Beginner office nano tank - Page 2

zadrian · 10-09-2012, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by illumnae

Well I've come into office over the weekend, cleared the freshwater setup out and done some basics - filled the salt water (using H2Ocean Pro+ by D+D) and poured in the live sand (using CaribSea Arag-Alive! Oolite). Decided to go with 10lb of sand instead of the initially planned 5lb (encouragement from Ken @ MadPetz and my wife to have a deeper sand bed).

After leaving it overnight, the water is still cloudy, and there's alot of foam on the surface of the water - is this normal? I thought the water would have cleared overnight. The foam only appeared after I put in the sand (couldn't wash the sand as it was supposed to be live sand with bacteria).

Trying to find some time to go get live rocks to put in, but (1) it's hard to scape when the water is cloudy; and (2) I was recommended to go to Coral Farm to get Fiji rock (expensive!!!) but it's such a faraway place that I can't go get it during lunch time - will have to wait till Saturday to do it.

I will be relying on the live rocks, bacteria from the live sand and Microbe-Lift Nite-Out II to cycle the tank. Hopefully it won't take too long.

Bro....for nano tank....shd have put in sand then the water, at lest not so cloudy.

I used a sponge as filter media, stirr the water a little so as to "filter out" the cloud before putting anything in. Else everything such as rocks, filter media etc will be covered with the sand particles. I actually bought those submersible filters for ard $10 to increase the "filtering".

zadrian · 10-09-2012, 05:42 PM

I not recommend Halogen or any "warm" lights for small tanks due to the heat of both the bulb and light....

But some how the LED blue and white mix does not seem to cause the fish to "glow".....

I am using an Aquazonic 18b+12b LED and a Dymax Marine Robot LED lamp.

FYI, last week I went to Sea View, they had a 10% or 15% off all or most equipment.....

illumnae · 10-09-2012, 06:45 PM

Sand was live sand so I was afraid of it drying out in the tank. Hence, I put water in first then sand.

For my lighting, not using Halogen ma...I'm currently using stock LED and will upgrade to either PAR 30/38 (also LED) or Beamworks Double Bright (also LED). Ken @MadPetz recommended me the 20,000K PAR38, but it seems a little too blue for a permanent light, am thinking of the 3W2B or 14,000K ones (or the Beamworks)

zadrian · 10-09-2012, 07:05 PM

I am using a normal 1ft x 10inch tank with front curved tank. Maybe not as deep but 2 of the LEDs is enough with the dymax from 11am to 7pm and the Aquazonic from 1pm to 9pm.

So far no corals in yet but 1 blue yellow tail damsel + 1 grey damsel and 2of those 3 spotted black damsel.

Running on a submerged filter (acts as filter + wave maker) + 701 hanging filer.

I might be going to Aquamarine as they said to have stock last sat but weekend family day.....
Else I will go Chinatown....there also got a marine shop that opens after office hrs and quite a large variety.

zadrian · 10-09-2012, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by illumnae

Hi all,

Tank
Ocean Free Nano Space 2 (27 litres)

Livestock
Clownfish (Ocellaris or Percula) - 1 pair
Red-Legged Hermit Crab - 1
Trochus Snail - 2
Cleaner Shrimp - 1

Corals (future)
Zoa
Mushroom
Torch
Please recommend others

And that's the plan! Any and all feedback/advice is greatly appreciated!

Won't the Clownfish out-grow the tank as they can reach about 4 inches in size...

illumnae · 11-09-2012, 12:29 AM

I've seen varying information on this from 2.5" to 4" max size. Been asking around though seems like it is ok. Was even asked to consider adding a goby-shrimp pair in addition to the clowns.

Btw anyone got reviews of the Beamswork 9x 1w lightset (6w3b) for this tank? Is it enough to keep zoas, mushrooms and a bubble coral?

**KaLiB** · 11-09-2012, 10:12 AM

Your welcome.

Although liverocks are used in the cycling process, if ammonia and nitrites climb too high, you could potentially lose alot of the life in these rocks. Thats what happened to me when I setup my 4ft tank though fortunately, mine were just normal liverocks. Alot of the pod & crabs died during cycling. IMO, not worth paying a premium for higher grade rocks only to have the life on them wiped out. Some liverocks cost more due to their structure while some are due to the life forms on them.

Unless their from an existing matured tank, liverocks typically do not speedup the cycling process. In fact, die-offs from the rocks help fuel the nitrogen cycle. You can get by with just having the live sand first and then adding in the liverocks after a week. This is just to have a buffer in case ammonia or nitrite climbs too high. Beneficial bacteria would still naturally establish themselves on the liverock even if you add them in a little later. If you prefer to have the rocks in at the same time, you could still do so but might run the risk of losing more life on the rock than necessary.

Thereafter, ammonia and nitrite levels should be monitored before adding in any livestock.

Zoas and mushrooms generally don't need much light and should do fine but the light might be insufficient for bubble coral.

13-09-2012, 01:20 PM

Beamswork 9x 1w lightset (6w3b) should be enough to keep soft coral.

illumnae · 13-09-2012, 03:36 PM

Thanks

I met Razali (from DE Lightings) when I dropped by Marine Life at Hong Leong Gardens to take a look. He told me the Beamswork lightset is good enough to keep soft corals and simple LPS for my tank, so I dropped by C328 and bought it after that (nearby ma)...Also bought 2kg of live rock from Marine Life and the Dymax IQ Skimmer from C328.

water is really murky again after I took out 1/2 of the live sand (too thick...I knew I should have stuck with 1 packet, but my wife insisted I needed 2...sigh, now $10+ wasted throwing away the excess), so have just thrown the live rock in and will scape when it clears again.

illumnae · 14-09-2012, 10:01 AM

Finally got some floss to put in the filter compartment. I've been trying to scape the tank, but every time the dust settles, I put my hands in to scape and WHOOSH, murky tank again...this time I'll trap it with the floss so sediment doesn't get kicked up every time.

