New to Nano Reefs

[Jerseygirl0398]

Okay so im a newbie and i have had some trouble i was on the new to salt water forum and i was impressed at the responses i received. I have a 10-15 gallon octagon tank thats the only way i can describe it LOL. i have my water mixed and i put live sand on the bottom and live rock in got my filter going, now i was wondering if i needed anything else. The marine fish store i was at last night told me i wouldnt need a protein skimmer because the live rock already does all that you need it to. I am not sure now what to do if i should buy a protein skimmer or not, and is there anything else i need to have, i have the basics the light the filter the heater that sort of stuff but is there anything else i need?. I could use a few pointers. I dont have any fish in yet because the marine fish store guy told me that i had to wait at least two months before putting anything live in there besides the live rock, he said that after two months i should start with damsels, and maybe a cleaner shrimp to properly acclimate the tank itself. and then move on to clown fish and or a few different kinds of fish. Im kinda iffy about the damsels because ive read that they are okay and easy and gentle when they are young but they get older and aggresive which kind of makes me uneasy because if i want to put any other fish in i dont want them to kill the new fish. Any adivice?

[Phurst]

Welcome back!

A protein skimmer is not strictly necessary, especially if it's going to be a fish only tank. That being said, I would still encourage you to think about getting one. Especially in a small tank, water quality can drop very quickly, and a protein skimmer can help keep that from happening. I don't believe you've ever mentioned having a sump, so I guess you'll need a hang-on model. The Aqua-C Remora is a great little hang-on skimmer, and used ones can be picked up pretty cheap. BTW, LR does NOT do the same thing as a skimmer. A skimmer removes dissolved organic compounds from the water, whereas LR harbors bacteria that break down fish waste.

Besides the skimmer, if you're planning on trying an anemone again, or any type of coral, you'll need a new light. The stock light is not nearly enough. If you're going fish only, then the light you have is just fine.

I'd also encourage you to skip the damsels. They can be very aggressive and a real PITA to catch. If clowns are what you want, then go ahead with them instead of the damsels. They're pretty tough, and assuming your water is settled and stable in a month or two, they should be just fine.

There are just a few other items I'd recommend, that you may or may not already have.

1) a good set of test kits. At a minimum you'll want ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. If you're planning on keeping corals, you'll need calcium, alkalinity and magnesium too.

2) Either a refractometer or hydrometer to measure the salinity of your water. Salinity can change very quickly in a small tank, and should be closely monitored.

3) RO/DI water. I'd recommend either buying pre-mixed salt water from the LFS made with RO/DI rater, or picking up a RO/DI filter so you can make your own. Using good, clean water is key in this hobby.

[CarmieJo]

In addition to what he said ^^ if you do not get an ammonia spike from the new rock you added you will need a source of starter ammonia. There are lots of ways to do this but I just throw a raw table shrimp in the tank for a couple of days.

Water will evaporate from your tank. When this happens the salt is left behind and you will need to replace the evaporated water with plain RO/DI water.

[Jerseygirl0398]

Okay that sounds great! the LFS aslo gave us Started bacteria do you think we should add it he said we should but i dont know if we should. Also we have a test kit for the PH, the Ammonia and the nitrate, nitrate. I hanvt tested it yet but i will when i get done on here. now about the RO/DI water. we have the mix kind and weve been mixing it ourselves and we have the hydrometer and have been using this to make sure the salinity is right. Are we going wrong doing this? man i must sound really dumb LOL

[Phurst]

I don't think it will hurt to add the bacteria. It may not help, but I doubt it will hurt.

I would start testing ASAP so you know if/when your cycle is complete, and it's safe to start stocking. You should see a small ammonia spike, followed by a nitrite and nitrate spike due to adding the new LR and LS. Like Carmie said, if you don't see an ammonia spike in a couple of days, toss a piece of raw, unseasoned shrimp in the tank for a couple of days to kick things off. Once ammonia and nitrite test at 0 for a couple of days in a row, do a small water change, and begin stocking with a few snails/crabs and maybe a shrimp. After another week of steady water readings, you can add your clowns. I will add at this point, that a 10-15 gallon tank will be pretty much fully stocked with a pair of clowns and a handful of snails/crabs/shrimp. You could maybe get away with the anemone once you upgrade to the proper light.

As for the water. You mean you are mixing your own saltwater, correct? Are you using plain old tap water? If so, that's a no-no. It's typicaly cheaper to mix your own water, but you'll either want to buy RO/DI water from the LFS, buy a RO/DI unit and make your own, or use distilled water from the grocery store. Tap water contains all kinds of chemicals and metals you really want to keep out of your tank.

[CarmieJo]

The other option on the water is a water machine at a grocery store like you would refill jugs for a water cooler with. Around here, Whole Foods has RO/DI and Wal-Mart has RO.

[Jerseygirl0398]

Awesome, that really helps. Yea we are mixing our own salt water, but now that you mention the RO i will get that asap. we used water condioner after we used the tap water to fix the impurites the LFS we went to said to use that then add the salt maybe i did it wrong?

[Jerseygirl0398]

the first store did give us pretty crappy advice

[CarmieJo]

There are a few problems with relying on a water conditioner. The first is that it can neutralize chlorine but not the ammonia that is in chloramine. These days chlorine is rarely used, instead most utilities disinfect their water with chloramine. Even if you are using well water with no chemicals added to disinfect it, there are a lot of things in our drinking water like phosphate, nitrite, nitrate, etc that you don't want in your tank. They will just cause you problems down the road. Finally, if the pH of your tap water is low it can cause copper to leach from your pipes and the copper will kill your inverts.