Couple Questions On A Us 8g

[BigBeginner]

Ive decided im getting a 8gal Oceanic BioCube for my room and i would like to know some things before i start buying stuff (right now it's cycling, almost done):

1. can someone tell me a good CUC for an 8gal, its starting to get algae =[

2. Is this stocking ok?
-Corals (dunno what kinds or how many yet)
-Clown Goby
-Firefish
-Pistol shrimp (i dont know if i want this yet, i just want to know if i would be able to have this with the other 2 fishes)
Can i have more? Less?
If i was to order from Liveaquaria, would these coral packs be good? or too much, i can always put some in my 55gal since is lacking corals considering its a "reef"
Mushies Pack - http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_di...amp;pcatid=2315
Softies Pack - http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_di...amp;pcatid=2033


3. Right now, the Cube is exactly the way it came when i bought it. And i was wondering if i should make any mods to it that are almost necessary. Fuge, pump, lights, sponges, filters, bioballs, ect...

4. I have a cheato in it right now, and i was wondering what should i do with it after its done cycling. Can i leave it in there? Theres no fuge in the back. I can always put it back into my 55 gal (i already have a big clump in there) if its gunna cause problems. I kinda want it to help with nitrates and stuff.

5. Is liveaquaria a good site to order from?

I planned on making this a Mantis tank, but i've decided imma wait and do that for my next tank, i basicly got all the info i would need about making a Mantis tank from Skii =] im just on a budget and doing it would be to much trouble right now

Thanks for any help, i really appreciate it

 

[seffieuk]

2. Is this stocking ok?
-Corals (dunno what kinds or how many yet)
-Clown Goby
-Firefish
-Pistol shrimp (i dont know if i want this yet, i just want to know if i would be able to have this with the other 2 fishes)

IMHO it would be overstocked

Seffie x

 

[BigBeginner]

What about with out the pistol?

 

[Xebadir]

Im with Seffie here, it looks like an overstock.

I dont think the pistol shrimp is the problem...maybe loose the firefish and instead have the pistol/goby as a pair around which the tank is centred.

You can leave the cheato in there if you are happy with its appearance in the tank...you might just need to prune it and move parts back into the 55.

As for mods I believe it depends on the stock lighting (which im not sure of), of course the lighting will depend on your planned coral keeping. Im attempting a HoB fuge from an old penguin 125 for my 5G...ill let you know how that goes.

Clean up crew depends on what else you want to keep. Id suggest 2 maybe 3 snails of some sort (Maybe 2 ceriths and a turbo? Others will know better), maybe a hermit or emerald crab if you like that sort of thing.

Hope that helps.

 

[BigBeginner]

What if, i replaced the firefish with a Ocellaris clown? Because, right now in my 55 gal, i just found out that my other clown is a spine cheek which i was told might kill other types of clowns and i want to get my Ocellaris out if i was able to put him into the 8 gal.

Im just wondering, i really dont mind the idea of a goby and pistol, which was what i was planning on doing, i just always really liked firefishes

Ok, i'll probably keep some of it in their if i can find a good spot.

The lights are: 2x 0.75 watt Lunar blue-moon-glow LED's, 1x 18 watt True Actinic 03, 1x 18 watt 10,000k Daylight
Cooling Fans: 50 mm
Pump flow rate: 106 gph
Dimensions are: L - 12.5" x W - 13" x H - 15"
A sponge filter in the 1st chamber, going to a chamber with bioballs, then goes through another sponge and out through the pump

I would like mostly Softies

K, thanks, i was thinking about a fuge, but thats some work, since my 2nd chamber is really small, i dont know if that will be ok for a fuge, plus i would have to install a light if i was keeping my cheato in there

What about... Astreas and Nassarius? Im afraid the turbo will be knock stuff over like crazy in such a small tank. I dotn really want a Hermit crab because of the shell thing

Thanks for your help

 

[Xebadir]

I think given that the occy will take the upper part of the water column and the goby and shrimp below this might be ok (But another person will be able to provide confirmation), it may mean you need to water change a little more regularly to cover the nitrates. I guess a question here is how big is your occy?

Just remember that your bioballs and sponge are going to be nitrate factories...if you are going with corals you need to either clean these very regularly, or preferably you can convert these to a form of fuge. Replace the bioballs for coral rubble and you will be much better off, then as long as you clean the sponge regularly you should be ok...alternately if you could provide an LED in the sponge chamber you could use cheato as an alternative, but thats up to you.

