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Aqueon Evolve 2 Soft Corals: First attempt at SW


mechishark7

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mechishark7

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum and forums in general so bear with me as I learn how to post etc.

I recently decided to dip my toes into the world of Saltwater tanks.

I was originally going to build an AIO from a 2.5 gallon glass tank, but happened to find an Aqueon Evolve 2 and decided to go with a prebuilt AIO. After much research on what kinds of lights to use, looking at DIYs on multiple forums and seeing the $$$ people were shelling out, I planned on going full stock on this tank. I know I'll get heat from everyone for this, but I figure this will also serve as a control to compare the expensive add-ons everyone talks up to a stock, out of the box tank.

With being new to SW tanks and reef tanks, I would greatly appreciate recommendations from members as, although I have done research and read through many forums and topics, research on the web is no substitute for advice from experienced members; i.e. I'm new and know nothing compared to experienced members here.

 

I plan to keep this tank to soft corals exclusively, but might be interested in adding a cool looking shrimp or fish later down the road.

 

I picked up a Fluval Spec 2 gal on sale for $29.99 at Petsmart after getting the Evolve 2 at Petco for $49.99 and decided to compare the two and return which ever one I wasn't going to use. Turns out I'm a sucker for a sale ($29.99 sale vs $69.99 regular price!), decided to go with the Evolve 2 for the reef and downsized my Fluval Chi 5 that held my tiny GSP for the Spec 2; side by side, the light on the Evolve looks better IMO and has two modes, one with all 20 white and 2 blue LEDs and the second for just the 2 blue LEDs (corals like blue light right?) and you can't beat the look of those rounded acrylic corners.

 

I know water flow is important for corals and the powerhead in the Evolve maxes out at 98 GPH (and makes a mess of the substrate) with the Spec at 40 GPH. Beyond that, the Spec is tall and narrow; I didn't want to limit the corals to only be able to expand up, not out as well.

Regardless, the Spec stayed and is in good use now.

 

 

 

 



So I set up the Evolve 2 tank last night with 2 gal of Poland Spring water (I know, its not RO) with the recommended amount of Instant Ocean Sea Salt.

 

I popped a 50W Tetra submersible heater in the back compartment next to the pump tube and plugged her in.

 

I added about 2 lbs (1 inch or so) of Carib Sea Ocean Direct Caribbean Live Sand. I pulled a rookie mistake and believed the "NO RINSING!" label on the front of the bag and dumped the sand into my tank with the pump on full blast. I had a flashback to rinsing aragonite for my Cichlid tank for hours and felt my stomach sink. I was relieved however when the tank started to clear up rather quickly since the pump turns over the tank about 50 times an hour, only to be disappointed when pulling the stock carbon/floss filter from the back of the tank and having all the dust it collected dump into the back of the tank. I rinsed and replaced this filter several times before the tank was clean and even then siphoned plenty of dust from the back compartments of the tank and cleaned the pump before the tank was clean.

 

I let it run overnight and checked the temp and salinity with my floating hydrometer/thermometer (low tech, didn't want to buy a spectrometer yet) and the tank was at about 1.023 salinity and 78 degrees.

 

I went to Petco today and picked up a small chunk of live rock. I don't know what kind it is (tonga, fiji etc/idk) and it looks very small in my tank; I had a hard time picturing how big the tank actually is and didn't want to buy one that wouldn't fit in the tank so this is what I've got.

 



Hitchhikers on the rock include, but are not limited to:

A small snail that I can no longer find and did not take any pics of. From "THE ULTIMATE ID THREAD," it appeared to be a collonista snail. Will post if it shows up again.

A maroon coralline algae?

Some macro algae?

And these little orange and red mushroom looking things.

Any help on the ID of these would be great, I'm still learning what is what and how to classify things for IDs.

 

Thats where I am at for now, I will keep updating, but apparently I have a while before I add anything to this.

 

Questions:

Is the max pump flow, 98 GPH, too much for cycling?

Are any of the hitchhikers on my rock dangerous?

Did I mess anything up yet?

Is this enough rock?

Thanks everyone!

 



Sorry about the pics, idk why some came in sideways. I'm new to forums and still getting used to everything

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You will probably want to plan on a fish to help generate the ammonia needed for the bacteria. Probably something like a clown goby. You want to make sure it is a small breed of fish.

 

The flow isn't too much for cycling. Just don't have any filter media in during the cycle.

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Don't put a fish in a tank that's cycling. The ammonia would kill it. That being said, the rock you bought from Petco is mostly likely already cycled. Unfortunately it does contain nuisance algae. For a proper ID, you would need to take better close-ups. Appears to be a hair algae, however look closely and see if there is a "fern like" structure. This is type is called bryopsis. There's also something growing that I can't make out in photo-21.

