One Year Tank Summary, 24g Jbj Nano Cube Nano Reef

[steelhealr]

I'm posting this one year update for anyone interested in pursuing a nano reef. This is not meant as a pontification (although I caution you that this is a long post) but a diary summary. Nano reefing is not cheap and the investment can run into the thousands. Newcomers entering nano reefing should take the hobby seriously before endeavouring to maintain a reef smaller than normally recommended.

I started FW here with the assistance of TFF members and mods. One of our own members diverted me into marine by starting a diary of her own nano tank (parker313). I still keep two FW tanks, lest anyone think that I've abandoned my roots. Doing marine and FW gives one a unique view of both sides of fish anatomy, physiology and their biotopes. I highly recommend pursuing both if possible.

Herewith my 1 year summary for what was then still controversial: tanks under 30G's. My tank took some hits last fall and is slowly recovering. Although it has lost some of it's 'peak fall beauty', it is slowly coming back and I hope it restore it to the way it was as time and money permit. Good luck with your nano reefs.

"Beauty comes slowly, disaster happens quickly".
SH

Tank Summary

Born on date
April 9, 2005

Lighting
JBJ stock lighting, 72watts PC 50/50 actinic

Maintenance
-Weekly 10-16% water changes.
-Bimonthly SW and topoff water made with AquaSafe 6 stage RO/DI unit. Water aged and heated.
-Started with Oceanic, tried Tropic Marin, currently using Reef Crystals.
-check s.g. every 1-3 days. Daily topoff with 1 liter pure water
-parameter checks 1X per week, more frequent if tank looks problematic

Tank Supplements

None except for B-Ionic or Kent CB Two Part for calcium/buffering.

Live Rock
Initial 20lbs from Premiumaquatics.com, mixture Kaelini, Marshall Islands, Fiji; 3lbs live rock rubble

Additions: 2.5lbs Solomon Islands, 1lb Marshall Islands

Substrate

20lbs lbs CaribSea Aragalive Aragonite sand
3lbs live find sand from existing tank

Average Parameters

pH: 8.1-8.2
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrates: 0 ppm

kH: 7-9
Ca2+: 380-390 ppm
P: 0 ppm
Mg2+: 1450ppm

s.g. 1.026
temp: 81.5-82.7 by Coralife digital temp probe

Chambers

Chamber 1: Stock pump, Chemipure, SeaGel, Purigen, Algone, filter floss changed 2X/week
Chamber 2: lr rubble, chaetomorpha, external fuge light mod with 27Watts PC light 6700K; Coralife digital temp probe and Pinpoint pH probe
Chamber 3: MJ1200 PH, Ebo Jager 100W heater, Hydor Flo

Modifications

1) Additional Maxijet 1200 PH, total 590 gph, 25X turnover
2) Stock pump in chamber one with bulkheadless outflow
3) Chamber 2 refugium with light
4) NanoBob surface skimmer over intake grate
5) Hydor Flo wavemaking nozzle on stock outflow

Livestock

1) Initial cleanup crew:
-5 nassarius
-5 astrea
-2 blue legged hermtis
-2 red legged hermits
-2 emerald crabs
-1 skunk cleaner
Losses: 3 margaritas, 3 cerith, 3 astrea, 2 emeralds, one skunk cleaner, 2 red legs, one blue leg
Original survivors: 2-3 nassarius, 2-3 astrea, one blue legged hermit
Replacements: skunk cleaner, 2 trochus, 3 astrea, one scarlet hermit, black longspine urchin

2) Current fish
-Sixline wrasse
-true percula
-Randall's banded pistol shrimp (yashia haze recently died)
-Banggai cardinalfish
Losses: green clown goby, yellow-striped clingfish, 2 common firefish, tailspot blenny, yashia haze

Added Corals

Softies/Leathers
-sinularia flexibis (spaghetti finger leather)
-sarcophyton elegans (yellow Fiji leather)
-tubipora musica (organ pipe)

Zoanthids
-green, orange (firecracker), green/pink

Corallimorphs
-ricordea florida: orange, blue, green
-actinodiscus: red, fluorescent green, blue

LPS
-fungia sp (orange plate coral)
-caulastrea curvata(trumpet coral)
-favites (green closed brain)
-acanthastrea echinata (rainbow acan)
-euphyllia ancora (hammer coral)
-tubastrea aurea (orange cup corals)
-nemanzophyllia (fox coral)

Gorgonians
-pterogorgia sp (purple sea whip)

Losses: purple sea whip, orange cup coral, orange and green/orange zoanthids, tubipora musica, fox coral

