Dally's 5N Pico Reef - Unhappy Corals

[Dally]

 

Day one of my new nano reef!

 

I've decided to go all natural this time. I've got about 5lbs of live rock and some Fiji Pink sand.

 

My Nanobox Tide has been ordered and will be here soon.

 

I can't decide if I want to order the MP10 that I really want or if I should stick with the Koralia 240. Those who have small tanks with MP10s, what has your experience been?

[Dally]

Things went into this tank quicker than I had anticipated. I was lucky I had set it up when I did because my 6 gallon reef started to crash & I couldn't do anything to stop it. I transferred as many of the surviving coral and inverts as I could to this tank. I'm not super happy with these photos but just wanted to post an update. My new light is supposed to be arriving this week and I need to buy an orange filter to make the colors look better.

 

 

 

 

I decided to buy the MP10 and I've got an Orbit LED on temporarily until my light arrives.

 

I don't plan on ever putting a fish in here because it's such a small tank & I decided to go filterless on this one so I want to keep the bioload as low as possible. Anyone have any ideas for an interesting invert I could showcase? I was thinking I might someday put a cleaner shrimp in.

 

I also have a coral order from AquaSD coming later this week that I'm stoked about. After losing some corals in my other tank, I convinced myself it was time to splurge on some new ones!

 

Thanks for reading!

[Thrassian Atoll]

Looks good.  

[bomerst]

Looks great so far!

 

I personally love sexy shrimp, id think you could handle 3 or 5 (you are supposed to keep odd numbers) with no fish.  I cant tell how big your tank is, but if its around 5 gal it may be a bit small for a cleaner shrimp: they can get nearly 7 inches across with their antennas.  Many people have done it, but it can be a bit cramped.

[Dally]

1 hour ago, TILTON said:

Looks good.  

Thanks!

[Dally]

1 hour ago, bomerst said:

Looks great so far!

 

I personally love sexy shrimp, id think you could handle 3 or 5 (you are supposed to keep odd numbers) with no fish.  I cant tell how big your tank is, but if its around 5 gal it may be a bit small for a cleaner shrimp: they can get nearly 7 inches across with their antennas.  Many people have done it, but it can be a bit cramped.

Thank you!

 

I like the idea of sexy shrimp. I hadn't thought of that. This tank is strange dimensions & is typically sold as a freshwater tank. It's just a tad over 4 gallons, and with the rock & sand it only holds close to 3 gallons of water.

[billygoat]

Looks great so far! After seeing your previous tank I am sure this will develop very nicely.

[Dally]

1 hour ago, billygoat said:

Looks great so far! After seeing your previous tank I am sure this will develop very nicely.

Thanks!

 

In my last tank my goal was just to fill it with as many of whatever I could. It looked nice but it was a lot to upkeep. Anemones moving, coral warfare, too many frags, etc. It was a lot for such a small tank and required a lot of my attention. My goal for this one is to find some corals that I really enjoy, leave them alone, give them plenty of room, and let them develop into large, pretty colonies. Probably no anemones so that things stay where I want them.

[KISReef]

10 hours ago, Dally said:

I don't plan on ever putting a fish in here because it's such a small tank & I decided to go filterless on this one so I want to keep the bioload as low as possible.

Good idea! No, Great Idea! 

 

10 hours ago, Dally said:

I decided to buy the MP10

Wow, that's way over kill . I imagine you have that sucker turned way down. 

[Dally]

15 minutes ago, KISReef said:

Wow, that's way over kill . I imagine you have that sucker turned way down. 

It’s definitely over kill & I knew it was when I bought it. I just decided to buy something that I knew I’d be able to use in a future upgrade & I really like the random flow that it generates. Gives the torch & hammer the type of movement they need.

[billygoat]

6 hours ago, Dally said:

In my last tank my goal was just to fill it with as many of whatever I could. It looked nice but it was a lot to upkeep. Anemones moving, coral warfare, too many frags, etc. It was a lot for such a small tank and required a lot of my attention. My goal for this one is to find some corals that I really enjoy, leave them alone, give them plenty of room, and let them develop into large, pretty colonies. Probably no anemones so that things stay where I want them.

That sounds like a perfectly reasonable goal to me. I think it's super great that you've learned from what you did in the past and changed up your plan as a result, too! And you're certainly off to a running start with some super beautiful corals from your previous system.

 

What are your thoughts on the MP10 so far? I'm on the fence about getting one, though honestly I feel like it's probably just a matter of time...

[billygoat]

6 hours ago, Dally said:

In my last tank my goal was just to fill it with as many of whatever I could. It looked nice but it was a lot to upkeep. Anemones moving, coral warfare, too many frags, etc. It was a lot for such a small tank and required a lot of my attention. My goal for this one is to find some corals that I really enjoy, leave them alone, give them plenty of room, and let them develop into large, pretty colonies. Probably no anemones so that things stay where I want them.

That sounds like a perfectly reasonable goal to me. I think it's super great that you've learned from what you did in the past and changed up your plan as a result, too! And you're certainly off to a running start with some super beautiful corals from your previous system.

 

What are your thoughts on the MP10 so far? I'm on the fence about getting one, though honestly I feel like it's probably just a matter of time...

[Dally]

Time for an update.

I’m a bit worried about how things are going. The colors of most of my coral look good but they just haven’t been opening like they were when I first put them in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve tested parameters, tried to get the flow just right, done multiple water changes, nothing seems to keep them happy. Maybe it’s just because it’s a new tank so things are still settling in, but I’ve been paranoid. It might be a light problem. The corals seem to be open the most at night when the lights are off. I thought I’d have the Nanobox Tide on this tank by now, but that has been a long process & Dave went MIA. My zoas haven’t opened yet since I put them in and my chalices were starting to recede so I put them in another tank until this tank stabilizes.

 

 

Here’s a very blurry photo of my Mummy Eye chalice. I’d like to do a lot more macro photos of my corals, but I need to get some extra gear to get the colors & focusing right.

 

 

I also recently decided to go for it & bought an RODI system from Marine Depot. Hopefully with good water, good flow, and good light, the corals will start to look happier over time.

 

 

[Dally]

On 3/25/2019 at 12:52 AM, billygoat said:

What are your thoughts on the MP10 so far? I'm on the fence about getting one, though honestly I feel like it's probably just a matter of time...

I’m really really liking it. I do have it turned way down, but it still gives the perfect random flow for my euphyllia so they can dance rather than be blown straight in one direction. I decided to go for it so that I don’t have to buy another powerhead when I upgrade sometime in the future. I would like to set up a 20ish gallon someday so the MP10 will be perfect for it.