My First Nano

[Tobigara]

I've jumped into reefing. i started kinda small with a 20H. There's about 20-25 lbs of live rock and 20 lbs of live sand. I don't have a proper light yet but i'm ordering it tomorrow. It's a 24" SunDial T-5HO with individual reflectors. Should work for pretty much everything. As of now it's a no-frills FOWLR but the light will change that. I'm gonna get a AC70 or AC110 and mod it to a fuge with some live rubble and chaeto. I have a Koralia 1 as the primary source of water movement and since i don't have the AC70 or 110 yet i have an AC10 and an AC20 on there to boost water movement.

OK so that's the set up.

I've had the tank running for about 2 months total give or take a couple of days. It's had a CUC for about 5 weeks and a ocellaris clown and a bicolor blenny in there for about 3 weeks. CUC is 4 nassarius, 4 astrea, 2 troccus, 1 emerald crab and 8 blue-legged hermits so far.

Stats:
pH: 8-8.2
ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 15-20 (by the end of the week)

comments...advice? any tips would be very appreciated.

oh...2 quick questions. shouldn't i have pods of somekind by now? i don't think i got a single hitchhiker.
and with a Koralia 1 and an AC 70 should i add a koralia nano as well? i want the option of growing anything up to clams (not that i'm going to this early)

 

[SkiFletch]

Pics

Sounds like you're on the right track though

 

[Tobigara]

good to know i'm doing things right so far.

the bicolor

a weird upward shot of the clown (bubbles)

FTS...kinda boring so far but it's a start and i'm proud of it

Hope you enjoy!

 

[ben1987]

nice tank. Love the blenny, mine keeps me occupied for ages just watching him

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Dont worry too much about not seeing many pods. They are most likely there inside your rock but any that come to far into the tank probably get eaten before you get chance to see them.

Tank looks good and its going to look even better once you start adding corals

You might want to add a korilia nano to the other side to add a bit more flow around the back of the rocks.

 

[Tobigara]

yeah...i can't get enough of watching him either.

they can get eaten all day just so long as they're there. thanks for confirming my thoughts about the koralia nano

i just ordered the light so things will really start moving now. well...without hurrying at least.

 

[Tobigara]

i just did my budget for the current pay period and realized i have enough to spare for a new fish. there is a great lfs right around the corner from work so i'll be stopping there later today

does anyone have any recommendations? my gf wants something green or red or blue

thanks in advance

 

[seffieuk]

My choice would be a scarlet hawkfish - amazing little fish full of charactor - they hop around the rock and perch there watching the world go past with their funny little eyes. I believe they dont possess the normal swim bladder which is why they seem to bounce around the tank

They do predate snails and shrimps, but my Fred hasn't even glanced at my two big scarlet shrimps and he hasn't taken a snail yet - but hey ho, if he does then so be it, he is worth it

They are not the cheapest fish, but boy they are one of the best imho

Seffie x



don't forget to give us a pic of what you finally get

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I very nearly got myself a scarlet hawkfish but I like my shrimp too much. Stunning fish though and really interesting to watch.

green, red or blue..

Hmmm could go for a Red firefish. Personally I prefer the purples ones but they are both very pretty fish. I would recommend anthias as well. I have fallen in love with my lyretail one, its orange/pink and is really pretty.

Chromis also spring to mind but they can be touchy little gits so wouldnt recommend them. You can get green clown gobies but I have never seen any for sell near me.

 

[Tobigara]

Funny that you mentioned a green clown goby cause that's what i ended up getting. they had one there and it was only $12 so very worth it imo. he's soo cute. i'll get pics of him and the cleaner shrimp i bought with him up tonight.

i've been following your thread seffie so i'd been thinking of getting one but didn't on the advice of the lfs dude. he said they get too big. plus it was a little too expensive this time.

