here we go again

[Jonny1993]

hey guys! sorry for all this info but i would like to let you know what i did and if theres anything you recommend i do differently this time to be more successful since i already lost close to $600

 

brand newish to the saltwater hobby i cycled my tank everything was great 2 clowns, a neon frogspawn, bubble, coral, and an australian elegance.

 

sadly i admit i messed up and fed to much to my fish and corals using a mixture of frozen brine shrimp and reef roids resulting in a an ammonia spike that killed everything but one clown and 3 hermits (safety in a 2.5g qt tank i put togother very quickly in the hopes to save something and it worked!

 

i tore down the 10 and started over with the the same live rock i used originally but this time cured it so i can add my own critters ( really did not like the enormous amount of worms talking 30+ that crawled out and died when my tank did)

 

so here i am again determined to get this right since i absolutely love this hobby and want to keep pursuing it. kept african cichlids for 7years without a hitch but this is like a whole new ball game lol.

 

il attach a photo of my tank how it is now wondering if i have a good scape for what i would like

 

tank set up as is:

 

ai prime led light

10gallon

7.5lbs of cured live rock

10 lbs of sand (hard to tell since i put most of it behind my rock to create a shelf)

aquaclear 70 hob filter with 1000g of bio media

koralia powerhead

2 heaters (1 for back up)

 

 

i would like to try to have these corals in there please tell me if I'm ok here!

some kind of leather coral

torch coral

xenia

zoas

gsp

 

 

 

 

 

i would like similar corals as this reef but dialled back to something my nano can handle. http://azarmi.com/reef/profile.html

 

tank is almost done its cycle any day now

thanks in advance everyone i love how supportive this community is

[Mariaface]

Have you tried ghost feeding during the cycle? It makes sure the bacteria don't run out of food at any point in the cycle, and you're able to strengthen the bacterial population for whatever bioload you're planning on having.

 

You basically dose ammonia up until 1-2ppm (whatever strength you prefer, but don't go over 4ppm as it'll hinder the bacteria), and test daily to keep dosing and remain at the same level. Nitrite and nitrate will go up accordingly as the different strains of bacteria populate the tank, and eventually you'll be able to come back 24 hours after dosing ammonia to a tank that tests 0ppm ammonia/nitrite. That's when you know the tank is cycled, and can begin adding livestock.

[Jonny1993]

Have you tried ghost feeding during the cycle? It makes sure the bacteria don't run out of food at any point in the cycle, and you're able to strengthen the bacterial population for whatever bioload you're planning on having.

 

You basically dose ammonia up until 1-2ppm (whatever strength you prefer, but don't go over 4ppm as it'll hinder the bacteria), and test daily to keep dosing and remain at the same level. Nitrite and nitrate will go up accordingly as the different strains of bacteria populate the tank, and eventually you'll be able to come back 24 hours after dosing ammonia to a tank that tests 0ppm ammonia/nitrite. That's when you know the tank is cycled, and can begin adding livestock.

 

i haven't seen any pure ammonia or products like that at my lfs here. i still have brine shrimp and new life spectrum .5mm pellets. would i ghost feed as you call it with these to allow the ammonia levels to rise?

 

ps did the photo i attached of the scape go through this is my first time posting anything here. as well as my coral list is that looking ok?

[Mariaface]

Adding actual food will cause ammonia to rise, but it will also cause other parameters to rise (phosphates, nitrates, etc). You can pick up ammonium chloride without surfactants, just pure ammonia. It's even a cleaning supply.

 

The photo went through, yes. Make sure you can get to all of the glass in order to clean the film algae that will develop on it. And be careful with the water level if your koralia will be that close to the surface. You don't want it to create a small 'whirlpool' and suck in air.

 

The corals seem fine. Be careful with the light settings, since high light can bleach the corals. The light doesn't need to be on while you cycle the tank, btw.

[Jonny1993]

Adding actual food will cause ammonia to rise, but it will also cause other parameters to rise (phosphates, nitrates, etc). You can pick up ammonium chloride without surfactants, just pure ammonia. It's even a cleaning supply.

 

The photo went through, yes. Make sure you can get to all of the glass in order to clean the film algae that will develop on it. And be careful with the water level if your koralia will be that close to the surface. You don't want it to create a small 'whirlpool' and suck in air.

 

The corals seem fine. Be careful with the light settings, since high light can bleach the corals. The light doesn't need to be on while you cycle the tank, btw.

