My Nano Is Going!

[afmo]

Well, i posted here a few weeks back and now feel bad that i didnt get back to post pics of my tank you all so generously helped me get going

Unfortunately i had to go back to university a few days after i got my tank set up, so i was busy with that and hadn't gotten around to it.

Well, here it is in all its glory. Only 2 pieces of LR since i'm a poor college student LOL

Like some others i've read about, it sat for days without the levels changing at all. On the advice of my lfs he said that with cured rock its entirely possible to not see the cycle and suggested that i add only a half-cleanup crew. So i added 3 red-legged hermits and a top crown snail. Since then the ammonia spiked, then retreated and the LR has done really well. The corraline is spreading, and i've noticed plant life starting to grow. I'm going to give it one more month (and by month i mean until paycheck comes in lol!) and then add the rest of the cleanup crew another large chunk of LR and a small fish. The LFS also suggested to me a Scarlet skunk shrimp as well, is this a good addition? Also its a 10 gallon tank, what kind of fish should i be looking at? a tank so small i'm sure only one or 2 at the most, but i want something that will be fun for myself as well as those that see the tank. Suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

thanks all!

 

[Mr.September15]

Is it the wal-mart 10gallon kit? Scarlet Shrimps are a good addition although I've read somewhere on here that they don't clean up very well. But I still have one because there so fun to watch =)

 

[afmo]

yes the tank is the walmart 10 gal kit. It was much cheaper than buying separately. I did change the lighting however, since it came with just a standard fluorescent bulb.

I checked the lfs today, and they have scarlet skunk shrimp on sale for 8.99 and only a few left, so i think i'll pick one up cheap while i can.

 

[Mr.September15]

GO FOR IT! Over here they sell for 18-20bucks =(. I bought the wal-mart kit too the 30gallon model.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Keep in mind that if you get another piece of live rock later you may see a spike in ammonia again as it goes through a dieoff process. So if you feel like you want more live rock then hold back on the fish. I'd look a small goby or two such as a pair of neon or clown gobies or something similar. You could go with an occelaris clown or a fire fish in addition to one of the gobies or any other combination of the fish I mentioned, get one first and watch how the water quality goes, if all stays good for a few weeks you can add a second and possibly a very small third fish. Also the plant growth you're probably seeing is algae and will become a problem if you're not using RO water and doing a regular change.

Great job by the way, you're tank looks great.

SLC

 

[afmo]

Keep in mind that if you get another piece of live rock later you may see a spike in ammonia again as it goes through a dieoff process. So if you feel like you want more live rock then hold back on the fish.

Good call, i hadn't thought of that! thanks for saving me on that one

Convinced the missus to let me head into the lfs tonight to finish the aquascaping. a few more good chunks of LR across the back should make for a pretty nice look. While i'm there i think i might look at an extra power head to double my flow. i'm only at 100gph right now on a 10gal tank and had heard that this is bare minimum, any truth to that?

hopefully i can get a response on this before i head to town, but is there any problem with mixing types of LR? the two chunks i have in there now are Fiji, if i get a different type will i run into issues?

Thanks for the replies!

 

[afmo]

Ok, bit of an update.

Went to the lfs after school, and it must have been my lucky day. The owner got some extra money and decided take down the 120 gallon display tank to upgrade it and put in a bigger tank. Well, for one reason or another, the crew voted and decided to start up a new one instead of transplanting the existing tank. long story short, they were selling the LR out of their display tank (the big beautiful tank that was established for the better part of 4 years). Lets just say, that for 6.99 a lb, i couldnt pass it up, and would have bought more if my tank could handle it! Its beautiful and full of corraline. Luckily i was able to convince the missus to buy the LR, the rest of the cleanup crew, AND a second power head. Its a good thing she knows what a deal well established LR for 6.99 a lb is! Unfortunately when I got there, they had just sold their last Scarlet Skunk Cleaner. Missed it by >< that much. Oh well. I did go ahead and finish up my cleanup crew (minus shrimpy, i didnt want to settle on something i wasnt thrilled with).

so anyways, here it is after i aquascaped it.

