Hannah’s tank journal

[Hannahhhh]

It’s my first reef tank! After diving since age 11 and volunteering and interning at aquariums for years, I finally decided to start a reef tank!

My Instagram is @nanoreeftanker

 

Tank: Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon tank 

Upgraded to an IM NUVO 30 gallon long in October. 

Heater: Fluval M 50 watt submersible heater

Skimmer: MAME design skimmer attached to a uniclife adjustable air pump

Redsea multi test kit, NH3/NH4, NO3, NO2, pH, KH

Portable refractometer 

Hang on fuge with chaeto

AI Prime HD

 

Fish

Banggai Cardinalfish Pair from live aquaria

1 clownfish (from LiveAquaria)

1 yellow watchman goby (from the fish nook)

1 brotula (traded in)

1 sailfin tang

2 lyretail anthias

1 blue spotted puffer 

1 mandarin goby

 

Inverts

1 pom pom crab (from LiveAquaria) died

scarlet hermit crab (from LiveAquaria)

dwarf blue leg hermit crab (from LiveAquaria)

“blue leg” hermit crabs (from a LFS, not sure what type they are)

1 Mexican turbo snail (from a LFS)

small snails (from a LFS)

emerald crab added 4/11/19 (from love the reef) died 4/23/19

nassarius snails added 4/11/19 (from love the reef)

 Multiple candy cane shrimp (from the fish nook)

1 coco worm (from love the reef)

1 maxima clam (from LiveAquaria)

some type of oyster (from LiveAquaria) 

 

Coral

Spotted mushroom (from LiveAquaria)

Some type of green mushroom (from Love the reef)

Xenia 

Green tip pink birdsnest coral added 4/19/19 (from live aquaria)

Orange tube coral (from live aquaria)

ORA green birdsnest coral (live aquaria)

Duncans (from love the reef)

Rock flower anemone (from aqua SD)

Assorted mushrooms

Frogspawn coral (from LiveAquaria)

White rock flower anemone (from love the reef)

Purple and yellow scroll coral (from love the reef)

Strawberry blastomussa

Kryptonite candy cane coral

 

Leather corals:
Tyree green toadstool 
Weeping willow toadstool added 4/19/19 (from live aquaria)

Leather coral (from a LFS)

 

Zoas/palys:

Alpha and omega zoas added 4/11/19 (from love the reef)

Rasta zoas added 4/11/19 (from love the reef)

Gold dust palys added 4/11/19 (from love the reef)

Unknown bright green zoas 

Vivid’s blue crush zoas

Eagle eye zoas

WWC AOI zoas

PPE zoas

Radioactive dragon eyes
Toxic green palys

Green bay packers

Scrambled egg zoa

Magicians

Pink zoas from AquaSD 

Orange zoas with purple centers/rings

 

[Hannahhhh]

[Hannahhhh]

[WV Reefer]

53 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

It’s my first reef tank! After diving since age 11 and volunteering and interning at aquariums for years, I finally decided to start a reef tank!

 

 

Tank: Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon tank 

Heater: Fluval M 50 watt submersible heater

Skimmer: MAME design skimmer attached to a uniclife adjustable air pump

Redsea multi test kit, NH3/NH4, NO3, NO2, pH, KH

Portable refractometer 

 

Fish

2 Banggai Cardinalfish (from a LFS)

1 clownfish (from LiveAquaria)

 

Inverts

1 pom pom crab (from LiveAquaria)

1 scarlet hermit crab (from LiveAquaria)

1 dwarf blue leg hermit crab (from LiveAquaria)

3 “blue leg” hermit crabs (from a LFS, not sure what type they are)

1 Mexican turbo snail (from a LFS)

3 small snails (from a LFS)

 

Coral

Spotted mushroom (from LiveAquaria)

      It’s refused to open up from day one 😞

Some type of green mushroom (from a LFS)

Leather coral (from a LFS)

Xenia 

Some type of green zoa

 

 

 

 

Looks like you are off to great start. 😊

[Chris's Fishes]

Looks great! 

