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Hello all, new to this forum and the nano community. I currently have a 54 Gal Aqueon corner tank, which was my first saltwater tank. I have successfully had that tank running from July 2019 and in that time, I instantly fell in love with owning and maintaining ( weird, I know) a saltwater aquarium, its almost therapeutic. I find myself now always looking for places to put a tank in my small ish home and I decided to look for nano for my bedroom. Marineandreef had a sweet deal for the 16 biocube with stand for $269 (after discount and sale) and I decided it was time to expand ha. After convincing wifey (really just ordering and apologizing after), I found myself tracking and waiting. Fast fwd to today, I have the stand set up in the corner of our room with the nano boxed back up ( did not want the toddlers to move it around and possibly drop it empty). I am currently studying, reading the journals and ordering the necessary items needed to begin the tank and start the cycle (so much fun, bleh). Enough backstory, the following will be about the nano I decided to start a journal from the very beginning of this nano to notate what is planned and get advice. As far as Filtration, I have decided to use the included basket for now with the following in order: Poly Filter Floss SeaChem Purigen SeaChem Matrix bio-media in bag (obviously) I have contemplated so much on the filtration and am open to any suggestions. I do not think I will be doing a refug at this time, so that will not be currently considered. The Heater I have decided to go with is the Aqueon Pro 100W, which will be placed in the 1st chamber after false floor is removed. Rock & Substrate: Walt Smith Reef Rock 2.1 20lb dry purple rock Carribsea fiji pink live sand 20lb I do plan on taking some of the smaller pieces of live rock from my current 54 gal to assist in seeding nano. Wavemaker will be the Jebao SW2. This is the brand I currently use on my 54 Gal, and have had no issues and love the controllers for them. I do not plan on modifying the led lighting just yet. Also, I will NOT be running a skimmer on this nano at this time, as I don't mind maintenance and will be planning on weekly 5 gal water changes. Now, Salt.. When I started my 54 gal, I initially went with IO salt as I was not planning on having coral, but of course I was seduced by the beauty.. now I am wanting to switch to some type of high quality reef salt for both tanks. I am leaning more towards Red Sea Coral Pro Salt, I would love any input on this! As far as livestock, I am planning on having 2 designer clownfish (havent really decided on type yet) and maybe a firefish or goby, also undecided lol I will have a clean up crew consisting of a couple trochus, cerrith and maybe astrea snails as well as a couple hermits and debating on a fighting conch. I am undecided on which corals I will be adding just yet, as I want to aquascape first and see where I can place them, which will better determine what I decide on. I will be posting on this journal for anyone who would like to keep up with the nano build. Let me know if anyone has any advice or critique! Thank you! 505nano

Hi all! Let me begin by saying that I am relatively new to this hobby, but I have found this forum incredibly informative over the 100’s of hours I have spent researching! I started my journey several months ago with a nano reef tank (quite an undertaking for a beginner, I know). Thus far, I have had a fair amount of success, but I am concerned for the long-term well-being of my tank; thus, I am reaching out to you, fellow and experienced reefers, for some advice. I currently have a STOCK Biocube 16-gallon tank. I cycled completely before adding any CUC, fish, or corals. Over the past few months, I have slowly added a variety of species and everything has gone surprisingly well (I have only lost one Trochus Snail and a single Blue Legged Hermit). I have been running just the basic Biocube filter (replaced every few weeks) and my clean-up crew (1 Tuxedo Urchin, 2 Turbo Snails, 1 Margarita Snail, 1 Conch Snail, 4-5 hermits, 1 Emerald Crab, and 2-3 hitchhiker brittle starfish) to support a pair of clowns. . have also been doing 10-15% water changes every week. I have also noticed some unexpected copepods, worms, etc. that have made their appearance over the past few months. I have slowly added several species of “corals” including a hairy mushroom, RBTA, Pulsing Xenia, Plating Montipora, Zoas, and Acans. All of my parameters have been stable and within normal limits over the past few months (post-cycling). My question is: what preventative measures should I be taking at this point? I am in this for the long-haul and would like a fairly self-sustaining reef tank a few years down the road. Should I be dosing nutrients? Should I have some sort of media filter in my empty second chamber? Do I need to upgrade my lighting? What is my next step in working towards my long-term goal? I know this is a broad and novice question, but I appreciate all insights! Thank you!!!