Kuya's Nano Tank Journey - BuildMyLED Lights 14K

[KuyasNanoReef]

FTS 4-23-15




Hey Guys and Gals!

First off I'd like to introduce myself, and welcome you to join me on my journey through my start-up, up keep, ups and downs, and overall praise of my new soon-to-be Nano Reef!!

My name is Jordan and I'll be your narrator through this experience! This thread will be a no BS journal throughout my tank's life, and you guys will be the spectators, guides, and helpers along the way. So to be honest, this tank is not only my Nano Reef, but partly your's as well!!

I will be posting weekly, if not daily pictures, and comments on how my reef is doing in detail so you guys may stay updated every step of the way!

So lets get started shall we?

March 15,2015


Here is a picture of my first day after my addition of live sand (CaribSea) and live rock (purchased already cured from Petco).

The water seems quite milky (with the consistency of watered down milk) but I can already guess this is just an algae bloom (New Tank Syndrome).


Current Equipment:

Tank: Fluval Spec V (5 Gallon)
Lighting: Stock
Filter: Stock
Pump: Stock

Current Life:

Fish: None
Inverts: 2 snails and 2 hermits (I didn't put them in there, they were hitch hikers)
Corals: None


I know my equipment is pretty basic but I honestly didn't think I needed to spend that much money all at once when all my tank is going to be doing for the next few days, or weeks, is cycle.

Future Equipment:

Lighting: Halo by Lightbox (Par38 Full Spectrum)
Filter: Fluval Spec MediaBasket by InTankLLC
Pump: Mini Jet 606 by Marineland


Please be sure to leave any comments or suggestions!! What do you guys think so far? Do you think my Future Equipment list is okay? What else should I get? Is the Mini Jet 606 enough current? Would the lighting be more than enough?

Stay tuned for more!

[Halo_003]

Do yourself a huge favor and look at getting an ATO, it will make life so much easier. Looks great so far, loads better than when I started last year.

[KuyasNanoReef]

Here's a little update!!

 

March 17, 2015

 

Water seemed to clear up after adding both Instant Ocean's, Marine Conditioner and Reef Accelerator!

 

Tank is looking pretty sharp if you don't mind me saying!

 

I also decided to test the water officially after day two, here are my results:

 

Salinity: 1.024

Ammonia: ~0.50ppm

Nitrate: ~5.0

 

I didn't test the Nitrites out yet (I know WTF right?) but i couldn't find my Nitrite testing kit for the life of me so I'm going to have to pick up another kit

 

The poor inverts in the tank seem to be doing just fine! The hermits are climbing all over the rocks, hanging upside down, and seem to be munching every so often on the live rock! As for the snails, they seem to be having fun themselves in a bigger tank then the one they were used to, climbing all over the walls leaving a trail of cleanliness in their wake!

 

 

So what do you guys think? How are my levels? Do you think I should just add the whole CUC just to get my tank started up even faster, or should I wait? I know that patience is key, but I'd just like some more input.

 

Thanks for keeping up with me guys! Be sure to stay tuned!

 

 

PS: How are my pictures? If you experienced posters have any tips on attaching high quality pictures on here that would be awesome!

Do yourself a huge favor and look at getting an ATO, it will make life so much easier. Looks great so far, loads better than when I started last year.

 

 

Sorry, an ATO? I'm kind of a noob so bare with me

 

And where can I get one that will nicely fit my tank? Not too bulky or unsightly please

[trunglippo]

Nice set up

Thanks for sharing.

[billdeluz]

Nice setup keep it up

[KuyasNanoReef]

Nice setup keep it up

Nice set up

Thanks for sharing.

 

thanks guys!! updates coming soon(:

 

I'd love to get some more feed back

[porkchop-rob]

ATO = Automatic Top Off.....To add fresh water that you lose due to evaporation.

I just purchased the AVAST NANO ATO to try out. Before, I have used the Tsunami ATO with an aqualifter pump

Tank looks good!

[KuyasNanoReef]

 

ATO = Automatic Top Off.....To add fresh water that you lose due to evaporation.

I just purchased the AVAST NANO ATO to try out. Before, I have used the Tsunami ATO with an aqualifter pump

Tank looks good!

Thanks man! Stay tuned for more

[Cencalfishguy56]

An ATO helps a ton but if you are frequently on top of your tank on a daily basis then I wouldn't invest in one, I just do mine manually with no ill effects, in smaller pico I could see the real need for one though

[KuyasNanoReef]

Hi Guys and Gals!

 

Coming at you guys today with another update!

 

So today when I got home from school about 30 minutes ago I decided to test my water and do a little top off with some distilled water. I also got two tiny cocktail shrimp from the store and put one of them in there to spike the ammonia and get the cycle going. Is this okay? Should I put in both of them in my 5 Gallon tank?

