My First Nano Reef Tank

[GregK]

Ok. If I can save $15 somewhere, I'll do it. More money to devote to corals later on!

How much water will that RO/DI unit process? I saw 75 GPD in the product title. Does that mean Gallons Per Day?

I know that the water I keep for topping off the tank needs to have a heater in it to keep it at the same temp as the tank. Should it also have a pump in it to keep the water circulating? I was thinking I could use the stock pump that comes with the AP since I'll be replacing it with the Maxijet.

I was also thinking that I would just keep a supply of freshwater for topping off the tank. Then when I need to do a water change, I'll take some of the water from the top off supply, mix in the salt, and then use that for the water change. Is that right? How long does it take for the salt mix to fully dissolve in the water before I put it in the tank?

 

[Illuminati]

Under ideal conditions that is the Gallons Per Day. Several factors can cause this number to vary (quality of water (Well or city), pressure, temp of water). I get my 5 gallons weekly in just under 2 hours.

No pump needed for topoff. I actually don't even heat my topoff, room temp is fine. Just add it to the back chambers so it mixes back there, don't want to dump pure RO into the display.


"I was also thinking that I would just keep a supply of freshwater for topping off the tank. Then when I need to do a water change, I'll take some of the water from the top off supply, mix in the salt, and then use that for the water change." - Sounds good.

"How long does it take for the salt mix to fully dissolve in the water before I put it in the tank?" - I mix my saltwater for 24 hours.

 

[GregK]

Awesome, thanks again.

I've been thinking of a couple of other corals I would like to get. The ones I'm interested in are a Birds Nest coral and a Kenya Tree coral. Would those be good for a first nano reef tank?

I know I'll need to take it slow and add things gradually to the tank, but I'm trying to plan out my purchases in advance and get things that will live together well. (The other corals I'm planning on getting are frogspawn, candy cane, and a brain.)

 

[Illuminati]

You will have the lighting for the birdsnest since it's an SPS coral but it's really not a starter coral.

If you venture into SPS you'll need to get a ton of test kits and learn to keep your water paramters o.k. Things like Alkalinity, Magnesium, Calcium need to be in perfect harmony, nitrates and phosphates need to be at zero at all times (which will mean fewer fish) and you need tons of flow. If you want a birdsnest or other SPS we need to start thinking of plumbing another powerhead in there. I saw someone with a Tunze nanostream
in their tank along with the regular powerhead:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1049646

I would start with the kenya Tree and the other choices and go to SPS after a few months once you get the hang of caring for them.

I just got a Green with Purple rim Monti Cap, I have plenty of lighting for it but I couldn't get my water and flow right so it turned a nice shade of tan/brown. Just sold it on Saturday for $5.

 

[Eskie]

Just a few thoughts you might consider.

1. 48 lb of rock is a lot, even if it's dense tbs aqua-cultured rock. I have about 25 lb of Fiji, which is fairly porous and light in comparison, and it still takes up a fair amount of room.

2. As you have access to the rear chambers, a skimmer should be pretty much a given. Even with purigen, chemi pure, a poly filter, and weekly water changes, I was amazed at the amount of crap that I saw when I added a skimmer. The Tunze 9002 will fit, but is sensitive to water levels. I have a sapphire skimmer, only because I had a hood, and wanted something to allow the hood to close. Other options to think about are the Remora skimmer and the the CSS 65, which some people like.

3. The MJ 1200 provides nice flow. IMO, a solo 900 wouldn't be sufficient in the rear by itself. You could add a 900 as a second pump and drill the wall for a bulkhead, or you could just bring it over the wall with an output tube like this one,
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=FT0001
If you use the glass top, it will still fit in the gap at the rear of the glass. Another option would be a 600 or 900 in the tank, or a nanostream pump. Hydor has a well priced prop stream, but I think it's a bit big for the display size of the AP. If you have any thoughts of sps down the road, you will need the additional flow, but if that's several months away, you could hold off on the expense for now.

4. For the amount of water you'll need for a nominally 24g tank (less with rock and sand in place it's probably closer to 18g) a 50 gpd filmtec RO membrane should be enough. It has a higher rejection rate than the 75 to 100 gpd, and will allow your DI will last longer (all depending on water quality and pressure). You'll save some money and still end up with enough water.

I hope some of this helps.

 

[GregK]

Colinadam, Eskie,
Thanks for all of the info. I think I'll steer away from SPS corals for now. Maybe after the tank is set up for 6 months or so, I may try some of them.

What about zoas? Are any of those suitable for a beginner or should I wait on those as well?

 

[GregK]

As you can see, I've done a real good job of staying away from this forum while at work

 

[Illuminati]

Zoa's are a sinch to keep, just buy a product called Lugols solution (It's iodine) and make sure you dip them to rid them of pests. In a perfect world all corals would be pest free but with zoa's you can get a nasty case of Zoa Eating Nudibranches (Nasty little buggers that will eat all of your zoa's).

The lugols is also good to supplement the iodine levels which corals like xenia will like and any shrimp need to molt.

Add another thing to the list

Eskie, Great advice and a great link in the third item. That is exactly what I want to do but I had no clue they made something like that. Thanks!

 

[GregK]

Yep, it's on the list. How strong of a solution do you use to dip them in? Should the Lugols also be added to the entire tank periodically or just used for dipping new zoas?

 

[GregK]

I was looking again at the link Eskie provided to that U-tube in his third item. I wonder if you would be able to fit a hydor flo on the end of that in place of the directional outlet it comes with.