MrsTunink Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 My husband told me to go get a tank. He gave me $200. (He was thinking fresh. He is a cichlid guy.) I bought a size 14 bicube, 9lbs of live rock, and 10lbs of live sand. I am using salt r/o from the most reputable shop in my area (Mobile, AL), and I am 6 hours in. I plan to wait a minimum of 7 days to do anything else. This is my saga. Please advise, reminisce, criticize, I am open to listening. Link to comment
jack1978 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 My husband told me to go get a tank. He gave me $200. (He was thinking fresh. He is a cichlid guy.) I bought a size 14 bicube, 9lbs of live rock, and 10lbs of live sand. I am using salt r/o from the most reputable shop in my area (Mobile, AL), and I am 6 hours in. I plan to wait a minimum of 7 days to do anything else. This is my saga. Please advise, reminisce, criticize, I am open to listening. Post some pictures. You sound like you're off to a good start! Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Read these articles and follow them, esp the first one: http://www.nano-reef.com/articles This is the very first Tank of the Month on Nano-Reef and is a great one to learn from: http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/_/2008/c-est-ma-r9 Research a lot and ask a lot of questions. Realize that you will sometimes get conflicting opinions on equipment to use. Much of this comes from a difference in preferred approach to Reefing. Some people are really into using the last "Tech" and equipment, some prefer a more basic approach. This is more a preference and "style" kinda thing, neither approach is necessarily right or wrong. Read people's tank threads and see what appeals to you more. If you get conflicting advice, listen to the person who has had a more healthy tank or tanks running for longer. Welcome to N-R!! Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Welcome to N-R! Your thread is aptly titled, as this is a hobby of patience . Link to comment
MrsTunink Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Ok, I read the articles and haven't added anything. Well, I got a magnetic glass cleaner thing, but that's it. Tomorrow I go back to the store with a water sample, hopefully I am getting somewhere! Here is how we are looking at week one.... Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Welcome to the world of mini reef tanks Aquascaping is quite important. Not only for visual appeal, but also for flow and ease of cleanig (removing detritus that inevitably builds up over time and biofilms and algae that grow on the back wall). You might want to consider arranging the rock to form more of an 'island' in the center of the tank whcih will be better for the system in the long run. Link to comment
vlangel Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Welcome to N-R and thats a nice tank to start with. Like nano sapiens said, I used to always put my rock against the back wall but then stuff gets trapped there. If you leave a space there for flow thats less likely. Also your rocks are not sacred in their present size and shape. Its ok to chisel any of them to suit your ultimate aquascape goals. Link to comment
ml86743 Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Welcome! Looks like you're off to a good start! Link to comment
Eco Marine Reef Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 For all that and only $200 you got a nice deal. On a side note, be careful with your magnetic glass cleaner. It is very easy to trap sand between the magnet and glass, which ultimately leads to ugly scratches in your beautiful aquarium. I am not a Tunze rep nor am I sponsored by them, but in my experience I have found their care magnets to be far superior to the normal class cleaning magnets. Their magnet provides a gap between the scraper and glass, minimizing your chances of trapping sand and scratching your glass. In either case, best of luck and keep us posted. Link to comment
LVCaniac Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Welcome to reefing! I learned the hard way not to rush anything. This has become my anthem to reefing. Take a slow ride! Enjoy it! Link to comment
urbaneks Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Welcome to the dark side! Best of luck on you new setup. Link to comment
MrsTunink Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 So, everything is going swimingly! Have a bunch of green algae and some glass anemones, but other than that... peachy ☺ Today I added 3 turbos (for the algae), 1peppermint shrimp (for the glass anemones), and a peppermint or candy cane or something coral 2.5 heads (I totally forgot), and a little piece of some zoanthid (hope I got that one right). Almost two weeks ago I added a clown fish and a few smaller snails. Getting some poo going a little at a time. Did a 2.5 gallons water change 2 days ago, and my levels are absolutely perfect. Slow and steady wins the race. Not adding anything else for a while, lol. Also, nano sapiens, I took your advice and created 'rock island' ☺ I will look into the magnet you suggested, ecomarine reef. Link to comment
MLS_Reef Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Good lord... Your husband just wrote you a blank check in the world of pretty little things.. Future investments I would consider if you have not yet.. Api master reef test kit. Its really all you need, yes you need it. 2 a salinity meter or refractometer.. You need a relative way to ensure the consistency of your salt level. Automatic top off.. It seems advanced but the regular addition of water in such a small envirorment really stabilizes the system and alleviates the headaches.. Link to comment
