The Flagship Emerald Reef!

[saltmine]

Hello everyone!

This is going to be the build thread for the first ever saltwater tank that my partner and I have done. We have had success with freshwater in the past, but it is time for something new! In my introduction thread, @P-Dub referred to our nascent system as the Emerald Reef, which is a name I think we might stick with! I'm going to split this into sections.

Tank Setup
Our tank is a standard 30 gallon tank that we are switching from freshwater. It is all emptied out and ready to go. We have a canister filter, which is a bit unique, but we will see how it works! For a first tank, jumping into a sump right away just wasn't very feasible. In this picture, the tubes and hoses aren't set up yet, which is why the stand looks like a mess.

However! We are making some modifications to our canister. The model we have is the Oase BioMaster Thermo 250. It has a built in heater, fits underneath our small stand, and has a spray bar. The filter setup is a prefilter with four removable sponges, and in the main canister are four layers - three increasingly finer sponges, and a final layer of biomedia. We are switching this up a little bit, as I will explain in a minute.

The Rock Situation
So... Our original plan was buying 30lbs of dry rock rubble and constructing an extremely cool aquascape all by ourselves! Here is the rock we ordered:

Which seemed perfect, since it would be a variety of sizes and we could make whatever shape we wanted. However....

The epoxy we got was not necessarily the easiest to work with - an aquarium safe putty. It was a huge pain, and what seemed to be a reasonable task soon became unreasonable. Here was a few angles of our "first draft" of an aquascape.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it set up in the tank, but it ended up being less than half the height of the tank, really blocky, and extremely hard to cement. So, we decided that a different approach might be better (I would definitely appreciate opinions here). It seemed like it would be hard for corals to grow on it, and could possibly be a dangerous rockfall hazard.

Well, now we have 30lbs of rock, most of which is just pebbles. What to do? Then, an idea struck - filter media! These little rocks will go to good use in the canister, and will be less of a pain than the sponges. The plan is to remove the three sponges from the main canister body and have three bags of this instead. This makes the canister a lot closer to a sump, right?

Later today we are going to get either the purple dry LifeRock or some actual live rocks. Our local saltwater aquarium specialty store has a great selection of rock for us to choose from.

Water!
Water has quickly become one of the biggest hurdles in our saltwater journey... and it hasn't even truly begun! The situation was looking pretty hopeless to begin with. We live in an apartment on the 5th floor with a roommate, so getting a big RODI system seemed pretty much impossible, but I really didn't want to use tap water and deal with all of the repercussions of that in a sensitive reef. What to do? Thankfully, @rkpetersen reached out and has been super helpful in this whole process, and he recommended buying our water to begin with. This seems like a perfect option! We get good water to start out our tank while not having to invest in the plumbing and headache of hooking up an RODI system. We have gotten some ideas for a faucet adapter to allow us to switch between RODI water and regular water, but this will be a future conundrum. I wonder if I'm going to end up posting pictures of my sinks on this crazy forum!

We purchased two 18 gallon bins and are going to buy 30 gallons of premixed saltwater and drive it back to our apartment complex. Even getting water from the store into the tubs in the bed of my truck is probably going to be a pain. From there I think we are planning on siphoning water into five gallon buckets and taking trips up the elevator until the bins are light enough to carry up themselves. We might ask the office if we can borrow a buggy - they have those carts that hotels use for luggage, and perhaps they will let us use it. Even then, I'm not sure how much weight they can carry. Saltwater is approx. 8.6ppg... multiple that by 18galx2 and you've got over 300lbs. Any way you turn it, getting the water up to the fifth floor is going to be one of the biggest nightmares of this whole operation.

For the future, we plan on keeping one of the totes full of saltwater for water changes. At a certain point I'm sure we'll get sick of buying water, but for now it makes more sense.

Cycling
Our plan for cycling is most likely using just regular fish food to add ammonia to begin. We currently have a bottle of Stability for bacteria. I know it's not as great as live bacteria, but depending on how it works we might get one of the nicer live ones. We have four leftover 5in1 testing strips that test pH, Nitrite, Nitrate, Carbonate and Hardness. Really we only need the nitrite, but it's something we don't need to buy, which is nice. Probably need to get an ammonia one eventually, but I keep hearing that we won't really use them, so maybe we can skip those if we wait long enough? We also have live sand to put into the tank when it's time, though our cat did puncture one of the bags and get bacteria soup all over the rug. Yuck.

Here are my leftover cycling questions: should we have our canister set up during the cycling process, and do we need to buy circulation pumps yet? If so, should they be running while cycling? This brings me to my next topic:

Future Gear
The local store seems hesitant to sell us things, strangely enough, so I'm still not 100% on what things we will need. Currently, we are planning to get a Radion XR15 G5 Blue for lighting when it is time for lights. I know we will need fans, so we will probably pick up some basic Marineland circulation pumps from the local pet store. Other than that, it sounds like we should wait and see what things crop up. I have heard that we'll need something that actually skims the surface of the tank, though I have gotten conflicting information there too. I don't think anyone agrees on anything in this hobby!

