newbie needs advice (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

I have a 6g w/18 w compact 50/50 and 2 powerheads. 2 months old. I had 2 turbos then 1 died, and i replaced it and then another one died, can't tell if old or new. Rest of population is 1 peppermint shrimp, one condy, 3 blue leg crabs 2 bumblebee snails. I am planning on 2 TR clowns.

Qusstions:
1- Should I try to get 2 Turbos to live?
2- Should I have more or less of a cleaning crew?
3- I have heard/read I should have naserith snails. Anyone know where to get them?
4- How long after adding condy will I be able to add 2 clowns?

 

[pernelf]

How do you acclimate your snails?

 

[Guest]

Same as for fish, I float the bag for 10 minutes then add a 1/4 cup tank water, then take out 1/4 cup from bag, wait 10 minutes, take out 1/4 cup from bag and add 1/4 cup from tank, repeat 2 to 4 times depending on how much water was in bag, and then put in tank.

 

[Guest]

Gosh, I sure did not think my questions were that hard, yet 77 folk looked at this and I still am in the dark.

 

[imsuperjp]

Well i dont know too much but if you plan on having the clowns host in the condy it wont work. And 2 clowns in a 6 gallon is pushing it IMO.

 

[Cakepro]

2 clowns + condy : 6 gallon aquarium = disaster.

Nassarius snails are wonderful cleanup critters but they will not have enough to eat in a 6 gallon tank without you overfeeding. They are scavengers that burrow in the sand until something yummy is fed to the tank, and then they unburrow to eat. They are not diurnal grazers like turbos. In my opinion, you already have too much. Without enough to eat, your hermits will attack your snails, and bumblebee snails are definitely known to attack other snails.

~ Sherri

 

[Guest]

oops, looks like I better rethink my plans for this tank.

 

[toefu]

if you really want an anemone for this 6 gallon tank, I would highly reconsider your equipment.

First of all, most important would to Improve the volume of this tank, whether you upgrade to a larger nano, or just use a large sump (18 gallon rubbermaid?=$3) and this will greatly help stabilize your aquarium.

Improve the lighting, although it is possible, I would definitely get a more powerful light for that 6 gallon. 70 watt halide? there is plenty of information on the diy of this kind of light on nano-reef.com

although most would highly recommend against your current plan, i believe it to be a very fun challenge, if you add an 18 gallon sump and 70 watts of halide over it.

 

[Guest]

Well I now have a question on what happens when in a 6g tank i have 20 pounds of live sand and 20 pounds of live rock. There is only 3.5 g water in the tank. I have 2 powerheads that move about 140 gph. My thinking is that there is a lot of room for all kinds of live stuff in the very porous florida rock and the very deep sand bed, and since the water is moving so fast the waste gets to the proper bacteria/live stuff very fast and the 6g tank may act like a 15 or 20 g tank re capacity for load. Does this make any sense/

 

[Cakepro]

I believe your hypothesis is seriously flawed. I don't think that anything moves very fast to the anaerobic portion of your DSB for complete nitrogenous breakdown, despite how much circulation you might have in your tank.

Have you considered upgrading to a 20 gallon tank? 20 lbs. of live sand and 20 lbs. of live rock would be a great start.

~ Sherri

 

[Guest]

I do not have the space on my desk, and the minute water changes of a 6g are really easy.
Right now condy and cleaning crew are very happy. So I just need to determine if adding the 2 clowns will cause a problem. And if I need more of a cleaning crew.

 

[Guest]

just make the tank an invert tank. that way you don't have to worry about fish. just my .02

 

[Guest]

You are putting a seriously heavy bioload in that tank. They can easily get unstable by VERY slight fluctuations. Fish put high demands on such a small tank, let alone anemones which aren't something a newb should try right away, especially in a nano. Just because an anemone seems to be living in a tank, doesn't necessarily mean it is thriving and growing. It can take up to a year for an anemone to whither away. For something so small, you should stick to soft corals that don't have such high demands and inverts that can tolerate the fluctuations. I am not sure how much experience you have, but unless you have "mastered" a tank of a larger size, a nano will be doomed from the start.

 

[HolyBanana]

get a 50 gallon refugium. That will let you have those two clowns and the condi in that tank.
Like the others said, a 6 gallon is too small for so many lifeforms.

 

[imsuperjp]

malkfinger check out www.nano-reef.com . It can be done but you better do water changes religiously every week.

 

[Guest]

I kept a 55g for years with a pretty hi load of fish. If i get clowns I am planning on 2 very small clowns tank born from small parents, if i can get them.
I am going to read some more before getting anything else.

Condy is growing and seems real happy. Picked a spot up front in the corner, not the central rock i placed for her, but mebe will move there after a while.

 

[Cakepro]

2 very small clowns in 3.5 gallons of water? I'm sorry, but that's just not very ethical fishkeeping.

Please keep reading. Reef Cental is an awesome place with nearly 3 million posts.

~ Sherri

 

[Guest]

I am really trying to understand if a 6g tank filled with a lot of sand and live rock to the point of only having room for 3.5g of water is going to behave like a 3.5g tank or a 6g tank or a 15g tank.
I am hoping to find someone who has tried it.
right now all is healthy, and I do not think I will add anything until I get some more time on this tank.
I will say I have a lot of corroline, real pretty purple with a little goldish-greenish mixed in and the condy appears to have added 1/2 inch in length to tentacles.
I am going to reefcentral now.

 

[Lambianz]

Stuff happens with live stock. I've been told and from my own experience, that not everything makes it through the acc period. And certainly if you never experience a healthy salt water tank, it doesn't happen over night. I've always heard be patient and water is the first thing to look at....

 

[Erin]

Stuff happens with live stock. I've been told and from my own experience, that not everything makes it through the acc period. And certainly if you never experience a healthy salt water tank, it doesn't happen over night. I've always heard be patient and water is the first thing to look at....

Wow! Almost 20 year old thread!