FloridaMan's Aquatic Escape

[FloridaMan]

Hello Everyone!

 

Thank you for looking at my journal! I am creating this journal to document my tank’s progress. Hopefully, it will also keep me accountable and not allow me to neglect the tank.

 

History:

I have been a nano-reef stalker for at least 10 years. I have had several reef tanks in the past. My last tank, a 90-gallon mixed reef met its fate to hurricane Irma. After losing power for 12 days, my beautiful mixed reef turned into quite a disgusting fish stew. Due to my disappointment with that experience, I sold my previous tank and got out of the hobby for a while. Despite this, I continued to stalk nano-reef and I could tell that the reef bug would strike again.

 

Current tank:

I must admit, this was a bit of an impulse buy. Although I have been considering getting a new tank for the last year, I could not justify the cost/work associated with reef keeping. I am a medical student, and I don’t really have that much free time or funds to devote to reef keeping. However, after a particularly rough couple of months at school with several more on the way, I could not help myself. I went to the LFS, bought the first tank in sight, and had it set up within an hour.

 

Goals:

My goal is for this tank to be a low maintenance, soft coral dominated tank. I am going to try my absolute best to limit the bio-load to 1 fish. I am a zoa nut and would like to create a zoa garden. Throw in some Florida ricordeas, clove polyps, and I think that should be a reasonable tank to maintain under my current circumstances.

 

Start Date: 3/19/21

 

Equipment: 

Tank - IM Nuvo Fusion 10 gallon

Return - MightyJet 15W/24V 326 GPH DC Return Pump w/ Controller (included with tank)

Lighting - Maxpect R420R 60watt 16000k – bought it USED

Testing - API Saltwater Master Test Kit

 

Dry Rock – 6lbs

CaribSea Arag-Alive Bimini Pink Sand 10 lbs

 

I will try to update regularly. Thanks again for taking a look!

 

I have not figured out how to photograph the tank without oversaturating it, please forgive me. 

 

[Zer0]

Lookin good! 

[FloridaMan]

Hello, I hope everyone had a nice week. There have been several updates on the 10-gallon.

 

1. Chemical filtration:

When I started the tank, I kept the GFO and carbon that came with the tank in the media basket. This did not make much sense since I want to cycle the tank. I took both out on Monday. I will put them back in there eventually.

 

2. Physical/biological filtration:

Original filtration order: overflow-> filtration sock -> middle chamber w/ caddy -> return pump.  I did not like the idea of replacing filter socks all the time and the media basket seemed to be wasted in the middle chamber. I removed the filter sock and placed the media basket in the overflow chamber. I also wanted to increase the biological filtration in the tank, so I filled the middle chamber with 3 pounds of rubble rock. Current filtration order: overflow -> caddy with mechanical fiber ball (not a huge fan, will probably buy some puripad) -> 3 pounds rubble rock -> return pump. I am way happier with this setup.

 

3. Cycle:

I purchased 125mL of Brightwell Microbacter7 in attempt to jumpstart the cycle. I started dosing the tank according to the recommended schedule last Sunday. I began testing for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH on Monday. My ammonia crept up to around 4ppm on Wednesday, however I did not see any increase in Nitrite or Nitrate on my API test kit. On Thursday I went to my local LFS and bought some FritzZyme7 and dosed the tank. The FritzZyme7 really seemed to work and my ammonia dropped and I started seeing Nitrates upon testing. Parameters this morning were: pH 7.8 (low, need to figure out how to raise it), NH3 0.5ppm, NO2 0ppm, NO3 10ppm.

 

4. Livestock: **PICS coming soon**

On Saturday, I added a black ORA Oscellaris clown to the tank. After consultation with my girlfriend, we decided to call it “Guppy” (I tried telling her that it is a clownfish and not a guppy, but she is not as interested in fish taxonomy as much as I am). I know it is probably a little too soon to add a fish to the tank. However, I begin my dedicated study period for the STEP 1 exam (big medical school board exam) tomorrow and I wanted a quick serotonin boost before I hit the books. “Gups” eats pellet food like a champ and I am happy to have some life in the new tank.

