22 gallon hex journal
- Thread starter noob23
- Start date
Thanks Lotus, i am pretty pumped about this!
The owners of my lfs were there, and told me to wait a week, and bring in some water next saturday and they will test it for free. If all of the levels are good, i will be getting a cleaning crew, and maybe some fish. As for the stocking i was thinking something like this:
1x lemonpeel, coral beauty, or flame angel (haven't decided yet)
1x clownfish (percula or ocellaris?)
1x firefish goby
1x green mandarin dragonet (maybe, they had one there and i loved it)
Any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions about the stocking and/or the current set up are definetely welcome!!
I did have some other questions though,
1. I have a timer for the light, how long should it run in a day?
2. Does the powerhead stay on all the time, or should it go off at night?
3. I seem to have some cool hitch hikers already, is there a good website that has a detailed list?
Im sure i have more questions but i cant really remember them.
I will post more pics as things change, or if i get some other cool hitch hikers.
The owners of my lfs were there, and told me to wait a week, and bring in some water next saturday and they will test it for free. If all of the levels are good, i will be getting a cleaning crew, and maybe some fish. As for the stocking i was thinking something like this:
1x lemonpeel, coral beauty, or flame angel (haven't decided yet)
1x clownfish (percula or ocellaris?)
1x firefish goby
1x green mandarin dragonet (maybe, they had one there and i loved it)
Any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions about the stocking and/or the current set up are definetely welcome!!
I did have some other questions though,
1. I have a timer for the light, how long should it run in a day?
2. Does the powerhead stay on all the time, or should it go off at night?
3. I seem to have some cool hitch hikers already, is there a good website that has a detailed list?
Im sure i have more questions but i cant really remember them.
I will post more pics as things change, or if i get some other cool hitch hikers.
Like in freshwater, you should get your own test kits. Ammonia and nitrites at zero will indicate that your cycle is finished (and when it's safe to add fish). Relying on the LFS can be patchy in terms of the advice you get. The more you know, the less likely you'll end up with the wrong advice. Check out this article on basic saltwater parameters: Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com
The stocking sounds high to me. The mandarin goby is definitely not suitable until your tank is about a year old, and even then, only if it already eats prepared foods.
1. If it's a fish only with live rock (FOWLR) tank, you only need to run the light a few hours a day while cycling, if at all. Once stocked, around 10 hours a day is OK.
2. Keep the powerhead on all the time.
3. Check the sticky of ID sites at the top of the forum for links.
The stocking sounds high to me. The mandarin goby is definitely not suitable until your tank is about a year old, and even then, only if it already eats prepared foods.
1. If it's a fish only with live rock (FOWLR) tank, you only need to run the light a few hours a day while cycling, if at all. Once stocked, around 10 hours a day is OK.
2. Keep the powerhead on all the time.
3. Check the sticky of ID sites at the top of the forum for links.
I probably wouldn't put any of the Dwarf Angels in there. IMO, they just like too much swimming space for a tank like that.
Stocking a hex, especially a smaller one, is not an easy task... Don't forget surface area is important and Hex's don't have much usually. Personally the only thing I think they are really good for is Seahorses, which I'll NEVER recommend to a beginner, well most people period actually. That said though a few tiny fish would be very happy. Pretty well any of the small gobies would work well, just aim for an adult size no more than 2" or so.
I'd even take it a step further with the manderin, I'd say unless you have a VERY large, VERY productive refugium, no dice prepared foods or not. They just never seem to do as well as their proper, LIVE food (gee, imagine that lol
) Other than that, ditto to everything else Lotus said.
Chris
Stocking a hex, especially a smaller one, is not an easy task... Don't forget surface area is important and Hex's don't have much usually. Personally the only thing I think they are really good for is Seahorses, which I'll NEVER recommend to a beginner, well most people period actually. That said though a few tiny fish would be very happy. Pretty well any of the small gobies would work well, just aim for an adult size no more than 2" or so.
