30l Build

[ReeferND]

Hey everyone. Looking for some suggestions of gyre placement in the tank. As I start to set everything back up again, I am curious as to where my gyre should go. Before I had it on the right side about 2" from surface. I would have it on alternate gyre mode ramping from 10 to 50%. I am not sure if I liked that flow because the left side of tank always had detritus buildup. With all the money I have spent on this tank, I can't even consider asking my wife it's ok to buy another gyre for the left side. 

 

Got any suggestions about better placement? What about in the middle of the back wall between the returns? What about on the side but orientated vertically either toward the front glass or back wall?

 

Would really like to hear you thoughts.

[ReeferND]

Hello again. Update here. So the tank was tore down. I literally took every peice of equipment, disassembled it, soaked in a vinegar solution then in a bleach solution. This included all the tubing for the return, literally everything. I also scrubbed using test tube cleaners each peice as well. I soaked in vinegar and bleach for 12 hours each. Then I did another 12 soak in rodi water, followed by 5 thorough rinsings in rodi water over the course of 2 days. Letting it dry in between. I figured I was safe when I could no longer smell any bleach on anything. I then got some help from a buddy and set everything up again. Used Carib sea Fiji pink sand (1 20lb bag) and Carib sea shapes (20lbs). By the way, the shapes rock is awesome and 20lbs fits perfect in the tank. Put a small raw shrimp in and a bottle of one and only. I am not going to be checking ammonia or nitrites or nitrates at all during the cycle. Personally, I think testing these at this point just makes me want to rush it. I will leave the tank alone for 2 months, maybe add another bottle of bacteria after 1 month. At 2 months I will check for ammonia, if none, I will add another bottle of bacteria and my first 2 fish. I will also turn the lights on at this point and add 2 bottles of helix coraline algae spores. My serpent star and cuc will go in at this point as well. Then I wait for the uglies to fade....

 

Question: I am very ignorant on fish. I know my local lfs pretty well and they took back the fish I purchased earlier. I must have clowns for my daughter but what other fish should I add? The first 2 will be a pair of clowns, but at 2.5 months I will add the remainder of fish to the system. I am really into personality and behaviors before looks but I want them to be utalitarian as well. Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

Still curious of gyre placement......

[Newstead]

This is a 30 gallon? If so, a pair of clowns and one more fish would be plenty. I would probably add the clowns last as they will soon become territorial. My favorite stocking for our 29 was a pistol shrimp/goby pair along with a clown pair.  

[A Little Blue]

Number of fish depends on your filtration system ability to keep up with the bioload. I keep 5-6 fish in my 30l without issues. Pair of Clowns, Tailspot, Chromis, Circus Goby. Will probably add Pink-Streaked wrasses soon to replace MIA Firefish. 

[ReeferND]

@Newsteadi am so happy you mentioned a shirmp/goby pair. Like I said, I am very into behaviors and that is a very cool behavior. Could you tell me what species of goby and shrimp make good pairs?

 

@A Little Blue I agree with your statement. My filtration is going to be minimal. I will be relying on carbon, and occasionally gfo if needed. But mainly water changes. At this point I plan on doing a 20% weekly water change. I also will have UV and filter pads. Do you think that system is capable of handling more than 3 fish?

 

I do have a skimmer on hand if needed but I am hopeful I won't need one. Trying to keep it simple

[A Little Blue]

14 minutes ago, ReeferND said:

@Newsteadi am so happy you mentioned a shirmp/goby pair. Like I said, I am very into behaviors and that is a very cool behavior. Could you tell me what species of goby and shrimp make good pairs?

 

@A Little Blue I agree with your statement. My filtration is going to be minimal. I will be relying on carbon, and occasionally gfo if needed. But mainly water changes. At this point I plan on doing a 20% weekly water change. I also will have UV and filter pads. Do you think that system is capable of handling more than 3 fish?

 

I do have a skimmer on hand if needed but I am hopeful I won't need one. Trying to keep it simple

With minimal filtration, overstocking at this stage could be an issue. You don’t want to overwhelm the system if you’re not sure if it can handle it. However, 3 fish in 30l is not an issue and if you keep up with WC regiment, you might even get away with 4-5 fish (be cautious tho and don’t rush) . Just pick your fish wisely, based on aggression, comparability, diet and ofcause size. 

Having skimmer on hand doesn’t hurt. 

Have a plan, baby steps, don’t get crazy and you will avoid major setbacks. 

