Cloudy Tank/Stocking Selection?

[ag09g]

So I set up a JBJ 28 gallon nano cube about two weeks ago. A week and a half ago I added 10 pounds of "real reef" rock, and then on Wednesday I added 20 pounds of TBsaltwater live rock. On wednesday, the tank was initially cloudy due to stirring up the sand, but it cleared up beautifully within a few hours. Last night I came home though and the tank was very cloudy. So I dont really know whats going on...is it a bacterial bloom or something? Or just the rocks curing? Should I do something or just let it be and see if it goes away?

the stats are:

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 1ppm
Nitrate - 20ppm
Ph - 8.0
Salinity - 1.0245
Temp - 78

Aside from this issue though, Im having trouble figuring out what to put in the tank once it cycles.

I have a lust for larger fish (particularly little tangs) which makes this difficult because Im used to my 135 gallon tank! So I dont really have much knowledge of smaller fishes, which makes this difficult.

So I just wanted to see which fish you have that stay small and have cute personalities :)

Any suggestions?

Ill attach a couple pics of the tank too, One shows how it looked yesterday, and the other is a pic of the cloudy mess it is today :)

Thanks everyone!

[tommer725]

What test kit are you using? Kind of off topic but just wondering.

[Fretfreak13]

*DROOOOOOLLL* I am so so so so so soooooo jealous of your TBS rock!!!! I want that. T_T Its just so expensiveeee ughhh. One day though...

Small fish with cute personalities. I have been doing this since I was twelve and I have never had a fish I loved more than the one I have currently, my McCoskers Flasher Wrasse.

Also, jawfish are amazing, but they have their flaws. Often when they dig their burrow, they wind up spitting sand right on your coral if the pieces are close enough to its burrow. IMO, there is no fish better than those two. Haha

Some other fish with great personalities are blennies and hawkfish, though take caution. Some blennies are venomous (the fang-toothed ones!), and hawkfish sometimes snack on shrimp.

It all winds down to what else you'd like to keep besides the fish.

[ag09g]

Im using API test kits, and I also have some test strips I use just to get a general sense of things :)

Haha Im lucky because I live 30 minutes from Tampa and can just pick up the rock. Sooo convenient, I can usually get the stuff the same day I order it, so as im painfully impatient it works out well!

How much sand do jawfish need? Ive always wanted one, but I dont think my sand bed is deep enough in this tank.
and I was really looking into getting a long nosed hawkfish, but wasnt sure how theyd do with cleaner shrimp, Ive read a lot of people saying theirs lived with shrimps and small fish with no issue, but I used to have one loooong ago that used to molest some clowns I had, so Im not sure I trust them..

I really really like the flasher wrasses though! Especially if yours is your favorite fish, I might definitely look into that!

[Fretfreak13]

I wish I had a way to take video to show you mine exactly. Hes such a sweetheart. I've had him for three days and he greets me when I walk in the room and pretty much eats out of my hands.

this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_lD1_3jsdw) is a great video of how mine acts, but its not mine.

I've seen people successfully keep jawfish in three inch sandbeds however I feel they thrive with deeper ones. I work at an aquarium and we have a jawfish/seahorse/pipefish exhibit that has about five inches of sand and they definitely utilize it all.

[ag09g]

ya, thats a cute little fish! thanks for the video :)

And thats what I thought about the jawfish, I dont have a system to keep one of them now...hopefully in my next tank ill set it up with a deep sand bed haha