 

As for my results, here they are (pre-shrimp):

 

 

So what do you guys think about the tests? Pretty normal? Should I keep that shrimp in there?

 

Side note:

 

So when I added the tiny cocktail shrimp into the tank I was looking around for what my hermits would do and as I glanced around the tank I saw what looked like to be a dead piece of rock fall from the bottom of some live rock in my arch, when it reality it was a SUPER tiny type of snail racing to the dead meat.

 

Heres some pictures:

 

 

 

So what type of snail is this? Also, how are my levels? Any tips?

 

Thanks guys!

 

 

[ninjamyst]

following, welcome to the fluval spec club

[KuyasNanoReef]

Hi guys!

 

Sorry for the lack of updates... Just gonna sit back as my tank cycles so I can start posting the good stuff

 

I'm pretty stupid for not doing this before, but I just want you guys to know I will be now using my Canon 70D for pictures now!! Stay tuned for more updates within the next few days. My tank seems to be finishing up its cycle!

[KuyasNanoReef]

Hi peoples!!

 

So yesterday was such an exciting day as I tested my parameters and they came out good!! So I took it upon myself to go to my LFS and pick up some new members to the tank!

 

I got my clean up crew!!

 

Banded Coral Shrimp

 

Turbo Snail

 

I spy with my little eye..... an emerald crab!

 

These are just three of the many members of the new crew that I added yesterday(: In all I believe I picked up 3 Ness. Snails, 2 Turbos, 1 Banded Shrimp, and 1 Emerald Crab. I decided on not picking up more just because of the hitchhikers that were already in the tank (2 Bumblebee Snails, 2 Hermits).

 

Lastly, I'd like to leave you guys with a FTS...

PS:

 

Still waiting for next payday so I can pick up the lights, InTank Media Basket, and maybe an ATO, or corals...

 

I think for the lights I'm probably going to go with a CREE Par38 just because of all the reviews and how good it seems to be with SPS. I'm probably not going to have too many SPS in the future, but I just wanted a light that can go above and beyond in what I really needed

 

Thanks guys! And stay tuned.

[Kijho]

Nice looking tank dude, looks like you're off to a great start! Coral banded shrimp look pretty cool, I've never seen one in a Spec before.

I'd be somewhat worried haha! I always added things quite slowly (1 or 2 at a time) in fear of aggression. Hopefully the emerald and the shrimp become friends. My Blenny is still not comfortable around my crab.

 

Your rock-scape looks really good. It makes me somewhat miss when my tank had more rocks.. but the more rocks I found the harder it was to maintain especially the algae.. I have some new rocks coming soon though to add.

 

Par38 is a wonderful light. In terms of it's effectiveness with SPS - I actually didn't have much luck. I had a birds-nest which I lost quite quickly. I'm not sure if it was related to my light, or my water params.. maybe not enough current.

 

I'd strongly recommend the media baskets, and a lighting upgrade. Another light worth checking out is the USA current orbit I think it's called? I'd also recommend upgrading the stock pump to a 606 by marineland I think (I know you got that in future plans!) - I've had my tank 1 year and I'm just now getting that upgraded haha.. took me a while to find one reasonably priced. (Saw one on ebay long ago for $90 lol wtf!!)

 

Best of luck dude & welcome to the Spec V' club!!

 

 

Edit/ I just saw your parameters are pre-shrimp?? Have you actually seen a cycle yet? Your nitrates look high on that test strip? I'd definitely encourage you to slow down a bit haha! You've only had the tank running for 9 days and already a shrimp + crab in there, just slow down a bit and enjoy it!! Patience is probably the #1 requirement in this hobby. I've had to wait nearly 4 months with nothing in my tank except a crab because I had some illness going in the system which killed off pretty much everything in December last year Slow down slow down!!!

[KuyasNanoReef]

Nice looking tank dude, looks like you're off to a great start! Coral banded shrimp look pretty cool, I've never seen one in a Spec before.

I'd be somewhat worried haha! I always added things quite slowly (1 or 2 at a time) in fear of aggression. Hopefully the emerald and the shrimp become friends. My Blenny is still not comfortable around my crab.

 

Your rock-scape looks really good. It makes me somewhat miss when my tank had more rocks.. but the more rocks I found the harder it was to maintain especially the algae.. I have some new rocks coming soon though to add.

 

Par38 is a wonderful light. In terms of it's effectiveness with SPS - I actually didn't have much luck. I had a birds-nest which I lost quite quickly. I'm not sure if it was related to my light, or my water params.. maybe not enough current.

