New guy....new tank

[LostOmen]

Hi everyone, just wanted to introduce myself and show off my 20L nano! It's going on 2 months old now, and things are going really well so far. It's been a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. Anyway, here is what I'm running and some pictures...

Equipment:
-20L AGA
-Hagen GLO HO T5 lights (1-18000k, 1-Actinic) 12hr cycle
-DIY LED moonlights
-2 Koralia 1 Powerheads (Run 1 at a time on 12hr cycles)
-Cheapo HOB filter (running carbon and occasionally filter media to filter out debris when I stir it up)
-100W Stealth Heater

Most LR & Sand came from an established 90G tank
~20lbs LR
~15lbs Fiji Pink sand
~5lbs live sand

Coral: (mainly soft, going to add a few more LPS at some point)
Misc Zoanthids (including Australian Yellow, Blue Superman)
Red Mushroom
A few cup Corals
2 nice Blue Ricordea Florida
1 tiny Green Ricordea Florida
2 really nice Australian Duncans
1 Kenya Tree

Livestock:
2 Red Hermits
5 Nassarius Snails
3 Astrea Snails
2 Turbo Snails
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 False Perc
1 Yellow Clown Goby
Lots of tiny feather dusters

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/189153050308FTS.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/189153050508nightzoa4.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/189153050508nightFTS.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/189153050408Ricordea.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/189153050408duncan.JPG

[LostOmen]

For some reason I'm having trouble getting the IMG tags to work.... I'll try to get some pics posted asap

Edit: Fixed

[msteele]

The tank looks great! Keep us updated with your progress.

[weimers75]

Looks like you may have a few aiptasia next to your zoo frag - you'll want to get rid of those asap - they will quickly get out of hand. Looks like a great tank though!

[Aaronovky]

looks great keep us posted

[LostOmen]

Thanks everyone! Weimer75, I am assuming you are talking about the long tentacles below the Zoas in the nighttime picture. Here is a daytime picture. I believe, but am not 100% sure, that it's a cup coral. It's hard to tell in the moonlight shot.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/189153050308Cup_RC.JPG

[weimers75]

You're right - the first pic was a bit cloudy which is why I was unsure. However, if you have small fish in your tank, you may want to get rid of them or that coral - I had the same thing in my tank and it stung and killed a neon blue goby. I found the goby just after it had been caught, got it out, but it was clearly in shock and died shortly thereafter. The goby was approx. 1" and too big for the coral to eat, but it did try.

[LostOmen]

That is definitely something to think about. I'm keeping a tiny False Percula and a Yellow Clown Goby. I would hate to see something happen to them. I tried finding information on that specific type of coral to no avail. Do you know if it will sting other corals as well? I want to assume it will since it lets its sweeper tentacles out pretty far at night.

[weimers75]

That I'm not sure about. As soon as it killed the goby, I took no chances and killed it...I had too many other fish and corals in the tank to risk it happening again. Both of those fish would be dinner if it catches them, and in a small tank like a nano its bound to happen. Mine was in a 75 at the time...it took a week or so, but it did get him:(

[LostOmen]

Well, I'm giving the cup corals to a friend who has a bigger tank and bigger fish. He's the one who gave me the LR with the cup corals attached. He's got more in there and hasn't had a problem with them. I really appreciate the warning!

[kylekinder]

so, im pretty new to corals, what consists a "nano" reef tank.. My girlfriend really wants one, im thinking 5 gallon, something to go on an end table. Just wondering a good set up, also i have a bigger tank, could i use water for that to fill it? send a pm with suggestions

[BeesGoneWild]

Looks really good. Goodluck with it.

[LostOmen]

kylekinder, there is an ongoing dispute as to the clear definition of what is nano and what is not. Basically a nano is a small reef tank in general. Some will say less than 40G, some say 20G or less. If you want some more info on nanos, check out the nano tank threads here on reef central or do a Google search. A 5 gallon would definitely be a nano. The smaller they are, the more TLC they will need, and 5 gallons is pretty small! There are definitely smaller out there, but 5 gallons is going to take some patience to get stable, and persistence to keep it that way. You could definitely use water and rock from your other tank to fill it. You could also use a bit of sand to seed the new sand you put into the new tank. There are a lot of suggestions I could give you, but my best suggestion to you is to read up and keep asking questions!

BeesGoneWild, thanks! I will be checking out your article on algae...

[nanO352]

Very nice tank. What kind of fish are you planning?

[LostOmen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12517250#post12517250 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nanO352
Very nice tank. What kind of fish are you planning?