 

 

Even pros have trouble with tiny (pico) tanks because of such drastic parameter changes due to the small water volume. I doubt you could keep much, if anything with that stock light. Those little lights are only designed to illuminate a few fish, not grow coral. Perhaps you might be lucky with a few polyps or mushrooms.

 

Welcome, keep reading, and good luck!

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I feel your pain on the dust coming out of the sand bag.... I did the exact same thing today, just poured right in with powerhead on... Now looks like a tank of milk, and I don't have a filter.

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mechishark7

I'm looking into other lighting options, but I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for one. I've found this light to have positive reviews on several threads on NR, anyone have opinions on it?

 

Wave-Point

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I have that light reds look like crap under it but it's a very good light for small tanks.

 

Word to the wise it doesn't have an on/off switch so you need a timer. As if anyone runs lighting without some form of timer around here. ;)

 

I suggest getting a few pieces of equipment while you're in cycling mode.

 

A refractometer (Doesn't have to be high end)

API Saltwater Master Test kit (it's not a great kit but it's good enough for cycling, wouldn't reccomend their mag, alk, or calcium kits myself)

Long stainless steel tongs (Invaluable if they're long enough to keep your hand out of the tank)

Some small form of glass cleaner (again to keep hands out of the tank)

A turkey baster (Keeping hands out of tank)

Some small syringes 1 typically 1ml or 5ml (get these at your local pharmacy by telling them it's for medicating your pets. which is what these will be for. also for some coral foods)

Small plastic cups (To mix medication with some tank water so nothing gets a blast of medicine concentrate on accident.)

 

 

As for stocking. I say no fish and get some interesting inverts instead. You're dealing with sub 2 gallons of display area so fish may have problems with the lack of space. for corals get things that are considered impossible to kill but don't get confident in the care because of that. I have successfully killed some of the hardiest corals and inverts known to our hobby.

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MyLiquidBlue29BC

The light should be the most expensive hardware, but it doesn't have to break the bank.

+1 to this. Buy the best light you can afford. It will save you money and frustration in the long run. There is a reason you don't see people keeping coral under the stock light.

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mechishark7

I have that light reds look like crap under it but it's a very good light for small tanks.

 

Word to the wise it doesn't have an on/off switch so you need a timer. As if anyone runs lighting without some form of timer around here. ;)

 

I suggest getting a few pieces of equipment while you're in cycling mode.

 

A refractometer (Doesn't have to be high end)

API Saltwater Master Test kit (it's not a great kit but it's good enough for cycling, wouldn't reccomend their mag, alk, or calcium kits myself)

Long stainless steel tongs (Invaluable if they're long enough to keep your hand out of the tank)

Some small form of glass cleaner (again to keep hands out of the tank)

A turkey baster (Keeping hands out of tank)

Some small syringes 1 typically 1ml or 5ml (get these at your local pharmacy by telling them it's for medicating your pets. which is what these will be for. also for some coral foods)

Small plastic cups (To mix medication with some tank water so nothing gets a blast of medicine concentrate on accident.)

 

 

As for stocking. I say no fish and get some interesting inverts instead. You're dealing with sub 2 gallons of display area so fish may have problems with the lack of space. for corals get things that are considered impossible to kill but don't get confident in the care because of that. I have successfully killed some of the hardiest corals and inverts known to our hobby.

I'm picking these items up today, thanks for the suggestions! Keep them coming!

 

+1 to this. Buy the best light you can afford. It will save you money and frustration in the long run. There is a reason you don't see people keeping coral under the stock light.

Ok, anyone have any light suggestions? What specifically should I look for in terms of wattage/output? I know its common to mix daytime and blue LEDs but what temp output should I look for? What about a Mini Series Zetlight? I've read some positive posts about them and some stating their dim at 3 watts, but it comes in different colors and for 2 gal and $35 what does everyone think?

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mechishark7

For cycling the tank, I've read posts that say cycling could take a week, and I've read posts that cycling could take 3 months. Any advice on a tank this small?

Also is there anything I can do to help/speed up cycling, I've read posts that adding a small clown goby to pico tanks like this is common practice, although Mstefa1 warned against that.

After seeing dozens of tank builds this small makes the live rock I've got in mine look tiny. Opinions on adding more rock? I don't want to overcrowd the tank.

I am leaving the stock LED for now, looking into other options though for later. I don't want the light to cost more than I paid for the tank, $49.99, which rules out PAR38s, but I think that light would be overkill anyway? I don't need a dimmable light, but I want one with daylight and moonlight modes.

My top choice right now is a Zetlight ZN1020 Mini Series. It looks plenty bright and has white and blue LEDs, but does not appear to have separate daylight and moonlight modes.