 

I'd strongly recommend the media baskets, and a lighting upgrade. Another light worth checking out is the USA current orbit I think it's called? I'd also recommend upgrading the stock pump to a 606 by marineland I think (I know you got that in future plans!) - I've had my tank 1 year and I'm just now getting that upgraded haha.. took me a while to find one reasonably priced. (Saw one on ebay long ago for $90 lol wtf!!)

 

Best of luck dude & welcome to the Spec V' club!!

 

 

Edit/ I just saw your parameters are pre-shrimp?? Have you actually seen a cycle yet? Your nitrates look high on that test strip? I'd definitely encourage you to slow down a bit haha! You've only had the tank running for 9 days and already a shrimp + crab in there, just slow down a bit and enjoy it!! Patience is probably the #1 requirement in this hobby. I've had to wait nearly 4 months with nothing in my tank except a crab because I had some illness going in the system which killed off pretty much everything in December last year Slow down slow down!!!

 

First of, thanks for checking out my tank man!!

 

As for the cycling, I've totally cycled my tank.. I've seen

my Ammonia spike up to ~1.5ppm and now it's been mostly on 0ppm but sometimes goes to .25ppm. As for my Nitrate and Nitrite, my Nitrate is at 0ppm and my Nitrite seems to be between 5ppm-10ppm which I believe is normal(:

 

I think the reason my tank cycled so quickly was because I added that table shrimp early to spike up the ammonia, plus my rock is VERY aged.. my local Petco said that rock has been in the tank for a long time and as you can see by the pictures is COVERED with corraline alge!(: I also used Prime which helped with the cycle and also Instant Ocean's Reef Accelerator(:

 

As for my shrimp and crab, they don't even acknowledge each other LOL! I've seen the crab crawl directly under the shrimp and the shrimp just stand there till the crab walked away(: It's not like they hang out like your old Gobie and Pistol Shrimp, but they totally don't mind each other.

 

Everyone in the tank seems happy as can be! All they do is scavange the tank pretty much 24/7 eating all day(:

 

I'll be sure to post another update tho with my testing parameters....

 

OH! And I was totally looking at that Orbit Marine LED but the CREE Par38s were actually rated stronger (~18,000K). Any ideas on this? Here's the link to the light... Is it the same one you had?? http://www.ocreef.com/ocreef_par38_cree_led_aquarium_lamp?category_id=5122

[KuyasNanoReef]

EDIT: Quick update guys! Just tested my water this morning and here's what I got(:

 

 

 

[PathOfDeception]

18000K is not representative of how much light the unit outputs. It's the shade of Yellow/White/Blue. 6500k(yellowish to the eye), 10000K(white) and 16000K(blueish). PAR and Lumens is what you want to check into for light output. Best of luck!

[cswan19]

Hey man, welcome to the spec club! I know your tank is cycled but Kijho is right, take it as slow as possible. Even with a cycle, adding too much too soon can cause too heavy of a bio-load and crash your tank. Just be patient. I had just some snails in my tank for quite some time before adding any fish or shrimp. I also have the Current USA marine orbit LED fixture and couldn't be more happy with it. It sustains my corals well. I have mostly softies and LPS but I do have an SPS coral (hydnophora) that seems to be doing well. I would recommend the light, feel free to check out my tank thread to see how my corals are doing under it. Also, I will be following along to see the progress of your tank. You will love the Spec V, best little tank around! I also recommend (if you haven't already, just skimmed over your thread so far, haven't read it in detail) making a quick DIY media rack out of egg crate. I got the idea from another member on the forums (NanoClown) and can take some pictures of mine for you if you'd like. Its cheap and allows for the addition of media like chemi pure, purigen and filter floss without the stock sponge, which I have found holds a lot of crap in it. Looking forward to seeing the growth of this bad boy!

 

EDIT: I also saw a few times the mention of Petco. Just a word of caution, I have seen many horror stories as a result of taking advice from them. They may have a bit cheaper prices for non-name brand products but IME they tend to not be very educated on the subject of reef keeping. (not all employees are clueless, but most). I would recommend finding a good reliable local fish store around you that sells saltwater fish/inverts and corals as well as saltwater tank equipment. They will know more about these things and will be a better resource for learning. Just a bit of advice.

[KuyasNanoReef]

Hey man, welcome to the spec club! I know your tank is cycled but Kijho is right, take it as slow as possible. Even with a cycle, adding too much too soon can cause too heavy of a bio-load and crash your tank. Just be patient. I had just some snails in my tank for quite some time before adding any fish or shrimp. I also have the Current USA marine orbit LED fixture and couldn't be more happy with it. It sustains my corals well. I have mostly softies and LPS but I do have an SPS coral (hydnophora) that seems to be doing well. I would recommend the light, feel free to check out my tank thread to see how my corals are doing under it. Also, I will be following along to see the progress of your tank. You will love the Spec V, best little tank around! I also recommend (if you haven't already, just skimmed over your thread so far, haven't read it in detail) making a quick DIY media rack out of egg crate. I got the idea from another member on the forums (NanoClown) and can take some pictures of mine for you if you'd like. Its cheap and allows for the addition of media like chemi pure, purigen and filter floss without the stock sponge, which I have found holds a lot of crap in it. Looking forward to seeing the growth of this bad boy!

