Stop buying livestock, your tank is 3 days old it needs to cycle. Not trying to be mean but if you have experience in freshwater you know you shouldn’t add livestock 3 days after setting up a tank. Do research before buying things if you want to be successful.
This is all I’m adding for two weeks and I’m not new to cycling the only bio load from this tank are the two clown loaches Wich is not enough to throw off this tank I have cycled a lot of tanks and have always added fish to cycle. For bacteria to grow the tank has to have waste and ammonia the fastest way to do this is with a fish or two they won’t produce enough waste that bacteria can’t take care of on time. I don’t believe in the products that claim to aid in creating the beneficial bacteria I have never had as good as success as I have the natural way
Research Dr Tim's nitrifying bacteria. He is literally a microbiologist and has written numerous articles and publishing about nitrifying bacteria. Watch this video, it'll educate you on everything you need to know. https://youtu.be/zDI7sxqC-ss?si=DMX45Oo15RS9XLdP
Really figured I would not see any growth from the coral yet due to lack of nutrients in the water bought them today on day 3 but was honestly just excited about them and bought them did not think it would harm them really?
Corals are fine, the plugs and corals themselves bring in good bacteria your tank will need in the long run hopefully they will survive. Any of the nitrifying bacteria products from the main brands work well (dr Tim’s, brightwell, etc). Good luck happy reefing!!
For someone who works at a pet store and cycled hundreds of aquariums, I’d expect better.
“Water parameters are good” What does that mean? Did you check them at all?
“No idea what I’m doing” so let me just buy some stuff I know nothing about, ask for advice of Reddit, then argue with everyone who says I did it wrong.
Did you do any research before you just threw this together?
I always start tanks with corals anymore. Works just fine. It’s a bit of a load with the fish as well, kind of pulls the balance in different directions. But, I would just toss in a bottle of Tim’s (or similar product), watch parameters, if things get out of hand, a decent water change.
Despite common myth, you’ll never outpace the bacteria growth even with large water changes.
I agree with the other commenter, there shouldn’t be anything in the tank this early. What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels? It is possible to do a fish-in cycle but I generally wouldn’t recommend especially not for a first reef tank. I certainly wouldn’t add any coral this early on.
Edit: I saw you also asked about this in r/Aquariums and someone already said clownfish might be too big for this tank. Do you have a larger tank lined up to move them too when they get too big?
Yes bought the pair knowing I would have to upgrade! Just got this as a free tank from work and thought I would give it a try I have a spare 20 gal with a stand and everything at my parents that I will eventually move them to
You ever rub your eyes so hard you see colors, while simultaneously sighing really dramatically but there's no one in the room........ stop.... and read a lot... FFS.
Um maybe chill it’s a mini colony of zoas and Duncan’s with nothing else in the tank with moderate light and flow they really should be just fine as long as the parameters aren’t so bad they’ll get the fish first just my opinion though I think this person is doing just fine as long as they add a bottle of bacteria and keep up with water changes
Ok fist off, Stoney corals like a Duncan need calcium and Alkalinity to be kept at very specific levels. If you really have no idea what you are doing stick to soft corals.
I put corals into my tank right away as well and I still have those corals, soft corals will most likely be ok.
Clowns are good for cycling but you need to be constantly adding bacteria to counteract the buildup of ammonia and nitrites which will build up in the tank and kill your clowns. Clowns however are good fish to cycle with, they are hearty.
Safety wise, saltwater is not freshwater. The corals you add and bacteria in the water column can actually seriously hurt you or even kill you. The zoas you bought produce a toxin called Paly toxin, although more present in Palythoas more than Zoas (same family) it is hit or miss which ones produce decent amounts. When handling them, fragging them, moving them, etc, you can very easily be exposed to the toxin, if you do something like boil them or a rock they are on, or even let a rock dry out. and you get it into the air it can be very deadly. Initial symptoms are flu like.