I am open to suggestions.



Also, I would like to put a Maxima Clam in this tank and I'm wondering if anyone has heard of anyone keeping a Maxima in a tank this small?

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My lights all cost more than the tanks they hang over.

 

29 Gallon Biocube - $300

It's light - $600

 

Aqueon Evolve 8 - $100 (I paid like $40)

Nanobox Mini Tide light for Evolve 8 - $300

 

My new 40B - $40

It's light - Imcomplete but so far at $250 with another $500 estimated to finish up.

 

I would not put a maxima clam in that tank. Reason being the ones young enough to fit are the really tiny ones that already have a very low life expectancy not to mention the fact they grow pretty fast.

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Sit and wait. Maybe throw a bit of food in there to feed the bacteria. Starting with live rock really speeds up the process.

 

Oceans direct sand also helps.

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Sit and wait for the cycle ~3 weeks but again I doubt you will get much of a cycle with that petco rock as it's probably already cycled. A small fish is ok once your sure the cycle is complete. A clam requires much more light than you intend on having on this tank. Young clams require phyto feedings which will quickly foul such a small tank if u don't know what your doing.

 

You need to understand that it's not about how bright or how many leds u have... you need enough par value from your light.

 

It's perfectly ok to have a reef tank on a budget but your not going to get anywhere spending breadcrumbs. Good luck.

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Do take par numbers with a grain of salt.

 

While important PUR is even moreso. Still with a proper choice of led colors with good par your PUR levels shouldn't be an issue.

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SchnauzerFace

I have the Wave-Point 12" model and I think it looks great. I have one red thing in my tank right now and it looks pretty vibrant to me, but I suppose YMMV. I haven't used the 6" model but I imagine the quality is similar. It'll grow soft corals without any problem (and LPS too).

 

It's somewhat common to keep a clown goby in a pico, but you're going to have to be extremely diligent with water changes and making sure you're not overfeeding. Nitrates will get out of hand quickly in such a small volume (after sand and rock you may really only have about a gallon and a half of water in the tank). I'd suggest starting out slowly with just inverts before adding any fish.

 

And I have to second the earlier advice about waiting until you're 110% sure you're completely cycled before adding a fish. You likely won't have a huge cycle given the live rock, but you certainly don't want to risk killing a fish just to get the cycle moving. There are other ways to jumpstart the cycle, such as adding a piece of uncooked shrimp.

 

I think you're correct in thinking the rock is a little on the small side. I'd suggest adding a little more, especially if you want room for a few varieties of coral.

 

Good luck! Waiting for the cycle to complete is one of the hardest parts of this hobby, but this is a great time to research filtration methods and lighting options!

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mechishark7

Sit and wait for the cycle ~3 weeks but again I doubt you will get much of a cycle with that petco rock as it's probably already cycled. A small fish is ok once your sure the cycle is complete. A clam requires much more light than you intend on having on this tank. Young clams require phyto feedings which will quickly foul such a small tank if u don't know what your doing.

 

You need to understand that it's not about how bright or how many leds u have... you need enough par value from your light.

 

It's perfectly ok to have a reef tank on a budget but your not going to get anywhere spending breadcrumbs. Good luck.

Sorry if I'm sounding dumb, but I'm new to all of this, your saying that the live rock I got from petco won't help cycle my tank that much? I thought the process of cycling was to buildup good bacteria/water quality to accommodate the addition of more organisms?

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The rock most likely already contains good bacteria as it most likely has already cycled. The rock will be just fine, as long as the nuisance algae isn't a problem.

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Basically what we're saying is that with the rock and substrait of choice your tank is probably already done cycling. At least enough for a clean up crew or something to get at least a small bioload going for your bacteria.

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mechishark7

Ok so I'm ready to add a small or hermit crab or small goby to start the bioload? What about adding corals?

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I would start with snails and one dwarf hermit crab. Inverts are far hardier than fish.

 

Fish are a for later thing here when the cycle is a one hundred percent positive.

 

As for corals i would say wait until you have your lighting figured out.

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mechishark7

I would start with snails and one dwarf hermit crab. Inverts are far hardier than fish.

 

Fish are a for later thing here when the cycle is a one hundred percent positive.

 

As for corals i would say wait until you have your lighting figured out.

I had my water tested today and the guy at Petco who has given me all of my advice, specifically that the stock evolve 2 would be fine for a small soft coral tank, said that my water is up to spec and I could come in on Wednesday, as of now at 2:29am on monday, 2 days from now, to pick up a softie to start with.

