Advice for new setup...

[Panther]

Hi All,

I'm thinking of venturing into marine setup and starting with a nano FOWLR tank (1ft cube) due to limited budget. After doing some reading around, I have decide to proceed with the following equipment and steps to set up the tank. Please advise if I'm on the correct path and if there's anything I should note. Also, if the equipment / items used are good quality. Thanks.

Equipment

1. 1ft cube tank

2. RIO Nano Skimmer (to buy)

3. Lighting (already have 1ft light with 2 PL tubes - I need 1 white and 1 blue tube?)

4. Live Rock (looking at getting 2nd hand from bros here - abt $2/kg anyone?)

5. Live sand (please advise if necessary or if normal sand base is ok or not needed at all?)

Fauna (all to buy)

1. 2-3 clown fish (need big and small size I heard)

2. 1 cleaner shrimp

3. 1 snail

4. 1 anemone (any hardy ones to recommend?)

5. Can I keep any more fish and any to recommend? (Interested to keep a starfish and goby if possible)

Setting up process

1. Buy seawater and add in live rock and sand and let filter run for 1 month

2. Check that nitrite and ammonia is zero, then add 1 clown fish to test water

3. If nothing happen to the fish after 1 week, add in the other fauna and anemone.

4. Maintain weekly water change of 25%.

Please advise if I need to change water (how much?) just before adding the fish in since the water would have not been changed for 1 month during cycling.

[TayHongSiang]

Bro, why dun go for 2ft...u just have to pay a bit more for a bigger tank and 2ft lighting...all other equipments remains the same.

Easier to maintain than 1ft cube and can keep more gems. The tank can go for normal glass tank will do...its about $40-$50.

[yikai]

yup. i highly suggest u go for 2 feet. the difference is alot and u can keep more things and dun have to worry as much about topping off evaporation. for a 1ft tank, it is reallly very small and 2 clowns is like, maximum already. whereas 2 feet tank, u can keep 2 clowns and perhaps 2 other fish. or 3 if they are all very small. of coz u can stretch ur limits and add 10 fish to a 2ft tank, but the maintenance in the long run going to be very hard.

and also i dun suggest an anemone. they are too demanding and not reccomended for a beginner in the hobby. when they die, and the chances of them dying are high, they will crash ur tank because of the massive pollution. if you want something that looks like an anemone, then get a small hammer coral, frogspawn or torch. they look almost like an anemone and are less demanding to care for.

since ur tank is small, suggested that u keep hardy and small size fish. for a 1 feet tank, 2 clowns and 1 goby is enough. get a less aggressive goby species.

for a 2 feet tank, u can afford 2 clowns, 1 goby, maybe 1 wrasse and 1 cardinal, or something small ya? a starfish will be great too!

and oh, welcome to SRC and the marine hobby (:

[ElCarim]

wat kind of filter u gona use? hang on filter or cannister or just a powerhead to create water current??

water movement very important. i'm also newbie so lets learn together

[pauline]

ya true, u shl go for 2 feet instead of 1feet... cos i also keeping 1.5 feet previously but just upgraded to 2.5 feet last weekend. u will soon find that no much space to stock in your gem...haha.... anyway i got some nano stuff for sale, if interested can pm me... welcome!!!

[yikai]

absolutely right. now u want FOWLR but sooner or later ur going to get hooked onto corals XD haha! just like me..

[baudi]

like everyone else i say go 2ft if you can... and a skimmer is paramount. i learnt on a 2ft tank, the best thing i learnt was to buy water instead of trying to mix it up myself. lots of retailers sell it, i know reborn and pacific reef both do - thats where i get mine. anyway, enjoy and good luck

[Panther]

Thanks for all the inputs, bros and sis.

The reason why I'm exploring 1ft is really due to space and cost constrain (and I already have the tank and lighting), thus the research was focused on a very small setup (I agree the maintenance work would be more for 1ft than if for a 2ft setup as the larger tank would be more stable as well).

