10G nano journal

[th08tu]

10G nano journal (Pics)

Hey everybody,
I decided to set up my extra 10 gallon tank as a nano reef. Here is my equipment below, followed by the description of what I have done so far.

Equipment:

HOB Aquaclear 30- with sponge and filter floss
HOB Tetra 10? - with filter floss
12 pounds base rock
5 pounds live rock
50 W heater
65W PC Coraline light 50/50
Surface skimmer attachment for aquaclear filter

So Far:
So yesterday i rinsed out the tank, and rinsed of the base rock with declorinated water. Next I mixed up 15 gallons of water at 1.026 sg. I filled the tank with about 5 gallons of water and then added the live sand. Next i position the live rock and base rock kind of sandwiching the base rock so that the live rock would seed and spread to it. I then filled the rest of the tank, added the bio-packets that came with the sand, and turned on the filters. The water was a little foggy since the sand wasn't rinsed, but the instructions on the sand said not to rinse it so I was expecting it to fog up a bit.
As of today the water has cleared up, and the ammonia is at 2ppm so that is good, I also saw a small red worm, so i don't know if that is good or not. I am going to monitor the levels for the next few weeks and hopefully I will be able to add a few snails by then. Any suggestions for next steps would be great, also what livestock do you think I should put in this tank. Right now I am leaning towards a pair of false percs, and a few corals, but I am still doing research on what coral would be ok in a tank this small. Anyways I look forward to everybody's ideas and I will update with pictures in the next day or so.

 

[melosu58]

Just let it cycle now and your water test will let you know when it is done. Good luck with the tank.

 

[th08tu]

I think i might have made a mistake lol. The base rock I picked is not dead live rock, it is just the most porous rock I could find from the lfs. I will post some pictures soon, but I am pretty sure it is lava rock, it is redish brown, and very light for it's size. Is it true that any rock can become live rock over time, or does it need to be dead live rock? I was under the assumption that any rock could become live rock, however after doing more and more research I have found a few sites that state that coraline algae, and corals will ONLY grow on live rock, or dead live rock. Is this true or am I worrying about nothing?

 

[th08tu]

Ok so here are the promised photos, I am not sure how to put comments after each photo so I will post them up here and hopefully you guys can figure out what I am talking about. I have a full tank shot to give you guys an idea of my rockwork so far, also I included a pic of something I found on one of the rocks. I am not sure exactly what it is, my best guess is some kind of bleached coral, but if you guys know it would be great to understand for sure. Also I have a picture of the rocks I asked about before, I am pretty sure they will be suitable because I don't really want to have to buy new rock all over again. Lastly I took a picture of a creature that I have seen in the sand twice now, I am pretty sure it is a bristle worm that is very young as it is only the size of a grain or seed. Anyways I look forward to anybodies comment and I apologize in advance for my poor photography skills, they will get better with time I promise.

 

[melosu58]

Bristle worm​

 

[Mitchell0605]

Bristle worms grrr.... Bad for corals. Found a dead one in my tank. Thank you 6-line wrasse!

 

[th08tu]

thats what I thought. Also aren't they good because they stir up the sand? Anyways what do you guys think about the rock? good, bad, need to be replaced?

 

[thominil]

Yeah, they are good until they get too big, then they may start to cause problems. Wear thick rubber or latex gloves when you are working in the tank.

 

[th08tu]

yeah for sure lol. Anyways I am going to go to the lfs tomorrow because I need to pick up a test kit. I might also pick up a little bit more live rock so I can remove my dead rock and replace it with something I know will work.

 

[th08tu]

ok so I am leaving for the lfs in about an hour and I still haven't heard from anybody about the rock. I have found conflicting facts about it on the net, some saying that it is super because it is so porous, and others saying it is bad because it leeches different minerals in the water. Please help me out guys...

 

[joy13]

All I can say is one of the LFS does have it in their SW tank and it has been there for months. But I don't know if it leeches anything, they are closed today or I would call them.

 

[th08tu]

Alright sorry for my little freak out lol. At the lfs I asked the guy about the rock and he said that they use it in all of their tanks and it works just as well as argonite. Some lava rock can be bad, however what they use is fine. Also I picked up some more live rock today, and some rubble. I put a little rubble in the HOB filters, and the rest I added into the tank. That puts me at about 18 pounds of rock so I am done adding rock now and I am just waiting for it to cycle. Here are the readings of the day:

Ammonia: 0.5ppm
Nitire: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2ppm

 

[th08tu]

hey everybody, I think I am going to add my cuc today. My cycle appears to be over, I didn't realize how fast it would go since I was using live sand and rock, so i was king of surprised. What I am planning on add is:

3- Nassarius snails
2- astrea snails
1- cleaner shrimp.