Thanks! Probably just the False Perc, a Yellow Clown Goby, and I haven't quite decided on a 3rd fish. That would be it for this tank.

[weimers75]

Have you thought of another false perc for the last fish? They pair up quite easily and are great to watch together.

[LostOmen]

I have thought about that, but I think I want to save it for a bigger tank when I can get an anemone in there for them to host. My wife really wants a Banggai Cardinal. I think they are neat fish as well.

[LostOmen]

Oh, also, it seems I have had another outbreak of brown diatom algae. Last time I saw this was at the end of my tank's cycle. So I tested for nitrates and phosphates. Nitrates were undetectable, and there was barely a trace of phosphates. I have read that phosphates can still be present even if a test shows otherwise, so I grabbed some Seachem PhosGuard and stuck it in my HOB. I took out my carbon as well as I am not sure on its quality. It was a couple weeks old anyway. I am pretty sure it is from uneaten food in the system, but not 100% positive. I only feed every 2-3 days, and I target feed everything with a dropper, but sometimes I see mysis shrimp floating around when I stir up the LR. The only other thing I can think of is the Instant Ocean salt.

Oh and before anyone asks, I am using RO/DI water supplied from my LFS.

[weimers75]

It's not from the salt (the salt says its phosphate free). It could be from food, some food can have phosphates in it...and truthfully your ro/di water could have it in it depending on how old the filters are at your lfs. I would test it for phosphates before adding it to your tank. Phosphates would not come from uneaten food to my knowledge, that would add to nitrates/nitrites/or ammonia.

Also, even though your nitrates are showing up zero, its the same as your phosphates - it could be there but the diatoms are using it up...giving you the impression that there isn't any. You did the right thing though by changing the carbon and adding phosguard, I'm sure it will go away on its own eventually.

[Reefmack]

From what I've read the major cause of diatoms are silica/silicates, but DOCs (Dissolved Organic Compounds), nitrates, and phosphates are food sources as well. Most salt mixes have various amounts of silica in them and when setting up a new tank, with new SW, this can be what often causes the expected diatom phase. Light feeds the diatom too, and you may have noticed that it gets worse the longer the lights have been on. Here's an interesting analysis of salt mixes.

http://reefsaltanalysis.googlepages.com/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf

I don't agree with the way the study was conducted, as the tests following the salinity tests weren't adjusted for salinity strength differences, but it's still interesting.

Something like Chemi-Pure Elite is good for removing silica as well as phosphates, etc. Some of these things may be coming in with the salt mix itself, and foods, even when RO/DI is used.

[LostOmen]

weimers75, it does say "phosphate free", but from the salt analysis Reefmack provided a link to, Instant Ocean salt has one of the highest concentrations of phosphates. Hopefully the PhosGuard does the trick. I'm going to siphon out some of the algae tomorrow and do a small water change. I just did my weekly water change Sunday.

The PhosGuard claims to lower Silica levels as well. I'll check out the Chemi-Pure Elite if this doesn't show results in the near future.

Thanks for your input, I really do appreciate it!

[hdesai123]

I like your setup because its not cluttered in there and there is plenty of room for water movement. As for the cyano outbreak just keep up with water changes and give it some time. It will settle on its own. Dont spend too much money controlling it. Good Luck.

[pudge1515]

Nice tank! I just upgraded my girlfriends 12 gallon AP to one of these gallon longs. I just love the dimensions of these tanks

[LostOmen]

Thanks hdesai123, I was trying to get away from the normal "wall" look and give the fish some more room to play.

Thanks for the compliment pudge1515! I really like the 20L dimensions as well.

As far as the algae outbreak goes, it is already well under control! Now I just need to keep it at bay. I have my weekly water change tomorrow, and I'm going to stir up the LR quite a bit right before hand.

I got a new camera yesterday! Here are some pics. The camera is a Canon G9.

http://www.photozo.com/album/data/500/051708LeftZoas_web.JPG

http://www.photozo.com/album/data/500/051708ZoasJin_web.JPG

http://www.photozo.com/album/data/500/051708MushroomJin_web.JPG

[LostOmen]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that we ended up getting a Banggai Cardinal for the 3rd fish. He is a really cool addition, and rounds out the tank well. He is still pretty shy, but his personality is just what we were looking for.

The clown (Omen) is hyper, the goby (Jin) is lazy, the cardinal (Eko) is just big, shy and goofy, and the skunk shrimp (Linus) is outgoing and in his own world. All he wants to do is clean someone, but nobody will give him the time of day.