Tank is ready.. now what - No ammonia. what's next?

[JumboAg99]

[Everyone has a differing opinion on this, so I'm expecting various points of view with this question.

Tank is about 1 month old. I've been out of town for a week. Before I left town, there were still trace amounts of ammonia left over from the initial spike. Now the level is back to zero.

It's time to slowly add to the tank. It's a 10 gallon I'm using as a nano. It has 10lbs of live rock and 20lbs of sand.

I'm going to add a few cleanup crew to deal with the algae problem. Should I also add a small fish? Or is it better to add the crabs/snails and then put a fish in after a few more weeks once the tank has acclimated to the cleaners. (I believe I shouldn't add a fish... is that correct?)

Also, what's an appropriate number of hermint crabs and snails for starting? Are there ones I should avoid and/or look for?]

 

[weymouth]

[well if your ammonia, nitrite, and nitates are all at zero then i wouldnt be scared to add a damsel or an innexpensive fish. 10 hermit crabs and 3 or 5 snails would be more than enough in a 10 gal. good luck]

 

[melev]

[I would hold off on the fish for another couple of weeks. 0 Ammonia doesn't mean 0 nitrites & nitrates. You need to test all three before you add any cleanup critters.

A 10g is pretty small, so stock it lightly with fish because with a lesser volume of water, pollution can be swift.]