The_gats 40B, 2 years of reefing

[the_gats]

Finally talked the wife into letting me start a nano. Going strong for about 5 days. I'm trying to take is slow but its hard since I'm a little impatient. Here's where I'm at so far.

 

20L:

- Fishneedit 36" 4x39W T5HO

- 100W Stealth Pro

- Koralia Evolution (750gph)

- 25lbs LR

- 20lbs LS

 

40 Breeder

- Fishneedit 36"

- BM NAC 3.5

- Quiet One 3000 return

- Glass holes 700 gph overflow

- Vortech MP10

 

Current FTS 6/14

 

 

 

Any tips, hints or other knowledge is welcome.

[AJ_Tsin]

Finally talked the wife into letting me start a nano. Going strong for about 5 days. I'm trying to take is slow but its hard since I'm a little impatient. Here's where I'm at so far.

 

20L:

- 30" Coralife T5HO

- 100W Stealth Pro

- Koralia Evolution (750gph)

- 25lbs LR

- 20lbs LS

 

Any tips, hints or other knowledge is welcome.

 

Looking good.

 

I would invest in a Skimmer ASAP. What do you plan on keeping?

[the_gats]

I was thinking about Clown, YWG w/ shrimp and maybe another small fish possibly two but don't want to over do it. Not sure exactly what on the corals yet. I like the Frogspawn, but haven't really set that list completely yet. As far as the skimmer I was thinking about trying to go with out it unless it I feel it's really needed. Gonna keep up with the weekly WC. Ideas on future corals are welcome.

 

Thanks in advance.

[AJ_Tsin]

I was thinking about Clown, YWG w/ shrimp and maybe another small fish possibly two but don't to over do it. Not sure exactly what on the corals yet. I like the Frogspawn, but haven't really set that list completely yet. As far as the skimmer I was thinking about trying to go with out it unless it I feel it's really needed. Gonna keep up with the weekly WC. Ideas on future corals are welcome.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Sounds good. It is possible to do it without a skimmer. But you have to be very very diligent. Many of the reefers with the good systems on here do weekly water changes AND have a skimmer.

 

Keep in mind that the more water you change each week can actually damage your livestock because your parameters will not be stable. 5-10% changes weekly should be the target any more weekly can cause problems...

 

If i were you I would buy a skimmer now while your water is clean. If you get off to a good start and have a good nutrient export system now you will save yourself a lot of trouble later. I find it is much easier to keep a system clean, than it is too fight off an algae problem or something like that.

 

I know I may talk like money is no object, but in this hobby you have to drop an awful lot of money to do it right, but it pays off in the end. Almost every reefer I know buys low end stuff or opts out of options at the beginning to save money, but they end up replacing or buying new or better equipment a couple months later doubling costs.

 

Anyways, thats my two cents Good luck.

 

-A.

[the_gats]

Took few pics with the iPhone. Not best quality.

 

 

From my reading I believe this is the start of my cycles algae growth.

 

 

Purple dots on rocks might be hard to see, but would this be start of coralline growth?

[the_gats]

Currently I have a ~1.5 inch sand bed. Is there a minimum for pistol shrimp/YWG?

 

Thanks.

[cheryl jordan]

That is plenty of sand for a YWG and a pistal shrimp.

[the_gats]

Sweet thanks Cheryl.

[ajmckay]

Keep in mind that the more water you change each week can actually damage your livestock because your parameters will not be stable. 5-10% changes weekly should be the target any more weekly can cause problems...

 

I would like to challenge the veracity of this statement. The actual percentage of water that should be changed and the frequency should be determined by the tank. In my experience large water changes (30-60%) subject the livestock to no more stress than smaller ones. Also IME a 5-10% water change doesn't do much for nutrient export. As long as you are careful in matching just a few simple water parameters, mix your salt the day before, and add it to the tank very slowly, it shouldn't make a difference how much water is changed.

 

On the topic of skimmers, realize that having a skimmer in no way guarantees that you won't have excess nutrients and lots of algae. Even if you buy a skimmer rated 10x the volume of your tank you can still suffer from this. IMO it's the water which is more important. If you have money to spend I would #1 secure a good water source before anything. Weekly water changes with 0 tds RO/DI water will have a much more significant impact on your tank's water quality than skimming.