Feeding

-Cyclopeeze, baby brine shrimp, alternating for corals 1-2X per week
-frozen mysid, Ocean Nutrition II flake, Nutrafin slow sinking pellet, Hikari enriched brine shrimp for fish every other day
-very occasional small piece of seaweed (nori) for the urchin

Tank Losses/Insults

First 6 months

1) Green clown goby disappeared after acclimation
2) Severe cyanobacteria infestation; eradicated with E-M tabs
3) Large open brain died, disintegrated, contaminated tank
4) Yellow striped clingfish died after two weeks
5) Common firefish trapped in cassette mod, drowns
6) Sea star, fromia indica, disintegrates after 48 hours and contaminates tank, 30% zoos close down and some lose their color permanently
7) Hawaiian feather duster drops its crown, disappears and reappears 2 weeks later
8) Various invert losses/deaths/stolen shells
9) Halimeda fails under submersible halogen fuge light; chaeto survives
10) Discovery of a hairline fissure and the JBJ NC 24G cracking debacle unfolds

Second 6 months

1) Feather duster drops it crown several more times then disappears forever
2) Red macroalgae comes in as a hitchhiker on added LR and becomes pervasive
3) Orange cup coral makes nitrate control extremely difficult
4) Replacement common firefish keeps hidden, disappears, shows up in the rear sump 2 weeks later emaciated and dies
5) Tailspot blenny acclimates well but slowly beccomes emaciated and dies
6) Unknown 'toxin' sweeps thru the tank tanking down my zoos, fox, purple gorgonian, tubipora. Etiology may have been the death of the gorgonian (first to go). Nitrates were 10ppm average.
7) Change of tank lights bleaches out 2 brains, remaining zoos and stresses the Fiji. All recover.
8) Switching to an external fuge light drives chaeto growth crazy and now consistently keeps nitrates at 0 ppm
9) Yashia haze continually jumps into the rear sumps, eventually is found dead behind the surface skimmer.

Nasty Visitors

I had them all:

• valonia (bubble algae)
• aiptasia
• cyanobacteria
• hair algae (always stayed small, never spread)

Regrets or things I would have done differently

1. Love the NC, but, would have gone with a 30G Oceanic and metal halide in retrospect
2. Wish I had made a greater effort to improve lighting on the refugium early on
3. Out of my control but wish I never added the additional LR that carried in the macroalgae hitchhiker
4. Adding a sea star. No nano tank should have one
5. When changing your lights, reduce the lighting interval and/or change one bulb at a time. Avoid bleaching and decimating your corals
   
   Final Thoughts After One Year and Myths Debunked

• The single greatest mistakes you can make are stocking your tank early with corals and fish immediately after cycling
• Consistent weekly water changes are the key to nano tank survival. You don't have to protein skim if you choose not to, or, can't afford a skimmer
• There is no better piece of advice than that given by an experienced successful nano reefer
• NEVER EVER dose your tank with anything except for calcium. NEVER EVER dose your tank unless you are testing the additive that you are dosing with and make SURE you have the correct test kit
• Using anything other than pure water, well, you might as well throw your money down the drain
• Crashes happen even with experienced nano reefers
• "Can jump" means just that
• You CAN achieve 0 ppm nitrates. 10ppm is not bad
• Attention to detail and observing your tank may prevent a crash

Summary Photos

Initial aquascape during cycling:

First frags:

Cyano outbreak:

Tank at it's peak:

Macroalgae invades:

The 'Plague' comes:

Aftermath:

 

[steelhealr]

Finally done. SH

 

[Mr Miagi]

That sinularia has gone nuts! Thats the biggest one ive seen in a nano. I think you really need to frag it LoL! I love your tank, and always have. Its got a wonderful array of colours. I didnt realise you lost your YashiaHaze and your clingfish! So sad. Can you attribute anything to their loss, was it the tank crash? I want a Clingfish in the future, but not if they are that hard to keep.

Keep up the great work SteelHealr, your information and experience proves invaluable to the other reefers here at TFF.

PS, Maybe your next project is going to be a frag tank for that literal tangle of sinularia! I hope so anyway!

 

[steelhealr]

The sinularia is huge and DOES need fraggin. Unfortunately, the frags will end up in the garbage unless I can find a home for them. My next project, if I find time, will be a prop tank. The sinularia is so huge that the the yellow Fiji behind it is leaning away from it.

I'll never know what caused the 'insult' that occurred in my tank. The cause I think can be narrowed down to:
1) loss of the purple sea whip. I've heard somewhere that they are toxic when they die
2) cutting off a frag of yellow Fiji leather while it was in the tank
3) just never to be known.

