In a word ...devistated

Yes I have about 14lbs. of live rock, which I will soon be adding some more(don't worry I will be putting the rock in a bucket for the curing and die off process) due to my boring aquascape. I got rid of my black damsel since it was bullying my yellow tail damsel. So now I have a yellowtail damsel and a coral beauty. BIowheel and the cartrige filters that have carbon and the blue mesh. Btw,...when i first set up my tank i bought live sand that stated it would cycle in a day which is the reason why I have only seen activity in my nitrates when I've tested, but now with the bioload its been changing a bit. Before I added anything I let a month go by and then added a couple snails and hermits which are still going strong after and additional 3 weeks. Just a few days ago is when i introduced my first fish so i belive my tank is more that sufficiently stable.

 

First off thanx for the links. I'm going to think about a larger tank, but if i decide against it, serious thought will go towards upgrading my lighting.

I purchased live sand that advertised cycling would take a day that's why I think I have only seen fluctuations in my nitrate after all this time. Its not possible for nitrate to be the first one to jump up right, not without the first two having leveled themselves out. I already have a damsel and a coral beauty. Aside from fish I have 2 turbo snails, 3 bumblebee snails, 2 hermits, one arrow crab and a serpent star fish. Again thanx for your help.

 

I already have a a couple fish in there if there was even the slightest amount of ammonia in there the fishes and behavior and breathing would be a tell tale sign that they were in trouble right? I even test the water the fish came in from the lfs and my level matched theirs so its prob my test kit everything else seems right. Another question, is it true that nitrate levels around 60 ppm are ok for fish? One of the supervisors at my lfs says he wouldn't worry about my reading between 20-40ppm...anything over 80 then its time to worry. Do you agree?

 

One other question I have for all you guys is how do I I know if a fish tank is good for or rated to be a reef tank in the future? A friend of mine is getting rid of her tank that by looking at it might be between 60-80 gal. I'm seriously thinking about buying it from her but don't want to shed the cash only to find out it wasn't made for reef's.

 

Unless you are buying a "kit" (which I highly recommend against) anything can be used for a reef. A tank is simply a tank. It holds water. What you put in and above it makes it a reef tank Heck, you could use a rubbermade bin and turn it into a reef tank Just make sure that copper was never used if you are looking into used tanks.

 

Personally, I think 60 is pretty high. Are you using Ro/Di water? I would work at lowering that number by water changes and watching how much you feed and making sure you clean your filters.

As for the sand, it may have contained bacteria, but as you add fish and livestock you need to give the tank time to catch up. If your rock was colonized, it would still take a week or two for the bacteria to fully colonize the rock. I think the point is, is that if you are showing ammonia, and it's not your test kit, then you either haven't cycled fully, or you don't have enough room for the bacteria to colonize and grow in relation to your bioload.

 

Are there any ways to find out if there was. What if i were to test the water for copper, if there still is some in the tank, would that be accurate enough?

What would be some of the equipment to look into for a tank of that size during the set up phase? meaning if the tank would only have water, ls, and lr?

 

Rynoskim, not to discourage you from the hobby or anything but I would highly suggest more research before adding or buying anything else. Everyone one here is always happy to help with suggestions and help. Buy a good book or 2, and read them.

It's one things to jump into building a bike or computer with no previous experience or knowledge, it's quite another to do so with live animals.

Case in point: a 12g tank is far too small for a coral beauty. Although it's a dwarf angel it still needs plenty of room to swim and graze. If you got a juvi under 2.5" it might be OK for a little while, but they get to be about 4.5-5" long and will quickly waste away in such a small tank. If you plan to upgrade to a larger tank soon, like in 3-6 months it will probably be alight. They really need an absolute minimum of 30g and 55+ is much better.

Bumblebee snails and arrow crabs are predatory and will eat things generally considered to be beneficial to reef aquariums. If the tank is well fed and you see them eating detritus you're probably ok for a while...just don't plan on adding anything they will compete with for food. Also, arrow crabs can get quite large and will deff. out grow a 12g tank.

So get a book or two and at the very least check with us here to make sure whatever you're planning will work well. Most of us aren't experts, heck I'm new to all of this, but it's just common sense to get a few opinions and suggestions when they're available for free.

Good luck, and hope your upgraded bigger tank plans work out!

-Doug

 

Here yah go, here are some perfect nano corals.

Saltwater Aquarium Corals for Marine Reef Aquariums: Nano Corals

 

Well said. +1