Advice for a new starter.

[Jaeger-]

Hi Guys,

I'm Julian, I'm 31 from London!

I've been a freshwater planted tank enthusiast for about 8 years now and I like to think I have an advanced level of understanding of freshwater environments so I'm looking for my next challenge.
I'm a bit bored of planted tanks so decided to join the salty-side.

I have a 30L (7 Gal US?) Aquaone nano which has been sitting empty in my garage for quite some time so I figured I'd put it to use.

My plan so far is to have white Quartz sand as the substrate, some live rock (already cured by my LFS), eventually some soft corals, 1-2 Clownfish and maybe a hermit crab and/or a shrimp of some variety.

I've been doing lots of reading from different sources so I've read a lot of conflicting advice. It's evident from my planted tank experience that people get stuck into a certain way of thinking, unable to accept that different methods can achieve equal or better results, no doubt it's the same in the Marine world. With this in mind, I'd like to hear your opinions on a few questions/observations I have:

1. My tank has compartments in the back to store external equipment, sponges, bio-balls etc. I've read that filter media is not necessary in a nano as the live rock will act as the main source of filtration and anything else will just be become a "nitrate factory". I believe I need to have 1kg of live rock per 10L of water (3kg for 30L), so can I take out the sponges/bio-balls or should I leave some in?

2. Most of us in the planted tank world believe hobby grade test kits are absolutely useless for measuring anything, the only way to properly measure water parameters is using lab grade equipment. Also, once your tank is cycled, unless you make any significant changes to your tank, as long as you keep up with weekly water changes and carry out regular filter maintenance, testing your water becomes unnecessary. I'm reluctant to buy any test kits for these reasons. My plan is to put in the substrate and the already cured live rock and leave it for about a month or 2 (without any water changes - is this wrong?) before I put in any live stock. Once live stock has been added, I'm hoping the nitrite/nitrate/phosphate levels will take care of them selves with weekly 50% water changes.

3. Skimmers are not needed in nano tanks if you carry out weekly water changes. I could fit a skimmer into my tank but I'm going for the minimalist look and wouldn't want one poking out of the top. The tank has a glass cover that goes over the rear compartments and would need to be cut in order to accommodate a skimmer. I'm used to performing weekly 50% water changes on my 100L tank so I'm confident I can stick to this with a 30L tank.

4. After the tank is cycled, I'd like to get some beginner soft corals. The light I intend to use is a TMC Mini 400 LED (6500k). This doesn't have any blue actinic lights, but apparently that's not important. The manufacturer states that this light can be used for Marine or Planted tanks and I've seen other people use them for either purpose. How long should I keep the lights on for? In planted tanks, most algae problems are related to too much light/having them on for too long, does the same apply for Marine?

5. Is surface agitation a big deal in Marine tanks? Obviously you need to have a little to help with gas exchange, but some Marine tanks I've seen literally have waves going across the surface. Apart from simulating a natural environment and keeping water oxygenated, what other purpose does this serve?

6. When making saltwater, if I need to add more salt or more water to reach the right salinity levels, how long do I have to wait between testing it with my Hydrometer? I'm guessing at least an hour?

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions - no doubt similar ones have been asked before but it's very time consuming to find answers to them all, especially in a hobby where things change all the time, so thank you in advance.

 

[143MPCo]

Let see if we can get you some help, @Diesel @redfishbluefish @rayn.

 

[Diesel]

Oh boy.
Well, you did your home work for sure.
Nano's are a challenge for beginners that's a fact.
Having a good piece or pieces of LR is a benifit but I wouldn't use the quarts sand you mentioned.
I would use no sand at all as it will be such a small benifit in a 8G nano.
Lots of WC is your big friend here at least twice a week I would take out 1 gallon.
Use a sponge in the back that kinds take over the function of a filtersock and clean it the same time you do a WC.
I would recommend to use some test kits as in Po4. No3 and PH.
Al the others are not nessarsary as you keep up with your twice week WC.

