which ls to get first?

[crash]

hi all,

im planning to get ls soon... my tank is jus a small nano cube (Boyu)... its approx 35L... so wan2 get some advice from the fellow reefers here...

1) wat shld i get first?

2) wat shld i have for my cleaning crew?

hope to get some advice n recommendations... i'll appreciate if u guys can include an approx price n place to get the ls... thks...

[arcanehacker]

hi all,

im planning to get ls soon... my tank is jus a small nano cube (Boyu)... its approx 35L... so wan2 get some advice from the fellow reefers here...

1) wat shld i get first?

2) wat shld i have for my cleaning crew?

hope to get some advice n recommendations... i'll appreciate if u guys can include an approx price n place to get the ls... thks...

I dunno.. you new in this hobby? 1 feet cube not easy to control water parameters. I would recommend at least a 2ft. I have bad experiences after I gave up a 2ft, due to moving house, to a 1ft cube. I had so much problems controlling parameters and I can't keep anything I wanted. Shrimps and fishes keep dying off. .. then I kept a really hardy ghost eel only..

Maybe its me that time? Dunno.. I though I have already enticipated most things already since I had the 2ft before for more that a yr with really good results.

SO if you plan to keep hardy fishes like damsels , etc.. it should be ok.. if you want to keep not as hardy LSs and corals, I would recommend 2ft.

[crash]

I dunno.. you new in this hobby? 1 feet cube not easy to control water parameters. I would recommend at least a 2ft. I have bad experiences after I gave up a 2ft, due to moving house, to a 1ft cube. I had so much problems controlling parameters and I can't keep anything I wanted. Shrimps and fishes keep dying off. .. then I kept a really hardy ghost eel only..

Maybe its me that time? Dunno.. I though I have already enticipated most things already since I had the 2ft before for more that a yr with really good results.

SO if you plan to keep hardy fishes like damsels , etc.. it should be ok.. if you want to keep not as hardy LSs and corals, I would recommend 2ft.

haha.. ya... jus join the hobby not long ago...i know small tank is harder to maintain... but can only accomodate tt due to small space... will try for sometime to c if it works out well..

i would probably try a FOWLR tank first... heard tt its easier to maintain... my main aim is to keep some common clownfish which are quite hardy i guess... any tips to maintain water stability? thks for ur advice anyway...

[nwyk153]

haha.. ya... jus join the hobby not long ago...i know small tank is harder to maintain... but can only accomodate tt due to small space... will try for sometime to c if it works out well..

i would probably try a FOWLR tank first... heard tt its easier to maintain... my main aim is to keep some common clownfish which are quite hardy i guess... any tips to maintain water stability? thks for ur advice anyway...

If you want a hardy clown fish i should suggest you to get a Tomato clown. IMO common clowns are not that hardy. For clean up crew you can get a coral banded shrimp, some snails and a brittle starfish. Even hardy LS prefer good water quality, so always check your water parameter. Enjoy Reefing!

[crash]

If you want a hardy clown fish i should suggest you to get a Tomato clown. IMO common clowns are not that hardy. For clean up crew you can get a coral banded shrimp, some snails and a brittle starfish. Even hardy LS prefer good water quality, so always check your water parameter. Enjoy Reefing!

hi, thks for the advice...

i jus measure my water parameters...

ammonia - 0

nitrite - 0

nitrate 20

ph - 8.2

temp - 28 degree celsius

is the level of nitrate still too high? shld i make a water change? im using salt mix... can i jus use tapwater to mix it? thks..

[nwyk153]

hi, thks for the advice...

i jus measure my water parameters...

ammonia - 0

nitrite - 0

nitrate 20

ph - 8.2

temp - 28 degree celsius

is the level of nitrate still too high? shld i make a water change? im using salt mix... can i jus use tapwater to mix it? thks..

Your nitrate lvl is too high. Try your best to lower them down to 10 to 5ppm(Water changes is the best). Other than that, everything looks good.

[sherman]

Try to maintain your nitrate around 5 the most.

You need weekly parameter check for a few weeks initially to

get fimiliar with how fast your parameter change.

What is your SG?Keep temperature around 27 Deg

Very important.

[crash]

hi all,

i'll be changing water later to bring down the nitrate level... was wondering does our normal tapwater contains nitrates? cos i'll be using it to make salt water from salt mix... if it does contain a high level of nitrate then it beats the purpose...

as for temp.. my lowest temp is 26 degree celsius... i just got 2 fans installed... 28 is my max temp now.. if i wan2 to further reduce it... i guess i'll need a chiller which i dont think i'll get yet... would probably monitor it longer to c if it is really necessary...

oh ya.. my SG was 1.022 or 1.023... is it sufficient?