 

oh ok i will see if i can find some of that stuff!

moved the koralia down lights i only turn on when I'm making sure i like the hardscape usually put it on for a few hours each day. at the moment my ammonia is 0, my nitrite is 2ppm, and my nitrate 20ppm

 

is this coming to the end of my cycle?

[Mariaface]

You won't know until you can see ammonia and nitrite drop to 0ppm after 24 hours. You need a base measurement the day before that shows an ammonia level of 1-2ppm.

[Clown79]

I myself couldn't find ammonia and opted out of that option.

 

I set up my tanks with a 90% base rock and added 10% liverock and livesand. I ghost fed my tank everyday. I've cycled 4 tanks this way-i personally prefer it because it was easy and never failed me.

 

 

Another option is getting a deli shrimp and putting it in a media bag, placing it in the tank.

 

There are a few methods of cycling recommended. This is a good source of info to help you decide which method is best for you

 

Saltwateraquarium.com/cycling-a-saltwater-aquarium

 

I'm sorry your first experience didn't end well but its great you didn't give up. It can be a frustrating and rewarding endeavor but worth it.

 

Go slow, research, ask questions(there are no stupid questions) you're on the right track:)

 

I learned that besides going slow, a good maintenance routine is key and testing.

 

Some suggestions to help you along the way that I found helped.

 

1. Weekly water changes-i vacuum my sand, use a turkey baster to remove detritus on the rocks, i change my filter floss, rinse the carbon bag(detritus traps in there)

2. Weekly testing

3. Clean filter, intakes, powerheads monthly, change carbon.

4. Feed lightly, in a small tank nitrates and phos are harder to control- i feed frozen once a week with a pipette, reef roid 1x a week. Pellet the rest of the week.

5. Keep a journal on things you do or change.

 

 

What is the bio media you put in the filter?

[Jonny1993]

wow thanks both of you i really appreciate the help and supportive nature of this forum. nano reefers are way cooler than freshwater people lol.

 

UPDATE:

todays test

ammonia .50ppm

nitrites i think somewhere between .50 and 1ppm

nitrates 20ppm

 

i have been ghost feeding which I'm thinking is why my ammonia went up a bit, diatoms are forming on the rock which is a good sign right?

What is the bio media you put in the filter?

Clown79, on 26 Apr 2016 - 11:37 AM, said:

 

I'm using 1000g of of bio rings from fluval. since its an aqua clear 70 I'm thinking about maybe converting it into a refugium? or are the bio rings a better option?

[Mariaface]

Diatoms will show up to use the available ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, and will compete with the bacteria. Unless you're purposely trying to keep something photosynthetic alive, I'd stop lighting the tank.

 

Bio rings are just serving as live rock, but with the ability to trap decaying organics where you can't remove them. This decaying matter will still break down and go through the cycle, but the inability to remove detritus means nitrates may rise faster than your macros or water changes can lower them.

[Jonny1993]

oh wow ok so I've turned them off tank is close to the window so the 2 tiny purple mushrooms i have in my 2.5g qt tank with the clown and a few hermits so I'm assuming natural light will help grow those.

 

so should i lose the bio rings and go to refugium?

 

also I'm new to sumps and plumbing/ afraid of causing a flood or water damage to a solid oak dresser its on (the girlfriend would kill me).

is there a way i could convert the 2.5g into a mini sump/refuge or just refuge?

[Clown79]

I agree with Mariaface. The rings could end up causing issues in the future. You can simply run filter floss and a good carbon in the filter. Your liverock is the biological filteration.

 

As for a refugium, I don't run one so I have no hands on experience-hopefully someone who has one can help. I know they are beneficial but you can easily make one from an hob filter.

 

I also have no sump, its simply not what I want to get into. A hob filter does the same thing just a smaller version of a sump. Sumps offer more water valume to work with and benefits of less maintenance as well as hiding equipment.

 

As for lighting- the tank cycling has no need for lighting at this point if its empty of corals.

 

As for the qt tank, if there are corals in there, you can run lights.

 

Fyi: i have a 10g right near a window. Mine has verticals and partial curtain coverage. During the nice mnths of lots of sun light, my tank has more algae develop, even with the blinds closed and partial curtains... thats only a tiny bit of additional light. I have completely covered the window during those mnths with a curtain. During the winter, next to no algae on glass.

[Jonny1993]

hmm ok might have to rethink my current set up then! might take out 500-600g of bio rings add some macro algae and wire in a small led to grow it.

 

 

l do have a question since i would like to spend the next few months planning out the corals and where i want them before buying them. in my original post i shared a photo of the hardscape where i have a half inch sand bed in front and about 4 inches behind the rock as a shelf.

