What can you put in after the cycle (right after)
 

Hey everyone,
I have talked about starting a tank for almost 2 years now! But now i have! It is a nice 20g set up and is right now in the process of clearing the water from all the sand junk!

Now to the point! After the 3 week cycle you put in your cuc, are you able to put in any fish or corals yet. The people at my lfs (very nice knowledgable people) said that there are a few corals that you can put in but first you put in cuc after three weeks, they said you can put in pulsing xenia and one other, and then wait 3 weeks for fish and another 3 weeks for full on coral.

Is this right?

Thanks
SeaSerpant

P.S
Is there anything that you can put in your filter to filter out the sand just and then just chuck out? like cloth or something?

Welcome aboard, always nice to have new reefers. The first thing is your cycle. It's not really 3 weeks, it's really over when your test kits confirm that everything is within normal parameters. Once thats done then you can pretty much start to add fish and coral.
I would start with one or two "SMALL" fish and let your bio filter get established. A coral won't really do that for you.
A 20 won't take very much livestock so choose carefully. If you add too much too soon you're either going to get a crash or the nicest crop of hair algae you've ever seen :)

A nice site to look at fish and coral requirements is below. Have fun
http://www.liveaquaria.com/

Thanks Black Phantom!

I am planning on getting 2 clownfish (hopefully female, male)
RedFire Fish
Longnosed Hawkfish
Magenta Dottyback
Lawnmower Blenny
CUC

But this is due to change!

Thanks
SeaSerpant

Is it possible to put some corals in after the cycle is complete or should i wait?

Thanks
SeaSerpant

Be patient, that is the downfall of most new tanks. Depending if your tank is seeded from an older tank or done new.

If new, you still need more time to cycle.

Start with a few chromis (cheap), and hardy. Will teach other fish food comes from above also.

Some people get lucky with corals early, but if your parameters are not right you will lose them.

Ken

Thats a nice sounding selection of fish for a 20 gallon.

What are your nitrates and ammonia testing at right now?

After 3 weeks, you still have that much sand in your water column?

Keep checking your params for a week or two after you've completed the cycle and done a large water change. If they are consistent and you don't see any problems in the tank, then you can introduce corals. I'd recommend taking it slow on the stocking.
Have you also visited nano-reef.com? They have tons of information on starting a nano tank and stocking. Good luck and happy reefing. :)

Thanks Guys!

Blue World Aquatic
Thanks for the advice, i plan to take it slowly and keep back my urges :)

GobyTron
I only set it up yesterday! I'm just getting ready asap so that i know what i'm doing and i don't put stuff in at the wrong time!

Elitesurfer
Thanks for the great advice! Since i just started it yesterday i thought i would wait a bit till i check my param. Or should i test them now? I am already a member of Nano-reef!

Thanks All
SeaSerpant

PS
Should i start a journal?

There used to be a couple of free programs out there to track your reef parameters on your PC. Somebody here probably knows where to find a good one.
Another great nano fish that is tough as hell is the Yellow tail damsel. If you take a close look at them they have some very cool markings.

Well then , your sand should settle in the water column in a day or two, maybe less.

The main thing that you need to remember here to give any coral or fish the best chance to make it in your new system is to test for nitrates and ammonia.
Once your tank is testing 0 in both of those areas lets say consistently for a week, anything you add should not have any issues relating to your cycle.

New tanks often (usually even) come with nasty diatom and other algae blooms, Cyano outbreaks and that's just to name a few.
even AFTER a cycle has finished so patience pays off huge int he long run, even if you're testing 0.

Rely on your water parameters and not some assumed timeline as their is no real average for tanks, they are all different.