General Advice for a New Tank

[Znow]

Hello, I am going to be setting up my first SW tank. I have previously kept high demand freshwater species so I believe I am ready to progress in the hobby. I have been researching a lot about marine systems for years but never took the steps to get one. So below is what I am aiming for in terms of equipment in my system, and X by the product indicates I already have it.

• 24x15x12 WxHxD Display Aquarium (15 Gallons) X
• 18x12x12 WxDxH Sump (9 Gallons) X
• 50w Heater X
• Live Sand
• Dry Rock
• Bubble Magnus C 3.5 Protein Skimmer
• Some Overflow Box I found X
• Chinese Dimmable 165w LED full spectrum system
• Auto Top-off system

So I'm going to be buying this equipment over the next few weeks, I need to research into reactors but I'm not too sure if its necessary because for a while I am just going to be keeping LPS and mushrooms / zoas etc. My fish load is going to be quite low. I only really want maybe 1 or 2 black ocellaris, a fire goby and later down the road a sixline wrasse if my levels are good and consistent.

I have a couple of questions to ask the experienced keepers, for this system what lighting would you recommend? I want to have the option for SPS in the future and what equipment would I have to get for this to be possible? dosing pump / reactor etc I am not too confident on that section and also are there any recommendations on what I could change in this system and any advice overall would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

-Znow

[Nano sapiens]

Welcome to Nano-Reef

 

Looks like you have been reading about all the options available, 'beginners guide' section of the website, etc. What can be said about the reef keeping side of the aquarium hobby is that one can create as simple, or complex, a system as one likes and be successful. The main criteria is knowing the requirements of the organisms that you want to keep and then properly providing for those needs. How you do that is part of the fun and challenge of reef keeping.

 

One general piece of advice is don't think that you need 15 different gadgets/aids just because they exist and/or somone is using or promoting them. Many subscribe to the KISS principle (as do I) which tends to lead to long lasting reef tanks.

 

There are a great many examples of smaller nano tanks in the 10-20g range on this site and others (check the TOTM - 'Tank of the Month' selections) and others. If I were new to this like you are, I'd take a look at the best examples (and ones that have been running successfully for at least a few years) to see what type of equipment, husbandry, etc. are employed and why.

 

Best of luck and enjoy the journey

[Clown79]

Agree.

 

The more gadgets and equipment often leads to more confusion and problems, especially when inexperienced.

 

 

You don't need dosers, reactors, skimmers, not even an ato(although it makes life easier). Especially for 15g. Water changes, low bioload, floss, carbon, heater, and powerhead.

 

4 fish in 15g is quite a bit for the bioload. Clowns create a lot of waste.

[Znow]

I would just like to say thank you very much for the insight, I wasn't aware of the bio-load in nano tanks I will adjust my stocking accordingly. maybe one ocellaris clown (or do they fare better in pairs?) and that's it really. Just a quick question, how important are a CUC in a tank? And finally when I add corals I want to go softies first such as some lovely fluorescent zoas, LPS and SPS in the future. Would my bioload have a higher limit as its only the display that is 15 gallons but the overall water volume of the system is going to be closer to 20, regardless I am going to stock it low. My focus in the tank is to have is packed with corals really and have some nice actinic lighting on it to make it a show piece kind of thing, thank you so much for the advice.

Many thanks,

-Znow

[Nano sapiens]

Fish are the main waste producers in a reef aquarium. I had a pair of Ocellaris Clownfish in my 12g (~10g of actual water volume, no sump) for years, so that amount of bio-load is fine as long as maintenance/husbandry is adequate and regular. I only moved them on since they outgrew the tank (a female can get to be 4" or more over time).

 

Photosynthetic corals, on the other hand, produce little waste since there is a great deal of nutrient cycling between them and their zooxanthellae ('algae') residing in their tissues. However, if one packs a tank really tightly with rock and coral that can seriously disrupt water flow which is not good for the corals or the system as a whole.

 

A small CUC is beneficial to help control algae which are typical for a newly setup reef tank. If you use live rock from either an established system or from the ocean 'hitchhikers' of various types will be present and some will fill various cleanup duties in the tank as they multiply (ex.: amphipods, bristleworms, brittlestars, collunista snails, etc.)

 

Easiest to start off with all non-stony corals (Mushrooms, Zoanthids, Soft Corals) since your water changes should be enough to keep calcium, alkalinity and magnesium at appropriate levels. A few stony corals can be added, but with the caveat that as you add more of these eventually water changes may not be enough to keep these elements at the proper levels and then you'd have to start some form of supplementation.

[Znow]

So I should really invest in the test kits, I think I am going to get ammonia and nitrate for the cycling period and then phosphate once I start adding livestock. That should be good to maintain soft corals and when I want to add some stony types I will go for the calcium and alkalinity test kits as well. What would most people recommend for lighting on this aquarium? The display tank is 24x15x12 LxHxD. Meanwhile I will look at some other peoples systems and what they use.