Future Livestock
I am pretty sure we are far from actually adding any creatures to the tank, but our thought in the short term is getting two pretty clownfish. We are hoping for a tank with just fish and softie corals for our first foray into the artificial sea. Our local store sells yellow tangs at every size, and recommended getting a very small one and said we will probably have a larger tank by the time it will need more space... Either that, or they do take fish back. I am worried our tank isn't big enough for a tang at any size. I would also like an emerald crab, since it is the Emerald Reef. We also think maybe shrimp or snails, but those would be much much later on.

In terms of corals, for sure we want green star polyps, xenia, and at least one mushroom. I got a list of beginner corals from BRS, and ones we saw at the store that we might be interested in are bubble corals and zoanthids. I think to start with we want the GSP and xenia and we'll see from there how things survive (hopefully!!)

Final Thoughts
Wow, this was a lot more than I thought I would write. In a couple days when we have the rock and water in the tank I'll post an update and some more pictures. All input would be appreciated, save telling us to get a sump... it just can't happen for our first little tank. Certainly for any future tank, but just not for right now.

Thank you so much for reading this huge post, and another thank you to @rkpetersen for all of his help during this process!

 

[Macbalacano]

Off to a good start!

 

[saltmine]

Off to a good start!

Thanks! I’m hoping to do an extra bit of work in the beginning to prevent future headaches!

 

[stylolvr]

First, welcome to R2R!

Do some reading on the fishless cycle with bottle bacteria before you get started. No need to both dose ammonia and ghost feed. Also, do some research on the testing methods. I'm not sure I understand what tests you have and/or need, but strips probably aren't the best bet. Saltwater is different than fresh regarding pretty much all things water chemistry - nitrites don't matter in the saltwater environment, which is fundamentally different than freshwater.

I'm interested to see how the modified canister turns out. Creative! I've run them on freshwater systems with great success, but never salt.

In my opinion, tangs are not an option. Not unless you are certain you have an upgrade option in the near future. Like, already on order. They need space and grow pretty quickly. It's never a good idea to plan on returning livestock because it will get too large for the system. There are a ton of interesting and engaging fish and inverts suitable for your tank. Again, lots to learn here in the forums.

If nothing else sticks here, be patient. It's tough to resist the urge (trust me, we all have a hard time with it....), but it will save a TON of hassle down the road. Best advice I've ever gotten (and sometimes follow ).

Enjoy!

 

[jadedluna]

Hello everyone!

This is going to be the build thread for the first ever saltwater tank that my partner and I have done. We have had success with freshwater in the past, but it is time for something new! In my introduction thread, @P-Dub referred to our nascent system as the Emerald Reef, which is a name I think we might stick with! I'm going to split this into sections.

Tank Setup
Our tank is a standard 30 gallon tank that we are switching from freshwater. It is all emptied out and ready to go. We have a canister filter, which is a bit unique, but we will see how it works! For a first tank, jumping into a sump right away just wasn't very feasible. In this picture, the tubes and hoses aren't set up yet, which is why the stand looks like a mess.

However! We are making some modifications to our canister. The model we have is the Oase BioMaster Thermo 250. It has a built in heater, fits underneath our small stand, and has a spray bar. The filter setup is a prefilter with four removable sponges, and in the main canister are four layers - three increasingly finer sponges, and a final layer of biomedia. We are switching this up a little bit, as I will explain in a minute.

The Rock Situation
So... Our original plan was buying 30lbs of dry rock rubble and constructing an extremely cool aquascape all by ourselves! Here is the rock we ordered:

Which seemed perfect, since it would be a variety of sizes and we could make whatever shape we wanted. However....

The epoxy we got was not necessarily the easiest to work with - an aquarium safe putty. It was a huge pain, and what seemed to be a reasonable task soon became unreasonable. Here was a few angles of our "first draft" of an aquascape.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it set up in the tank, but it ended up being less than half the height of the tank, really blocky, and extremely hard to cement. So, we decided that a different approach might be better (I would definitely appreciate opinions here). It seemed like it would be hard for corals to grow on it, and could possibly be a dangerous rockfall hazard.

Well, now we have 30lbs of rock, most of which is just pebbles. What to do? Then, an idea struck - filter media! These little rocks will go to good use in the canister, and will be less of a pain than the sponges. The plan is to remove the three sponges from the main canister body and have three bags of this instead. This makes the canister a lot closer to a sump, right?

Later today we are going to get either the purple dry LifeRock or some actual live rocks. Our local saltwater aquarium specialty store has a great selection of rock for us to choose from.

