Nano Tank Diary...

[parker313]

OK. I liked reading other peoples' logs and journals of setting up their tanks and found them extremely helpful when I was trying to decide what I was going to do so I thought I'd start one since I haven't seen one in a while.

I am going with a 10g nano tank. Initially it will only be FOWLR but then I will upgrade my lighting and add in some basic corals - probably polyps and the like.

YES, I know the challenges associated with such a small tank. One of the guys at my lfs has been doing these little SW tanks for YEARS so I've got a great source of good info close by

Here's what I had already:
10 gallon tank
Hood & standard flourescent light
Filter - AquaTech 150 (?) - their standard one for 10g.
50W Heater
Thermometer

Here's what I got yesterday:
10g water @ $1 each (they pre-mix the SW for me for a 10g I figured it was worth it) - $10.00
Deep 6 Hydrometer - $11.99
Marine Sand (5lbs, not live) - $4.99
Sporax ceramic thingies for filtration in my filter (these came highly recommended over the Hagen knock offs) - $14.99
Live Rock - 6lbs at $5.99ea (they gave me rubble prices!) - $29.95

I am going back today for more live rock. I also just noticed that they only charged me for 5 lbs of rock, not 6

Yay, I'm glad to get this tank up and running!

Here's the pic as of last night, right after the sand and water went in:

 

[parker313]

I went back to the lfs and got 4.5 more lbs of rock, this time some good sized base pieces. I'm really happy with how it looks now!!!

4.5lbs @ $7.99 (no rubble prices ) = $38.12 with tax

Here's the picture. Still a bit cloudy b/c I stirred the sand all up settling the rock in.

10.5 total pounds live rock.

 

[parker313]

I've been doing some fish research...

I think I'm going to start with the Ocellaris clown. Then a few months down the road, the Citron or Green Clown Goby. Then, another several months down the road I MAY add a Royal Gramma....... I think the coolest fish are the Mandarin & Spotted Gobies, but know I probably couldn't sustain them in a 10g.

For corals, I like the button polyps a lot. I need to do WAY more research on the corals before I start thinking about what to actually add!

All of the cloudiness from last night's picture is out of the water. They SG is measuring pretty low, so I may take a sample into the lfs for them to read for me.

 

[parker313]

I am going to the lfs tonight to pick up some fish for my FW tank and will bring a sample for them to check the SG. When I get the SG set just right, I'm going to get the Ocellaris clown I've got the tank cycled and want to make sure I don't get it out of cycle!

 

[hyrookin]

hello parker, doing a journal is great way to document your progress,
and allow others to give you some positive feedback.
I noticed that in your first post, sept.29, you said you added the rock and
the water. in your most recent post, oct. 1st, you say you tank is cycled...
it cannot be cycled yet. if I am reading your posts right, thats less than 3 days
since you began! some tanks take over a month to fully cycle., at the least
2 weeks. although clowns are hardy fish, I dont think an ocellaris would
survive a full cycle. you should make sure you understand the cycling
process.

 

[parker313]

Thank you very much

I was actually just coming to post that the plans have changed. I had (incorrectly) assumed that putting a fully cycled filter from my FW tank PLUS the Live Rock would mean that I could consider my SW tank cycled.

I ran this past the lfs owner when I was there picking up my angels today and he apologized for steering me wrong last night and recommended that I at LEAST wait through the ammonia spike which normally takes about 2wks.

So, the earliest I'll be getting the clown would be 10/14.

I am now thinking of doing the ocellaris and a damsel. Due to the potential aggression from the damsel, the clown is going in first.

 

[hyrookin]

whew! you had me worried for a minute there!
yeah,I would say start monitoring the ammonia level after a week
and a half because you don't want to miss the spike.
what species of damsel were you looking at? depending on which kind,
in a 10 gal. there is a good chance a damsel will not work out with other
fish. (it's a shame, such a nice looking fish can be so troublesome).
those tank pics look good B)
and those are some really nice pieces of live rock, you should get some
real cool formations with them!

 

[parker313]

Thanks again hyrookin I'm very fortunate to have a very knowledgable lfs and always deal either with the owner or the one employee who's been working there for over 10yrs! They both have a vast amount of knowledge in FW, SW and they're even starting with a Brackish tank or 2.

I was thinking about the Yellowtail Damsel or the Orangetail Blue Damsel, but am leaning towards the Yellowtail. I love the contrast b/n the bright blue and the yellow. I thought about a green chromis, but know they do much better in groups of 3.

I'm happy with the LR too. I tried to get a good mix of some Fiji/Marshall (don't remember which it was) and the Tonga Branch b/c I thought it would be more interesting and in a small tank where I'm going to be limited in pretty much everything else, wanted to get as interesting LR as I could.

 

[parker313]

Ammonia today tested at .25

 

[Puffer_freak]

I find this very interesting even though I don't keep saltwater.

 

[parker313]

Thanks, I think it's been a fascinating process too!

Cool little thingies are starting to grow out of my rocks. Nothing identifiable and I wasn't lucky enough to score any inverts with my LR, but there are little dust-like stringy things, not very long at all.

 

[parker313]

My SG is still way too low - 16(in the tank) or 19(in the bucket that was left over) instead of the 22/23 it needs to be. I need to go back to the lfs b/c they mixed the water for me....

Also, I found a white wormy looking thing on one of the rocks and a white/practically translucent little bug thing hanging out in one of the old barnacles on one of the rocks.

 

[parker313]

Ammonia at .25 today. I need to get some better test kits though.

I got some pics of some of the tank. Will get them uploaded and posted.

 

[parker313]

OK. Pics...

This is some of the little stringy/dusty looking things that are on some of the rock - mostly on the Tonga Branch.

This is a really long one like the little ones above. This one is about an inch and a half, the others are about an eighth of an inch...

Here's a whole tank shot now that the sand has settled.

 

[chkltcow]

I don't know why I hadn't read this before... and why I'm not doing this too I just started a 20g FOWLR last week.... with two damsels as of Wednesday. Mine showed .25 ammonia for a day.... NEVER showed nitrites... and now nitrates are somewhere between 10 and 20. I had a diatom outbreak on Friday for the first time... all my LR and large sections of sand are covered in brown algae Well, at least everyone says it's usually a sign that it's near the end of the cycle.

Keep us updated on the progress man, and might I suggest a firefish once your tank has cycled. I finally saw one in person for the first time yesterday, and those are awesome little fish