My New 10 gallon Nano.

[MiniPigg]

Well it appears that my ammonia levels are at zero. All else is good too. Still trying to get the pH up.

Anyway I think I might want to add some live sand now..... ?

 

[garvondavis14]

hey, i just wanted to let you know that a domino would definitely be a bad choice, as they are about meanest damsel out there and they can actually get pretty freakin' huge...i've seen some huge ones in shark tanks before, and my friend had one that was pretty gigantic...just lettin' you know, so you don't regret it down the road

 

[MiniPigg]

most recent pic of the rock...
tons of brown algae and some green algae (not the green bubble algae).

Temp 78
pH 8.0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
sg 1.026

 

[Anonymous]

awe...babies first diatom bloom. :lol:

When I set up my nano cube in my office, people kept asking why I had that brown stuff growing on the rocks and sand. I must have explained to 15 people that it was all part of setting up a new tank and it would go away in time. :lol:

 

[MiniPigg]

well.... its thicker then what we can see in the photo.... but my chems are all pretty good....

Temp 78
pH 8.4
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
sg 1.026

again not sure on the ammonia.... i mean it looks like 0 but maybe still between 0-0.25. Colors are to close for me to tell. I am going to bring a water sample into the LFS tomorrow.

Anyway I wanted to add something... maybe some LS or LS/LR.

 

[MiniPigg]

Water quality is still the same numbers so I think I will add something to the tank. I can only afford one this payday. So which should I get and why...

1) Berlin Skimmer for $40
2) 20lbs Live Sand for $40
3) 2 fist sized LR covered in coralline algae for $45

 

[Anonymous]

Water quality is still the same numbers so I think I will add something to the tank. I can only afford one this payday. So which should I get and why...

1) Berlin Skimmer for $40
2) 20lbs Live Sand for $40
3) 2 fist sized LR covered in coralline algae for $45

Forget the live sand. You can add dead sand for less than half the price and any live rock you buy will populate the dead sand with plenty of critters.

So it's either 1 or 3.

If you have the space for a skimmer, I would get the skimmer.



Where would you get the live rock? You should be able to get it for $6 a pound at the store. It might not be covered in coralline, but it will have enough corraline on it so it will eventually get covered. 2 fist sized chunks would cost you less than $15.

Also, for a tank this small, I think it's better to get thin flat plate type rocks. You can do a lot more with them than round chunks. Even branch might be better because you can use it to get some height on your mini reef.


So I vote for the skimmer.

 

[MiniPigg]

Well the LR I wanted it gone.... ERRRRGGGGG :x

I will get the skimmer. But I want to do the LR too.. so I might only be able to get a small chunk. also do you think it would be ok to get a hermit crab and which one to start off with?


Oh.... what online LFS is best to buy live rock and hermit crabs?

 

[Anonymous]

You could get a couple of hermits and snails now.

I wouldn't order them. Shipping is too much for live goods unless you are buying a lot.

You'd be paying $30 to ship $10 worth of hermits and snails. :lol:

 

[MiniPigg]

I brought in a water sample today to the LFS..... everything looked good except for my pH was back down to 7.8. They told me to wait longer til the nitrites start to increase.

So what can I add that will naturally increase the pH (and keep it there) and not adversely effect the rest of my chems? Are there other forums of algae that can be introduced?

 

[Anonymous]

You need to get some kind of buffer for the long term that maintains calcium and alkalinity. Might as well get it now.


ESV B-Ionic is great. It's expensive for a large tank, but for a small tank it is not.

Following the instructions with B-ionic will level off pH, calcium, and Alk for good.

 

[MiniPigg]

WOOO HOOOOOOOOO!


I have my first bristle worm. He is crawling all over the substrate.... what I dont understand is where in the heck did it come from? I used crushed coral, base rock that was supposed to be uncured and out of the ocean forever.. and I just introduced that dead coral that was on a shelf for years... where did it come from?


anyway isnt that a good sign that I have this little dude runnin around?

 

[Anonymous]

WOOO HOOOOOOOOO!


I have my first bristle worm. He is crawling all over the substrate.... what I dont understand is where in the heck did it come from? I used crushed coral, base rock that was supposed to be uncured and out of the ocean forever.. and I just introduced that dead coral that was on a shelf for years... where did it come from?


anyway isnt that a good sign that I have this little dude runnin around?

Sure it's a good sign.

He lived in the base rock. Those worms are some on natures most indestructable life forms. Pretty good.


I was thinking about your pH and wondering why it keeps going down. What are you using for top off? Maybe your source water is acidic.


Think about the B-ionic. It's tough deciding what to spend money on, but it's worth it. Order direct from ESV.


You could try a little baking soda for a quick fix. Just a pinch. But that isn't a long term solution.

 

[MiniPigg]

Im using treated tap water. I did test the pH and its at 7.4 .
Will the agra LS work better to keep the pH up?

