Stocking a 10g

Brewski262

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I've been reefing for about 4 years now. I will be building a 10g very shortly. What does everyone think of the cycle plan and stocking plan?

I want to try out fritz turbo 900 but I'm worried about my fish plan. I would like to have 2 clowns and possibly a hifin goby/shrimp pair.

First question: is 3 fish too much for a 10g aio nano running filter floss, chemipure, marine pure, weekly water changes and possibly a skimmer later down the road? Rock and live sand

2nd question: with using fritz it says to add fish right away so the fish can feed the ammonia to the bacteria.. is adding both clowns right away a bad idea? I could add the goby shrimp pair for less immediate bio load but I'm afraid that the goby wont be "hardy enough" to make the cycle..

Let me know what you think?! Thanks!
 

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Regarding Q #1: Personally, I think 3 fish is too many in a 10g and you're going to have a very close eye on the tank params

Q2: Sorry, i don't have any experience regarding fritz, hopefully someone else can help!
 
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Brewski262

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Regarding Q #1: Personally, I think 3 fish is too many in a 10g and you're going to have a very close eye on the tank params

Q2: Sorry, i don't have any experience regarding fritz, hopefully someone else can help!
Thanks! I've read multiple other threads and have seen and heard of 3 in a 10g but it seems if the majority of people recommend no more than 2.. seems as if people air on the side of being responsible and not over stocking. Was just curious to see other opinions.
 

blasterman

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Those species of fish aren't very competitive and aren't large so that part is ok. I've kept a lot more damsels in 10 gallons.

What you will have a problem with is nutrients and have a lot of nitrate. Skimmer will help a good deal....but....I will take a fuge mounted on the back running cheato than all the other filters and media you listed combined.
 
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Brewski262

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Those species of fish aren't very competitive and aren't large so that part is ok. I've kept a lot more damsels in 10 gallons.

What you will have a problem with is nutrients and have a lot of nitrate. Skimmer will help a good deal....but....I will take a fuge mounted on the back running cheato than all the other filters and media you listed combined.
Thanks for the info! I was debating on doing that as well in place of the skimmer.. I did that in a 30 aio in chamber 2 and I could do the same in the 10 aio. I already have a chateo grow light.

I've also read that running the cheato grow light on opposite cycles as the display light will help balance ph.. not sure if there's truth to that?

Do you see any problems with using the turbo start 900 and introducing a pair of clowns right away?
 

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Can you keep that stocking list and keep ammonia/nitrite at bay? Sure. The real question is are you planning on keeping any corals/anemones which might be more nitrate/phosphate sensitive? The other question is how much work and equipment are you willing to put into this? And even if you are able to keep decent nutrient levels with all of this, there is always the notion of having enough "cushioning" for the event that something goes wrong (like a multi-day power outage like we have here in Florida during a hurricane). A lightly stocked tank will fare much better and be less stressful (for both you and the occupants) then pushing it to the limit. But I suspect you know all of this since you have been in the hobby for awhile. Now, to completely bust everything I just stated, take a look at my build thread's stocking list (the build badge under my clown image).
 

TriggersAmuck

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Regards adding fish right away, I would say rather use ammonia solution to "feed" the Fritzyme from the start and not livestock. (Don't just add the solution per a recipe, but rather test to make sure the concentration stays below 5ppm, preferably around 2-3ppm). No sense stressing your fish, even though most clowns are capable of surviving elevated ammnia levels for a spell.
 

TriggersAmuck

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Also, you didn't mention if you are going with sterile dry rock or with wet live rock. My experience last year with the dry rock is that I had to be much more patient. I used dry rock way back in the mid 90's (in South Africa) and I seem to remember the cycle being shorter, but that was old school using a clownfish instead of ammonia or table shrimp.
 
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Brewski262

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Can you keep that stocking list and keep ammonia/nitrite at bay? Sure. The real question is are you planning on keeping any corals/anemones which might be more nitrate/phosphate sensitive? The other question is how much work and equipment are you willing to put into this? And even if you are able to keep decent nutrient levels with all of this, there is always the notion of having enough "cushioning" for the event that something goes wrong (like a multi-day power outage like we have here in Florida during a hurricane). A lightly stocked tank will fare much better and be less stressful (for both you and the occupants) then pushing it to the limit. But I suspect you know all of this since you have been in the hobby for awhile. Now, to completely bust everything I just stated, take a look at my build thread's stocking list (the build badge under my clown image).
Thanks for the advice! A 50 tall and a 30 in the past deff left alot more of a cushion. I think I'll stick to a pair of clowns.
 
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Brewski262

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Also, you didn't mention if you are going with sterile dry rock or with wet live rock. My experience last year with the dry rock is that I had to be much more patient. I used dry rock way back in the mid 90's (in South Africa) and I seem to remember the cycle being shorter, but that was old school using a clownfish instead of ammonia or table shrimp.
Always have to test!! And I didnt even think about using turbo with a table shrimp. That's a good idea. Forsure going to do that then add the pair.. I plan on using either "real reef rock" or something similar that's synthetic. Real reef comes wet if shipped properly and depending on how long to aqua scape it's possible I'll get some beneficial bacteria from that. I've done all dry in the past.
 

TriggersAmuck

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Always have to test!! And I didnt even think about using turbo with a table shrimp. That's a good idea. Forsure going to do that then add the pair.. I plan on using either "real reef rock" or something similar that's synthetic. Real reef comes wet if shipped properly and depending on how long to aqua scape it's possible I'll get some beneficial bacteria from that. I've done all dry in the past.

Sounds good, the wet rock should cut down the cycle time. If you have never used liquid ammonia to cycle a tank, I can recommend that, as you can control it much more than how much a piece of table shrimp produces. Of course then you have to think through what your process is going to be, whereas the table shrimp is pretty much fire and forget.
 
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Brewski262

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Sounds good, the wet rock should cut down the cycle time. If you have never used liquid ammonia to cycle a tank, I can recommend that, as you can control it much more than how much a piece of table shrimp produces. Of course then you have to think through what your process is going to be, whereas the table shrimp is pretty much fire and forget.
Thanks for the advice!
 
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