conversion from fw, help me on everything!!

[firefishbrain]

I have a 12g reg. nano cube that is currently housing my tetras, And sometime soon (I hope) I will convert it to a reef. I have a few (lots) questions:

-what should I do about filteration, I know to get rid of the ceramic rings and bio-balls, what should I replace them with, if anything?

-now what about pumps and the current? should I just keep the one it comes with (I'll describe what I would like, corals and livestock)?

-lighting, will I be able to keep corals in the stocked lighting?

-now livestock, how many crabs and snails should I keep in it?

-how much live sand and rock? cured or uncured live rock is better?

-would it be ok to keep a firefish in there and some other goby or something? I'll get back to what I was thinking of.

-What about a protein skimmer, do I need one?

-what ddditives will I need, I was thinking about keeping an open brain coral and maybe xenia, and maybe candy canes? are there any better choices than those?

-Now for other inverts, I like the scarlet skunk shrimp and dwarf feather dusters, what about sea stars, do I need one b/c of the goby?

-One other thing, how and how long should I cycle the tank?

[lavalars]

I know everyone just says search, search, search, but its scary when you first start.

 

Search!

 

You will need around 1.5 lb of live rock per gallon. Most people have around 16-20lbs. Sand about an inch deep (about 10 lbs). If you get uncured live rock you will need to cure it first, which you COULD do in your tank if you were very patient.

 

You can use the foam from the stock filter stuff. The second chamber should be filled with live rock rubble. The 3rd chamber put your heater and the pump.

 

 

The stock pump will be fine for easier corals. I don't know about the lighting. I have a DX that has 48 watts, which is ok for most of the corals you mentioned. You may need to upgrade if you have less.

 

Once you get your tank up, get a nice testing kit. Salifert is a great way to go. If you add uncured rock expect at least a month. Leave your lights OFF during this time. Once your Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite levels are all 0, you can add a few snails & crabs. Start your lights on a 10 hour cycle and wait until you get some mild algae growth. I would add 3 Astra Snails, 3 Narsssis (Spelling) Nails, and 4 or 5 Hermit Crabs. Wait another few weeks.

 

Make sure your levels are still good. You can then slowly add corals and fish. You will have bad luck if you add things quickly to your tank, especially fish. You can keep 2 or 3 small fish in the tank. Generally one of each species, and remember that damsels are very aggressive.

 

Good luck. Read the general forums and the newbie forum and see what problems people have - then avoid them!

[lavalars]

And skimming is hotly debated. If you do 10% water changes ever week you will probably be fine without a skimmer. I would be tempted to add a bigger pump (like a maxijet 900) and a hydor-flow for random currents. Just remember to be patient with a reef, its not as forgiving as fresh water.

[firefishbrain]

that is what everyone tells me, I saw your pic of your cube, what type of rock is that? I kinda want to do an indo-pacific reef. what book would you recomend? I gotten a few different answers, it depends which site you go to.