First tank- My Nano Reef Build

[Pbh-reef]

Not to be a broken record but tidal gardens has a good easy lps video that you should check out. I personally love how hammers and frogspawn look- I find them even more beautiful than torches.

Kenya trees and toadstool leathers are also easier soft corals that have beautiful movement. I have a toadstool and it is great for movement and has a lovely green color. It is nice for to have some easier to care for corals when you’re starting out to get a feeling of success without hassle- there are enough hiccups in the hobby even with easy coral!

 

[Pbh-reef]

Here’s a link to the video

 

[Michael W.]

You can put him high on a pedestal. They are also harder to care for than other euphyllia

I will look into care requirements then, maybe have to sacrifice some time out of my day to make sure the torch is doing well. Also, quarantine. I know everyone recommends quarantine for obvious reasons, but if my stocking plan revolves around a pair of clowns and possibly a goby, will a seperate QT system really be necessary?

 

[Michael W.]

Not to be a broken record but tidal gardens has a good easy lps video that you should check out. I personally love how hammers and frogspawn look- I find them even more beautiful than torches.

Kenya trees and toadstool leathers are also easier soft corals that have beautiful movement. I have a toadstool and it is great for movement and has a lovely green color. It is nice for to have some easier to care for corals when you’re starting out to get a feeling of success without hassle- there are enough hiccups in the hobby even with easy coral!

Sounds good! I have heard the tidal gardens name enough now that I will give their videos a go. For clarification, LPS are genrally considered to be eaiser to care for than SPS, correct? Softies -> LPS -> SPS?

 

[Joshua2598]

Sounds good! I have heard the tidal gardens name enough now that I will give their videos a go. For clarification, LPS are genrally considered to be eaiser to care for than SPS, correct? Softies -> LPS -> SPS?

Most Lps are 10x easier than sps. Dont get too confident though... like me...

 

[Michael W.]

Not to be a broken record but tidal gardens has a good easy lps video that you should check out. I personally love how hammers and frogspawn look- I find them even more beautiful than torches.

Kenya trees and toadstool leathers are also easier soft corals that have beautiful movement. I have a toadstool and it is great for movement and has a lovely green color. It is nice for to have some easier to care for corals when you’re starting out to get a feeling of success without hassle- there are enough hiccups in the hobby even with easy coral!

Watching that video makes me want to forget all about torches and cover my entire tank in favites, the color! I still have a lot of time to choose though but its good to have options and knowledge. Does anyone know if scolys have much of a price change based on size, or are they just extremely expensive no matter what? May have to make a scoly my one splurge for my display coral...

 

[Pbh-reef]

In my personal opinion QT is worth it if you can do it. I have not qted the 3 fish in my 10 gallon, mostly because my home is a very small apartment that I rent and need permission to have a tank. If you have a space where setting up a qt tank is possible it will buy you peace of mind once the fish make it through. I am currently not sure if my tank has ich, which is pretty anxiety provoking.

I do think your fish plan is low risk because it is only 3 fish. But I also have seen several
Threads with tanks that have 2 clowns and a goby and the clowns die to brook or ich gets into the tank. I would take a look at the stickied threads in the disease forum to get a clear sense of what qt involves and really think about what is possible in your own home.

 

[BadPanda]

Here's my five month experience with LPS. Torch coral: Purcahsed with galaxea coral after tank cycled. It likes moderate flow w/ med/high lighting. Fed with reef roids or rotifiers x2/week. Doesn't like to moved around. Duncan coral: Purchased roughly two months after tank cycled. Likes low/moderate flow with moderate lighting. Doesn't like my clown pair (lost a head due to it). Fed with reef roids only. Hammer: Purchased same time as Torch coral. Likes high/moderate flow w/ medium lighting. Feed reef roids only x2 weekly. Really doesn't like urchin touching it. Galaxea coral: No prefernce regarding flow or lighting. I did notice more growth with low light high flow. Fed with reef roids x2/week. What I've realized quickly is that corals in general LPS or SPS are like people. They have personalities.

