The Little Extras

[BigC]

What supplements and food stuffs do I need for my nano. Liverock, cleanup crew, soft corals, feather dusters.
Some information on feeding and how to feed and also what supplements and how to dose/frequency etc.
Just the essentials will do as I don't want to end up with a medicine chest full of uneeded items.

I would also appreciate some info on when I recieve corals etc, do I need to acclimatise them slowly, do I need to use rubber/latex gloves to position them etc.

All probably stupid questions but I'm thirsty for more knowledge.
You help is always appreciated
Regards
BigC

 

[steelhealr]

Thoughts:

1) foodstuffs depend on what you are going to add into the tank...some are carnivores, some are omnivores, some are herbivores. Begin to develop a plan as to what you want to put in your tank. First to research are obviously your cleanup crew.

2) NO additives are necessary in the early stages of your nano tank except for water changes. Your dosing is the following: 10% seawater mixed and aged for a day or so and changed every week.

3) Start to accrue some worthwhile books. I highly recommend Borneman's book on Aquarium Corals. If you do it right, you tank wont have corals in it for weeks to months after cycling. Rushing a reef may leave you with a tank crash

4) Although some poopoo it, I would ALWAYS wear gloves when handling corals. If not to protect yourself from cuts and stings, then, to protect your fingers if a bristle worm has been in the area

5) All corals should be acclimated slowly and carefully. Some are resilient and will survive almost anything (ricordea mushrooms, eg). Others may die if not carefully acclimated. There are several protocols for acclimation, but, for now, your best strategy is to focus on tank setup for now, water testing all equipment, plan for aquascaping, water circulation and water chemistry.

WTG. SH

 

[BigC]

Thanks once again steelhealr,
Invaluable help as always, always around when needed.
I wholeheartedly intend to take this thing very slow. The less problems that I create for myself the better.
Am I right in suggesting that first get the substrate in and fill with saltwater and get the whole filter system and powerheads up and running. Then how long before I can aquascape with Liverock. Do I leave the tank to cycle before even attempting this. Also could you suggest a photo period for the lighting over the course of the day. I intend to use one metal halide tube and one actinic, would this be fine.
Thanks again
Regards
BigC

 

[mshollenberger]

Thanks once again steelhealr,
Invaluable help as always, always around when needed.
I wholeheartedly intend to take this thing very slow. The less problems that I create for myself the better.
Am I right in suggesting that first get the substrate in and fill with saltwater and get the whole filter system and powerheads up and running. Then how long before I can aquascape with Liverock. Do I leave the tank to cycle before even attempting this. Also could you suggest a photo period for the lighting over the course of the day. I intend to use one metal halide tube and one actinic, would this be fine.
Thanks again
Regards
BigC

I thought you filled fishtanks with Guiness in Ireland

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

I'd say:

Fill tank up with RO water
Mix up to right SG in tank
Turn on heaters and powerheads, give the tank a day for all the salt to mix in (Should only take 2hrs or so but better safe than sorry )
Add your substrate and leave the tank another day
Remove 25% of water in tank and keep in water container
Add LR and aquascape
put water back in
Sit and wait for the cycle to finsh

You want your params right before you add substrate if you're going to use carribsea's live-arog or another brand as there are live bacterias in the substrate which help the sand and if you add them into an empty tank they will die-off like a fish out of water




HTH

Dan

 

[BigC]

I thought you filled fishtanks with Guiness in Ireland

My other tanks are all filled with the black stuff but I fancied a change

 

[SkiFletch]

I have to agree with most of what Dan says. The only things I differ on is that I dont use nor do I reccomend using live sand. It just seems like a waste of money better spent on live rock becuse sand will become "live" within a month which is way quicker than trying to seed rock

That being said, I reccomend mixing up some saltwater in a tub, buy your LR from your LFS, bring it home. Aquascape it the way you want, then lay down the sand bed. Laying the rocks on the glass prevents them from settling over time and toppling over. The once the sand is in, pour in the saltwater usually over the LR or onto a plate so as not to disturb the sand too much. Fill teh tank up 3/4 of the way full and fire up your filtration and heaters. Once it comes up to temp, check your SG. If its right where you want it, finish it off with the rest of the water you mixed. If its too high, add some freshwater to bring it down. If its too low, add more salt to the water that you put in to fill up the rest of the way. Leaving that 1/4 of room gives you some margin for error on your first time mixing salt

All of this process of course should ONLY be done AFTER you have setup all your plumbing, leak tested everything, setup your sump and skimmer if you plan on using them, setup your powerheads, and lay down some padding under the glass bottom if you're going to use it. Trust me and please learn from my mistake; adding that stuff after water is in it is a NIGHTMARE.

Anyway, once the water is in there monitor your chemicals and wait for the cycle to finish. Should take between 1 and 3 weeks depending on how well cured the rock is before you buy it from your LFS and on how far you live from them

 

[BigC]

Thanks for that SkiFletch,
So I can aquascape straight away with Liverock and not after the cycle is this what you are suggesting.
Regards
BigC

 

[steelhealr]

My method in brief:
1) clean tank with vinegar, rinse well
2) test the tank for several days with pumps, heaters, etc..check temp, function, leaks
3) empty....position, stand, level, etc
4) fill with RO water, add salt, mix to desired s.g., age for 1-2 days
5) remove 1/3rd water, add base layer of LR, fill around with sand, build up your aquascape, fill with sand, add back SW to fill, cycle
6) adjust aquascape while cycling, turkey baste to clear LR of debris

Just a rough guideline. A 20lb bag of Aragalive was under $20. SH

 

[BigC]

Fantastic Steelhealr,
I needed to know what order to perform the tasks, any suggestions on the lighting. I think metal halides will be too hot for my hood. Juwel Rekord 70ltr. please suggest lighting and photo periods.
Many thanks thus far
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, I'd toss on some Power Compacts of appropriate length for your hood. Otherwise your best option is a 150W MH hang type. In a tank that shallow, PCs will pretty much allow you to culture anything you want accept for demanding sps like acropora, montipora, etc.

 

[@ombomb]

Just a rough guideline. A 20lb bag of Aragalive was under $20. SH

I couldn't find aragalive for anything less than £25 when I was looking and ending up just buying a couple of bags of "dead" aragonite sand. I wouldn't worry about buying live sand too much, as long as the rock is good it'll be seeded with bacteria in no time.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

The rekord 70 is 18" tall? If so power compacts will be a waste of space if you want corals

 

[SkiFletch]

The rekord 70 is 18" tall? If so power compacts will be a waste of space if you want corals

That'll teach me to assume... I figured such a small tank wouldn't be that tall

 

[BigC]

So what sort of lamp/s do you suggest as I would like to keep everything within the confines of the hood.
Obviously I do not wish to keep the more exotic corals just common softies mushrooms, buttons feather fans and the likes off.
Are these any good as I have a few lying around.
http/www.store.livingseas.co.uk/index.as...&productid=1086
and what sort of photo-period do I need to adopt
In my freshwater planted aquaria I adopt 1st tube on at 10am, 2nd tube on at 12am, 2nd tube off at 8pm, 1st tube off at 9pm.
Regards
BigC