Water!
Water has quickly become one of the biggest hurdles in our saltwater journey... and it hasn't even truly begun! The situation was looking pretty hopeless to begin with. We live in an apartment on the 5th floor with a roommate, so getting a big RODI system seemed pretty much impossible, but I really didn't want to use tap water and deal with all of the repercussions of that in a sensitive reef. What to do? Thankfully, @rkpetersen reached out and has been super helpful in this whole process, and he recommended buying our water to begin with. This seems like a perfect option! We get good water to start out our tank while not having to invest in the plumbing and headache of hooking up an RODI system. We have gotten some ideas for a faucet adapter to allow us to switch between RODI water and regular water, but this will be a future conundrum. I wonder if I'm going to end up posting pictures of my sinks on this crazy forum!

We purchased two 18 gallon bins and are going to buy 30 gallons of premixed saltwater and drive it back to our apartment complex. Even getting water from the store into the tubs in the bed of my truck is probably going to be a pain. From there I think we are planning on siphoning water into five gallon buckets and taking trips up the elevator until the bins are light enough to carry up themselves. We might ask the office if we can borrow a buggy - they have those carts that hotels use for luggage, and perhaps they will let us use it. Even then, I'm not sure how much weight they can carry. Saltwater is approx. 8.6ppg... multiple that by 18galx2 and you've got over 300lbs. Any way you turn it, getting the water up to the fifth floor is going to be one of the biggest nightmares of this whole operation.

For the future, we plan on keeping one of the totes full of saltwater for water changes. At a certain point I'm sure we'll get sick of buying water, but for now it makes more sense.

Cycling
Our plan for cycling is most likely using just regular fish food to add ammonia to begin. We currently have a bottle of Stability for bacteria. I know it's not as great as live bacteria, but depending on how it works we might get one of the nicer live ones. We have four leftover 5in1 testing strips that test pH, Nitrite, Nitrate, Carbonate and Hardness. Really we only need the nitrite, but it's something we don't need to buy, which is nice. Probably need to get an ammonia one eventually, but I keep hearing that we won't really use them, so maybe we can skip those if we wait long enough? We also have live sand to put into the tank when it's time, though our cat did puncture one of the bags and get bacteria soup all over the rug. Yuck.

Here are my leftover cycling questions: should we have our canister set up during the cycling process, and do we need to buy circulation pumps yet? If so, should they be running while cycling? This brings me to my next topic:

Future Gear
The local store seems hesitant to sell us things, strangely enough, so I'm still not 100% on what things we will need. Currently, we are planning to get a Radion XR15 G5 Blue for lighting when it is time for lights. I know we will need fans, so we will probably pick up some basic Marineland circulation pumps from the local pet store. Other than that, it sounds like we should wait and see what things crop up. I have heard that we'll need something that actually skims the surface of the tank, though I have gotten conflicting information there too. I don't think anyone agrees on anything in this hobby!

Future Livestock
I am pretty sure we are far from actually adding any creatures to the tank, but our thought in the short term is getting two pretty clownfish. We are hoping for a tank with just fish and softie corals for our first foray into the artificial sea. Our local store sells yellow tangs at every size, and recommended getting a very small one and said we will probably have a larger tank by the time it will need more space... Either that, or they do take fish back. I am worried our tank isn't big enough for a tang at any size. I would also like an emerald crab, since it is the Emerald Reef. We also think maybe shrimp or snails, but those would be much much later on.

In terms of corals, for sure we want green star polyps, xenia, and at least one mushroom. I got a list of beginner corals from BRS, and ones we saw at the store that we might be interested in are bubble corals and zoanthids. I think to start with we want the GSP and xenia and we'll see from there how things survive (hopefully!!)

Final Thoughts
Wow, this was a lot more than I thought I would write. In a couple days when we have the rock and water in the tank I'll post an update and some more pictures. All input would be appreciated, save telling us to get a sump... it just can't happen for our first little tank. Certainly for any future tank, but just not for right now.

Thank you so much for reading this huge post, and another thank you to @rkpetersen for all of his help during this process!

Everything sounds great, I do have a question, since you’re removing the sponges and using the live pebbles, is there any type of mechanical filtration like filter sock or filter pads? Another thing, since your tank is only 30g I would suggest staying away from Xenia, they are fast spreading and tend to overrun just about any tank regardless of size, I’ve heard of mild success by building them their own island away from other rocks but even then their polyps go with the wind. Otherwise I’m so excited for you guys and I wish the best of luck!

 

[rkpetersen]

Good start!

Regarding rock, in my experience the solid epoxies sold in long tubes are pretty much worthless for actually getting rocks to stick together. At least, by themselves. One approach is to drill opposing holes in rocks, insert plastic dowels to stabilize, and then epoxy around the attachment point. Cut up plastic hangers work fine for the dowel rods.

For cycling, I still think checking both ammonia and nitrite is important. Especially with a new tank, you may well have problems at first and when we do, we all find ourselves wondering, 'Is it an ammonia spike?' If you don't want to get an ammonia test kit, I would suggest at least placing an Ammonia Alert in the tank.

