Jump to content
Innovative Marine Aquariums

DT's ADA 60F Shallow Reef


daletu

Recommended Posts

Per llama roadkill's request in the private message. I will post some photos of my planted tank from start to finish. Picture below is the most recent look of the tank, except I sold all my regular Crystal Red Shrimps and fishes then added some Pure Red Lines Crystal Red Shrimps.

 

Here is the video of the tank back in 2012.


ADA Cube Garden 30cm. (12"x12"x12")

This is the image that entered the 2013 International Aquatic Planted Layout Contest (IAPLC).
19.jpg



This was the beginning look, I soon changed the layout a little bit.01.jpg


Red Cherry Shrimps are one of the easiest shrimps to care and they are great algae eaters. They also multiply very quick! I've had hundreds of them in my tiny tank at one time.
02.jpg


This is after I changed the layout.
03.jpg

Just like reef tank, once you find the right balance of your water condition. Plants should start growing.
04.jpg


The hardest part for maintaining a planted tank is to control the algae growth, plants and algae share same kind of nutritions. You need to find the right balance and let the plants gets the nutrition first before algae.

05.jpg

Grass or flooring type of plants require high lights. Once they get the right nutritions and right amount of light, they will soon grow to a thick layer.
06.jpg


Tank with back lighting. I figured the back was a little too empty, so I then added some different color plants in the background.
08.jpg


Background plants added, and plants were growing mad!
09.jpg


Cherries were full of eggs constantly!
10.jpg


In the right condition, some plants will start showing their full potential. One leaf became multiple leaves!
12.jpg


Trident plant on the branch grow slower than the rest of plants, so it gave algae a chance to grow on them. Once algae grown on it, it's hard to get rid of. I just trimmed some leaves out and let it restart again.
13.jpg


Background plants were growing quick and tall. I had to trim them once a week.
14.jpg


Crystal Red Shrimps are more challenging to keep. They require pristine water condition and only grow well in right pH, KH, GH and TDS. I had to constantly watching all these parameters.
15.jpg


The thicker the shell the better. There are many different grades of Crystal Red Shrimps. These are SSS Grade. There are also Pure Red Line which is the highest grade, they have even thicker shell and very vibrate white and red, legs are usually completely red or white, these are just normal grade not pure breed.
16.jpg


This one is closer to Pure Red Line quality but still it is not. It may carry mixed gene with other shrimp.
17.jpg


Almost done. Just need to make the background looks fuller and grow the red tips.
18.jpg


20.jpg

  • Like 11
Link to comment

Psst - 5ppm Nitate isn't ideal for SPS already and you have a low bio load. You're going to need to do larger water changes if you aren't running filtration.

 

With that said, gorgeous tank!

3 clowns in a 10g is a very high bioload

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

 

 

Lol. Once you get this saltwater setup fully grown, there ain't going back to the freshwater craze.

 

Haha. I hope I can successfully create a beautiful reef tank like a lot of other members here! :)

 

Btw, I have not seem my two SPS polyps extend. It's been three days now. They start to get me worried.

Link to comment

3 clowns in a 10g is a very high bioload

 

You're right, I just didn't notice that for some reason.

 

Btw, I have not seem my two SPS polyps extend. It's been three days now. They start to get me worried.

 

They might not make it, but don't let that discourage you. I'm going to give some criticism of what you've done so far, not because I'm trying to be mean but because I want to help get this tank on the right track because it's got a lot of potential.

 

One, you let your Nitrates get a little out of control early on by running no filtration and small water changes. That's fine, and I'm pretty sure you've already remedied that issue, but when you combine it with another (in my opinion) mistake - adding SPS this soon into a new tank - it can cause issues. Most people don't even consider putting SPS into a tank until the Nitrates are below 1ppm or undetectable. Sometimes it can take months to get a tank to that point even if you are running a skimmer and a lot of filtration.

 

I would suggest getting some Zoanthids. They will add a lot of color to the tank and scratch your itch for coral in the tank early on until it's ready for more demanding corals. In addition, they actually prefer slightly dirty water so they are great until you can get Nitrates under control. I would also suggest immediately getting one, two, or all three of the clowns out of the tank. Two clowns is going to be a high bioload on this small of a tank, three is pretty crazy. If you really want a clown pair you could get away with two but you're going to need to do massive water changes every week to keep up without a skimmer of some sort. One clown would be better, but I could definitely understand why you want two. The final option is getting rid of all three and going to a lower bioload fish like a small goby.

 

Another thing you might want to consider is running a small skimmer in the main tank. A mame skimmer would be perfect for this application. It's a small glass tube that's tapered at the top with an airstone at the bottom. The airstone creates bubbles, which bubble up the tube and are forced out of the water by the tapering action. Finally, a small valve at the top with airline going into a collection cup grabs some skimmate and it drains into the collection cup. It's the perfect application for a tank like this with no other filtration.

 

19344-2.jpg

 

Obviously, judging by how beautiful your Nature Style freshwater tank is, you have the ability to create a stable aquatic environment. You know how to balance light and nutrients to give the inhabitants in the tank the best water quality. The main difference is that, in a reef tank, the organisms that utilize light for photosynthesis don't pull nutrients out of the water column to photosynthesize like plants do. The zooxanthellae in coral utilize wastes created by the coral tissue to photosynthesize whereas plants pull nitrates out of the water column to get the nitrogen they need for the process. So, in a planted tank, you can have a huge bioload and get away with a small amount of filtration with small water changes because the plants are actually scrubbing the water. You don't get this beneficial effect in a reef tank. Just food for thought.

