Need Help, feel like I’m rushing it - First real tank

[Koby]

Hello everyone, not really sure what I’m doing but I need everyone’s help. I find myself back on this website about everyday so it seemed like the right place to ask for help. My dad used to have a 250g when I was younger, so I thought I knew everything I needed to know. Man was I wrong, I had no idea how much was put into this hobby. I kinda just jumped into, I know the basics but every time I’m away from the tank, I find myself worried about it. I’m not confident in myself, so I’m kinda using you guys as a guide. All my chemicals are good, I have a basic test kit for now, I have a  refractometer, and useing Red Sea Salt for water changes. I do a water changed every Sunday. Any tips? Please throw them at me!!! 

 

Just gonna list some question I’ve been having. If anyone could help that’d be greatly appreciated. I really want to do good with this tank, plan on having it for many plus years, ultimately I want to get this tank exploding with life! 🙂 

1. Is the Mp10 in a good location? The Green Lether Coral does not seem too like it when it is running, should I relocate the leather?

2. Are the corals in a good location? 

3. Am I over doing it with the filtration?

4. Should I be target feeding the corals? 

5. How do I know how much Reef Roids to use on a tank this size, tank holds about 15g of water.

Setup Date: December 7, 2018

 

Equipment-

Lights: Radion XR30 Pro

2 Sicce Micra plus’s return pumps

Mp10 VorTech Pump

Tunze Ato

 

Filtration-

2 InTank media baskets. Both baskets are running filter floss, then one has just chemi Elite, then the other has Purigen, chemi pure Blue, and some media in the middle chamber.

 

Animals- 

Pair of  Moocasso Clowns, a tiger pistol shrimp who is paried up with a goby (Forgot what kind of Goby, I’ll put a picture), two red legged hermit crabs, 4 or 3  troches snails. 

Corls: Some GSP,  Torch, bunch of  Zoanthids, Green Lether, Bridsnest SPS (I think that’s the name), and I think an Acon

 

sorry if I spelled anything wrong and sorry for being such a noobie!! Thanks again everyone! 

Koby

[Donny41]

Everything looks pretty good! I would say you rushed stocking a bit, as you have a lot in there for only being set up since early December. I just wouldn't add anything else for a while and see how everything you currently have does. You can target feed the corals if you want. You will probably see better growth if you do. Again, just dont over do it as your bio-filter is still maturing. When you do you should turn off your mp10 and mix the reef roids with a very small amount of water. Use either a syringe or small Turkey baster to feed the mixture to the corals. 

[ZeroEvoX]

Great rockscape! What Tank is that?

[LogicalReefs]

I’d seriously consider starting a reef journal for this build @Koby also everything looks really good. Might want to add another mp10 down the  road so they can create a really nice flow pattern back and forth. 

[Jeff Hood]

You have an Orange Spotted Goby
(Amblyeleotris guttata).   Nice fish. I have one and it’s probably my fav.  

 

You are going a little fast  but everything looks great so far.  Looks like you’ve avoided any nuisance algae but most tanks go through the uglies for a little bit.  I started my NANO back in September and still just have two fish.  They went through a quarantine process and then got added.   I have no corals as of yet.  

     I have also setup a QT tank for my critters and they will live in there for the next couple months before I transfer them to the main display.  It’s probably good that I don’t live near a LFS to avoid impulse buys. It’s forcing me to take my time.  My corals and inverts will be quarantined for a couple months to be sure I don’t accidentally transfer a pest to my display.  Not as big of a deal in a NANO that’s easy to tear down but I’m trying to be consistent when I do another big tank in the future.  I use to run a 600 gallon and would not want to tear that down in the future. 

    I agree with the above, enjoy what you have for now, watch how they grow and then when stable and growing you then add things slowly over time.  

     Soft corals like leathers don’t like direct current so either move the powerhead a little or move the leather to a little less direct flow.  

    Start a journal thread.  Great to see the progress over time.  