 

EDIT: I also saw a few times the mention of Petco. Just a word of caution, I have seen many horror stories as a result of taking advice from them. They may have a bit cheaper prices for non-name brand products but IME they tend to not be very educated on the subject of reef keeping. (not all employees are clueless, but most). I would recommend finding a good reliable local fish store around you that sells saltwater fish/inverts and corals as well as saltwater tank equipment. They will know more about these things and will be a better resource for learning. Just a bit of advice.

Thanks for the input man!! And I definietly will take a look at your build(: I've wanted a media basket but I can just make one now! Where do you get the egg crates? and I'd need a saw probably right?

 

And yeah.. I was going to visit some LFS around where I live just to see which one is the best(:

[cswan19]

Thanks for the input man!! And I definietly will take a look at your build(: I've wanted a media basket but I can just make one now! Where do you get the egg crates? and I'd need a saw probably right?

 

And yeah.. I was going to visit some LFS around where I live just to see which one is the best(:

 

Egg crate can be found at some hardware stores. I personally got mine a while back from a LFS. I couldn't find it in any hardware stores around me so went to LFS and paid a bit more since it was called "frag crate". Paid around $16 for like a 3X3 section i think, and I didn't use even half of that. If you can find it in a hardware store it will be even cheaper. You won't necessarily need a saw. I used a sturdy pair of scissors and "snapped" it with the force of the scissors then used zip ties to connect the different shelves/sections. Worked fine for me.

 

Also as far as finding a good LFS pay attention to the conditions of the tanks. I have 3-4 LFS around me but only shop at one for the reason that it has the best water quality, healthiest livestock, most helpful and friendly staff and most reasonable prices. Plus by shopping with them most of the time they tend to give me discounts/free add-ons every now and then because I am a regular, loyal customer.

[KuyasNanoReef]

 

Egg crate can be found at some hardware stores. I personally got mine a while back from a LFS. I couldn't find it in any hardware stores around me so went to LFS and paid a bit more since it was called "frag crate". Paid around $16 for like a 3X3 section i think, and I didn't use even half of that. If you can find it in a hardware store it will be even cheaper. You won't necessarily need a saw. I used a sturdy pair of scissors and "snapped" it with the force of the scissors then used zip ties to connect the different shelves/sections. Worked fine for me.

 

Also as far as finding a good LFS pay attention to the conditions of the tanks. I have 3-4 LFS around me but only shop at one for the reason that it has the best water quality, healthiest livestock, most helpful and friendly staff and most reasonable prices. Plus by shopping with them most of the time they tend to give me discounts/free add-ons every now and then because I am a regular, loyal customer.

thanks man... how long do you think I should wait to get a fish or two? maybe I should give away the shrimp and maybe get another member of the CUC?

 

Also, do you think I should be feeding some of the CUC with some mysis shrimp? or brine shrimp?

oh and how should my measurements be for the egg crate??

[cswan19]

thanks man... how long do you think I should wait to get a fish or two? maybe I should give away the shrimp and maybe get another member of the CUC?

 

Also, do you think I should be feeding some of the CUC with some mysis shrimp? or brine shrimp?

oh and how should my measurements be for the egg crate??

 

I would wait at least a month, but thats just me. I am sure others would say differently, to each his own. Its up to you if you want to give away the banded shrimp. If he seems to be doing okay and you think your tank can handle his bio-load (it probably can) then keep him. I would say you are okay to keep him but you know better than I do as you know your tank more than I do. Just be smart about it, thats all. It wouldn't hurt to feed mysis or brine, just don't over feed. I have a banded shrimp in my other tank and when I spot feed mysid shrimp he will sit on the pipette I use and pull the shrimp right out, its pretty neat. I will pm you the measurements of the egg crate, I need to take a look at mine and check it out.

[Seth fhy]

Keep the shrimp, they are little to nothing in your bio load! Fish are the ones that have a heavy bio load. Whenever your water parameters are stable is when I would add a fish

[KuyasNanoReef]

Just got home from my LFS and I got a new member for the tank(:

 

Guess what it is.... it rhymes with Flag(;

 

About to go back out and head over to Home Depot to pick up some egg crates to make my own media basket as well! Today is not nearly over!!

 

[KuyasNanoReef]

 

Here she is(: