Finally my own 15 gallon nano reef!

[1-Little-Fishy]

Hey everyone, as you can probably tell i am completely new to the saltwater hobby and i have just started my first tank. My tank is a 15 gallon breeder.

 

Equipment

Lights: 2×24 watt t5ho bulbs from the brand pacific sun

Heater: Resun 50 watt

Skimmer: Tunze comline 9001

Flow: at the moment only 600 l/h but soon to be replaced with the Sicce voyager 1 nano

 

Live stock:

1 electric blue hermit crab

1 skunk cleaner shrimp

1 figure 8 puffer

 

Unfortunatly we were told by the lfs that the figure 8 puffer was completely adaptable to salt water but we had our doubts and did a lot of searching on the internet for people who could back that story up, there were indeed a few who managed to keep the figure 8's in salt water. Since i have always had a weak spot for the figure 8's i decided i would try it as well. We had a lot less luck, at first everything seemed fine and he was eating well but after about 2 weeks i started noticing ich and we are currently trying everything we can with medicine and garlic to try and get rid of the ich. The puffer is still not rid of it and he has his ups and downs, one day he seems conpletely fine but the next he is covered again and nothing seems to help.

 

So aside from that 😛

the tank contains about 6/7 kg live rock which we bought from other people

 

The corals:

we have

3 heads duncan

1 green toadstool

1 elegance coral 'golden tip'

3 heads blastomussa

1 head hammer

frogspawn

purple torch coral

some xenia

A mix of buttons

Some leather coral

1 frag seriatopora calendarium to try if we have a stable enough tank to keep sps coral

 

we have also found a little shell with something in it, it looks like some sort of mussel but its fairly small

 

Let me know if i should post some photo's! Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

btw: I don't know if this is the right place for this thread 😁

 

 

[1-Little-Fishy]

I also have a few questions, what would you guys recommend for flow, is the voyager 1 good or do you suggest something else. What corals eould you recommend to buy (the tank really needs a splash of colour if you know what i mean). And is it okay to add more life rock than whats currently in the tank 🙂

Thanks in advance! 😉

[debbeach13]

Welcome to NR. Yes we love photo's so anytime you want post pictures. How long has the tank been wet?

[1-Little-Fishy]

Photo's coming right up 😁

We started the tank about 3/4 months ago and the live rock has been running before that time for about 2 and a half years.

[1-Little-Fishy]

how can i post pictures, it says its to big 🤨

[1-Little-Fishy]

Nevermind, its working 😆

Some photo's look much more pink than they really are

[1-Little-Fishy]

Can you only post 25 mb in the whole thread or just in one post?

[Christopher Marks]

1 hour ago, 1-Little-Fishy said:

Can you only post 25 mb in the whole thread or just in one post?

Just per post 🙂 

 

I am surprised to hear you're keeping a figure 8 pufferfish in there. What kind of treatments or medications have you been using? You'll need to be cautious using any treatments inside the reef tank, corals and other inverts may be harmed by many ich medications. The salinity of your tank may just be too stressful for it to endure long term.

 

What does your usual maintenance routine look like? How often are your water changes?

 

Welcome to the community!

[Clown79]

Tank looks good.

 

You don't really need more rock but if it's to build more height you will want to ensure the rock is safe to use in an established tank.

 

Best to test the rocks in saltwater, pump, and heater in a separa container and monitor for ammonia for at least a week.

 

I have safely used caribsea liferock in my established tanks. 

 

One of your rocks has gha starting. You could take it out to clean it off and treat with peroxide so it doesn't spread.

 

As Christopher mentioned, treatment in a reef tank isn't safe. Do you have a hospital tank for the puffers treatment?

[1-Little-Fishy]

4 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Just per post 🙂 

 

I am surprised to hear you're keeping a figure 8 pufferfish in there.