 

[Tobigara]

been a little while since i last posted here. sorry. there's been a couple of changes to the tank. first, i got my light fixture. it's pretty intense. it lights up my living room from the reflection off the mostly white sand. i should be able to grow even clams on the bottom with it. and second, i rearranged the LR. it's now set up like a shallow "C" with the opening towards the front and a cave in the back. i tried to build 2 islands but my rock didn't seem to wanna do that.

coraline algae has started to grow but a bit on the slow side. which brings me to some questions.

here are the params as they were yesterday
pH - 8.3-8.4
Ammonia - 0
NitrIte - 0
NitrAte - 5-10
Calcium - 360
kh - 9

How can i raise my calcium without raising my pH?
What would be a good all-round supplement?
is it ok to start adding coral?

btw i would've added some pics with this post but my computer sh!+ the bed. i'll post some as soon as i can

 

[Crazy fishes]

Your Alkalinity is on the low side too I think probably Kalkwasser is the best route for you to take. It will increase both your calcium and alkalinity at the same time. Be careful though you can over do it with the stuff and the pH will skyrocket. I would wait until you have got the hang of kalkwasser first and then add coral. If you can work out the rate at which the alkalinity level declines you can set up a continuous drip.By the way how are the fish? By the sounds of it you like the idea of clams and SPS, right? You need to find out what your phosphate level is because phosphate and nitrate ideally need to be undetectable for these livestock.

Hope this helps

Regards

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Cant comment on the dosing as I have never had to do it (yet). But as already said take it VERY slowly with whatever you dose with raising it a little bit at a time and make sure you are measuring the levels of everything you are dosing. Would also agree to get the hang of this first before adding corals.

Sounds like it is coming on ok though. You have foudn the funny thing with LR, sometimes it just all seems to stack perfectly just how you want it. Then the other times it just wont My major downfall is that I normally get it near perfect and think "I will just move that bit" and then mess it all up and can never get it back the same way again

 

[kj23502]

Those are great pics of your fish. The reflection of bubbles is really cool.

I look forward to more pics when you get the chance

 

[Tobigara]

Your Alkalinity is on the low side too I think probably Kalkwasser is the best route for you to take. It will increase both your calcium and alkalinity at the same time. Be careful though you can over do it with the stuff and the pH will skyrocket. I would wait until you have got the hang of kalkwasser first and then add coral. If you can work out the rate at which the alkalinity level declines you can set up a continuous drip.By the way how are the fish? By the sounds of it you like the idea of clams and SPS, right? You need to find out what your phosphate level is because phosphate and nitrate ideally need to be undetectable for these livestock.

Hope this helps

Regards

it helps a lot, thanks.

i thought the alkalinity was ok, low on the acceptable scale but ok. i had planned to bring it up but not much. what would be ideal? i've heard of kalkwasser. does it add all the elements i need or just calcium? either way you're right about mastering supplementing before i move on to corals. the fish are doing excellent. the clown(bubbles), the bicolor blenny(tweak) and the clown goby(skittles) are all eating well and active. and yes i'm looking to add sps and clams when the time is right but it'll be a lps dominated tank. my name is challice so i have to have a couple different chalice corals in there. it wouldn't be right if i left them out.

Cant comment on the dosing as I have never had to do it (yet). But as already said take it VERY slowly with whatever you dose with raising it a little bit at a time and make sure you are measuring the levels of everything you are dosing. Would also agree to get the hang of this first before adding corals.

Sounds like it is coming on ok though. You have foudn the funny thing with LR, sometimes it just all seems to stack perfectly just how you want it. Then the other times it just wont My major downfall is that I normally get it near perfect and think "I will just move that bit" and then mess it all up and can never get it back the same way again

yeah! i had the same problem!

Those are great pics of your fish. The reflection of bubbles is really cool.

I look forward to more pics when you get the chance

Thanks! it's mostly an accuracy thru volume thing. i take like a million pictues on macro mode and get a few good ones. i'll use my gf's mac and add some tonight or tomorrow.


Thanks everyone for the replies and help!