 

Jeff

[Clown79]

Hi

 

The tank looks great and the corals look happy.

 

I personally think the chemical media is over kill.

Both chemipures are carbon with added resin.

1 is a resin that does the same as purigen, 1 reduces phos.

 

This can lead to stripping the tank of available nutrients.

 

What other media are you using?

 

For Reed roids, I'd suggest feeding 1 time a week in a new tank because it can lead to nutrient issues- your tank is new and the algae periods aren't over yet. 

 

I like to add a pinch to some tank water and broadcast feed. You can spot feed it as well.

 

[richnyc]

I think it looks better than mine when I started.   I am not sure about the leather.  It might just need some time to get used to it.   I would wait and see

[Koby]

4 hours ago, ZeroEvoX said:

Great rockscape! What Tank is that?

Inavative Marine Nuvo 20 (Sorry, forgot to put that) 

[Koby]

3 hours ago, Jeff Hood said:

You have an Orange Spotted Goby
(Amblyeleotris guttata).   Nice fish. I have one and it’s probably my fav.  

 

You are going a little fast  but everything looks great so far.  Looks like you’ve avoided any nuisance algae but most tanks go through the uglies for a little bit.  I started my NANO back in September and still just have two fish.  They went through a quarantine process and then got added.   I have no corals as of yet.  

     I have also setup a QT tank for my critters and they will live in there for the next couple months before I transfer them to the main display.  It’s probably good that I don’t live near a LFS to avoid impulse buys. It’s forcing me to take my time.  My corals and inverts will be quarantined for a couple months to be sure I don’t accidentally transfer a pest to my display.  Not as big of a deal in a NANO that’s easy to tear down but I’m trying to be consistent when I do another big tank in the future.  I use to run a 600 gallon and would not want to tear that down in the future. 

    I agree with the above, enjoy what you have for now, watch how they grow and then when stable and growing you then add things slowly over time.  

     Soft corals like leathers don’t like direct current so either move the powerhead a little or move the leather to a little less direct flow.  

    Start a journal thread.  Great to see the progress over time.  

 

Jeff

How does one create a Reef journal? Would love to share with you guys.

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, Koby said:

How does one create a Reef journal? Would love to share with you guys.

There is a journal section on the forum. Its just like starting a thread but basically documenting/discussing your tank.

 

Reading journals is great too. You learn a lot from them.

[mcarroll]

Just some thoughts...

 

That's obviously a mammoth-sized light on a minnow-sized tank....have you taken any readings with a light meter?  
(use a lux meter app if you don't already have a cheap meter...but get a cheap meter! 😉 )

 

I agree to scale back on the filtration a bit and sticking with a moderate schedule for any dry foods.  Try to use as much of your available feeding schedule to feed whole frozen or fresh food items as you can.  Things like Ocean Nutrition's Instant Baby Brine Shrimp and Reef Nutrition's ROE are ideal for many fish and corals.

[Koby]

3 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Hi

 

The tank looks great and the corals look happy.

 

I personally think the chemical media is over kill.

Both chemipures are carbon with added resin.

1 is a resin that does the same as purigen, 1 reduces phos.

 

This can lead to stripping the tank of available nutrients.

 

What other media are you using?

 

For Reed roids, I'd suggest feeding 1 time a week in a new tank because it can lead to nutrient issues- your tank is new and the algae periods aren't over yet. 

 

I like to add a pinch to some tank water and broadcast feed. You can spot feed it as well.

 

 

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

Just some thoughts...

 

That's obviously a mammoth-sized light on a minnow-sized tank....have you taken any readings with a light meter?  
(use a lux meter app if you don't already have a cheap meter...but get a cheap meter! 😉 )

 

I agree to scale back on the filtration a bit and sticking with a moderate schedule for any dry foods.  Try to use as much of your available feeding schedule to feed whole frozen or fresh food items as you can.  Things like Ocean Nutrition's Instant Baby Brine Shrimp and Reef Nutrition's ROE are ideal for many fish and corals.