So the tank as it is now is:

10 USG by All Glass Aquarium
75w AGA adjustable temp thermometer
approx 12 lbs of LR
Rio Model 90 power head
Aqua-tech 100 GPH filter/water mover


Stock:
3 Scarlet Reef Hermits
3 Dwarf Blue Legged hermits
4 Astraea Conehead Snails
1 Top Crown Snail

Now that I've got the LR that connects both sides of the tank, i'm really extremely happy with my tank. Gonna give this LR some time to stabilize and i think next purchase might be a fish!

*EDIT ~ wow i re-read the first part and it made absolutely ZERO sense. sorry for any confusion.

 

[SkiFletch]

Fantastic rock for that price, W2G

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

By the way, incase you hadn't realised it yet there's absolutely no problem mixing diffeent types of Live Rock. And I am absolutely loving your setup, makes me a bit jealous.

SLC

 

[afmo]

By the way, incase you hadn't realised it yet there's absolutely no problem mixing diffeent types of Live Rock. And I am absolutely loving your setup, makes me a bit jealous.

SLC

aww shucks thank you its *almost* like i know what im doin! LOL.

yeah, the guy at the LFS told me that there wasnt a problem with mixing LR as well, but decided to go with the fiji since it matched what i already had and was just too beautiful to pass up.

i got the day off work today, so im gonna give the glass a good scrubbing and spend some time doting on the tank i'll update later.

 

[afmo]

Ok, update

after adding the new liverock and several days of stability, i went to the LFS *Just to look* as always, and let the owner talk me into a fish and a coral.

So i went with an Ocellaris Clown, wanted to get a true perc, but they were sold out.

also got a green striped mushroom. Also a fun freebie, an asterina star crawled out of my LR the other day, keeping an eye on him so he doesnt munch my corals, per the warning i got in the invert forums.

that brings my stock to:

FISH:
1 Ocellaris Clown (Maui)

Inverts:
1 x Asterina Starfish
2 x Blue legged hermits
3 x Scarlet Reef hermits
1 x Dwarf Zebra hermit
3 x Astraea Conehead snails
1 x Top Crown snail
1 x Banded Trochus snail

Coral
Green Striped Mushroom (actinodiscus sp.)

Water Parameters as of tonight

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5ppm
SG 1.024
PH 8.2
Temp 80F

Also, replacing my 50/50 bulb with a single sattelite 40w Compact Flourescent

 

[@ombomb]

What are your plans for future stocking?

 

[SkiFletch]

Good choice on the clownfish and mushrooms. Hard to kill

 

[afmo]

Ok, i need to update... as ive posted in other threads and not here (shame on me)

Well, after about a day, and some advice from the inverts forum, i took the shrooms back to the store. I used that money to buy a better light setup before going the coral route.

I got a single sattelite 40W PC with 10000K and a 460nm Actinic.

While i was at the store returning the corals, i snagged one of the scarlet skunk cleaner shimps, hes so awesome.

as for right now, future stocking options include one of the black/white clowns, and re-adding the striped mushrooms. i'd also love to get some Devils hand just cause it looks so freakin rad havent read up on what he entails though.

Had a wierd like 8 hour ammonia spike for some reason yesterday. Water levels have been fine for a while, and i checked day before yesterday and WHAM ammo was at 1ppm. Unfortunately it was 11:30 and i had to be up for class at 6 in the morning. I cringed and had to wait for a water change until the next day. Woke up that morning and did a chem check on the tank, and lo and behold, Ammo was 0. I have no idea what caused it. I went ahead and did a 10% water change early just to be safe, but i've been checking and all systems nominal now. No clue what happened there.

As of last night, params are

Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm
P.H.: 8.2
Temp: 80

 

[n3ont3tra]

Could you post some photos, please?