Reef build redo

[Coreyg93]

Hey guys, so back in march i bought my first reef tank and started the journey of learning, making mistakes etc etc. Well long story short I started off with 3 large rocks and gave it a go. terrible mistake, the tank never took the look i wanted, my corals hated a flat rock simple space, and it was almost impossible keeping everything in check. Today I redid my entire aquarium, but kept the corals and fish i already had in the tank. I will post a picture to the feed tomorrow after the water settles back down. But basically here are the specs and i'm open to any suggestions on potential upgrades, or changes to my maintenance schedule.

 

Equipment:

- Innovative Marine Nuvo 20

- A1 prime (8 inches above water and set to 50% on all colors)

- aquatop 317GHP return pump (upgrade from 211GHP original)

- hydor 240 (the smallest one i think) and am thinking of getting the mp10 or another small hydor for the other side)

- standard filter baskets

- Standard filter sponge on top, second level of matrix carbon, and third level of phosguard.

- standard heater, don't know the brand.

- one rear compartment i have the macroalgae not sure the type and a small light i turn on to keep it growing for extra natural filtration.

 

Corals:

- Brain coral

- brown button polyps

- green star polyps

- goniopora

- leather coral frag

- some other small polyp frag

 

Invertebrates:

- coral banded shrimp

- 3 small snails

 

Fish:

- Foxface (I know the comments I will get from this but she's a baby and am upgrading to a 90 gallon within 2 years)

- 2 standard clowns

- lawnmower Blenny

- 1 Hectors Goby

 

 

Thanks in advance guys!

[Clown79]

Sounds like you are on the right track but it seems over stocked for a 20g. You may run into issues with that many fish, especially the foxface.

The foxface needs a good amount of nori in its diet which with a small tank, it can easily pollute the tank and they can go after corals.

 

I wouldn't use sponges in the filter. Sponges are notorious for being nutrient factories even when rinsed regularly.

Using filter floss replaced every few days is a better option.

 

As for lighting, you may want to change the configuration. Lowering the whites, greens, and reds. The blues and violets are very important. Lowering the white will give better colouration, it also helps with any algae.

 

For an example I run my Ai Prime(still acclimating up)

 

RB, violet, and Uv - 70%

Blue- 65%

White - 30%

Red/greens- 18%

 

There is a thread for Ai Prime settings, a lot of ppl have provided their schedules.

[Coreyg93]

Yeah I had a green hair algae issue and the LFS guy told me a lawnmower blenny and his baby foxface would be great for ridding the tank of it. With the mention that i'll be moving up to atleast a 75-90 gallon in about 2 years once I move out of my apartment. I just got them both about 2 days ago so they're still acclimating. What exactly is Nori and can the lawnmower blenny and hectors eat that as well? since besides the clowns and shrimp, most of my tank is made up of omnivores. is there a food you'd suggest? possibly something frozen etc. I have algae sheets but unless i turn off all my pumps it'll float around even if i try to wedge it down and the seaweed clips suck. what exactly is filter floss that i can use for the mechanical filtration? should I just get a filter sock to put in one of my overflows and leave the other? not sure on options here nor do I know how to get a filter sock to work in the media basket. thanks for the A1 suggestions ive been looking everywhere for suggestions on settings. is this on your 20? I usually run 8 hours with a 30 min tune up and tune down.

[Clown79]

Nori is the seaweed strips so you have thst already. You can buy a clip at the lfs that will hold it or you can get a piece of pvc pipe, wrap it with the algae strips and hold it down with an elastic band. The foxface and blenny will eat it.

 

I feed my clowns spetrum thera A the smallest pellets, cobalt mysis flake which also has veggie in it, and for a treat frozen mysis. I feed very lightly.

 

Filter floss is also sold at the lfs, usually in a bag, it looks like pillow stuffing. You just cut it to size and put it in the media basket. Change it every few days.

 

I have my Ai Prime over a 15g. It starts at 11am with a 2hr ramp up/dwn, off at 9 with moonlights till 12am.

