First Nano Reef

[lallen_74]

Hi! My name is Laura, and this is my first venture into saltwater territory.

I was a freshwater addict for years (as many as six tanks running at once...rainbows were my favorite) but I gave it all up for a cross-country move. Now that I'm starting up again, I want to try my hand at reef tanks. I'm going to record my progress in this thread, hopefully...wish me luck

Here's the startup:

-10G Nuvo Fusion

-18W Skkye LED light (stock)

-12 lbs or so LR from LFS

-a bag of so-called "live sand"

-Instant Ocean (though I will probably switch to Red Sea Coral Pro soon)

Here's the tank on Day 4.

I'd checked the water once or twice daily, and since I'd had negligible ammonia, NO2, and NO3, I added some turban snails, a chunk of maiden's hair macroalgae (haven't IDd yet) that the LFS owner threw in, and a bit of dried seaweed.

I did 10% water changes daily for the first five days or so, but now I'll go to every second or third day, if my parameters hold.

And here's the tank on Day 8:

Still excellent water parameters (trace ammonia, no NO3) so I've added a bit of dragon's breath that I found on eBay (Halymenia sp.) and some red-legged hermits. I am feeding the hermits with raw shrimp, though very sparingly, since I don't want a tank full of cannibalism.

I've started testing the other stuff too, and I think some of it will have to be tweaked before I even consider corals. Here's my test from this morning:

Calcium: 340 mg/L

Alkalinity: 8 dKh

pH: 8+

I'm also having a little trouble keeping the temperature stable on this small tank; I live in Seattle and I keep my house pretty cold, but it drops considerably at night. The tank is swinging between 78 and 81 right now.

Any thoughts? I plan to run like this for a week or two before ordering shrimp (I want a peppermint and some sexy shrimp, maybe three of them?) Will the temperature be an issue?

(Also: I apologize for the cruddy pics. I will set up the tripod and real camera at some point.)

[The_Noooob]

nice layout, looks good so far!

[bryanthelp]

Be careful if you decide on using Red Sea Coral Pro. Alk is really high and if you maintain a low nutrient system you could experience some Alk burn.

[Idaho ken]

Looks good so far! Is your tank right next to a window? That could be causing havoc with your temps....you may have to get a larger wattage heater to compensate for that? Just my thoughts....

[Hammerstone]

Pretty tank ?

[lallen_74]

Thanks for the compliments! :-)

 

Bryan, I will definitely keep an eye on the Red Sea. I had not heard that before.

 

Ken, it is indeed next to a window. I am saving the prime non-window spot for a later, bigger tank. I may have to move this Nano, though, if I can't control things; luckily it's on a heavy-duty roller cart thing.

 

I keep many of my windows open year round, so the ambient temperature in my house stays cool; I prefer 65 to 70 degrees and a hoodie, myself. I do have a heater in there, though. I think it's a Fluval? Not the cheapest but nothing spectacular either. Are more expensive units worth it for this small of a tank?

[Idaho ken]

Hi Laura,

 

I don't think more expensive heaters are necessary, but if the one in now is having a hard time keeping things steady with the window (open), maybe the next one "up"....wattage wise.

[lallen_74]

I've checked, and it's a Cascade 25 watt, which is clearly not enough. The LFS people just added it into the basic package and I didn't check it; to be frank, I haven't been overwhelmed with joy at my experience with those guys, and I'll be looking for other options.

 

Meantime, I'm ordering another heater. Maybe a 75 W?

[teenyreef]

Hi Laura, looks like you've made a great start! I really like the rock scape and the pictures are beautiful.

 

On the heater, 25 watts should be enough for a 10g tank unless it's a really low quality heater. What do you have it set on? If it's set to 78 and the temp is going from 78 to 81, then the heater is doing it's job by warming up the tank. But if the sun shines through the window it's possible it could warm up the water by a few degrees.

 

My temperature spikes a bit from the room temperature, especially in the summer. I set my heater to 79 and it goes up to 81 sometimes. I set it to 79 just so the variation wouldn't be too bad.

