FIRST SALTWATER TANK, NEED HELP

[1epauletteshark]

Hi, I am here to make sure I have everything thing I need and also that I am not planning on adding too many fish.
17 gallon rectangular tank

Equipment purchased:
Small protein skimmer
Light fixture
Waterfall filter
Thermometer
Chiller
Frozen mysis shrimp (I bought them very early)
Heater (arriving today or tomorrow)
Ammonia test kit (already tested and so far at 0)
PH test kit
Seachem new tank stabilization
Live rock
Live sand
Salinity tester


Livestock plan:
Two small ocellarus clownfish
A Banggai cardinal fish
A yellow clown goby
A fire fish goby
And finally a Yasha Hase goby and pistol shrimp pair

Invertebrate plan:
Five nassaurius snails
Two blue leg hermit crabs
Peppermint shrimp
A small red starfish (I forgot the name)


I also plan on having one singular bubble tip anemone

My plan is to add the bubble tip anemone and the invertebrates after a week (it has been two days) but also add the two clownfish then wait another week and add the rest does that sound good?

(Side note, my LFS sells mandarin fish and they are about two inches long, is my tank big enough?)

 

[1epauletteshark]

Updated photos

 

[adittam]

You definitely don’t want to add a BTA until the tank has matured a lot more than 1 week.

 

[adittam]

What make/model light did you get? Where did you get your “live rock” from?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hi, I am here to make sure I have everything thing I need and also that I am not planning on adding too many fish.
17 gallon rectangular tank

Equipment purchased:
Small protein skimmer
Light fixture
Waterfall filter
Thermometer
Chiller
Frozen mysis shrimp (I bought them very early)
Heater (arriving today or tomorrow)
Ammonia test kit (already tested and so far at 0)
PH test kit
Seachem new tank stabilization
Live rock
Live sand
Salinity tester


Livestock plan:
Two small ocellarus clownfish
A Banggai cardinal fish
A yellow clown goby
A fire fish goby
And finally a Yasha Hase goby and pistol shrimp pair

Invertebrate plan:
Five nassaurius snails
Two blue leg hermit crabs
Peppermint shrimp
A small red starfish (I forgot the name)


I also plan on having one singular bubble tip anemone

My plan is to add the bubble tip anemone and the invertebrates after a week (it has been two days) but also add the two clownfish then wait another week and add the rest does that sound good?

(Side note, my LFS sells mandarin fish and they are about two inches long, is my tank big enough?)

Welcome to Reef2Reef! Do you plan on doing any coral in your tank or just fish?

 

[Rmckoy]

I would personally wait for the anemone as mentioned above .
next the mandarin will fit in your tank but sadly if the tank is not mature or has a very heavy population of pods it will starve to death .
the odd one will eat prepared foods but ideally you want the system to be larger , stable and mature , as well as having plenty of live rock to provide reproducing place for pods ( ideally a sump with cheato

 

[BetterJake]

I would recommend an ATO (auto top off), otherwise you are going to have salinity swings if you are not around to add water as it evaporates.

You may want to add a tiny wave maker to the display for some surface agitation and flow.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I'd also rethink the sea star. Very few species do well in aquaria, and most will die quickly in a small tank.

And six fish for that tank is quite a high bioload for your aquascape, and the clowns, if territorial, may certainly act aggressively toward the other, more timid fish. You'll also need a lid for the firefish, or it will go carpet surfing.

 

[SPR1968]

I wouldn’t add the anemone for some time because they require excellent/stable water parameters and unless you know what your doing you may have issues, or the anemone will.

You might find this useful

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean...

www.reef2reef.com

just check the tank is correctly cycled and salinity, temperature etc is all stable and at the correct levels and if there is anything your unsure of just ask.

And welcome to Reef2Reef as well by the way!

 

[Rmckoy]

Although this all sounds very discouraging I highly recommend research each species you want to stock and come up with a plan
Some things are better suited for larger systems while others might work given the proper research and care requirements .
if it’s in your budget to plan a larger display it would open many different options

start off with 1-1.5 lbs live rock per gallon as your biological filtration
The hob skimmer and filter will work but will need to be cleaned frequently .
smaller volume systems require more attention to maintain stable parameters

hope this helps .

 

[Dburr1014]

Best advice I can give you is;
Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank only bad things happen fast.

Unfortunately I don't believe your system will be ready in a week unless you started with live rock from the ocean.
Definitely rethink your livestock. Like for instance the red starfish you want, perhaps you can get a Red Serpent star. They are definitely more forgiving as far as feeding and living a long time and a small tank. The normal red starfish have certain food they need to survive and they're really hard to feed especially in a small tank.
Anenome, as said, need to wait before being introduced. Not only do they need stable, Quality Water, they also need a quality light source.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What kind of skimmer did you get?
Personally, I would suggest to stick to maybe 3 or 4 fish for that tank, 17 gallons is not big enough for more.
Make sure the water surface is well agitated, its looks very still in the pic (but that may have been for the purpose of the pic)
As others mentioned, go very slow, add just one fish at a time and wait a little while for the system to adjust before adding another.

 

[1epauletteshark]

Welcome to Reef2Reef! Do you plan on doing any coral in your tank or just fish?

Just fish and a bubble tip anemone

 

[Andreas' Reef]

6 fish is too many. I would narrow it down to your favourite 3

 

[1epauletteshark]

What kind of skimmer did you get?
Personally, I would suggest to stick to maybe 3 or 4 fish for that tank, 17 gallons is not big enough for more.
Make sure the water surface is well agitated, its looks very still in the pic (but that may have been for the purpose of the pic)
As others mentioned, go very slow, add just one fish at a time and wait a little while for the system to adjust before adding another.

I was thinking about skipping the Banggai Cardinalfish thanks for the advice

 

[1epauletteshark]

6 fish is too many. I would narrow it down to your favourite 3

Yikes that’s a tough decision

 

[Andreas' Reef]

Yikes that’s a tough decision

Sadly this hobby is full of tough descisions.

 

[1epauletteshark]

Best advice I can give you is;
Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank only bad things happen fast.

Unfortunately I don't believe your system will be ready in a week unless you started with live rock from the ocean.
Definitely rethink your livestock. Like for instance the red starfish you want, perhaps you can get a Red Serpent star. They are definitely more forgiving as far as feeding and living a long time and a small tank. The normal red starfish have certain food they need to survive and they're really hard to feed especially in a small tank.
Anenome, as said, need to wait before being introduced. Not only do they need stable, Quality Water, they also need a quality light source.

Oh yeah I thing my LFS does have those starfish, I think the live rock is from the ocean but I think I’ll wait maybe two weeks then add a fish then wait another week and so on

 

[1epauletteshark]

Sadly this hobby is full of tough descisions.

I had a feeling, thanks

 

[1epauletteshark]

Although this all sounds very discouraging I highly recommend research each species you want to stock and come up with a plan
Some things are better suited for larger systems while others might work given the proper research and care requirements .
if it’s in your budget to plan a larger display it would open many different options

start off with 1-1.5 lbs live rock per gallon as your biological filtration
The hob skimmer and filter will work but will need to be cleaned frequently .
smaller volume systems require more attention to maintain stable parameters

hope this helps .

Thanks, I have been researching for quite a while now definitely helps