 

The light is pretty powerful so acclimating it is important. If you only have softies, you won't need to go too high.

[Coreyg93]

Awesome clown thanks for all the advice I'll add pictures if you're interested once I get home from work. What time do you usually feed your blenny's etc? What I did since I already had an algae clip was cut a algae pad in half. Roll it up tight so it didn't deteriorate fast and left it overnight in a low current area. Haven't seen much eating yet. But they're new to the tank so probably still shy. Nice thing is that the algae didn't look to have deteriorated much nor did I see any floating around the tank this morning. I'm going to order the aftermarket filter baskets for my tank because the stock ones are small and crap. Do filter pad in the top rack, carbon in the middle, and phosguard in the bottom. Yeah I'm still messing with my light too. Still haven't really gotten the correct settings but it's definitely a powerful light

[krusing93]

I am interested to see how this goes Following! Good Luck !

[Coreyg93]

Heres the latest picture of the tank!

[Clown79]

Tank looks good. I like the aquascape.

[Coreyg93]

Thanks! I went ahead and ordered the upgraded filter baskets and will start using filter floss changed weekly or more based on how quickly they get dirty. I started with freshwater tanks and the sponge always was for biological so I guess i thought it played somewhat of a roll in that here with saltwater tanks but i guess that isnt the case, the filter floss is strickly to get the big and somewhat small stuff out of the water. hopefully will see improvement in water quality once i make the change because i had not been cleaning my sponge much due to not wanting to kill the good bacteria inside. Any suggestions on other media to use other than carbon and phosguard? what do others use?

[Clown79]

Ya i used sponges in my first reef and learned fast thats where my nutrient was coming from.

Not sure if you should remove it all at once or maybe half of it. The rocks provide the biological filteration but I always make changes cautiously. I'm a worry wart. Lol.

 

Remrmber to clean the hob monthly. The impellers get full pretty quickly which reduces the flow/function.

 

As for media it depends. If you don't have high nutrient levels or phos issues, i'd say a good carbon like Matrix and floss is enough.

 

If you see nutrient issues start you could add purigen and or phosguard.

 

Another option is chemipure blue and floss.

[krusing93]

looking good! be careful with that GSP I glued mine to the back wall and its already creeping its way along (growing) Scape looking good

[Coreyg93]

thanks guys and for the advice clown! by hob are you talking about the return pump? or the hydor? Oh and any suggestions on other corals i should add to the tank? not sure if i want to put anything in the center, the open look is nice. but maybe a plate coral somewhere and then i might try a tongue in the center, but thats just a maybe

[Clown79]

Hob is the hang on filter. Not sure if yours has one or if its an aio. Sorry.

 

Ya, gsp can take off at any time. Mine didn't spread right away but 7mnths later it took over a whole rock and was growing over button polyps.

 

You could do a nice acan brain in the middle which still leaves it open. Acans come in some really nice colours. I find them pretty easy corals, my favia is more picky.

 

You could do a nice hammer, frogspawn, they can be kept close together with no issue. Blastos are cool, duncans, toadstool leathers are nice, i love ricordia and yuma mushrooms.

 

I really like lps as you can see.

[Coreyg93]

nope i have an aio so thank god i dont have to deal with hob's. love the corals you named, even wrote them down when i go to the LFS. i too like lps the most and softies too can be beautiful. idk what the craze is about sps. maybe the challenge gets people interested but only a select few look more than just a rock lol

[Clown79]

I like a few sps like birdsnest, stylophoras, pocillopora. They are the easier ones. My birdsnest just keeps growing.

 

Acropora colours are pretty but I don't go crazy for them.

[asting]

How long does it take for a foxface to outgrow a 20g tank? I suspect less than two years.

[krusing93]

How long does it take for a foxface to outgrow a 20g tank? I suspect less than two years.the second they are put in the tank they have outgrown it haha IMO

the second they are put in the tank they have out grown it IMO ...

