arrrgh too much information!

[sheamurai]

hi all
new to the salty side of life, and I'm ahving an information overload meltdown!
Its the conflicts that are getting me.

I am currently in my 3rd day of cycling a 40gal tank.
I have a prism HOB protein skimmer (already a new one on order as I don't like this one)
2 korali powerheads, 46 lbs of live rock
temporarily running an HOB filter on it as well.

I have been researching my little heart out, and today I've been reading about stocking. Conflicts galore, so I opened an account here to ask some clarification questions.

#1 -cuc - how many cuc can I conservatively have? I have read everything from around 5 total, to 5 each f shrimp, hermits and snails.

I'm a long ways from stocking fish yet, but of course I'm perusing that as well. More conflicts. I would like an anemone and clownfish combo, but I've read on one spot that any anemone is too large for my size tank, and another had a 20gal tank with an anemone.
#2 -anemone/clowfish - can I have these in a 40gal tank?

I'm very interested in a goby/shrimp pairing as well. I've read tho, that they may not be compatible with other shrimp/fish.
#3 - is a shrimp/goby combo compatible with the above? perhaps only specific species to avoid or look for?

thanks for any advice...its great having the net as a resource, but there can be such a thing as too much!

OH! forgot to mention why this is in the reef section - I am hoping down the road to add some easy corals to the tank, whether or not the anemone thing works or not. So, I also want to make sure the above is compatible with corals too...

thanks!

[dsaundry]

I currently have a 27g bowfront with shrimp/goby pair, pair of Ocellaris Clownfish, a small anemone, and a Rusty angel, in operation for 2+years and doing great, one Toadstool and some Zoas and 25lbs of rock.

[Chin_Lee]

hi all
new to the salty side of life, and I'm ahving an information overload meltdown!
Its the conflicts that are getting me.
There will always been conflict in information because different people will have different experiences. Best advice is to absorb, learn and make informed decisions. Visiting other reefer's tanks are also very helpful in learning the in's and out's and the associated lingo with this wonderful hobby.

I am currently in my 3rd day of cycling a 40gal tank.
I have a prism HOB protein skimmer (already a new one on order as I don't like this one)
2 korali powerheads, 46 lbs of live rock
temporarily running an HOB filter on it as well.
you are on the right track. I would remove the HOB though. 46lbs of LR is plenty for filtration.


I have been researching my little heart out, and today I've been reading about stocking. Conflicts galore, so I opened an account here to ask some clarification questions.

Keep asking - best way to learn. The search feature also helps too.


#1 -cuc - how many cuc can I conservatively have? I have read everything from around 5 total, to 5 each f shrimp, hermits and snails.

I'm a long ways from stocking fish yet, but of course I'm perusing that as well. More conflicts. I would like an anemone and clownfish combo, but I've read on one spot that any anemone is too large for my size tank, and another had a 20gal tank with an anemone.

CUC are fun to have but I don't find then necessary at all. I do love watching the little hermits and shrimps but I find the snails never really live long and prosper. you can have as many hermits as you want and as many shrimps as you want. Nothing wrong with either. But I do find the hermits tend to gang up on snails and eat them. Cleaner shrimps are great because they come out in plainview. Many fire shrimps and most peppermints will hide all day. This is my experience and I can guarantee somebody will jump in and contradict my above experiences with CUC. But thats the fun of it all - the dynamic co-exisitence of all the livestock is not the same in everybody's tank. For example - my shrimps may hide more because there is a tang that liked to nip at it on day 1 just for fun and that shrimp felt the need to be defensive from that point on. For others, the shirmp didn't feel threatened, became very comfortable and safe in the tank and is more incline to come out an run around.


#2 -anemone/clowfish - can I have these in a 40gal tank?

I'm very interested in a goby/shrimp pairing as well. I've read tho, that they may not be compatible with other shrimp/fish.


yes you can but research on the different types of anenomes. Some need very high light demand, some will kill most of your fishes. Red bubble tip anenomes stay relatively small and are great as the main display species for a 20g tank.