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

 Tank looks really good so far. I love my pom pom..I see him once every 2 or 3 months lol. Just when I think he's gotta be dead he shows up quick for a visit then back to the rocks.

[Hannahhhh]

3 hours ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

 Tank looks really good so far. I love my pom pom..I see him once every 2 or 3 months lol. Just when I think he's gotta be dead he shows up quick for a visit then back to the rocks.

Mine is so shy but my tank is little so I know all his hiding spots and I can look for him. Today for the first time he came running out waving his pom poms during feeding time. He must have been super hungry!

[Hannahhhh]

I added a few new corals and inverts this afternoon. Gold dust palys, rostas, and alpha and omegas. Only two heads on the rostas, but they’re my favorite (except for my mushrooms!) I also added an emerald crab and some nassarius snails. I got all this stuff at Love The Reef in Wilmington. I can’t recomend this store enough! If you live in Mass, it’s worth a visit! Everyone working there has taken so much time to help me out and answer my questions! They’ve been really generous with cutting me some deals on coral too! They have a wide variety of reasonably priced frags for beginners, but they also have lots of showstopping, jaw dropping, gorgeous big corals that I like to dream of owning someday!

[WV Reefer]

2 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

I added a few new corals and inverts this afternoon. Gold dust palys, rostas, and alpha and omegas. Only two heads on the rostas, but they’re my favorite (except for my mushrooms!) I also added an emerald crab and some nassarius snails. I got all this stuff at Love The Reef in Wilmington. I can’t recomend this store enough! If you live in Mass, it’s worth a visit! Everyone working there has taken so much time to help me out and answer my questions! They’ve been really generous with cutting me some deals on coral too! 

Rasta’s are one of my favorites. They are so bright and pretty. 

[Hannahhhh]

Just now, WV Reefer said:

Rasta’s are one of my favorites. They are so bright and pretty. 

Do they grow quickly? Will I notice more heads in a month or two?

[WV Reefer]

Just now, Hannahhhh said:

Do they grow quickly? Will I notice more heads in a month or two?

That depends on lots of factors but they can grow quickly in the right environment.  

[Hannahhhh]

4 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

That depends on lots of factors but they can grow quickly in the right environment.  

Fingers crossed they like my tank!

[billygoat]

Hi @Hannahhhh, and welcome! So glad to see that you decided to start a journal! ^^ You've got quite a nice little setup, and it looks like you're off to a great start. I look forward to seeing your tank evolve and grow.

 

13 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

Do they grow quickly? Will I notice more heads in a month or two?

My experience with zoas is that they seem to take a bit of time to settle in and get themselves situated, but once they have their bearings they will begin to reproduce rapidly as long as conditions are right. Mine (not Rastas but most zoas are similar) took about a month of getting used to flow/lighting/etc. before they began growing new heads.

[Hannahhhh]

2 minutes ago, billygoat said:

Hi @Hannahhhh, and welcome! So glad to see that you decided to start a journal! ^^ You've got quite a nice little setup, and it looks like you're off to a great start. I look forward to seeing your tank evolve and grow.

 

My experience with zoas is that they seem to take a bit of time to settle in and get themselves situated, but once they have their bearings they will begin to reproduce rapidly as long as conditions are right. Mine (not Rastas but most zoas are similar) took about a month of getting used to flow/lighting/etc. before they began growing new heads.

Do you find that it upsets them a lot if they get moved? I’m still trying to figure out the setup for my tank, and Ive moved my green zoas a few times.

[billygoat]

2 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

Do you find that it upsets them a lot if they get moved? I’m still trying to figure out the setup for my tank, and Ive moved my green zoas a few times.

Generally speaking, zoanthids are tough as nails. Mine got knocked off the rocks by overzealous snails more than once during their first few weeks in my tank, and seemed to be perfectly fine each time I replaced them. I even had one come in as an unattached hitchhiker and blow around my tank for a few days before I finally noticed it and glued it down. In the beginning it was so deformed that I didn't even know what it was, but within a few weeks of staying in one place it had regrown its tentacles and is now thriving in my system.