Here are my two baskets, the big bag is the Elite and two bags together are Chemi Blue and Purigen, the little pellets are just media pellets I took from one of the  canister sump things. What should I take out and what should I keep. All ears guys 

 

I just picked up this frozen food, fed it once, checked my chemicals and  ammonia was at .25 or higher it looked like, so I skipped a feeding day, witch was today. I feed every other day. Should I feed less or more and how much? Should I only feed reef roids once a week to start off? 

 

I  apologize for all the questions

[alpinestar]

2 minutes ago, Koby said:

 

Here are my two baskets, the big bag is the Elite and two bags together are Chemi Blue and Purigen, the little pellets are just media pellets I took from one of the  canister sump things. What should I take out and what should I keep. All ears guys 

 

I just picked up this frozen food, fed it once, checked my chemicals and  ammonia was at .25 or higher it looked like, so I skipped a feeding day, witch was today. I feed every other day. Should I feed less or more and how much? Should I only feed reef roids once a week to start off? 

 

I  apologize for all the questions

I'd say blue, elite AND purigen are overkill. I run elite and GFO carbon which seems to work well on my new tank. You're likely robbing the tank of all nutrients which can be beneficial for corals.

[Koby]

12 minutes ago, alpinestar said:

I'd say blue, elite AND purigen are overkill. I run elite and GFO carbon which seems to work well on my new tank. You're likely robbing the tank of all nutrients which can be beneficial for corals.

What should i take out? 

 

[banasophia]

I like Chemipure Elite and Purigen together. 

[Koby]

4 minutes ago, banasophia said:

I like Chemipure Elite and Purigen together. 

So should I do one with just Chemie elite and the other with the purigen and media? is that media even doing anything? if not what should i put their to re place it? Removed the chemi blue packet 

 

[Sancho]

Just mix your own. Everything in chemipure is available way cheaper. 

[banasophia]

15 minutes ago, Koby said:

So should I do one with just Chemie elite and the other with the purigen and media? is that media even doing anything? if not what should i put their to re place it? Removed the chemi blue packet 

 

I use filter floss, Purigen, Chemipure Elite and matrix media in my Biocube 16, my Nuvo 10, and my daughter’s freshwater tank... works for me, but I think there are a lot of options that can work. I think those rings you’re using are like matrix media, and just increase the surface area for your beneficial bacteria to colonize. 

[Clown79]

10 hours ago, Sancho said:

Just mix your own. Everything in chemipure is available way cheaper. 

That's what I do.

 

Chemipure- doesn't last as long as claimed. Its overpriced convenience but I got better results using other media.

 

 

To the OP.

 

I use Kent carbon I bag myself. I use smaller quantities, replacing carbon every 2 weeks.

 

I use a bag of purigen- I also bag myself

 

Filter floss- cut to size and changed twice a week.

 

 1 media basket has a bag of carbon and floss, the other purigen and floss.

 

You should research the media and what it does. How using too much can negatively affect your tank. 

 

The question is why are you using it and how is it benefiting your tank.

 

Elite has a small amount of resin added to their carbon. The resin removes phosphate. Phos reducing media doesn't last that long so once that tiny amount is exhausted, it stops working. 

If you have no phos issues, it can remove the available amount in the tank that corals need.

 

***better to use a phos remover as needed***

 

Blue- carbon with resin that does the same thing as purigen.

 

 

Media rings- is for surface for bacteria to colonize- your liverock does that

 

Purigen - removes soluble and insoluble particles. Removes nitrogenous waste. 

 

 

 

[Oldsalt01]

Tank looks pretty good. The only potential issue i see is the GSP. That stuff can be the crabbgrass of marine tanks. I’d isolate it on it’s own island. Check out my post: “GSP growth - 10 weeks” here in the Coral Form and you’ll see what I mean. It will crowd your other corals and can be quite irritating to them. If you feel u are rushing things, you proably are.