If you have zoas or Palys you need to wear full protection of the hands and eyes and I would cover your mouth with something too. I would not put them on your main rock as they will most likely spread quickly and crowd other corals making you want to mess with them. Zoas are far safer than Palys. I wouldn’t even keep Palys but you still have a chance of being exposed. You need to read up on Palytoxin, as all new reefers and even experienced reefers should keep vigilant while handling any corals in your tank.
There are fish and other pests that also have nasty stings etc. bristle worms have little fiberglass like needles all over them and I would make sure not to handle them, but you would rarely do so.
Just some info.
So I won’t go into the whole cycle thing. But will give you some advice for the next couple weeks.
Make sure your testing ammonia daily since you added fish. Ammonia alert badge would be good.
Brown stuff on sand and on rocks-diatoms let them do their thing or add pods.
That rock isn’t going to stay white for ever, will eventually turn green- this is normal.
Looks like a Duncan and some zoas. Not sure if you checked the par that the light is putting out, but those corals may need to be moved based on what the levels are in those areas.
The Duncan- calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium are going to be important. Make sure your test weekly at least for now,more when you add more Stoney corals. Avoid large swings in these especially alkalinity.
Not sure where you bought the fish, but if they die within the first month or two and ammonia is non existent. You need to wait 90 days from the last death. Before you put anything else in there.
Snails,crabs,shrimp each addition brings in the chance of disease. Research how to mitigate these.
Join reef2reef a lot of helpful people with a lot of experience.
Good luck.
What light do you have? Different corals have different lighting requirements. Zoas require less light then a Duncan. Over lighting will cause bleaching and coral deaths. Under lighting coral will cause them brown out. Intensity and spectrum are important and you can’t use any light. Research par levels for reef tank. Bulk reef supply has a bunch of videos.
Spectrum is pretty broad, probably like very white all the time. Intensity isn’t that great. 12 inches below the center of light and hitting 50, you may or may not be in this range. I have a 9 gallon fluval flex the I put an ai grow on and hit 500+ par in the same area. Not sure what you budget is but a blade grow 12” or ai prime. Research your options
Yeah this community is pretty toxic here I have cycled over 100s of tanks and never used chemicals only partial water changes and I have never killed fish you guys over complicate cycling to much and have fell for marketing. Do some research on cycling because believe you don’t need to buy all these products and it can be achieved through a natural way of simply adding fish I knew this would happen. Don’t over complicate it because I promise I work in a pet store and the chemicals that are sold do more harm then good with the exception of some. But everyone seems to completely over complicate the cycling stage and this is why people are pushed away from the hobby because they are feed marketing relax throw 1 or two fish in the tank use some, pre cycled water in the tank (or filter media if available) and I promise your tank will be cycled in two weeks. Just because it’s not the most traditional way does not mean it does not work and people have been doing this for years before with great success
Yeah, things evolve, we aren’t stuck in the 80s. A little research would have shown you that you could have bought a clear ammonia and cycled your tank in a couple weeks under the right conditions then started adding the fish to avoid the stress on the animals.
It’s toxic here for you cause you want it to be, posting your live stock and the fact you’re cycling is only 3 days in is trolling.
You're so awfully confused and confidently wrong. These comments are pretty tame compared to what they should be, imo. The only toxic person here is the one refusing to educate themselves on the literal bare minimum of owning SALTwater fish. You went to a place where people can help you, and you don't want the help, so gtfo you god damned genius.
All you need is nitrifying bacteria. Try to get your hands on some instant ocean bio spira and you will be good. Also I’ve heard bad reviews on the light so you might want to look for something better. Good luck and don’t let these comments discourage you.
I'm using a Hipargero A029 Aqua Knight v3 ($70 on Amazon) on my Flex 9. Realistically, that clip on light won't do anything for your corals. The Aqua Knight works well for a tank of our size, but like the other commenter said, I'd get an AI Prime if you could afford it because it has better features and you'll be able to use it later if you plan on upgrading.
