365 Day Challenge - Jerad81's 20g Newbie Build

[SliceGolfer]

28 minutes ago, Jerad81 said:

Here's a photo. It probably is just diatoms but a lot of the water has also evaporated so my nutrient levels need to be put back in their proper place as well. The part that's destroying me is not having a water source to do that now.

Meh, you're in good shape still. Turn everything back on, keep the light off. Top the tank off with distilled water from the grocery store. Let the tank ride out the first phases of the biological and algae cycles. You can choose to go through it now, or later. Might as well do it now while there's no livestock in the tank and it's a hurry up and wait game with COVID-19.

[Jerad81]

13 minutes ago, SliceGolfer said:

Resources you can tap in to:

Greater Iowa Reef Society: https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/

Iowa Pet Food and Seascapes - West Des Moines, Westown Parkway and 22nd Street next to Gold's Gym

Adams Aquatics - Des Moines, near Lower Beaver and Euclid

 

I would stay clear of Aqualand in Des Moines and The Ark in Ames. Both are much, much older shops with freshwater as primary focus. Petco at Jordan Creek Mall had saltwater a few years back, I have no idea of current state.

 

Hope this helps

Yeah, this helps a lot, thanks! The only resource I've been able to find before is called Salty Blues. They are a locally owned shop that only deals in saltwater. Until this whole covid-19 issue they were a great resource. They were actually the one's who turned me on to nano-reef when I was getting started. I have been wanting to find other resources though just to have more variety.

[Jerad81]

33 minutes ago, RedCrow said:

Tap water is better than no water. You got that bacteria built up, I’d try to keep the system alive till you have access to clean water again 

 

Alternatively there are some affordable entry level RO DI systems out there  

https://smile.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life-Changing-Deionization-Cartridge/dp/B00204CQF6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=rodi&qid=1586185889&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVTZTMlgxTDBXNDhGJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjM4NDYxMjgxRjM3N1I2NlpCVCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTMwOTY0MzNLSkI3VktHUVhJRCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1

That is really good to know. I will definitely look into these systems. Thanks for the info!!

[Jerad81]

20 minutes ago, SliceGolfer said:

Meh, you're in good shape still. Turn everything back on, keep the light off. Top the tank off with distilled water from the grocery store. Let the tank ride out the first phases of the biological and algae cycles. You can choose to go through it now, or later. Might as well do it now while there's no livestock in the tank and it's a hurry up and wait game with COVID-19.

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely get everything back up and running again now!

[debbeach13]

That’s great news. I am now using tap water with prime added to it in 3 tanks. I have been using it for months in my “out grow tank”. I set up my unofficial contest tank using tap. Also have now been using it on my main reef tank for WC’s for 4 or 5 weeks. So far I have not seen any problems.

[Jerad81]

My tank appears to be back in good shape except for this greenish colored stuff growing in the sand. I'm assuming it's algae and I'm planning on getting a couple snails that like to hang out under the sand bed to take care of it. Unless anyone has a better suggestion? My two clown fish didn't make it 😭 but I do still have my snail and at least one hermit crab roaming around. I haven't seen the other hermit in a while so I'm not sure if it's just hiding from me or if I lost him as well. Here's a pic of my tank. There's nothing new to look at yet but hopefully I'll be able to change that before too much longer. 

[debbeach13]

Sorry about the clowns.

[kimberbee]

How's the tank doing?

[Jerad81]

Sorry I've been MIA for a few months. That ugly brown stuff kept overwhelming my tank but I FINALLY managed to get rid it! I just added a couple new coral to it today and now I can't stop looking at them lol. I had to force myself to walk away so I would stop moving them around 😁. Here's some pics of them. Hopefully I'll have better success than I had with my clowns. 

[debbeach13]

Welcome back 

[Jerad81]

Thanks! I'm assuming I've been disqualified from the challenge so I'll probably be posting my tank updates on my other journal titled "My Journey Begins" from now on. Unless I get a huge surprise and find out I'm still allowed to take part 🤞.

[Jerad81]

My coral are now celebrating their 1 week anniversary! My ricordia is looking very happy but my candy cane/ trumpet is being a bit of a party pooper 🙁. I tried moving it to see if I could get it some better flow but that doesn't seem to have mattered. I'm debating if I should try moving it again or just leave it alone for now and see if it starts bouncing back. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

[Jerad81]

I went to the fish store today intending to buy a couple snails and walked out with three new corals as well lol. I bought two more trochus snails to help out the one I already had plus a tiger sand conch to give my sand bed some much needed attention. 

 

I also added a green star polyp, a zoanthid and an acan. So far they all seem to be happy with their new home so hopefully I can keep them that way 🤞.

 

My fish store was also nice enough to give me a free bottle of coppods since their culture tank was getting low on water. I'm hoping they will start a colony or two and create a decent (and hopefully sustainable) food source for a mandarin or gold mandarin goby in the future. 

 

Here are some pics of my tank and new coral. It's nice to see it finally moving in a positive direction. 

 

 

[Jerad81]

My ugly algae bloom is starting to recede. I'm not real sure why but I'm not going to complain ! I did a water change on Wednesday, removed the chemi-pure blue and changed my filter pads. Also, my tiger sand conch has been doing a great job cleaning up the top of my sand bed. I was hoping he would dig around deeper into the sand but he's probably had plenty to eat at the surface so far.

 

I also added a frag of cloves and a small amount of chaeto macroalgae to my tank. My lfs gave me the chaeto out of their refugium and I'm hoping it will help promote copepod growth in my tank. 

