What to add first after cycling?

[GSReef]

My 60L tank is nearing the end of it’s cycle  and I would like some advice on the sequence at which I introduce the livestock including the coral, also, if you

could choose 3 fish what would they be?    

 

[HarryPotter]

That light wont support coral. What size tank is that? 

[GSReef]

I took the other one off for access !

60 litres  = 16 gallons 

[Pjanssen]

clean up crew goes in 1st. Snails, hermits.

Fish choices are personal. Research the fish that are appropriate for a 16 gallon and go from there.

[Kellie in CA]

When the cycle ends, I add a good sized clean up crew and then watch how it goes for a few weeks. 

[Clown79]

Everyone does things a bit differently.

 

First is your first waterchange.

 

Some like to add a fish first, some coral, some cuc.

 

I've always done cuc as others have mentioned.

I prefer it because if anything happens you're not losing fish or corals.

 

As for fish there are many.

 

Ocellaris clowns

Blennies

Gobies

Royal gramma

Firefish

 

[GSReef]

Ok that’s great thank you, so now I need you guys to be more specific like which snails do a better job than others or a list of the best cuc crew,best scavengers,algae eaters etc. and compatibility.

Cheers 

[Clown79]

I hate astrea snails. They do a great job but often flip over and they can't right themselves so they die.

They often end up being victims to hermits due to this. 

 

Trochus snails do a great job 

Cerith snails

Nassarius for the sand bed

Spiny star astrea are always working

 

I personally love hermits, particularly scarlets and halloweens

I don't have hermits that go on murdering sprees. Ensuring that some food gets to them and providing shells helps.

 

 

I don't trust other crabs anymore

 

 

[Fury Reef]

I just cycled my 16 gallon and added 6 snails.  (2 bumble bee, 2 cerith, 2 trochus). 

[GSReef]

Clown 79 I’m liking the scarlets and ceriths so I will do my research,thanks.

Fury reef do you feed them or just let them graze on algae ?

[squamptonbc]

In most tanks I add hermits and snails first and see how things go. I always feed CUC as I don't feel detritus is enough, they always eat with excitement.

 

In my current tank I have no clean up crew, puffers love snails and crabs.

 

 

[benstatic]

I've been getting clean up critters as they become necessary in my 20 gal (a nice feature of using a local fish store - no overnight mail charges).

a single hermit and 1 astrea was run for weeks.

Then I got a little hair algae and got two turbo snails

All was good - then I got 1 fish (spotted mandarin) - and feeding her led to a good size algae outbreak

The clean up crew got lazy - too much food in the tank for them. 

I got a margerita snail and an emerald crab, also some macro algae (shoved in the corner of my tank) to suck up nutrients.

Now the CuC has to scavenge for food - there isn't a lot of available algae in the tank anymore.

 

All along in there I would get corals throughout (mix of LPS / soft).  I would sort of wait for the tank to be relatively algae free before getting them.

[GSReef]

Thanks benstatic

This is actually a very clever approach to introduce cuc as you need them.

Can you explain the macro algae and it’s purpose.

Cheers

[jamescstein]

19 hours ago, Fury Reef said:

I just cycled my 16 gallon and added 6 snails.  (2 bumble bee, 2 cerith, 2 trochus). 

Not to thread hijack, but while those bumblebee snails look cool, they will hunt down and kill your other snails.

[benstatic]

Sure - I am not running any filtration on my tank - just hoping 2X per week water changes (2 or so gal at a time) is enough to manage nutrient export.

It seemed like I was losing the battle with algae, and wanted a way to eliminate it without investing in mechanical or chemical filters.

I have heard about people running macro-algae in a sump to have macro algae out-compete their nuisance algae for nutrition.

I didn't want to spend money on a strong light to grow algae, and also didn't want to invest in a separate tank (and all the plumbing skills needed to connect them).

 

So I just dropped $5 worth of algae in the corner of my tank.

Not sure if that is what did it, or the clean up crew additions, but my tank is pretty spotless in terms of algae now.

The algae is just a handful of calupera.

 

I like the whole idea of bio diversity in my tank - and figure if it became a pest, I could rip it out.  $5 was worth a shot.

[GSReef]

It’s always interesting when people use different or non traditional ways of doing things.I would be interested in seeing a picture of your tank ,no doubt it would be inspiring to see what could be achieved!

Thanks 

[Fury Reef]

On 2/19/2018 at 8:15 PM, GSReef said:

Clown 79 I’m liking the scarlets and ceriths so I will do my research,thanks.

Fury reef do you feed them or just let them graze on algae ?

I'm not feeding them at this time as there is enough of a food source for them. I also added a emerald crab last night to help with the hair algae that was starting to build up. It was a very little amount, but when I woke up this  morning all of the hair algae was gone. The dude is a boss. 

As James pointed out, you will need to make a decision whether or not you want bb snails as they are carnivorous, however, if there is enough of a food supply for them to clean up then you shouldn't have any problems. I chose them because I have a 16 gallon and I stare at my tank every day and I count my animals. I'll remove the bb if they ever become a problem or put them in the sump. 

There are other snails you can chose to do the same job, but I like the way they look and gambled. So far it's working out as they stick mainly to my glass and rarely make their way to my rock and if they do they are right back on the glass/pump/wavemaker in no time.

[jambon]

As far as fish... used to start off with a damselfish as they are hardy... but it will get pushy with other fish. It could be caught easy enough when it gets to be a P I T A...

  Clown s are hardy also. Mushrooms use up nutrients in the water so are a good thing and come in many colors and textures.

[Cintax]

Margarita snails are not tropical and will eventually die in the temperatures people keep reef tanks at. I'd avoid them.

[GSReef]

Just a quick update on my tank.I don’t have fish yet but am enjoying the coral,Nassarius and Turbo snails.This has given me good practice as I am feeding the tank and performing water changes to maintain the water quality.

I know I’ve asked the question before but 3 fish that come anything close to living harmoniously are ???

I’m struggling to choose...

Please help 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[A Little Blue]

I would add water test kit first. 

 

[GSReef]

Hi “A little blue “,

The water has been tested and all life forms are looking healthy ,my question is about the fish and what to choose in a small environment in terms of compatibility?

cheers

[A Little Blue]

Personal decision when it comes to fish. Grade them by aggression, color, diet, behavior, comparability with other fish and animals in your tank etc. Start with your favorite fish. Keep in mind that some fish are more care demanding than others. And some are more tolerant to water quality spikes. 

Here is a good read about nano tank, nano fish, nano care basics and more:

 

[Tamberav]

Firefish

Yasha goby

Yellow assesor

 

All extremely peaceful/mellow fish. Having an issue would be very unusual though not impossible for any fish.

 

[GSReef]

On 4/16/2018 at 2:01 PM, A Little Blue said: