I wanna start reefing. Starting simple with some xenia, torch coral, some softies and leather coral. I have a 10 gal nano and i would like to add another fish to it. I thinking about upgrading to a 32 gallon sometime in the future but this is going to do for now. I have 2 clownfish and 5 crabs and thats it. I need help on getting these supplies i need at a cheap price as i dont have a job yet. This is what my tank looks like at the moment and some corals/fish im going to do some research on see if they are a right fit for my tank.
Help my nano
- Thread starter kyrialis
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scubasteve020
Active Member
You have an issue with your tank you have red slime algae (cynao) before you add anything more to the tank make sure you get rid of that algae. Manually clean it up with a gravel hose and do a water change.
If manual removal does not work look into chemiclean
What are your nitrate and nitrite levels?
What are you using for filtration ?
How long have you had the tank running ?
If manual removal does not work look into chemiclean
What are your nitrate and nitrite levels?
What are you using for filtration ?
How long have you had the tank running ?
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Salty Lemon
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The first tank is so exciting. How long have you had it set up? We have lots of veterans who want to help, but we need more details about your tank. I can't wait to see your future in this hobby.
12gallonsofhex
Valuable Member
Welcome to R2R and welcome to the hobby of reefing! I dont know how many more fish you can realistically keep in a ten gallon. The more bio load, the more maintenance. I would suggest first sucking the red cyano off of the sand and checking your parameters. If you can do weekly water changes and maintenance and keep your nitrates and phosphates on the low side, then a tgird fish could be possible. The 2 clown fish you have now may not be receptive to a new roommate though. They are pretty territorial. I am a fairly new reefer, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. There are some great threads on here if you search some key words. Happy reefing!
mike werner
2500 Club Member
WELCOME!!
Ive had it ruining for a while, almost a year but i just got these clownfish recently. Ive tried directly the red slime algae 3 times in the past and i removed it again today but it always seem to come back. My water parameters are all good but i dont have a reef test kit ,i only have the saltwater test kit. I dont plan on adding corals until i get that test kit and some more supplements. Although my local fish store states i cant add some coral when i add the supplements i already own i want to be on the safe side. I currently using some pretty simple stuff as my filtration like filter sponges, ammonia remover, carbon, and some biomax.
The first tank is so exciting. How long have you had it set up? We have lots of veterans who want to help, but we need more details about your tank. I can't wait to see your future in this hobby.
Ive had it set up for almost a year. Not exactly sure how long. Its my first reef tank. I had a 40 gal fish only tank with 3 damsels a black clownfish pair, firefish and for a short while i had a bicolor angel. Miss that tank.
I havent seen any behavior thats territorial between my 2 clowns so far so i dont know. They were with a lot of other fish when i first got them. Although they came from different stores they were grouped with 10-20 clowns as well. I want them to pair up but they haveng paired up yet sadly. I would think about adding a new roomate before adding corals so i can change the rock work been wanting to change it for a while. I also want some new sand. The sand i have is so thin. It makes the tank very cloudy.
I usually do water changes one every 2 weeks
scubasteve020
Active Member
Once you get that algae to go away then you can start looking for some corals. Keep in mind a nano tank gets difficult at times because of how quickly things can change in a small volume of water. But the more you learn the easier it will become. You are going to want to get both kits for testing.
If you can afford it I would recommend getting the nitrate pro kit from Red Sea it’s easier to get a more accurate reading . I too started off with api kits. But now I use Red Seas pro nitrate, magnesium, calcium tests
And for phosphate and alkalinity I use the digital Hannah checkers. However if I do test for ammonia and nitrites I do use api.
Like I said try to manually remove as much as you can of that algae and change out your filtration media then do a couple days without lights on. If not you might have to get a chemical product that kills of cyano.
As for corals you could start of with
Some soft corals like Xenia they are very hardy but keep in mind they eventually grow like wild fire
You could get some lps corals like favia or chalices they do grow slow.
Some other good soft corals to start of with are your main stream zoas like Rasta and sunny d’s
Do not get a starfish lol
Sand-sifting starfish are great at first but they tend to starve because of how quickly it eats its food resource in the sand.
As for urchins your tank is not big enough.
You will want to get a couple of hermit crabs and snails (cuc)
And yellow clown goby would be fine in your tank keep in mind they perch on corals and some corals don’t like it lol most of the time you will be fine with a clown goby and only get one
I would love to have the hanna checkers but they are not in my budget. Ive been really wanting some type of coral like torch coral , hammer coral, or a frogspawn my family loves the idea of having anemones with clowns but im not ready for that so i think those look the most like them. Funny how you said that i got 2 neon hermits today. The only reason i was thinking about getting a star fish was to eat all my red algae and return it to my fish store. Ive been wanting xenia since i first saw them. I think they are beautiful and the pulsing is amazing i plan to keep it in its own ‘island’ so i wouldnt grow over my other corals.
BigRedReefer MT
Active Member
You could try upping your flow to help combat your cyano outbreak. As mentioned above before you add corals I would suggest higher resolution test kits. Salifert brand is reliable and the price tags are a bit less than red Sea or nyos, though I find nyos to be easier to read than others for nitrate and phosphate. Your tank looks pretty good beside your cyano. I'm gathering gear for my first nano tank myself.
You could try upping your flow to help combat your cyano outbreak. As mentioned above before you add corals I would suggest higher resolution test kits. Salifert brand is reliable and the price tags are a bit less than red Sea or nyos, though I find nyos to be easier to read than others for nitrate and phosphate. Your tank looks pretty good beside your cyano. I'm gathering gear for my first nano tank myself.
Thanks ill look into it. Good luck on your tank.
Hemmdog
10K Club member
Where do you live ? Most LFS’s sell RODI water. I fill up jugs still, I run over 200 gallons all together at my place. Your going to have a terrible time with coral if your using or have used tap.
