Need Help for 12 gallon Mini-Reef!!

K9Decoy

K9Decoy

Four-legged Fishkeeper
Dec 28, 2003
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Raleigh, NC
www.worldvision.org
Need Help for 10 gallon Mini-Reef!!

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum, and have one question...with several parts!! First, a brief history: I have kept FW fish for years, and recently bought a used 10 gallon hexagon tank to partake in the new "Mini-Reef" Craze for my first try at SW. The tank was in fair condition and just needed to have the silicone seals redone. I just bought some Instant Ocean sea salt, and 10# of Live Sand to get it started. For filtration, it has a 200GPH Whisper Power Filter. For lighting, the stock 12'' long fluorescent tube it came with.

My question is: How many inches of fish can I keep in a tank this size, and can I keep shrimp and crabs without any special lighting? I plan on buying about 10-12lbs of Fiji live rock in the next week or so. Should I wait and add fish after the live rock has been in the tank for awhile, or vice versa? Finally, how long will it take the tank to "cycle" with the live sand already in it?

In case it's any help, I would like to have 1 Clownfish, 1 or 2 Damsels, and maybe 1 Cleaner Wrasse along with some shrimp, crabs, and snails for cleanup duty. I know with a tank this small, my options are limited, but my LFS has 2 Clowns, 1 Blenny, a starfish, and various invertebrates in a 6 gallon tank that has been sucessfully kept for 4 years now. Thank you all in advance for helping out a newbie! You guys rock!

-Ted
 
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Welcome to Aquaria Central! First off in saltwater there is no inches of fish per gallon rule. The max number of fish that should go in a 12 gallon is 2. I would do a pair of Clowns in this size tank. The best thing to do is add the Live Rock now along with adding 2 cocktail shrimp from the local grocery store, throw it in the tank and let it rot for a month. This is the best and most effecient way to cycle a tank as cycling with fish destroys their gills so it is hardly used anymore. No Cleaner Wrasses. They are pretty tricky to care for and will be stressed in a small tank. Damsels and Clowns are in the same family so will fight constantly in that small of a tank. So for the best set up as mentioned before would be two clowns and the best species are Ocellaris and Percula. And maybe later you could even add a little Clown Goby to occupy the bottom levels. Also after the cycle you can add crabs and shrimp and snails and whatever else, I wouldn't do a Sea Star though. Anyway, hope this helps and good luck.
 
Thank you for the quick reply.

I understand the reasoning behind the cocktail shrimp, but it says on the bag of live sand that I bought that I can add fish right away, and that no cycling is necessary since the bacteria is already present in the live sand. I don't want to go and buy 3 fish and a bunch of crabs and shrimp just yet, but the guy at my LFS where I bought the live sand said that I just have to wait 1-7 days to add my first fish. What should I do? Plus, I assume the shrimp and crabs that I will be adding don't need any special lighting. Is this a correct assumption? Thanks again.

-Ted
 
It depends on what kind of live sand you purchased. The packaged stuff that sits on the shelf is unlikely to have a viable colony of bacteria--they require food to stay alive and I am very cynical about how long they will live in a bag. Similar to the Cycle FW products, it seems unlikely that something sitting on a shelf with no expiration date is reliable. Some stores offer live sand from their tanks, and this will contain most of the beneficial life you want, but probably not in the quantity needed to support a stocked tank. Best bet--cycle the tank, testing for ammonia and nitrites.

There are a few inverts that require lighting, but the majority of crabs and shrimp will be fine with regular lighting. A seldom seen hermit crab uses live coral for it's home, and should be avoided in your tank.

Adding a skimmer after the cycle will benefit the tank as well. I am leery of the hex tanks--they have a very small surface area to volume ratio, so the skimmer will halp provide gas exchange.
 
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