Hello all. Long time lurker finally getting back into the hobby after a long hiatus. My last tank was a 55g FOWLR about 13 years ago that lasted about two years before breaking it down to get married, move, start a business or two, have a kid, entertain some of my other hobbies (of which there are too many to list), etc.. Anyway my little girl is 5 now and she is all about anything that lives in the ocean so I figured this was a good opportunity (read as excuse) to get back at it.
Anyway, here is what I currently have and how things are going so far. Any recommendations are welcome. I've been reading until my eyes crossed and now I believe it is time to see how I've done. Don't hold back lol.
Just about everything for this tank has come from craigslist so I'll go through equipment on a "per ad" basis and my current investment.
Ideas for additional equipment please.
-$20-36g corner bowfront (all I had room for)
-$250- AI Prime, 2x-MP10W, coralia evo 750 (all under 2mos old)
-$150- Nano box tide, 2 controllers, ac70 w/ in tank basket and ac30 impeller, misc small heaters, misc cleaning supplies, small led fuge light, tunze 3152, a few 2-5 hole gfi recepticles, fragging equipment, a few pico sized powerheads, refractometer.
-$150- About 60 lbs of dry rock (various types), one massive brain coral (I think) skeleton, stock return pumps from two 29g nano cubes, two small powerheads, 5 heaters from 50-200w, more various cleaning equipment, a bunch of unopened various types of fish food
-$75- two buckets of IO RC, a few more 100-150w heaters, a few 5 gal water containers
-$50- corner TV stand that I reinforced heavily
-Free- old sand from a friend's tank
I think that's it so far.
So here's the tank setup and progression. I really didn't intend to write a novel when I sat down, sorry (and thanks) to those who have made it this far without writing me off.
11/5-11/9
-Level stand and tank
-cut eggcrate to stack rock on
-put rock in and remove rock from tank for about 3 days until I thought it looked good, then repeat process for about another day (leaving enough clearance to hit anywhere with a mag-float)
-there's probably at least 40-45 lbs, tons of caves, overhangs, etc..
11/10
-rinse gross sand about 10 times violently, in buckets, ruin wife's favorite strainer trying to get the exact consistency, then rinse some more. (garden hose was all I had)
-Put sand in tank and spread around
-Fill tank with pre-mixed salt water (distilled from grocery store)
-Place mp-10's (one in back corner, one near front)
-Set up ac-70 with my homemade surface skimmer setup and filter floss to catch big stuff from setup
-Turn heater on
-Set up AI prime and play with it for hours
11/11
-After everything had settled and the water had mostly cleared: skewer a raw shrimp and insert into tank to the bewilderment of my wife and daughter, intentionally don't explain myself despite the odd looks, and just sit back on the couch like nothing happened.
11/12
-Dump in bottle of bio-spira
11/13
-Ammonia is coming up
11/14
-Pick up a few pieces of cured rock from Atlanta Aquarium (exceptional LFS, imo) and some Matrix bio-media, put rock in place and fill media bags with matrix and put in AC70, remove filter pad and leave it out
11/15-11/17
-Just top off with distilled water as needed, tune surface skimmer on ac70 for silent operation, play with AI Prime some more, play with settings on MP-10's
11/18
-Can't remember exact numbers...but: according to Red Sea test kits
ammonia is pretty high, nitrites are detectable but still not spiked, didn't check nitrates, pH 8.0, 8dkh, 1.024 sg, 78 deg
shrimp is turning red and swelling slightly
11/20
-shrimp looks about the same, maybe a little more swelling
-temp and salinity are consistent
-ammonia is coming down and nitrites are about as high as the test will read
-still didn't test nitrates
11/22
-ammonia is undetectable
-nitrites are spiked
-nitrates are low
-shrimp is getting ugly
11/24
-no ammonia, nitrites are coming down, nitrates are coming up everything else stable
11/25
-small diatom bloom, nitrites are undetectable nitrates are still coming up
-shrimp is pretty horrible looking
11/27
-tank has a noticeable smell to it, remove what's left of the shrimp and start very light ghost feeding with one of the sinking pellet foods I got from CL.
-nitrate spiked, ammonia/nitrite still zero
-diatoms have spread but aren't too crazy. Only a few spots on the sand and a few of the rocks. A tiny amount of green hair algae has sprouted from one of the cured rocks from the LFS.
-mix 20 gal saltwater for upcoming water change
11/29
-ghost feed a few pellets
-no ammonia or nitrite
-green hair algae is spreading but still hardly noticeable (actually kinda nice to have something that moves in the tank finally lol)
-diatoms have receded, presumably because they are being outcompeted by the hair algae
-nitrate is the highest the kit will measure
12/1
-turn everything off, blow off rocks, remove as much algae as possible, drain 20 gallons and refill with new water
-insert new filter pad and replace media bags that matrix is contained in
12/2
-water is clear and everything has settled, only small (quarter size) patches of green hair algae remain and a few lone strands on a few various rocks and on the sand, 79deg, 1.025, pH 8.1-8.2, dkk 9, ammonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate-between 2 & 5ppm
12/4
-hair algae is returning slowly and is a bright green, very thin and short strands on a few rocks up high, down low most rocks have a thin green or dark brown film that is full of tiny bubbles that are being visibly released. still a few strands of hair algae growing out of the sand
So that's my run down so far. I think everything is going well. Have I made any fatal flaws so far?
I plan on setting up the ATO soon.
I'm going to get a RODI system. I'm already tired of getting distilled from the grocery store across the street, and my man cave looks like a moonshine stash house lol.
A skimmer is also on my list of equipment to buy.
My goal is low bioload, easy to keep coral, and easy maintenance with minimum equipment.
I intend to only have a few small fish. Probably a firefish, maybe a shrimp/goby pair, a clown of some sort, maybe one other small fish. Otherwise just whatever coral my daughter decided she likes. So far she's only interested in zoas, ricordea, hammers/frogspawn, xenia, and the easier LPS stuff. Especially things that fluoresce under actinics/moonlights.
I'm planning to do another smaller water change and get a few snails and a few hermits this week. Otherwise, stocking will be one thing every 6-8 weeks as the last QT inhabitant moves to the DT.
QT is a new 10 gal with some PVC elbows. I'll probably use the nanobox tide on this tank for observation and QT of corals in the future.
I'd planned to use the media bags that contain matrix in a HOB on the QT for bio filtration and just replace the one I remove from the DT with a new bag full for the next QT inhabitant. And, considering I have to medicate.. just toss the bag before the next addition. My thinking was that about $30 worth of matrix would be enough over the next year or two to QT every fish and coral that goes into the DT and throwing it away between QT is a small price to pay. Sound like a plan? Or is there a better way?
Also, once I get a skimmer the AC70 will become a fuge with chaeto and matrix.
Aquamaxx or reef octopus, or something else? HOB only, I don't have a sump.
One last question... The same friend that gave me the sand has an 80g mixed reef that currently contains too many fish. Two of which are a flame angel and a coral beauty angel (Bad fish store advice). They are, naturally, fighting and he said I could have whichever one he caught first when my tank is ready. They're both very attractive and active fish besides the war wounds, but I have a feeling that my tank isn't sufficient in size for them. Should I pass or would one of them be fine in my tank? It would obviously not be an ideal first addition with the smaller/more timid fish in my stocking plans. What to do? For what its worth, I've never seen either of them take interest in any of the coral in his tank. Most of which is similar to what I plan to keep also.
I think that's about all for now. If you made it this far, thanks again.
Any advice, anything I did wrong or am still doing wrong would be nice to know. Any additional equipment that will make my life easier? Anything..
Thanks,
-R.J.
Anyway, here is what I currently have and how things are going so far. Any recommendations are welcome. I've been reading until my eyes crossed and now I believe it is time to see how I've done. Don't hold back lol.
Just about everything for this tank has come from craigslist so I'll go through equipment on a "per ad" basis and my current investment.
Ideas for additional equipment please.
-$20-36g corner bowfront (all I had room for)
-$250- AI Prime, 2x-MP10W, coralia evo 750 (all under 2mos old)
-$150- Nano box tide, 2 controllers, ac70 w/ in tank basket and ac30 impeller, misc small heaters, misc cleaning supplies, small led fuge light, tunze 3152, a few 2-5 hole gfi recepticles, fragging equipment, a few pico sized powerheads, refractometer.
-$150- About 60 lbs of dry rock (various types), one massive brain coral (I think) skeleton, stock return pumps from two 29g nano cubes, two small powerheads, 5 heaters from 50-200w, more various cleaning equipment, a bunch of unopened various types of fish food
-$75- two buckets of IO RC, a few more 100-150w heaters, a few 5 gal water containers
-$50- corner TV stand that I reinforced heavily
-Free- old sand from a friend's tank
I think that's it so far.
So here's the tank setup and progression. I really didn't intend to write a novel when I sat down, sorry (and thanks) to those who have made it this far without writing me off.
11/5-11/9
-Level stand and tank
-cut eggcrate to stack rock on
-put rock in and remove rock from tank for about 3 days until I thought it looked good, then repeat process for about another day (leaving enough clearance to hit anywhere with a mag-float)
-there's probably at least 40-45 lbs, tons of caves, overhangs, etc..
11/10
-rinse gross sand about 10 times violently, in buckets, ruin wife's favorite strainer trying to get the exact consistency, then rinse some more. (garden hose was all I had)
-Put sand in tank and spread around
-Fill tank with pre-mixed salt water (distilled from grocery store)
-Place mp-10's (one in back corner, one near front)
-Set up ac-70 with my homemade surface skimmer setup and filter floss to catch big stuff from setup
-Turn heater on
-Set up AI prime and play with it for hours
11/11
-After everything had settled and the water had mostly cleared: skewer a raw shrimp and insert into tank to the bewilderment of my wife and daughter, intentionally don't explain myself despite the odd looks, and just sit back on the couch like nothing happened.