 

Is this correct or should I start with adding a member to my currently nonexistant CUC and going from there? This guy seems down to earth and says that his 15 years experience keeping SW and corals would go against what some of the members on this forum, and all others for that matter, are saying and that some of you guys are "enthusiasts" and that some things you recommend are over the top and unnecessary.

 

I can understand both sides of this; his, as he has kept SW and reef tanks for 15 years and knows what he has had work and, I might be mistaken by this and correct me if I am, that the 'correct' specs for things and what has worked for those on this forum says otherwise (also that those who are really driven by this hobby would want to post on a forum about it, not putting any of you down, as I as well am posting on this forum).

 

He has also said that although some specs are 'required' (recommended) for certain things like specific fish etc, but that he has done it below these specs, as I am currently doing with six [6], 3-4' African Cihlids in a 20 gallon tank. Don't take me for the kind to overpopulate and put my fish in poor living conditions though; I started, by upgrading the stock filter from a 100GPH to a 200GPH since I found in forums that cichlids need super clean water, with two <2inch juvenile Yellow Labidochromis cichlids who were very shy, read that 'overpopulating' the tank would reduce bullying between the two and increase their social interaction, added two Milomo cichlids (at the time Labs at ~3", Milomos at ~2.5") to reduce the bullying and then received two mature jewel cichlids (at the time ~3.5-4") whom have all grown to the 2.5-4inch range (Yellow labs 3.5" and dominate 4", milomo 2.5 and dominate 3" and jewel 4" and dominate 4"). The jewels are very recent, 2 weeks or so, and I have kept up on filtration maintenance on a weekly basis (cleaning both filter media floss that I am using in the filter as well as cleaning the filter entirely every month). I am trying to give one of each species away, but neither Petsmart (where all of these cichlids were purchased) nor Petco will take them as 'donations.'

 

I have also kept and, by accident several times, bred FW angelfish in a 29 gallon with other community fish even though most people say angels belong in at least a 55 gallon. So I know the 'required' parameters are not necessarily true in all cases, but might reflect 'optimal parameters' and I take all advice with a grain of salt that, A; people are giving advice because they know better than I/are explaining their related experiences, B; they are giving advice so I buy their products (petco etc.) and C; that I have not tried this before and might learn for myself.

 

So I am very thankful for all of the advice that I have received, but might not listen to it all exactly in order to learn for myself. I specifically started with a 2 gallon pico build to learn about SW and reef tanks and under the situation that something, or multiple things go horribly wrong (or I'm an idiot for not knowing any better) and I lose everything in the tank, at least it wasn't something like a 55 gallon with thousands invested in it.

 

So as not to sound like a freshman jerk, I appreciate the advice and accounts from the experience everyone replying on this thread, but part of it comes from needing to learn on my own; as I would assume many of you have learned from mistakes, I must also in order to understand the boundaries of SW and reef keeping for myself.

 

I really don't want to put down the advice from all of you whom are more experienced than I (I'm still cycling my first reef tank, which equates to essentially zero knowledge besides that salt mixed with water equates to saltwater), but I do understand that opinions vary (ElmoC to Mstefa1 on the first and second replies on this post) as do the research on the behavior of living organisms (I'm a senior at WPI majoring in Mechanical Engineering and realize that some things, specifically dead, mechanical components, are set by strict equations while others such as design, although not anymore, are set by experience and a knowledge of what does and doesn't work).

 

So I understand that everyone giving advice to this post are giving advice based on their experience and knowledge of this hobby/passion/lifestyle (I understand as I am getting sucked into this), but please realize that I, as you have, need to learn by doing and that lessons through this method might be taught through failure (again why I chose to start off with a 2 gal as opposed to something like a 55 gallon).

 

So as a conclusion, please keep the advice coming. I know it all varies and not everyone agrees on certain things, but several responses that might not correlate to one another still are helpful and give me a 'ballpark' of what I should aim for.

 

Again, thanks all. I don't mean to discourage replies.

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mechishark7

I've found some more hitchhikers since first putting the live rock in the tank:

A, these things are in several spots on the rock and wave in the current

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and B, I've observed this worm move around a bit. First it was floating around in the current in a ball, landed on the rock and started moving around, eventually burrowing into the sand.

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3E216E0E-73FF-491A-B5F2-3AD60613AC87_zps

F61BCC9B-B81A-4167-BA72-1BDF2F7E3639_zps

55B278D2-87B3-46DF-B6D3-E7FFEE934BBC_zps

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Sweet a bristle worm. Good guys to have in the tank.

 

Softies tend to be perfect starter corals. What type where you thinking of? Some can grow rather ... large. Not that fraging a soft is hard mind you and can be fun and profitable to boot.

 

I will say this about the petco guy. He's there to sell you stuff, we're not. That said some of us do tend to go overboard with advice.

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