Bill's Intro to the Reef - 5 Gallon Rimless

[jmay33]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

I know fort is running his 12 long with only an mp10... I don't think he has any fish though... I'll have to shot him a pm and see what he thinks.

That'd definitely be a good place to ask. I don't know much about running nano tanks. (Saltwater ones, anyway.)

[jwh0818]

I see you caved bill. That little guy is adorable. He looks happy. Great excuse to do an upgrade! I think your wife gave you the excuse for a reason!

[Billbug68]

So today I woke up to what I THOUGHT was a dead hermit crab... Luckily, this time, it WAS only a molt! I can still see the little guy in his shell... Sooo... One question! Is it at all possible that the molt could cause a nitrite spike? Params were good a day ago. I last checked a day or so after adding the clown to make sure the BB was keeping up with the new bioload. Well, just tested to make sure all was well and ammonia was 0, nitrite was 2, and nitrate is less than 5...

Oh! I also forgot to mention, I found that I actually already have a Nassarius snail! Haha! I guess when I added the CUC he dug down so fast that I didn't even know he was there! I had a slight mix up because the guy threw in a bunch of empty shells for the hermits in the same bag as my actual snails... Thought the dude ripped me off for a minute... Selling me an empty Nassarius shell... Haha

Anyways... The clown is doing good, does laps around the tank and surfs in the powerhead flow... Silly clown! My stepson came home from his dads house on Sunday and named him Marlin... lol, what four year old DOESN'T name his first clown fish nemo!?!? He went with the dads name and said we need to go get another one so we can name it nemo... This kid is smart!

Apologizes for the ranting... Thanks for reading!

[Grizz]

I think it's the clown causing the spike it takes about 5-7 days before you really see a spike from the new bio load no worry's a quick WC will set things right. And i think Marlin was nemo's dad. Smart kid

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by Grizz

I think it's the clown causing the spike it takes about 5-7 days before you really see a spike from the new bio load no worry's a quick WC will set things right. And i think Marlin was nemo's dad. Smart kid

Okay cool, just wasn't sure if the molt could cause it in such a small tank. I've been feeding the clown sparingly in the morning and night. Is twice a day good?

[Billbug68]

Also, so should I do a water change right away, or add a bit of prime and let the tank do the work?

[MMantelli]

When he comes out he might bury the molt and snack on it for awhile. That's what my former roommates hermit would do. But I would remove it after a certain amount of time so u don't get toxic ammonia in the sub.

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by MMantelli

When he comes out he might bury the molt and snack on it for awhile. That's what my former roommates hermit would do. But I would remove it after a certain amount of time so u don't get toxic ammonia in the sub.

I removed it after nitrites tested high, just to be safe... Thanks for the tip, though!

[MMantelli]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

I removed it after nitrites tested high, just to be safe... Thanks for the tip, though!

No prob.

[Grizz]

I feed once a day and a WC wont hurt either

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by Grizz

I feed once a day and a WC wont hurt either

Okay, I'll cut it down to once a day. Yeah, I went ahead an did a water change last night. Better safe than sorry. Thanks grizz!

[Billbug68]

So, parameters have returned back to 0... Other than nitrate. Nitrate looks to be 10ppm. Is it a necessity to get nitrate down to 0 as well? I do have a small bit of chaeto in the back of the tank.

[jmay33]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

So, parameters have returned back to 0... Other than nitrate. Nitrate looks to be 10ppm. Is it a necessity to get nitrate down to 0 as well? I do have a small bit of chaeto in the back of the tank.

My nitrates stay at about 10. Never had any problems because of it.

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by jmay33

My nitrates stay at about 10. Never had any problems because of it.

Been doing some reading and found some sources say no more than 5... Hmmm... I haven't really vacuumed anything from the sand or rocks, and I have yet to clean the powerhead. I'm sure once I implement that in to my cleaning routine I might see some lower numbers. Reason being, I'm starting to see some hair algae, so I'd like to get trates down as low as possible. I've also been thinking of incorporating some kind of red macro algae in to the scape to hopefully suck up some of the excess nutrients.

[jmay33]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

Been doing some reading and found some sources say no more than 5... Hmmm... I haven't really vacuumed anything from the sand or rocks, and I have yet to clean the powerhead. I'm sure once I implement that in to my cleaning routine I might see some lower numbers. Reason being, I'm starting to see some hair algae, so I'd like to get trates down as low as possible. I've also been thinking of incorporating some kind of red macro algae in to the scape to hopefully suck up some of the excess nutrients.

That would definitely help! My tank is extremely new (Newer than yours) and I'm trying to figure out how to keep my nitrates a little lower. I've heard that helps. I added some chaeto to see if that will help too. Hair algae es no bueno! What kind of red macro algae are you looking at getting?

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by jmay33

That would definitely help! My tank is extremely new (Newer than yours) and I'm trying to figure out how to keep my nitrates a little lower. I've heard that helps. I added some chaeto to see if that will help too. Hair algae es no bueno! What kind of red macro algae are you looking at getting?

Not really sure yet. Something more fine and small to fit with the proportions of the tank... I'm sure you have the luxury of a sump though...

[jmay33]

Originally Posted by Billbug68

Not really sure yet. Something more fine and small to fit with the proportions of the tank... I'm sure you have the luxury of a sump though...

Ahh. I don't have a sump. I wish i did. my set up is a little ghetto but it works for me. I have a small Refugium type thing hanging in my tank for some biological filtration. All I have is chaeto (and some Kenya trees I plucked since they're getting out of control and someone is supposed to pick them up.) I want some more beneficial algaes to put in there, I just don't know what yet. I'm looking for something a little thicker so it can't fall through the slots in the little box. Here is my tank.



Edit: (I transferred everything over so I had to kind of try to insta-cycle/fish-in cycle it. It was nerve racking!)

[Grizz]

We strive for 0 nitrAtes but even the ocean has some trace just try to keep them as low as you can, the hair algae will lock up some of those trAtes so you may get a spike when you remove it. Blast your rocks with a turkey baster just before doing a WC it will help lower your trAtes also

PS the tank is looking good.

[Billbug68]

Originally Posted by jmay33

Ahh. I don't have a sump. I wish i did. my set up is a little ghetto but it works for me. I have a small Refugium type thing hanging in my tank for some biological filtration. All I have is chaeto (and some Kenya trees I plucked since they're getting out of control and someone is supposed to pick them up.) I want some more beneficial algaes to put in there, I just don't know what yet. I'm looking for something a little thicker so it can't fall through the slots in the little box. Here is my tank.

Edit: (I transferred everything over so I had to kind of try to insta-cycle/fish-in cycle it. It was nerve racking!)

Your tank looks really nice! Not ghetto at all, I really like it! Have you thought of doing an Aqua Clear 70 or 110 refugium mod? You can run your chaeto in there and still have room for some chemical media and filter floss or polyfil. Something like that would be more suitable on your size/style of tank than mine!

Originally Posted by Grizz

We strive for 0 nitrAtes but even the ocean has some trace just try to keep them as low as you can, the hair algae will lock up some of those trAtes so you may get a spike when you remove it. Blast your rocks with a turkey baster just before doing a WC it will help lower your trAtes also

PS the tank is looking good.

Thanks Grizz! I'll do my best to keep the tank clean, I think that'll really help. Tank is about a month old and I haven't vacuumed anything out. I've just been using a dixie cup to do water changes...

[Grizz]

A dixie cup? Gotta love those nano's Im using 32 gal. trash cans