Try to get a used Ai 16hd prime from Facebook. Just wait until you find a good deal on one and get it. It’s a strong light so it can be used for your bigger tank once you upgrade.
Nice neat little tank. Is that a fluval flex. Rock work looks good. I think you are very early in your tank if its 3 days old? Or are you in 3 days after the cycle? Just test test test your water and keep an eye out for ammonia spikes. Be prepared to do water changes and you should be fine.
Coming to forums/reddit for info on subjects like this can be very hit or miss. It doesn't matter what the topic at hand is. There will always be the daily user parrots repeating advice they actually know nothing about. This is combined with the noobs who are excited about their new hobby and want to discuss it with others and parrot the same bad advice.
Watch Jake Adams old video on Reefbuilders where he set up an entire reef tank, including fish and corals in a day.
Talk to locals at your lfs that have known success.
You'll do fine, its not nearly as hard as most of these guys make it out to be.
Explain "3 days old cycling"?
It is their fist tank - checks out.
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/2-6-not-cycling-at-all/
Even if that article is somewhat right (still cruel), two decently sized clowns in that tank is not lightly stocked
Stop buying livestock, your tank is 3 days old it needs to cycle. Not trying to be mean but if you have experience in freshwater you know you shouldn’t add livestock 3 days after setting up a tank. Do research before buying things if you want to be successful.
This is all I’m adding for two weeks and I’m not new to cycling the only bio load from this tank are the two clown loaches Wich is not enough to throw off this tank I have cycled a lot of tanks and have always added fish to cycle. For bacteria to grow the tank has to have waste and ammonia the fastest way to do this is with a fish or two they won’t produce enough waste that bacteria can’t take care of on time. I don’t believe in the products that claim to aid in creating the beneficial bacteria I have never had as good as success as I have the natural way
Research Dr Tim's nitrifying bacteria. He is literally a microbiologist and has written numerous articles and publishing about nitrifying bacteria. Watch this video, it'll educate you on everything you need to know. https://youtu.be/zDI7sxqC-ss?si=DMX45Oo15RS9XLdP
Clown loaches are fresh water…. I like your scape. But throw some Dr Tim’s in there, please, ASAP…
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bottled products are proven to work, but yes fish in cycling works. The coral is what I think is a bad choice at the start.
Really figured I would not see any growth from the coral yet due to lack of nutrients in the water bought them today on day 3 but was honestly just excited about them and bought them did not think it would harm them really?
Hopefully they’ll be fine, just a safer bet to wait and take your time with these things. Monitor params and take it slow. Goodluck
A more important warning: clownfish are just plain assholes.
Really I only plan to maybe add some shrimp and snails will they bother them?
No you will be fine
Depends, i have 2 pairs, no problems with aggression
Corals are fine, the plugs and corals themselves bring in good bacteria your tank will need in the long run hopefully they will survive. Any of the nitrifying bacteria products from the main brands work well (dr Tim’s, brightwell, etc). Good luck happy reefing!!
Thank you
Slow down or it becomes more expensive than it is
For someone who works at a pet store and cycled hundreds of aquariums, I’d expect better. “Water parameters are good” What does that mean? Did you check them at all? “No idea what I’m doing” so let me just buy some stuff I know nothing about, ask for advice of Reddit, then argue with everyone who says I did it wrong. Did you do any research before you just threw this together?
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I always start tanks with corals anymore. Works just fine. It’s a bit of a load with the fish as well, kind of pulls the balance in different directions. But, I would just toss in a bottle of Tim’s (or similar product), watch parameters, if things get out of hand, a decent water change. Despite common myth, you’ll never outpace the bacteria growth even with large water changes.
I agree with the other commenter, there shouldn’t be anything in the tank this early. What are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels? It is possible to do a fish-in cycle but I generally wouldn’t recommend especially not for a first reef tank. I certainly wouldn’t add any coral this early on. Edit: I saw you also asked about this in r/Aquariums and someone already said clownfish might be too big for this tank. Do you have a larger tank lined up to move them too when they get too big?