[nwyk153]

hi all,

i'll be changing water later to bring down the nitrate level... was wondering does our normal tapwater contains nitrates? cos i'll be using it to make salt water from salt mix... if it does contain a high level of nitrate then it beats the purpose...

as for temp.. my lowest temp is 26 degree celsius... i just got 2 fans installed... 28 is my max temp now.. if i wan2 to further reduce it... i guess i'll need a chiller which i dont think i'll get yet... would probably monitor it longer to c if it is really necessary...

oh ya.. my SG was 1.022 or 1.023... is it sufficient?

For Fish only 1.020 to 1.023 is fine. For corals 1.023 to 1.026.

[crash]

ok... i did the water change today... change abt 10 litres... my tank was 35L... nitrate only drop to abt 15... kinda disappointing... is there any other ways to bring down the nitrate level? could it be because im using tapwater to make the salt water?

or shld i have an external refugium to address the issue in the long term?

[tomowilson]

hi, IMO, get a denitrator will save more space. .....i am maintaining my 2ft's nitrate between 5~10.

[crash]

erm... how much is a small denitrator? suitable of a tank of my size? 35L...

i guess it cant be very cheap, can it?

[crash]

hi all,

i have decided to get the following for my clean up crew...

1) cleaner shrimp x 1

2) hermit crab x 2

3) one of the gobies..x1

4)probably brittle star fish ( will it hurt small fishes?) x 1

any opinion on this set up? can they work tgt or any rivalry amg them?

thks...

[nwyk153]

hi all,

i have decided to get the following for my clean up crew...

1) cleaner shrimp x 1

2) hermit crab x 2

3) one of the gobies..x1

4)probably brittle star fish ( will it hurt small fishes?) x 1

any opinion on this set up? can they work tgt or any rivalry amg them?

thks...

I got one. And it harmless. It only thrive among the Corals and sand.

[Jameshong]

hi all,

i have decided to get the following for my clean up crew...

1) cleaner shrimp x 1

2) hermit crab x 2

3) one of the gobies..x1

4)probably brittle star fish ( will it hurt small fishes?) x 1

any opinion on this set up? can they work tgt or any rivalry amg them?

thks...

Hi crash,

As bro arcanehacker has mentioned...1ft tank is not easily to maintain the stability of the water parameter and Since you have already setup the 1ft tank, I would not comment much...but my advice is WC frequently.

Usually, Pico tank crashed b'cos NO2,3, PO4...etc strike due to lazy of WC after sometimes so pls bear in mind.

Happy reefing

[crash]

thks bros for the reminder....

ya.. i am aware of the water instability in small tank... im trying to fight this prob with WC... currently i change every wk.. does having more lr help to stabilise the water parameters more?

also... wat r the goby that i can get? are gobies agressive? i wan2 keep the sand clean...

[arcanehacker]

thks bros for the reminder....

ya.. i am aware of the water instability in small tank... im trying to fight this prob with WC... currently i change every wk.. does having more lr help to stabilise the water parameters more?

also... wat r the goby that i can get? are gobies agressive? i wan2 keep the sand clean...

Having more live rocks is always good but then again how much 'real estate' do you have on the 1ft? Try to hav emore but not too much till in the end only see rocks.

I think gobies in general are not aggressive. Don't get twin spotted as even in a stable tank, they just get thinner and thinner everyday. Other faster working gobies, eg diamond head, are too messy.. they sprinkle sand all over and therefore rescape the landscape constantly. IMO not very good if you have corals.

[crash]

thks for the advice...

anyway... i got the following now...

cleaner shrimp x 1

hermit crab x 1

sand shifter star x 1

royal gramma x 1 ( i dun tink its the true royal gramma)

currently i hav abt 4 kg of lr in the tank... ya... space is very limited.. but there r still a little space in the sump tank... is it advisable to put some small lr in there? there will be no light in the sump...

so is there any goby that u can reccommend? the fire goby? is it good?

[arcanehacker]

thks for the advice...

anyway... i got the following now...

cleaner shrimp x 1

hermit crab x 1

sand shifter star x 1

royal gramma x 1 ( i dun tink its the true royal gramma)

currently i hav abt 4 kg of lr in the tank... ya... space is very limited.. but there r still a little space in the sump tank... is it advisable to put some small lr in there? there will be no light in the sump...

so is there any goby that u can reccommend? the fire goby? is it good?

Bacteria do not need light to propergate.. so you can place as much live rocks there.

Non true Royal Gramma is called Brazillian Gramma.. they differ in build, colouration at the pink yellow intersection, eyes, etc... unless you got a royal dottyback

You should try closing the hood if you want to keep firegobies.. Firegoby darts when stressed so there is possibility that they jump out.