 

Goals:

I will continue to test the water chemistry daily. I plan on doing a 1-gallon water change Wednesday using good ol’ Instant Ocean. I will continue to supplement the tank with Brightwell Microbacter7 since I already have it. I am hoping to add a soft coral to the tank if everything is stable, however I shall see.

 

I realize that the collective knowledge on Nano-Reef.com is infinitely greater than my own. If anyone reading this has any suggestions or critiques, please feel free to share. I am always looking to learn :). 

 

Thanks again for stopping by. Have a great week!

 

P.S. If somebody could point me in the direction of a frag seller located in Miami, I will be very grateful! 

[FloridaMan]

A few updates on the 10-gallon Nuvo:

 

Fish: I couldn’t help myself… I was in the LFS last weekend and I picked up a beautiful little six line wrasse. I saw him in the store for several weeks and he was eating well. He is very active, inquisitive, and is eating mysis. Unfortunately, he has not taken to pellets. Overall, a welcome inclusion to the tank!

 

Corals: I have collected several new corals for the tank. They are in line with my soft coral tank theme.

 

Assorted Gorgonian – Not sure of the name. It is brown, thick branched and has impressive polyps. I love the movement of the polyps in the current. This was a full-sized colony at my LFS. I asked the owner if he could cut off a short piece and he obliged. Super happy with the addition.

 

Neon Green Finger Leather: Another frag from an LFS colony. It was not attached to a plug so I had to attach it to something. I first tried to glue it to a plug. That did not work, and it was floating around my tank. I then attached it to a rock with a rubber band. As it turns out, I applied to much tension and cut the coral in half. After adjusting the tension of the rubber band, I put it in a low flow zone and am allowing it to fuse with the rock. Once it is attached, I will move it to the upper right corner of the tank.

 

Green Toadstool Leather: I love this coral. It was sold to me as the “Meltdown” Toadstool Leather. Not sure if the name is real, but I thought the coral was stunning in the store. Neon green,1-inch-long polyps. By far my favorite coral in the tank. Great movement!

 

Ricordea Florida: One of my all-time favorite coral species. This a 2 headed specimen. It was red in the store and is dark orange in my tank. It was attached to the frag rack at the store and the guy ripped it off. I am letting it get attached to a frag disc. Once it attaches, I will move it to a better spot.

 

Top Shelf Aquatics Purchase – an Easter sale purchase.

 

Utter Chaos Palythoa: Always wanted one. 2 heads. Not as colorful as the picture, but a healthy frag. I am excited to see it grow out.

Sunny D’s Palythoa: Had one in my old tank. One of my favorites. Frag has 8 heads on it. Super happy with this coral!

TSA Lemon Twist Palythoa: 3 heads. Looked great on the website. Not quite as yellow, still looks good.

TSA Candy Corn Cloves: I love clove polyps. They look great.

 

Goals: I did not intend to stock the tank as quickly as I did. For the next couple of weeks I plan on letting the tank settle down and grow out.

 

Thanks for checking in! 

 

Photos: I still need to figure out how to take better photos. If anyone has any tips, feel free to share!

[debbeach13]

Welcome back. Your tank is 1 month old today and looking good.

[growsomething]

Great name.

[Murphs_Reef]

Great progress 👍🏼

[FloridaMan]

[FloridaMan]

The tank has gone through several changes since the last update. 

1. My 6 line wrasse passed away. It was eating well and was very active. As time went on, it got skinnier and eventually wasted away. I noticed it had a white, stringy poop since I got it from the LFS. I began feeding it food with metronidazole. Unfortunately, too little too late.

2. In order to fill the void of my lost six line, I bought a cleaner shrimp. It was extremely healthy, molting every couple of weeks. It would even eat out of my hand. Despite its health and vigor, it became rock flower anemone food during one of its molting sessions. It got stuck in its shell and flew right into my neon green RFA. I will say, I am amazed at how much food a RFA can consume at one time. 