Tangs are for sure out. Even a hundred gallon tank can feel crowded for many tangs, plus to keep them healthy you have to heavily feed them nori or other food for herbivores, and this doesn't work well in a smaller tank, especially without a refugium to take up nitrate, phosphate and organics. But there are many wonderful choices available for nano reefs, even some you wouldn't expect such as pygmy wrasse species.

For corals, as mentioned above, many of the hardier ones that people often start out with, can become invasive over time. GSP and xenia are good examples of softies that do this, although both can be controlled and sculpted, almost like topiaries in gardens, if you have the time and interest in doing so. When you get into stony corals, pocillopora is often suggested as a starter, but I would stay away from it; it will do well, but then likely to metastasize around your tank like cancer. Mushrooms are generally easy to keep, aside from some species like yumas. Zoas and palys are typically nice additions.

Surface skimming is generally considered to be beneficial in saltwater tanks. I certainly wouldn't run any of mine without it. Without surface skimming, you can actually see all the crud that accumulates on the water surface, interfering with gas exchange. You could consider purchasing an add-on overflow with surface skimmer.


Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[saltmine]

First, welcome to R2R!

Do some reading on the fishless cycle with bottle bacteria before you get started. No need to both dose ammonia and ghost feed. Also, do some research on the testing methods. I'm not sure I understand what tests you have and/or need, but strips probably aren't the best bet. Saltwater is different than fresh regarding pretty much all things water chemistry - nitrites don't matter in the saltwater environment, which is fundamentally different than freshwater.

I'm interested to see how the modified canister turns out. Creative! I've run them on freshwater systems with great success, but never salt.

In my opinion, tangs are not an option. Not unless you are certain you have an upgrade option in the near future. Like, already on order. They need space and grow pretty quickly. It's never a good idea to plan on returning livestock because it will get too large for the system. There are a ton of interesting and engaging fish and inverts suitable for your tank. Again, lots to learn here in the forums.

If nothing else sticks here, be patient. It's tough to resist the urge (trust me, we all have a hard time with it....), but it will save a TON of hassle down the road. Best advice I've ever gotten (and sometimes follow ).

Enjoy!

Thank you so much for the response!

The bottle we have is of bacteria - I don’t think there is an ammonia source unless the live rock counts? I was thinking put in fish food, wait a day, and then dump in the bacteria starter. I know they make the saltwater beginner test kits, so maybe I’ll look into those? I’ll do some research later today.

I am hoping our canister works as well! I think the modifications with help with “over filtering”, but we will have to see.

I am honestly glad to hear you say that about tangs. I hate the idea of getting a fish knowing the system can’t really support it. I’ll look into alternate algae eaters - there have to be more than just tangs! I’m more concerned with future corals, and see fish as important members of the ecosystem as opposed to the highlight (except for the clowns.... I love them!) We’ve also always been big fans of invertebrates, and I know there are options there.

I want to make sure we set ourselves up for success! We had to wait two weeks for the rocks to come originally so hopefully the patience can continue... though we are excited to finally get water in the tank today!

 

[saltmine]

Everything sounds great, I do have a question, since you’re removing the sponges and using the live pebbles, is there any type of mechanical filtration like filter sock or filter pads? Another thing, since your tank is only 30g I would suggest staying away from Xenia, they are fast spreading and tend to overrun just about any tank regardless of size, I’ve heard of mild success by building them their own island away from other rocks but even then their polyps go with the wind. Otherwise I’m so excited for you guys and I wish the best of luck!

Thank you!

The prefilter has sponge pads that I thought would work for mechanical filtration. Do you think it would be wise to leave the top pad in the system and just remove the two sponges below? Also, that is sad to hear about Xenia We were thinking of having at least one isolated rock though, so maybe we will put it there. The opening and closing tops are just too cool!

 

[stylolvr]

Thank you so much for the response!

The bottle we have is of bacteria - I don’t think there is an ammonia source unless the live rock counts? I was thinking put in fish food, wait a day, and then dump in the bacteria starter. I know they make the saltwater beginner test kits, so maybe I’ll look into those? I’ll do some research later today.

I am hoping our canister works as well! I think the modifications with help with “over filtering”, but we will have to see.

I am honestly glad to hear you say that about tangs. I hate the idea of getting a fish knowing the system can’t really support it. I’ll look into alternate algae eaters - there have to be more than just tangs! I’m more concerned with future corals, and see fish as important members of the ecosystem as opposed to the highlight (except for the clowns.... I love them!) We’ve also always been big fans of invertebrates, and I know there are options there.

I want to make sure we set ourselves up for success! We had to wait two weeks for the rocks to come originally so hopefully the patience can continue... though we are excited to finally get water in the tank today!

I misread your original post and thought you said you were adding fish food AND ammonia, when what you actually wrote was adding fish food AS your ammonia source. Ghost feeding is a good fishless cycle method, as is adding ammonia directly (speeds it up a bit), but not both together. You're on the right track.

The API test kits are pretty common and you can get them at most box pet stores, but the Salifert kits tend to be more accurate and consistent. Regardless, you'll do yourself a big favor by staying away from the strips.