 

That being said, you probably don't want to move them around too much, as they are not going to grow until they are given a chance to attach themselves and settle down. 

[Hannahhhh]

Two of my new corals from Love The Reef!

[Hannahhhh]

1 hour ago, billygoat said:

Generally speaking, zoanthids are tough as nails. Mine got knocked off the rocks by overzealous snails more than once during their first few weeks in my tank, and seemed to be perfectly fine each time I replaced them. I even had one come in as an unattached hitchhiker and blow around my tank for a few days before I finally noticed it and glued it down. In the beginning it was so deformed that I didn't even know what it was, but within a few weeks of staying in one place it had regrown its tentacles and is now thriving in my system.

 

That being said, you probably don't want to move them around too much, as they are not going to grow until they are given a chance to attach themselves and settle down. 

Thanks for the advice! 🙂

[billygoat]

11 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

Thanks for the advice! 🙂

Of course! Some beautiful zoas you've got in there already; I love the colors!

 

Are you running a powerhead or wavemaker in there, or are you just relying on the return pump for circulation?

[Hannahhhh]

10 minutes ago, billygoat said:

Of course! Some beautiful zoas you've got in there already; I love the colors!

 

Are you running a powerhead or wavemaker in there, or are you just relying on the return pump for circulation?

Thanks! I got them from my LFS, I love that store!

And at the moment, just the return pump. I wasn’t sure about the need to add more water movement at this point, but I figure at some point down the road I’ll need to add something else. Why do you ask?

[yoshii]

Congrats on the new tank and new journal!

Your tank looks great so far! I'm glad you have a good LFS that will give good advice too

[Hannahhhh]

Just now, yoshii said:

Congrats on the new tank and new journal!

Your tank looks great so far! I'm glad you have a good LFS that will give good advice too

Thanks so much! 

 Yeah I really appreciate them! They’ve been super honest too, and told me when not to buy stuff even though I was ready to spend my money with them. 

[billygoat]

8 hours ago, Hannahhhh said:

Thanks! I got them from my LFS, I love that store!

And at the moment, just the return pump. I wasn’t sure about the need to add more water movement at this point, but I figure at some point down the road I’ll need to add something else. Why do you ask?

It's definitely a major bonus to have a great LFS with quality livestock nearby. The internet is an incredible resource, but in the end nothing beats having someone knowledgeable explain something to you in person and actually show you what they are talking about so you can see it with your own eyes! 😄

 

Regarding the powerhead: one of the things I wish I had known when I was just starting up my tank is how much I would end up caring about flow. As far as I can tell, water movement is the single most important factor in anyone's aquarium, and having the right amount of flow is essential to the long-term health of all of our livestock. BRS made a great video about it, which you can check out here: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/just-how-important-is-flow-in-our-reef-tanks-the-brs-wwc-system-ep10-brstv/

 

Now the soft corals you've got in your system so far can survive with very little water movement and should be fine for the time being, but I suggest looking into different options for powerheads/wavemakers, especially if you're planning on keeping SPS corals, gorgonians, or anemones at any point in the future. There are many economical options for single-speed powerheads (I started with a cheap Koralia Nano 240), but if you are committed to your tank and are planning on sticking with the hobby for a long time, I advise you to pay what it costs for a good quality wavemaker right off the bat. This will actually save you money in the long run, since you will not have to go through multiple iterations of upgrades for your pump, which is what I ended up doing! 😅 

[748S911]

4 hours ago, billygoat said:

I advise you to pay what it costs for a good quality wavemaker right off the bat. This will actually save you money in the long run, since you will not have to go through multiple iterations of upgrades for your pump, which is what I ended up doing! 😅 

+1 

 

Go with the aqamai kps. its everything you will need for flow in your tank.  Your reef is off to a great start, following.

[Hannahhhh]

4 hours ago, 748S911 said:

+1 

 

Go with the aqamai kps. its everything you will need for flow in your tank.  Your reef is off to a great start, following.

Does it work well in a little tank? 13.5 gallons 

[748S911]

3 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

Does it work well in a little tank? 13.5 gallons 

yes it does, I have it in my 2.5 gallon lol