New Nano Reef

[Abhijit]

Hi, 

 

Firstly, my apologies, for this is going to be a  long post. I have a lot of questions. I do appreciate all and any inputs you guys can provide.

 

I am planning to convert my freshwater nano ADA cube to a Nano reef. This will be my first experience with anything marine. I have been keeping freshwater fish and planted tanks for a few years and now want to take a leap to marine. I am from India, so I will not have a lot to choose from, live rock, live sand, and most of the corals being illegal here. I also do not have a range of marine equipment that I can choose from. It is either too expensive compared to US prices (marine fishkeeping has still not picked up pace in India), or it's just not available. 

 

I plan on using the following equipment - 

 

(1) ADA 12X12X12 inches cube (roughly 7.5 gallons) 

(2) Ehiem Liberty 130 HOB filter

(3) Boyu WG-310 HOB Protein Skimmer

(4) 30W lights that I use for my planted tank. I will later buy Hipargero 30w LED Reef Lighting once I add corals in a few months

(5) 15lbs normal rock, which I assume will not be marine specific. It will mostly be something that people use for freshwater cichlids tanks. 

(6) 10lbs normal sand. LFS here call it sugar sand, if that helps. 

(7) Aquaforest Coral Reef Salt. 

(8) Hydrometer 

(9) API saltwater test kit

(10) API reef test kit. This will be atleast a month or so before I add my first coral. 

 

Corals/Anemones that I can get my hands on - 

 

(1) Aussie Rock Flower Anemones

(2) Aussie Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones

(3) Aussie Anchor Corals

(4) Red Rhodactic Mushroom

(5) Aussie Open Brain Corals

(6) Aussie Acan Lord

(7) Tridacna Clam Corals

(8) Japanese Super Sun Corals

 

Fish I plan to stock - 

 

(1) 2 Clowns

(2) 1 Goby

(3) 1 Bangai Cardinal

(4) 2 shrimps

(5) 3 snails

 

 

Now, I have done a fair amount of research and here's what I plan on doing -

 

(1) Add rocks, sand, water etc and cycle the tank for 45 days

(2) Add shrimps on day # 45

(3) Add clowns on day # 90

(4) Add goby on day # 105

(5) Add first anemone on day # 120

(6) Add second anemone on day # 135

(7) Add first coral on day # 150

(8) Add second coral on day # 180

And then basically go on adding corals about 1 coral a month.

 

Is the above all good? Do I need to change anything? Apart of the equipment I mentioned, will I need anything else? Will I need any additives for the corals or any other test kits? 

 

Again, my apologies for such a long post. I will be thankful if you guys can provide any inputs. 

 

Thanks,

AG

 

 

 

 

[Firefish15]

Hey AG, 

That's great that you have an interest in starting a saltwater tank! 

 

There is a fair bit that I would change. 

 

So one of the major characteristics of live rock is that it has a vast amount of surface area, like a rock sponge. This allows it to support large bacterial colonies, which form the basis of your biological filtration. If you use a type of stone that is dense and solid, like a river stone, you will be giving up that surface area for the bacteria. That severely restricts how many fish you can stock. Under optimal conditions with live rock and everything else, you could maybe keep two small fish in 7.5 gallons. Without live rock, I don't even know. My guess would be one small fish and a few inverts. 15 pounds may also be a lot of rock in a visual sense, make the tank look pretty crowded.

 

For the scheduling, a lot of it depends on how quickly the tank cycles to begin with. Once you start your initial cycle with an ammonia source, you can monitor the tank's ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. After the ammonia and nitrite read zero, you can add your first fish. I'd start with a goby, personally. They're pretty small, decently hardy, and mild-mannered. From there, just monitor your parameters and take it slow. If the tank gets hard to maintain and starts developing algae or disease issues, you'll need to reduce livestock in the tank.

 

If possible, I would also start out with the Hipargero. 

 

I'm sure there is more that other people can add, but that's what I noticed first off. 

Good luck!

 

[Daniel91]

Hey, just wanted to put it out there; 4 fish do not belong in an ~8gal aquarium.

 

Also, I am no anemone expert but I am pretty sure most mini maxi carpets can grow 4-5 inches and should not go in a nano.

 

Overall I really like your timeline plan when it comes to additions (it shows patience) but remember it is not only time that dedictates a healthy reef. Stable parameters, regular husbandry and many other things have a say.

[Abhijit]

2 hours ago, Firefish15 said:

Hey AG, 

That's great that you have an interest in starting a saltwater tank! 