I'd even take it a step further with the manderin, I'd say unless you have a VERY large, VERY productive refugium, no dice prepared foods or not. They just never seem to do as well as their proper, LIVE food (gee, imagine that lol
) Other than that, ditto to everything else Lotus said. Chris
Another thing regarding hitchhikers, i seem to have some aptasia. I am planning to have entry-level, low light hardy corals (i wish i could have a hardcore reef aquarium, but i have lighting limitations: 36 watt 50/50 CF over a 22hex), so how long can i let it be before i have to remove it? I also seem to have an anenome of some sort, i will try to get a better picture of it for id purposes, but it moved to the back of the tank. For now, you can try and spot it on my FTS picture, its on the rightmost bridge piece on the top towards the back. Any speacial treatment? I would like to try and keep it alive.
Another small question:
I would like to see some other hikers, such as starfish, crabs, snails etc...
Does it take a little bit for them to emerge, or should they have already come out by now?
Another small question:
I would like to see some other hikers, such as starfish, crabs, snails etc...
Does it take a little bit for them to emerge, or should they have already come out by now?
Last edited:
Well, I would strongly suggest reconsidering on the dwarf angels but if you REALLY want to try one the only species I would even try with is Centropyge argi. MAYBE (big maybe) the african equivalent (I'll have to look up the name later, I forget). The Lemonpeel and Coralbeauty in specific just plain old need more space. Just wondering, what are the dimentions of your hex?
"i really trust my lfs. They said that i may be able to add fish in a week, depending on the test results." Trust really isn't the issue. Murphy is. lol Almost all the time, something happens outside LFS hours... at least that's what it seems like to me lol. Especially if you are planning on any corals/inverts you really should have a full compliment of test kits. Great example, if you end up dosing Ca you really should know what your alkalinity is. Same if you're adjusting your alkalinity you should know what that does to your pH. Almost every parameter I can think of that you may adjust there is another reaction. Kinda think of your tank as a beaker in chemistry class, it's good to know what's going on whenever you need to... not just LFS hours.
So far as the lighting... How tall is your tank? My gut instinct is saying the light is too low but it really depends on how deep it has to punch through the water. My hex is 30" deep and I wouldn't consider anything less than 150 watt HQI for low-med light corals and if I wanted to put my clam in there 250 watt. The only reason I don't say 400 is because I don't think the fixture would fit.
For the Aptasia, kill them NOW! before they get a chance to release any larvae! Injection with kalkwasser is the best basic treatment. I'm about to try the new Red Sea treatment, I'll post what I think in a few weeks.
Short of dunking the rock in concentrated Kalk solution (oh, don't ask lol) you might never know everything that is on/in your LR. I've had rock for YEARS and found new things in my tank. Best thing you can do is leave them be and give the tank the best care you can. That allows them to reproduce so you might see them (more). Also, personally I don't trust any LR hitch hiking anemone. If they are hardy enough to make it through shipping that sets off warning bells for me... Most desirable anemones are very delicate and wouldn't survive. Not to mention the only anemones I am aware of that can survive low light are pests (like aptasia).
Chris
"i really trust my lfs. They said that i may be able to add fish in a week, depending on the test results." Trust really isn't the issue. Murphy is. lol
Almost all the time, something happens outside LFS hours... at least that's what it seems like to me lol. Especially if you are planning on any corals/inverts you really should have a full compliment of test kits. Great example, if you end up dosing Ca you really should know what your alkalinity is. Same if you're adjusting your alkalinity you should know what that does to your pH. Almost every parameter I can think of that you may adjust there is another reaction. Kinda think of your tank as a beaker in chemistry class, it's good to know what's going on whenever you need to... not just LFS hours. So far as the lighting... How tall is your tank? My gut instinct is saying the light is too low but it really depends on how deep it has to punch through the water. My hex is 30" deep and I wouldn't consider anything less than 150 watt HQI for low-med light corals and if I wanted to put my clam in there 250 watt. The only reason I don't say 400 is because I don't think the fixture would fit
. For the Aptasia, kill them NOW! before they get a chance to release any larvae! Injection with kalkwasser is the best basic treatment. I'm about to try the new Red Sea treatment, I'll post what I think in a few weeks.