Your flow rate is probably a fraction low for most corals (Its only 13x turnover), if I were you Id look at investing in a powerhead for some additional flow. If you plan on keeping anythin more that soft corals you probably neeed to up your turnover to probably 30x or more, but if I were you id be looking to get to about 25x which will keep most softies happy. Your lighting seems about sufficient for most softies.

Yeah both those snails should be fine...just remember Astreas cant right themselves and youll need to do this if they have an accident.

How much live rock have you got in the tank?

Hope this is helping.

 

[BigBeginner]

It is extremely helping =] and i thank you VERY much

My occy is about 1.5-2 inches?

So i take out the bioballs, break a piece of live rock, and then put it in a net bag? or just drop it in?

I would, but all the powerhead are so big and like take up like 1/2 the width of the tank, are their and small models that you can think of for a 8 gal with my dimensions? i dont plan on getting the corals till after the fish anyways

Yea i had that happen in my 55 gal, but they are so good at cleaning, any other small snails you can think of that mgiht be good?

I have 5-6 pounds of LR and and a piece of baserock

 

[Xebadir]

Well, to give you an idea, in my tank ive got about 3.5kg or so at 5.5Gall, so if your tank doesnt look to full you might want to look at upping it a little, particularly because you need the bio filtration given you are heavily stocked. If youve got spare LR you can break it yourself, or alternatively you can sometimes get coral rubble from the LFS or just small bits. Probably dont need to put it in a bag unless it has the potential to block the flow. Maybe a Hydor Koralia Nano would do the job(that would give you great turnover)? They dont take much space. As was suggested to me you could alternatively hide a powerhead in the back of your tank behind the LR with a Y joint to redirect the flow to either end. Maybe you could add this later on. So yeah, pull the bioballs and go LR/coral rubble in there.

The occy should be ok, just need to be careful.

Im not an expert on snails, though it might be worth just doing some investigation.

Hope ive been a help.

 

[seffieuk]

You would be way over stocked - the goby and pistol is ok for your size tank, although the goby can grow to an inch and a half, so, theoretically too big for your tank! As for lr in the sump, you would buy live rock rubble and put in a bag or tights so it is easy to remove and clean.

The clown would be too big

Seffie x

 

[ben1987]

8G us is to small for a fire fish imo

 

[BigBeginner]

Gah, i guess ill have to live with the fact that ths tank can't hold 2 fishes >.<

So i guess im going to get:
A goby (what type of goby would work best in a 8gal and would pair up with a pistol shrimp? my choices are anything on this page http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquariu...s.cfm?c=15+2124 since none of my LFSs have gobies...)
Pistol shrimp (http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+525+702&pcatid=702)
Snails (is 2 atraea, 2 cerith, 1 margarita ok?)
Softie corals (is this a good pack? <a href="http/liveaquaria.com/product/prod_displa...amp;pcatid=2033" target="_blank">http/liveaquaria.com/product/prod_displa...amp;pcatid=2033</a>)

I am going to:
Replace bioballs with LR rubble in a bag (done)
Get a Hydro Koralia Nano powerhead (EDIT: well i went to the store and they had a couple, but they were 50 us dollars!!!! i was like... wow, it was more expensive then the bigger models, so ill either be going this offline, from a different store, or am not getting it for a very long time)
Cut down my cheato

Is that all i need to do? and all i can get? anything else i need to know?

EDIT: i just thought of a couple things, how much sand will i need for the goby and pistol? and is 5 pounds of LR enough? its looks pretty full and im leaving space for rocks corals will come on.

Sorry i have so many questions, and thank you to everyone who is helping me

 

[seffieuk]

Gah, i guess ill have to live with the fact that ths tank can't hold 2 fishes >.<

So i guess im going to get:
A goby (what type of goby would work best in a 8gal and would pair up with a pistol shrimp? my choices are anything on this page [URL="http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquariu...s.cfm?c=15+2124"]http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquariu...s.cfm?c=15+2124[/URL] since none of my LFSs have gobies...)

You will need a goby from the family Amblyeleotris or Stonogobiops to have a symbiotic relationship with a pistol shrimp

Pistol shrimp (http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+525+702&pcatid=702)

Snails (is 2 atraea, 2 cerith, 1 margarita ok?)

