Tamale Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 Journal Goals: Starting this journal now in the hopes of garnering advice/opinions prior to even setting up. Really want to do this in-depth for record keeping and hopefully help out other newbies! Tank/Equipment: -Red Sea Max Nano w/stand and all included equipment (skimmer, ATO, Sock, Carbon, Pump) -Helio dual 100w heaters (went with the dual for redundancy should one fail) -1 EcoTech MP10 (pricey I know but looking ahead equipment wise honesty and believe in cry over price over cry over failure) -CaribSea Arag-Alive Sand -CaribSea Life Rock -Red Sea Coral Pro Salt -Various Red Sea Test Kits Tank Overarching Goals: The overall goal for this tank is to become an LPS and Softy tank. Really want to establish a nice little Lords garden w/a small Zoa island. Also plan to have an Elegance once the tank is established. This will be my first reef tank so I really look at this as an opportunity to learn. Mistakes will be made and I truly hope this community of experienced reefers will call me out on bad decisions as I go! Specific Stocking Goals: Fish: Once Cycled; 2x Ocellaris Clownfish After 2 week steady parameters; 1x Six-Line Wrasse 1x Small sand sifting goby Inverts: 1x Peppermint or Fire Shrimp 1 or 2 Nasarius Snails Coral: Once fish and tank are established (gauging a month or so but will base on overall parameters); Various Lords Zoas on island Elegance Tentacled Toadstool Duncan Candy coral Maybe red Xenia (will decide this at later date due to their rapid growth status) Feel free to offer other suggestions! Cycle Plan: Once aquascaped and sand/water (using Red Sea salt) added I plan to follow the Dr. Tim’s fishless cycle. Dosing ammonia and then the One and Only. Test kits will all be in, and tank will be tested regularly until initial cycle completed. Once this is done the initial fish will be introduced gradually. I also plan to dose Brightwell Clean during this period to try and prevent/combat any algae blooms that may arise (though I understand this isn’t a guaranteed way to avoid them. I am prepared for any that may come. Mainly trying this based on BRS advice). After the tank has had time to settle in I will turn the lights on, look to start adding coral after a few weeks! Additional: Tank arrives next week. Starting the journal now to garner advice before I even begin the initial set-up process. Start looking for pics of the initial aquascape soon! Please feel free to ask questions, inquire about equipment/products I might be missing etc. I’ve lurked this forum for quite a while now and am really happy to finally be joining this community and look forward to talking with you all! 10/12/2021-Initial Setup 5 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 Welcome to the community @Tamale, looking forward to seeing what you create! 2 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted September 30, 2021 Author Share Posted September 30, 2021 Question to anyone who reads this. Dr. Tim’s says you can add the one and only to the filter (and others have said this is best). My Max Nano has a micron filter bag and the sponge bubble trap. I’m not supposed to cycle with the sock in so would the filter be that sponge or the carbon maybe? Not overly worried as I can still just add to the tank. Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted September 30, 2021 Author Share Posted September 30, 2021 11 hours ago, Christopher Marks said: Welcome to the community @Tamale, looking forward to seeing what you create! Thank you! You’ve built an amazing community site. Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 1, 2021 Author Share Posted October 1, 2021 Very rough scape using rough dimensions on cardboard. The tank is 18x18x18. There’s about 2.3 inches of space on the right side of the tank (closest to rock) and 3in on the left and 6in to the front. Tried to follow a rough “rule of 3” but will be more precise when the tank arrives next week! Lots of big holes for fish to come in and out of the cave, which is wide enough to see into but should provide shelter. There are other smaller crevices near the bottom. Rocks will be epoxied/glued together and sitting on the aquarium bed. Sand will then be poured. 2 versions right now! Tell me which you like or what could be better! Version 1 Good amount of space for coral over the rock with a cavity for the fish. Still has 6in of open water above the rock. Version 2 Using the same rocks rearranged. I think I like this one best as it has a bit more surface area while being a bit more open. 1 Quote Link to comment
joshthebox Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 3 hours ago, Tamale said: Very rough scape using rough dimensions on cardboard. The tank is 18x18x18. There’s about 2.3 inches of space on the right side of the tank (closest to rock) and 3in on the left and 6in to the front. Tried to follow a rough “rule of 3” but will be more precise when the tank arrives next week! Lots of big holes for fish to come in and out of the cave, which is wide enough to see into but should provide shelter. There are other smaller crevices near the bottom. Rocks will be epoxied/glued together and sitting on the aquarium bed. Sand will then be poured. 2 versions right now! Tell me which you like or what could be better! Version 1 Good amount of space for coral over the rock with a cavity for the fish. Still has 6in of open water above the rock. Version 2 Using the same rocks rearranged. I think I like this one best as it has a bit more surface area while being a bit more open. I like version 2! Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 1, 2021 Author Share Posted October 1, 2021 V3 of the scape! Got some good feedback on the Reddit community about dead space and using more negative space. This is my attempt to eliminate the dead space and incorporate some negative space while keeping my overall goal of having a cave-ish structure! Comments are appreciated! 1 Quote Link to comment