MBS Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Good lord... Your husband just wrote you a blank check in the world of pretty little things.. Future investments I would consider if you have not yet.. Api master reef test kit. Its really all you need, yes you need it. 2 a salinity meter or refractometer.. You need a relative way to ensure the consistency of your salt level. Automatic top off.. It seems advanced but the regular addition of water in such a small envirorment really stabilizes the system and alleviates the headaches.. Agree 100% on the refractometer (dont get the plastic floaty ones... Spend the $50 and get the optical one as a bare minimum). Also on the ATO... It makes like easy and keeps the tank stable. Disagree on the test kit to some degree. Don't let the numbers rule your life ... If you look at your tank and it looks healthy the test kit will largely confirm that. If it looks unhealthy then The test kit will again confirm that. Knowing your nitrate is 5 vs 10 can get you stuck in the "i have to do something to get it down to 5" mode... and you really don't. Chasing numbers can suck the fun out of the hobby and if you're doing regular maintenance, water changes and paying attention to your tank then you'll be fine. Having a test kit wont hurt and testing periodically isnt a bad idea but dont live and die by the numbers. Link to comment
Mkus Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Looks good...Here is my 14 gal biocube.. Link to comment
MrsTunink Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 The 3 turbo snails mowed down ALL the algae! Fast! I think maybe I should return two and pick up the tuxedo sea urchen..... Also, ordered a small power head to make Orangey happy and the reef master test kit. Salt tester thing is next, and I think my cube tells me when I need more top off with the glass level thing on the side. Link to comment
MLS_Reef Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Agree 100% on the refractometer (dont get the plastic floaty ones... Spend the $50 and get the optical one as a bare minimum). Also on the ATO... It makes like easy and keeps the tank stable. Disagree on the test kit to some degree. Don't let the numbers rule your life ... If you look at your tank and it looks healthy the test kit will largely confirm that. If it looks unhealthy then The test kit will again confirm that. Knowing your nitrate is 5 vs 10 can get you stuck in the "i have to do something to get it down to 5" mode... and you really don't. Chasing numbers can suck the fun out of the hobby and if you're doing regular maintenance, water changes and paying attention to your tank then you'll be fine. Having a test kit wont hurt and testing periodically isnt a bad idea but dont live and die by the numbers. I agree ... Dont live and die by any numbers... You always need a frame of reference to correlate the health of your tank too.. Testing gives you that. alkalinity is king .. Posphates and nitrates are a limiting nutrients in algae cycles and if you decide to get coral or shell builders you need to check your calcium .. Testing is important when you see something is out of the ordinary... So if things are not right run the tests. 1. Control pollution with dilution 2, frequent water changes in small tanks is really effective in controlling pollution. Good luck! Link to comment
Simulated Fish Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Good lord... Your husband just wrote you a blank check in the world of pretty little things.. Future investments I would consider if you have not yet.. Api master reef test kit. Its really all you need, yes you need it. 2 a salinity meter or refractometer.. You need a relative way to ensure the consistency of your salt level. Automatic top off.. It seems advanced but the regular addition of water in such a small envirorment really stabilizes the system and alleviates the headaches.. I disagree only with the ATO my Biocube losses very little to evaporation. Probably more to my hands being in the tank lol! By the time I have to top off its weekly watch change time. I just delute the salt water I get a little bit to maintain the correct salinity in the tank. Link to comment
Idaho ken Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Interesting topic, the ole ATO. My 29 still has it's lid, and, I may go thru a half gallon to a gallon a week....but I think it had more to do with my hands being in the tank this past 4 weeks adjusting rock, water movers, etc.....I started with 5 gallons and still have 2 left....I just like the automatic feature so I don't have to worry about checking all the time and having to lift a jug up to poor, or have a pump, bucket, chair, lol....I just love the auto feature! Link to comment
MrsTunink Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 So, since I added the coral, I have removed 2 of the three turbos (so much poop! And they were trying to Feng shui my frags...) and replaced them with a small blue tuxedo urchin. (Pictured below wearing the shrimp skin. Funny little dude.) Also... added an additional small power head to create turbulence for the clown (Orangey), lfs said it would make him happier. The reef master kit came in today, kh 8, calcium 460, nitrate and phosphorus 0. Temp steady at 78(nite)-80(day) with no help from me. Hand fed the candy cane coral some pellets, it looked desperate. Looks happy now. And!!!!! Copepods showing up everywhere!!!! Getting close to my mandarin goby dream ☺ Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Copepods bloom in new tanks to crazy numbers and then generally die off in numbers. Just something to be aware if you are planning for a mandy. Link to comment
MrsTunink Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Link to comment
lallen_74 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 What a beautiful tank you have going! I love the caulastrea; that's at the top of my to-add list, along with an orange yuma. Link to comment
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