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Cultivated Reef

About to add CUC and have a question about media


FrancineJ

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Hey so the day has finally come.... our tank is cycled... no ammonia after 12 hours and 0 nitrites.... did water change to being down nitrites to around 5-10ppm

 

So basically my cycle went fairly quick so I don’t have a lot of algae (I’m sure there will be more to come lol) but as of right now I just have diatoms on my rock, some , but certainly no crazy amount....

because of that I only ordered 2x trochus snails and 2x Nassarius snails (this way I can at least feed the snails if there is no algae left right? Trochus snails will eat dried seaweed is what I got from my research and Nassarius snails will eat just about anything so I could just drop in a bit of food every now and again and it should keep them alive- this is the info I got from researching each type so I’m hoping this is right... (I got no algae at all on my sand bed or glass... rock only) 

 

I cycled at 2ppm or slightly higher (did fishless cycle with ammonia) I will be adding the 4 snails on Thursday at some point (probably around 10-11 am as that’s when then truck comes) 

Im guessing these 4 snails will not come close to 2ppm ammonia so I’m wondering if I will be able to add a blue-green chromis (blue, green, blue-green- which ever name you call it it’s all the same fish as far as I can tell lol) Would it be safe to add one on Friday.... it will be a little over 24hours after adding the 4 snails... I have also researched that they actually like to pick at some algae’s as well (detritus I think) so my questions....

 

do you think that will be too much in like 28 hours when I’ve cycled to about 2-3ppm (I also have a bottle of Bio-Spira on stand by Incase levels do increase)?

 

And when I add just these 4 snails should I add any of my media? Or just keep it with the filter floss? (I will be using purigen and chemipure elite) I just wasn’t sure if these would be wasted on just a couple snails?

 

also if you guys think it will be ok to add the blue Green Chromis (it will be small- just around or a bit over salable size) 

i should add my media before adding him/her in correct? I know that it will still be a small bioload and won’t use up the media very fast but after that I will be waiting a MINIMUM of 2 weeks to add anything else and my next fish will be a purple fire fish OR the YWG/ Shrimp combo and then finally my 2 clowns.... then that will be it.... so after the chromis what should come next.... if anyone has ideas please label them but these were my thoughts:

 

purple fire

 

YWG/ pistol shrimp (either Randall’s or Tiger)-  going to add together at the advice of research and apparently if added at the same time it’s easier to get them to pair up

 

2x clowns (they will be very very small and shipped to my store together in the same bag- just the 2 of them) 

 

now please note there will be WEEKS in between these additions.... the only one I want to add close together is the 4 snails on Thursday and the blue Green Chromis on Friday (if they can get one ordered and in stock for me) I am also hoping by adding the fish close to adding the snails there may be more for them to eat without my having to supplement the snails food.....

I plan on (as recommended) feeding the chromis a varied diet of NLS 0.5mm pellets and a variety of frozen but thawed mysis and brine shrimp and flakes.... I’ve been told they will eat just about anything.... but there is some conflicting info on how much... I think once a day should be enough but some others are saying twice? I think that’s a bit much as long as he gets a good meal the first time (yes I know not to over feed lol)

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I’ve been advised to not start with the clowns as they will (most likely) be the most aggressive.... out of my stock list (when I was looking for what fish to start with everyone told me the chromis) because it won’t have a huge bioload like the clowns... and that it’s better to let the less aggressive fish establish in the tank rather than the aggressive ones establish their territory first.... does that make sense? I know both the chromis and the clowns are hardy fish and the blue Green Chromis is even used to cycle tanks (I know that clowns are as well) but I’m just going by people telling me to try and add least aggressive to most aggressive... does it make more sense when I explain it that way?

 

but right now I don’t have any fish on the way as of yet... just the 4 snails.... do I need to use my purigen and chemipure elite while there are only snails in the tank? Or should I just keep using floss for now? (I also have some Chaeto coming next week (I think... it’s ordered but I’m hoping they don’t use Canada post to ship because they are on strike I believe so I may be waiting longer or they may choose a different delivery company like UPS, FedEx or Puralator.....for my InTank Fuge) 

i just don’t know if the small amount of snails (it’s a 32g biocube) will make that much of a difference and I don’t want to waste my media if it’s not needed for CUC

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Many many people start with a clownfish pair, personally I would go with that. But tbh my understanding was that Blue Green Chromis do better in a small school, and I often read about them dying off on people, so I never got them even though I think they are really pretty. 

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Personally, I would add the Chemipure and Purigen now... if your bioload is low it will not get exhausted as quickly. In my opinion, better to avoid buildup of nitrates and phosphates to begin with, and try to avoid algae issues if you can, but others may offer different ideas. More people will be around in the morning to reply. 

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No actually I did a lot of research on them... you basically are better to keep just one... or a large large group (and even in a large group they can still kill each other)

what happens is they are a shoaling fish and they establish a hierarchy when in numbers more then 1.... so often the more dominant ones end up killing off the smaller ones... so in a nano tank or smaller tank keeping 1 is actually preferred as he/she won’t have to fight for the hierarchy that would normally occur in more than one of them.... usually what happens is people buy the big group and end up with only the one left.... they are near the very top of every list for both beginner fish, and beginner fish to start with....

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7 minutes ago, banasophia said:

Personally, I would add the Chemipure and Purigen now... if your bioload is low it will not get exhausted as quickly. In my opinion, better to avoid buildup of nitrates and phosphates to begin with, and try to avoid algae issues if you can, but others may offer different ideas. More people will be around in the morning to reply. 

This was kind of my thought too... or my thought was maybe just adding the purigen for now because I know how effective it is in removing nitrAtes (I have ALOT of FW tanks and my nitrAtes out of the tap are wild high and the purigen keeps my 75g tank at around 5ppm.... so it should be much more effective and last longer in here with basically none to start with... lol) however I won’t be adding any corals for AT LEAST like 4-6 months.... I’m going to run my tank with just the fish and get all that settled in before adding coral... I’m taking this very slowly.... especially because I had a quick cycle... that’s why I only added 4 snails and made sure they were ones I could supplement feedings so they don’t starve lol 

i just don’t want to waste the chemipure if it’s not needed right now... as I won’t even be testing for phosphates and such with just fish in the tank (and as mentioned I do have Chaeto on the way... just depends on when it will get here lol)

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18 minutes ago, FrancineJ said:

No actually I did a lot of research on them... you basically are better to keep just one... or a large large group (and even in a large group they can still kill each other)

what happens is they are a shoaling fish and they establish a hierarchy when in numbers more then 1.... so often the more dominant ones end up killing off the smaller ones... so in a nano tank or smaller tank keeping 1 is actually preferred as he/she won’t have to fight for the hierarchy that would normally occur in more than one of them.... usually what happens is people buy the big group and end up with only the one left.... they are near the very top of every list for both beginner fish, and beginner fish to start with....

I also went by The 101 Best Nano Reef Species when I stocked my tank and the only two Chromis they recommended for a nano were the Black Bar Chromis and Midget Chromis. But I agree, when doing a search online just now many people mention starting with multiple Blue Green Chromis and having them kill each other off until there’s only one left, so one totally sounds like a better way to go. 👍😬☺️

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45 minutes ago, banasophia said:

I also went by The 101 Best Nano Reef Species when I stocked my tank and the only two Chromis they recommended for a nano were the Black Bar Chromis and Midget Chromis. But I agree, when doing a search online just now many people mention starting with multiple Blue Green Chromis and having them kill each other off until there’s only one left, so one totally sounds like a better way to go. 👍😬☺️

The one thing I have found when doing research is to pay attention to 1- the source obviously lol and 2- the date... I have found soooooo much contradictory info and then when I compare dates posted it starts to make more sense as things have changed a lot since some of those posts were written....

this is the link I was going by... and I’m trying to keep all my fish around the same size... most of them are around 3”s... + or - a bit....

but I have 25lbs of rock and I measured my water when I put it in the tank and it holds 26g’s with the rock and sand so I don’t think I’m pushing it with:

2x clowns

1x purple firefish

1x bluegreen chromis

and 1x YWG and a pistol shrimp....

plus I will just keep whatever I need for my cuc... replace or add as needed and we all know they don’t always survive and such so I think with minimal algae I am ok to start with those 4 snails and go from there... I don’t plan on adding any other shrimp or crabs or such and again no plans for corals for about 4-6 months depending on how the fish fair out...

With what I want it gives me about a max 15” s of fish fully grown (and that’s their max size too) you never know they can stay smaller or possibly get bigger but I find that sites usually put the absolute max sizes... and it says that the 32 can hold up to 4-6 fish and 4-6 inverts I believe and I’m only keeping the 1 shrimp who from what I have read basically doesn’t leave his cave and just digs all day and the goby pretty much just stays close to him (as long as they pair) so those guys will be near the bottom and then my firefish, clowns and chromis will be able to swim around mid to top and hopefully all will be well... my fish store has a pair of clowns right now in their tank I could get tomorrow if I wanted but I prefer to order my stock from them when I want it and they always come as babies that way... they come just above like salable size and my lfs just calls me when the order gets there and I pick mine up (they already come in a seperate bag from the fish stores order) and I jusg grab them and go home... that way they aren’t getting acclimated to their tanks and then mine ect... less stress on the fishies to go right from the oxygenated shipping bag to my house to get acclimated once IMO anyway....

Unless someone helps and chimes in in the morning I think I might just add the purigen (and Chaeto when it comes) and keep the chemipure for when I finally add a fish weather it be Friday or next week..

I alsk don’t know what to do about pods... I’d like to add some when I don’t have a lot or any fish to give them a chance to grow a bit but I don’t know which type to add for my tank set up and all that... I may just end up dosing them in small quantities for a treat since none of my fish really need them although the goby would enjoy them lol 

 

*** oops forgot the link lol

 

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7 hours ago, Wyatt45 said:

I have 2 clowns, 1 YWG with Pistol buddy.  You MUST get the YWG and shrimp. Sooo much fun.  Non stop moving sand like a bulldozer.  

Yes they are on our must have lists... just waiting for the tank to mature a bit more before adding shrimp as I know they can be a bit more sensitive (I drop everything anyway but still) 

i think they will be one of my next additions in a couple weeks! Not sure yet what to add next because our plans got a little derailed lol we ended up having to add our 2 baby clowns because everywhere was out of every other fish, I only have 1 fish store where I am and it’s a mom and pop shop so I don’t get the selection some have in the states and such.... I also even checked online and they were even out of stock lol.... (the blue Green Chromis and the purple firefish) lol so that’s all we could get... but now each week she is going to check her suppliers and when they have any of my stock she’s just going to order them and keep them until I’m ready for our next addition... everyone made it through the night so that’s a good sign and tests this morning we’re 0,0, and like 0,25 PH-8

so far so good and the fish were fed at the pet store yesterday....

i was reading how much and how often to feed 2 clowns and people are saying to feed them like 4 days a week only and to give them like half of a quarter of a shrimp cube for one feeding....does that sound right? That would be like 1/8th of a cube per feeding?

Thats all I have for fish but I have:

3 bumblebee snails (not part of the plan but they sent them to me free lol)

2 Trochus snails

2 Nassarius snails

 

so does that feeding schedule seem ok? Keeping in mind I have like 0 algae... (a bit of detritus on the rocks) but nothing at all in the sand not a speck or on the glass (that’s visible anyway)

So if I notice the rocks looking extra clean I will put in a tiny tiny piece of algae wafer or maybe a slight slight bit more of the shrimp... (I don’t think the Trochus will eat the shrimp- just seaweed and algae wafers from my research) but I will wait until the rocks look like they are shining first lol 

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It depends.

Most try not to feed frozen every day because it can pollute the tank.

 

Most try a variety of food alternating it.

 

I feed my clowns pellets every day. I alternate between 2 types. I feed frozen no more than 2 times a week.

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No I didn’t mean I was intending on feeding frozen everyday... maybe I should have been more specific...

 

they are saying that they do NOT feed anything everyday... that they clowns are only feed about 4 times a week

 

and when they do feed frozen foods it’s like 1/8th of a cube 

 

I generally use NLS for my food types so the suggested size for clowns was the 0.5mm ones (I have both (0,5 and 1mm anyway)

 

but my question (and I should have been more specific) 

was that all these people are saying they only feed 4 times a week ANYTHING 4 times a week... so the other 3 days they feed nothing at all..... 

again keeping in mind that’s all I have is the clowns but these are also people who have other fish and inverts as well... but they are saying they still only feed their tanks 3-4 times a week....

so I was wondering if anyone else does this or if they feed them nearly everyday (I don’t even feed my FW fish everyday but I usually only give them 1 the odd time 2 starvation days a week.... ) 

I wasn’t sure if SW was the same- 1-2 starvation days a week or if the tank should really only be fed like 3-4 times a week... and this was a LARGE number of ppl that’s why I was curious... because it seems (to me anyway) like not very much... especially because they are not over feeding or anything... they are giving just a few pellets or a few flakes or like 1/8 cube of frozen... 

so j just was wondering what everyone’s general consensus was as to how often a SW tank is fed 

Maybe that clears it up a little better lol 

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There’s no set rule, people do many things differently. I feed my fish twice daily. If you feed more like I do, then you will need to do more to keep the nitrates and phosphates in check. 

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Ya no I won’t be feeding twice a day that’s for sure... even the NLS people don’t recommend that (which is VERY unusually for fish food because they all usually say like 3 times a day) and to me (unless you have a special fish that requires special feedings) then I won’t be doing more than once a day... I was thinking 5 days a week would seem like a suitable number... probably 2 days pellets, 2 days frozen and 1 day mixed and then 2 days off in between.... I know they certainly won’t starve as fish can go at a minimum of a week with no food (again unless the fish has special dietary needs) without ill effects 🙂 but certainly on other forums where there is a few more contributors combined with research I keep getting like 3-4 days a week to feed your SW tank.... hmmm I’ll have to do some more research... it’s tough when dealing with just peoples opinions... because everyone has a different one but I still like to hear them... for example I had a wavemakers question that no one really gave me a decent answer to... only things to try etc... but someone private messaged me (a person who has the same set up I do) and explained things perfectly to me and exactly how they did it so sometimes it just takes the right explanation from the right person... but as to food I will just continue to take in anyone’s input as always and I will also keep researching 🙂

thank you for your help! Much appreciated 

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On 10/24/2018 at 3:06 AM, FrancineJ said:

No actually I did a lot of research on them... you basically are better to keep just one... or a large large group (and even in a large group they can still kill each other)

what happens is they are a shoaling fish and they establish a hierarchy when in numbers more then 1.... so often the more dominant ones end up killing off the smaller ones... so in a nano tank or smaller tank keeping 1 is actually preferred as he/she won’t have to fight for the hierarchy that would normally occur in more than one of them.... usually what happens is people buy the big group and end up with only the one left.... they are near the very top of every list for both beginner fish, and beginner fish to start with....

+1.  Everytime I have added more than one I end up with only one in very short order. 

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1 hour ago, specore said:

+1.  Everytime I have added more than one I end up with only one in very short order. 

That’s about the only exception to a schooling/shoaling fish I’d ever be ok with lol

they really should change some of the write ups on them....

yes, there are people who have kept more than 1 successfully... however even most of those people started with 6 and got left with 3 lol I figure why buy more if I’m going to end up with 1 anyway lol

and after researching it.... the ONLY reason they travel is large groups in the ocean is for protection.... because although technically a damselfish.... they don’t quite share the aggression that some of their “cousins” if you will, do.... lol

And we are also talking about a 32g.... I’m talking about people not being able to even keep 6 in a 150g lol so when researching the forums about small tanks.... the results are even worse and j would say that after reading about probably 30 seperate questions on different forums that 99% of small tank owners always ended up with 1 lol

 

*** So a HEADS UP for anyone doing research - don’t waste your money on more than 1 blue green chromis lol 😂 

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4 hours ago, FrancineJ said:

No I didn’t mean I was intending on feeding frozen everyday... maybe I should have been more specific...

 

they are saying that they do NOT feed anything everyday... that they clowns are only feed about 4 times a week

 

and when they do feed frozen foods it’s like 1/8th of a cube 

 

I generally use NLS for my food types so the suggested size for clowns was the 0.5mm ones (I have both (0,5 and 1mm anyway)

 

but my question (and I should have been more specific) 

was that all these people are saying they only feed 4 times a week ANYTHING 4 times a week... so the other 3 days they feed nothing at all..... 

again keeping in mind that’s all I have is the clowns but these are also people who have other fish and inverts as well... but they are saying they still only feed their tanks 3-4 times a week....

so I was wondering if anyone else does this or if they feed them nearly everyday (I don’t even feed my FW fish everyday but I usually only give them 1 the odd time 2 starvation days a week.... ) 

I wasn’t sure if SW was the same- 1-2 starvation days a week or if the tank should really only be fed like 3-4 times a week... and this was a LARGE number of ppl that’s why I was curious... because it seems (to me anyway) like not very much... especially because they are not over feeding or anything... they are giving just a few pellets or a few flakes or like 1/8 cube of frozen... 

so j just was wondering what everyone’s general consensus was as to how often a SW tank is fed 

Maybe that clears it up a little better lol 

I was giving you an example of what I do.

 

I prefer feeding my fish daily, enough that last no longer than a minute. 

 

There is no rule. Everyone not only runs their systems differently but also has different feeding schedules.

Same with lighting. We all run different schedules and at different times.

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4 hours ago, FrancineJ said:

No I didn’t mean I was intending on feeding frozen everyday... maybe I should have been more specific...