I dont see how that bristleworm could survive... the base rock was completely dried. I washed it off with a garden hose. The LFS guy said the rock had been out of water for sometime. Thats incredible if it lasted thru all that and the cycling of the tank. I looked the bristleworm up and its one of the good guys that you want in the tank. So Im pretty happy about that. My wife was happy to see something living in the tank other then the algae and the damsel.

 

[MiniPigg]

Well my chems are doing well now. pH is up. I put in several small pieces of live rock into the tank. Most are about the size of golf balls. 7 total costing me about 14 bucks. So far Ive noticed a few hitchhiking snails. All rocks are covered in thick corralline algae. Im not sure what the weight is but it has to be at least 2 pounds. I want to add more this weekend. I came real close to getting a blue crab as one of the hitchhikers but the LFS guy saw him and knocked it off the rock. This was the oldest LR they had in the one tank. The rest didnt have much of anything. These are small pieces that no body wanted and work perfect in a tank my size.


So for livestock that I have added or noticed in the tank.

1 Yellowtailed Damsel
2+ Bristleworms
3 blue legged hermit crabs
Several snails.

On two of the pieces of LR there appears to be some sort of fan? They are both about 1/8 of an inch and red. One of them pops out and then goes back in. The other is just fan'd out completely and allowing the water flow wave it around. What kind would this be?

 

[MiniPigg]

Water tests out at:

Temp 78
pH 8.2
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
sg 1.026

Livestock to date:
One Yellowtailed Damsel
Two+ Bristleworms
Three blue legged hermit crabs
Three micro red tube worms
Five different snails.


Going to add more live rock this week. The live rock I picked out before had been in the tank forever. No one wanted it even though it had allot of growth on it. Im going to grab the rest this week. Might equate to another 1.5-2.0 pounds.

Not sure what I need to test for now that I have the hermit crabs and the tube worms.

Ive also decided that this tank is going to become a refuge. I am going to begin another tank with 3+ inches of live sand and then transfer some of the live stock over to the new tank. My wife wants me to get an all in one tank because she likes the way they look. Ive got this other ten aga tank I wanted to use and its free.... soooo... what to use? what to buy?

 

[Anonymous]

It took me along time to rid brown diatoms from my tank. It can be attributed to water but it just takes time for the tank to mature and should clear albeit months maybe but it will clear

 

[MiniPigg]

It took me along time to rid brown diatoms from my tank. It can be attributed to water but it just takes time for the tank to mature and should clear albeit months maybe but it will clear

The blue leg hermit crabs have just about picked the tank clean. There have been a few fights between them but I just thought it might have been ,"Hey! I want your shell!" type fighting.


When I arrived at home today I was greeted by my wife. She is giving me a heads up on a fish my young daughter bought. Hmm? Fish? Seeing how I've been working so hard getting this nano tank established I rush to the tank to see whats the fuss. What I find causes me blood pressure to elevate. Im not upset with my daughter or wife and I let them know. The fish was a domino damsel. Which is not a big deal for the most part. The issue is whats on the domino damel. The damsel appears to have gross amounts of necrotic tissue falling away from its mid to distal dorsal and top forward to rear section of the rear caudal. Same with the tips of the front pectorals. I can see parasites in some of the dead tissues. The damsel looks like the living dead. I am not very pleased with this LFS. As mentioned before we only have two SW LFS's in the area. This one has completely displaced any confidence I carried for them.

My daughter is young and tiny for her age. She was very excited to have just received her ceriticate for graduating the 2nd grade and this was a present to herself. I only wish I had been home to help her. It was heart breaking knowing that the owner of the LFS had just taken my daughter for her money that she had been saving for a fish. I handled her with care and explained our next step. I then collected the damsel from the tank and continued to keep my toughts to myself as not to weight in on her sadness.

As we enter the LFs the owner looks to the floor. So do you think he "knew" what he had done? I sense he did. He did not even argue with me. I told him the fish was being returned and he just opened the register up and handed me the refund. I told him I was not the buyer, so he passed it over to my daughter. No words, no sorry, nothing.
Well she was very heart broken. So I have a dilemma at hand. I feel my tank is completely tainted now, as well as my daughters feelings. I do not want to add any more fish to the tank after what happened. I would rather sit and wait to see how things develope. I also want to make my daughter happy. So against my better judgement we head over to the other SW LFS. She looks at the current stock and asks some questions to the salesman. I follow up and she decides on a juvenile Maroon Clown Fish. Looks as if we have a large reef tank in our future. For now the clown is doing well.

Now I need to watch over the tank......... feedback?

 

[Anonymous]

well im sorry about that. How old is your tank again? a few months. Waiting is always the best. Its a way to teach your daughter patience cuz in the long run the tank will turn out looking good if you are patient. You should make sure that there isnt any remains of parasites in the tank b4 introducing new fish or the new one may share the same fate as the last.

 

[garvondavis14]

Wow, that place is crap. I would be so pissed