new to marine aquatics with a fluval 13.5 aquarium with questions about rocks and course coral sand

[kmhighsealevel]

I am new to this form of hobby but have started with a positive attitude and hope for the best moving forward.
I began on a budget with a used, stock evo 13.5 tank, led light, pump, heater and it also included a protein skimmer. I added a circulating pump to increase water movement with the intent of eventually having a bit of coral and maybe an anemone to go along with some shrimp, crab and snails as well as 2-3 fish. The stock foam filter is new and so is the carbon and bio bags, also stock items for the fluval evo. Will be changing the carbon next week as recommended.
I have established a constant temp of 78 degrees and a Ph of 7.8 with SG at 1.024 to 1.026 and am in my third week of operation with two 20% water changes. So far so good. The ammonia levels were high initially (between 2.0 and 4.0) but have fallen now to 0 or 0.025 (hard to say exact tone of yellow) and the nitrite levels are falling and currently around 1.0 or less. The nitrate level is around 2.0 at the moment.
I started with some donated rock that was live but had been out of the tank for about one month or more (dry? I guess) and the same for the coarse coral sand (gravel?)
It appears that things are going in the right direction on their own so my first question is:
Is it safe to add a crab and or snail(s) to get things going and add something to watch rather than the occasional little floaty item?
Are there risks I should be aware of for using this rock and sand and not live rock and sand from the LFS?
Should my ph level be above 8.0 or is 7.8 acceptable?
My intent was to have things progress slowly and naturally and it looks like that is happening but do not want to kill my first introduction to the tank if it is not ready. (insert crying emoji here)
Any offers of advise if I should add a bit of ground up food flakes as suggested by another member previously in another thread to improve and ensure cycling is complete and tank is healthy? Patience is a virtue but I have never been known to be virtuous so will appreciate any advise as to when to start the show. thanks

 

[Sharkbait19]

Welcome to the forum! The fluval 13.5 was my first tank, its a great aquarium! Looks like you’re off to a great start, I’d love to see pics!
Nothing wrong with the rock you used - though there could have been an initial ammonia spike due to dead bacteria. That said the tank is clearly cycling well at this point. Tough inverts like hermits or an emerald crab would probably be fine for now.
To my knowledge 7.8 is fine but getting it closer to 8-8.2 is better.
Personally I’d pass on any nem except for rock flowers (which don’t host clowns) in a 13.5 if kept with corals. They move around and can sting and kill corals.
Long term I recommend looking into the intank media baskets - they are much better than the stock filter and make the water much more clear.

 

[kmhighsealevel]

Thanks sharkbait19. Greatly appreciated for the support. I have heard what you are suggesting before regarding the nems. Maybe it is wishful thinking on my part to have it all in such a small tank. A friend also suggested the rock flowers so I will definitely keep that in mind when I am that far. The media basket is already on my list of things to buy for the very reasons you mentioned and from other forums that I read by evo 13.5 users. Cheers for the advise.
Can not wait to add Groucho (the crab) even though he has not been bought yet. lol

 

[kmhighsealevel]

Thanks sharkbait19. Greatly appreciated for the support. I have heard what you are suggesting before regarding the nems. Maybe it is wishful thinking on my part to have it all in such a small tank. A friend also suggested the rock flowers so I will definitely keep that in mind when I am that far. The media basket is already on my list of things to buy for the very reasons you mentioned and from other forums that I read by evo 13.5 users. Cheers for the advise.
Can not wait to add Groucho (the crab) even though he has not been bought yet. lol

Good Morning,
Here is a pic of the tank from today. I also took a few close ups of some things that appear to have survived after being out of water for two months. Any idea what these are and should I be concerned? Would the fourth pic be bristleworms? These appear to be non functioning ie dead

 

[kmhighsealevel]

Do you think this is too much rock?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Nice scape!
The second and third pic appear to be vermetid snail shells - likely dead. When alive they release a net that irritates corals. The last pic is the cases of fan worms - good guys but likely dead at this point.
Second pic looks like a mix.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Do you think this is too much rock?

The amount is great - I had a lot of rock in mine by the end.

 

[kmhighsealevel]

Nice scape!
The second and third pic appear to be vermetid snail shells - likely dead. When alive they release a net that irritates corals. The last pic is the cases of fan worms - good guys but likely dead at this point.
Second pic looks like a mix.

Thanks for the identification. Will keep my fingers crossed that they no longer are surviving. Sound nasty. Sorry to hear about the fan worms but maybe the crab will enjoy them when I introduce him to the tank shortly?

 

[kmhighsealevel]

The amount is great - I had a lot of rock in mine by the end.

Your tanks looks great from the pics that I saw in a different thread. Hope I can get to that stage as some point. Wish me luck.
I moved the circulating fan to the back of the tank rather than at the front with the stock jets from the pump. Hope the two directional flows won't create any issues as opposed to having them one above the other. I did not like losing more viewing area in such a small tank.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Thanks for the identification. Will keep my fingers crossed that they no longer are surviving. Sound nasty. Sorry to hear about the fan worms but maybe the crab will enjoy them when I introduce him to the tank shortly?

Crab may or may not eat it - though it probably would as they’ll eat anything.

Your tanks looks great from the pics that I saw in a different thread. Hope I can get to that stage as some point. Wish me luck.
I moved the circulating fan to the back of the tank rather than at the front with the stock jets from the pump. Hope the two directional flows won't create any issues as opposed to having them one above the other. I did not like losing more viewing area in such a small tank.

Thanks!
Powerhead placement shouldn’t matter too much as long as it’s providing ample flow across the tank. I didn’t have one in mine.
From my experience:
Don’t get too many leather corals - they like to secrete toxins that hamper growth of others and also just get big.
Research the corals you get before you buy them - it’s fine to get fast growing, invasive ones but make sure to place them away from the rest!