Short of dunking the rock in concentrated Kalk solution (oh, don't ask lol
) you might never know everything that is on/in your LR. I've had rock for YEARS and found new things in my tank. Best thing you can do is leave them be and give the tank the best care you can. That allows them to reproduce so you might see them (more). Also, personally I don't trust any LR hitch hiking anemone. If they are hardy enough to make it through shipping that sets off warning bells for me... Most desirable anemones are very delicate and wouldn't survive. Not to mention the only anemones I am aware of that can survive low light are pests (like aptasia). Chris
Thanks for the reply,
My lfs said i would be able to have some mushroom corals, and something else (she said it grows fast and is easy to keep). I wouldn't hesitate to get a more powerful light, but as you can see in the pics, im very limited as to what fits in that little canopy.
I also think you have a point about the angel, and i think i need to reconsider. I remember them saying i could get a mandarin goby, but i would have to buy a box of those reef bugs. What are those?
About the Aptasia, i read that peppermint shrimp take care of them, is that the right way to do it? I would really prefer not to have to buy a syringe and kill them manually.
Say this was your tank, what would you do about the lighting and corals, and how would you stock it?
PS: I spotted an orange and black bristle worm yesterday weaving in and out of my rocks!
My lfs said i would be able to have some mushroom corals, and something else (she said it grows fast and is easy to keep). I wouldn't hesitate to get a more powerful light, but as you can see in the pics, im very limited as to what fits in that little canopy.
I also think you have a point about the angel, and i think i need to reconsider. I remember them saying i could get a mandarin goby, but i would have to buy a box of those reef bugs. What are those?
About the Aptasia, i read that peppermint shrimp take care of them, is that the right way to do it? I would really prefer not to have to buy a syringe and kill them manually.
Say this was your tank, what would you do about the lighting and corals, and how would you stock it?
PS: I spotted an orange and black bristle worm yesterday weaving in and out of my rocks!
Last edited:
I would probably put 1 250w metal halide in it with some short PCs for actinics. You could probably keep most corals with this lighting but have to keep some at the very top of the rocks. Mushrooms are very eat to keep even under NO lighting. Was the other xenia?
I wouldn't put a mandarin in there until your tank was a good 6 months old. They usually only eat live pods that live in your tank. It takes a while to build up a population of these. A box of reef bugs would help but not necessary.
Peppermint shrimp MIGHT eat aptasia... I've never had one eat it. I kill them with Joe's Juice... Works like a champ! I'm not sure about this black worm... how about a pic?
I wouldn't put a mandarin in there until your tank was a good 6 months old. They usually only eat live pods that live in your tank. It takes a while to build up a population of these. A box of reef bugs would help but not necessary.
Peppermint shrimp MIGHT eat aptasia... I've never had one eat it. I kill them with Joe's Juice... Works like a champ! I'm not sure about this black worm... how about a pic?
Can i find a metal halide that will fit in that canopy? Even if i did, i would be worried about the heat, as the light i have right now gets pretty hot.
As for the corals, i wasn't expecting this to be a hardcore reef tank, i knew i wouldn't have enough light to do that. I just want a FOWLR tank with a few entry-level corals. And yes, im pretty sure it was xenia.
Heres the worm i saw:
As for the corals, i wasn't expecting this to be a hardcore reef tank, i knew i wouldn't have enough light to do that. I just want a FOWLR tank with a few entry-level corals. And yes, im pretty sure it was xenia.