 

A swing of 2-3 degrees shouldn't really hurt anything anyway unless you end up keeping super delicate corals.

 

I was wondering, though, why not put the heater in the back chamber where the pump is? That way you won't have to see it, and keeping it where the water flow is best will help maintain a steadier temperature too.

[Paralith10]

If there is space in the back you could just run dual 25w heaters. that way if one ever goes down your tank isnt doomed. A 75w would heat it up quickly and not be on as long, thus saving energy costs. It's really up to you. I'm running a single 200w on my 25g cube/7g sump.

[lallen_74]

Thanks, teenyreefer; I hadn't thought of putting it in the back. Done!

 

I have read varying opinions, but it seems that my swings (within 3 degrees, maybe 4 at the outside) are probably okay. Since this is my first reef tank, I'll definitely be trying for hardy species.

 

Paralith, I think I will try one extra 25W first before doing anything else. It's mainly a problem in theory so far; everything seems happy enough.

[lallen_74]

Day 14 Update!

 

Since my first post, I've done things, all the things.

-added a IM InTank filter basket (floss and ChemiPure)

-moved the heater to the back

-done a bit more rockwork

-added livestock

- one 'Tangerine' zoanthus

- one unnamed green-and-purple zoa (maybe 'Goblins')

- one awesome Duncanopsammia

- a fire shrimp (Lysmata debelius)

- a cleaner shrimp (L. amboinensis)

- an emerald crab (Mithraculus sculptus)

My temperature has stabilized, partly due to the placement of the heater in the back near the outflow (thanks, Teenyreefer!) and partly due to my leaving it the heck alone. My water still looks good, though I might need to adjust alkalinity (?)...

Temp 79-80 F

pH 8

Calcium 440 ppm

KH 144 ppm

Phosphate ~.25 ppm (this partly due to a spectacular dragon's breath suicide, I think.)

NO3 0 ppm

Salinity (spec. gravity) 1.026

I am not dosing calcium yet, but I did switch to Red Sea Coral Pro, which is when I saw a little jump in my calcium levels. I plan to stick mainly to low-maintenance corals, but I understand even the Duncan will want some extra calcium.

I'm feeding the mobile critters every second or third day by placing four chunks of table shrimp into the tank, then taking away whatever they don't eat in an hour or so. They seem happy and nobody's eating anyone else...so far so good!

I do have some hair algae on the glass, but so far it's nothing the snails aren't handling well enough. Now for the pics!

Here's the Duncan. He was pretty pissed yesterday when I brought him home, but he's opening back up and getting some color back today:

Here's the 'Tangerine' zoa frag. (I am terrible at using the glue; I hope I get better with practice.)

 

And here's the little bright green zoa, so far unidentified.

 

Here's a side view with the Duncan, too. He's very photogenic.

Thanks for all the advice so far. I'm glad I found this place!

 

 

 

[Idaho ken]

Looks great, I'm jealous!

[ajmckay]

Awesome tank - particularly like the shape of the larger rock in the back!

 

What happened to the dragon's breath?

 

Where did you move to Seattle from? I want to move out west sometime - Seattle may be on my list.

[teenyreef]

Looks good! I wouldn't worry about dosing yet unless you see Alk or Ca going down significantly. Your parameters look fine. Remember you want nitrates and phosphates to be close to zero but not at zero.

[lallen_74]

Awesome tank - particularly like the shape of the larger rock in the back!

 

What happened to the dragon's breath?

 

Where did you move to Seattle from? I want to move out west sometime - Seattle may be on my list.

 

Thanks! The dragon's breath looked great for about a day, then it tanked. Over the course of about twelve hours, it turned white, then clear, and then completely disintegrated. I did a little research, and the most likely scenario is that it got too cold during shipping (it wasn't in a heated container.) I hope to find more soon.

 

We came to Seattle from Texas, and we absolutely love it. Things are really expensive, though, and getting pricier all the time; the real estate prices in many areas have tripled in the past few years. Glad we bought when we did!