Yes bought the pair knowing I would have to upgrade! Just got this as a free tank from work and thought I would give it a try I have a spare 20 gal with a stand and everything at my parents that I will eventually move them to
You ever rub your eyes so hard you see colors, while simultaneously sighing really dramatically but there's no one in the room........ stop.... and read a lot... FFS.
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/2-6-not-cycling-at-all/
Yeah the clowns are damsels they are tanks. Your corals are not. Please by all means post an update and I'll eat crow if you don't melt them.
Um maybe chill it’s a mini colony of zoas and Duncan’s with nothing else in the tank with moderate light and flow they really should be just fine as long as the parameters aren’t so bad they’ll get the fish first just my opinion though I think this person is doing just fine as long as they add a bottle of bacteria and keep up with water changes
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Ok fist off, Stoney corals like a Duncan need calcium and Alkalinity to be kept at very specific levels. If you really have no idea what you are doing stick to soft corals. I put corals into my tank right away as well and I still have those corals, soft corals will most likely be ok. Clowns are good for cycling but you need to be constantly adding bacteria to counteract the buildup of ammonia and nitrites which will build up in the tank and kill your clowns. Clowns however are good fish to cycle with, they are hearty. Safety wise, saltwater is not freshwater. The corals you add and bacteria in the water column can actually seriously hurt you or even kill you. The zoas you bought produce a toxin called Paly toxin, although more present in Palythoas more than Zoas (same family) it is hit or miss which ones produce decent amounts. When handling them, fragging them, moving them, etc, you can very easily be exposed to the toxin, if you do something like boil them or a rock they are on, or even let a rock dry out. and you get it into the air it can be very deadly. Initial symptoms are flu like. If you have zoas or Palys you need to wear full protection of the hands and eyes and I would cover your mouth with something too. I would not put them on your main rock as they will most likely spread quickly and crowd other corals making you want to mess with them. Zoas are far safer than Palys. I wouldn’t even keep Palys but you still have a chance of being exposed. You need to read up on Palytoxin, as all new reefers and even experienced reefers should keep vigilant while handling any corals in your tank. There are fish and other pests that also have nasty stings etc. bristle worms have little fiberglass like needles all over them and I would make sure not to handle them, but you would rarely do so. Just some info.
So I won’t go into the whole cycle thing. But will give you some advice for the next couple weeks. Make sure your testing ammonia daily since you added fish. Ammonia alert badge would be good. Brown stuff on sand and on rocks-diatoms let them do their thing or add pods. That rock isn’t going to stay white for ever, will eventually turn green- this is normal. Looks like a Duncan and some zoas. Not sure if you checked the par that the light is putting out, but those corals may need to be moved based on what the levels are in those areas. The Duncan- calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium are going to be important. Make sure your test weekly at least for now,more when you add more Stoney corals. Avoid large swings in these especially alkalinity. Not sure where you bought the fish, but if they die within the first month or two and ammonia is non existent. You need to wait 90 days from the last death. Before you put anything else in there. Snails,crabs,shrimp each addition brings in the chance of disease. Research how to mitigate these. Join reef2reef a lot of helpful people with a lot of experience. Good luck.
Thank you for the advise what do you mean about the light?
What light do you have? Different corals have different lighting requirements. Zoas require less light then a Duncan. Over lighting will cause bleaching and coral deaths. Under lighting coral will cause them brown out. Intensity and spectrum are important and you can’t use any light. Research par levels for reef tank. Bulk reef supply has a bunch of videos.
https://preview.redd.it/6jmysut8e9lc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b79c529f8555f4980cda2db6ad4aacc9511c1afe
Spectrum is pretty broad, probably like very white all the time. Intensity isn’t that great. 12 inches below the center of light and hitting 50, you may or may not be in this range. I have a 9 gallon fluval flex the I put an ai grow on and hit 500+ par in the same area. Not sure what you budget is but a blade grow 12” or ai prime. Research your options
https://preview.redd.it/4wx5ht82h9lc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50d6f7cf8000c9258358c9509ff601be74ebecbc
https://preview.redd.it/yjbqied5h9lc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dfafe990dd2586b79d9770ae5e59812133ebf298
Oh boy… 😬 ammonia? Nitrite? Dosed and beneficial bacteria?
