24 Nano Tank Progress = more questions

Tank was born 7/20/12 ... Added 7lbs of live rock and 20lbs of live sand. Used 5 gallons of water from the LFS and made the rest at home. Checked the levels no spike the first day, second day the ammonia level was a little higher, same Sunday. Checked my Tank after work and stuff's happening. I have some color on the top and side of the rocks ... some purple and red. I've also got a brown algae like substance on the live rock that's in the tank ... I'll include some pics ... Does this mean my cycle is nearing the end? Also I have 30lbs of rock from Reef Cleaners. Can I add the rock with out messing up my cycle? Also is it time for my CUC?

Thanks Guys!

 

Put the rock in now. And just let it cycle out. Wait about a week or so then add your cuc. Looks good. The Brown Is diatoms and will go away with time.

 

I won't have the rock until wednesday. Sorry was soo excited something started happening that I didn't say that in my inital post. so after the clean up crew should I go with a fish or coral first??

 

Unfortunately you have a ways to go until cycled initially.

You will also need to add a source of decay to assist and promote the beneficial bacteria.

Try ghost feeding the tank with a pinch of fish food, I am pretty sure initially you will see another ammonia spike until you have a large enough bacterial filter to handle it.

 

Hows the nano?

 

Doing good. I got the rock from Reef Cleaners in the tank, It's still cycling ... ammonia spiked (after ghost feeding) and is slowly coming down, as are the nitrite levels. I've got a brown algae bloom right now. Ph is right around 8. If all goes well I'm gonna order my CUC next week. Here's a pic of the new rockwork ...

 

The brown algae is probably just diatoms and they will dissappear when the silicates are exhausted.

 

Thanks Vinny ... All the reading I've done says that's an indicator of the beginning of the end of my cycle. My readings last night were Ammonia is at .25 Nitrite at .50 Nitrates 0 Salinity is 1.024-1.025 (still using a hydrometer til my refractometer gets here).


As far as a stocking list I'm thinking
- a Pair of OC. clowns
- A yellow watchman gobi (I really want a mandarin but realize my cube isn't a good home for him)
- either a firefish (My lid fits nice and tight, I hear there the kamikaze of the reef tank) or damsel (I really like the Jewel Damsel)? ... The latter aren't etched in stone, I'm open to suggesions)

I found a semi local guy 30-40 min drive that seems to know his ****. He's got a tank bred pair of Oc. Clowns. They look real healthy and eat well. He said he will hold them for me until my tank is ready. He also has singles ... Should I get a single then add another later (to avoid a ammonia spike) or should I get the pair off the bat? The other reason I'm thinking of just one is I really want a black and white Oc. clown. Can I get a single regular colored and add the B&W later? I hear clowns can be aggressive sometimes ... Is it better to add the pair or 1 at a time?

As far as corals I'm gonna stick to softies, Star Ployp, Shrooms and zoa's MAYBE a toadstool or Hammer ... I'm gonna stay away from xenia, everyone says it grows like a weed.

What is the best order for me to introduce my fish/corals? I'm probably 2-3 weeks away from fish.

 

I would definitely add the clowns together.There is much less chance of them fighting.(if they are already together this will be even better)I would add the Watchmen first as they are docile and will give your cycle a chance to mature a little before the clowns are added.The key to adding two fish at once to a newly cycled tank is to feed very sparingly for the first week or so.A small ammount of food daily or every other day is fine for most fish.I would add the Watchman wait a week or two then add the clowns this will allow a larger population of bacteria to begin to develop.I probably would not add a Damsel to such a small tank as they can become holy terrors.There are lots of great nano fish and the key is to pick fish that are not aggresive and do not overload the tank.I would say after the clowns and WG are added you could put one other small fish in.A Neon Goby is a good choice or a Chalk bass or possum wrasse.They remain small and are great additions.Heres a good link for you that has some basic info and tank size requirements that are fairly accurate.I would wait until you have your fish in the tank at least a month before adding corals.Also a very small CUC can be added after the cycle just be aware if you don't have much algae or diatoms for them to eat they will starve so a few snails or hermits is all that will be needed at first.You can always introduce more if you have an algae problem develop and then you can choose the right cleaners for the algae present. Good luck!!

Nano Fish