Today I will probably get the snails, and then I will wait before I get the shrimp until I add the fish.

 

[AMDPhenomX4]

Add a source of ammonia soon or the bacteria will die.

 

[th08tu]

would adding the snails be enough of a source of ammonia? I didn't get them today because I did a few last minute tests before I went out and for some reason my specific gravity had rose from 1.024 to 1.028. I had been adding 250ml daily of RO water to account for evaporation but I guess that wasn't enough, or I was doing something wrong. My idea was to mark with a marker on the glass the water level, and then add freshwater daily in order to maintain salinity. Is there a better way to do it that is more effective and precise? Anyways I did a 50% water change and got the salinity to 1.025 which is where I would like to keep it, I read that the area the clowns and native to is usually between 1.025 and 1.026, so I figure that if I have it at 1.025 they will be happy.
Also today I decided to try my hand at building an overflow. I found some plans from the internet, and reduce the size of it because I don't need a monster sized one as my tank is small. I will post pictures of it tomorrow because I have to charge my camera, and right now the silicone is still curing so it won't be much to look at until it is operational. I am hoping that with the addition of a sump, I will be able to control my specific gravity, as well as add fresh water and have it mixed with the tank water before it enters the tank. Anyways thats all the updates for now, I might go out tomorrow and pick up the snails, and maybe a goby if you guys think that the snails wouldn't be enough ammonia. I don't want to add the clowns yet, because I would like to make sure everything is perfect for them before they enter the tank as I read they can be pretty sensitive.

 

[th08tu]

New additions!

Hey everybody,
So here is the next update!

Today I went to the lfs to pick up my cuc and a small fish to keep my tank healthy until I was ready to add my clowns. If anybody hasn't read this whole thread, my cycle is over as of two days ago, I am starting to get some diatom bloom, but everything else seems to be going good.
As for my rock issue I think I am ok, because there has been some growth of diatom algae on the rock, so I am my little fears of the rock being the wrong type has been put to rest.
anyways, at the LFS they didn't have any gobies in stock, as this is a fairly small shop, but they did have a tank of tank-raised clowns. So I picked out the smallest one there, he is about 1 inch so I don't know how old that would put him. I also picked up 3 nassarius snails, and two blue legged hermit crabs.

Once I got them home I began setting up my drip acclimation. I put each of the different critters into their own sterile dishes with the water from the LFS and then began a drip of about 1 drip per second. The ph of the tanks at the shop were very close to mine, however the specific gravity was not. It was off by .08! So I acclimated them for 2.5 hours, because I figured that any stress I was saving these little guys by dripping would be lost if they had to acclimate for 3+ hours.

So I netted and put them into the tank, and let them get used to it for about half an hour. Then just for fun I put in a little bit of food for the clown. He immediately began eating to my surprise so I was pretty happy about that. The only thing I am a little worried about is that he has stayed really close to the skimmer, and I am not sure if he prefers the higher flow there or he is just a little unsure about his new home.

I will keep monitoring him over the next few days and will update with pics very soon. By tomorrow night I should have some new ones up hopefully! Anyways thanks for reading and any tips or advice are more than welcome!

 

[Etunes]

Thats great, don't forgot the pictures

It might be hosting the skimmer. I know that clowns will stay behind filters and stuff like they do a anenome and call it there own.

 

[th08tu]

haha really that was quick, but I guess that is a good thing! Maybe he will move to somewhere a little more visible later though lol, since I kind of put my skimmer away from as much as possible so that is it wouldn't be seen. Maybe that is why he likes it so much...
No worries about the pictures I will have them tomorrow hopefully!

 

[th08tu]

Ok so I just went to take pictures of him and I can't find him anywhere! I left today for work after giving him a little food and he was happily swimming about, then once I got home I got my camera out to take the pictures I promised and couldn't see him. Figuring he was in the rocks, I went and had dinner and came back after. Still not being able to see him I looked really hard for him, to the point of moving all of the rocks to one side of the tank and then back again and I still haven't found him. Next I looked in the filters the filter tubes and even inside the lights lol, and I haven't even found a body! I don't get it at all, How does a fish just disappear? Like I have 3 snails and 2 crabs, there is no way they could have eaten him in a matter of hours if he died, does anybody have any suggestions as to what could have happened. I am pretty sad that he is gone, but I am really worried that if I add anything else to the tank it will be met with the same fate. I don't understand at all...

 

[lkkmateo]

That stinks that you cant find him. im sure he's there. The only time i ever "Lost" any fish was when my fish eating filter sucked them up. :'( so hopefully that's not the case.