Newbie: Stocking a 12 g nano cube

[chaberkern]

hello all! Experienced freshwater fishy lover here. I recently was given a nano cube 12 gallon, and know that they were really designed for saltwater. I would hate to use this great system for a freshwater, and not have it live up to its full beautiful potential...

I have been reading some threads, and have been trying to acquire any information that could be helpful...but I have to admit I am very overwhelmed....


I was just wondering if there was somewhere I could look online that has a basic list of all must have supplies to start a saltwater system....I honestly have no idea which sort of fish I should get, and I know i'm pretty limited with size (and not to mention money)..any ideas for a 12 gallon?

Thanks so much :)

[blackwolfXKAV]

Ask Dork fish

[mogurnda]

Have you looked at the sticky at the top of the forum? It should help a lot.

Bob Fenner’s Conscientious Marine Aquarist is still one of the best books out there for starting a marine tank. It covers most of what you need to know as a beginning marine hobbyist.

[dorkfish]

Ask Dork fish

I hear ya.

For a 12g, I would use 15ilbs. of liverock and a 3 inch aragonite sandbed + 200-300gph of powerheads, as my entire filtration system. For stocking, go with 2 of any of these:
pecula clownfish
oceleris clownfish
purple firefish
orange firefish
citron clown goby
yellow clown goby


Now add to that a peppermint, cleaner or blood shrimp and 5 blue leg or scarlet hermits (be usre to provide lots of empty shells so they don't "shell-jack" the snails) and 5 astrea sp. snails, and your prety much stocked.

If you want a soft coral reef (IMO,the only kind of reef worth attempting in that size of tank), go with 24 watts or more of flourescet/compact flourescent lighting, witn an aprox. 50.50 mix of daylight and actinic light, on for aprox. 12 hours a day. If you want a plain fish only, get enough lighting so that the fish will be able to tell day from night, and, like the above, keep the lght on for 12 gours a day.

Now, on to setting the tank up. first make sure you have everything I specified above, as well as:

The Aquarium Phamicueticals saltwater master test kit
The salifert calcium and alkalinity test kits
Before getting fish, get brine shrimp, table shrimp, cucmber,romain lettuce and "sallly's seaweed sallad" or nori to feed the fish. Flaked food is a very poor diet for marine fish IMHO, as most of them are wild caught.
Instant ocean salt mix (the best salt mix, according to garf)
Bottled reverse osmosis, deionized, or distilled water. Tap water is not good enough in most cases,
The tube from a gravel vac, and a 2.5 gal bucket to siphon water and detrius form the rocks while prefoming a water change.
A hydrometer, to measure salinity.
A fish net, just incase you need to catch a fish or remove a dead one.
A 5g quarantine, this is your only defense of disease, as you cannot safely treat most diseases in the display tank. This should be nothing more than a cycled 5g tank with a heater and and an aquaclear 20. On a side note, this isn't completely essential, but as noted above, it is your only safe defense aganst disease.


Accaeptable params are: amonia and nitrite=0, nitrate under 20, ph 8-8.5, calcium 400-450, alkalinity 2.5 - 4

If alaklinity or calcium start to stray from ideal, then use reef complete and reef carbonate via the "advanced" doing regimen printed on the bottle bring either param back in shape.

I wrote a small "article" on basic maintenence for a marine aquarium: http://aquafacts.net/showthread.php?t=583

The only diference between the article and your tank is I would do weekly water changes, becuase it's possible budget wise, and mykidsmylife thinks they are nessisary.

To start the tank up, set up the tank with 15 ilbs. of uncured live rock, watching for pests (and removing them) and monitoring amonia and nitrite. You should see a spike in both amonia and nitrite spike followed by an increase in nitrate. Nitrate is relitvely un-toxic, but is an indicator of DOC's wich are toxic. Amonia and nitrite will kill most marine fish. Start up the 5g quarantine at the same time, using the same method of cycling as you would with a for a fishless cycle in a freshwater tank.

Once both tanks are cycled(aprox. 1-2 months after setting them up, if you cycle them right), you can add the first fish to the main tank, and remove him/her to the quarantine if he/she gets a disease. Keep a diseased fish in the quarantine for a month to make sure the deiseae that was in the main tank dies off. After about 2 weeks after introducing the first fish, you can add the snails and hermits. Then, after another 2 weeks, you can add the second fish to the quarantine and add it to the main tank once the quarantine period is done. The shrimp can be added to the main tank as well.

Wait atleast 3 months before adding corals, if you decide to go that route.

Invertebrates do not need to be quarantined, as they generally do not carry fish diseases.

Please keep in mind there are other ways to do this, but it's easier if I ony tell you one way of doing it (and I still ended up with a small article anyway).

Please do not go and set up the tank(s) right away following only my advice, do your own research to prove to yourself that I, or anyone else is right, and to decide if you want to go this or any other route.

Also, it is my understanding that "nano cubes" come with built in filtration. If yours has this, by all means use, it, but do not use any filter media other than live or base rock, to prevent excessive nitrate build up.

The quarantine tank can be broken down as soon as the second fish is added to the display.

EDIT: Did I go a little overboard on this post?

[bukitimah]

Dear dorkfish,

I am seeking to start my first marine tank. I need the very basic. Even to the extend of a typical 2 ft tank is how many gal?

Able to give simple step by step guide on the set up? I am using ordinary overhead filter. I am prepared to change 10 to 20 percent of the water every 2 weeks or so.

Thank you

[dorkfish]

Dear dorkfish,

I am seeking to start my first marine tank. I need the very basic. Even to the extend of a typical 2 ft tank is how many gal?

Able to give simple step by step guide on the set up? I am using ordinary overhead filter. I am prepared to change 10 to 20 percent of the water every 2 weeks or so.

Thank you

I think I'll get started an article on the subject, as I haven't been able to locate a complete newbie article for fresh or saltwater (I'll already wrote the freshwater newbie article), and it's certin that somebody that will ask such a broad question such as "how do I set up a marine/saltwater tank?"

In order to tell you how many gallons are in your aquarium, I need to know length, width, and hieght in inches/feet.

[bukitimah]

Dear dorkfish,

I am collecting my tank tomorrow. it is the standard over the shelve type for 2 ft tank. 2 x 1 x 1.5 H I guess.

Appreciate your step by step guide while I set up. What I am going to do when I collect the tank is first to do the following things while I wait.

1. Add about 2 - 3 inches of #0 or #1 crushed coral
2. UseInstand Ocean or similar mix to top up tank for it to season @ 1.024 SG unding hydrometer? I learn this from the web but will get details from the shop.
3 wait for a few days while you help with what to buy and what to do? :o

[dorkfish]

Your tank is aproximately 20 gallons.


2. UseInstand Ocean or similar mix to top up tank for it to season @ 1.024 SG unding hydrometer? I learn this from the web but will get details from the shop.
:o

Wait until youv'e got something to create water motion in the tank before filling it. Otherwise, the water will go stagnant. The fish store should have hydrometers in stock (if they have anything for marine aquariums) and should be able to show you some if you ask.


3 wait for a few days while you help with what to buy and what to do?

Do you think you can start your own thread foryour questions? I'd hate to hijack this thread.