Aquascaping (or can I showup my landscaper)
Just a few thoughts before the LR arrives. A few important rules about setting up the LR in your tank.
The best way I think is to add your rock base, then add the sand around it to stabilize it. If you pre-mixed sand first, make sure you remove about 1/3rd the water so it doesn't overflow. You can gently put the sand in by cups. Every tank will have some sort of clouding that should settle. Refill with SW.
Some people have used the following:
a) electrical eggcrate--they claim it distributes the weight of the LR on the bottom of the tank. IMO, I think it creates dead areas by preventing movement and circulation.
b ) PVC tubing, 1/2", shaped into small square frames--supposedly, by placing the LR around this frame, it reduces the amount necessary by creating a scaffold with a hollow interior. Personally, I think this is better on larger tanks and having more LR provides better filtration.
What the Heck is That in My Tank, or, Week 1
Well.... what's gonna be going on with the nano tank after all this rock and sand is in. Below is just a rough idea:
Week 1-2
Avoid water changes. Top off with pure water if necessary to maintain the s.g. you have chosen. Check parameters on the tank. With uncured, start lighting 1-2 hours/day and slowly increase about 1/2 hour per day until 8-12 hours are reached. You may start to see little white things moving around. These may be copepods and are GOOD...food. Your cycle may complete in less than a week or may take more.
DO NOT ADD LIVESTOCK DURING OR IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CYCLE. DO NOT ADD YOUR CORALS YET. YOUR TANK IS TOO IMMATURE. RESIST THE URGE TO ATTAIN AN INSTANT REEF TANK.RESIST DOSING YOUR TANK TO ACHIEVE PERFECT PARAMETERS Nano tanks can be unforgiving if you try to rush things. Avoid the temptation to 'make your tank' have perfect parameters. Your new nano tank is unstable and will have pH swings. If you take the time and have patience, your first post will not be, "Help, my corals are dying."
Cycle Completed
When your ammonia and nitrites finally fall to zero and you see a rise in nitrates, your tank is most likely cycled. You may start your first water change. Try a 25% change for the first time and then you can start on your weekly 10% water changes. You might be able to bring your nitrates to zero.
Week 2-3
Make sure all equipment is working. Check powerheads. Top off the water. Diatoms may start to appear. This is that green or brown 'grunge' you see accumulating on the substarte and live rock. If you were successful in bringing down your nitrates, you may go ahead and add your cleanup crew. I personally wouldn't add the crew unless your nitrates are less than 10ppm.
Week 4-5
Diatoms recede and, hopefully, by now ammonia and nitrite are staying at zero. You should be getting the hang of premixing (or buying) your SW ahead of time, doing weekly water changes, scraping off diatoms off the glass. It may be time to add your first fish. This is a good time to start reading up on corals, their requirements for placement, lighting, water movement.
Week 6-8
At this point it may be safe to add some very resilient and hardy corals (eg, mushrooms or zoanthids). Resist the urge to add sensitive corals as your tank is still maturing. You may still not be out of the woods with regards to the appearance of cyanobacteria or hair algae. There is nothing wrong with waiting even more time before adding corals.
The Cleanup Crew
After cycling and after appearance of algae, it's time to add the Cleanup Crew. This is a crew of invertebrates to help keep your tank clean. Some will eat algae; some will eat detritus; some will actually clean your fish of parasites. They all perform a purpose. Again, this is just a guideline. Choice of characters and researching them I'll leave to you. The inverts have to be acclimated the same as livestock. Again, here is a good acclimation guide:
http
/www.liveaquaria.com/general/general...eral_pagesid=19
Snails
General recommendations are 1 snail/1-2 gallons. As you add them, remember not to add too many of one kind...you don't want to add 10 snails that eat diatoms and then none that eat cyanobacteria.
Crabs
Crabs are another invertebrate that you can add to your tank. General recommendations are only 1-2 per 3-5 gallons if small and only one if they are large. Some types can be semi-aggressive and some might pick at corals (sally lightfoots). Others have good advantages in that they eat leftover food or detritus. Mithrax crabs can eat valonia (bubble algae). Most crabs, if hungry, will become opportunistic. Unless in a species tank, avoid arrow crabs.
Hermits
First off, there are some nano-reefers who don't put hermit crabs into their tanks. It appears that some may get aggressive and darn right thefty. Not only can they steal food from others, they can steal their homes. They are very good scavengers though, so, you'll decide on whether or not to use them. Most, in general, are reef safe. Again, 1-2 per 3-5 gallons or so. Make sure you add extra shells into your tank so as they grow, they can 'trade up'.
Shrimp
No cocktail sauce here. Shrimp in a nano-reef great cleaners and some like the skunk cleaner shrimp add personality. One of the interesting aspects of these inverts is that they can help to rid your fish of parasites. They can actually pick ich off your fish by setting up cleaning stations. Shrimp add almost no bioload. Check compatibility. You can several to your tank. In fact, some prefer to be in groups.Unless in a species tank, avoid coral banded shrimp (CBS).
Here is an example my first cleanup crew in my 24G:
5 Nassarius Snails
5 Astraea Snails
2 Blue Legged Hermits
2 Scarlet Hermits
2 Margaritas
1 Mithrax (emerald) crab
1 Scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
Just a few thoughts before the LR arrives. A few important rules about setting up the LR in your tank.
- Be very careful not to drop the rock on the bottom glass. Examine each piece. Some may show orientation, i.e., coralline algae on one side, bland on the other. The coralline algae side was probably facing up to the sun and should be oriented up.