Plenty of things that eat algae in the marine environment and many of them aren't fish! There is an exorbitant amount of info in these forums about algae control in all stages from prevention to removal.

Getting a new system wet is always exciting. I just filled my 20 cube this past Sunday!!

 

[saltmine]

Good start!

Regarding rock, in my experience the solid epoxies sold in long tubes are pretty much worthless for actually getting rocks to stick together. At least, by themselves. One approach is to drill opposing holes in rocks, insert plastic dowels to stabilize, and then epoxy around the attachment point. Cut up plastic hangers work fine for the dowel rods.

For cycling, I still think checking both ammonia and nitrite is important. Especially with a new tank, you may well have problems at first and when we do, we all find ourselves wondering, 'Is it an ammonia spike?' If you don't want to get an ammonia test kit, I would suggest at least placing an Ammonia Alert in the tank.

Tangs are for sure out. Even a hundred gallon tank can feel crowded for many tangs, plus to keep them healthy you have to heavily feed them nori or other food for herbivores, and this doesn't work well in a smaller tank, especially without a refugium to take up nitrate, phosphate and organics. But there are many wonderful choices available for nano reefs, even some you wouldn't expect such as pygmy wrasse species.

For corals, as mentioned above, many of the hardier ones that people often start out with, can become invasive over time. GSP and xenia are good examples of softies that do this, although both can be controlled and sculpted, almost like topiaries in gardens, if you have the time and interest in doing so. When you get into stony corals, pocillopora is often suggested as a starter, but I would stay away from it; it will do well, but then likely to metastasize around your tank like cancer. Mushrooms are generally easy to keep, aside from some species like yumas. Zoas and palys are typically nice additions.

Surface skimming is generally considered to be beneficial in saltwater tanks. I certainly wouldn't run any of mine without it. Without surface skimming, you can actually see all the crud that accumulates on the water surface, interfering with gas exchange. You could consider purchasing an add-on overflow with surface skimmer.


Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Thank you as always, Randy!

Clothes hangers - I never even considered that! Maybe we could get one complex live rock for now and start it cycling and then try to craft a different shape and put it in later after soaking it? Or is this not a great plan?

I went to the store and got the saltwater aquarium test kit. It just makes more sense to have it since we don't know exactly what we're doing yet.

I also agree that tangs are out. pygmy wrasse - how cool! We'll have to do more research and decide on the perfect algae eater to join our crew.

I told James about the coral pruning, and he was ecstatic - he loves his bonsai, and was so excited to hear he'd be able to interact with a corals like he can with his land plants

Do you think the surface skimmer should be something we get right away, or can it wait until after the cycling?

 

[rkpetersen]

Thank you as always, Randy!

Clothes hangers - I never even considered that! Maybe we could get one complex live rock for now and start it cycling and then try to craft a different shape and put it in later after soaking it? Or is this not a great plan?

I went to the store and got the saltwater aquarium test kit. It just makes more sense to have it since we don't know exactly what we're doing yet.

I also agree that tangs are out. pygmy wrasse - how cool! We'll have to do more research and decide on the perfect algae eater to join our crew.

I told James about the coral pruning, and he was ecstatic - he loves his bonsai, and was so excited to hear he'd be able to interact with a corals like he can with his land plants

Do you think the surface skimmer should be something we get right away, or can it wait until after the cycling?

Actual from-the-ocean live rock has many pros and cons. Real and manmade rock that's already been cycled and is purchased wet is often available at local LFSes. It's more expensive than dry rock but may help kick start a cycle. Overall it's probably best to add all or almost all of your rock at one time. For effective cycling, and also to minimize the time that it takes your tank to get through the 'uglies'. Adding additional individual dry rocks later though is fine, as long as they're relatively small. Adding live rock later is generally a bad idea, as it may induce a 'mini-cycle' if there's significant die off of its organisms.

You'll have a choice of many awesome fish with a tank that size. As far as algae eaters, a mixed cleanup crew consisting of several different kinds of snails and a few small hermit crabs is a fairly typical way to start. Very few small fish are active herbivores, so inverts tend to do the job in nanos. For example, I recently added a couple Lettuce Sea Slugs and a cute little Sea Hare to my nano to control a fairly small amount of hair algae. I'm going to have to move the Sea Hare soon because that algae is already almost gone.

After a tank gets well established, many corals grow at ridiculous rates. There's one called a Hollywood Stunner, for example. It grows like a weed and I've broken off and tossed out huge pieces dozens of times. That one would also do well in your nano, maybe I'll get you a piece some time.

Skimmer isn't needed during cycling. But I think you will see what I'm talking about. I haven't kept freshwater in decades but it seems that the surface tension of saltwater causes a lot more crud to accumulate.

 

[P-Dub]

And, the EMERALD REEF takes form! I'm honored you adopted my descriptive name for this tank. Feeling kind of special. Looking good. Take your time. It will be a great challenge with greater rewards.

