5 Weeks In :)

So I'm 5ish weeks into this 38g Nuvo Aquarium, it is my first saltwater tank and one of 3 tanks I have at my house. I finally got fish I wanted, I've had the female clown for a week, and just got home with the male a few hours ago.

I'm curious when I should add more fish. The next thing I want is either a trio of Banggai Cardinals or a pair of Firefish. Should I wait 2 weeks, or would next weekend be okay? No ammonia or Nitrite, and my Nitrates are a little high, like 18-20ish. Week or 2 okay for more? I also have a coral frag.

This is them! (Side view of the tank.)

 

What do you have for filtration, rock, etc? How big is the tank? With the appropriate amount of rock I'm surprised that you're seeing 12 nitrates with just two fish.

 

Ya always get trates at the end of a cycle, hence it being the end!

Get the YTD out asap before it becomes a pain later, and get a new clown in there before that one gets territorial!

You're really new into, so I'd wait another month before adding another fish after this! But I wouldn't add the new clown without pulling the YTDevil! IMO

 

We really need more info than this. Tell us everything.

 

Not necessarily. With an appropriate amount of anaerobic media you should get negligible nitrate gain.

 

If you add a second clown, and the first one gets territorial, just take both fish out and reaquascape, introducing the new clown first before adding the existing one. This force them to have to claim new territories, and give the newer fish a head start.

 

I would get the damsel out and put another clown in. I agree though we need info on the size of tank, skimmer, how much rock, sand, you running a fuge? etc.

 

Sorry guys forgot. It's a 38 gallon, 38 pounds rock, 30ish pounds sand, no refigium, and I don't feel like I need a skimmer with this size (tell me if I'm wrong). Nitrate level also fluctuates. It happened to be at 12 then, but the last day and a half it's been up.

 

IMO ya need a skimmer more in a small tank than a large. less water volume means easier swings and problems. Unless your gonna stock real light and feed lightly

 

No you don't NEED a skimmer for that tank. So long as you don't stock heavy, feed heavy. Perform routine water changes and have decent flow.