 

There is a fair bit that I would change. 

 

So one of the major characteristics of live rock is that it has a vast amount of surface area, like a rock sponge. This allows it to support large bacterial colonies, which form the basis of your biological filtration. If you use a type of stone that is dense and solid, like a river stone, you will be giving up that surface area for the bacteria. That severely restricts how many fish you can stock. Under optimal conditions with live rock and everything else, you could maybe keep two small fish in 7.5 gallons. Without live rock, I don't even know. My guess would be one small fish and a few inverts. 15 pounds may also be a lot of rock in a visual sense, make the tank look pretty crowded.

 

For the scheduling, a lot of it depends on how quickly the tank cycles to begin with. Once you start your initial cycle with an ammonia source, you can monitor the tank's ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. After the ammonia and nitrite read zero, you can add your first fish. I'd start with a goby, personally. They're pretty small, decently hardy, and mild-mannered. From there, just monitor your parameters and take it slow. If the tank gets hard to maintain and starts developing algae or disease issues, you'll need to reduce livestock in the tank.

 

If possible, I would also start out with the Hipargero. 

 

I'm sure there is more that other people can add, but that's what I noticed first off. 

Good luck!

 

Thanks mate! That does make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, live rock is very hard to find in India, if at all. Plus I've heard it's illegal, so I don't want to get into something that might get me into trouble. 

 

I'll start with the goby, I'm actually not too hard and fast about the livestock. 

 

What are my options considering I cannot get live rock? Maybe build a sump and stock it with ceramic rings & bioballs and/or some porous rock? Can that be an option? 

[Abhijit]

2 hours ago, Daniel91 said:

Hey, just wanted to put it out there; 4 fish do not belong in an ~8gal aquarium.

 

Also, I am no anemone expert but I am pretty sure most mini maxi carpets can grow 4-5 inches and should not go in a nano.

 

Overall I really like your timeline plan when it comes to additions (it shows patience) but remember it is not only time that dedictates a healthy reef. Stable parameters, regular husbandry and many other things have a say.

Thanks Daniel. I'll keep your tips in mind when I start. I'll reduce the livestock to maybe 2 goby or 2 clowns.. I'd like both, but I understand the challenges. 

 

About the anemones, that's just the list of corals and anemones that I can get access too. Everything else is pretty much banned. 

 

I am yet to conduct research on the list of anemones and corals, but I just wanted to put it out there. I want the hardiest and the easiest ones since this is my first Nano reef. 

 

Also, I would want my tank to be overstocked with corals eventually. Is that achievable? Or do I have unrealistic expectations? 

[ajackson1217]

Should be cool

[Clown79]

Hello and Welcome

 

 

It is frustrating when you have limited access and even more so when items are illegal.

 

If anemones are legal, you could do a rock flower garden. These are quite beautiful.

 

But you will need to upgrade light before adding any anemone.

 

 

For the rock, standard rock is not advisable. Not only is it not porous enough to act as a bio filter but many are not safe for use due to what they may leach.

 

 

You can use dry reef rock.

 

http://www.aquariumsindia.com/product-details.php?id=137

 

https://www.amazon.in/Aquarium-Hardscape-Materials-Marine-Reef/dp/B0180IGPNY

 

 

You will need to do a fishless cycle eith the dry rock before adding anything.

 

 

Same thing with sand. 

You need aragonite sand. It has buffering capabilities that plain sand does not.

Plain sand may be full of silicates which will cause you nothing but headaches.

 

https://www.amazon.in/gp/aw/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?k=caribsea

 

Go with caribsea aragonite sand.

 

 

In an 8g, definitely only 2 very small fish like gobies or 1 ocellaris clown.

 

 

 

[Abhijit]

12 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Hello and Welcome

 

 

It is frustrating when you have limited access and even more so when items are illegal.

 

If anemones are legal, you could do a rock flower garden. These are quite beautiful.

 

But you will need to upgrade light before adding any anemone.

 

 

For the rock, standard rock is not advisable. Not only is it not porous enough to act as a bio filter but many are not safe for use due to what they may leach.

 

 

You can use dry reef rock.

 

http://www.aquariumsindia.com/product-details.php?id=137

 

https://www.amazon.in/Aquarium-Hardscape-Materials-Marine-Reef/dp/B0180IGPNY

 

 

You will need to do a fishless cycle eith the dry rock before adding anything.

 

 

Same thing with sand. 

You need aragonite sand. It has buffering capabilities that plain sand does not.

Plain sand may be full of silicates which will cause you nothing but headaches.

