coupla questions

Hi everyone. I've come across some conflicting info and I'm hope you can clear it up. Until 30 minutes ago I was positive that my tank was just about finished cycling. Then I saw a thread where someone said something to the effect of "only silly newbies think a tank can cycle in a week". In my defense, its been at least a week and a half
Seriously though- I starting testing for ammonia on day 3, and it was present at .25ppm if I remember correctly. Day 4 I started testing for NO2 and NO3 as well. I don't remember when exactly NO2 showed up, but it was there. Yesterday NO3 made its appearance, somewhere between 0 and 5. I still have ammonia (.25ppm) but I believe that is because I added live rock two more times after the initial setup. NO2 is at 0.
As of yet the only thing I have added to my tank is live rock and live sand. I didn't add a piece of shrimp or anything else that some people do. I wanted to start stocking this week (if all NH3 clears up). Is this feasible?

Second question is this: Should clowns be added last? This too was something I just ran into. As of yet they are the only fish I am sure of! The other fish I was interested in weren't appropriate for my tank. ( Oh yeah, its a 20 gal standard). I want to get 2 ocellaris and maybe 1 or 2 other smaller fish. I've been looking at a couple of different shrimp goby. I also like a few basslets- specifically the royal gamma, chalk, and black cap. The orchid dotty back is also appealing. Any problems with these? thanks for the help.

 

Typically you should wait until you have no detectable ammonia or nitrites. This rarely takes only one weeks time.

Using completely cured LR can speed things up considerably but adding livestock should not be rushed.

As you feed your fish and they metabolize the food you may see new tank syndrome set in.

For these reasons I would do routine small water changes, monitor for ammonia and nitrite daily. Keep an ammonia binding product handy. Feed very little and not add any further livestock for at least a month.

Lastly the nitrogen cycle is an ever evolving process based on bio-load. After an addition the biological filter needs time to grow and assimilate the bi-products of metabolism, before adding more livestock.

Good luck

 

I am definitely not in a rush. As I said before, additions will only be made if NH3 and N02 are cleared up (and by this I mean gone). To be honest I feel a bit uncomfortable adding 2 ocellaris at once but I don't want any fighting if it could be helped. Since I have not decided on any other fish I had no plans of adding more soon anyways.
I did want to add a clean up crew about a week after the first fish though- Diatoms are present. Would this be okay? Also, are the other fish mentioned in the first post appropriate for my tank and would they be safe/happy together? I am trying to do this the right way, without any unnecessary fish death or misery. Thanks for the help

 

Diatoms will fade away on their own once the silicate is used up. It's normal for new tank and sometimes when adding new equipment but to much a lesser degree.

As long as you make sure your parameters are stable you can add a few hermits in another week or two. I would wait longer before adding snails, they need some algae to eat and a newly set up tank will not have enough.

Royal Grammas are one of my favorite fish, I like the Chalk bass as well.

Dotty backs can be very aggressive, some types more than others. In such a small tank I would not add one.

Yellow Watchman gobies are very cool as well.

 

+1. Diatoms are a good sign that your tank cycle is finishing up. I saw a significant diatom bloom when my first tank finished cycling, and a few smaller blooms over the years.

I also agree with waiting a little longer for the inverts for the reason described by coralline. Another reason I would wait is because inverts often sensitive to unstable tank conditions. In contrast, I added fish and inverts within a few weeks of initially setting up my tank and they were fine (do as I say, not as I do ) On the other hand, I just transfered to a 90g (without cycling), and I recently had a mass death of snails (coral and fish were not affected). A word of advice, if you notice a dead snail, remove it immediately. Also, it will stink, so get it out of your house quickly as well .

Regarding the ammonia binding product... I am not a fan of adding chemicals to my tank. I don't like to add anything that I can't test for, or anything that does not provide a clear ingredient list (let alone one that I approve of). These products commonly contain nutrients that feed algae growth (aka nitrate/phosphate), or chemicals that will build up in your rock and may eventually lead to a tank crash (somewhere down the line). That is just my opinion. The way I would get rid of ammonia is the old fashioned/natural way - water changes.

 

I think the yellow watchman can be added to my stocking list. They are very cool I am also wary of chemicals and a fan of water changes Thanks to you both for your time and help

 

your tank still being new I would add a bit of food and see if it re-cycles a week on a tank that small I can almost assure you that it will have a mini cycle, I had one of the exact same size and it didnt take much for it to run wild even after goo live rock and being established.

as far as the CUC goes if the levels are 0 across the board add 2 blue legs and just monitor. wait a week add 3 or four more and monitor, if everything goes well add you snails, monitor and if still 0 add one fish, and so on and so forth. build it up slowly to establish a good filter and your life will be alot easyer.

the chemical part is debaitable to me, Prime, and almost the reputable bacteria supplements make you life alot easier if there is a dire need for help at that moment. I would look into prime since its cheep and it works great, and the bacteria supplement if you do decide to add fish to make it easyer for them.

HTH

 

I have a pistol shrimp/yellow watchman goby pair. They are very cool to watch. Look up videos on youtube. My only regrets:

1) I wish I got a cooler looking goby.

2) If you decide to add coral, make sure your frags are sturdy. This is what happens to me: A snail knocks a frag off the frag rack or rocks. The frag lands on the sand. The pistol shrimp proceeds to steal it to build his "under layer". The frag is then gone forever. This has happened two or three times now. As long as you either glue it down or have it sturdy in a frag rack this will not happen.

 

I didn't know that shrimp will steal frags- Ill have to make sure they are properly secured once I get them.
I was thinking about the whole cooler fish thing too. I'm extremely limited on both the type and amount of fish I can have in my 20 gal, so the whole take it slow thing is in my favor. I'm not the type that will take a fish back when I find a fish I like more... I usually just end up upgrading instead I have promised this time that I'll stick with the 20 gal for at least a year tho
I'm looking at the Yasha White Ray Shrimp Goby, and the horned blenny. How can I find out what fish don't work together? In live aquaria they have a chart but its kind of nonspecific

 

I usually google the two fish in question and can usually find cases of people either asking if they will work, or showing they have both successfully. I really like the Yasha Gobies though