Heres the worm i saw:
Any MH you may find will probably need to be a DIY set up. Probably with the canopy raised off the tank to help remove/prevent Heat transfer to the tank. That said still need to know the tank dimentions to help out with that . If you can get me that, and a budget, I could probably even design a light system for you. WITH DIY instructions lol .
As Lotus said earlier, the mandarin really isn't a great idea period. The general rule of thumb is a 75 gal full blown reef with no other Copepod predators that has been set up for at least 6 months 1 year being better. There are things you can do to bend that rule but for the most part a 22 gal is just too small to support a population of cope's that is being preyed upon. That's where the box of bugs came in but do you really want to be CONSTANTLY buying live food that has a limited shelf life? Keep in mind, the manderin could concievably live for YEARS if kept healthy... that's a lot of $$ on food for one ~$50 fish. Plus what happens if your availability drops off for that product. A year ago there were at least 4 places locally I could get live cope's, now I'm not even sure if there's 1.
The worm is a bristle worm. Give him a pet! See what happens... lol. No don't... it really stings and sometimes getting the little clear hairs out of your skin can take a while... Though it is a sensation every marine keeper should experience .
So far as the Aptaisa, While you can give Peppermints a try there are no promises. Normally you need to "train" them and it's more trouble than it's worth IMO unless you have a LOT of Aptasia. Kalk is by far the best bet. BTW, you don't need the actual needle, just a syringe.
Don't forget those dimentions
Chris
. If you can get me that, and a budget, I could probably even design a light system for you. WITH DIY instructions lol . As Lotus said earlier, the mandarin really isn't a great idea period. The general rule of thumb is a 75 gal full blown reef with no other Copepod predators that has been set up for at least 6 months 1 year being better. There are things you can do to bend that rule but for the most part a 22 gal is just too small to support a population of cope's that is being preyed upon. That's where the box of bugs came in but do you really want to be CONSTANTLY buying live food that has a limited shelf life? Keep in mind, the manderin could concievably live for YEARS if kept healthy... that's a lot of $$ on food for one ~$50 fish. Plus what happens if your availability drops off for that product. A year ago there were at least 4 places locally I could get live cope's, now I'm not even sure if there's 1.
The worm is a bristle worm. Give him a pet! See what happens... lol
. No don't... it really stings and sometimes getting the little clear hairs out of your skin can take a while... Though it is a sensation every marine keeper should experience . So far as the Aptaisa, While you can give Peppermints a try there are no promises. Normally you need to "train" them and it's more trouble than it's worth IMO unless you have a LOT of Aptasia. Kalk is by far the best bet. BTW, you don't need the actual needle, just a syringe.
Don't forget those dimentions
Chris
Yep, the tank is a week old. On startup day, i was told to wait a week and comeback with a water sample. Yesterday i went in and had my water tested, and it was "Perfect". So they said i could safely have 1 firefish and a starter clean up crew. I will be going in next weekend for another water test and more stuff; possibly 2 clownfish, some more snails, crabs, a shrimp, and maybe some corals.
BTW, whats a CUC?
BTW, whats a CUC?
thanks for the info. regarding clownfish, i was told to only purchase same species clownfish for the tank. i was also told to purchase ALL the clownfish at once as it will reduce aggression if you had one by one. maybe the purchase all clownfish at once is 'real' or a way for the LFS to get ALL your money AT ONCE??
CUC= Clean Up Crew
On a separate note, was your live rock cured or uncured? I read that you can use either type when you are initially cycling a tank without any fish/snail/etc.
CUC= Clean Up Crew
On a separate note, was your live rock cured or uncured? I read that you can use either type when you are initially cycling a tank without any fish/snail/etc.
The live rock was "fully cured", but my lfs said there could still be some minimal die off, thats why i waited a week with nothing in the tank. I just got the first CUC yesterday, along with the fish, after my tank was running for a week with rock and sand only. The test came back "perfect", so i got the CUC and a fish.