My First tank - Did the LFS mislead me?

I was speaking of a Koralia Nano 250 circ pump. May be a bit much, but I have one in my 8g nano.

Do some water changes, %10 twice a week until the levels drop to safe parameters. I would also just use some small marine grade sinking pellets to feed your shrimp and crabs etc. As far as a fish goes, you could have a small clown goby or two in there IMO as long as you give them some cool fake acropora corals to nest in, or hell, I will mail you some dead ones etc. I have seen a LFS run one of these tanks sucessfully with a pair of tiny clowns. Not the best idea, but I have seen it work. On the other hand, you would be SO much better just getting a Biocube if you like the all in one sleek look.

 

I'm thinking that the way this will all end up playing out is me getting a couple corals changing the lighting and making a nano reef, I have loads of fun watching my crabs and shrimp and snails, I don't necessarily need a couple fish. I have been doing a 10% every week, and will do one tomorrow AM and test my water a few hours after keep an eye out for the new stats. As far as shrimp and crabs are concerned, i wont have to worry to much about space will i?

Also you mentioned that you are doing all this from your phone? If so, and you have an iphone i would highly recommend getting an app called Tapatalk, it lets you look at many different forums (this one included) but you can sign in and it will save your info, from there you can look at new threads easily find the threads you've posted in and also easily upload pix, it cost a couple bucks but i found it most useful.

 

Also i ment to ask earlier, if i were to get a new tank (I'm looking at the Fluval Osaka) Would i be able to easily turn this tank into a sump? would you recommend that? Or sell it and try to get some cash back and attempt to build a nicer sump?

 

your shocking your tank with a huge bioload every time you dump that many fish in i wouldnt really add 4 at a time to my 120 let alone 6 the smaller the harder too dude

 

Todays Readings 12/14
Ph - 8
Ammonia - .25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20

 

It's good that the ammonia is going down, but that may be just due to the water changes, You shouldn't have to rely on water changes to keep your parameters in check. I think your idea of just having the shrimp, crabs and coral is a great idea. It will save you lots of hassle. I always recommend a sump, but by the sounds of it, you aren't ready financially. It doesn't have to be expensive, but to do it right will cost about $100. You'll need plumbing supplies, a pump, some sort of tank or container and an overflow of some sort. Also, on tanks that small, the overflow will take up a lot of space. I think if you do regular water changes, you'll be fine.

 

Thanks Guitar, I'm liking the sound of that. One question I have is that if my
Ammonia is at .25 and Nitrite is at 0 and my Nitrate is at 20. Then... This would mean I need more bacteria to breakdown my ammonia and nitrate, but if my ammonia is still high then How are my nitrites at 0, and if my nitrites are at 0 then why are nitrates at 20. Would this mean I need to do more water changes (or maybe start doing 20% instead of 10%) from what iv read only water changes and live plants remove nitrates (do living corals count as live plants? And if so do corals remove nitrates?) just a few more questions I have had, fining got some time to read a couple of those amazing articles posted (I especially enjoyed the one on sumps). Which speaking of I had a question on fudges, fudges are meant to house pods, what are pods and what is a cheato?

 

cheato is macro algae it help reducing nitrates but i dont think it will reduce it by too much well unless you have a refugium with a full bed of it. it will help you control unwanted algae bloom also. the good thing about cheato is that you can place it inside the DT and not risk that it takes over your tank and start growing on your rocks like other macro.
the only way to know what is happening with you bio filter is to test the water frequently and write it down. and it is better to test b4 and after waterchange. the only option for you right now to reduce nitrates is waterchange. amonia should be removed by the bacteria buildup. be patient. and be very very very careful while feeding with that small of a tank 1 more flake in the water would cause problems. and good luck

 

Thanks mazaj