I have space constraints like yourself so I know how it is. I decided to stick with one LFS and make sure they are eating before being bagged. Knock on wood so far nothing is showing with my fishes. Corals on the other, I dip. I've read enough horror stories to not risk it. If you really want a torch, I would recommend placing it where it can only touch itself. For example if majority of your current is being sent to the right, place the torch on the rightmost side of the tank.

 

[Michael W.]

Here's my five month experience with LPS. Torch coral: Purcahsed with galaxea coral after tank cycled. It likes moderate flow w/ med/high lighting. Fed with reef roids or rotifiers x2/week. Doesn't like to moved around. Duncan coral: Purchased roughly two months after tank cycled. Likes low/moderate flow with moderate lighting. Doesn't like my clown pair (lost a head due to it). Fed with reef roids only. Hammer: Purchased same time as Torch coral. Likes high/moderate flow w/ medium lighting. Feed reef roids only x2 weekly. Really doesn't like urchin touching it. Galaxea coral: No prefernce regarding flow or lighting. I did notice more growth with low light high flow. Fed with reef roids x2/week. What I've realized quickly is that corals in general LPS or SPS are like people. They have personalities.

I have space constraints like yourself so I know how it is. I decided to stick with one LFS and make sure they are eating before being bagged. Knock on wood so far nothing is showing with my fishes. Corals on the other, I dip. I've read enough horror stories to not risk it. If you really want a torch, I would recommend placing it where it can only touch itself. For example if majority of your current is being sent to the right, place the torch on the rightmost side of the tank.

Thanks for all the information! I am in the process of deciding whether I want a euphylia in my tank or not. Maybe just go with the colorful growers like zoas and favites and hopefully a scoly. In one of the episodes of tidal gardens the guy does talk about some sort of posining thing you can get from zoas...?Quick question, what does someone mean when they say they 'dip their corals' or 'dip their fish'? What I thought I got from most forums is that just means a freshwater dip, but how does that work with these saltwater creatures?

 

[Joshua2598]

Thanks for all the information! I am in the process of deciding whether I want a euphylia in my tank or not. Maybe just go with the colorful growers like zoas and favites and hopefully a scoly. In one of the episodes of tidal gardens the guy does talk about some sort of posining thing you can get from zoas...?Quick question, what does someone mean when they say they 'dip their corals' or 'dip their fish'? What I thought I got from most forums is that just means a freshwater dip, but how does that work with these saltwater creatures?

People use freshwater dips on fish for a few minutes to kill parasites like ich, flukes, etc. I've never heard of coral being freshwater dipped and theres probably a reason why. When people say dipping coral they talk about getting a product like Coral RX and literally dipping a coral in the mix of saltwater and the dip.

 

[BadPanda]

+1 Josh CoralRx for corals. I was hesitant regarding FW dip for the fishes since it was my first SW tank and all. My bigger tank upgrade will have QT'ed fish everytime. I did try a snake oil called garlic and I think its ok. I mix it with selcon for my mysid shrimp before feeding them to my fish.

 

[BadPanda]

When people refer to dipping coral, its to remove potential pest that can wipe out your other corals. I made an agreement with my LFS that if any livestock that comes from them wipes out my tank, I get half off for the replacements. One LFS I buy my fish and invert from.

 

[Michael W.]

People use freshwater dips on fish for a few minutes to kill parasites like ich, flukes, etc. I've never heard of coral being freshwater dipped and theres probably a reason why. When people say dipping coral they talk about getting a product like Coral RX and literally dipping a coral in the mix of saltwater and the dip.

+1 Josh CoralRx for corals. I was hesitant regarding FW dip for the fishes since it was my first SW tank and all. My bigger tank upgrade will have QT'ed fish everytime. I did try a snake oil called garlic and I think its ok. I mix it with selcon for my mysid shrimp before feeding them to my fish.

So for fish, you can put them in RO/DI water for a short time to kill parasites and such, with corals, you can place them in a mix of CoralRx and saltwater to acheive the same thing as for the fish.

 

[Joshua2598]

So for fish, you can put them in RO/DI water for a short time to kill parasites and such, with corals, you can place them in a mix of CoralRx and saltwater to acheive the same thing as for the fish.