11/12
-Dump in bottle of bio-spira
11/13
-Ammonia is coming up
11/14
-Pick up a few pieces of cured rock from Atlanta Aquarium (exceptional LFS, imo) and some Matrix bio-media, put rock in place and fill media bags with matrix and put in AC70, remove filter pad and leave it out
11/15-11/17
-Just top off with distilled water as needed, tune surface skimmer on ac70 for silent operation, play with AI Prime some more, play with settings on MP-10's
11/18
-Can't remember exact numbers...but: according to Red Sea test kits
ammonia is pretty high, nitrites are detectable but still not spiked, didn't check nitrates, pH 8.0, 8dkh, 1.024 sg, 78 deg
shrimp is turning red and swelling slightly
11/20
-shrimp looks about the same, maybe a little more swelling
-temp and salinity are consistent
-ammonia is coming down and nitrites are about as high as the test will read
-still didn't test nitrates
11/22
-ammonia is undetectable
-nitrites are spiked
-nitrates are low
-shrimp is getting ugly
11/24
-no ammonia, nitrites are coming down, nitrates are coming up everything else stable
11/25
-small diatom bloom, nitrites are undetectable nitrates are still coming up
-shrimp is pretty horrible looking
11/27
-tank has a noticeable smell to it, remove what's left of the shrimp and start very light ghost feeding with one of the sinking pellet foods I got from CL.
-nitrate spiked, ammonia/nitrite still zero
-diatoms have spread but aren't too crazy. Only a few spots on the sand and a few of the rocks. A tiny amount of green hair algae has sprouted from one of the cured rocks from the LFS.
-mix 20 gal saltwater for upcoming water change
11/29
-ghost feed a few pellets
-no ammonia or nitrite
-green hair algae is spreading but still hardly noticeable (actually kinda nice to have something that moves in the tank finally lol)
-diatoms have receded, presumably because they are being outcompeted by the hair algae
-nitrate is the highest the kit will measure
12/1
-turn everything off, blow off rocks, remove as much algae as possible, drain 20 gallons and refill with new water
-insert new filter pad and replace media bags that matrix is contained in
12/2
-water is clear and everything has settled, only small (quarter size) patches of green hair algae remain and a few lone strands on a few various rocks and on the sand, 79deg, 1.025, pH 8.1-8.2, dkk 9, ammonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate-between 2 & 5ppm
12/4
-hair algae is returning slowly and is a bright green, very thin and short strands on a few rocks up high, down low most rocks have a thin green or dark brown film that is full of tiny bubbles that are being visibly released. still a few strands of hair algae growing out of the sand
So that's my run down so far. I think everything is going well. Have I made any fatal flaws so far?
I plan on setting up the ATO soon.
I'm going to get a RODI system. I'm already tired of getting distilled from the grocery store across the street, and my man cave looks like a moonshine stash house lol.
A skimmer is also on my list of equipment to buy.
My goal is low bioload, easy to keep coral, and easy maintenance with minimum equipment.
I intend to only have a few small fish. Probably a firefish, maybe a shrimp/goby pair, a clown of some sort, maybe one other small fish. Otherwise just whatever coral my daughter decided she likes. So far she's only interested in zoas, ricordea, hammers/frogspawn, xenia, and the easier LPS stuff. Especially things that fluoresce under actinics/moonlights.
I'm planning to do another smaller water change and get a few snails and a few hermits this week. Otherwise, stocking will be one thing every 6-8 weeks as the last QT inhabitant moves to the DT.
QT is a new 10 gal with some PVC elbows. I'll probably use the nanobox tide on this tank for observation and QT of corals in the future.
I'd planned to use the media bags that contain matrix in a HOB on the QT for bio filtration and just replace the one I remove from the DT with a new bag full for the next QT inhabitant. And, considering I have to medicate.. just toss the bag before the next addition. My thinking was that about $30 worth of matrix would be enough over the next year or two to QT every fish and coral that goes into the DT and throwing it away between QT is a small price to pay. Sound like a plan? Or is there a better way?
Also, once I get a skimmer the AC70 will become a fuge with chaeto and matrix.
Aquamaxx or reef octopus, or something else? HOB only, I don't have a sump.
One last question... The same friend that gave me the sand has an 80g mixed reef that currently contains too many fish. Two of which are a flame angel and a coral beauty angel (Bad fish store advice). They are, naturally, fighting and he said I could have whichever one he caught first when my tank is ready. They're both very attractive and active fish besides the war wounds, but I have a feeling that my tank isn't sufficient in size for them. Should I pass or would one of them be fine in my tank? It would obviously not be an ideal first addition with the smaller/more timid fish in my stocking plans. What to do? For what its worth, I've never seen either of them take interest in any of the coral in his tank. Most of which is similar to what I plan to keep also.
I think that's about all for now. If you made it this far, thanks again.
Any advice, anything I did wrong or am still doing wrong would be nice to know. Any additional equipment that will make my life easier? Anything..
Thanks,
-R.J.
