Idisc 10G Nano Reef Adventure

[idisc]

Hello Everyone!

My name is Justin and I have been working with reef tanks for about 1.5 years now. I have had everything from a 40B to a 150G. My apartment is getting smaller and I wanted to build a reef for my computer room which will be located on my desk.

My plan is for this to be a mix of zoa's, LPS, and maybe even some SPS. He is where I am currently at and the equipment I will be using. Feel free to comment and give me ideas to make this tank even better.

10G Reef Equipment:

- 10G Standard Tank
- Marineland 200 HoB (Not using bio-wheel) - Running Carbon / Chemi-pure Elite
- 2x Par38 LED Lights (5x LED's Per Unit) (Whites & Blues)
- 2" Live sand bed (From Established Tank)
- Est 15lbs Live Rock (Might remove some depending on scape)
- 50watt Viqua Heater
- Hydor Nano 425 Powerhead

Tank Parameters:

- Salinity is .024 - .025
- Temperature is 78F
- Haven't measured any levels yet (Doing so tonight)

Possible Tank Stock:

- 2x Black N White Clowns
- Bi-Color Blenny or Lawnmower Blenny (Gets a little to big I think)
- MAYBE Royal Gramma

Possible Inverts:

- Fire or Cleaner Shrimp
- Handful of snails
- Emerald Crab (MALE)

I'm not expecting any type of cycle and if it does it's going to be very small. I will start uploading pictures once I get the scape down. Currently just have all the rock in the tank while it is clearing up. Thoughts & Concerns Please

[G_Sanab922]

Looks like you have everything good so far. Blenny does get a little too big I think as well.
I think some sexy shrimp would be nice in there.
Pics?

[idisc]

The tank is pretty cloudy still. Kinda wondering why this is happening. Everything seems to be doing great. Corals are all open and fish seem fine. All my levels checked out. Will be doing a 10% WC tomorrow.

Day1: 6-12-14: Added 20lbs Live Sand, 13lbs Live Rock, 4x Turbo Snails, 4x Astra Snails, Lawnmower Blenny, 2x Zoa, 2x Blastmous

Day2: 6-13-14: Ammonia: 0, NitrIte: 0, NitrAte: 5-10ppm, Calc: 460, Alk: 12, Mag: 1350

Day 1 is not really the first days I added all the live rock / sand. (Incase you were wondering)

I have been trying to take pictures of my scape, but its so cloudy and I need to figure out a better way to hang my lights.

[MickeyDime53]

A random guess is that live sand mightve been jam packed with bacteria from a larger tank with a heavier bioload and now youre experiencing some die-off from essentially "starving" some of that bacteria with a lighter bioload.

Just a random thought/theory

[idisc]

That is a very good idea. It came from a very established 44G. Although it was a seahorse tank I still think you are on the right track. With all the reading I have been doing it is def a algea bloom type.

I am currently running some filterfloss and cleaning a temorary sponge I have in the HoB filter to get it cleared up. Hopefully tomorrow I get start taken some pictures and work on hanging my lights correctly.

I will be trading my Lawnmowerr Blenny also for something smaller...I just couldn't watch him sit in that petco tank lol..plus he was on sale for only $12.

[brob22]

i have a 10 gallon tank also

for fish i have 3 small gobies which get no over 2 inches

just as a sugestion i would recommend small fish. small fish will make the tank look bigger than what it is and make the corals look bigger. 10 gal isnt alot of space and two clowns will look huge in a tank that small and will even block the view of some corals.

royal gamma is a great fish but im not sure it would b happy long term in a ten gal.
again this is just suggestion and my advice from experience, i look foward to seeing what ever fish u decide to stock the tank with

[idisc]

Okay so I figured something that will currently work. I didn't want to spend the money on goose necks so I searched the house. I found my girls old book rack and put it to good use. I zip tied the fixture to the unit just in-case. Going to end up adding bottoms to the bookshelf to hold fish supplies.