 

https://www.amazon.in/gp/aw/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?k=caribsea

 

Go with caribsea aragonite sand.

 

 

In an 8g, definitely only 2 very small fish like gobies or 1 ocellaris clown.

 

 

 

Wow! Thanks for the links @Clown79. Appreciate it mate! Are you from India? 

 

I'll follow your instructions to the T. 

 

One more question - are corals and anemones I mentioned extremely sensitive to water temperatures? 

 

I stay in a city called Pune in Maharashtra. The temperatures here range from 11-12 degrees Celsius in the winter to about 40-42 degrees Celsius in the summer. I will obviously be using a heater during winter months, but during summer when the temperatures are high, what do I do? I can use a chiller, but I'll have to sell my kidney to be able to afford it 🙂

 

thoughts? 

[Firefish15]

12 hours ago, Clown79 said:

You can use dry reef rock.

Good idea! Can't believe I missed that. 

 

@Abhijit Most corals, even if they can tolerate temperature swings, will appreciate stability. One thing you can do if things heat up too much is to run a fan across the surface of the water. You'll need a screen or open top for this to work. You'll also need to watch your water levels carefully because a lot of water will evaporate and will increase your salinity. Keeping the tank in an air-conditioned room would also help. Not sure if that is a possibility for you. Should be cheaper than a chiller though.

[Abhijit]

3 minutes ago, Firefish15 said:

Good idea! Can't believe I missed that. 

 

@Abhijit Most corals, even if they can tolerate temperature swings, will appreciate stability. One thing you can do if things heat up too much is to run a fan across the surface of the water. You'll need a screen or open top for this to work. You'll also need to watch your water levels carefully because a lot of water will evaporate and will increase your salinity. Keeping the tank in an air-conditioned room would also help. Not sure if that is a possibility for you. Should be cheaper than a chiller though.

@Firefish15, the tank will be at my bedside. 

 

Running a fan isn't an option, because I don't want the noise, the tank being at my bedside. 

 

However, during the night, the air conditioning is always on at about 19-20 degree celcius. The problem is when I'm at work. I'm worried about what happens then. Wife ain't too supportive about my obsession with fish! Haha! 

[Daniel91]

By fan, I think Firefish is referring to the small clip on fans - most of them barely make any noise and if anything you could run them during the day when it’s the hottest.

Evaporative cooling is the most efficient and cheapest way to keep the temperature at bay - especially since a chiller seems to be a no go for you.

 

Just be ready to top off more water than usual or get an ATO.

[Abhijit]

5 minutes ago, Daniel91 said:

By fan, I think Firefish is referring to the small clip on fans - most of them barely make any noise and if anything you could run them during the day when it’s the hottest.

Evaporative cooling is the most efficient and cheapest way to keep the temperature at bay - especially since a chiller seems to be a no go for you.

 

Just be ready to top off more water than usual or get an ATO.

Gotcha! I've attached a couple of fan pictures, is that what u mean? 

 

Also attached is a dry rock picture, does that look good? 

 

@Daniel91 @Firefish15

[Firefish15]

Yeah, that looks like the right kind of rock. The nice thing about dry rock is that you can take lots of time to come up with an aquascape that you find appealing. And yeah, those fans should work out fine.

[Abhijit]

16 minutes ago, Firefish15 said:

Yeah, that looks like the right kind of rock. The nice thing about dry rock is that you can take lots of time to come up with an aquascape that you find appealing. And yeah, those fans should work out fine.

Super! Thanks @Firefish15. Looks like everything's falling in place! I really appreciate all your inputs! Thanks again!

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, Abhijit said:

Wow! Thanks for the links @Clown79. Appreciate it mate! Are you from India? 

 

I'll follow your instructions to the T. 

 

One more question - are corals and anemones I mentioned extremely sensitive to water temperatures? 

 

I stay in a city called Pune in Maharashtra. The temperatures here range from 11-12 degrees Celsius in the winter to about 40-42 degrees Celsius in the summer. I will obviously be using a heater during winter months, but during summer when the temperatures are high, what do I do? I can use a chiller, but I'll have to sell my kidney to be able to afford it 🙂

 

thoughts? 

No I'm not from India but I am aware of the issues with various marine life being illegal which would make the hobby limited and expensive.

I figured I'd do a quick search to see what options are available to you

 

 

I'm in Canada and even here the options aren't as vast as the US and it gets expensive.

 

Most marine are sensitive to large fluctuations in temp.

Controlling it in the winter is simple but the summer temps is the harder part.