Thus, if it were to be a 1ft setup, would you think what I have written down as sufficient and the cycling and fish introduction process be correct?

On the other hand, assuming IF I were to be able to maintain a 2ft instead, what would be different in terms of set-up equipment compared t what I have written down as I do not wish to put more money in due to constraints. My budget is about $100 excluding cost of tank. My original budget was $45 for the RIO filter + skimmer and the rest to the LR/LS and $20 for fauna.

Intention for having an anemone was for the clowns to play / frolic in (coz I think that's a wonderful sight ) Would the hammer coral, frogspawn or torch allow the clowns the same "fun"?

Thanks!

[iskay]

1 foot is fine as long as you have (1) discipline and (2) self-control.

(1) discipline

Weekly partial water changes. Any slip up will result in dead LS.

Water top up daily.

No overfeeding.

Slowly build up your LS. small tank is more prone to New Tank Syndrome.

(2) self-control

Proper LS planning. Small tank creates more aggression.

Fast growing LS are not recommended.

no overstocking. no matter how attractive that gem is...

[yikai]

Thanks for all the inputs, bros and sis.

The reason why I'm exploring 1ft is really due to space and cost constrain (and I already have the tank and lighting), thus the research was focused on a very small setup (I agree the maintenance work would be more for 1ft than if for a 2ft setup as the larger tank would be more stable as well).

Thus, if it were to be a 1ft setup, would you think what I have written down as sufficient and the cycling and fish introduction process be correct?

On the other hand, assuming IF I were to be able to maintain a 2ft instead, what would be different in terms of set-up equipment compared t what I have written down as I do not wish to put more money in due to constraints. My budget is about $100 excluding cost of tank. My original budget was $45 for the RIO filter + skimmer and the rest to the LR/LS and $20 for fauna.

Intention for having an anemone was for the clowns to play / frolic in (coz I think that's a wonderful sight ) Would the hammer coral, frogspawn or torch allow the clowns the same "fun"?

Thanks!

the hammer torch and frogspawn will allow the clowns to play in. however do bear in mind that some clowns will not play in anything even an anemone. it is up to the individual fish. also, unless its an anemone, too much and excessive playing can and will kill the coral.

[iskay]

1-foot tank is fine as long as you have (1) discipline and (2) self-control.

(1) discipline

Proper planning. planning starts before you make any purchase. your post to this thread indicates that you've started this which is very good.

Weekly partial water changes. Any slip up will result in dead LS.

Water top up daily.

No overfeeding.

Slowly build up your LS. small tank is more prone to New Tank Syndrome.

(2) self-control

Proper LS planning. Small tank creates more aggression.

Fast growing LS are not recommended.

no overstocking. no matter how attractive that gem is...

Clownfish are fine without a host anemone. Anemone not recommended for small tanks. If you intend to keep LPS (Frogspawn, torch, etc) better have a chiller. Else, softies like mushrooms are star polyps are happy with fan-cooling.

Read up before you start putting anything into the tank, read up. The below links will be useful.

Tank Cycling with market prawn - http://fishwhisperer.homestead.com/articles.html

Nitrogen Cycle - http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

The second link is primarily for you to understand the nitrogen cycle. It mentioned cycling the tank with fish as one possible method but I highly discourage it due to the suffering this method brings to the poor fishes.

Good Luck.

Also, here's a thread worth reading. Please don't follow this example - http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=76994

[iskay]

REALLY, Clowns are fine without anemone. Reverse is not always true, the clown will take care of the anemone by feeding it, taking away it's wastes. without a clown, anemone requires a lot of care from you.

Also, clowns will NOT always stay close to it's anemone host. It stays there for safety and comfort. if the clown gets used to your tank it will venture away from the anemone most of the time and will only sleep there at night. Don't be charmed by video clips of clowns 'frolicking' in anemomes. This 'frolicking' time can be disappointing short.