 

[Newstead]

I had a candy cane (A. randalli) pistol shrimp which paired very fast with a yellow watchman goby. When we lost the goby in a move, the shrimp paired up with a high fin goby. I prefer the A. Randalli pistol as they are brightly colored, and though active builders, they are small enough that they don't create the mess that the bigger pistol shrimp can make. 

The little shrimp died after almost 4 years. I just today got a new one with a Tangaroa goby for our new Waterbox 10. Hope they do as well as our last pistol did - this one is tiny, not quite 3/4 inch but was already scoping out the sand and rock work as soon as acclimation was finished.

 

[ReeferND]

@A Little Blue very sound advice and I appreciate that. So my plan now is the first fish in about 2 months, and then another fish and shrimp 2 weeks after that. 

 

From the awesome response of @Newstead I will be getting 2 clowns, a goby and shrimp pair. Would it be smart to get the goby and shrimp before the clowns? I know clowns are territorial. 

 

In line with this, what size cuc are you folks running? Those "packages" out there seem like way too much.

 

Here's a picture of the scape for you. Be honest about it. I am not sure how I feel about it.

[DreC80]

It depends on the type of clownfish you are getting.  If of the maroon variety I would definitely put those in last.  If you are getting percula or oscellaris you should be ok putting them in first.  The clownfish will more than likely be captive bred and may be your best bet to introduce first for hardiness.  Once things stabilize even more, you could add in the goby and shrimp.  The goby and shrimp are going to occupy the bottom portion of the tank/sand bed so the clowns shouldn't harrass them.  I know both of my clowns stay on the left side of my 30l and the six line wrasse swims everywhere.  

 

I have about 10 hermit crabs and 15 snails in my 30l.  Snails are nerites, cerith, astrea, and a couple nassarius.  

[ReeferND]

Update. Thanks everyone for the support and advice. Tank is about a month into the BRS 4 month cycle. Tell you what, this is the most stress free way to get a tank going bar none. Literally, keep the ato filled and check on shrimp....that's it. I have been checking ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates because I am crazy and just have to know but it's overkill. Keeping alk, calcium, and mag steady (doesn't take much....why do they drop in a tank with nothing??)

 

Everything else is looking good. 

[ReeferND]

Update again. Tank is almost 2 months into the BRS 4 month cycle. Everything still looking good. None of the stuff that killed my tank last time came back so I must have sterilized it properly. Again, this is the easiest process I have ever done since coming into this hobby. Not even worrying about ammonia, nitrite or nitrate is just awesome. I have tested of course but you wouldn't have to. I only got an ammonia reading during the very first part of the cycle and have not seen any since. Still have some nitrites in the system but they are dropping. I did add another shrimp because the first completely disintegrated. Fish will be going in next week. My daughter is super excited to get her nemo back. 

 

Question for everyone. I have 2 ai prime hds over this tank (nuvo 30l). I am planning on running the BRS AB+ spectrum they produced but at a lower intensity. Does anyone out there have suggestions to the intensity of these lights over a tank this size that will be housing lps and softies?

 

Thanks!

[A Little Blue]

You could probably get away with 50-100 PAR for most species. Not sure how would that correspond to AI settings tho. I do own that light and it supports life in IM 14 frag tank. I believe that I have set it up at %50 intensity at the very beginning. It’s probably somewhere around 60-65 percent now. 

[ReeferND]

Hey everyone. So i got two new clowns for the tank. They ate right away and are always eager for more. My last fish barely ate at all. So I am pleased with that. I am adding some coralline in a bottle to the tank today and another in 2 weeks. I will let everyone know how it works. It's a newer product with mixed reviews so I will definitely keep everyone posted.

[TatorTaco]

Congrats on the new start up!  I bought the Purple Helix strain through Amazon on 1/10/19, and i just noticed I was really starting to get some little purple spots a week or two ago.  So, that's 1.5 months after adding it?  No complaints on my end with it.  

 

I never could figure out how folks run at certain percentages on their AI Primes.  I too run the BRS AB+ program, and then took each individual number they recommended and did the math to get around 70%.  Surely their is a better way? I just set up my 2nd Prime HD on my Fusion 20 last night, so take this with a grain of salt.  I only have 1 SPS (birdsnest) and the rest is LPS and zoas.  Because of this, I wanted to aim a little lower. 

 

BRS AB+ Settings:

UV is 119

V is 116

RY is 79

B is 80

G is 4

DR is 4

CW is 19 

 

What I did last night:

UV is 70

V is 70

RY is 46

B is 45

G is 3

DR is 4

CW is 17 (personal preference)

 

What BRS suggests here at the 11 minute mark:  

 

 

Hope this helps!