 

[aaron23]

1. I would definitely remove the bioballs as they will trap food and detritus. It would be good to use some type of polyfilter as mechanical filtration to remove all of the junk out of the water and to replace every couple of weeks.
2. The type of test kits you buy will depend on what you will want to put into the tank. More demanding specimens of coral require constant maintenance and testing. Yes not doing a waterchange for a month during your first month is wrong. no matter how you look at it the rock will experience die off when introduced to your aquarium. You will be required to do water changes frequently in order to remove the dying and decomposing things from the rock as it is placed into your tank. I would suggest purchasing a nitrate kit in order to test if your aquarium is ready for inhabitants. In order to quickly cycle the aquarium I would recommend biweekly water changes since you are buying live rock from the store.
3. It's such a small tank and given your inhabitants you wont be required to do much so minimalist approach you suggest is fine.
4. yes the amount of hours the light is on will definitely affect the algae growth. algae is photosynthetic and grows as lights are on. leaving the light on for 8-10+ hours is probably what most hobbyists do. I turn on a portion of my lights around 11am and then all the lights go on at 12 and turn off around 8-9pm.
5.the waves primarily seen in reef tanks are for the inhabitants. it depends on the type of corals and fish you want to keep in the tank.
6. salt really mixes and dissolves very quickly. i literally pour it in wait 10 minutes and check.
hope this helps good luck!

 

[Jaeger-]

Was not expecting replies so quick! I definitely chose the right forum, thank you so much! I'm at work right now but will reply back in a little while. Thanks again.

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R, I too have a planted fresh water tank, I have 2 dwarf puffers that I also love but I also got bored and the saltwater bug bit me. I started with a 3 gallon pico, upgraded to an 8 gallon rimless to a 30 gallon in just the last month. There are lots of very helpful people here with lots of knowledge. In addition as it sounds like you are doing, read read read, and I watched lots of you tube videos. I started out with live sand, live rock and a hob filter. I used a hydor 180 for additional water movement and it was perfect for both previous tanks. And of cours a 50 watt heater. I am still new so I don't give much advice but thought I would share this with you, oh and definatley keep the top on as that is the only way I have lost any fish, mostly clowns, they are jumpers.

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R, I too have a planted fresh water tank, I have 2 dwarf puffers that I also love but I also got bored and the saltwater bug bit me. I started with a 3 gallon pico, upgraded to an 8 gallon rimless to a 30 gallon in just the last month. There are lots of very helpful people here with lots of knowledge. In addition as it sounds like you are doing, read read read, and I watched lots of you tube videos. I started out with live sand, live rock and a hob filter. I used a hydor 180 for additional water movement and it was perfect for both previous tanks. And of cours a 50 watt heater. I am still new so I don't give much advice but thought I would share this with you, oh and definatley keep the top on as that is the only way I have lost any fish, mostly clowns, they are jumpers.

And even though this is saltwater we love to see pictures of your freshwater tank if you have some.

 

[justaDutchguy]

Welcome! You are probably already having a good time just doing research, enjoy the time to come, if you loved doing freshwater, you are going to love doing salt!

 

[rayn]

Welcome to R2R! I am late to the party as work gets in the way.

You have excellent help so far. All I will add is to go ahead and get some test kits. As you add corals and they begin to grow, you need to know how your parameters are reacting and IF you need to dose. Perhaps salt change will be enough.

Remember patience is key in the salt world. Let you tank cycle and let it do its thing. Don't rush it.

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R Julian.
You have joined the best forum in the Milky Way Galaxy , to learn about care of your tank and about pests and fish diseases, and how to take care of your corals , but it can also drain your bank account and maybe a second mortgage on your home , Of coarse I am joking about the home mortgage. we also like to joke around hope you are not easily offended , but I am very serious about my fish and corals! KJ

 

[melypr1985]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[pondman]

Welcome to reef2reef and your new addiction looks like you are off to a good start good luck in your build

 

[Wayneb332]

Welcome! I would like to say run away from the quartz sand. I would use regular sand I had bad luck with the Quartz.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Welcome I see you have been researching and have found some likely answers...and have lots of questions, of course. I believe that you will be challenged with a 7g tank, but don't let that stop you as it is definitely possible to have a successful small tank. As far as conflicting advice, that's normal in this hobby since there are multiple ways to approach reef tank setup and care.

My best advise is to examine closely the most successful nano reef tanks of similar size that have been operating for at least a few years time to gain insight. You'll find a range of very simple to more complex, but each system must address similar issues in order to successfully maintain reef life.