My new nano

Hi,

I've been postin questions here for a little while now and figured why not post the pics of my tank as soon as I set it up.  It is about 12 gal in the actual tank area. I am running a venturi skimmer (which looks a lot like the CPR one) about half the day with my lights. I am doing this because the tank is in my room and the skimmer is a little noisy and I hate trying to go to bed with it on. Anyway, the tank appears a bit cloudy because I just added some kalwasser to get this coralline algae to start spreading. Here are the pics:

I will probably post more pics soon since I just added a kenyan tree coral yesterday. But this is my bare set-up...email me or reply with any questions.

Could you give more information on what you are using? Lights? Circulation? Is the tank square?

If you just set that tank up, there's no way you should start adding corals yet.  And Kenya Trees (from the info I have) receive less nutrition from zooxanthellae than most other softies, so it will need supplemental feeding.  Also, be careful using kalk in a tank this small.  Someone else can provide more info on that- I don't use it.  I'm not barking at you or anything, but it would be in your best interest to do some more reading before going any further.

Its not recomened to use Kalk in nanos. Kalk causes flucuation in PH which can and will stress your inhabitants. The water shouldn't be cloudy after adding kalk. you should not add the white powder direcly to the tank, the little particles will burn any thing in the tank. Also the white powder adds phosphate.

The propor and best way to add kalk is to dissolve it in freshwater for several hours or over night then slowly drip the fresh water into your tank at the rate it evaports, not to allow any white substance into your tank. Kinda a pain. Thats why i dont use it.

That rockwork will make for some good ledges to put corals on.  Good idea there.  Lots of hiding places too.

I wouldnt have added any livestock so soon though.

yeah, i agree with the other posts.  patience is the main ingredient in this hobby.  i would have waited at least a month before adding anything.  i waited over two months on my.  i know' you'll get a lot of crap from people saying 'where's the fish? why is it empty?' :flackwhore:

start with a cheap animal too, just my $0.02

Actually it's a good idea to go fishless during the cycle. There's no reason to add a fish in there while the tank is cycling.

Hey guys,

   Thanks for all of your concern.  I guess I was unclear in my post.  By saying that I just set it up I meant that it is finally a stable enough tank that I can start putting stuff in it.  The rock you see there was uncured when I bought it so I left it outside (because of smell) to cure for about three weeks.  Then it was put into this tank with this bioactive sand for about two two three weeks until I received the lights.  By the time that came the water was tested and everything was pretty good to go.  So it has been at leats a month and a half before any livestock was added.

    As for the Kalk, I really don't like it either but it was the only source of calcium that I had in my immediate possesion and I wanted to kick start the corraline into action.  I read somewhere that said to pour in the white powder because it inonically adds more Ca.  Probably a bad source I guess.  Sorry about that, but I really don't plan on using that anymore anyways.

    As for the kenyan tree, I know that it is dependant on trace elements.  The reason I bought it is beacuse it is an extremely hardy coral (so I've been told), the salt mix that I use contains trace elements, and it is so small that I am sure that by itself it will not suck up all of the elements in the time it takes for me to decide what supplements to purchase.

    As for my set-up details, here it is:  The tank is an acrylic cube that is about 16"x16"x16".  The lighting is from Custom Sea Life and it is the PC15232 model.  It is a retrofit that is >15" long and holds two 32 Watt bulbs (one actinic and one 10000K daylight).  The pump you see there is an old pump I had that turned out to be a rio600 which everyday I reposition due to my indescisiveness.  The tank has a built in overflow that is pumped back with a ViaAqua pump that was sold to me as a 152 gph pump but I don't think it is.  

    In terms of my rockwork, thank you very much Sahin. That is exactly what I was going for. I wanted to make several ledges and crevices for the fish to swim through, invertebrates to crawl throught and last but defitinely not least- positions for corals.

      For any other info. please keep posting and/or emailing.  Thanks for all of you who repied to my post I hope this answers everything.

     Ralph

Hey lizbeth ,

    If you or anyone is interested I actually have an extra tank that has never been used and is still in the original wrapping and tape that it was sent to me in. Let me know,

   Ralph

Ralph, you may want to try a product called B-Ionic.  Everyone who uses it swears by it.  It's a two-part calcium and alkalinity buffer, very easy to use (much safer than kalk), and your coralline will love it.  Good luck!

Is it just me, or is there a little man in the lower right hand side of that pic.. just behind the green algae stuff.

Might be an optical illusion of sorts, but I see a little man

you know what, I thought about that too, but I thought it was me seeing things. I sure looks like a man with pointy legs.hehe

hey GPC, keep us updated on the pics, your aquascaping looks great!! I once saw that type of aquascaping in my LFS. Once corals and fish had acclimatised, the result was rather amazing, it was a spectacular habitat!

Don