30 Gallon Nano Reef Diary

[chrissaysyes]

Alrighty...new 30 gallon tank is already underway...

30 gallon all-glass tank
Penguin 200B Power Filter
Aqua Clear 30 Power Head (Old 301)
Lee's® Counter Current Protein Skimmer (Small)
200 watt heater
digi thermometer

Added live sand,
raise SG to 1.024
added marine ph buffer
added dechlorinator
add TLC marine bacteria

Tomorrow:
adding about 10lbs of LR,
adding bio balls from established aquarium.


Any advice as far as any other hardware I may need? I'll go ahead and add some pics now even though the water is still super murky from the argonite.

 

[chrissaysyes]

Tank with water, live sand, and chunk of bleached coral:

 

[shafty]

I wouldn't put the bioballs in as they can be a nitrate trap. Also for a 30G you'll need some more LR...usually 1-2 lbs per gallon I tend to be on the higher side as this will be your main source of filtration. Good luck and keep us updated! How deep is that sand bed?

 

[chrissaysyes]

Thanks for the tip on the bio balls! I wasnt sure if I should add them or not. Im definitely adding waayyyy more LR in the future but for now this is it. Im going to wait probably a month before I add a clean up crew so I dont want an abundance of bristle worms or some random hitchhiker taking over my tank while it sits there and waits for my paychecks. Any other hardware I might need? I really wanna do this as nice as possible...can someone explain to me the concept and benefit of a refugium?

 

[chrissaysyes]

thinking of a uv sterilizer and another power head...good ideas?

 

[chrissaysyes]

decided what to stock the tank with finally...angels. Just purchased a Coral Beauty Angelfish who is in the 14gallon "waitting room" for about a month. I didnt mean to start buying fish this soon but the lfs wanted rid of him and I couldnt pass him up. $5 for any marine fish is pretty hard to pass up in my book. He was terrorizing the other fish in the tank he was in...their own fault for putting a 3inch angel with a group of assorted wrasses. He's already acclimated to his temporary home and enjoying some flake. Anyways, here's a pic of one (not mine, however almost identical) for all to admire

I just added about 16lbs of LR today...no interesting hitchhikers so far aside from copods and algae.

Question:
I added a pretty large (5-6lb) chunk of bleached coral to the tank...I know it'll get dirty with algae but I was wondering of any chances of it eventually becoming living to perhaps assist with filtering in the long run?

Anyhoo, pics in a bit.

 

[ox5477]

Question:
I added a pretty large (5-6lb) chunk of bleached coral to the tank...I know it'll get dirty with algae but I was wondering of any chances of it eventually becoming living to perhaps assist with filtering in the long run?

Anyhoo, pics in a bit.

I would assume like any other rock that it would eventually become live. Thats what all base rock in nature is, dead coral, so wouldnt see any reason why it wouldnt allow growth of bacteria to filter

 

[chrissaysyes]

good to hear! Should save me a pretty penny or two later on. Went ahead and took out the bio balls. Just noticed a huge bristleworm. Also some long white tentacle things waving around...probably just a dirty plant but I dunno...looks interesting. I took a pic but dont really have time to post now. I'll put it up tonight along with pics of any other activity. Btw the angelfish is going nuts and nibbling alllll the LR in the other tank...the shrimp seem kind of worried.

 

[chrissaysyes]

so glad I got the angel, definitely my new favorite fish! Cant wait to get more and move him to the 30gal!

 

[chrissaysyes]

bristleworm:

mystery thingy thats probably nothing:

full tank:

Powerheads, heater, and skimmer go in tomorrow. Is my sand bed too deep? Im going to spread it all out evenly tomorrow...but I still feel like it may be a bit much? Or is deeper sand better? I heard that deeper sand is better for more natural filtration? Im going to be adding cleaner clams if that makes any difference in the aeration department...let me know. More pics tomorrow.

 

[chrissaysyes]

Added about 2lbs or so of LR today, also added the heater, one powerhead and removed the middle piece of my filters tube...dunno why...everyone else's pics I've seen have the middle removed...Im assuming to protect small creatures on the rock and to protect the filter from the fine grain sand...anyhoo...looks a little better now I think. I like the power head a lot...still debating on adding a aqua clear 20 or not...advice? Also debating on changing the lighting as Im not sure if I want corals in this tank or not...probably not. Anyways...leaving things alone for the weekend until my paycheck comes and the tank has more time to cycle. Give me some feedback poeple. Pics in a few mins.

 

[chrissaysyes]

full tank shot:

Just spotted two things that almost look like feather dusters...not sure yet.

 

[chrissaysyes]

just added a black background...aka a thick sheet of black plastic taped to the back of the tank...no pics for now because it looks kind of shabby...I didnt clean the back of the tank and I just put the plastic in place with tape for now. Tomorrow Im going to add a coating of vasoline to the back of the tank to seal the plastic down. I've never tried that method before but I had heard of it working. We shall see

 

[sianeds]

I hope the vaseline method works because if it doesn't you're gonna have a hell of a job cleaning it all off

Personally I rely on a good clean dry back of the tank and some black electrical tape. Is much easier to take it off when you need to and doesn't leave any residue like sellotape. Also if you cut the backing a bit small you can hide the gaps with the black tape

 

[chrissaysyes]

heh well..the vasoline is meant to seal the plastic tighter to the aquarium, to make the background darker...so it looks like a black background rather than black background through glass...the glass makes it look foggy...not bad, just not perfect heh. Definitely using electrical tape to make up for my uneven edges though