Hi All, i recently set up a nano reef tank, it is a 12 gallon eclipse(bought the marineland starter box) has about 10lbs of crushed coral, 5.5 lbs of live rock( will be adding more soon), visa-therm heater, salinity is at 30ppm, i put a packet of bio-spria in about two weeks ago, the lighting is the stock bulb that comes with the hood(13w) planning to up grade to a 50/50 10,000k actinic 03 bulb. i have some diatom growth starting in places, for livestock i have two hermit crabs and two snails, couldnt say what they are exactly at this moment, so my question is am i heading in the right direction, and is there anything i need to know more about? :dunno:
Very new to reefing
- Thread starter d00m4uall
- Start date
Smitty
Reef pro
First of all, welcome to the site...
If I were you, I'd get rid of that crushed coral soon, it causes many nitrate problems down the road, instead, use some aragonite sand...
Your salinity at 30 is just fine...
Even though you added bio-spria, there is still a strong chance that the snails and crabs will not make it, your tank will need to do a complete cycle(ammonia,nitrite,nitrate)...
You are going in the right direction, word of advice, be patient and do lots of research. You'll appreciate it later on down the road.:D
If I were you, I'd get rid of that crushed coral soon, it causes many nitrate problems down the road, instead, use some aragonite sand...
Your salinity at 30 is just fine...
Even though you added bio-spria, there is still a strong chance that the snails and crabs will not make it, your tank will need to do a complete cycle(ammonia,nitrite,nitrate)...
You are going in the right direction, word of advice, be patient and do lots of research. You'll appreciate it later on down the road.:D
bjohanson1234
.........
+1 Smitty
dcantucson
Reef pro
I agree. +2 Smitty
Melosu58
Reef enthusiast
You need to realize that with nano`s that extra dilligence will be needed. The more water volume you have the more forgiving it will be. But with nano`s less water volume will be less forgiving. Not saying it cant be done but you`ll need to stay on top of it. The first thing will be to heed what Smitty said.
yote
In Memoriam
+3 Smitty
And welcome aboard.
And welcome aboard.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Hi and welcome! It will be much easier to replace the crushed coral with sand now, before you add more animals to the tank. I know firsthand the kind of problems the crushed coral substrate causes :(
well tank you guys and gal for the welcome and the fore warning, i must also correct myself and saying that i dont have crushed coral i have crushed aragonite, dont know i said that probally having a brain fart, i also did a test strip before i added the snails and crabs, and the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate were all at zero or just slightly, barley above zero and i did another one last night and now there all at zero, also a quick queston when i put my substrate into the tank it was all white now it has a few pink colored spots is that coraline algae?
daugherty
part time reefer
it may be cyano bacteria which is normal for a new tank.
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
Oh, and usually, someone by now would have mentioned that hopefully you're using either rodi or distilled water :)
Everyone's got you covered! My crabs can get into the smallest hidden places. I used to lose track of mine all the time, but they'd pop up after a few days. But if they don't survive, at least their li'l bodies will provide a bit of food for your essential bacteria,
Everyone's got you covered! My crabs can get into the smallest hidden places. I used to lose track of mine all the time, but they'd pop up after a few days. But if they don't survive, at least their li'l bodies will provide a bit of food for your essential bacteria,
thanks again for the help and sugestions, i've been looking around for some ideas on what to put in my tank invertabret wise, i was thinking some mushrooms, green star polyps, and button polyps, but i need to get my lighiting upgraded before i add any of those, also i've added another 13.5lbs of live rock to my tank so i have 19-20lbs of rock in my tank now.also any other ideas on what to stock would be welcome
yote
In Memoriam
In that small a tank,I don't think I would put star polyps in there.They'll take it over quick if your not careful.
update-after i move im upgrading to a 29gal that i have, went out and got a coralife deluxe light fixture, it has 2x65watt bulbs in it, so im thinking it should have enough wattage for most corals, also in addation to the crushed aggagonite im going to be adding 20lbs of live sand, and probally a few more peices of rock, im also thing of starting a sump tank with an old 10 gal tank i have but have no clue on where to start with that project. also any know any good fish stores in northern illinois/southern wisconson? im tired of petco/smart/land, never have anything im looking for
daugherty
part time reefer
just so you know pc lights do not put out a lot of light.so you will still be limited on what you will be able to keep in your tank.
yote
In Memoriam
+1 James
Get yourself a good set of T-5s and you wont have to worry about being short on light.Also forget about the crushed coral,it'll look like crap even with the sand mixed in.Plus the sand will just settle to the bottom and leave the CC on top.
Get yourself a good set of T-5s and you wont have to worry about being short on light.Also forget about the crushed coral,it'll look like crap even with the sand mixed in.Plus the sand will just settle to the bottom and leave the CC on top.
