Beginner Marine Aquarist - I Know It Is Often Asked But I Have Quite A Few Questions.

I know after waiting soooo looong! I guess it did pay off in the end though!

For fish food would you guys recommend New life spectrum or hikarI marine s pellets?
Thanks

 

Awesome!!! Good find! I like new life spectrum, but hikarI is also pretty good from what I hear. If you go with new life spectrum, I'd probably get the 0.5mm pellets, I have the 1mm pellets and they're a good size for clowns (a little big sometimes) but for anything smaller than clowns, I think they'd probably be too big.

 

Do you think the 1mm pellets from NLS would be alright for a yellow clown goby and also maybe a fire fish

Actually now that I think about it ill be getting the clown pair as juveniles so ill probably get the NLS 0.5mm pellets or maybe the HikarI ones not sure.

 

Yo aren't you in the uk? Why don't you get the IM10 man it would look awesome for some corals. Ive also seen a few of these for sale online like ebay or gumtree. Where do people get these ive only been able to locate one shop that sells them here and they've run out of stock on pretty much all their IM products. Check them out though - Charterhouse aquatics

I'm in the uk,
The guy next door is moving and said I can possibly have his reef setup as it's too much for him , it would make a big improvement from my 15 litre ..

Ethan

 

I meant that you could jump on this offer too seeing as your in the uk. Haha that would be awesome! How big is it?

I don't want to ruin my plan but I just think that the Im10 looks nicer as it is a cube. I know this would change my plan but I'm not sure. URGH!!! I hate this I can never seem to make my mind up - Help! lol. Any thoughts? the IM20 would be a little less practical but it would give me some space for my rookie mistakes - hopefully these will be a minimum. Thanks all for your help and for bearing with me and my annoying mindset! I doubt a clown pair would work right?

 

I know some people keep clowns in tanks as small as 5 gallons, not often, but I have seen it before. Would I ever recommend that? Definitely not! I don't even like seeing clowns in a 10, although it's pretty common. The one issue with the IM10 and a clown pair is dimensions, a standard 10 gallon is 20 inches long, where the IM10 is 12 inches long I believe. Although both hold 10 gallons, an IM10 doesn't provide much swimming space, and CB clowns will use all the space you give them, my clowns have their "territory" at night, but once the lights are on, they're all over the tank. I do agree with you though, I love the look of a cube tank, I was about to get a 60 cube before I found my Red Sea tank, but I'm actually pretty glad I went with the Red Sea one, I like cubes, but I like a longer display as well, just feels like there's more to look at and more length rather than depth that you can't see. You will have to change plans up a bit if you do decide on the 10, but there's plenty of beautiful fish that would work in a 10 as well.

 

Thanks so much! Ill discuss it with my dad and see what his opinion is. Either way I'm still getting a tank! I'm so hype right now lol!!!!

 

Yay!! I'm so happy for you!! I can't wait to see the new tank once it's all setup! They're both really nice tanks, so even if you have to change stocking a bit, I think either one will turn out really nice!

 

Any ideas on stocking for the 10? I just think the 20 will look a little weird in my room now that I think about it. A single clown?

Also wondering would I need a powerhead on the 10?
Really appreciate your help, thanks

 

Is the 10 also AIO? Either way, I'd probably still get a powerhead, the hydor 240 would be plenty, I'd do something in the 200-300 gph range, you should be okay with one if you position it well, I think adding multiple powerheads would start to crowd the tank. For stocking, I wouldn't have any clowns, most gobies will do fine in 10 gallons, maybe a firefish. For a cleanup crew, I'd stick to snails, a skunk cleaner shrimp may be okay, but I think a 2 inch shrimp is maybe not the best idea in a 10 gallon tank.

 

Yeah the 10 is also AIO. My dad came back and we had a chat and seems like ill be going with the 20!! I think its not worth it and I also don't want to ruin my plans. Can't wait this is going to be awesome!!!
Thanks for your help and sorry for you having to deal with my annoying mindset I just wish I could decide on something for once lol

 

Haha, that's fine. Picking a tank that you're going to invest a lot into is a big decision, so it's good to weigh all the pros and cons to every option. Awesome! Do you know when the tank should arrive?