- Keep the rock open so there is good flow between crevices. Caves, overhangs, etc can provide shelter for fish and are cool. Avoid the classic ROCK CLUMP. Be creative.
- Make sure the rock is stable. Some people use aquarium safe silicone or epoxies to hold rocks together. Some drill holes and use plastic ties to hold it together (don't worry, coralline algae will cover it).
- Leave room for additions in the future, eg, if you want to add a coral that is attached to a piece of rock, or, a 'frag', you may want to leave a spot or area open for later placement.
- Leave room around the periphery for maintenance, ie, should you need to scrape algae off the glass
The best way I think is to add your rock base, then add the sand around it to stabilize it. If you pre-mixed sand first, make sure you remove about 1/3rd the water so it doesn't overflow. You can gently put the sand in by cups. Every tank will have some sort of clouding that should settle. Refill with SW.
Some people have used the following:
a) electrical eggcrate--they claim it distributes the weight of the LR on the bottom of the tank. IMO, I think it creates dead areas by preventing movement and circulation.
b ) PVC tubing, 1/2", shaped into small square frames--supposedly, by placing the LR around this frame, it reduces the amount necessary by creating a scaffold with a hollow interior. Personally, I think this is better on larger tanks and having more LR provides better filtration.
What the Heck is That in My Tank, or, Week 1
Well.... what's gonna be going on with the nano tank after all this rock and sand is in. Below is just a rough idea:
Week 1-2
Avoid water changes. Top off with pure water if necessary to maintain the s.g. you have chosen. Check parameters on the tank. With uncured, start lighting 1-2 hours/day and slowly increase about 1/2 hour per day until 8-12 hours are reached. You may start to see little white things moving around. These may be copepods and are GOOD...food. Your cycle may complete in less than a week or may take more.
DO NOT ADD LIVESTOCK DURING OR IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CYCLE. DO NOT ADD YOUR CORALS YET. YOUR TANK IS TOO IMMATURE. RESIST THE URGE TO ATTAIN AN INSTANT REEF TANK.RESIST DOSING YOUR TANK TO ACHIEVE PERFECT PARAMETERS Nano tanks can be unforgiving if you try to rush things. Avoid the temptation to 'make your tank' have perfect parameters. Your new nano tank is unstable and will have pH swings. If you take the time and have patience, your first post will not be, "Help, my corals are dying."
Cycle Completed
When your ammonia and nitrites finally fall to zero and you see a rise in nitrates, your tank is most likely cycled. You may start your first water change. Try a 25% change for the first time and then you can start on your weekly 10% water changes. You might be able to bring your nitrates to zero.
Week 2-3
Make sure all equipment is working. Check powerheads. Top off the water. Diatoms may start to appear. This is that green or brown 'grunge' you see accumulating on the substarte and live rock. If you were successful in bringing down your nitrates, you may go ahead and add your cleanup crew. I personally wouldn't add the crew unless your nitrates are less than 10ppm.
Week 4-5
Diatoms recede and, hopefully, by now ammonia and nitrite are staying at zero. You should be getting the hang of premixing (or buying) your SW ahead of time, doing weekly water changes, scraping off diatoms off the glass. It may be time to add your first fish. This is a good time to start reading up on corals, their requirements for placement, lighting, water movement.
Week 6-8
At this point it may be safe to add some very resilient and hardy corals (eg, mushrooms or zoanthids). Resist the urge to add sensitive corals as your tank is still maturing. You may still not be out of the woods with regards to the appearance of cyanobacteria or hair algae. There is nothing wrong with waiting even more time before adding corals.
The Cleanup Crew
After cycling and after appearance of algae, it's time to add the Cleanup Crew. This is a crew of invertebrates to help keep your tank clean. Some will eat algae; some will eat detritus; some will actually clean your fish of parasites. They all perform a purpose. Again, this is just a guideline. Choice of characters and researching them I'll leave to you. The inverts have to be acclimated the same as livestock. Again, here is a good acclimation guide:
http
/www.liveaquaria.com/general/general...eral_pagesid=19Snails
General recommendations are 1 snail/1-2 gallons. As you add them, remember not to add too many of one kind...you don't want to add 10 snails that eat diatoms and then none that eat cyanobacteria.
Crabs
Crabs are another invertebrate that you can add to your tank. General recommendations are only 1-2 per 3-5 gallons if small and only one if they are large. Some types can be semi-aggressive and some might pick at corals (sally lightfoots). Others have good advantages in that they eat leftover food or detritus. Mithrax crabs can eat valonia (bubble algae). Most crabs, if hungry, will become opportunistic. Unless in a species tank, avoid arrow crabs.
Hermits
First off, there are some nano-reefers who don't put hermit crabs into their tanks. It appears that some may get aggressive and darn right thefty. Not only can they steal food from others, they can steal their homes. They are very good scavengers though, so, you'll decide on whether or not to use them. Most, in general, are reef safe. Again, 1-2 per 3-5 gallons or so. Make sure you add extra shells into your tank so as they grow, they can 'trade up'.
Shrimp
No cocktail sauce here. Shrimp in a nano-reef great cleaners and some like the skunk cleaner shrimp add personality. One of the interesting aspects of these inverts is that they can help to rid your fish of parasites. They can actually pick ich off your fish by setting up cleaning stations. Shrimp add almost no bioload. Check compatibility. You can several to your tank. In fact, some prefer to be in groups.Unless in a species tank, avoid coral banded shrimp (CBS).
Here is an example my first cleanup crew in my 24G:
5 Nassarius Snails
5 Astraea Snails
2 Blue Legged Hermits
2 Scarlet Hermits
2 Margaritas
1 Mithrax (emerald) crab
1 Scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