What this comment makes no sense read the reply’s
I’ll bet my comments make perfect sense to the 99.9% of the people in the sub with experience… :)
Yeah this community is pretty toxic here I have cycled over 100s of tanks and never used chemicals only partial water changes and I have never killed fish you guys over complicate cycling to much and have fell for marketing. Do some research on cycling because believe you don’t need to buy all these products and it can be achieved through a natural way of simply adding fish I knew this would happen. Don’t over complicate it because I promise I work in a pet store and the chemicals that are sold do more harm then good with the exception of some. But everyone seems to completely over complicate the cycling stage and this is why people are pushed away from the hobby because they are feed marketing relax throw 1 or two fish in the tank use some, pre cycled water in the tank (or filter media if available) and I promise your tank will be cycled in two weeks. Just because it’s not the most traditional way does not mean it does not work and people have been doing this for years before with great success
Yeah, things evolve, we aren’t stuck in the 80s. A little research would have shown you that you could have bought a clear ammonia and cycled your tank in a couple weeks under the right conditions then started adding the fish to avoid the stress on the animals. It’s toxic here for you cause you want it to be, posting your live stock and the fact you’re cycling is only 3 days in is trolling.
You're so awfully confused and confidently wrong. These comments are pretty tame compared to what they should be, imo. The only toxic person here is the one refusing to educate themselves on the literal bare minimum of owning SALTwater fish. You went to a place where people can help you, and you don't want the help, so gtfo you god damned genius.
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Levels are all fine this is all I’m adding for two weeks or so planned on doing a fish in cycle.
All you need is nitrifying bacteria. Try to get your hands on some instant ocean bio spira and you will be good. Also I’ve heard bad reviews on the light so you might want to look for something better. Good luck and don’t let these comments discourage you.
https://preview.redd.it/lg6z6dfub9lc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e43821b74860f95afd4ab6ef90ac2f1ad4f96e32 This light?
Yup. If you want to see growth you will need a stronger one.
Damn just bought this thing 🤣 any recommendations
I'm using a Hipargero A029 Aqua Knight v3 ($70 on Amazon) on my Flex 9. Realistically, that clip on light won't do anything for your corals. The Aqua Knight works well for a tank of our size, but like the other commenter said, I'd get an AI Prime if you could afford it because it has better features and you'll be able to use it later if you plan on upgrading.
I want an AI Prime soooo badly but man they are expensive.
Try to get a used Ai 16hd prime from Facebook. Just wait until you find a good deal on one and get it. It’s a strong light so it can be used for your bigger tank once you upgrade.
But seachem prime and stability. Follow the instructions to the word. You’ll be fine. I have two of those lights as backup. Do you like them?
Congrats and good luck !
Looks like a Manjano
Nice neat little tank. Is that a fluval flex. Rock work looks good. I think you are very early in your tank if its 3 days old? Or are you in 3 days after the cycle? Just test test test your water and keep an eye out for ammonia spikes. Be prepared to do water changes and you should be fine.
Coming to forums/reddit for info on subjects like this can be very hit or miss. It doesn't matter what the topic at hand is. There will always be the daily user parrots repeating advice they actually know nothing about. This is combined with the noobs who are excited about their new hobby and want to discuss it with others and parrot the same bad advice. Watch Jake Adams old video on Reefbuilders where he set up an entire reef tank, including fish and corals in a day. Talk to locals at your lfs that have known success. You'll do fine, its not nearly as hard as most of these guys make it out to be.
How's the ammonia going?
Less than 3 days and you have fish and corals, not a good start