 

My current water parameters are:

pH=8.2

Ammonia =0

Nitrite=0

Nitrate=20-30 ppm

Phosphate=0.1

Alkalinity=5.6

 

I don't know why my alkalinity is still running so low. Everything in my tank appears to be happy but I'm going to try using Seachem marine buffer to bring it up. It's supposed to maintain pH at 8.3 and also raises alkalinity by 1 meq/L. Hopefully this will bring it up where I want it at a safe rate so I don't freak out my coral.

 

Here's a few pics of my tank.

 

[Aqua Splendor]

Bacteria with their "process" will lower the KH over time, it's totally normal.
If you can reduce your nitrate and phosphate that would help even more for the algae.

Personnally I will have to add something behind my tank to light my chaetomorpha but the water parameter are fine at the moment, but eventually I will have to feed more so I need a better export of nutriment...

Also your rock actually feed the algae, theirs stuff in/on that promote algae, but over time it will stop and other type of algae will take over the hair algae.

[Jerad81]

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything, things have been a little crazy lately. It looks like I've gotten rid of my algae problem finally. Hopefully it stays that way this time lol. I've also added a couple new coral. I now have a duncan and a second ricordia. I also found a baby snail which got me pretty excited. Overall, my tank is doing well and starting to look like a reef tank. Now I just need to find a couple fish to add to it.

[Jerad81]

OMG!! I just found this little guy in my tank and have no idea what it is, where it came from, or how long it's been there! Whatever it is, I think it's pretty awesome! Plus it's my first ever hitchhiker so I'm a little over excited about it lol.

[Jerad81]

So, after doing some research I've decided to add a refugium to my tank. I started raising copods in my tank a few weeks ago with the hope of creating a sustainable food source for a mandarin or gold mandarin goby that I would like to add. So far the copods are doing great but I'm worried they won't be able to reproduce fast enough to keep the fish fed and happy. I'm hoping a refugium will help fix this potential issue before it happens. Plus I've also learned refugiums are great for raising small shrimp and other tiny critters that can act as a food source for other fish and coral as well.

I scored this little tank for free from a friend who was cleaning out their basement. I'm not sure exactly how big it is but I believe it's between 3-5 gallons. The sides are plastic so I'm going to drill a hole in the side towards the top for an overflow tube to return water back to my tank. All I need now is the tube/pipe, a small pump and some tubing to pump water out of my tank and into the refugium, and a small rack or stand to prop the refugium up so the return pipe is above my main tank.

The refugium tank also came with a lid and light. My only question now is can I use a regular light bulb or do I need something special for it?

My goal is to have it set up and running by this weekend. My fingers are crossed that everything works like I planned.

[Jerad81]

I started prepping my new tank to become a refugium and turned it into a disaster 😢. I believe I accidentally started pushing too hard when drilling the hole for the overflow return. I guess now I'll have to add a replacement to my shopping list for the weekend. 

[kimberbee]

How's the tank doing? Did you end up adding a refugium? Doing so would disqualify you from the contest.

 

You did miss a few tank updates, however 

Chris has said he will be lenient on the FTS during the year, because it was a rough year for everyone. 

 

You've still got time to get your last FTS and your 2-3 paragraph summary done in time to qualify for voting. Just has to be done by the 31st! 

[Jerad81]

47 minutes ago, kimberbee said:

How's the tank doing? Did you end up adding a refugium? Doing so would disqualify you from the contest.

 

You did miss a few tank updates, however 

Chris has said he will be lenient on the FTS during the year, because it was a rough year for everyone. 

 

You've still got time to get your last FTS and your 2-3 paragraph summary done in time to qualify for voting. Just has to be done by the 31st! 

Thanks for your interest. I actually had already assumed I was disqualified, which was probably a big mistake, and did try adding a refugium. It was a total disaster and I removed it not long after. My tank is doing good though other than that. Although it doesn't look too spectacular compared to most people's. I doubt I'm still in the running, especially because of the refugium thing, but I will still post another fts and summary just in case. Thanks for the advice/reminder!

[Jerad81]

Just in case I'm still included in the challenge, here is my final fts.

 

As this is my first ever saltwater tank I have had a pretty incredible adventure! That was one of the biggest reasons why I chose to make this a budget build. I don't want to invest in anything too expensive until I have a lot more confidence I can keep it alive. The most expensive thing in my tank cost about $40. 

Over the course of the year I have had good success with mushrooms, especially my ricordia, and rockflowers. They have all grown really well and seem to be very happy in my tank. I wish my lfs had a bigger selection of them because I would love to add more. Unfortunately though, I have really struggled with other types of corals. I have tried several lps corals throughout the year and so far none of them have really flourished. A few have died on me while the rest are surviving just fine but clearly unhappy. My photosynthetic gorgonian seems to share their attitude as well. I also tried a finger leather that just slowly deteriorated in my tank over the course of a couple months. 

I also have 4 fish in my tank that all appear to be doing well. I have 3 spotted pajama cardinals that are perfect for a 20g tank. They don't move around a lot but my tank is small enough they don't really need to. It seems to be the perfect size for fish that like to just hang out and float around. My 4th fish is a banded circus goby. It has taken him a while but he has warmed up to my tank and is fun to watch from a distance. He's still not a big fan of people and immediately goes into hiding if anyone gets too close. Kind of a bummer because he would be really fun to show off more but I'm hoping he'll get over that fear eventually so I can. 

Overall this has been a great experience. I know my tank doesn't look as full or flashy as most people's but I'm really happy with where it's at. Now I just have to figure out how to get my stony corals to flourish and it'll be perfect!

[kimberbee]

Sorry you had such bad luck with corals. Hopefully you keep the tank up and just continue learning!

 

Congrats on making it to the end and good luck!!