Assistance Starting to Stock my 120g Reef Tank -

john_waggs · 05-23-2008, 03:15 PM

My tank has cylcled and I'm about to start stocking my tank. My goal is to have some colorful fish (not very aggressive), I want to have softies, and LPS and in the future some SPS.

I have a 48x24x24 tank w/ hood. 6 - T5 lights strong enough for any types of corals. if anyone needs to know this before they can answer any of these questions.

Currently I have a 29 gal tank with 2 Clowns, 1 firetail, 1 coco tube-worm, and about 6 blue-legged hermits, and about 7 Astraea Snails (i think that's what they called).

I want to make sure I go about stocking and transferring my fish the correct way so I don't run into problems due to taking the wrong steps first. Secondly, I want to make sure I don't purchase the wrong type of cleaning crews if they will eat any coral i purchase down the road. I don't want my fish to eat my corals either.

I really could use some help with setting up a step by step process for getting a cleaning crew in, adding my fish from the other tank, and adding new specimens after that. Not sure if this is the correct order, but I hope I get my point across.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

John

**CarmieJo** · 05-26-2008, 11:20 AM

Hi John,

First sorry for the delay in responding to you. I have a house full of company and suppose that many people are away for the long weekend.

If you are patient I would follow Eric Bonreman's advice as outlined here The Building of a Reef (tank). keyozoxmfc (Mark) on our forums has done this with his tank with very good results. Here is his tank journal My 50 Gallon Reef.

For some mysterious reason both of my clowns in my nano died on the same day at the beginning of March. I have frogspawn, ricordia, mushrooms, zoanthids, colt, sun, GSP and Pocillopora corals and a bunch of hermits and snails in it. My pod population has EXPLODED in that tank and the water parameters are as steady as a rock. After watching this I know that the next time I cycle a tank I will go the long way.

No matter which way you decide to go I would drip acclimate everything into the new tank. Be especially careful of your snails which are sensitive to osmotic shock.

If you "can't" wait, I would move the hardy corals first and watch them for a few days. Unless you are having an algae bloom I would not add a CUC until after there is something for them to clean.

Then, I would add one of you fish to the new tank, wait a couple of days to make sure that your parameters are steady then move half of the clean up crew from your 29. Wait a few more days then move the other 2 fish, monitor parameters and when they are stable move the rest of the CUC. Finally move the more delicate corals. I have never kept a cocoa worm so I don't know when it should be moved.

As far as your clowns hosting in the LPS, it depends. How does the coral look? Sometimes this works fine and others the fish are so rough on the coral that they kill it. Separation is the best and possible only solution. I would not consider adding an anemone until you tank is stable and at least 6 month old. There are also many reports of the fish choosing other things over the anemone.

john_waggs · 05-26-2008, 10:20 PM

CarmieJo,

Thanks for responding to my inquiry. I spoke to the folks at the LFS that I deal with on a normal basis and they told me I could acclimate all my tank mates at the same time. Wow, what a contradiction to the post you told me to view! One thing I've noticed since I've taken up this hobby is that no matter what question you ask, you get numerous ways that things should be done (in those folks' opinions). So I guess it's too late to follow the instructions that you suggested. Although my fish seem to be doing better in this tank transfer than when i've purchased each of them separately and placed them in my 29g. The coco tube work came out the first day I transfered him into this 120 tank. The firetail fish isn't "in hiding", like it was in my smaller tank for a week.

Everything with the fish seem to be OK, although the pair of clowns I have are hanging out in the rear corner of the tank and are very difficult to see. I hope they find a new home in either a frogspawn or eventually an anemone.

One item of concern that i do see is that i have tiny little green hairs of algae growing on my glass. They aren't all together as one mass but instead seem to be clumped as 3 or 4 "hairs" together. And then the 3 or 4 hair clusters are covering most of the front pane of my tank.

Do you think this could be the start of an algae bloom or is this something that will happen and I shouldn't be too concerned about? Either way, should I get rid of it and how should that be done, if the answer is "yes, get rid of it"?

Thanks for you time.

**CarmieJo** · 05-27-2008, 12:26 AM

Hi John,

I am of a conservative and slow & steady bent and my advice usually reflects that. Keep an eye on your parameters to make sure they are not creeping up on you.

I would say that this is an algae bloom which is to be expected in a new tank. I would add some snails to nip it in the bud.