Probably too many, I would start with two and see how I go. I would also get a blue legged hermit

Softie corals (is this a good pack? <a href="http/liveaquaria.com/product/prod_displa...amp;pcatid=2033" target="_blank">http/liveaquaria.com/product/prod_displa...amp;pcatid=2033</a>)

[color="#000080"]Don't get a pack - half the fun is the shopping trip and the looking and hunting down that special coral - buy seperatly imho[/color] Start researching your corals and enjoy, remember never buy something that you do not know how to care for

I am going to:
Replace bioballs with LR rubble in a bag (done)

Get a Hydro Koralia Nano powerhead (EDIT: well i went to the store and they had a couple, but they were 50 us dollars!!!! i was like... wow, it was more expensive then the bigger models, so ill either be going this offline, from a different store, or am not getting it for a very long time) Its odd, the nano costs more here too - i would have said get the K1, but not sure if it would be just too strong - someone else will let you know I'm sure

Cut down my cheato - offer it for sale on here

Is that all i need to do? and all i can get? anything else i need to know?

EDIT: i just thought of a couple things, how much sand will i need for the goby and pistol? and is 5 pounds of LR enough? its looks pretty full and im leaving space for rocks corals will come on.
You will need about two inches for the goby/shrimp combo. Five pounds sounds fine as you will add rock when you add corals

Sorry i have so many questions, and thank you to everyone who is helping me Never be sorry for asking questions, we love watching a tank come together

Seffie x

 

[BigBeginner]

Ok, any sp you would recommend? My choices off of liveaquaria are:
Hi Fin Red Banded Goby (Stonogobiops nematodes)
Orange Spotted Goby (Amblyeleotris guttata)
Wheeler's Watchman Goby (Amblyeleotris wheeleri)
I like all of them and i cant decide =[

Alright, 1 astraea and 1 cerith sound good? I thought about a hermitcrab but dont i need shells for them?



Well ive kept all sorts of mushrooms and softies in my 55 gal, not so much luck on polyps (i had a zoo colony and they didnt grow at all and just died =\) the only reason i didnt want to buy that pack was because i didnt wanna end up getting like one mushroom and like 5 polyps since it doesnt exactly say howmuch i would get.

Im pretty sure the K1 is way to much for the softies i plan to keep, and the length of the powerhead is like 1/2 of my tank lol

Ok

Alright, i need like another 1 inch then

And agian =] i dunno what i would do without the people on this forum

 

[seffieuk]

Ok, any sp you would recommend? My choices off of liveaquaria are:

Hi Fin Red Banded Goby (Stonogobiops nematodes) very similar to my dracula goby, who I love - but grows to 2inch

Orange Spotted Goby (Amblyeleotris guttata) grows to 3 inch

Wheeler's Watchman Goby (Amblyeleotris wheeleri) grows to 3 inches

I like all of them and i cant decide =[ I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you shouldn't really buy any of them - you are lookimg for the smallest goby uou can find, which I think is going to be about an inch and a half

Alright, 1 astraea and 1 cerith sound good? I thought about a hermitcrab but dont i need shells for them? Yes it will need a few shells to change into. That's no problem though

Well ive kept all sorts of mushrooms and softies in my 55 gal, not so much luck on polyps (i had a zoo colony and they didnt grow at all and just died =\) the only reason i didnt want to buy that pack was because i didnt wanna end up getting like one mushroom and like 5 polyps since it doesnt exactly say howmuch i would get. No fun that way anyways -[/b]give Zoas another go, Ricordias don't need a lot of light either

Im pretty sure the K1 is way to much for the softies i plan to keep, and the length of the powerhead is like 1/2 of my tank lol Oh yes, see your problem
Ok

Alright, i need like another 1 inch then

And agian =] i dunno what i would do without the people on this forum

You welcome

Seffie x

 

[BigBeginner]

=[ But those are the only gobys that are Amblyeleotris or Stonogobiops and are under the nano section of liveaquaria, and i gotta order from there (unless you know a better site to order from)

What type of goby should i get then? and where would i be able to get one

alright, ill try to buy corals seperately, but the ones at my LFS are only in HUGE groups and rocks and they cost a lot...

is a Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit crab ok? liveaquaria doesnt have bluelegs

EDIT: clown gobies have a max size of 1 1/2 inchs but they wont pair up with the pistol, and it says they will nip SPSs (i can live with this, since i probably wont even have any SPS's but still, will they pair with pistols?)