Fluval Edge nano reef

[Marquis]

I'm not sure but I don't feed any of my tanks once a day at most i feed in the morning and evening every 2 or 3 days for me but my 6 gallon specifically I feed prolly once every 4 days maybe 5

 

[FishN00b83]

Wow ok so maybe I'll cut back a little more then and see how it goes. I dont think I'd be able to do 4 or 5 days though. I feel like that's borderline stunting growth no?

 

[Ibrahim]

Wow ok so maybe I'll cut back a little more then and see how it goes. I dont think I'd be able to do 4 or 5 days though. I feel like that's borderline stunting growth no?

It's not from feeding. It's from waste. Their poop breaks down into ammonia and the bacteria break the ammonia down into nitrite and so on. The problem is that there isn't enough bacteria in your tank which means your cycle wasn't over.

 

[FishN00b83]

It's not from feeding. It's from waste. Their poop breaks down into ammonia and the bacteria break the ammonia down into nitrite and so on. The problem is that there isn't enough bacteria in your tank which means your cycle wasn't over.

The reason for me asking was because I was dropping 2-3 ppm of ammonia to 0 in 24 hours, so technically I was done. My nitrites are constantly 0 so I wouldn't say it wasn't over. I was thinking maybe a mini cycle or maybe a complete crash (which I'm really hoping its a mini cycle...I did fishless for a reason).

The ammonia was .25 before the water change a few days ago, and it still is .25 a few days later. It's not rising or falling, so I'm kind of confused as to what could be goin on.

 

[spoonman]

Could there be a dead fish or something in there that is causing the ammonia????

 

[FishN00b83]

Could there be a dead fish or something in there that is causing the ammonia????

No I just put a clown, 1 fireshrimp, 2 snails, and a dwarf hermit crab in the tank...everything is still alive and well

 

[severum mama]

The problem IMO is that way too much was added at once. The tank had barely completed the cycle before you added quite a large bioload given the size of the tank. Marine tanks, especially small ones, are much different than FW tanks of similar size. Nothing good happens quickly and it is imperative to take one's time to minimize the possibility of wonky parameters, tank crashes, etc.

 

[FishN00b83]

The problem IMO is that way too much was added at once. The tank had barely completed the cycle before you added quite a large bioload given the size of the tank. Marine tanks, especially small ones, are much different than FW tanks of similar size. Nothing good happens quickly and it is imperative to take one's time to minimize the possibility of wonky parameters, tank crashes, etc.

I disagree with this. These tanks are no different then bigger ones, little changes are just magnified. Every tank is basically the same, you're trying to keep a balanced Eco system. A lake operates the same as an ocean, the ocean is just bigger and the lakes are more sensitive to change.

Are far as the bio load I didn't think it was too much. My clown is just an inch long, the shrimp is 3/4", the hermit and the snails are just 1/4". The only things that are producing a lot of waste right now is the clown and the shrimp, and they are so small.

Ill just keep testing twice a day and see what happens. If I keep getting the same results, I'm goin to assume my tank is cycled and start to add coral next week.

 

[Ibrahim]

But the problem here is, if there was enough bacteria, they would've already eaten the ammonia.

 

[FishN00b83]

But the problem here is, if there was enough bacteria, they would've already eaten the ammonia.

My ammonia could be 0 right now. The Freshwater master kit is 100x easier to read when it comes to low ammonia. The saltwater test is borderline impossible unless it's 1ppm+...they all look so close.

 

[severum mama]

That's fine. I have only been trying to help throughout the duration of this thread. 5 + years of keeping marine tanks plus a good bit of relevant experience working at a lfs has taught me that, especially when it comes to marine tanks, patience almost always pays off in the long run when compared to the instant gratification approach. Sure, sometimes you get lucky- and I truly hope that is the case here- but more often than not ime it pays to be cautious in this hobby.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

I agree with both of you on this one. He didnt add much to his system, but any amount of waste can totally change your levels. I think testing and water changes if needed should be done for sure i definitly agree with severum about going slow. She told me to do that when she was helping me with a 30 gallon build and it was great advice. I went slow like i was told, and when i added a fish too soon she told me to slow down and i did, take her advice. I have always had perfect levels and have not lost a fish yet, that being said, i only have 2 fish and a few inverts in 3 months of the tank being up. Go slow and you will be rewarded by not loosing expensive fish!

 

[FishN00b83]

Well I'm not adding anything else to the tank besides coral (fish and inverts are done). I am going to wait until at least next week (I would like to definitively get a 0ppm reading before any coral is added).

The whole point of a fishless cycle is to establish the tank to be able to hold almost a full bioload. If you wanted to stock slow, why would you dose to 4ppm the whole time. Why not just dose to 1ppm, let the levels zero out and then stock slow? The cycle would be a lot quicker no?

 

[severum mama]

That's how a lot of the FW people do it, but I would never recommend starting a SW nano that way. Again, JME. SW is much different than FW in terms of time it takes for a tank to mature, and in most cases, sensitivity of livestock to less than ideal parameters.

 

[FishN00b83]

Well nothing has changed since the PWC. I've been testing twice a day and I keep getting the same result, so I'm leaning towards the tank was never going through a mini cycle or anything. I'm still not going to add any coral for the week, but I'm almost positive now that the tank never had a problem.

 

[FishN00b83]

Should I leave my Aquaclear 20 with the media it came with in there, or should I take it out and make a lil refugium out of it? I am going to put a 25w heater in the filter when it comes in. I was thinking maybe I can take the top off the filter, put a CF bulb in and add some live sand, some small LR rubble, and some macroalgae. Would that be better then having the filter media in there, or should I just leave it alone?

 

[FishN00b83]

The shrimp molted for the first time last night!! It looks super bright red now, and those black spots it had on it's tail are gone. The snails were all over the shell when I woke up.

I'm also starting to see some pale green algae, and some little spots of coralline algae, but its spreading really slow.

 

[Marquis]

Should I leave my Aquaclear 20 with the media it came with in there, or should I take it out and make a lil refugium out of it? I am going to put a 25w heater in the filter when it comes in. I was thinking maybe I can take the top off the filter, put a CF bulb in and add some live sand, some small LR rubble, and some macroalgae. Would that be better then having the filter media in there, or should I just leave it alone?

im wondering if i should do the same glad to hear your tanks doing well

 

[kdpuffer]

I don't see an issue with using a hob filter as a fuge, aqua clear has the biggest reservoir so it should be about perfect for the job.

 

[FishN00b83]

im wondering if i should do the same glad to hear your tanks doing well

Thanks!

As for the fuge, what are the real benefits over just the 3 stage filtration in there now? Would water quality be the same? The tank is crystal clear right now. I would hate to rip apart the filter only to have lesser water quality. If having a fuge is really beneficial I'll pick up some LR and some other things needed and do it. I just want to be sure it's worth it.

As for the plan of it I figured out a way to get 3 chambers out of it using just the basket the aquaclear comes with for the media. In terms of what to put in there I was thinking LR where the inlet pipe is, then a sponge filter, followed by cheato (or other macro algae) in the last section with 3 strips of LEDs that will fit under the original filter top. I'd paint the filter top black so no light would shine out of the grated top. To prevent anything from getting out I would take the bottom of the filter basket and silicone it to the output of the filter standing up so I looks like a fence.

I saw a few people do similar things, im just not sure if its worth it. What do you think?