I think the live rock from Marine Life looks pretty awesome...lots of purple and yellow encrusting the rock. However, I don't see too much by way of "hitchhikers" such as crabs, starfish etc in my tank...I guess if the live rock is cured it has less critters on it?

I'm still dosing benificial bacteria daily for now. That + live sand + live rock should get my cycle up to speed hopefully next week so that I can start adding my invertebrates (clean up crew).

When can I start installing the IQ Skimmer?

11-09-2012, 10:12 AM	#17
KaLiB Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 3,635	Your welcome. Although liverocks are used in the cycling process, if ammonia and nitrites climb too high, you could potentially lose alot of the life in these rocks. Thats what happened to me when I setup my 4ft tank though fortunately, mine were just normal liverocks. Alot of the pod & crabs died during cycling. IMO, not worth paying a premium for higher grade rocks only to have the life on them wiped out. Some liverocks cost more due to their structure while some are due to the life forms on them. Unless their from an existing matured tank, liverocks typically do not speedup the cycling process. In fact, die-offs from the rocks help fuel the nitrogen cycle. You can get by with just having the live sand first and then adding in the liverocks after a week. This is just to have a buffer in case ammonia or nitrite climbs too high. Beneficial bacteria would still naturally establish themselves on the liverock even if you add them in a little later. If you prefer to have the rocks in at the same time, you could still do so but might run the risk of losing more life on the rock than necessary. Thereafter, ammonia and nitrite levels should be monitored before adding in any livestock. Zoas and mushrooms generally don't need much light and should do fine but the light might be insufficient for bubble coral. __________________ A fishtank is just like your computer. When your tank crash(OS crash), its time to cleanup(reformat hard drive) and setup(install OS) again and add new livestock(re-install software).

10-09-2012, 05:42 PM	#12
zadrian Dragon Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,085	I not recommend Halogen or any "warm" lights for small tanks due to the heat of both the bulb and light.... But some how the LED blue and white mix does not seem to cause the fish to "glow"..... I am using an Aquazonic 18b+12b LED and a Dymax Marine Robot LED lamp. FYI, last week I went to Sea View, they had a 10% or 15% off all or most equipment.....

10-09-2012, 06:45 PM	#13
illumnae Dragon Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2,433	Sand was live sand so I was afraid of it drying out in the tank. Hence, I put water in first then sand. For my lighting, not using Halogen ma...I'm currently using stock LED and will upgrade to either PAR 30/38 (also LED) or Beamworks Double Bright (also LED). Ken @MadPetz recommended me the 20,000K PAR38, but it seems a little too blue for a permanent light, am thinking of the 3W2B or 14,000K ones (or the Beamworks)

10-09-2012, 07:05 PM	#14
zadrian Dragon Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,085	I am using a normal 1ft x 10inch tank with front curved tank. Maybe not as deep but 2 of the LEDs is enough with the dymax from 11am to 7pm and the Aquazonic from 1pm to 9pm. So far no corals in yet but 1 blue yellow tail damsel + 1 grey damsel and 2of those 3 spotted black damsel. Running on a submerged filter (acts as filter + wave maker) + 701 hanging filer. I might be going to Aquamarine as they said to have stock last sat but weekend family day..... Else I will go Chinatown....there also got a marine shop that opens after office hrs and quite a large variety.

11-09-2012, 12:29 AM	#16
illumnae Dragon Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2,433	I've seen varying information on this from 2.5" to 4" max size. Been asking around though seems like it is ok. Was even asked to consider adding a goby-shrimp pair in addition to the clowns. Btw anyone got reviews of the Beamswork 9x 1w lightset (6w3b) for this tank? Is it enough to keep zoas, mushrooms and a bubble coral?

13-09-2012, 01:20 PM	#18
bkburger Guest Posts: n/a	Beamswork 9x 1w lightset (6w3b) should be enough to keep soft coral.

13-09-2012, 03:36 PM	#19
illumnae Dragon Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2,433	Thanks I met Razali (from DE Lightings) when I dropped by Marine Life at Hong Leong Gardens to take a look. He told me the Beamswork lightset is good enough to keep soft corals and simple LPS for my tank, so I dropped by C328 and bought it after that (nearby ma)...Also bought 2kg of live rock from Marine Life and the Dymax IQ Skimmer from C328. water is really murky again after I took out 1/2 of the live sand (too thick...I knew I should have stuck with 1 packet, but my wife insisted I needed 2...sigh, now $10+ wasted throwing away the excess), so have just thrown the live rock in and will scape when it clears again.

14-09-2012, 10:01 AM	#20
illumnae Dragon Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2,433	Finally got some floss to put in the filter compartment. I've been trying to scape the tank, but every time the dust settles, I put my hands in to scape and WHOOSH, murky tank again...this time I'll trap it with the floss so sediment doesn't get kicked up every time. I think the live rock from Marine Life looks pretty awesome...lots of purple and yellow encrusting the rock. However, I don't see too much by way of "hitchhikers" such as crabs, starfish etc in my tank...I guess if the live rock is cured it has less critters on it? I'm still dosing benificial bacteria daily for now. That + live sand + live rock should get my cycle up to speed hopefully next week so that I can start adding my invertebrates (clean up crew). When can I start installing the IQ Skimmer?

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)