 

[saltmine]

Actual from-the-ocean live rock has many pros and cons. Real and manmade rock that's already been cycled and is purchased wet is often available at local LFSes. It's more expensive than dry rock but may help kick start a cycle. Overall it's probably best to add all or almost all of your rock at one time. For effective cycling, and also to minimize the time that it takes your tank to get through the 'uglies'. Adding additional individual dry rocks later though is fine, as long as they're relatively small. Adding live rock later is generally a bad idea, as it may induce a 'mini-cycle' if there's significant die off of its organisms.

You'll have a choice of many awesome fish with a tank that size. As far as algae eaters, a mixed cleanup crew consisting of several different kinds of snails and a few small hermit crabs is a fairly typical way to start. Very few small fish are active herbivores, so inverts tend to do the job in nanos. For example, I recently added a couple Lettuce Sea Slugs and a cute little Sea Hare to my nano to control a fairly small amount of hair algae. I'm going to have to move the Sea Hare soon because that algae is already almost gone.

After a tank gets well established, many corals grow at ridiculous rates. There's one called a Hollywood Stunner, for example. It grows like a weed and I've broken off and tossed out huge pieces dozens of times. That one would also do well in your nano, maybe I'll get you a piece some time.

Skimmer isn't needed during cycling. But I think you will see what I'm talking about. I haven't kept freshwater in decades but it seems that the surface tension of saltwater causes a lot more crud to accumulate.

I think we are looking to add a few snails in a week once the cycle finishes to test it all out. Pacific Nerita, cerith snail, and a turban or trochus. And... if you have any of those beneficial hitchhiker snails you might be willing to part with...

The lettuce slug is so cute! It seems there are many non-fish options. The Hollywood Stunner is beautiful! We might have to take you up on that one in awhile here!!

 

[saltmine]

And, the EMERALD REEF takes form! I'm honored you adopted my descriptive name for this tank. Feeling kind of special. Looking good. Take your time. It will be a great challenge with greater rewards.

Well, it's an excellent name, you should feel special! I was glad we weren't stealing someone else's name or something.It is definitely going to be a journey, hopefully we can try to keep an even keel!

 

[saltmine]

It's been about a week, so probably time for an update. Many things have certainly happened!

Last week we finished setting up our tank. We put a live rock (8lbs) and saltwater into the tank on Thursday (1/14), and started bacteria and put in fish flakes. On Friday we finished putting together a dry rock structure (13lbs) and 30lbs of live sand into the tank. I have been dosing the bacteria according to the bottle, though probably a bit more than required, as I had heard that it is nearly impossible to overdose the bacteria. Here is a picture of the tank all set up.


I tested the first time on 1/17. Ammonia was at 0.5ppm, and nitrite at 0.25ppm, which seemed appropriate for the timeframe. 1/18 ammonia was consistent, but nitrite had risen to 0.5. On 1/20 I have written that ammonia was at 0.25, and nitrite was at 1.0ppm... but I believe it might have been much higher. The nitrite color hadn't been changing, and I believe it has been over 5.0ppm for more than three or four days now, whereas ammonia has remained at approx. 0.5ppm. This seems strange to me... I feel it has not been long enough for the nitrite to be that high, and despite daily fish flake feedings, ammonia has not risen whatsoever, or really changed from 0.5ppm. Here is the color test on 1/18:


Today (1/21), after another day of nitrite being unchanged, I tested nitrates in the system. It has only been a week, and I was positive that nothing would come up... but it did. Apparently nitrates are at nearly 20ppm. This seems impossible with this timeframe. Here is the color test today:


I am wondering what you all think. Should I do a water change? This feels so abnormal. A few days before we put water in, my cat punctured one of the bags of live sand... I am wondering if that could have killed the live sand and introduced something into the tank? Though I feel in that case it would be an ammonia spike, and ammonia has certainly never spiked. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[rkpetersen]

It's going great, you just missed the ammonia spike. Happens often when you use cured live rock.

Live sand might also contribute to a rapid cycle, although I've personally never been impressed with it in the past.

 

[saltmine]

Ok, time for a big update!

After about two weeks and getting very high nitrite, we went to the LFS and purchased Fritz Turbo Start 900 along with a small powerhead. These two things really made a massive difference. Within three days we had almost zero nitrites, and it seemed as if our nitrates had gone down somehow, too. Last Sunday we ordered our first fish - maroon lightning clowns. They had come in, so we took a water sample to the store to have them test and picked up our fish. Our refractometer was measuring the water at 1.017, which seemed unlikely since we were purchasing the water directly from the LFS. They properly calibrated their refractometer and found our water at around 1.026, which made much more sense. Additionally, we did have nitrates that needed to be removed. They recommended we do a 50% water change and then we would be ready to add our first livestock!

We took out about five gallons of water and started to float our fish while going back to the store to pick up enough saltwater to finish the water change. While there we picked up a refractometer calibration standard and Hikari Marin-S pellets for food.

