Although I only had this tank for about a month now, I'd like to share with you a few things I've learned. I feel that I have some things to share with the newcomer to the hobby, as I haven't lost a fish or any livestock since I started, and I also may have found out a trick or two that will help speed the setup somewhat.
When I started setting up, I put the sand in, then the water, then a couple pounds of live rock. The first post I wrote has pictures of the tank that contains the sand, rock and one fish. The first fish I put in, I had to return because it was very aggressive to the second fish I had added. The Strawberry Basslet was absolutely ruthless towards my blue damsel, that I had to take him back. First hint - dont use an aggressive fish as your first fish.
While I had that first fish, I tested the water daily. The ammonia levels rose as expected, but the ammonia never peaked to a very high level like it did on my very first freshwater aquarium. I believe that is because I used a filter I had been running on one of my freshwater tanks. I wasnt certain at first if this would be a good idea or not, but it turned out to be so far. In fact, it worked out so well, that the tank seems to have completely cycled in only 2 weeks with this approach, so...Second tip: Use a "used" biological filter.
Speaking of water quality, and I've heard hobbyists say either way, that a skimmer is not absolutely necessary. I cannot comment on whether one is nessary to maintain a tank, but add me to the list who believes in them! I bought a skimmer, and I was dumping out brownish, yellow water from it daily. I have since did a slight modification to the collection cup on mine. I drilled a hole in the side to tightly fit a piece of airline tubing, and have the tubing going thru a larger tub where the cup can drain so I dont have to empty it so often. I have it draining in a clear plastic box, and I can tell you, the water in it is like... "ewwww"...so the skimmer is definately doing something. Now I did not go and get a very expensive model. I got the little Oceanic nano skimmer that is used on their 14 nano cube. It has suction cups so it can be used in a standard tank. This skimmer fits inside the aquarium. I put the drain tubing just below the reaction chamber, so the cup never fills all the way. Third tip: get a skimmer! even a low cost one will help.
Brown algae: I think every tank gets it when youre starting out. I disregarded all the warnings regarding to using tap water in the tank. I never saw it written as to WHY not to use it, so I wasnt sure if it was an old wives tale or what, so I went ahead and used tap water. That was a mistake. I later read that some tap water has minerals, mostly silicates that brown algae thrives on, and boy did I get a nice algae bloom! The tank was covered with it, and it happened in just one day! The next day, I went to one of those companies that install commercial water coolers with the big 5 gallon plastic bottles of water. Culligan is one such place. Check first, but the ones in my area use reverse osmosis water. I bought 2- 5 gallon bottles. The water is not that expensive and will keep the tank pretty. I did only a 1/3 partial water change on my tank, and within a week, ALL of the brown ick was gone outta my tank. Fourth tip: Use bottled water, and check to make sure its reverse osmosis water. I'm told distilled water is ok too, but the problem that could arise is if they use a copper still to distill it. Many crustaceans are sensitive to copper.
I hope this helps you out. Also, I welcome any comments on this and other stories I post here. I'm not an authority on saltwater - I'm still learning, and sharing what has worked for me, SO FAR. If you see something that I'm writing about that is not good practice, please leave a comment and discuss it.
Nano Reef Tips
Posted by
Mike H - KD0AR
at
Sunday, November 1, 2009
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