the dosing you're doing, is it actually needed, or are you doing it because others do? The first month or two I think the water is still pretty 'green' and not fully conditioned. With a celan up crew, a small fish maybe, and a few easy corals, the water takes on it's own life. Things begin to happen naturally. And natural is a better way! Add a few things then wait awhile for the water and other inhabitants to adjust. Then add a few more. Work your way up the ladder and enjoy! Link to comment
Sltwtr4lfe Posted August 19, 2003 Author Share Posted August 19, 2003 so am i doing things right or wrong? or did i mess up when i first started this whole thing? Link to comment
JLTRUK Posted August 19, 2003 Share Posted August 19, 2003 well, from what I have come to understand most dosing is done to replenish the elements which the water has lost, and by doing a water change you are replacing those elements, in essence making dosing obsolete. Most people that dose dont do regular water changes, or they have something in the tank that is consuming whatever they are dosing faster than the water change can replenish...I hope that makes sense. And from what I have seen, you dont really have anything in your tank that needs what you are dosing. If you are dosing for "good measure" and you feel that you must dose....just stop using the iodine and use the other stuff. I have learned, the hard way, that its easy to overdose with Iodine in such a small tank. So unless you can test for iodine to make sure its in check, I would stop best of luck bro with the tank Link to comment
Korbin Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 I don't think you're off to a bad start. Personally, I wouldn't have added the fish yet. You have a much better chance of developing problematic algae like hair algae or bubble algae with the extra nutrients from feeding a fish. Especially in a "new" tank. I'd call any tank younger than 1 month "new". In your case - you have 2 lbs of liverock and you're "seeding" the rest of the rock. Until the rest of your rock becomes home to beneficial bacteria, the tank will be less stable. - If you had added 10 lbs of liverock and 2 lbs of dead rock, the tank would be more stable. All you gotta do is make sure you don't over feed the fish and wait for a LONG time before you add anything else - to make sure the tank stays stable. All in all - you will get more algae since the tank is new and already has a couple fish. Also, you run a greater chance of having high nitrates. Link to comment
Phish Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 I dont think you are off to a bad start unless things start dying. But, you should have waited for the tank to cycle. Link to comment
Sltwtr4lfe Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 oh :unsure: everything seems to be doing fine i am actually taking the little clown out for a month or so to add corals and let the tank get up to par! will this be bad for stress if i have a little 5 gallon for him to warm up to for a while? Link to comment
Korbin Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 A five is the bare minimum I would put a clown in... especially since its just temporary it should be OK. I think its a smart move to take him out for awhile. You might also run into feeding issues with the blenny. They decimate pod populations and I guess they sometimes don't take prepared foods. Just remember to wait wait wait. My 12 gallon is a year old - I started it much the same way you did, minus the fish. Even after all this time, its constantly changing. Right now I have TONS of bristle worms and mini stars and other critters, but it took that long to get to this point. I now have a bicolor blenny and I notice more algae after I feed him more even in a year old tank. Link to comment
SeaMountain Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Originally posted by Phish I dont think you are off to a bad start unless things start dying. Way to out on a limb there Phish! Link to comment
Sltwtr4lfe Posted August 20, 2003 Author Share Posted August 20, 2003 so i should take the clown out for a while and put him in a holdong tank while i stock on corals and let the system st up Link to comment
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