We took out two more 5 gallon buckets of water, leaving one to continue to put the clowns in while we warmed up the NSW put into the tank to an even temperature. Once the new water was in, we poured the fish and their bag water into a large glass and started to "drip acclimate" - Over the course of about 45 minutes, I took a pipette and dripped water into the glass until the water level about doubled at the temperature of the water matched the slightly colder tank temperature (~75 degrees).

After this, we poured the fish into a fishnet and put them in the tank! They immediately seemed to be doing great. At first they huddled together behind the arch, but after turning the hallway lights out, they separated. One of our fish is a slightly darker color with black fin edges, and the other is a lighter orange with a heart shaped middle band. Here they are in their new tank!

You can kind of see how the lower fish has the heart shape.

Unfortunately, being maroons, they are a bit feisty with each other. The heart fish definitely bullies the black finned one. I think this is normal until they figure out who the female will be, right? Yesterday it was mostly just chasing, but today they have actually started tussling. Here is a video.

The black finned one has been hanging out on one side of the tank or the other, usually towards the surface. The other tends to stay lower but has been following the black one around recently. It's also a bit curious because the bully is actually the smaller clown.

When feeding the black fin has been easier to feed since he is towards the surface, and I believe he's been getting more food. For the first feeding last night we turned off the powerhead and filter. This morning I did not. I have been purposefully dropping food a bit deeper in the tank to try and get the heart one to eat a bit more. I am not sure how much they should eat, and I don't really want to overload the tank with ammonia. Here are some things I am considering:

Getting an ammonia alert badge
Maybe one of those feeding rings?
Possibly frozen food so I can pipette it directly at each fish.

I know clowns shouldn't be hard to feed, but I have read that aggression lowers if resources are abundant. I would love to know people's thoughts on this. I am hoping that this doesn't mean we need to separate them - I like them both a lot!

My other later thought pertains to the addition of CUC. I have heard many conflicting reports, but I know that the snails will need debris to eat or they will starve. I also want the tank to do a bit of leveling out with the fish we put in before adding anything else.

Thanks!

 

[saltmine]

Ok, time for a big update!

After about two weeks and getting very high nitrite, we went to the LFS and purchased Fritz Turbo Start 900 along with a small powerhead. These two things really made a massive difference. Within three days we had almost zero nitrites, and it seemed as if our nitrates had gone down somehow, too. Last Sunday we ordered our first fish - maroon lightning clowns. They had come in, so we took a water sample to the store to have them test and picked up our fish. Our refractometer was measuring the water at 1.017, which seemed unlikely since we were purchasing the water directly from the LFS. They properly calibrated their refractometer and found our water at around 1.026, which made much more sense. Additionally, we did have nitrates that needed to be removed. They recommended we do a 50% water change and then we would be ready to add our first livestock!

We took out about five gallons of water and started to float our fish while going back to the store to pick up enough saltwater to finish the water change. While there we picked up a refractometer calibration standard and Hikari Marin-S pellets for food.

We took out two more 5 gallon buckets of water, leaving one to continue to put the clowns in while we warmed up the NSW put into the tank to an even temperature. Once the new water was in, we poured the fish and their bag water into a large glass and started to "drip acclimate" - Over the course of about 45 minutes, I took a pipette and dripped water into the glass until the water level about doubled at the temperature of the water matched the slightly colder tank temperature (~75 degrees).

After this, we poured the fish into a fishnet and put them in the tank! They immediately seemed to be doing great. At first they huddled together behind the arch, but after turning the hallway lights out, they separated. One of our fish is a slightly darker color with black fin edges, and the other is a lighter orange with a heart shaped middle band. Here they are in their new tank!

You can kind of see how the lower fish has the heart shape.

Unfortunately, being maroons, they are a bit feisty with each other. The heart fish definitely bullies the black finned one. I think this is normal until they figure out who the female will be, right? Yesterday it was mostly just chasing, but today they have actually started tussling. Here is a video.

The black finned one has been hanging out on one side of the tank or the other, usually towards the surface. The other tends to stay lower but has been following the black one around recently. It's also a bit curious because the bully is actually the smaller clown.

When feeding the black fin has been easier to feed since he is towards the surface, and I believe he's been getting more food. For the first feeding last night we turned off the powerhead and filter. This morning I did not. I have been purposefully dropping food a bit deeper in the tank to try and get the heart one to eat a bit more. I am not sure how much they should eat, and I don't really want to overload the tank with ammonia. Here are some things I am considering:

Getting an ammonia alert badge
Maybe one of those feeding rings?
Possibly frozen food so I can pipette it directly at each fish.

I know clowns shouldn't be hard to feed, but I have read that aggression lowers if resources are abundant. I would love to know people's thoughts on this. I am hoping that this doesn't mean we need to separate them - I like them both a lot!

My other later thought pertains to the addition of CUC. I have heard many conflicting reports, but I know that the snails will need debris to eat or they will starve. I also want the tank to do a bit of leveling out with the fish we put in before adding anything else.

