New Nano guy

[CAPTBDPJR]

Hey all, I've been lurking for awhile and finally took the plunge on the 11th and bought a Redsea Max Nano. I'm loving the tank so far. As of now all I've added is a hydor for flow. I added one bag of pink Figi live sand, dry rock and one piece of LR, dosing aquavitro seed. Here are some readings -- tank set up on 11/11/18 started testing;

 

11/13/18----

salinity - 1.026

Temp - 80.4

PH - 8.4

ammonia - 0

nitrite - 0.05

nitrate - 2

 

11/14/18 ----

Temp - 80.4

salinity - 1.026

PH - 8.4

ammonia - 0.2

nitrite - .05

nitrate - 2

 

11/15/18 ----- same as the 14th 

 

Gave her a couple days and just tested -- 

 

Temp 79.2

salinity - 1.026

PH - 8.0

ammonia - 0

nitrite - 0.2 

nitrate - 5

 

I just got a bottle of Fritz Zyme as well as DR. Tim's ammonium chloride solution, I'm wondering if I should add this or just continue the course the way it's been going. Any thoughts and or advise 

would be greatly appreciated! 

 

 

Thanks!

 

[specore]

Some people say not to with live rock; however, I don't see how i could hurt unless you pour half the bottle in.  Nice looking scape  as well ?

 

[CAPTBDPJR]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[el_ote]

You have to have enough ammonia to watch your tank be able to convert it to nitrate within 24 hours. Dose your ammonia till the test reads 2ppm (was just a drop in my 10 gallon if I remember correctly). Then the beneficial bacteria should have enough to munch on and convert to nitrate for you. 

[Christopher Marks]

Welcome to the community @CAPTBDPJR! Congrats on your new nano reef, the RedSea Max is a nice system!

 

Solid advice shared above 🙂. What all are you hoping to keep in your new system?

[Clown79]

Is that piece actually live rock or life rock? It looks like the dry rock painted to look like liverock.

 

With dry rock dosing ammonia is the way to go but if you do indeed have liverock, some of the diversity of life on it may die with ammonia dosing.

[CAPTBDPJR]

Thank you for all the replies. As far as the "red" rock it was bought at the local aquarium, it was labeled cured live rock. I added the ammonia and the fritz, I'll retest after 24 hrs., 

As far as fish I plan on a six line wrasse, clown, Dimond goby and one other..... 

 

[Clown79]

Is it a 20g because that's a lot of fish for a 20g. 

Diamond goby's get big.

 

You might want to think about a smaller goby.

[CAPTBDPJR]

Yes, it's a 20 gallon. I didn't realize the diamond goby got 6 inches, I certainly have to go with something smaller. I didn't think 4 fish would be to many, looks like I'll have to rethink what I'd like to add to this little tank. 

[Clown79]

7 hours ago, CAPTBDPJR said:

Yes, it's a 20 gallon. I didn't realize the diamond goby got 6 inches, I certainly have to go with something smaller. I didn't think 4 fish would be to many, looks like I'll have to rethink what I'd like to add to this little tank. 

4 fish can be done, it just depends on the 4 fish chosen.

 

For example a clown, 6 line, a watchman goby, and a tailspot blenny can work bioload wise. 

[CAPTBDPJR]

8 hours ago, Clown79 said:

4 fish can be done, it just depends on the 4 fish chosen.

 

For example a clown, 6 line, a watchman goby, and a tailspot blenny can work bioload wise. 

Clown, that actually sounds great!

[Clown79]

45 minutes ago, CAPTBDPJR said:

Clown, that actually sounds great!

Just make sure they are compatible.

 

Liveaquaria.com. has a compatability chart.

[Oldsalt01]

Love the layout. Should get decent flow around that center piece. If you do get a goby be careful it doesn’t dig under it and throw it off balance.

[CAPTBDPJR]

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 5:01 PM, Oldsalt01 said:

Love the layout. Should get decent flow around that center piece. If you do get a goby be careful it doesn’t dig under it and throw it off balance.

Thanks Oldsalt! Looks like we are finally moving along.....

[Oldsalt01]

Yes indeed. Glad to see ur keeping a running journal. In the long run ull be glad you did. Consider adding any critters you get to it. R u planning on QT’ing the livestock? I personally suspect anything live to be a potential disease carrier and QT for a minimum of 4 weeks. It lets them chill from transport stress, get on a feeding regimen without having to compete with tankmates, and allows me to observe for disease symptoms, which i can then treat if necessary. I keep a 5.5g QT set up continually, but that’s not necessary. Lots of people use 5g buckets for temporary QT, but requires constant testing for ammonia and frequent water changes. 3 years in and no livestock losses to disease in my DT.

[Oldsalt01]

One more bit of advice; make sure you have enough room on the left side, when facing it, to get a scraper between the rock and glass. It will make housekeeping easier.

[CAPTBDPJR]

4 hours ago, Oldsalt01 said:

One more bit of advice; make sure you have enough room on the left side, when facing it, to get a scraper between the rock and glass. It will make housekeeping easier.

TY, I've made sure the mag float fits!!!