What critters go in first?

[mwb1978]

Hello,

I'm about finished cycling my new 180g setup. It has about 260Lbs aragonite, 120Lbs dry base rock, 40 Lbs live rock. About 3 or 4 weeks ago I put in 2 raw shrimp in nylons to get the cycle started. Ammonia peaked about a week ago and now it's almost back to zero. I added the fiji live rock about a week ago. I replaced the shrimp with a fresh one for continued ammonia supply about a week ago also.

Anyway, my question is who goes into the tank first once it's fully cycled? Whatever it may be it will still be several weeks before it makes it to the main tank as I plan on using a QT tank. The only significant living thing in the tank is a chaeto ball in the sump, which is also part of the reason for adding another dead shrimp.

Do you start off with the less agressive fish or maybe some snails as the first residents of the tank? Obviously there first has to be a lot of poo or algae in order to sustain a large clean up crew. But which fish go first?

Someday, many months or even years down the road I do plan on keeping corals so, keep that in mind.

As far as fish selection, I just want nice normal, colorful and not super expensive or hard to care for fish. I'm not picky. Stocking suggestions are more than welcome.

Thanks

 

[Reefscape]

Hello,

I'm about finished cycling my new 180g setup. It has about 260Lbs aragonite, 120Lbs dry base rock, 40 Lbs live rock. About 3 or 4 weeks ago I put in 2 raw shrimp in nylons to get the cycle started. Ammonia peaked about a week ago and now it's almost back to zero. I added the fiji live rock about a week ago. I replaced the shrimp with a fresh one for continued ammonia supply about a week ago also.

<<If your ammonia has peaked, you can stop using the prawn as an ammonia source, as that part is now done>>

Anyway, my question is who goes into the tank first once it's fully cycled? Whatever it may be it will still be several weeks before it makes it to the main tank as I plan on using a QT tank. The only significant living thing in the tank is a chaeto ball in the sump, which is also part of the reason for adding another dead shrimp.

Do you start off with the less agressive fish or maybe some snails as the first residents of the tank? Obviously there first has to be a lot of poo or algae in order to sustain a large clean up crew. But which fish go first?

<<Start off with a small cleanup crew of snails and hermits. Mainly because the snails will aid in clearing up the inevitable diatom algae bloom. Fish wise, least aggressive first>>

Someday, many months or even years down the road I do plan on keeping corals so, keep that in mind.

As far as fish selection, I just want nice normal, colorful and not super expensive or hard to care for fish. I'm not picky. Stocking suggestions are more than welcome.

<<You have plenty of stocking options open to you with this tank. Peruse through the surgeonfish, angels, rabbitfish, triggers, wrasses....all depends on what you want achieve..Obviously, if you do intend on housing corals in the future, then pay close attention to coral nipping SP of fish.>>

Thanks

Added some comments above....

 

[mwb1978]

Ok, Thanks. I may wait another week or two so that there is a little more algae in there, but ok.

Also, do snails and hermits need to be FW dipped or put into a QT tank first? I really have no idea. This is my first SW tank.

My latest problem is that I woke up this morning and the GFCI outlet had tripped and the tank was off. When I restarted it, the refugium lights wouldn't turn on. They had been on during the night. I didn't have a chance to mess with it though because I had to leave for work. The lights are a Nova T-5 18" fixture with 2 10K bulbs. There are no cooling fans built into the lights but the sump cabinet is open in the back. Any ideas?

 

[mwb1978]

So, nobody knows if snails and hermits need to be FW dipped or QT'ed before putting them in the display tank? Please?

 

[Sploke]

I didn't QT any of my inverts. I know some people do. When I first set up my reef tank, I bought my first fish at hte same time as the snails and hermits. Inverts went into the display tank, fish went into QT. Another useful thing is to plan out your complete stock list. Order them from least aggressive/territorial to most. That is the order you want to add the fish in.

 

[mwb1978]

Cool. Thanks for the info. It's just that this is my first SW tank and it's a fairly large project thta I really don't want to screw up right off the bat. Thanks.

I'll keep working on my stock list. I'll keep you posted.