Fluval Edge 12 Nano Reef Build

[tck13]

I recently started a new nano reef and I wanted to create a thread documenting my progress and a place to ask questions along the way.

My tank progress began 12/10/15:

My supplies included:

* Fluval Edge 12 $120

* Aqueon Pro 50 Submersible Aquarium Heater $25

* 12 lbs of cured live rock $8/lb $96

* 10 lbs of live sand $20

* salt water from LFS $12

I also had to buy a siphon, a 5 gallon bucket, and a couple of containers for transporting and holding fresh and salt water.

I am currently waiting on a few things to be delivered including:

* Saltwater testkit

* Nano powerhead

* hydrometer

* magnet cleaner

* and some aquarium tongs

While those should be delivered tomorrow (12/13/15) I already started making some progress on my tank:

Aquarium day one - Album on Imgur


I plan doing some aquascaping soon, I mistakenly put sand in first before the LR so I would like to move the sand around and bury the live rock down a little farther and maybe create a better looking arch.

I have seen a little bit of life here and there, I'm not sure whether or not I should be concerned though, I saw a pair of brittle star fish and this other thing that I didn't get a good look on and has since disappeared.(once the water level lowers a little)

I hope to add an 18 watt ultrabrite light fixture within the next month so I can sustain some corals.

My current plan is as follows:

No water changes until cycle completes.

Top off water during cycling process with fresh water from LFS(or distilled water from supermarket).

Test water everyday during cycling, and then every week after cycling.

Add CUC after cycling is complete

Add fish 1-2 weeks after CUC(so far as water parameters are in check)

Add corals around same time as fish

After cycling complete do 20% water changes every Saturday with SW from LFS

And that should hopefully be it for the foreseeable future!

I'm not sure on live stock and I hope i can get some advice from you guys.

My absolute best hope would be:

* 2x clowns (Amphiphiron ocellaris)

* Pistol/goby pair

but I realize that is kind of a lot so I am open to suggestions!

Also with corals I have done little research here so if you guys have any advice on hardy corals(especially those with fluval edges) that would be greatly appreciated.

thanks for reading and as always I am open to criticisms and advice!

-tck13

 

[tck13]

Alright water seemed to clear up so I went and tested it this morning with a nonexpired API test kit.

Specific Gravity: 1.0237
PH: 7.9
Ammonia: 0.15 ppm(?)
Nitrite: 0.0 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0 ppm

These numbers were a little disappointing I think (I'm about six days in) I was hoping for some higher levels to show signs of life. Also my pH is pretty low. Do I need to alter that on my own or is that something that fluctuates with the cycling process?

I have my test kit results here: Water Params 12/16/15 - Album on Imgur

It would be much appreciated if anyone could look at these and let me know if my numbers are right based on those readings.

Here's the new Live rock Arrangement: New LR Arrangement - Album on Imgur

I enjoy the new height of the rock and the tank seems a little more open this way. However I am concerned about the stability of the LR.

In that album there's also a picture of a little guy in the back ground who appears to be growing. He was fairly small a couple days ago but it almost seems as if he's sprouting. Can anyone identify?

 

[keegster803]

Alright water seemed to clear up so I went and tested it this morning with a nonexpired API test kit.



Specific Gravity: 1.0237

PH: 7.9

Ammonia: 0.15 ppm(?)

Nitrite: 0.0 ppm

Nitrate: 5.0 ppm



These numbers were a little disappointing I think (I'm about six days in) I was hoping for some higher levels to show signs of life. Also my pH is pretty low. Do I need to alter that on my own or is that something that fluctuates with the cycling process?



I have my test kit results here: Water Params 12/16/15 - Album on Imgur



It would be much appreciated if anyone could look at these and let me know if my numbers are right based on those readings.



Here's the new Live rock Arrangement: New LR Arrangement - Album on Imgur



I enjoy the new height of the rock and the tank seems a little more open this way. However I am concerned about the stability of the LR.



In that album there's also a picture of a little guy in the back ground who appears to be growing. He was fairly small a couple days ago but it almost seems as if he's sprouting. Can anyone identify?

Is there a way you could get a better pic of him? And congrats on the tank! My LFS has the same one setup on their checkout counter, and it is remarkable how nice these tanks can look. Good luck on your project, I am definitely following this!


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[tck13]

Yeah here's a 'better' pic: Closer Pic of worm thing - Imgur

Thanks! It definitely is a beautiful tank but it such a pain in the neck to maintain/work with. Next tank will be bigger and rimless!

Do you have any comments on my water parameters by chance? Is it possible I haven't started cycling yet? I feel like I should be seeing higher ammonia levels

 

[keegster803]

Yeah here's a 'better' pic: Closer Pic of worm thing - Imgur

Thanks! It definitely is a beautiful tank but it such a pain in the neck to maintain/work with. Next tank will be bigger and rimless!

Do you have any comments on my water parameters by chance? Is it possible I haven't started cycling yet? I feel like I should be seeing higher ammonia levels

I think the ammonia was converted quickly initially, but there is going to be a die off in the live rock, and that will supply the ammonia to start the real cycle for your tank.


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[tck13]

I think the ammonia was converted quickly initially, but there is going to be a die off in the live rock, and that will supply the ammonia to start the real cycle for your tank.


Sent via echolocation

Ok gotcha, so I haven't actually started cycling yet according to what I've shown?

I guess I didn't realize the cycling wasn't immediate

 

[tck13]

Not sure if anyone still comes here but I have a few questions regarding the cycling process and readouts.

