13 Gallon Tank - Live Rock Question

dankoos · 01/23/2019, 12:35 PM

The tank is running with sand (was dry when purchased) and saltwater. If I buy live rock from LFS and place it in there, there will be no "cycle" and I can add fish immediately, correct? Only if the live rock "died" or was already dead would a cycle ensue?

kevin21 · 01/23/2019, 01:02 PM

If the live rock from the LFS is cured and has no die off and you transfer it to that tank without there being any die off, then yes, essentially there will be no cycle. But I would go very slow adding livestock, especially in a 13 gallon tank. Don't rush anything and monitor things for a couple of weeks before any additional fish or coral added

dankoos · 01/23/2019, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin21

If the live rock from the LFS is cured and has no die off and you transfer it to that tank without there being any die off, then yes, essentially there will be no cycle. But I would go very slow adding livestock, especially in a 13 gallon tank. Don't rush anything and monitor things for a couple of weeks before any additional fish or coral added

Yeah, just doing a clown and damsel and possibly a goby, not all at first, although I am thinking the clown and damsel should be added at the same time for peace sake.

Coral may come later, we'll see.

Sugar Magnolia · 01/24/2019, 10:26 AM

A 13 g tank won't support three fish. Pick either the clown or the damsel and choose a very small goby. Add the goby first, they aren't very territorial. If you put a clown or damsel in first it will quickly claim dominance and will likely attack any new addition.

Sethdarkus · 01/28/2019, 07:49 PM

My standard 10gal nano supports 1 Falco Hawkfish, 2 false clowns, 1 blood red fire shrimp, 1 emerald crab, two snails and four blue leg hermit crabs, my water quality is perfect however I have 20 pounds of both live sand and rock along with a hang on refugium with a stock light that grows dragon breath and cheato macro algae like weeds. I use a sponge filter with a parascope like head and a 318 turtle clean filter from zoomed that I use carbon pellets in to function like a wave maker at the far end of the tank to keep the water circulating where the sponge filter parascope bubble trail ends, I focus more on keeping O2 at a safe level however I’m plotting a expansion to a 40gallon with a 20al sump however I may convert a 10 gallon into a sump for my nano to grow more macros in along with extra filtration. I do weekly 10% water changes and top off daily. It works it’s just more work and care lol because you wanna keep all parameters perfect including enough O2 to support everything while keeping pest algae in check because extra fish waste lol

01/23/2019, 12:35 PM	#1
dankoos Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 271	13 Gallon Tank - Live Rock Question The tank is running with sand (was dry when purchased) and saltwater. If I buy live rock from LFS and place it in there, there will be no "cycle" and I can add fish immediately, correct? Only if the live rock "died" or was already dead would a cycle ensue?

01/23/2019, 01:02 PM	#2
kevin21 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 2,208	If the live rock from the LFS is cured and has no die off and you transfer it to that tank without there being any die off, then yes, essentially there will be no cycle. But I would go very slow adding livestock, especially in a 13 gallon tank. Don't rush anything and monitor things for a couple of weeks before any additional fish or coral added __________________ Kevin Current Tank Info: Waterbox 50g, Tunze 9004 dc skimmer, Vortech mp10, Kessil ap700

01/24/2019, 10:26 AM	#4
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	A 13 g tank won't support three fish. Pick either the clown or the damsel and choose a very small goby. Add the goby first, they aren't very territorial. If you put a clown or damsel in first it will quickly claim dominance and will likely attack any new addition. __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

01/28/2019, 07:49 PM	#5
Sethdarkus Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2019 Posts: 10	My standard 10gal nano supports 1 Falco Hawkfish, 2 false clowns, 1 blood red fire shrimp, 1 emerald crab, two snails and four blue leg hermit crabs, my water quality is perfect however I have 20 pounds of both live sand and rock along with a hang on refugium with a stock light that grows dragon breath and cheato macro algae like weeds. I use a sponge filter with a parascope like head and a 318 turtle clean filter from zoomed that I use carbon pellets in to function like a wave maker at the far end of the tank to keep the water circulating where the sponge filter parascope bubble trail ends, I focus more on keeping O2 at a safe level however I’m plotting a expansion to a 40gallon with a 20al sump however I may convert a 10 gallon into a sump for my nano to grow more macros in along with extra filtration. I do weekly 10% water changes and top off daily. It works it’s just more work and care lol because you wanna keep all parameters perfect including enough O2 to support everything while keeping pest algae in check because extra fish waste lol