Newbie- Need some help!

[matthewdov]

I'm doing a high school project on coral. I have 2 2.5 gallon tanks, filled with Instant Ocean Reef Crystals at a specific gravity of 1.024, heater set to 76F, LED lights on a timer, a power filter, and a piece of acrylic that covers most of the top the tank (to prevent evaporation). We've tried Acropora sp. and Pocillopora damicornus. Within days they bleach on us and die. Any help/advice would be appreciated

[Jjtaylor62083]

What are you water parameters, if led are to strong they can bleach corals, did the tank cycle most sps need very consistent parameters and clean water with flow

[acabgd]

Do you have any live rock in there? Did you cycle your tanks? SPS corals are hard to keep, your tank needs to be well established in order to supprt them. In such a small system only expert reefers can keep SPS corals. You can't just toss them in there and expect them to survive.

[hobbby3]

Do you start with RO/DI water with 0 TDS? conditioned tap water or well water will not be a good starting point for SPS coral.

You also need to be testing for

ALK
CALC
MAG
Phosphate
Nitrate

Another Item I don't see in your setup is an automatic top off system to account for evaporation. Evaporation will actually be your friend if you decide to use KALK to supliment what your coral will suck from the water. More detail on that can be found in the stickies in the top of this forum.

[coralsnaked]

Matthew

Hello and welcome

So let me see here, you say you have 2- 2.5 gal tanks and want to raise some coral. Well 2.5 Pico tanks are a bit difficult as the water seems to get icky pretty fast. So you are going to have to be very diligent in making this work. But let’s talk about in general what you need to do to start up a tank. Sounds like you have begun the basics.
You will need the following for your tank.
Salt water measured to specific gravity of 1.025 – 1.026 you can use a hydrometer or better yet a calibrated refractometer which is more accurate, Make this with purified RODI water you can purchase from LFS or use distilled water from grocery store. NO tap water. Contains silicates and junk that will create all kinds of problems in a small tank.

You MUST have live rock. This you can buy from an LFS (Local Fish Shop) at around $8.00 – 10.00 per pound and you need 2.5 lbs. Get what they call rubble (small pieces) and stack in the back of the tank against the back glass. You will also need substrate for the bottom of the tank. I suggest a little sand or aragonite or crushed coral but no more than one inch deep.

Place your rock in first and then substrate and then water. Turn on return pump (filter pump) and heater on and begin to cycle your tank without the lights on. This means you are going to grow bacteria namely nitrifying and de-nitrifying bacteria. To do this you must complete what is referred to as the N or Nitrogen cycle. Your tank will support no form of life until this process is complete. This process can take from 1 -6 weeks to complete and unless you have access to someone else’s aquarium there is no real short cut that will work.

Since your tank is so small I would suggest you ask your local LFS for some help to kind of sponsor you buy selling you the live rock, and some water and sand from one of his display tanks that is already up and running. This will give you some pretty instant results. Otherwise you will need time to cycle your tank. Here is the best scenario.

You buy the live rock 2.5lbs. And put in your tank as mentioned above. Then you add ½ of a raw table shrimp to the water that is heated to 78 F. And let it stay in there for 3 days. Take it out and bring a water sample to the LFS and let them test it for Ammonia, (NO2) Nitrite and (NO3) Nitrate. What you are looking for is an Ammonia spike to at least 2 ppm (parts per million). Then you want to see the ammonia fall to zero. In the process you will see the Ammonia rise and fall and then the Nitrites rise and fall and then the Nitrates rise. You will make several trips to LFS to test these water params over a 2 week period. When the Amm and Nitrites read 0.0 and the Nitrates are < 5 then you have completed the N cycle and can begin to slowly add livestock to the tank. But first take out one quart of tank water and replace with a quart of premixed saltwater mixed to 1.025 SP and add a live bacteria supplement such as StartSmart for saltwater or other name brand like Stabilizer from SeaChem. Now turn your light on and you will then first add 2 red legged hermit crabs and nothing else. Wait 2 days and have LFS test for all three again (Amm, NO2, NO3) as well as Salinity, Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium. These all have to be within parameters.

Salinity 1.0250-1.026
Amm 0.0
Nitrites 0.0
Nitrates < 5
Calcium 400 - 450 ppm
Alkalinity 8.0 – 11 dKH
Mg 1350 -1500 ppm

If everything tests OK then buy one small size clown goby and put in tank. Wait till next day and begin feeding. But in no means can you over feed this fish or you will crash your tank. Wait a couple of days and test params again.

Feeding Clown Goby.

The yellow clown goby is very easy to feed as it accepts almost all types of foods including marine flake food. It is a quick eater and swims into open water to eat whenever you fed it. This means that this goby usually gets the food it needs and that you don't need to make sure that it gets enough food like you need for many other gobies. Feed your Yellow clown goby a varied diet containing a lot of high protein food. You can use a marine flake food or shrimp pellets as a base, but you should give them frozen food and chopped up sea food as well. Feed 2 times a day.
I suggest frozen Mysis cubes melt and puree I cube into 1/8 cup of RODI water and feed it ½ ml twice a day and no more. Now after you begin to feed your fish then you can begin to add some coral.

You have three types of coral: Soft coral, LPS Large Polyp Stony or SPS Small Polyp Stony. You began w/ Acropora sp. and Pocillopora damicornus and these are SPS and you will never be very successful with these in your tank. They are at expert levels and require a much more stable environment then you can provide in a Pico tank environment. You should try Soft corals. I would suggest three corals. A Kenya tree which is hardy and very fast growing and cheaper. Some polyps about 3 -10 on a small frag or plug, and a small plug with several heads on Zoas on them. You can place them on your rock pile facing up about halfway to the surface. Or glue them with Reef safe epoxy and super glue gel by making a sandwich of super glue gel epoxy ball and super gel. Stick the gel to the rock and to the plug. And the best thing is you need not feed them. They will eat the leftover from the pureed Mysis and well as the fish poo. Be sure each morning to remove 4 ounces of water and replace w/ 4 oz. of your premixed saltwater. The only thing I would add is the live bacteria supplement each day. I suggest you use SmartStart for saltwater and add 1ml daily after each water change. When and if your tank begins to loose a small volume of water after equal parts of removing old and replacing same amount of new saltwater then you will top off with the RODI or purified water as too not change the total salinity of tank. Remember there will be evaporation over time even w/ a covered tank and cool LED lights. But the salt does not evaporate only the water.

Do not stick your bare hands into your tank or handle corals w/ bare hands. Use gloves preferably vinyl exam gloves w/ no powder or a new never been used pair of platex gloves for dishwashing.. 1. Because you will contaminate it. 2. Because Polyps such as Palys and Zoas are poisonous and you don’t want to contaminate yourself. Test your water params each week and have fun, do lots of research and PM me if you have questions as I rarely get back to these threads.

This is just the beginning but this book is getting too long…still interested in creating a

Merry Skerry