Here are my results since 12/10/15:

Date Specific Gravity pH Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate

12/16/15: 1.024 7.9 0.15 ppm 0.0 ppm 5.0 ppm

12/17/15: 1.0227 7.9 0.15 ppm 0.0 ppm 2.5 ppm

12/20/15: 1.0245 8.0 0.5 ppm 0.0 ppm 0.0 ppm

12/24/15: 1.024 7.9 0.5 ppm 0.0 ppm 10 ppm

Here are some images of the tests results from today: SW Params - Album on Imgur

Could someone look at those and tell me if I'm reading them correctly?

It's been two weeks and I have seen little changes in my water params, I haven't had any types of spikes really(except maybe the nitrate spike I saw today).

I'm using the HOB filter and all it's media that came with the edge. Including something called clearmax which claims to remove all phosphates and nitrites and nitrates from the water. Should I take this out, or remove any other parts of the filter?

Also, I will be out of town next week, is there any steps I should take before leaving to ensure everything goes smoothly during cycling?

Thanks

 

[tck13]

I have yet to do anything to kick start an ammonia spike. I was under the impression that the tank would do that on it's own since I provided LR and live sand. Should I think about adding a shrimp cocktail this far in? Would it be safe to add it in next week while I am away?

 

[Sniperhank]

You should always present an ammonia source. The die off from live rock and sand is rarely enough to present enough ammonia to build up enough of a bacteria base to support even one fish.

 

[tck13]

Came back from vacation and my water levels seemed like they were ready for some new life with ammonia and nitrite at 0 ppm. Went to LFS and picked up an assortment of snails(11) and on emerald crab. Emerald crab killed at least one snail on the transport.

I put the bag in the tank for about an hour to temp acclimate and then poured some of the tank water into the bag and then put the bag back into the tank for another hour.

I put all snails on the bottom sand bed as instructed and a lot of them have stayed in the same place pretty much and there are one or two that continuously fall on their back from walking around. I'm not sure if the snails or dead or not, if they are dead, then I am not sure why as I just tested the water again and the params were still the same as yesterday.

Here are some pics: Clean up Crew Addition - Album on Imgur

 

[Sniperhank]

With that acclimation there is no way your snails died from shock. I order mine online. They aren't even shipped in water and you put more effort into acclimating them than I do.


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[tck13]

Yeah the majority of the snails definitely seem dead. I am just now starting to see a lot of diatom build up on the sand floor

 

[tck13]

OK all snails are actually fine, took them out of tank to inspect them and they all started moving around so I'm happy for that! I have a lot of diatom build up on everything in the tank... I'm wondering if I should get more snails or a couple hermits to help with the algae.

My water params are alos still fine according to my api kit

 

[54seaweed]

snails can take 2/3 days to show life after adding to your tank , there is no need to acclimate snails or hermits , any other inverts should get a 15 min drip acclimation
adding more snails wont help much and a tank that size really don't need many

how is the water circulation aim it more towards your rocks and bottom with out starting a sand storm , a turkey baster works good on the rocks blowing them off while doing water change, snails wont remove the silicates creating the bloom , every time I started a new tank I always ran a fork threw the sand just raking the surface while I had the siphon hose pulling out the crud , your not going to get it all but it will help it just needs to run its coarse , every new tank sees this phase.

 

[tck13]

snails can take 2/3 days to show life after adding to your tank

That would have been nice to know! I'm not too worried about the diatoms anymore, in fact the emerald crab I barely see is now out and about picking up the diatom encrusted sand and eating it so he's helping a lot on the ground floor!

I'm timid to "rake" the sand bed for two reasons, one being that i have to shove my entire arm down there to do some work, and two I have a bunch of gas bubbles in my sand bed right now and I've read around on other forums that advise to not stir up those bubbles as it's an important part to the entire process.

I'm gonna look into aiming my power head in other spots. My current power head pushes 240 GPH and the stock filter which I'm guessing is around 100-150 GPH with a total of 300-350 gph which sounds fine for my 12G, but I have a spare 240GPH pump and I'm wondering if using that would be too much?

Any tips on what to add next to the tank? I'm wanting to either add a fish or piece of coral this weekend(as long as params persist)but I'm not sure if one is better than the other, or if it's purely a personal choice, either way, it'd be neat to see how you guys weigh in.

 

[tck13]

should I start doing water changes now?

 

[falkan317]

What are your parameters?


Hey man love this feed. Just started my 15g column 6 months ago. Added new light and.... Daitom cluster


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[tck13]

ammonia = 0, nitrite at 0, nitrate at <5.0ppm, and ph at 7.8

 

[falkan317]

ammonia = 0, nitrite at 0, nitrate at <5.0ppm, and ph at 7.8

So I went back and read the entire feed. You started in 12/10/15 so it's been about a month. Correct? So you added a massive clean up crew. 11 snails and a crab? You then added the small circulation pump. Which I applaud. Keeps detritus and diatoms from settling without causing a "dust storm". Personally I'd change the water and take 3/12g and wait two days and test. Make sure you make your water at least 24 hours in advance. This way you can warm and circulate water to breakdown any remaining salt and so you don't shock your tank. Then test every other day so you can see your parameters fluctuate. After a couple of weeks when you are sure of your tanks "routine". I believe you are good to add 2 coral frags. Make sure you buy some Coral RX and read directions!!! 10 to 15 dollar frags just in case minutes is tight. I'd recommend some colorful zoanthids from your local fish store.

Remember slow and steady always wins the race!


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[falkan317]

I forgot to add. After adding corals I'd continue watching parameters over 4 weeks then add (1) fish or a couple more corals watch parameters over 4 weeks and adjust your water change cycle to your parameters. Also make sure you get a reef safe fish if you are buying corals!


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