So was I! XD

Long story short, my dad bought him for me as a present not knowing they were brackish fish and they were salt acclimated by the person he bought them from so I was thinking if i should acclimate him back to brackish water but in the end i didn't do it

 

What kind of treatments or medications have you been using? You'll need to be cautious using any treatments inside the reef tank, corals and other inverts may be harmed by many ich medications.

We were worried about that too so we asked around and we found some medications that might work, its essentially just adding good bacteria to ensure the fish will become strong enough to fight it off by itself. We are using theraP by microbe-lift and before that we had something else which i forgot the name of

 

The salinity of your tank may just be too stressful for it to endure long term.

That is what we were thinking too, the poor little puffer is just not salt proof (which of course makes sense for a brackish fish)

 

What does your usual maintenance routine look like? How often are your water changes?

We usually do water changes 1 a week for 30% but because we have some algae issues we now do 20% twice a week

 

Welcome to the community!

 

[1-Little-Fishy]

11 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Tank looks good.

 

You don't really need more rock but if it's to build more height you will want to ensure the rock is safe to use in an established tank.

 

Best to test the rocks in saltwater, pump, and heater in a separa container and monitor for ammonia for at least a week.

 

I have safely used caribsea liferock in my established tanks. 

 

One of your rocks has gha starting. You could take it out to clean it off and treat with peroxide so it doesn't spread.

 

As Christopher mentioned, treatment in a reef tank isn't safe. Do you have a hospital tank for the puffers treatment?

Thanks for the tips with the life rock! Definatelly something to consider with an already established tank of course, never thought of it that way 😅

 

All of the algae is just one big mess, we were able to get rid of a lot of it but since I've added carbon to the filter the phosphates have raised and now we have the GHA on that rock and every few hours theres just one big layer of brown crap on the glass 😐.

I would deffinately like some advice for the algae. If we would do the peroxide soak on that rock, wouldn't that kill everything inside it too? (all the bristle worms and stars) And if we dip it, i have to take the tank apart since its on almost every rock, is it okay to do so and wouldn't that mess something up (I have no clue).

[1-Little-Fishy]

19 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

Tank looks good.

 

You don't really need more rock but if it's to build more height you will want to ensure the rock is safe to use in an established tank.

 

Best to test the rocks in saltwater, pump, and heater in a separa container and monitor for ammonia for at least a week.

 

I have safely used caribsea liferock in my established tanks. 

 

I live in the Netherlands and over here it has become really hard to get live rock from store's so everything we can get is second hand so its already 'cycled' is it okay to add the stone thats already been in a tank to an established tank? 😀

 

[Clown79]

What carbon are you using?

 

A good carbon shouldn't cause algae.

 

If the rock was pre owned there could be nutrients in the rock leading to the gha.

 

Could be something with maintenance routine, water source, over feeding that has led to the algae.

 

If it's on all the rocks, you could use some phosguard but I recommend using small amounts and monitoring phos levels well.

You can look into peroxide dosing. It's safe as long as it's not over dosed.

 

But it also depends on how you are treating the puffer fish.

[1-Little-Fishy]

The carbon was from a really shady, cheap brand and i have noticed a lot more algae on the glass since we put it in so i think that's where its coming from (I don't know if its even possible to get algae from using carbon but thats just what I've seen 😂).

 

I thought about using phosguard as well but are there any cons to using it?

 

I was thinking about completely rescaping the entire tank when i have more live rock so that would be a good time to soak the gha rock with peroxide. But it will take a long time before all of that happens since im going to buy an aquaclear 110 and the maxspect razor 70 watt nano first (and of course the voyager 1 but that will arrive in about 2 weeks 😅).

 

Btw. The puffer is looking a bit better today 😀, it really depends when you look at him, he has his ups and downs (the poor little thing)

 

Also, how does peroxide dosing work? Do you put it in very low concentrations directly in the tank?

[Clown79]

6 hours ago, 1-Little-Fishy said:

The carbon was from a really shady, cheap brand and i have noticed a lot more algae on the glass since we put it in so i think that's where its coming from (I don't know if its even possible to get algae from using carbon but thats just what I've seen 😂).

