Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - If You Are New to Reef Central, Introduce Yourself Here!

rdhall · 05/16/2010, 01:25 PM

Hello all,

I've been a member for about a month and have been reading up when I can. A newcomer to reef keeping. My neighbor gave me one of his old BioCube nano's (14g).

My current status: Tank fully cycled. Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites at zero. Purchased 9 lbs of premium live rock from a display tank at local fish store. 6 lbs of base rock. and 1 lb. of live rock in the back of the nano as my bio filter. No fish or corals yet. Have a cleaner crew of 4 turbos and 8 red legged hermits. Also got two peppermint shrimp to take care of some aiptasia that hitchhiked with the live rock.

I've got copepods developing in my tank. But also have flatworms that are multiplying. Which brings me to my first question. Which fish is best as a natural predator for flatworms? I've read about wrasses and mandarin gobies. But not sure if either one is appropriate for my size tank or with my current setup. Aware of flatworm exit as a remedy. But I'm trying to do this tank, and pest management, as natural as possible, without chemical additives or treatments (not sure yet if its even possible).

Also, I would like to do some soft corals as well. Should I establish my corals in my tank prior to doing fish?

Appreciate any reply. Thanks for the forum.

05/16/2010, 01:25 PM	#2605
rdhall Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1	Newcomer with questions Hello all, I've been a member for about a month and have been reading up when I can. A newcomer to reef keeping. My neighbor gave me one of his old BioCube nano's (14g). My current status: Tank fully cycled. Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites at zero. Purchased 9 lbs of premium live rock from a display tank at local fish store. 6 lbs of base rock. and 1 lb. of live rock in the back of the nano as my bio filter. No fish or corals yet. Have a cleaner crew of 4 turbos and 8 red legged hermits. Also got two peppermint shrimp to take care of some aiptasia that hitchhiked with the live rock. I've got copepods developing in my tank. But also have flatworms that are multiplying. Which brings me to my first question. Which fish is best as a natural predator for flatworms? I've read about wrasses and mandarin gobies. But not sure if either one is appropriate for my size tank or with my current setup. Aware of flatworm exit as a remedy. But I'm trying to do this tank, and pest management, as natural as possible, without chemical additives or treatments (not sure yet if its even possible). Also, I would like to do some soft corals as well. Should I establish my corals in my tank prior to doing fish? Appreciate any reply. Thanks for the forum.