Please help a newbie.

[Ivydoodles]

Got a new reef tank Fluval evo 13.5gal from my son. I am not sure I want to take on the challenge of having this tank. Here are my questions.....

1. Are my days of camping and vacationing over because of this tank?

2. Can I use distilled or tap water to top off and water changes?

3. If I have live rock and sand how soon can I add a clean up crew and fish?

4. What is the first fish I should get?

5. How many fish can this tank have?

6. What are the do's and don't with toxic coral, scary?

7. Which corals are inexpensive?

8. is it cheaper to get corals online or in a local fish store?

9. how many hours a days should the light be on?

10. How should I aim the return jets in the tank?

11. The live rock had some what I believe are peppermint shrimp in them much to our surprise, are they ok to keep with other fish and shrimp?



I have so many more questions but will start here for now. Thank you in advance for any insight and help.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Welcome to RC, Ivydoodles!

First off I'd say if you haven't kept an aquarium before, don't worry about corals. You really want to focus on just a few fish that you like. Corals are something you graduate to once you've had success with fish, and you realize you're hooked on the hobby. Right now, you just want to find out if this is fun for you.

1. No, you can go camping. Leaving your tank unattended for 3-4 days is fine. Longer trips will require more, like an automatic water top off for evaporation, an automatic fish feeder, or a person to address these issues for you.

2. Yes, distilled water is great. Most folks use RO/DI, but if you already have a still you're good. Tap water is generally not recommended but is OK in a pinch, assuming you dechlorinate.

3. Google 'Nitrogen Cycle in Aquariums' to understand what's happening in a new tank. Live rock and live sand will likely shorten the time it takes to cycle a tank. As you will read, there is no set time, but adding fish will depend on testing for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate.

4. For a small tank like this, you want small fish that don't normally swim very far. Gobies, blennies, small cardinals or a single basslet or damsel could work. A small group of Barnacle Blennies, A Goby-Pistol Shrimp pair, or a pair of clownfish are good options. Don't get an anemone though. Like corals, they are only for more experienced aquarists.

5. Depends on the fish. There are some mean damsels that are gorgeous but you could only keep one. Barnacle blennies could be kept, in the 3-6 range. You'd need to decide on your priorities. Do want a group or a single? Up to you.

6. Don't know the answer to this one, but again, I'd wait on any corals.

7. Don't know the answer to this one, but again, I'd wait on any corals.

8. Don't know the answer to this one, but again, I'd wait on any corals.

9. Lighting hours are up to you. It tends to vary between 6-14 hours a day. 12 is probably the median.

10. Return direction is not critical in a small tank, but you can play around with it until you like the results.

11. Peppermint shrimp are great. They should be fine with most small fish. Once you have a list of fish candidates, check their compatibility.

 

[Sk8r]

Soft coral is the easiest. As for toxins, glove up and wear goggles/glasses while doing things in the tank and you'll be fine unless you're that rare person that's allergic to corals. And you mostly acquire that allergy by working your tank without gloves and recklessly annoying corals with your bare hands. Go to one of our sponsors sites and look up ATO, skimmer, sump, and get test kits for (Salifert is my preferred brand) alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. Use a decent reef salt, as opposed to fish-only salt, from the get-go. And get a refractometer (salinity measure.) Keep your tank about 79-80 degrees and don't use a filter: rely on your live rock. Also start reading the threads permanently 'stuck' at the top of this forum. They will answer things you haven't asked yet.

 

[Ivydoodles]

Just set up a brand new tank, went to fish store got 2 occularus clowns and think one of them has ich. I only have a snail and peppermint shrimp in the tank so far with the 2 clowns. What the heck do I do now?


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[Fiish]

Just set up a brand new tank, went to fish store got 2 occularus clowns and think one of them has ich. I only have a snail and peppermint shrimp in the tank so far with the 2 clowns. What the heck do I do now?


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Why did you add life to a non-cycled aquarium? The clownfish must be extremely stressed, what do you mean by live sand? Did you acquire caribsea sand or something similar? If you are lucky, your animals will not die. Get a test to measure ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. How is the clown fish feeding?

 

[Ivydoodles]

Why did you add life to a non-cycled aquarium? The clownfish must be extremely stressed, what do you mean by live sand? Did you acquire caribsea sand or something similar? If you are lucky, your animals will not die. Get a test to measure ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. How is the clown fish feeding?