 

I thought about using phosguard as well but are there any cons to using it?

 

I was thinking about completely rescaping the entire tank when i have more live rock so that would be a good time to soak the gha rock with peroxide. But it will take a long time before all of that happens since im going to buy an aquaclear 110 and the maxspect razor 70 watt nano first (and of course the voyager 1 but that will arrive in about 2 weeks 😅).

 

Btw. The puffer is looking a bit better today 😀, it really depends when you look at him, he has his ups and downs (the poor little thing)

 

Also, how does peroxide dosing work? Do you put it in very low concentrations directly in the tank?

First off, are you treating the puffer in the tank? This is important in order to help you.

 

98% of meds are not reef safe.

The rocks will absorb the meds which will then leach leading to issues with corals and inverts.

 

What you use in your tank is also important because it may interact with other products like peroxide.

 

Getting rid of gha needs to be prioritized because it's an aggressive algae. In order to get rid of it you need to find the cause and correct it because any work you do to get rid of it with products is a moot point without removing the cause. It will return otherwise.

 

 

So knowing your filtration methods, media used, how often its changes, your maintenance routine, water source, additives to the tank are all ways of determining cause.

 

 

Some carbons can release phos into the tank, is it likely the cause, possibly. Would be the first time I've heard of carbon being the cause.

[1-Little-Fishy]

Okay, the only thing we currently dose to help the puffer is TheraP, a type of medicine from microbe-lift against all parasites and ich. It was recommended to us by the lfs, they did say it was reef safe because it was just good bacteria to make sure the fish with ich would be strong enough to fight it off by itself. I wasn't really convinced if it would work but the lfs said there weren't any cons to using it and it could help.

 

For filtration we only use a power filter with carbon sponge and filter floss.

We don't dose anything except the theraP in the tank.

 

The lights in the tank were running way to long previously (almost 16 hours) but we changed that about a week ago to 12 hours.

 

Hope this was everything you need to know 😉

[1-Little-Fishy]

Update!

Today we woke up and the puffer was just one big mess, he was floating upside down near the powerhead. At first we thought he had already passed away, but when we tried to get him to move but sadly he just reacted very slowly and faintly so we decided we were going to put him down using clove oil since we figured this would be the most humane way, of course its never humane to kill another animal, especialy a pet but we really couldn't have saved him. He was just covered with white spots and his eyes were really milky like, he also had what looked like a small wound on his side and he wasn't using his fins anymore. It was a really hard decision and i hope this was for the best.

 

Im happy to say i have some good news as well 🙂.

We were at a lfs today and we asked them about the voyager 2 which we wanted to buy, he said they were really good powerheads but they would be pretty big for such a small tank. Instead he showed us some alternatives like the jebao rw 4 and the tunze turbelle nanostream pumps. Lets just say we werent supposed to buy a circulation pump........ but we walked out of there with the tunze turbelle nanostream 6015 😅.

We haven't really been able to play around with the pump and we really don't know where to put it so we would really like some help regarding the placement 😀.

 

As always let me know what you think about all of this 😉.

[Clown79]

Ok, ich needs proper treatment, the thera p is not really a medicine.

 

It helps with waste production and break down helping the tank keep healthy environment.

 

Its says it increases immune system to reduce pathogens but not to treat a sick fish.

 

Since the fish is technically a fresh water fish, the treatment may be different than saltwater but it needs to be done in a hospital tank.

 

Freshwater ich is different than marine ich

Normally a tank needs 8 weeks of no fish to kill the parasite, in your case I am not sure. I would go fishless for 8 weeks regardless to be on the safe side.

 

 

With the filter, sponges are nutrient factories and unnecessary in swsince there is liverock for biological filtration. Most use filter floss which is replaced 2 times a week. Its purchased cheaply in bulk.