3. Over the last couple of months, my corals have looked pretty abismal. All of my zoas have closed. It’s honestly a miracle they have not melted. None of the other corals in the tank are thriving either. While alive, they seem to be running on autopilot and have barely grown.

 

I tested my water at the local LFS and the results were:

Nitrates: undetectable (API test kit)

Alkalinity: 5 dKh (Salifert)

Calcium: (Salifert)

 

Since then, I have been dosing RedSea Foundation A and B. I bought a Salifert alkalinity test kit and the tank has been hovering between 9-10 dKh. I have also ben feeding more in order to raise my nitrates. I have a feeling the tank has been too clean.
 

The corals are looking better, however the zoas have barely opened up. 

Fear not, I do have some good news!

 

Last Wednesday I added a new “black ice” clownfish in an attempt to have a clownfish pair. My current clownfish “guppy” did not appreciate having a new buddy and they’ve been fighting quite a bit. As of today (Sunday), they seem to be getting along better.

 

I hope the tank is trending in the right direction. In 2 weeks I’m going to World Wide Corals in Orlando and need the tank to be in tip top shape for some new additions! 

[FloridaMan]

Tank is looking good. I’m keeping the alkalinity stable around 9.5 dKH. 

unfortunately, my zoanthids have closed up for the past week and won’t open. I don’t see any pests and nothing has been picking at them. They are shrinking and I am worried they are going to melt. Not sure what else I can do as everything else is looking great. 
 

I gave my green finger leather a hair cut on Monday since it was starting to touch the top of the water. It doesn’t look to good right now but it should start recuperating soon. I am trying to attach The other frag to a rock with a rubber band. 
 

I stopped by World Wide Corals this past weekend. What a gorgeous place! I was extremely impressed by the display tanks and coral selection. I was less impressed by the prices and left empty handed lol. As a consolation prize I bought this neat indo torch for a fraction of the price from my local LFS.

[A.m.P]

The long stalks on the softies have me wondering whether you may need to turn your light's intensity up a bit, I'm no good with zoa's and it could be something else entirely however.

[FloridaMan]

13 hours ago, A.m.P said:

The long stalks on the softies have me wondering whether you may need to turn your light's intensity up a bit, I'm no good with zoa's and it could be something else entirely however.

That’s a great point. Thank you for pointing that out. I turned down the lights a while back because of some algae problems but that can explain why my leathers have such long stalks. I will increase the intensity by 5% this week and see how everything responds. 
 

while my clove polyps seem relatively happy, they still remain super small and are not getting any bigger (despite spreading all over the place). Anyone know what may be the problem? I always assumed the lights were too strong 

[FloridaMan]

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! 
 

mixed news on the 10g nano. I took my water to the LFS to try and figure out why my zoas and Ricordia are so unhappy. Nitrates are consistently around 5-10ppm (according to the ACI test kit). salinity and alkalinity were right where I want them. Calcium was elevated at 520ppm and magnesium was low at 1250. Needless to say I have starting dosing Red Sea Foundations Part C. Will get my water checked soon.

 

I have also changed my salt from Instant Ocean to Red Sea blue bucket. No real reason for the change, it’s just what the LFS had in stock. After a 2 gallon water change, my alkalinity seems to be more stable at the 9-10 dKH range. I will continue testing the water to see how this new salt affects my parameters. 
 

Sad news with the torch. I don’t know if the flow was too strong and it’s flesh ripped at the base or I damaged it while handling it (probably a bit of both), but it has started to recede and show some skeleton. I don’t have high hopes for it at this point. I moved it to a lower flow area and will see how it does. Pretty bummed about it. 
 

On the bright side, I bought 2 sick Rhodactis mushrooms on Black Friday from my local LFS. They look great so far. I have them on the sand bed to acclimate them to the tank. I will move them after around a week. 

[debbeach13]

I hope the torch recovers for you. I tried one a couple years ago and it did great for months but once it started to recede and show skeleton I lost it. Too bad because I love all flowing corals. Fingers crossed for yours.

[filefishfinatic]

your nutrients might be too low, zoanthids like high nutrients