[ReeferND]

@TatorTacoThose settings are pretty much what I was running before the tank crashed. The BRS AB+ is just too bright for this shallow of a tank. So I adjusted the numbers down in equal proportions the same you did. That is my one complaint about the ai prime, there is not a slider that adjusts intensity, you have to manually manipulate the numbers for each spectrum and in doing so you begin to question if the overall spectrum has changed..... I will copy your numbers when I turn them on (minus the whites, I like a crazy blue tank 😃). Have you ever taken any par readings with that setting? I was thinking of renting a par meter from BRS to really tune it in.

[TatorTaco]

@ReeferND, I thought about renting one through BRS, and while it’s only $50, they put a hold on your card for $500 while it’s in your possession and my wife wouldn’t green light that. LFS doesn’t rent them either. 

 

I am am using the metal brackets and they’re as high as they’ll get, but in my scenario I could likely lower them closer to the water level. 

[ReeferND]

@TatorTacoi have mine as high as I can too. Yeah, my wife is not cool with $500 deposit either but maybe I can sneak it by her 😄. I wish knew someone with one, it would be nice to have peice of mind. If something ever goes wrong I know I will be saying "is it my lights?" 

 

I know you haven't had your settings long but are you seeing any improvement or problems with your new light spectrum?

[TatorTaco]

I’ve noticed a bit of cyno (maybe). I I spent too much time playing with my powerhead over the weekend and annoyed all my corals. I decided to just leave everything alone for a couple weeks and then I’ll play with my lights. Min the meantime, I’m running the BRS AB+ schedule at about 70%. Most of my zoanthids were closing up on me and I’m not sure if it was the powerhead (prob not) or the increased lights. 

[ReeferND]

@TatorTacothanks for that information. I have another week until lights come on, so I am sure I will ask you again to see how it's going. For now, I will plan to maybe run them on the AB+ settings at 50%. Thanks again for the honest info!

[VaporCountry]

Just read through you build. Really disappointing you had to restart but I think in the end you will be happy you did. I ordered a bottle of that purple helix the other day, hopefully it works well. How are the clowns doing?

[ReeferND]

@VaporCountry, clowns are doing amazing. They are always so happy to see me it seems...."source of food is here!!!" They eat like pigs. They swim all day in one corner of the tank but at night they do some weird stuff. One of them goes into a cave I have built and the other makes a divot in the sand and sleeps there. Both sleeping spots are not in the same corner of the tank they swim in during the day. They are fun to watch and my daughter just loves her Nemo and Sophia the first. 

 

Thanks for the comment on starting over. I really tried to do everything right the first time but I made total noob mistakes. That includes trying to control everything. One reefer, I wish I remembered who at this moment, told me just to let it be and give it some months. I think if I had followed that advice I would be in a better position. 5 days until lights go on! Super excited to get my next fish and watch the uglies develop. 

[VaporCountry]

Glad they are doing well, and that the daughter loves them. Really makes the hobby enjoyable when your family is interested. I got my clowns in my 30L about 3 months ago. They don't sleep together either but do swim together most of the day. Not sure if that's normal or not.

 

Im using the Ai Primes as well, right now I'm running a modified Saxby schedule with only like a max of 10% white and 4% red and green. Its pretty blue but I like it. Thinking about switching to the BRS AB+ settings but know it would be super strong with my LPS. If I do switch it ill probably rent a par meter from BRS and tweek it. 

[DreC80]

I don't know if it would help, but I have a par meter and an ai prime (on the wife's tank).  Could take some measurements based on what percentages you guys want to run and give you an idea of what kind of par the light is putting out.

[ReeferND]

@DreC80, that is like incredibly generous and kind of you. I will definitely take you up on that. I am going to do a bit more research and I will get back to you as to the settings I am thinking of. Thanks again!! What an awesome community this is. 

 

Here is what I am thinking:

UV 60

Violet 59

Royal 39

Blue 40

Green 2

Deep red 2

Cool white 9

 

I am not sure of your light configuration but mine are mounted with the ai ridged brackets (not the flexible arm) at full height. Anything you can provide would be great!

Edited March 20, 2019 by ReeferND
Add light percentages

[DreC80]

Sounds good.  I'll get something done this weekend.  Will probably take a photo of the wife's tank and list par values in different areas, listing distance from light, etc.  Should give you a good general idea and starting point.