[lallen_74]

Day 22

 

 

We went to the LFS yesterday to pick up some corals; apparently there was a big coral show nearby and everybody was out of everything. So I went with Plan B and picked up two misbar ocellaris and two sexy shrimp instead. I had planned to wait on the fish until I was sure that a.) the tank was stable and b.) that I wasn't doing anything lethallly stupid, but all my water parameters have been great, soooo....

 

I know that clowns are sort of common, but I'm old enough to know that I should enjoy the cheap, easy stuff while I'm still new enough to buy it. There'll be time enough for expensive later.

 

All's well so far overall, though I have had some mild diatom issues, as you can see from the pics. Here's a shot of the sexy shrimp getting cozy with the Duncan.

 

And the real reason we've started the tank? We're mind controlled by cats.

I will be upgrading soon, and I can't decide whether to upgrade the lights first (I really like the Maxspect Celestial so far) or get a mini-fuge going in the back. Probably lights.

 

[teenyreef]

Looks good! Clowns are common because everybody loves them, not because they aren't beautiful or fun

[lallen_74]

Looks good! Clowns are common because everybody loves them, not because they aren't beautiful or fun

 

They are indeed both of those things. It's just that I spent half an hour coveting some gorgeous onyx snowflake clowns that were $100 apiece. While I have no intention of killing anything...well, you know what I mean. Of course I'll probably get too attached to these guys to take them back and trade them; I'll just have to start another tank for the eventual snowflakes.

[lostsol95]

Great aquascaping!!! Did you get an ATO?

[lallen_74]

Great aquascaping!!! Did you get an ATO?

 

Thanks! And no, not yet; I'm still trying to decide if I really need one or not, and where I'll put it. I think I'm going to get better lights first, maybe the Maxpect Celestial or some other self-contained all-in-one unit.

[lostsol95]

 

Thanks! And no, not yet; I'm still trying to decide if I really need one or not, and where I'll put it. I think I'm going to get better lights first, maybe the Maxpect Celestial or some other self-contained all-in-one unit.

 

 

Interesting, the Maxpect Celestial never came up when I was searching for lights. I went with the Nano Box Tide. I've had it about a month and my coral seem to like it a lot.

[lallen_74]

Update!

 

I did go with the Maxspect Celestial C35F, and it came in the mail today. My awesome hubby bought it for me as an anniversary present; it's sort of crystal, right??

 

Since my last post, I've added livestock, as well as the new lighting.

 

- Branching hammer coral (Euphyllia ancora)

- 'Sunset' monti (Montipora sp.)

- orange Ricordea yuma

- a branching frag of zoas that includes Green Bay Packers and Radioactive Dragon Eyes

- a feather duster/coco worm (Protula bispiralis)

- a lettuce nudibranch

- a few Caribbean ceriths (Cerithium sp.)

 

I'm trying to acquire better DSLR skills, but today was a bit rushed; I just wanted to shoot a few new FTSs on the first day with the new lights. Better pictures soon, I hope.

In fact, once the yumas stop migrating all over the tank (two of the babies went rogue, and I keep finding them in the oddest places) I will spend a day or two poring over photography forums and trying to figure this out.

Here's the new hammer. Within a week of bringing him home, he's already gone from a double-header to a triple-header. I was a little freaked out about it when it started. One of the heads turned very dark at the base of the tentacles, and that head did not want to extend fully. But it seems well-colored and fairly healthy otherwise, and so I left it lone; lo and behold, over the next few days, it started splitting.

Also, he has five or six new heads sprouting around the base of the fleshy part. You can see a few of them here.

And one more pic of the clowns hosting the Duncan...so far they're avoiding the hammer, but I hope one of them decides to host it, too.

I have had a bit of red algae on the sand off and on for the past week or so, which is one of the reasons I bought ceriths. I've also cut feeding back quite a bit. I think I may have to start dosing for alkalinity soon, too; my water tested at only a little over 120 ppm today and it's usually steady at 175ish. I did a WC and I'll check again tomorrow, but with the hammer and the monti...?

 

[teenyreef]

Looks great, and all the growth shows you are getting it right!

 

Montis will suck up a ton of calcium. And duncans do too, because of the hard base.

[lostsol95]

wow! makes me want to redo my rock work.