 

they are saying that they do NOT feed anything everyday... that they clowns are only feed about 4 times a week

 

and when they do feed frozen foods it’s like 1/8th of a cube 

 

I generally use NLS for my food types so the suggested size for clowns was the 0.5mm ones (I have both (0,5 and 1mm anyway)

 

but my question (and I should have been more specific) 

was that all these people are saying they only feed 4 times a week ANYTHING 4 times a week... so the other 3 days they feed nothing at all..... 

again keeping in mind that’s all I have is the clowns but these are also people who have other fish and inverts as well... but they are saying they still only feed their tanks 3-4 times a week....

so I was wondering if anyone else does this or if they feed them nearly everyday (I don’t even feed my FW fish everyday but I usually only give them 1 the odd time 2 starvation days a week.... ) 

I wasn’t sure if SW was the same- 1-2 starvation days a week or if the tank should really only be fed like 3-4 times a week... and this was a LARGE number of ppl that’s why I was curious... because it seems (to me anyway) like not very much... especially because they are not over feeding or anything... they are giving just a few pellets or a few flakes or like 1/8 cube of frozen... 

so j just was wondering what everyone’s general consensus was as to how often a SW tank is fed 

Maybe that clears it up a little better lol 

I personally feed every day.  I do like pellets for a staple because I can drop them in slow enough to insure everything gets eaten and they don't break apart like flake/frozen making a mess.  

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19 minutes ago, specore said:

I personally feed every day.  I do like pellets for a staple because I can drop them in slow enough to insure everything gets eaten and they don't break apart like flake/frozen making a mess.  

Yes I don’t feed flakes often... and when I do I soak them first...(in my FW tanks)

 

and when it comes to feeding frozen foods I cut the desired amount (in this case it appears to be like 1/8th of a cube... so basically it would be like 2 maybe 3 pieces per fish.... but I NEVER drop any type of frozen cubes in any of my tanks and don’t intend to in my SW one either.... I have little Tupperware containers that I use (and here comes my OCD lol 😂) specifically for one certain food: for example I have one for my cut eathrworms for my frogs... I have one for my daphnia.... I have one for my mysis shrimp.... one for blood worms and so on for each type of frozen food I have (my fish really get a variety lol) but anyway nothing else EVER goes into those containers... and when the food has been fed... I hand wash them with water and paper towel and then dry them and return them to the proper slot in the fridge (I go alphabetically so I know where each container goes lol)

any way... I take a cube or portion of cube out the night before feeding and place it in the container and then I place it in my fridge: now my fridge has a special drawer that you can adjust the temperature (it’s completely seperate from the main fridge and freezer and holds it’s own temp- one of the Samsung fridges that has the big fridge on top.. then the drawer... then a freezer... anyway I put it in the dish the night before and that drawer is kept at 1 degree so just above freezing... this way it does not thaw out too quickly but still remains pretty cold as to not lose all the nutrients ect.... then I do not just dump the container in... I use special tweezers (that are fish safe- they are ones used in a kit for planting and pruning fish tank plants) I then take out the desired amount from the container so in this case it would be like a couple pieces only and use the tweezers to drop it slowly in the tank... a couple at a time so that I can monitor who is eating and if someone is not.... this way it also prevents the stuff they use to freeze the food from going into the tank as I am just pulling out the food and leaving behind any of the watery stuff from when it thawed.... so my plan was to drop in like 2 shrimps for example at a time and make sure they both are getting some...

I am used to feeding this way because I have bumblebee gobies in my brackish tank and they are notoriously hard to feed as they will only eat moving food that goes like right past their faces... lol 

 

So what I am currently doing seem like a good plan for feeding the frozen stuff? 

And when feeding say frozen mysis shrimp how many pieces roughly should they each get.... 

i think I may feed the tank 5X a week... (it’s also very healthy for fish to have starvation days... it’s proven and documented everywhere) so maybe 2 days a week mysis shrimp and 3 days a week the 0.5mm NLS... maybe like 3 pellets per fish roughly? I know they say that the fishes stomach is about the size of the eye (not true in all cases for anyone that has ever seen a dragon goby lol 😂 they barely have eyes lol so I would starve the poor guy if I went by that rule lol but for the clowns is that true? Stomach is the size of their eye? It will help me judge about how many pellets a little better 

 

Thanks for your help and advise!! 

I especially want to be careful not to over feed in this tank... especially once I start to add corals and such down the road...

 

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