joshthebox Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 1 hour ago, Tamale said: V3 of the scape! Got some good feedback on the Reddit community about dead space and using more negative space. This is my attempt to eliminate the dead space and incorporate some negative space while keeping my overall goal of having a cave-ish structure! Comments are appreciated! Looking good! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 1, 2021 Author Share Posted October 1, 2021 2 minutes ago, joshthebox said: Looking good! Thanks you much! Your SPS' are gorgeous! 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 They all look great. The second scape is totally my favorite appearance-wise, but like you did with the third one, you would definitely want to look at it from the top down to see how the light will hit the corals and how it will look in top down photos. 2 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Did you already buy the Dr Tim’s? If not, I would recommend going with BioSpira instead… both are invented by Dr Tim who has a PhD in the subject, but for some reason people seem to have better experience with BioSpira. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 1, 2021 Author Share Posted October 1, 2021 11 minutes ago, banasophia said: They all look great. The second scape is totally my favorite appearance-wise, but like you did with the third one, you would definitely want to look at it from the top down to see how the light will hit the corals and how it will look in top down photos. I totally agree! If we lived in a perfect world where flow and lighting didn't matter or if I had a bigger tank it would totally be the scape. V2 didn't really have a lot of access into it from the back or left side and totally covered the main cavity. So once some points were brought up about them I realized I had to change it up lol. I love the cave look so wanted to keep that to an extent and think I got that! Also should let me but a few lower light corals in that central cavity as the rock doesn't overhang very much with V3. 7 minutes ago, banasophia said: Did you already buy the Dr Tim’s? If not, I would recommend going with BioSpira instead… both are invented by Dr Tim who has a PhD in the subject, but for some reason people seem to have better experience with BioSpira. I do already have the O and O. I really warred over Biospira or Tim's honestly. It seemed like people who had used both didn't notice a major difference so I went with the Dr. Tims since it has a detailed process when paired with their ammonia (me being so new). I'm not overly worried about speed which seemed to be in Biospira's favor. But success seemed even across the board! 1 Quote Link to comment
joshthebox Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 1 hour ago, Tamale said: Thanks you much! Your SPS' are gorgeous! Thank you! Looking forward to seeing how your reef progresses! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 Tank shipped today but is not slated to arrive until the 11th. Already playing the reef waiting game lol. 2 Quote Link to comment
kimdawg Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 I liked the second scape until I saw the third one. They both are great, but I can see the fish enjoying swimming in third scape. So it gets my vote. 2 Quote Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Welcome to NR and reefing. What a great tank for your 1st reef. I like V3 the most. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 7 hours ago, kimdawg said: I liked the second scape until I saw the third one. They both are great, but I can see the fish enjoying swimming in third scape. So it gets my vote. Thank you for checking them out! The more open look definitely seems the way to go. Aquascaping is no joke though haha! 1 hour ago, debbeach13 said: Welcome to NR and reefing. What a great tank for your 1st reef. I like V3 the most. Thank you and thank you for checking out my journal! I'm really looking forward to the journey and sharing experiences with you all here! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 5, 2021 Author Share Posted October 5, 2021 Everything is here but the tank and power head! Tank is getting closer by the day. Hopefully have it here and set up by end of week! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 The tank and stand finally arrived! Took a few hours and some frustration getting everything working but we made it. Equipment is super quiet and everything seems to be running as intended. Water is still a bit cloudy but getting clearer. Lights will be off for the foreseeable future. Will test the water tomorrow for the baseline and then begin the Dr. Tim’s fishless cycle regimen. Super excited to be officially starting the journey! (Tank is level my camera angles are not) 4 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 Cycle officially started this morning! Initial Parameters were; Temp: 79F Ph: Between 8.2-8.4 Ammonia: 0ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate: Not tested Additives used: 10ml Dr. Tim’s First Defense 4oz Dr. Tim’s Fishless Cycle 3ml Dr. Tim’s Ammonia Water has cleared significantly, still a little haze but no filter sock or carbon being used yet. Skimmer will be off for 48hrs per Dr. Tim’s instructions. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 Tank is meeting cycle requirements per Dr. Tim’s instructions. Going to call the tank cycled at this time! Thank the heavens for bottle bac. Fish arrive from Dr. Reefs (thanks to @DevilDuck for keying me onto him thru his journal) mid next week. Livestock is two paired clowns and a fire shrimp! Per Dr Reefs advice I won’t be adding any more ammonia to the tank and just keeping things stable and tested until they arrive. He did say I could ghost feed sparingly but not sure if I’ll run that route. Thoughts are appreciated tho! To those following, would you guys recommend the first water change prior to or after fish are in the tank? 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 What’s your nitrate level? That determines the need for the initial water change. 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Would have been better to wait to add shrimp later on… shrimp are pretty sensitive. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamale Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 2 minutes ago, banasophia said: What’s your nitrate level? That determines the need for the initial water change. Nitrates are sitting between 10-20ppm (kit looks like 10 but could be higher if that makes sense.) I plan to test everyday and will see where they are at before fish arrive. 2 minutes ago, banasophia said: Would have been better to wait to add shrimp later on… shrimp are pretty sensitive. I hadn’t heard that of shrimp before and see people add them even before fish so thanks for the heads up! I still have time to cancel or have him hold the shrimp if it’s a bad idea. 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 For nitrate, 10-20 is okay to hold off on the water change if you want until you do your first regular water change with fish. If it was over 20 I would do a water change, personally. I’d say do a little research on the shrimp question and see what you can find. 1 Quote Link to comment
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