Thanks!

Well, another little update. Heart clown was really beating the snot out of black fin clown... and I mean bigtime. With more reading, it sounds like one of the clowns should have been established first. Every fin on him is torn to shreds and they were fighting near constantly. I called the store and they said they were fine before pickup, but they were in an area with lots of anemones. We don’t even have a light yet - I really think putting in anemones are not an option. She suggested maybe getting some coral for the aggressive one to host in so she would leave the other alone, but I feel like a little frag of coral wouldn’t help much. We don’t even have a light yet to avoid algae growth.

Our temporary solution has black fin in a breeder net on the side of the tank so he can’t be terrorized more. Here’s a picture of the poor little guy. All this damage occurred in less than 24hrs. You can see the ripping on the pectoral fins, but every fin he has is devastated.

I did feed both of them more, but I think our feeding schedule has to become much, much more robust and involve more water changes and constant testing to account for ammonia. Later today I think we’re going to pick up a transparent breeder box so they can acclimate to each other more readily. I think the net might be too opaque to help introductions, but it was a short term fix.

So that is the unfortunate situation. Hopefully with more feeding and separation they can eventually become friends. I wonder if we should take one back and keep one single since they are so aggressive.

 

[rkpetersen]

That's unfortunate. Definitely no way to put an anemone in there at this point, or even a coral honestly, and it probably wouldn't matter. I think what you've done there is fine for now, though; separating them for now is probably a good idea. An acclimation box would be ideal. Another approach would be to temporarily put some sections of pvc tubing in the tank, to give the underdog some hiding places. But if nothing works you may have to drop back to one for the moment.

 

[saltmine]

Alright, an update! I got a job and got too busy to post here. Our tank had some major algae issues and we were moving and were faced with a decision... Break down the tank, or upgrade to a larger, more stable system with a proper sump. We chose the latter!

My final thoughts on the Emerald Reef, which we had for two years:

1. Don't get a cannister. They get too clogged up, require too much maintenance, it is hard to do said maintenance, and it was definitely a part of the nitrate issues that plagued our tank.
2. Early action. We got one coral with a tiny bit of bubble algae and didn't remove it fast enough and had a huge issue in less than a few months. Thankfully, this issue was almost entirely fixed when hair algae overgrew the tank so horribly that the bubble algae was snuffed out! (yikes, I know). Manual removal is definitely a necessity, even though it can be so annoying to do.
3. It is not the end of the world. When the tank started to go downhill I was so daunted by the amount that needed to be done that I neglected the tank further. Finally we knuckled down and did the work that needed to be done. Thankfully, we only lost a goby and shrimp, snails, and our stoney corals. Maroonie lives on!
4. Proper testing. We tested our nitrate wrong in the beginning and had 30+ at the get-go. We started the race lapped and it made it very hard to recover, especially with a cannister filter. On nitrate, get the good tests. The pet store ones don't cut it.

I think I am going to post some shots of the tank's evolution before I close this thread. Final gear was one AI Prime 16, cannister filter, HOB skimmer, cheapo wave heads.

Corals that we had:

• Hammer - deceased
• GSP - alive
• Acan - somehow still living. Unbelievably hardy. Thought it died a thousand times but it survived the move
• Ricordea - buried at some point, deceased
• Yuma - my favorite coral, growing strong and had a baby!
• A bunch of discosomas - living and growing
• Toadstool - alive
• Green finger leather - we fragged it once, there are two now in the new tank that are both doing well
• A bunch of SPS that Randy gave us that promptly died. We had a cool blue frag that lived for a decent amount of time, but 64ppm Nitrate (!) did kill it
• He also gave us some mushrooms that the shrimp despised and buried constantly. They couldn't handle the abuse and then disappeared.
• A couple different kinds of zoas, some which died and others which lived

Fish et. al.,:

• Maroonie, our original maroon. She's a big and strong now!
• Little maroonie, who paired with big maroonie. This took two years. Now they live happily ever after. The had just finally paired when it was time to move the tank and we were very afraid that they might unpair after the move, but thankfully their relationship has only improved!
• Seabiscuit the solon fairy wrasse, who is alive and well despite two escape attempts. Still finicky, I love him. He has grown a ton and appreciates the larger tank.
• Bubble tip anemone. It split twice, once of them had to be thrown out (RIP) and one of the halves was unfortunately ripped apart in the tank move. It somehow still lives and little maroonie likes to hang out in it. The big anemone Maroonie hangs out in and sometimes invites little maroonie over for dates.
• 3 emerald crabs, which I adored, but mysteriously died... Near maroonie's anemone...
• Some hermits, most of which I think are around
• Some trochuses which all perished
• A bunch of Nassarius, absolutely none have died. Fat and happy from eating all the dead things, probably.
• Pistol shrimp, mysteriously died
• Goby, also died. Stayed alive a bit longer than the shrimp but disappeared not long after.

I think that's everything. I'll post some photos after work.