If you still cannot get this 'frolicking' thought out of your mind, the next best thing is to make sure to get the correct clown/anemone combination. This can be very tricky as non-compatible specimens will ignore each other and you'll be disappointed to the max. Here's a link for you.

Still anemone NOT recommended for small tanks.

[Panther]

1-foot tank is fine as long as you have (1) discipline and (2) self-control.

(1) discipline

Proper planning. planning starts before you make any purchase. your post to this thread indicates that you've started this which is very good.

Weekly partial water changes. Any slip up will result in dead LS.

Water top up daily.

No overfeeding.

Slowly build up your LS. small tank is more prone to New Tank Syndrome.

(2) self-control

Proper LS planning. Small tank creates more aggression.

Fast growing LS are not recommended.

no overstocking. no matter how attractive that gem is...

Clownfish are fine without a host anemone. Anemone not recommended for small tanks. If you intend to keep LPS (Frogspawn, torch, etc) better have a chiller. Else, softies like mushrooms are star polyps are happy with fan-cooling.

Read up before you start putting anything into the tank, read up. The below links will be useful.

Tank Cycling with market prawn - http://fishwhisperer.homestead.com/articles.html

Nitrogen Cycle - http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

The second link is primarily for you to understand the nitrogen cycle. It mentioned cycling the tank with fish as one possible method but I highly discourage it due to the suffering this method brings to the poor fishes.

Good Luck.

Also, here's a thread worth reading. Please don't follow this example - http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=76994

Thanks bro iskay for all the links. Yes, I've read up on the nitrogen cycle and also the cycling with prawns to expedite the bacteria build-up.

As for the clowns and anemones, I probably may not get an anemone now that so many bros have advised against it and am toying (and will be reading) on the torch and hammer corals suggested. However, due to no chiller, I'll first have to establish if a fan will suffice since the initial thought was for FOWLR and not to cater to corals which I know requires A LOT more work in terms of nutrient supply, cold water, sufficient lighting, etc.

I would however still want to try create the scene for clowns "frolicking" (with anemones, hammer / torch corals, what else?).

[iskay]

Hi Panther,

FYI. I had the same desire when first started with marine - 'frolicking' clown. Bought both, then the clown grew too aggressive and anemone grew too large for my tank in the end need to sell both at a loss.

Starting off with FOWLR is good choice. LPS will require a more mature tank of at least 6 months. They can marginally survive with fan-cooled tank at 28c. Softies can tolerate heat better so you can try those first to hone your coral husbandry skills before moving to LPS.

[Panther]

Hi bros,

I'd just like to find out what I would need to change or add wrt my initial (equipment) list if I were to wanna keep a reef setup.

From my understanding so far would be the items below:

1. Chiller (Would the Dolphin nano chiller suffice?)

2. T5HO lights instead of the PL

Rgds.

[iskay]

Setting up process

1. Buy seawater and add in live rock and sand and let filter run for 1 month

2. Check that nitrite and ammonia is zero, then add 1 clown fish to test water

3. If nothing happen to the fish after 1 week, add in the other fauna and anemone.

4. Maintain weekly water change of 25%.

Please advise if I need to change water (how much?) just before adding the fish in since the water would have not been changed for 1 month during cycling.

Regarding your setting up process, remember to add livestock one at a time with at least 1 week interval to allow your tank to re-configure to the newly added bioload. adding too much too soon will trigger the tank to re-cycle. This is called new tank syndrome.

Regarding changing of water, yes, I'd recommend a partial water change after the cycle

For a reef tank, there's an infinite number of equipments that you can get. From your above list, I can recommend the following basic things to be added:

Wavemaker - corals need good water circulation to bring them nutrients and take away wastes. Appropriately sized for your tank. cheapest choice will be 2 small submersible power heads.

Activated Cardon - to help keep water parameters. It keeps my tank's water clear.

Your lighting, tubes should be of high color temperature of at least 10K.

Here's some article for your reference:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/1/aafeature

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=564