Here are some pictures with my HORRID camera. Maybe you can see what I am talking about with the cloudiness. I also hooked the lights up to 2x timers. The only problem I see with this is that "White N Blue" are on at the same time. Not sure how long I should be running these units.

I am going to have to look for a LED moonlight somewhere and hook it up to my last timer for morning and evenings. Anyways, here are the pictures. Let me know what you think. I will get better ones going once this tank clears up.

[idisc]

Well today the tank is looking I guess a little better. Did I mention that I took almost 5 gallons of water out of the established tank also. I have a 20% WC ready to go, just wondering if it is going to do anything. I just noticed that copepods much have made it through the move..all over my glass when the lights came on today.. at least I think there pods...SUPER SMALL

That goes on to my next thought...how could I keep the pod population growing without using a sump? I do have some calurpa in the tank, but not my choice. Wondering if I could run some type of macro in the display..dragon's breath or something. I also have a 2.5g tank right next to it I may just use to grow pods. Let me know.

Water Parameters: Ammonia: 0, NitrIte: 0, NitrAte: 10 - Corals came right now when lights kicked on this morning also. I assume all is good besides this cloudiness. Just wish I could take some decent pictures.

[Muttling]

Cloudiness in a new tank with your biobeds (e.g. live sand or live rock) being brought in from an established tank is not at all unusual.

As mentioned above, you've either got some bacterial die off or just washing of dead bacteria into the water column giving you an increase organics load. It's not really a problem other than appearance and will slowly go away on its on. You can speed up the process with water changes and/or carbon filtration.

My biggest concern is the speed at which you are moving. Nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank, take your time and keep on your small water changes until everything gets adjusted to the new place.

[idisc]

Well I knew I wouldn't have the cycle this tank and it would be good to go right off the bat with the rock n sand + tank water from a previous setup. I did not anticipate this cloudiness that is happening though.

Right now my lights are running 11hours a day which is way to much. I am going to be cutting it back to 8 hours starting tomorrow morning. I work nights and sleep during the day so it is kinda tough to put them on a cycle that works for them and me.

I think I will be doing something like 12pm to 8pm (Blues N Whites) - Moonlights 10am - 10pm. I did my first water change on the tank today of 20% (2 Gallons) and the water I removed was green tea like. I will be performing 20% water changes the next few days in attempt to exchange all the old water.

I am running a sponge, Carbon, Chempi-Pure Elite in the HoB filter also. I clean out the sponge daily in RO Water. I am thinking of picking up some filterfloss tomorrow when I get out of work and run that for a few days. Once the tank is clear I will be removing the sponge entirely from the HoB filter and just running Filter Floss.

The rate of evaporation in this tank is so minimal I can't beileve it. I maybe lose 1 cup of water in 24hours. With the leds not producing heat and everything else that all my larger setups had (6x T5 Lights ect..) this is cake. Still going to be getting a auto top-off unit.

I am also having trouble getting this lawnmower Blenny to eat. He seems fine, but not taking to anything yet. I will try mysis tomorrow as he refuses anything I would assume he may want. I will be trading him in probably this week though to a good LFS.

[jerzeedevl]

Looking spectacular! I'm just starting a 29 as my first tank so I'm subbing to a lot of these threads to help me with my knowledge.

[idisc]

The tank looks to be getting clearer kinda.. Hard to tell with the dang camera. Also the lights are very bright. Here are some pictures this morning after lights came on.





Also my snails like love the top of the tank...so weird. All my corals opened right up and all seems to be doing okay. Going to be doing another 20% WC tonight or tomorrow morning.

[Muttling]

Your lawnmower blenny is unlikely to eat the shrimp, they're herbivores. Try some romaine lettuce if you have some in the fridge or get some frozen plant based food or a little fresh macro algae like caulerpa from the LFS.

[idisc]

Ya I have a few pieces of caulerpa in the tank, not sure if hes eating it or not. I have tried algae wafers, but not interested in them. I may pick up some seaweed or what you suggested. He mostly just hides in the rocks which is kinda odd as he is the only thing in the tank.