 

I have absolutely no idea but I guess somewhere around 2 weeks as its from Germany hopefully sooner

 

Yeah the 10 is also AIO. My dad came back and we had a chat and seems like ill be going with the 20!! I think its not worth it and I also don't want to ruin my plans. Can't wait this is going to be awesome!!!
Thanks for your help and sorry for you having to deal with my annoying mindset I just wish I could decide on something for once lol

I'd go with the 20. Lots more stocking options and more coral room!

Foodwise, I'd skip the pellets. Use the money on frozen food, namely mysis shrimp and gutloaded brine shrimp. The prices may be expensive, I got a pack of frozen mysis for $7, its the main food I feed, and I'm only just now used 1 and a half cubes in 2 months.

 

Quick question: what are the equipment that need to be turned off at night and equipment that needs to stay on. I know that lights switch off obviously and heater stays on but not sure about the return pump and wavemaker.
Thanks a lot

Ill have to see for the frozen food I may start off with pellets for about a month once everything stabilises and then slowly introduce the fish to mysis shrimp etc..
Thanks for the help much appreciated I couldn't have come to a conclusion without you guys!!!!

 

Ah ok, you should start a build thread soon, it's fun to go back and see all your progress. Also Culprit is right, you should get frozen foods as well, forgot to mention that. The only things I turn off on my tanks at night are the lights… off topic, but when you asked about turning lights off made me think of this. Last night I turned all my tank lights off, walked out of my room for a second, came back in, and the light on my 5 gallon was back on, I'm almost positive I turned it off… that was weird haha.

 

Ill have to see for the frozen food I may start off with pellets for about a month once everything stabilises and then slowly introduce the fish to mysis shrimp etc..
Thanks for the help much appreciated I couldn't have come to a conclusion without you guys!!!!

The thing is, prepared food e.g. pellets often has a lot of junk in it. Even the good ones. Which means unless your system is ready for it, you'll be overloaded with phosphates and nitrates. Fish love frozen food so much more, its healthier for them, and healthier for your system.

 

Thanks for the help I'm due to visit the lfs in a week so ill see if they have it in stock pretty sure they do.

Ah ok, you should start a build thread soon, it's fun to go back and see all your progress. Also Culprit is right, you should get frozen foods as well, forgot to mention that. The only things I turn off on my tanks at night are the lights… off topic, but when you asked about turning lights off made me think of this. Last night I turned all my tank lights off, walked out of my room for a second, came back in, and the light on my 5 gallon was back on, I'm almost positive I turned it off… that was weird haha.

So everything else stays on right? Ill hopefully post a build thread once the tank arrives!
Thanks a lot

 

^ definitely, pellets for me are a convenience thing. Like when traveling for example, I'm not gonna make someone thaw out stuff that might be considered gross to some unless its totally necessary. It's good to have them around for that, or on days when you just have the time to throw a few pellets in and that's all.

So everything else stays on right? Ill hopefully post a build thread once the tank arrives!
Thanks a lot

Yup, everything else will stay on usually, unless your tank is haunted like mine and a ghost turns stuff on and off haha.

 

Haha! Thanks for the help ill probably purchase some NLS 0.5mm pellets just in case on holidays.
Thanks

 

The pellets should also last a few years as well if you rarely feed them, usually my fish food expires before I'm able to use it all. Have you decided on where you're gonna get rock from yet? Now you get to do all the fun stuff and start figuring out a tank scape.

 

Not too sure about the rock that's why I was going to go to the lfs next week to get an idea. I was thinking around 12-15lbs of dry rock and then 5 or so pounds live rock to cycle the tank although I'm not too sure. Ive got everything ready in a list so should be easier and more fun than what ive been doing this past month lol!
Thanks

 

The live rock should seed the dry rock, but if you do mostly dry, you'll probably have to cycle with ammonia (or whatever method works best for you). Yeah picking out all the supplies and setting up was my favorite part, I like the outcome of rock scaping, but the actual process can be a challenge sometimes.