#3 - is a shrimp/goby combo compatible with the above? perhaps only specific species to avoid or look for?

As for as compatibility is concerned, just be informed about any fish's compatability. Being categorized as "reef-safe" means nothing to me. For me I need to know if they are "hard coral-safe" "LPS coral-safe" "soft-coral safe" and "invert-safe". Many angels will not pick at hard corals but they will pick as LPS, softies and attack inverts. Some tangs (ie hippo tangs) will eat softies but are still considered "reef-safe". Based on what you keep in your tank will determine what compatibility it need to be. If you want shrimp/fish combo, make sure any fishes you add are "invert-safe" and not aggressive towards gobies.
HINT - add the more timid fishes first and allow them to establish in your tank before adding the faster/active fishes.

thanks!
no prob. good luck

[Ian]

welcome!
You should be able to keep a pair of clowns ,an anemone, and a goby/shrimp pair in an 40 gallon tank. As others have mentioned just do your research as to which species are best suited to each other and go very slow when adding each new member to your aquarium. Even once your cycle is complete adding more biological load to the system needs to be followed by an adjustment period before adding more load once again.
If you do this you should be fine

[sheamurai]

Great! thanks everyone for their responses. Its nice to ahve confirmation on things.
The filter is on more for extra flow than anything else. All I am running in it is floss to catch the big floaties.
Its amazing to find out that I can keep everything I want in my tank, with a bit of research into specific species. I'm so used to finding out that a certain critter is an absolute no-go compatibility or size-wise.

Do anemones/corals count towards the bioload of the tank like fish do? In a 40g I'm expecting to be able to keep 4-6 fish depending on size (excluding hermits/shrimp) - do corals detract from that?

[PoonTang]

Welcome to Canreef
Your on the right track by asking questions before you take the big plunge.
The only thing I would like to add is that in my opinion Hermits=Bad , Snails=Good. Also rather than trying to get an Anemone why not just get a Frogspawn coral. Much easyer to care for, Less lighting, feeding required etc. and the clowns absolutely love them.

[sheamurai]

if clowns absolutely love them, nothing at all except ignorance, lol.
thanks for the tip, I will look into them...

[Millepora_Maniac]

Welcome to our community!! I'd hate to already start contradicting what people are saying, but...I have to say that using a Skimmer is NEVER a bad Idea. I would keep using it, i't definately won't harm anything! Also, as for the frogspawn idea, A frogspawn is a coral, not an anemone. So if you get clownfish and get them to host in it, it won't benefit the coral at all! The constant thrashing of the clownfish into the host can really be hard on the flesh of the coral. My maroon clown will push so hard against his host that he squishes it flat! I would advise to use an anemone, they're just as easy to care for as a frogspawn or torch, and really, you should be target feeding both lps corals and anemones so there is no extra benefit to using a coral to hold a clownfish. I hope this helps steer you in the right direction :biggrin: Cheers-MM

[simplycoral]

Welcome to our community!! I'd hate to already start contradicting what people are saying, but...I have to say that using a Skimmer is NEVER a bad Idea. I would keep using it, i't definately won't harm anything! Also, as for the frogspawn idea, A frogspawn is a coral, not an anemone. So if you get clownfish and get them to host in it, it won't benefit the coral at all! The constant thrashing of the clownfish into the host can really be hard on the flesh of the coral. My maroon clown will push so hard against his host that he squishes it flat! I would advise to use an anemone, they're just as easy to care for as a frogspawn or torch, and really, you should be target feeding both lps corals and anemones so there is no extra benefit to using a coral to hold a clownfish. I hope this helps steer you in the right direction :biggrin: Cheers-MM


I think he mean't to remove the HOB Filter.. and that the Live rock would be enough filtration...

S.

[sheamurai]

ya, I figured...nobody ever suggested not using a skimmer here, lol.
Still researching the anemone vs frogspawn issue tho...seems like frogspawn are easier to find...there's someone parting out a 20gal tank right now and has frogspawn for sale...my tanks not ready!!! OY!
:)

[christyf5]

ya, I figured...nobody ever suggested not using a skimmer here, lol.
Still researching the anemone vs frogspawn issue tho...seems like frogspawn are easier to find...there's someone parting out a 20gal tank right now and has frogspawn for sale...my tanks not ready!!! OY!
:)


LOL don't worry about that. Theres always someone selling corals on here. One will come along when you're ready.

