Is my tank ready for fish?

[KrisReef]

I found the perfect pair of clownfish at a FS and put them in my established reef tank. They were beautiful. I had them for probably 9 months and they were growing up nicely but sadly the female liked to eat coral. I netted them out of my tank and gave them to a lfs store where I knew they would be purchased quickly.

Two days later they were dead as the store had experienced water quality issues. I am still displeased with myself for putting those fish into tanks that were not up to par and finding out that those beautiful fish are gone.

Don't be like me and regret what you might have done different with a pair of clowns.

 

[Dominic M]

As a suggestion, consider putting more rock in your tank. A lot of the bacteria that does good things for our tanks requires a lot of surface area to thrive. The porous rock provides this (porous rock has many times more surface area than a smooth rock). You don't need a large rock wall, but more is better than less.

Regarding the rock in the middle, is it from another reef tank? If it was and it was kept wet when transferred, then that will give you a head-start on the bacteria that will make your tank more successful, long-term (but still add the bacteria-in-a-bottle). Diversity of bacteria is always a plus for a reef tank.

When I use bacteria-in-a-bottle to start my QT tank (Dr Tim's One and Only for Saltwater), I don't add any pure ammonia, unless I'm going to perform a full, fishless cycle. When I want to add fish right away, I fill QT tank with fresh salt water, put the bacteria in, add air-stone for O2 saturation and water movement, and a heater. After temp is up to 78 and I've drip-acclimated fish for 30-45 minutes, I put the fish in the tank. I keep an ammonia badge in tank. If badge reads high, then I do a water-change to lower ammonia levels. If you add small clowns, their poop is very unlikely to overwhelm the bacteria from the bottle (feed lightly: what fish eat right away).

Ill take note to adding more rock some time, the middle rock is not from another tank and all of the rock is very porous. I was looking at dr tims one and only and fritz turbo start 900, I was planning not to feed day 1 and feed lightly after that. Do you recommend cycling with fish?

 

[Dominic M]

Do not add fish. You need to cycle your reef even with the “instant bacteria.” Put the bacteria in and then wait and test in a few days or even a week. I used bacteria too and I took 2 months to cycle to be sure. Had a mini second cycle after 3 weeks. This hobby is about patience. You will always find someone who cares more about instant gratification than taking care of animals and their husbandry. The overwhelming majority of reefers would tell you the same. Good luck, be patient, put the animals welfare first, and have fun!

Thanks for your advice

 

[UkiahTheTurtle]

Fritz released a new product that is basically bottled ammonia and should use that to cycle your tank instead of using fish when I first got my tank I was advised against cycling with fish because it is very stressful for them

 

[Dominic M]

Fritz released a new product that is basically bottled ammonia and should use that to cycle your tank instead of using fish when I first got my tank I was advised against cycling with fish because it is very stressful for them

Yeah I've heard about bottled ammonia.

 

[schuby]

Ill take note to adding more rock some time, the middle rock is not from another tank and all of the rock is very porous. I was looking at dr tims one and only and fritz turbo start 900, I was planning not to feed day 1 and feed lightly after that. Do you recommend cycling with fish?

I cycled my 150-gal DT fishless, following Dr Tim's instructions: raise ammonia to 2ppm, then add sufficient One and Only, and wait (eventually ammonia goes to zero, then nitrite, and your left with nitrate). I've setup my QT tank at least five times as I previously described. No fish was ever lost in the first day or two (high ammonia kills fast) in my QT tank. My first fish were in my QT tank several weeks (checking for diseases) while my DT was cycling. I was in no hurry to put fish in my new DT. A QT tank is extra effort and expense, but one sick fish can wipe out your entire tank (such as from velvet). I also don't want to put medications into my DT.

 

[mindme]

Since you are putting bacteria in with the fish, you should be good to go.

 

[Kinjirra]

Did Dr. Tims with 2 clowns on the first day once water was settled and everything up to temp. Just follow their instructions. I tested for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate for 7 days straight to monitor. I also did not feed first day and lightly feed for the break in period. Everyone is happy and healthy and im on wk 3 and slowly adding new friends about once a wk or two.

 

[Lasse]

As I answered you in another thread - read through this article - it describe a safe way to cycle with one fish. I have done this method for all of my started tanks with no problems with either ammonia toxicity, cyanobacteria problem, algae problem or whatever. You do not need to complicate things. But the steps is connected to each other and a part of a holistic way to handle a scratch start of a saltwater aquarium. The photo you see in the article is from my present tank - started this way

With cycling with a fish - it is your feeding regime that decide if it goes well or not. Use a well feef fish and be very, very sparsely with how much you add. Fish does not need to eat at special times - they are programmed to eat if there is food and using their reserves in between.

However it is important that you choose one method and follow that - and not bounce around like a tennis ball between different methods.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Brandon3152134]

Hello, this will be my first saltwater tank so I'm a little worried about doing every thing right so I need some help deciding if I've done everything right with my tank and can I put a pair of clowns in there today. So here are some pictures of my tank...

I'm currently making a acrylic tank lid and will put the light over that and will add a surge protector/power strip btw.

Here's a list of all of my tank equipment...

Aqueon 29 gallon tank
Ehiem jager 125watt heater
Inkbird aquarium heater controller
Nicrew Classic LED 18-24in 11watt light
Marineland Penguin 150 (using 1 filter cartridge)
Acrylic tank lid
Surge protector/power strip
API Saltwater master test kit (Nitrate, Nitrite, Ph, Ammonia)
API Kh test kit
Caribsea live sand 20lb
12lb of dry reef rock
RODI system
Salinity refractometer
TDS meter

I'm also planning on doing a tank cycle with fish and will be adding a bottle of bacteria when I put the fish in and there is also caribsea live sand that already has some in there too.

Here are my current water parameters...

Before salt is added water is 0tds
Temp is set to 77f (thermometer is set to other end of tank by filter is this good?)
Salinity is 1.025
Ph is 8.0
Kh is 8
Ammonia is 0
Nitrate is 0
Nitrite is 0

Any responses are appreciated thanks : )

I would go to your local lfs and get a small piece of live rock with your fish. along with what your already doing and your most likely good to go, as clowns are very hardy and they arent alot of bioload for a 29 gallon.