Well coral rx is mainly used for when you first introduce them to your tank to kill stuff like flatworms and other pests. When I was acclimating my frogspawn about 200 flatworms came off it so I did an emergency h2o2 dip on it. I knew I would regret not picking up a bottle of dip

 

[samnaz]

Before you purchase any corals I highly recommend getting some kind of coral dip, there are many to chose from, like coral rx as mentioned above. I just use a mix of bayer insecticide and saltwater because it's way cheaper, but a coral dip from a manufacturer might be best for you cause it's easy and simple. Dipping is a MUST. I would also supplement the coral dip with a cheap magnifying glass. Inspect your corals before and after dipping and you will be one of very few reefers to never experience a pest. It's much easier this way

Also I would suggest holding off on any expensive coral (for example scolys) until the tank is fully established AND you have tried your hand at a few different corals and successfully kept them alive for at least a few weeks, preferably months.

 

[Michael W.]

Well coral rx is mainly used for when you first introduce them to your tank to kill stuff like flatworms and other pests. When I was acclimating my frogspawn about 200 flatworms came off it so I did an emergency h2o2 dip on it. I knew I would regret not picking up a bottle of dip

Before you purchase any corals I highly recommend getting some kind of coral dip, there are many to chose from, like coral rx as mentioned above. I just use a mix of bayer insecticide and saltwater because it's way cheaper, but a coral dip from a manufacturer might be best for you cause it's easy and simple. Dipping is a MUST. I would also supplement the coral dip with a cheap magnifying glass. Inspect your corals before and after dipping and you will be one of very few reefers to never experience a pest. It's much easier this way

Also I would suggest holding off on any expensive coral (for example scolys) until the tank is fully established AND you have tried your hand at a few different corals and successfully kept them alive for at least a few weeks, preferably months.

Ok, do dipping is mandatory, it will help in the long run.

Also there may be a slight change up for those following my build thread. I have had the fluval EVO 13.5 out of the box for a bit now on the stand I am planning of using. I have since realized a peninsula tank is not the no. 1 tank layout for this area. It's not a problem, I'm completely fine with having a tank that looks a little out of place, but since then I have been doing a little looking around (like every reefer) and found the NUVO 20 Nano. Compared to what I spent on the EVO, I'd be spending $40 more for this tank, for 6.5 more gallons and almost the exact same features that I had with the EVO (minus the light which I was planning on replacing anyway). It fits in the space better than the EVO, and my LFS that I bought the EVO from said they would offer full refund of in store credit for the tank. That is where I will be getting my rock and my fish and they have a good selection of filter media so nothing will be lost there. Today I am planning on calling Ikea to see if they would consider200 Ibs too much for the stand (which I highly doubt) and my LFS to confirm their returns, and then I will be making my decision. If anyone here has any experience with NUVO aquariums let me know! This change is mostly aesthetic along with a fishkeepers natural urge to always go bigger, which I have already hit without even having set up a tank.

 

[samnaz]

If going larger is ever a viable option, just DO IT. It's that simple.

If you need more coercing, Innovative Marine makes some of the best nanos and AIOs on the market.

One and only concern would be the Ikea stand. Even if they say it can take 200 pounds, if I were you I would reinforce it just to be safe. Most of their stuff is made of MDF or similar particle board which does not withstand the test of time, especially not when exposed to saltwater (which it inevitably will be).

 

[Michael W.]

If going larger is ever a viable option, just DO IT. It's that simple.

If you need more coercing, Innovative Marine makes some of the best nanos and AIOs on the market.

One and only concern would be the Ikea stand. Even if they say it can take 200 pounds, if I were you I would reinforce it just to be safe. Most of their stuff is made of MDF or similar particle board which does not withstand the test of time, especially not when exposed to saltwater (which it inevitably will be).

The ikea dresser I have, a Malm 3-drawer dresser, was said to be one of their stronger models, and the employee there said it should easily support my 13.5 gallon, so hopefully a 20 wouldn't be pushing it. Any suggestions on how to support a dresser, the drawers constantly moving in and out seems like it may be aproblem... where would I add the supports? I'll call ikea today and get their opinion. I will keep supports in the back of my mind as well.