[Coreyg93]

About 2 years in which at that point I plan to have a house and a massive tank. I knew I was going to get hell for the foxface but he's doing fine. They tend to be pretty skiddish and complacent chilling in the same place so it's not like a trigger that can swim forever in a circle. Btw I added trumpet and hammer corals to the tank today. Things are coming along and looking good!

[asting]

the second they are put in the tank they have out grown it IMO ...

That's my point.

The foxface is too big for a 40g tank, yet alone your 20 aio. You can justify it however you want, and it's a free country. But you're not earning any respect or fooling anyone into thinking you are being responsible.

 

 

You might be able to live in a prison cell, but you certainly won't run miles. You can't use that as evidence of the cell being sufficient.

[Coreyg93]

no need to get aggressive and malicious towards me asting. you aren't fooling anyone into thinking you are a kind and caring individual in the reef forum world.

 

On the other hand in being a useful forum, does anyone have an opinion on if this hydor is enough for water flow, or if I should upgrade it itself to a mp10, or just get another small hydor for the other side of the tank?

[asting]

Don't ask for opinions and then get upset when someone disagrees with you. You will find very few who think that such stocking is appropriate.

 

If this is about trying to validate your choices, look elsewhere. You won't find anyone supporting your actions here.

 

I'll help you out. It seems you haven't done any research. They grow incredibly quickly. 5" in a year. An incredibly active 5" fish has no business being in a 20g.

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/354758-one-spot-foxface/

 

About 2 years in which at that point I plan to have a house and a massive tank. I knew I was going to get hell for the foxface but he's doing fine. They tend to be pretty skiddish and complacent chilling in the same place so it's not like a trigger that can swim forever in a circle.

 

Do you think that might have to do with the living conditions you've given it?

[ajmckay]

no need to get aggressive and malicious towards me asting. you aren't fooling anyone into thinking you are a kind and caring individual in the reef forum world.

 

On the other hand in being a useful forum, does anyone have an opinion on if this hydor is enough for water flow, or if I should upgrade it itself to a mp10, or just get another small hydor for the other side of the tank?

Lol - unfortunately by posting a public thread anyone can post pretty much whatever opinion they want (with some limits). I think overall people on nano-reef are tolerant of new ideas and opinions but there are still plenty of threads started by people who only pay attention to the posts they get that praise and ignore posts that condemn or otherwise disagree with what they're doing regardless of whether the points are valid.

 

Either way I would tend to agree that adding the blenny and foxface probably wasn't the best call. And I totally understand your rationale that you will be upgrading in 2 years but a lot can happen in 2 years and believe it or not that's a common justification for overstocking. I'm not saying you're a bad person or cruel or whatever (hey, no matter how you look at it there's elements of cruelty to this "hobby"), just make sure you understand the extra complications that come with such stocking decisions - that's all.

 

Thoughts on your tank:

- Looks good considering it's your first reef tank and it's only been going since March. I like your coral selection as they're nice simple corals that should grow well for you. The rock scape is pretty good - I tend to stay away from "stacks of rocks" but I'm by no means a good aquascaper Lol. I think it's just the varied appearance of the rocks that makes it look a little off - how some are light vs. dark and they're all pretty simple shapes. Still - I like the curved appearance and it looks like you made it fit such that you can still clean the glass.

 

- I would increase the flow. Another Koralia would be fine. I would probably have it higher in the tank though to create a bit of surface agitation. Additional flow will help keep dead spots from forming. Also having 2 pumps pointed toward each other will create a more "random" flow. Meaning the water will have some small variations as the flow from the opposing pumps collides and is influenced by the returns in the back. 2x 240's should be fine but you could probably also get away with the next size up as well.

 

- Lighting seems fine

 

- Your CUC is probably a little on the light side. What kind of snails do you have? I like to have a few different kinds including cerith, trochus, mexican turbo, and nerite for cleaning algae and nassarius snails (just 1 or 2) are good for sifting through the sand.

