New 24g Nano Cube reef tank

[HeBeGB]

Hello Reefers!

This is my first SW tank. I had a few freshwater tanks as a kid, but that was a long time ago. After reading quite a bit online, I decided to set up a reef tank and ordered a JBJ Nano Cube 24 with Next Generation LED lighting.

After getting everything set up and filled with SW, I ordered "The Package" from Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater. That was about 2 weeks ago. The photos below were taken yesterday, a day after adding the second half of The Package.

Everything you see in the tank, and a lot you can't see, was included as part of The Package. It's really an amazing start to a reef aquarium.

Questions:

1) Is it too crowded or is that how it should look?

2) Stocking recommendations? I've been thinking of getting an Ocellaris Clownfish, Six Line Wrasse, Yellowtail Damselfish (added last) and maybe two more fish. Thoughts? I'd like to have fish that occupy different levels in the tank (top, middle, bottom) and of differing colors. Suggestions?

3) Corals. Any interesting corals that would work in a tank this size? I purposely stacked rock higher in the back for any corals that may need more light. I'm guessing the tank is probably too small for a bubble tip anemone, but I think I read somewhere that there are corals that look similar and that a clownfish might bond with. True?

TIA for any suggestions/critiques.


-Greg B.

[Devaji108]

alot of ppl don't like the damsel fish or the 6 line for that matter....I like them think the are an attractive lil fish with lots of personality. look in to blennies and a purple fire fish they are one of my favs. too.

looking good love the sponges and sea whips just remember to feed them time to time.
some clowns will host hammer and frog spwan corals.

honestly that would make a nice seahorse tank but i think a reef is a bit easier for newbies.
i love zoas and ricoridas lots of color and pretty easy to keep.

have fun and good luck with ur new hobby :)

[HeBeGB]

Thank you for the suggestions. That's very helpful.

The damsels do have a lot of personality. I remember them from
when I used to scuba dive. If I got too near 'their' coral head,
they'd peck at the glass on my mask. It was pretty cool. They're
fearless.

-GregB

[terrypercula]

I would say skip on the damsel. Cool fish but can be annoying at times. Certain clowns are more prone to host than others. I'd consider a percula clown, not that an oscellaris would not host but it is less likely. Tank looks good corals look good keep it up!

[terrypercula]

As for stocking recommendations I love blennies and gobies, both would like low to middle area of tank. Fire fish are cool so +1 on purple fire fish. But really it's down to what you like. Maybe look into some cool shrimp. If I'm not mistaken sexy shrimp have a correspondence with anenomes and a pistol shrimp could go with a goby if you did a pair, all just things to consider.

[HeBeGB]

Thanks for the recommendations Dave. I'll go with the percula clown and a purple fire fish. The shrimp/goby pair sounds fun too.

The damsel was one of the reasons I wanted a reef tank, so I'll probably
get one anyway, headache or not. :-)


What percent of people on this site use a quarantine tank? The proponents are certainly fervent, but I get the impression that not everyone uses a QT. After just getting this tank up and running, I'm not really in the mood to set up yet another tank and stick a poor clown in there all by itself for six weeks. Does the first fish really need to be quarantined since there are no other fish for it to infect?

[terrypercula]

I certainly recommend one but I do not have one because my LFS will QT for me

[olsonjl]

LOVE your gorgs and sponges. Nice tank mate.

[boakley]

I always loved damsels but they can be aggressive in smaller tanks, which then limits later if you want to add different fish. They are really tough to get out without doing serious tank/rock disassembly.