Many thanks,

-Znow

[ajmckay]

Welcome Znow.

 

So good advice already... FYI I usually keep clowns solo and they do well so don't think you need to add 2.

 

As for the equipment, I totally agree to keep it simple - at least when you're starting out. Too much equipment can complicate things and make it hard to keep track of all that's going on. Looks like you have your bases covered in this regard. Try to choose a reliable pump for the return pump.

 

Lighting is probably one of the tougher things to buy IMO. There are simply so many options. The best advice I can give you is to get a decent light that's more than you "need". The reason is you'll probably want to upgrade eventually and it's nice to be able to re-use stuff. Also don't let your budget dictate what light you get. For example many "black box" Chinese lights don't have very good coloration. Corals don't need "full spectrum" really - it's more about enhancing the appearances for our own benefit. So I would do some research and find out what lights look good to you (if you're unsure I would stick with a popular light known for good results) and then adjust the budget/timing accordingly.

[Clown79]

I have a 15g with 2 clowns. My experience with all my clowns has been, they are more social when not alone but not necessarily is it another clown that you must have.

 

My clown was very active and friendly with my blenny but when it died, my clown swam in a corner until i added another clown.

 

All the advice above is great but I will be the first to disagree that water changes will prevent loss of ca, alk, and mag.

 

I do weekly water changes and had only a leather, zoas, and xenia in my tank and my parameters dropped. I switched salts and things improved but now I'm dosing because I have a lot more corals and waterchanges just don't cut it anymore.

 

Test kits are definitely a must. With phosphate and magnesium i would use salifert kits.

Api is fine for alk, ca, and nitrates etc.

 

Lighting- one of the most complex things you'll read about.

There are a few options you could look into, see the differences in each fixture, check online for others using them.

 

Coral Compulsion par38 full spectrum and dimmable

 

Ai Prime

Nanobox

Current Orbit

Aquamaxx Marine light

Rapid Led

[Nano sapiens]

All the advice above is great but I will be the first to disagree that water changes will prevent loss of ca, alk, and mag.

 

I do weekly water changes and had only a leather, zoas, and xenia in my tank and my parameters dropped. I switched salts and things improved but now I'm dosing because I have a lot more corals and waterchanges just don't cut it anymore.

 

 

Interesting. That is somewhat unusual since none of the corals you listed use ca, alk, and mag. Many reef aquarists without calcifying corals have maintained their element levels with water changes alone.

 

A good amount of growing coraline algae can lower levels of all three, though (especially if water changes are small and/or infrequent and the salt is not high in these elements) and could account for the drop. Might also be caused by precipitation onto hard substrates...

[Clown79]

-Substrate was new, not hard.

-No coraline at that time

-15% water change every week

- used IO and switched to Reef Crystals

 

 

After having 4 reef tanks - i truly believe that what we "know" isn't always written in stone.

 

Its like the theory of softies not needing good lighting - sorry I completely disagree. If anything, I find LPS enjoys lower lighting and softies enjoy higher lighting. Yup softies can be in lower light conditions but they react badly and don't look good at all.

[Nano sapiens]

-Substrate was new, not hard.

-No coraline at that time

-15% water change every week

- used IO and switched to Reef Crystals

 

 

After having 4 reef tanks - i truly believe that what we "know" isn't always written in stone.

 

Its like the theory of softies not needing good lighting - sorry I completely disagree. If anything, I find LPS enjoys lower lighting and softies enjoy higher lighting. Yup softies can be in lower light conditions but they react badly and don't look good at all.

 

 

Yes, I remember you posted about lower levels in RC. Different tanks & aquarists, different experiences. Keeps the hobby interesting

 

Absolutely correct about Softies. In nature, many are found in turbulent and very light intensive areas of the reef. LPS are often found in fairly shallow water, but the water is often quite turbid so light penetration is reduced. I saw this first hand in Palau and it was an eye opener to see the amount of cloudy particulates in the water.

[Oldsalt01]

Go SLOW! The biggest mistake newbies make is to overload their system before everything has settled down. Prepare for cyano outbreaks, green hair algae, dinoflagellates, on a host of other issues. My 14g has been up for over a year and is running well. I do a 5g water change every week and everything is stable. Get a variety of clean up crew: snails, crabs, shrimp. Find a GOOD LFS and stick with them. I only buy from one dealer whom I trust, and I still quarantine everything before it sees my display. Depend on these forums too. They've helped me more times than I can count and I have over 30 years in saltwater tanks. Welcome to the hobby. Aquarium's have a hole in the top for one reason: so you can throw money into them! Happy reefing.

[Clown79]

Its amazing how each person has a different experience with their tanks.