One thing about the CUC, start slow and only get a few critters to start with. When I speak of a CUC I think of snails and hermits. Most of the others are there for show only and don't really do as much as snails and hermits do (in my opinion anyways). If you start out with a couple of snails and a couple of hermits, chances are, when they've done all their dirty work of cleaning up algae and such (which will be there once the tank gets going) you want to make sure that you have enough to sustain them. Lots of people start out with a large group of snails and hermits, only to find that they die off after awhile due to starvation.

I'm also of the mind that hermits are a pain in the butt. All they ever did for me was eat my snails. Currenly I only have snails in my tank and they get the job done just fine :biggrin:

Also with your HOB filter that you're running floss in, be sure to keep on top of that and change out the floss often (ie weekly or so). Filter sponge and floss can often harbour nitrate producing bacteria which can skew your parameters and make it difficult to keep some corals.

[muck]

Welcome to Canreef!! :cool:

[Ian]

You can also watch at the LFS for clowns that are allready hosting on an alternative to an anemone and then buy the whole group at one time. I did this with my cinamon clowns and a toadstool and they are all still happy in my biocube.

[PoonTang]

Welcome to our community!! I'd hate to already start contradicting what people are saying, but...I have to say that using a Skimmer is NEVER a bad Idea. I would keep using it, i't definately won't harm anything! Also, as for the frogspawn idea, A frogspawn is a coral, not an anemone. So if you get clownfish and get them to host in it, it won't benefit the coral at all! The constant thrashing of the clownfish into the host can really be hard on the flesh of the coral. My maroon clown will push so hard against his host that he squishes it flat! I would advise to use an anemone, they're just as easy to care for as a frogspawn or torch, and really, you should be target feeding both lps corals and anemones so there is no extra benefit to using a coral to hold a clownfish. I hope this helps steer you in the right direction :biggrin: Cheers-MM
True enough for the larger species of clowns but for Perculas i have never had an issue with the frogspawn getting upset. Infact mine thrived because my clowns kept feeding it.

[fishytime]

Welcome to canreef... Sometimes you can have both an anemone and frogspawn(etc) in the tank and your clowns will host in a powerhead....nothing is a 100% guarantee for clowns to host in...The best relationship for a clown is with an anemone....Ive seems clowns with burn marks from being stung from coral and Ive seen clowns love coral to death...

[viperfish]

Welcome to canreef... Sometimes you can have both an anemone and frogspawn(etc) in the tank and your clowns will host in a powerhead....nothing is a 100% guarantee for clowns to host in...The best relationship for a clown is with an anemone....Ive seems clowns with burn marks from being stung from coral and Ive seen clowns love coral to death...

My two clowns loved my torch so much they have destroyed three of the heads from rubbing themselves against it!

[sheamurai]

Couple questions to clarify cycling - I've read that the tank should be dark for the first weekish - does this mean black out, or just lights off? And how long does it take generally to get ammonia readings?

[sheamurai]

SO EXCITED!!!
haven't added anything yet as I haven't done a water change to reduce nitrates (water is mixed and sitting for tomorrow) BUT

I saw my first creepy crawlie wandering on a rock today!
Signs of Life!
MY TANK LIVES!!!!
;)

I was starting to think I had somehow killed my live rock...

[sheamurai]

Sigh.
My first wave of diatoms has arrived.
Oh, joy.

[sheamurai]

I have ordered some of the new TBPC filter media to give it a try. I am hoping it will suck up the nitrates, which is what it is touted for being able to do, among other things...we'll see how it goes.

[christyf5]

Whats TBPC?

[sheamurai]

tri-based pelletized carbon. Not sure about it as it may just be hype, but I thought it interesting enough to order some. Its at Windsor at the moment waiting to get thru customs...