Hey guys,
Here is the little pico that has plunged me back into the hobby. I will post my pics and journey here and am constantly looking for advice- the hobby has changed a lot in my long absence lol.
AIO is a fluval evo 5- I have already upgraded the pump to a Mini MJ 606 with an inTank surface skimmer attachment and chamber plug so I should now be filtering all of the water. The flow before this upgrade was a trickle at best- and the difference in the amount of surface skim and amount of water flowing through the chamber is incredible. I am still using the stock sponge filter insert but have replaced the carbon with a Chemipure blue nano sized bag. (I should change this once a month right?) I rinse out this sponge filter assembly thoroughly during every water change (using aquarium water). I do not have an ATO so manually top up about a 1/4 of distilled water every evening. I still have stock lighting.
I started with some live rock and finished the cycle in about three weeks. Dusting of sand for the substrate that I rake around every other day. So far I have only been testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate- now all at 0. (First question is to recommend a decent test kit- the lfs here only stocks the api dip strips and I know they probably aren't that accurate. Being in the islands I have to mail order anything 'fancier.')
I change roughly 95% of the water weekly with sea water I collect from right off of the native reef. I am using an old fashioned swing arm hydrometer and it is measuring at 1.028 -1 .029; but I have posted in the chemistry forum and agree with others that my hydrometer is probably reading high. Nevertheless I am keeping the salinity in the tank at 1.028 until my mail order refractometer comes. I am slightly concerned that I am running too high a salinity but don't really want to mess with anything until I am sure that those readings are correct. (And even then- if my NSW is stable and I am replacing 95% a week anyway- I don't really want to fiddle with diluting etc...)
Since the tank has cycled I have added the four frags in the pictures you see- I know that one is an acan and one is GSP, I think the other is a random sort of paly- but any I.D's or tips on placement would be really appreciated. I assume they are fairly happy since they are mostly open.
The little beau gregory (Stegastes leucostictus) is wild caught from a tide pool (I can do that here without a permit) and he is about a half inch long- he can always go back to his pool when he gets a bit bigger. He was picking at the paly (zoa?) when I first glued it to the rock, but since seems to be satisfied it is not edible, lol
I have discovered that I have a nano sized brittle star- which I am sure is reef safe; but I also took a look in the middle of the night last night with a spotlight and saw TWO emerald crabs. I am worried they will eat my polyps and frags- should I remove them immediately? They are tiny, but they will grow. (Should I feed nori?) My live rock also has a bit of lesser starlet coral on it- of course the light may not be able to support such an sps but I read on the web they are pretty resilient.
Any tips on the test kit, (which params should I be testing in such a set-up) I.D's for my frags; advice on the emeralds, dosing / supplement advice and any other tips or suggestions would be so appreciated.
I am also already thinking about a 20g high upgrade- but am committed to just this pico for six months or so. (But we all know how MTS works)
Thanks a lot!
Dexter
Here is the little pico that has plunged me back into the hobby. I will post my pics and journey here and am constantly looking for advice- the hobby has changed a lot in my long absence lol.
AIO is a fluval evo 5- I have already upgraded the pump to a Mini MJ 606 with an inTank surface skimmer attachment and chamber plug so I should now be filtering all of the water. The flow before this upgrade was a trickle at best- and the difference in the amount of surface skim and amount of water flowing through the chamber is incredible. I am still using the stock sponge filter insert but have replaced the carbon with a Chemipure blue nano sized bag. (I should change this once a month right?) I rinse out this sponge filter assembly thoroughly during every water change (using aquarium water). I do not have an ATO so manually top up about a 1/4 of distilled water every evening. I still have stock lighting.
I started with some live rock and finished the cycle in about three weeks. Dusting of sand for the substrate that I rake around every other day. So far I have only been testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate- now all at 0. (First question is to recommend a decent test kit- the lfs here only stocks the api dip strips and I know they probably aren't that accurate. Being in the islands I have to mail order anything 'fancier.')
I change roughly 95% of the water weekly with sea water I collect from right off of the native reef. I am using an old fashioned swing arm hydrometer and it is measuring at 1.028 -1 .029; but I have posted in the chemistry forum and agree with others that my hydrometer is probably reading high. Nevertheless I am keeping the salinity in the tank at 1.028 until my mail order refractometer comes. I am slightly concerned that I am running too high a salinity but don't really want to mess with anything until I am sure that those readings are correct. (And even then- if my NSW is stable and I am replacing 95% a week anyway- I don't really want to fiddle with diluting etc...)
Since the tank has cycled I have added the four frags in the pictures you see- I know that one is an acan and one is GSP, I think the other is a random sort of paly- but any I.D's or tips on placement would be really appreciated. I assume they are fairly happy since they are mostly open.
The little beau gregory (Stegastes leucostictus) is wild caught from a tide pool (I can do that here without a permit) and he is about a half inch long- he can always go back to his pool when he gets a bit bigger. He was picking at the paly (zoa?) when I first glued it to the rock, but since seems to be satisfied it is not edible, lol
I have discovered that I have a nano sized brittle star- which I am sure is reef safe; but I also took a look in the middle of the night last night with a spotlight and saw TWO emerald crabs. I am worried they will eat my polyps and frags- should I remove them immediately? They are tiny, but they will grow. (Should I feed nori?) My live rock also has a bit of lesser starlet coral on it- of course the light may not be able to support such an sps but I read on the web they are pretty resilient.
Any tips on the test kit, (which params should I be testing in such a set-up) I.D's for my frags; advice on the emeralds, dosing / supplement advice and any other tips or suggestions would be so appreciated.
I am also already thinking about a 20g high upgrade- but am committed to just this pico for six months or so. (But we all know how MTS works)
Thanks a lot!
Dexter
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