 

- You don't really share details on your maintenance so I can't say much other than be consistent about it, especially with a higher bio load. Also use quality water (RO/DI). Speaking of bio-load, make sure you feed your fish. Often people with high stocking levels cut back on feeding to keep the nuisance algae from getting out of hand. IMO that's a mistake - leaves you with frail fish with crappy color, slow/no growth, increased aggression, and ultimately some die.

 

- Recommended corals: If you're looking for a mixed reef then I think the trumpet and hammer were solid additions. Just be careful as the hammer can harm nearby corals it touches. Zoanthids are always great. Finally I agree that some ricordias or other mushrooms would be cool as there are a wide variety of color morphs. Brain coral or favias are also cool to watch grow. Monti caps are awesome too if you're looking to try an SPS coral - they're pretty easy to grow also

 

Good luck.

[Coreyg93]

Thanks aj all great suggestions and i respect your opinions. I do weekly 10% water changes with saltwater premixed at the LFS. I also have an tunze ato that's hooked up to an rodi container that i usually have to get refilled every 2-3 weeks. i have a schedule where i test ad add all elements on Saturday every week. including the redsea reef foundation, redsea reef colors, pH, and the redsea refract and add the elements according to the charts accordingly. When i go to the LFS i get my water tested for all the simple stuff like ammonia, nitrites, nitrates but its been extremely stable for me with all those readings since i got the tank. i also add reef energy daily by what it says on the bottle. replace filter floss weekly as well. monthly I check the purigen and phosguard i have in the back, and clean out power heads and the return pump. oh and when i do my water changes, ill usually clean the sand as well biweekly or monthly depending on how things are looking. I feed small daily. I'm a true believer that small amounts often are much better than a few large feedings a week. I usually feed a frozen mix but i cant remember the name off the top of my head. i think im going to take your advice and get another 240 and place it facing the other one. the only thought of putting them at the top is they would be right by the overflows and can keep the debris from getting sifted out through my filtration. i use my overflow returns and face them up to get the surface agitation that my tank needs, hence why i have the hydors down low, keeps left over food from sitting on the bottom for too long and rotting behind a rock and gets the entire tank to have water flow. Thanks for all advice, and id love to hear anymore advice on maintenance, corals, rocks, and invertebrates. I think enough has already been said about my fish selection.

[Clown79]

You add/do a lot of stuff. What is all the Red Sea products for? What elements are you adding and why?

 

Weekly water changes should be enough to replenish what your tank needs.

 

The often recommend items needing adding is alk, ca, and mag and only if your system depletes these.

Things like Reef Fuel and Reef Energy really aren't necessary and can aid in higher nutrient levels.

 

At this point, testing ammonia and nitrites isn't really needed unless you have an emergency situation.

 

What you really need to test weekly is:

 

Alk, ca, mag, nitrate, and phosphates. Keep a log as well.

 

I would advise when doing water changes, to use a turkey baster on your rocks and lightly vacuum weekly. Sand collects a lot of crap!

 

It may be more beneficial to make your own salt water. Lfs isn't always the best, there could be fluctuations and you have no quality control, etc etc.

 

 

As for flow, you could add spin stream nozzles to the returns, its gives a nice random flow, plus your powerhead and see how that works.

What is the gph on your return pump(is there 1 or 2 in the 20g)

[Coreyg93]

the foundation kit gives me alk, mag, and ca, plus strotium and other trace elements. the colors kit is really not much when it comes to the amounts i add but just some other trace elements for helping the coral colors really thrive. turkey baster is a good idea. i thought about the spin streams but ive heard alot of bad reviews on them for getting stuck after the corralline grows on them. its only 1 return pump, the original is 211gph, i upgraded to a 317gph

 

and of course i do alot of things for my tank, i try not to do anything in mass amounts, but slow changes if necessary. recreating the natural reefs in our own home takes alot of work and alot of maintenance and time. i just love the hobby, and want to see my aquarium do well. with that being said it may sound like im overkilling it, and messing with it when it needs left alone, but all this is only done weekly and its really not crazy amounts of additives that im adding.