 

so my plan is to hopefully add a toadstool leather in the front left corner and exenia to grow in the back on top of the shelf, zoas i would like to try and carpet all over the small rocks again on the left side of the tank. then thinking maybe a torch/forgspawn/hammer or some kind of wavy coral for the right shelf....

 

is something like this possible for such a small tank and i would greatly appreciate opinions on my choices and i definitely welcome other choices! i do understand the toadstool will get very big especially with the good lighting i have. i am wanting to frag it when that happens as well as eventually transferring to a large reef set up a few years down the road. (as long as my luck in this hobby changes lol)

[Mariaface]

If your macro algae isn't going to be a significant portion of the display's volume (25% or so), it doesn't make sense to use it for nutrient export. Just throw some carbon/phosphate removers in a media bag and replace them weekly (small amounts replaced frequently avoid the issue of allowing bacterial film to render the media useless).

 

I don't know much about the corals you're trying to keep, so I'll let others chime in. You can also create a specific topic for it in the related forum.

[Clown79]

Xenia can spread quickly so try to place them on a dedicated rock. I had to frag mine within 3 mnths. Beautiful coral. They do like decent flow, light.

 

Leathers are great. Try to not place them where they will hang over other corals.

 

Torch is beautiful but they do have long sweeper tenticles so they can sting neighbouring corals.

 

Hammers are nice, like moderate lighting and flow.

I love frogspawn, they do expand as well.

 

Try to keep a decent distance between the corals you choose and research the ones you want. Liveaquaria.com has a lot of good info

 

The placement of the coral will also depend on its needs. Some are best on rockwork, others in substrate. Etc.

[steste1122]

 

i haven't seen any pure ammonia or products like that at my lfs here.

 

Any hardware store will have pure ammonia. And its only like $2 for a large bottle. You won't need very much.

[Jonny1993]

Xenia can spread quickly so try to place them on a dedicated rock. I had to frag mine within 3 mnths. Beautiful coral. They do like decent flow, light.

 

Leathers are great. Try to not place them where they will hang over other corals.

 

Torch is beautiful but they do have long sweeper tenticles so they can sting neighbouring corals.

 

Hammers are nice, like moderate lighting and flow.

I love frogspawn, they do expand as well.

 

Try to keep a decent distance between the corals you choose and research the ones you want. Liveaquaria.com has a lot of good info

 

The placement of the coral will also depend on its needs. Some are best on rockwork, others in substrate. Etc

 

thank you. do you have any other possible corals you think would be good in a 10gallon? i would like a heavy coral tank so looking for more corals that won't sting each other or very weak stinging ability.

 

I'm looking specifically for something on the right side of my tank that i could let grow large and have lots of movement in my head i would like something that my clowns would enjoy going through. i looked at rose bubble tips for the future but thinking in such a small tank that could be bad news?

[Clown79]

Most corals have some defense mechanism to protect themselves from neighbouring corals, they either sting or release toxins. The only 1 I know for sure that doesn't is xenia-their mechanism is taking over.

 

There is no guarantee that clowns will host any coral, even anemone's.

 

Anemone's are beautiful but require: high water quality, high light, and they move on their own often stinging corals or getting caught in equipment.

[Clown79]

Most beginners usually start with leathers, hammers, frogspawn, xenia, mushrooms, trumpets, duncans, and zoanthids. These are easier corals to start with.

 

Certain brain corals are good as well.

 

 

Sps normally advised to wait till the tank is stable and more experience. Same with anemones.

 

Each corals placement will depend on their needs. Lighting needs, flow needs, rock/substrate need.

 

If a coral isn't happy, it will show signs of distress.

[Jonny1993]

oh ok good good. my ammonia and nitrite are now 0 my nitrate are normal.. I've since put my clown, 3 hermits and a rock with about 5 purple mushrooms still on it hoping to grow them all back and spread them along the rest of the other live rock rubble. these are all the inhabitants that survived the original ammonia spike that i put in my 2.5 gallon.

 

everyone looks great the clown is happily swimming around the larger tank now

looks like my luck might start turning around fingers crossed.

[Jonny1993]

hey guys so i have 2 clowns, 2 clusters of zoas, gap (that hasn't opened up yet) i have an xenia and a skunk shrimp but now the shrimp has died and i bought him saturday night now the xenia is looking really bad.. fish, hermits, zoos, and a bristle star look fine and healthy

 

ammonia is at 0ppm

nitrite is at 0ppm

 

whats going on???