cycle is done!!!! advice needed

hello
you should have seen my posts around the last 4.5 weeks, asking the various cycling Questions, whats these brown spots, whats this worm,blah,blah. well by no means am i done asking questions so , i thank you for your help, but its time to move on.
so i guess its time to start adding some thing alive. (scarey)
im going to give you my list of fish, they will be priority. FOWLR and a lil bit "o" coral. please tell me what you all would add first, second,..
is this too many fish? 44 gal.
FISH LIST
A.ocellaris(common clown)
C.loriculus(dwarf flame angel)
small gobie or blenny( give you suggestions)
mandarin after its well established( i do know how hard its is to keep)

should i add hermits and snails first? what eats diatoms?
what are some of the easier corals to keep? that dont require an extreme amount of light.
I know its alot to chew on, so answer one or them all, anything will be helpful
thanks again

 

I've heard that a small water change is due after the cycling is done, but ask around or send some of the experts a PM for more detailed advice....As for Diatoms, snails will eat those, but make sure you don't add too many yet, 'cause might starve if there isn't enough for them to eat.... You should ask Geek about the corals, I know he keeps nice ones under T5 lighting....before you add anything, do a copper test. Remember that corals need calcium, etc...check for calcium levels, etc.

One important thing...get the snails first, then slowly add one fish at a time....don't go and buy the whole bunch at once

 

You should find that the diatoms will dissapear once their food source is depleted. A clean up crew can be added once your levels have settled (e.g. ammonia, nitrite and nitrate). The water change is a bit of a mix bag really, personally I would do one and probably around 50% or so.

I didn't read your previous post so how did you cycle your tank, did you use some chemical treatment or the good old shrimp in a bag?

The first fish I put in my tank was 2 clownfish and pleased to say they are still with me today

As for corals, the easiest would be getting some softies like mushrooms, leathers, etc. They grow well and do not require such light intensity as LPS and SPS corals, the other nice thing is that sway ohhh so well in a current

As for the mandarin please do take into consideration the care requirements.

Good luck and I bet you cant wait to get some stuff in your tank.

 

Sweet the cycle is over.
I would start with a good clean up crew. in a 44G I would think 15 assorted snails, Hermit crabs if you want them maybe 7-10. most of the other inverts should be left until you have a more established tank.
Your diatoms will run there course and they will get wost before better, but hang in there it's part of the new tank. Not a lot eat it so you could hold off until they are all gone.
I would start when you add fish, with the Goby/Blenny then the Clowns and finally the Angel. A Mandarin will not survive in the 44 hell I have a 370G and I'm nervous about getting one. because they eat copods and rarely eat anything else they will eat all the pods in your tank then starve.
I'm not sure what light you currently have but I would let the fish get established and your tank parameters to get stable, before jumping into coral. Once you do your will love Zoantheds, Mushrooms, and other polyps as starters

 

Sorry, don't want to hijack this threat but I have a mandarin which is doing very well in my 125gal. How do you keep the copods growing?

 

125G should be fine. the size and amount of LR allows the pods to maintain a large enough population.
I should have explained myself when I said I was worried at 370G. I also have a leopard wrasse who eats pods and is more aggressive about it. So my concern would be that I have 2 fish competing for the same food source.
I also buy live pods for my LFS who gets them from Reef Nutrition

J

 

Thanks Jason, good info!!

 

wow that was damn fast! As for the mandarin i was not even going to consider it at first but this web site gave me hope check it out!Melevsreef.com - Melev's Mandarin Diner

what do hermits eat?

 

Rock rubble also work wonders as it gives the pods somewhere to live without getting eaten as they have a place to hide!

 

Marc is lucky he has Mandarin's that will eat pellet food. Most will not.

Rock rubble works great until the Mandarin shows up for dinner

J