 

If you plan on switching over, I would reduce the sponge size by 1/3 each waterchange until only floss is used.

 

Carbon should be changed every 2 weeks. Cheaper to buy media bags, but good carbon in bulk and fill the bags yourself. I use less carbon, I don't fill the bag since its changed every 2 weeks.

 

 

What water are you using? Tap, rodi, distilled, or ro?  This is an important factor for algae.

 

 

During waterchanges, vacuuming sand, blasting rocks with a Turkey baster is important steps to take.

 

 

Peroxide dosing or spot treatment should be last resort, especially in a new tank. New tanks gi through algae phases.

 

Changing methods, adding some phosguard(small amounts with frequent testing with Salifert or hanna tester), manual removal, additional waterchanges are the first steps.

 

 

[Clown79]

I wrote my previous post yesterday before the passing of the puffer.

 

I am leery to advise on adding a fish without going fallow for 8 weeks.

 

Freshwater ich is different than marine ich, treatment is even different. Unfortunately, I am not certain which your fish had. 

 

To be safe, let the tank go fishless 8 weeks as that will kill the parasite.

[1-Little-Fishy]

Thank you very much for all the info!

Our plan was to first (before any other fish comes in that tank) make the entire tank stable and buying all the equipment that would help with that task. We  were planning on letting the tank stay fishless for at least 8 weeks like you said, in the meantime we are going to slowly buy the aquaclear 110 HOB and turning that into a HOB refugium since you already said sponges in the filter are not really worth it. We may have some space in the filter left where we can put things as carbon and seagel. We are also going to buy better lighting for the tank, i was thinking about either the maxspect razor 70w, the Asaqua max 30 or just a 'simple' spot lamp (the aquamedic Qube 50) in the middle of the tank next to the t5 lighting so there is at least one place where we can put sps. 

 

Then on to your questions

 

What water are you using

we are using Rodi water to top the tank off and we are using Red Sea reef salt but im not sure if its the coral pro or just the normal one because we always buy water at the lfs.

 

Do we vacuum the sand and blast the rocks

Yes and no, we do sometimes vacuum the sand but not nearly as often as every waterchange and we dont blast the rocks since we are still looking to buy a turkey baster somewhere.

 

Also the gha is still the same but the dusty brown looking algae layer on the glass isn't nearly as much as it was😅.

 

 

[1-Little-Fishy]

Is there equipment that you guys recommend for us to buy before we add any fish in about 8 weeks 🙂. And what do you think about the lighting and if you have a nano tank, what lighting do you use.

[Clown79]

I ran my 15g with the following. I like my systems simple.

 

Seachrm tidal 55- filter floss, kent carbon, purigen

 

AI Prime

Eheim jagger heater and inkbird controlled

Sicce 530 powerhead

 

 

Vacuuming sand weekly is a good habit. Stirring it in between waterchanges is another good habit.

Turkey baster is a must. Most of us blast our rocks before waterchange and in the middle of the week.

 

You can get them anywhere. Dollar store, walmart.

 

 

[1-Little-Fishy]

The AI prime was another option i was thinking about, were you able to keep sps in your tank and was it overall a good light, how do you think the other lights would compare to the AI Prime

 

I really love reeferboo's totm tank in august 2015, he was also running the tank just plain and simple while remaining huge succes in his tank so he is definitely a great example for me and im trying to base my tank off off his 😊 (hence the interrest in the maxspect razor nano).

 

I do tumble the sand around every waterchange and sometimes in between waterchanges and i do have a sand vacuüm so I really have no excuse to don't do it, guess I need to make it a habit of me 😂.

 

We don't have a dollar store or wallmart in the Netherlands so i need to look for an alternative store that sells them, im sure i'll find it somewhere (otherwise I will just order it online).

 

Thanks for the info!

 

[Clown79]

The Ai Prime HD is an awesome light.

I run one over a 25g with sps

[1-Little-Fishy]

Okay, Great!!!!😀