First time reefer

jdw6626

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Hey guys I am new to the reef keeping world and figured what better place to learn and ask questions than on a forum especially when it's local. So here it goes, I have a 20 gallon long setup right now with some CUC and 20 pounds of live rock and sand. It's been running for about 2 weeks now and I will be getting some fish for it probably Thursday. I am considering a pair of ocellaris clowns. My question is what do you all recommend as a first fish?

20160904_175934.jpg
 

Leslie Tabor

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Welcome! I would make sure it is fully cycled before you add your fish. The clowns are a good first fish but it can take several weeks to fully cycle the tank. What are your water parameters?? More people will chime in! :D
 

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Welcome to the addiction! My first fish was a yellow tail damsel, but ended up having to go thru the trouble of catching it again once I realized I wanted to go a different route. There are allot of good beginner fish like clowns which is a type of damsel, and gobies, ect. I would make a list of fish you like and then do extensive research before you put it in your tank. There are allot of factors when choosing the right fish for you like: tank size, care needs, compatibility with other tank mates, ect. So I would make a list, research, and always feel free to ask questions here! + 1 for making sure your tank is fully cycled before you add any creatures. Happy reefing!
 

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Welcome to reef2reef!
 
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jdw6626

jdw6626

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Welcome! I would make sure it is fully cycled before you add your fish. The clowns are a good first fish but it can take several weeks to fully cycle the tank. What are your water parameters?? More people will chime in! :D
As far as parameters go I have done mostly planted tanks so I have never really focused too much on testing water. I have always just done a water change every two weeks notice matter what. But I do keep my salinity at 1.024-1.026. I have been thinking about putting an ATO on it to help keep the salinity more stable.
 
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jdw6626

jdw6626

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Welcome to the addiction! My first fish was a yellow tail damsel, but ended up having to go thru the trouble of catching it again once I realized I wanted to go a different route. There are allot of good beginner fish like clowns which is a type of damsel, and gobies, ect. I would make a list of fish you like and then do extensive research before you put it in your tank. There are allot of factors when choosing the right fish for you like: tank size, care needs, compatibility with other tank mates, ect. So I would make a list, research, and always feel free to ask questions here! + 1 for making sure your tank is fully cycled before you add any creatures. Happy reefing!
Thanks and I have done research on some but I wanted to see if there are any that I have not researched yet that the community could recommend.
 

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Welcome to R2R;)
 

Leslie Tabor

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As far as parameters go I have done mostly planted tanks so I have never really focused too much on testing water. I have always just done a water change every two weeks notice matter what. But I do keep my salinity at 1.024-1.026. I have been thinking about putting an ATO on it to help keep the salinity more stable.
Ok, well first thing before you put anything alive in there, get a test kit, there are a lot of them but Red Sea and Salifert seem to be the most used. You need to know that the tank has cycled, you should read up on salt water parameters. Salinity is only a small part of the process. Before you add a clean up crew you want to make sire your salinity and pH are stable. Red Sea has a start up kit that will help cycle the tank that I found to be quite helpful. Ok well that is a good start! It is hard to be patient but from what I have learned this is VERY different than freshwater! Ooh, also are you using RO-DI water?
 
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jdw6626

jdw6626

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Ok, well first thing before you put anything alive in there, get a test kit, there are a lot of them but Red Sea and Salifert seem to be the most used. You need to know that the tank has cycled, you should read up on salt water parameters. Salinity is only a small part of the process. Before you add a clean up crew you want to make sire your salinity and pH are stable. Red Sea has a start up kit that will help cycle the tank that I found to be quite helpful. Ok well that is a good start! It is hard to be patient but from what I have learned this is VERY different than freshwater! Ooh, also are you using RO-DI water?
Yeah, I am buying premixed salt and RO water from a local store that I really like. They also do free water testing so I am going to have that done before I add anymore livestock. I'm not in too much of a rush to throw things together due to wanting to do it right the first time annnnnnd money. The financial difference was the first thing I noticed right off the bat between salt and fresh. What would be the "ideal" parameters, I know it will vary based off what the individual tank is setup for.
 

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What would be the "ideal" parameters, I know it will vary based off what the individual tank is setup for.

You got that right that different folks will have different levels that they like to maintain their tanks at.

However, here's a great article by the resident chemist around here. He goes over the 'ideal' reef parameters in this article.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

Welcome to R2R and the salty side of the hobby!
 
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jdw6626

jdw6626

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You got that right that different folks will have different levels that they like to maintain their tanks at.

However, here's a great article by the resident chemist around here. He goes over the 'ideal' reef parameters in this article.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

Welcome to R2R and the salty side of the hobby!
Thanks man
 
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