MY son says its wet sand with bacteria in it from fish store. The lfs told me the clowns will help cycle the water after they tested my water which was in great condition. They ate fine tonight but like I said i just brought them home this evening and just happened to notice the white spots. If the lfs takes them back do I need to treat the water before i can add any other fish? What about my snail, shrimp and hermit crab in there will they be infected? Is this definitely ich?

 

[Fiish]

I'm not sure I understand your situation, in your thread you are asking what water to use to install your tank, and 12 hours later you already have fish and invertebrates in a tank with water in 'excellent condition' ??
The addition of the sand will help you with the cycling of your tank, you are starting with a saltwater aquarium, I suggest you return all its inhabitants to the LFS and definitely read about cycling, get your basic level tests, get live rock or dry rock and add liquid bacteria, start on the right foot and be patient my friend, this takes time. What filtration does your tank have?

 

[Fiish]

Invertebrates are not infected with Cryptocarion (ich). But if you are sensitive to toxic levels in the water, like I said, the sand is definitely going to help, but it is still starting its cycling.

 

[Ivydoodles]

I'm not sure I understand your situation, in your thread you are asking what water to use to install your tank, and 12 hours later you already have fish and invertebrates in a tank with water in 'excellent condition' ??
The addition of the sand will help you with the cycling of your tank, you are starting with a saltwater aquarium, I suggest you return all its inhabitants to the LFS and definitely read about cycling, get your basic level tests, get live rock or dry rock and add liquid bacteria, start on the right foot and be patient my friend, this takes time. What filtration does your tank have?

I was asking about water changes and topping off I never said to start up my tank. The tank was a gift for me and set up with water, live rock and wet sand by my son who also added some of his tank water to help the cycle. The snail and shrimp hitchhiked on the live rock he bought from Petco and were a surprise find. Brought the water from the tank which was filled 3 days ago to lfs and they told me the water tested good and that if I add some clowns they will help the cycle along. The tank is a kit from Fluval so the filtration was built in the tank.

 

[Fiish]

Ok so you are taking elements from your lfs tank to configure your tank, well that could work, but you should watch the basic levels mentioned above, get your tests, or have your water tested to the LFS continuously to verify you have a correct balance in its parameters.

 

[Ivydoodles]

Ok so you are taking elements from your lfs tank to configure your tank, well that could work, but you should watch the basic levels mentioned above, get your tests, or have your water tested to the LFS continuously to verify you have a correct balance in its parameters.

My son has a test kit and he has an established tank. Shockingly the white spots are now gone this morning!

 

[Fiish]

It is likely that at night you will see the spots on the fish again, keep feeding them well, get frozen food, and good quality dry food to boost the fish's immune system. If you continue to eat well, Cryptocarion is likely to go away soon.

 

[Ivydoodles]

Thank you....I have another question about water. Just tested and the PH is 7.8, Ammonia is 0.25, Nitrite is 0, and Nitrate is 5.0. Is this ok?

 

[Sk8r]

Low levels of ammonia are still bad. Do you have a spare 10 gallon tank you can set up with new salt water and a pump to get that poor fish (that fish store's advice is from 40 years ago: we no longer use a live fish to provoke a cycle) ---into clean water? SOMETIMES sand can stick to a high-slime fish like a clown, and if you are lucky that's all it was.If you aren't, your tank now has ich parasites living in the sandbed and it will take 72 days to starve it out. Do not let that store sell you an ich cure. THere is none that will not kill a living tank.

 

[Ivydoodles]

Low levels of ammonia are still bad. Do you have a spare 10 gallon tank you can set up with new salt water and a pump to get that poor fish (that fish store's advice is from 40 years ago: we no longer use a live fish to provoke a cycle) ---into clean water? SOMETIMES sand can stick to a high-slime fish like a clown, and if you are lucky that's all it was.If you aren't, your tank now has ich parasites living in the sandbed and it will take 72 days to starve it out. Do not let that store sell you an ich cure. THere is none that will not kill a living tank.

No I do not have another tank to put them in. My son has an established tank but he already has fish in his and I don't want to put them in his. I am going to take the filter cartridge from his tank and add it to mine to get some bacteria. Will that help? Should I do a partial water change?