 

Finally, your fish selection seems good. 3 small fish is typically a good fit for a tank your size.

[the_gats]

Thanks I was planning on doing a 4-5 gal water change a week. I'm getting my RODI water from the LFS for $2.50/ 5 gal. (I can live with $3 a week for water. What is the best way to add the water slowly. I've got a Maxi Jet 600 that fits into my syphon tube. Would that be to fast? Also my PH has stayed around 7.8 will this go up as the tank cycles? If not what would be the best way to raise it?

[automatik_33]

Tank looks good. Just keep an eye on the parameters every couple of days. I use a rio 2100 pump to syphon my water but restrict the flow so it doesn't come out to fast.

[latteslave]

Water change should help balance out the PH... There is a lot of advice you will get - unfortunately, some of it will contradict others. I think all will agree with aj that water is critical.

 

Read what others do and try it out. In my sig is a link to the 20 long owners thread... My maintenance is pretty straight forward. 4 gallon weekly water change, I run a skimmer and I check parameters weekly. That's not to say you have to run a skimmer. In fact, I did not run one until I got into sps as I read it is better for them. I am not sure how true that is because there are several people that keep sps without skimmers.

 

IMO RO/DI, quality live rock, flow and light are the most important thing.

 

Love to have you add this to the twenty long thread.

[the_gats]

Thanks for the input all. I'm still trying to decide if I like the aquascape. On one hand I like the openness of the tank and the slanted rock leaning over making a small cave. My problem is visualizing where I would put corals when I get there.

[miniwhinny]

I like your scaping . I just started a 20L myself 2 days ago. It's hard to visualize where corals will go but I think the way you have it that it will look great when it starts to grow

[ajmckay]

I like the rock scape.

 

As a tank cycles the parameters will be all over the place. I would just leave it be for a little while and eventually the pH should even out in an acceptable range.

 

Using a pump to add water back to the tank is fine (you can kink the tube to slow it down if need be). I actually just stabilize the bucket and pour it into the tank slowly. It's tough to hold up 5 gallons of water for a few minutes, but I'm lazy to hook up a pump... Also try to add the water near a powerhead so that it gets mixed up quickly.

[the_gats]

Thanks for the advice. Woke up this afternoon (I work nights) and was amazed how much algae grew since last looked at it this morning. I feel like a nerd getting excited about a little bit of algae. My Wife really doesn't care thats its growing up the glass now.

[the_gats]

More algae growth

Left side

Right side

[the_gats]

NR makes work go by nicely...only 6 1/2 hrs to go

[ajmckay]

D-d-d-diatoms!

 

Haha... they'll go away soon... But it'll probably keep spreading until everything is a nice rusty color...

[the_gats]

Yep figured that was my diatoms. Read enough of the "What's this brown stuff growing all over my tank during the cycle" threads in the beginners thread. I'm just to the point where it makes me excited as I see a visual difference in the spread.

[the_gats]

How long does it normally take for the ammonia and nitrite levels to rise during cycle? I know this varies but I was just wondering because its still reading 0. So impatient.

[tundrashaul]

cool tank, i was in my LFS yesterday and watched a YWG and shrimp for bout 1/2 an hour, very cool to watch, the goby would square with me while the shrimp dozed sand out of the cave!!!!!!! any good shops in Northern VA you would suggest??

[tundrashaul]

Have you still seen no rise in amonia or trites?? how are nitrates? my tank had a very soft cycle too, been over a month, but im still playing it safe with just corals for now.

[the_gats]

Day 9- Brown algae all over the place.

SG- 1.024

Temp.- 80

Amm.- 0

Trites- 0

trates- 0

 

No rises in anything just bunch of algae growing.

 

Normal?

[tundrashaul]

do you have any refrence checkers with your test kits, any phosphates?, algae blooms in nutrient rich water.....ie nitrates or phosphates. sounds like diatoms which is part of the cycle, talk to john at reefcleaners about a CUC. he is a member here JohnMaloney. Some snails eat diatoms. any pics?