 

Good luck!

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Thanks defender.TX. I did a 2 gallons water change yesterday and tested nitrate this morning. The color is in between 0-5ppm. I may need to get Red Sea to have a more accurate reading now. I'll also return one clown to my friend today. I want to save those corals, hope its not too late.

 

I'll also consider a sump if nitrate still too high after doing larger water change. Then I can hide skimmer in the sump instead of having something large sticks out of main tank. ;)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Yeah, do bigger water changes for those sps especially. You're a bit crazy going sps as your 1st corals.... :D

Sps are the hardest kinds to maintain.

 

Not sure why, I just wanted to dive into SPS corals right away. I thought my tank is ready, turns out it might not. Haha.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Thanks defender.TX. I did a 2 gallons water change yesterday and tested nitrate this morning. The color is in between 0-5ppm. I may need to get Red Sea to have a more accurate reading now. I'll also return one clown to my friend today. I want to save those corals, hope its not too late.

 

I'll also consider a sump if nitrate still too high after doing larger water change. Then I can hide skimmer in the sump instead of having something large sticks out of main tank. ;)

 

A sump would be awesome. NanoTopia's build has an awesome Do!Aqua cube sump that would fit your build pretty well, might want to investigate how she did that. Of course a sump isn't necessary. In the picture I posted of the mame skimmer they have the skimmer in the front corner to show it off, you can put it in the back rear corner of the tank and it would be far less noticeable. However, they are really difficult to find in the US. A LFS in Arizona was carrying the full mame line for a while but I don't know if they do anymore.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

A sump would be awesome. NanoTopia's build has an awesome Do!Aqua cube sump that would fit your build pretty well, might want to investigate how she did that. Of course a sump isn't necessary. In the picture I posted of the mame skimmer they have the skimmer in the front corner to show it off, you can put it in the back rear corner of the tank and it would be far less noticeable. However, they are really difficult to find in the US. A LFS in Arizona was carrying the full mame line for a while but I don't know if they do anymore.

 

I saw NanoTopia's 30cm tank build on Youtube, it looks awesome! Also took a deeper look at Mame Skimmer. It actually looks pretty good. Maybe I can consider using that. :)

 

Went to local reef store today. It's their anniversary sale event this weekend, all livestock 30% off! So I couldn't resist buying some corals home. :wacko:

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Love the ADA 60f. I still can't believe it's only 8.5 gallons. It looks sooo much bigger. I love the shallow rimless look. How long has the tank been running before you added the clownfishs and the SPS? I am also very impatient with my tank. I added two birdsnest after running my tank for 2 1/2 month. Just frags. They are doing really well, but I still feel guilty putting in SPS so quickly.



Went to local reef store today. It's their anniversary sale event this weekend, all livestock 30% off! So I couldn't resist buying some corals home. :wacko:

 

Pictures =P

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Lolol please tell me you didn't get more sps. Sps are not for beginners. Just saying. Lol.

 

SPS indeed! <_< This time polyps extend out almost immediately. I started thinking those 2 SPS I got from online order were actually too stress during shipping. They don't seem to bleach out or anything though. Pictures coming...

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Oh welp, that's good enough. ;)

Good luck with those new sps.. I started this hobby since 2008 and I have never touched sps. I got into this hobby by working at a saltwater pet shop and before that I was in the freshwater craze. I hope to see you switch the same like I did, ;)

  • Like 2
Link to comment

FTS

131102-11s.jpg

 

 

SPS Side

131102-01s.jpg

 

 

ORA Red Planet Acropora

131102-02s.jpg

 

 

ORA Purple Green Acropora

131102-03s.jpg

 

 

ORA Purple Montipora undata

131102-04s.jpg

 

 

Idaho Grape Montipora

131102-05s.jpg

 

 

Raspberry Lemonade Acropora

131102-06s.jpg

 

 

ORA Mint Pavona

131102-07s.jpg

 

 

Red Flower Rock Anemone

131102-08s.jpg

 

 

Mushroom Side

131102-09s.jpg

 

 

Rhodactis

131102-10s.jpg

  • Like 5
Link to comment

Wow! Did you get the rock anemone and mushrooms today too? That Mint Pavona is sweet.

 

Anemone two days ago, looks like he likes that spot, didn't move at all. Mushrooms also came in with anemone, they don't seem to open fully?! Too bright maybe? The one under the rock open just fine.

 

 

Might be a mistake adding so many corals at once! Haha... oh well... I hope they will be fine. :D

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Actually you might get away with those corals living well. I noticed you have purple coralined live rocks. That helps soo much, believe me lol. I remember when I started my 1st saltwater reef tank, the coralined rocks boosted all my corals health to thrive utmost. Hope it goes the same for you.

 

Also, make sure your sps is placed under enough flow. They do require high waterflow.

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Your mushrooms should be fine. It takes a couple of day for them to really open up. It would be good to put them in shades in the beginning and slowly acclimate them to your light.

 

Get some Sunset Montipora or Rainbow Montipora for even more color =).

 

Also, it's kind of weird that you put your mushrooms closest to your mp10 and your SPS furthest =P

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Awesome! JMO normally with an 8.5g with clowns i'd be like hmmmm, nope lol but the tank has such a huge footprint! IMO keep up with params and dosing and this will be a great reef, possibly TOTM worthy :)

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Cool! Thanks Illuiix. Yes. Those SPS are in high flow area. Pump is pumping direct at them. I kind of seperate SPS and mushrooms on different side, if I get LPS later, it will also be on the mushroom side too. No one can touch those SPS. :)

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...