I am thinking about ordering Dragons Breath for my tank. Looks nice and I think the pods will have a place to live / fed... Thoughts?

[Muttling]

Sorry dude, I have no personal experience with dragons breath. I do know that keeping pods going well in my tanks has always required a healthy bed of macro algea and I suspect dragons breath would work fine, but don't know.

On a cautionary note, you will pretty much have to choose between macros and corals in a tank that size. If you have corals too close to macros they will sting the macros trying to defend their territory and eventually die from exhaustion as the macros aren't bothered by the stinging.

[idisc]

That's true..didn't really think about that. I have a spare 2.5g I'm getting setup for some pod growing / macro. I was thinking about attaching it to the 10g via double utube in and out.

[idisc]

Took out the sponge this morning. Today will start the reduction of lights from 11 hours to 8 hours. I also have another 4 gallons of water ready to be changed out later today. I will be out to get a bag of filter floss today also.

[idisc]

I did the water change at about 7am and I just checked all my levels and here is the following:

Day6: 6-17-14: Ammonia: 0, NitrIte: 0, NitrAte: 0-5ppm Calc: 500, Alk: 13, Mag: Not Tested - Did 4g (40% WC) - No Dosing

ReefCrystals always seem to boost my CALC and ALK levels during each WC. Obviously it is supposed to, but 460 to 500 is kinda drastic in a single wc... What are your thoughts on this?

Also the tank is really starting to clear up after that water change. I can somewhat see through both sides of my tank now..blurry but able. I am headed to petco to pick up a micro filter to put in my HoB and lets hope it really clears it up. Excited to possibly be able to take some pictures for you guys of a clear tank.

[idisc]

Today I have removed the Chemipure Elite as I think this is what has been causing my water to be all yellow. I rinsed it very well, but after giving it a week to clear my tank I am gonna take it out.

I replaced the filterfloss and added 2 bags of carbon only. My guess is that the chemi pure elite bag is leaking or something. We will give it a few days like this and see if things turn around. Any suggestion would be great.

[G_Sanab922]

Really, you think it's the chemipure elite? I just bought some the other day. Haven't put it in yet.
Have you cleaned the sponge?

[idisc]

Yes I cleaned it all very well. I have used it in the past n it worked fine. I think I got a bad product is all. U must rinse it in cold water for 5-10mins and do not grind on it. I found others that had similar issues. I'm not giving up on it, just taken it out of the equation for now.

[G_Sanab922]

Hmmm ok. Once I put it in i'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the insight

[idisc]

This morning all my levels tested the following:

Day9: 6-19-14: Ammonia: 0, NitrIte: 0, NitrAte: 0-5ppm

Tank still has this murky / green hint to it when the lights are off and I can't see side to side. I finally got the lawnmower Blenny eating 2 days ago which made me happy. I am bringing him to a LFS or trading him this weekend.

Lights have been running for 8 hours a day - 12pm to 8pm to try and combat any light issues. Doesn't seem to have made any difference from 11 hours to 8 hours. Everything still seems to be doing fine. I am debating doing another 20% WC, but idk if it is even going to matter.

I put in a 1/2 cap of Seachem Clarity about 30 minutes ago which is supposed to takes around 2 hours to do it's thing. I also have the micro pad in the filter with 2 bags of carbon. I might go and get some purigen today.

I kinda feel like i'm fighting a war lol. I never had any of these issues with any other reef tanks. And on a 75G I had I ran strictly tap water with prime and it never had issues. This tank as stated above I am using 0 TDS water from walmart (Checked with TDS Meter)

Any and all suggestions would be great. I just don't think it is a bacteria bloom anymore and must be something else.

[Muttling]

It's only been a few days, I suspect your cloudiness will clear up on its own given a little more time.

[idisc]

Well I am officially 1 day down with no lights. I didn't cover the tank, but lights have no been on in the room or on the tank. I don't see anything noticeable, but I will continue to top off and test my water.

hopefully this is the trick