 

would this work - Fritz FritzZyme 9 Saltwater Nitrifying Bacteria 8 oz.
If that's the case I may go completely with dry to avoid any hitchhikers - they just make me feel uncomfortable lol

Here is my new updated list:
20 Gallon saltwater tank contents:

· IM20 fusion

· Marine salt - Iquatics

· 20 lbs Caribsea live sand

· 20 lbs rock – mix of dry and live

· sw2 powerhead

· 100W heater – eheim jager

· Finerfilters 4 stage RO/DI system

· refractometer

· 2 ocellaris clownfish

· 1 yellow clown goby

· 2 banded trochus

· Cleaner shrimp

· 2, 5 gallon buckets (dirty water, salt mixing/ acclimating or emergencies.)

· Python vacuum

· Tank thermometer - digital

· AI prime HD – most probably (start saving up lol)

· API test kit

· Seachem stability – just in case

· 6 jugs for rodI water storage – top off and water change

· Chemipure blue

· Fish net
I don't want to mix my Freshwater and Saltwater equipment so that's why there's a lot of basic equipment on there lol.

 

Sounds pretty good so far, as for the bacteria, I don't really know, my tank is all live rock (except for like 9 pounds of dry) and I have so many freshwater tanks now that I seed filters with media from other tanks and add an ammonia source for cycing, so I'm not too familiar with bottled bacteria and which brands work/if it does cycle tanks, all I know is tss+ is what's recommended for fresh. I have this bottled bacteria stuff called startsmart I think, but I haven't used it. I did google it and it had pretty good reviews from what I remember, but I can't confirm if it's good or not. Also, if you're not interested in hitchhikers, I wouldnt get live sand, I don't know how common it is, but I've heard of people having hitchhikers in their live sand. For the test kits, I wouldnt get API, I used their kit for a year with my saltwater tank, and am so happy to have a Red Sea kit now, easier to use, much better quality, and much more accurate. Red Sea and salifert are usually pretty good brands. Oh and if it's possible, you may want an extra powerhead and heater for mixing saltwater, you can always take the heater and a powerhead out of the tank, but I find it to be easier to just have extras.

 

I have an extra heater almost brand new and I think I may use the powerhead from the tank just to stay on the good side of my parents so they don't think I'm wasting money even though its time efficient lol. I will look into a red sea test kit and also for the live sand its CaribSea so many people use it so I'm not sure if there will be hitchhikers. I don't really want to use any other brands so I guess ill just have to pray there are no hitchikers or that's the end of my salty side lol.
Thanks for the help though I really appreciate it

 

I use a piece from a filter to mix my saltwater, I just pulled the bottom (with the impeller) off of a weird internal filter, boom! Homemade powerhead thingy! Maybe not the safest invention, I wouldn't want to put my hand anywhere near it, but it works until my live rock is done curing and I can use my spare pumps again. Red Sea and salifert will usually be a little pricier than API, but it's worth it, and it's usually not much more expensive. I don't think hitchhikers are very common with live sand, but it's good to watch out for. Usually people say not to rinse live sand, but if you're worried about hitchhikers and still want to use that sand, you could rinse it really good, but I don't think there should be anything weird in the sand.

 

Oh yeah! That's a great idea. I'm sure I have a power filter lying around somewhere that I could use. Hopefully there isn't anything weird in the sand lol. The test kit is very important so ill go with a red sea one.
Thanks for all the help!

 

I used the bottom piece of a tetra internal filter, works great, I just toss it in the bucket and it makes sure all the salt gets mixed up. Red Sea makes a test kit, I like it, it includes ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph, and kh, you'll also need calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, salifert or Red Sea are good for those as well.

 

Nice! Thanks for the info
Thanks a lot much appreciated!

 

No problem, glad I could help! Keep us updated on the new tank, can't wait to see it!

 

Thanks me too!!!

 

You won't get bad hitchikers in live sand, only good bb and mabye sponges or feather dusters or something

 

I was thinking something like eggs (heard of that before) or maybe bristle worms (highly doubting it though, but also not necessarily bad) I've heard of people getting weird things from live sand, but caribsea bagged stuff shouldn't have anything too weird because there's no air in a sealed bag. Definitely wouldn't worry about aiptasia or mantis shrimp or anything along those lines.

 

Ok thanks for all the help guys. Really appreciate it!

 

Guys just got an email - the tank is arriving on Friday!!!!! I'll start a build thread once it arrives otherwise this thread will be like 50 pages long lol!

 

Don't forget to update this thread with the build thread link and tag us! This is going to be awesome!

 

Awesome! Excited for you