tank almost cycled! help stock my tank!!

mindytoy

mindytoy

New member
hi guys my 90s 3-4 days about to cycle. everything is good nitrates though are at .025 so im almost there!

anyways here is what im putting in the tank.

i need advise on what to put first,

how long to wait before adding the other

and what to feed etc.

CORALS-

undecided yet for sure an anenome and softies, mushrooms, and maybe a clam.

tank is 48"l, 18" H, and like 18" width...

the light is a nova extreme 216 watt t5 light. 10k, and arcylics, and white lunars with fans..

INVERTS-

-small red starfishes x2

-about 5 red hermits

-5 turbo snails

-4 margarita snails

-5 other snails

-2 cleaner shrimp

(for the hang on fuge just copeods and macro)

-FISH

-blue hippo tang (yes i know it will need to be moved in 3 yrs or so...)

-2 clown fish

-1 mandarian goby

- blue jaw trigger

- either a yellow tang or another type of tang

-maybe a damsel or 2 not sure yet...



anyone with any advise?
 
Congrats on the start of your tank.

I would advise that you wait at least 8 months before buying a mandarin (and that's assuming you have a sump/fuge running).

I also think you will need to upgrade your lighting to keep anemones, clams, and most coral.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13053402#post13053402 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kmf507
Congrats on the start of your tank.

I would advise that you wait at least 8 months before buying a mandarin (and that's assuming you have a sump/fuge running).

I also think you will need to upgrade your lighting to keep anemones, clams, and most coral.
Click to expand...

+1.
 
When you say 3-4 days.... How long have you had water running in your tank? I hope you are going to take about 6 months time adding all that. PS Anemone's and coral do not mix well. I would start with your clean up crew, wait 6 - 8 weeks. Then add your corals. Wait another 6-8 weeks, then slowly add fish. This hobby is a long term hobby so go slow for the first year. I let tank cycle for 2 months before adding clean up crew.
 
Last edited:
yeah the tank has about a month and a half...

as soon as my nitrates are down im going to want to add something...

so inverts first...all together? starfish shrimp hermits and snails?

or 1 day hermits, 2 days later snails, week later starfish, etc??

im not planning on adding all of this at the same time! within maybe 6 months...

yes im getting a hang on fuge on friday so that way like in 5 months i can get a mandaring goby...

so can someone give me a layout of what to add firts, time period between next add, what to maybe look for before adding something else, etc?

as for lighting i might buy another 2 t5 bulb setup so id have 6 bulbs
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13053635#post13053635 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mindytoy

as for lighting i might buy another 2 t5 bulb setup so id have 6 bulbs
Click to expand...

That still won't be enough. You need T5s with individual reflectors or a MH unit.
 
Re: tank almost cycled! help stock my tank!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13053374#post13053374 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mindytoy
tank is 48"l, 18" H, and like 18" width...
Click to expand...


if it's a 90G tank, it should be 24" tall. which means you have 6 more inches of water to penetrate in order to reach the bottom.


J.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13053402#post13053402 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kmf507
Congrats on the start of your tank.

I would advise that you wait at least 8 months before buying a mandarin (and that's assuming you have a sump/fuge running).

I also think you will need to upgrade your lighting to keep anemones, clams, and most coral.
Click to expand...

+2
 
ok well lfs said the stuff would do alright and if i see signs of the lighting being oo weak then i can return them...

he said to have the anenome mid level...

also my tank is not 24" its like 20"

its a surfline wave shapped tank not a regular 90 gallon
 
I am fairly new to this hobby but in my experience, the lfs is not a good source of info. They do not have your tanks well being in mind when they advise things...mainly there buisness and wallet. Im not saying all give bad info but generally if you do your research on here, you will find the safest answer.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13055027#post13055027 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mindytoy
ok well lfs said the stuff would do alright


and if i see signs of the lighting being oo weak then i can return them...
Click to expand...


No offense meant, but that is kind of a punchline to alot of reefers. The LFS is trying to sell you something. I am just some dude on a cpu offering my experience (I also don't want you to kill some clams and anemones due to bad lighting).

Seriously though, with a clam, there is little to no grace period. I haven't lost a clam, but everything I have read says that they kind of go from looking healthy to dead very quickly (with the exception of some gaping or perhaps pinched mantle disease).
So you won't really see the signs....

Also, I would wait more than 5 months for a mandarin, some people say to wait a year, I think at a minimum 8 months, provided you do not have any other pod-eating competition.
 
When I first started I always stocked the tank slowly. A few snails one week and a few blue leg hermits the next. Except when I cycled the tank with 2 damsels I never added 2 fish at the same time again. As long as you keep up with water changes everything lives and starts the eco system.

I added a psychedelic mandarin after a year. I like this one better than the larger mandarin. You definitely want to build up a pod population in your tank b4 you add one. I feel lucky mine is still alive for over a year.

I am also a big fan of the tiger tail cucumber also. It has split on me 3 X over a year and they all keep the sand bed super clean.

Take it slow and enjoy your reef !!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13055027#post13055027 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mindytoy
ok well lfs said the stuff would do alright and if i see signs of the lighting being oo weak then i can return them...

he said to have the anenome mid level...

also my tank is not 24" its like 20"

its a surfline wave shapped tank not a regular 90 gallon
Click to expand...

Congrats on the tank being "almost ready"! Your biggest challenge will be not to give in to the temptation to add too much too soon. Please pay attention to the cautions you received on the anemone. They are not for new reefers and new tanks no matter what the LFS says. The consensus of opinion of the experienced reefers on here is that you do not have enough light. I bought one when my tank was too new and did not have enough light. After doing a month or two more reading on here, I realized I had made an irresponsible decision and took it back to the LFS. They did not give me any credit but I decided that I'd rather see the anemone live, and the rest of my tank inhabitants live, so I sucked up the loss and learned...

The good news is that I think your lights will be fine for mushrooms, soft coral (leathers) zoanthids and some of the lower light LPS. You can create a beautiful tank with just soft coral. Look at it as a challenge to your reef-keeping skills to create a beautiful tank within the limits of what you have. Use this website to read about the coral you want to keep. The home page lists the coral by the scientific name, but if you click on the name, the info will list the more common name as well as valuable info.

http://www.asira.org/caresheets
 
it is 90 gallons...

look up marineland surfline...

like i said its not a regular shape, its s shaped so it gets thin and in the middle bigger,,,
 
changed my mind now.....

current list..

-FISH

-blue hippo tang (yes i know it will need to be moved in 3 yrs or so...)

-2 clown fish

-1 mandarian goby

- blue jaw trigger

- either a yellow eye tang/ surgeonfish

-dwarf lionfish


has anyone ever mixed these or some of these? please give advise IF youve had experience with them..
 
just remember add one fish at a time and at least a week apart from each other but please wait 2 weeks. you have to let your systems bioload keep up.. what skimmer are you running? a remora?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Q
Which mini snail for artemia tank?
Replies
2
Views
195
griss
griss
P
50 Gallon Stocking Help
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
Urka
U
T
Trying to identify what ate my Torch Coral
Replies
12
Views
271
Uncle99
Uncle99
NancyT3
Help with Snail Anxiety
Replies
8
Views
1K
CharleyDavis
C
Drummer98
Do I need to worry about this ??
Replies
4
Views
1K
Drummer98
Drummer98
Back
Top