The yellowstripe clingfish, although listed as moderate, was difficult, at least in my hands. Would not eat a thing no matter what I tried. Other's experiences were similar...not more than 2 mos. It forms a symbiosis with urchins, so, maybe this would be a time to try it, although, I would like to find my urchin a new home since it's spines are getting pretty long.

The yashia haze just started to take on, let's say, weird behavior. Whereas it used to be content to stay put in the cave with the pistol, it started swimming around the tank and jumping into the rear sump. Also, the intake grate on my tank, when covered with a surface skimmer, can trap small fish.

Anyway Mr. Miagi...thanks for following along. I follow your posts as well. SH

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Great thread SH

I was surprised by the amount of losses you experienced even when they weren't your fault . I guess it just goes to show, even the master has losses

I really love this tank and it was the one that inspired me to go and try my own It looked really beautiful at it's peak but as you say it's on it's way back, i hope that happens as quickly as possible so we can njoy regular pictures again

Great tank mate Great post

Dan

 

[steelhealr]

The fish losses were not what I would call, kill deaths....or..suffering from toxins, etc. Most were mechanical or difficulty with keeping:

1) firefish losses were from either jumping into the rear sump or trapped in the surface skimmer
2) yellow clingfish didn't acclimate to eating
3) tailspot was a herbivore and I think he just starved despite my handfeeding him flake and cyclopeeze. A nano tank just doesn't supply enough algae if the tank is clean
4) Clown goby disappeared during the first week or two after cycling....too early added into the tank
5) Not sure what went on with the yashia...he arrived near death after shipment and I saved him. He was a good eater. He just decided to launch himself out of the main tank and into the sumps making access to him difficult.

Although firefish are gorgeous and 'easy' to keep, I won't add another one to my tank. They are skittish, shy, jumpers......not a big fan of them anymore.

On the flip side, my sixline and perc are over a year old and my banggai is around several months. I am looking at replacing the yashia, or, another stonogobiops....possibly a midas blenny....My real wish is a swissguard basslet, but, they are over $80 and right now, I don't find it acceptable for a single purchase.

Thanks for all the comments. The hit the tank took in fall was not fun. At one point, most nano reefers hit a rough spot, it just depends how big a hit it is and how quickly one can attend to it. SH

 

[@ombomb]

I wonder how many people your original thread inspired to go nano?

Reading through it certainly cost ME a fortune!

 

[steelhealr]

Thanks @ombomb....my wallet wasn't lookin' pretty either. Funny thing...my nano tank was inspired HERE at a FW forum.....by another TFF member. I think hers was one of the earliest on this website...unless bunjiwebs predated her. Her tank startup thread is in the nano FAQ section, 10G startup.

We have a small but great section here. Good members. Good place to be if one still keeps FW tanks AND has a nano tank. SH

 

[SkiFletch]

Great lookin tank SH. It makes me feel a little better to see that even those more experienced than I had to suffer through cyano outbreaks as well. How'd you pull through it at the time?

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

We have a small but great section here. Good members. Good place to be if one still keeps FW tanks AND has a nano tank. SH

Out of all the forums i use, this one is diffently the best! At other forums people just don't bother with your questions and are pretty cocky. Everyone chips in here and offers advice, compliments and constructive critism, Thanks guys

Dan

 

[steelhealr]

Agreed. My cyano outbreak started after I lost the clown goby. Acclimated it, added it to the tank. it darted for the LR and never saw it again. Soon after the cyano began. I think the unrecoverable body kick started it. I tried the usual methods everyone else did, including water changes, flow redirection, siphoning, yada yada yada. The cyano worsened and my corals were unhappy as the stuff encroached and contacted it. So....I treated my tank...E-M tabs. There is a post I did that shows before and after pix in the Marine FAQ section. Wiped it out in 4 days and it never came back. Had no loss of corals or livestock. SH

 

[lljdma06]

Took me a while to find this thread. I will officially stop bugging you in your nano thread. Didn't realize you'd make a whole new thread just for the yearly update. Made me feel really stupid, since this has been here a while.

Great tank, SH. Certainly a learning inspiration for many people, including myself. It seems there were problems with fish jumping into your chambers and becoming lost. Are chambers within the tank a normal operation for nano tanks, or is it either better to have a small macro-algae population within the tank or have a refugium below the actual tank? I wanted to know your thoughts on this, since you have managed to get zero nitrates, no small achievement! When I go nano, I was actually thinking about having quite a few macro-algae species in the main tank; would this perhaps eliminate the need for me to have a refugium? A few of us were considering "planting" SW nanos, and Dr. Fosters and Smith offer a nice selection of macro-algae.

Just curious.

llj