New to the Nano reef

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Greg,

They will come triple bagged, ID'd, heatpack, and with just enough water for the trip.
I always float mine for about 40 minutes in the tank water so the temp evens out.

Then I do it like a fish.... wait that didn't sound right....

Fill up a tupperware container with the frags and the water they comes with, add some tank water to the dish, wait 5 minutes, dump out half the water, add water from your tank, wait 5 minutes and drop it in. Fish I do for a half hour, corals 10 minutes.

Zoa's are crazy resilient, I've been known to just drop them in without messing with that, same with rics. Your LPS (Brain and candycane) should be acclimated though.

Start everything on the sandbed and move the zoa's up onto the rockwork over time. The zoa's might come with a frag plug, you can take a razor and scrape the clump off and glue them somewhere else or you can put the plug in a nook or cranny in your rockwork the the zoa's will spread and cover it.

Candycanes like lower flow area's, they really expand well when they are happy.

Remember zoa's can be toxic, not really lethal but I have heard stories on here of people getting numbness, shortness of breath, headaches, chest pains, basically stroke symptoms because of them. Wear gloves.

Also soft to hard - Super glue gel
Hard to hard - Aquamend, paint section, home depot, $3.00 (To mount the candycane).

Good luck, post pics when you get them in and they look happy :)
 
Colin, Looks freaking awesome. We good always figure a way to frag that chalice, if you want. I am sure you could always find someone to take a frag. It's cool looking so you may not want to frag. When ever you want to come over, let me know. If you are going to rbtm to cherry pic his frag tank, I am up the road, let me know. If you need my number PM me.

Steve, I am glad you got the new cube in one piece, I know about the wait, like a kid waiting for christmas. Pics Please!

Gregg, I acclimate first by rinsing the bag in RO water then float in the tank for 20-30 minutes to even out the temp. Then I put the bag in a 5 gallon bucket, I open the bag and give the coral a fresh RO water rinse, dip and swish, in another bucket I have either lugols or iodine added and give it a rinse then back into the bag. Then pour in some tank water in, just a little bit, and slowly add more water every 20-30 minute for up to 2-3 hours. Then I turn off the lights and add the coral. After an hour or two I put a piece of fiberglass screen over the tank and turn the lights back on and watch the new coral. If it opens which it usually does then after a few hours I remove the screen.

Oh the iodine is for softies and zoas only. There is a link for a zoa dip. The fresh water dip gets rid of any pests that maybe on the coral. I once had a tiny gorilla crab float out with the rinse. I then raised this thing in my sump. My six line got into the overflow and into the sump. I was checking the sump and there was a battle royal going on. The six line died and the the crab took clockwise ride down to the septic.

Tom
 
Tom, the crazy acclimator :)

Amazing I don't have flatworms, red bugs, AEFW, Manjoenes, nudi's or martian coral killing pests in my setup :)

If I hit up RTBM I'll LYK, me thinks I got your number in the cell but PM me just in case.

Now change your signature before I tell :)
 
Another way you can acclimate, which is actually the way I prefer, is the drip method...very simple...

You need 2 things, besides your clean bucket which all of have anyway (right? ;) )...you need about 4-6 feet of airline tubing (can use less or more depending on the height of your stand/tank) and an air valve...

Basically if you can find one of the J shaped rigid air tubes this works better than just air line...you can hang it on the edge of the tank with the airline tube connected to it...if not, oh well...

Anyway, attach an air valve to one end of the airline...this will be how we control how fast the water drips in to the bucket...of course, rinse the bucket first and outside of the bag first with RO water...float the bag for a while to equalize the temp (I usually do 20-30 minutes)...then, put the coral and bag of water in to the bucket...start a syphone by getting about 6" of water in the end of the airline tube and hold it upright...as soon as gravity takes over, put the airline back in to the tank and a suction will start...

Make sure when you start that the air valve is all the way open...as soon as the syphon starts flowing water out of the air valve, shut the air valve...then, slowly open the air valve until you get about 1 drop every 2 seconds or so...let this go on until the water in the bucket has doubled...when the water is doubled, your coral is acclimated and can be put in the tank... :)

There are of course the other things you can do like the Iodine dip, fresh RO water dip, etc...but these are personal preference...I've found the drop method to be a more gentle and controlled way of slowly acclimating your fish and corals...
 
Going back to what Colin said above.

I was moving the zoas from the 20 gal to the cube yesterday and one...what is the right word?...not "bit", but stung me....I think. I was picking it up (its on a little bit of rock). Then I felt a quick burning feeling. I thought I scratched my thumb on the rock piece, but then my thumb got red and my thumb and index finger got real numb at the tip. After this (maybe it was just me knowing about the possibility of palytoxin poisoning) my heart felt like it was beating really fast and I couldn't tell if I really was having shortness of breath or if it was because I was scared that I might have gotten some toxin in me. I drank some really cold water and just sat for a few minutes, then I realized I left the water running and got up and turned it off. I wasn't thinking super clearly for sure. After a while my thumb stopped being numb and started to hurt. But I was freaking out a bit.

But then again, Bryan told me he was fragging a zoa colony once and he slipped and cut through a polyp and the stuff inside squirted right in his eye. He said it was one of the most painful things he has ever felt and that his eye was swollen and red for a week or two. So I did think about that while I was freaking a bit.

Alright, picked up an orange fungia and a platygyra today, so I will post a pic in a few minutes.
 
Here are a few pics of the re-did tank:

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great job! I am happy you finally got your tank.You definitely had some setbacks but your tank is way more stocked than mine !Just picked up a coral banded shrimp today! I am hoping to get a xenia of some sort next!
 
Thanks guys. I should have wiped the dried SW off of the glass first before taking pictures.

And yeah, the "setback" allowed me to re-aquascape the tank. It actually took a few times before I got it how I wanted it.

Colin, I bought the red goni from Bryan. Best thing is, this variety doesn't have 4 inch extensions on it like the green flower pot. So, I don't have to clear out half of the tank to fit it in.
 
Thanks, that pic is OK, I'll get a better one later.
Hey , any you guys have any featherdusters? I have 4 in my 55g and the are pretty cool. You should get some for your nanos. I plan on getting some as soon as I see some nice ones!
 
Steve the new tank looks fantastic! I really like the rockscape. The fungia is really nice. I have been thinking about getting one of them myself. I probably got a little paly toxin, the rapid heart rate, is the kicker. I have been sprayed with the zoas, but it has always been away from me.

King the coral banded looks right at home, great pic.

Colin, it took you a week to notice the signature, getting old my man. Let me know about rtbm, he is not far from me.

I went in a fish store in Lake Geneva today, I was early for my Dr. appointment, I thought what the heck. They had some fish called a blue crudgeon, never heard of them! Beautiful fish. May go back an get one tomorrow. Going to do a search on it first.

Tom
 
Thanks Tom.

King, its weird you brought up the feather duster because I was going to ask you about that (whenever I read your posts, I notice it at the bottom of your livestock list).

What type do you have? And how are they, as far as hardiness goes? and, as a newbie, I'd like to know the ease of keeping them.
 
That is awesome Tom.

My friend Jeni just saw that and wanted it but the price scared her away.

Good pickup.

P.S. Haven't heard from RTBM.......
 
Thanks Colin and Steve. I will post a pic when it is done hiding. According to what I have read it could be a week or more.

I only paid $15 for the fish. Great deal! I got the last one, I was in the store yesterday around 1 and they 4, I got there this morning before they opened and she let me in. First time in this store.

Tom
 
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