 

If you have air conditioning, that can help, or running fans right near the tank will also help.

 

Chillers aren't cheap so I would attempt the other methods first.

[Abhijit]

1 minute ago, Clown79 said:

No I'm not from India but I am aware of the issues with various marine life being illegal which would make the hobby limited and expensive.

I figured I'd do a quick search to see what options are available to you

 

 

I'm in Canada and even here the options aren't as vast as the US and it gets expensive.

 

Most marine are sensitive to large fluctuations in temp.

Controlling it in the winter is simple but the summer temps is the harder part.

 

If you have air conditioning, that can help, or running fans right near the tank will also help.

 

Chillers aren't cheap so I would attempt the other methods first.

@Clown79 Well said! I'll try it with the fans first. My bedroom is usually decently cool, so I think it's gonna be okay. 

 

When you say 'large fluctuations in temperature', how large is large? From what I understand, corals and anemones thrive in 27-28 degree Celsius, right? If the temperature outside is about 38-40 degrees in prime summer, I think my room is at about 32-34 degrees. With the fans should get it down to about 28-32. 

 

The above is pure assumption, but if the above is true, it should be okay you think? 

[Clown79]

1-2 degrees is normal fluctuations

[Tamberav]

I would advise you only do max two very small species of fish in such a small tank. If they have small shrimps/crabs there, some of them are reef safe, sexy shrimp, cleaner shrimp, anemone crabs, ect and won't really add to the bioload.

 

Small gobies and blennies are perfect for this tank such as a clown goby and tailspot blenny.

 

Clams are not corals and I would not advise putting one in such a small tank, they suck down alk/ca which would make maintaining the parameters difficult and most grow large. The smaller species also need powerful lighting. By smaller I mean they still grow to 5-6 inches, and the others can grow a foot or more and put on size quickly. 

 

 

[Abhijit]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

I would advise you only do max two very small species of fish in such a small tank. If they have small shrimps/crabs there, some of them are reef safe, sexy shrimp, cleaner shrimp, anemone crabs, ect and won't really add to the bioload.

 

Small gobies and blennies are perfect for this tank such as a clown goby and tailspot blenny.

 

Clams are not corals and I would not advise putting one in such a small tank, they suck down alk/ca which would make maintaining the parameters difficult and most grow large. The smaller species also need powerful lighting. By smaller I mean they still grow to 5-6 inches, and the others can grow a foot or more and put on size quickly. 

 

 

That's good information @Tamberav. I'll keep that in mind. 

 

Thanks much!!

[Firefish15]

Here are my two little guys in a 10g. Yellow clown goby and a red firefish. The colors are a lot more vibrant in person.  I've got the Hipargero on mine too, and it's working well so far. I would highly recommend the clown goby. Lots of personality in a small package.

[Abhijit]

13 hours ago, Firefish15 said:

Here are my two little guys in a 10g. Yellow clown goby and a red firefish. The colors are a lot more vibrant in person.  I've got the Hipargero on mine too, and it's working well so far. I would highly recommend the clown goby. Lots of personality in a small package.

Wow! That's such a cool tank @Firefish15. Thanks for sharing!

[Hunter Lang]

After your anemones you can add several corals at once because they don’t really do anything to your bio load so you don’t really have to wait weeks to put in a second coral. Depending on tank size you can put a lot. In my 10g I put 5 in at one time and everything ended up being just fine 

[Abhijit]

1 hour ago, Hunter Lang said:

After your anemones you can add several corals at once because they don’t really do anything to your bio load so you don’t really have to wait weeks to put in a second coral. Depending on tank size you can put a lot. In my 10g I put 5 in at one time and everything ended up being just fine 

That's good informatiom @Hunter Lang. I thought I couldn't add multiple corals all at once.

 

Thanks!!

[Hunter Lang]

31 minutes ago, Abhijit said:

That's good informatiom @Hunter Lang. I thought I couldn't add multiple corals all at once.

 

Thanks!!

Not a problem! I actually thought that too until a few people informed be about it! Now every time I go coral shopping I at least get a couple or a few to go in at once! Permateters always are stable after dosent have a huge impact.

 

And good luck on your tank!

[Abhijit]

1 hour ago, Hunter Lang said:

Not a problem! I actually thought that too until a few people informed be about it! Now every time I go coral shopping I at least get a couple or a few to go in at once! Permateters always are stable after dosent have a huge impact.

 

And good luck on your tank!

Thanks a lot mate! I think I might also get a discount if I buy 3 or more corals at once!! So that's good too 🙂