26g peninsula, attempt #1

[aztoza]

Getting to work on our first ever tank! There is so much to learn...first try at building the rock was not the best, but could have been worse

 

[aztoza]

Getting to work on our first ever tank! There is so much to learn...first try at building the rock was not the best, but could have been worse

This nail polish should have been called Coralline Algae

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[aztoza]

I have my kitchen table back! Got my coral wish list on sticky notes. The 3 fish will be a yellow watchman goby, longnose hawkfish, and clownfish. And a tuxedo urchin.

 

[aztoza]

Added the water, skimmed the dust out, began bacteria dosing, and ran a first batch of tests! Overfilled the tank slightly which has the salinity a tad high.

Gear (220V):
Eheim heater 100W--right now it is in the sump where the bubble sponge should be...will there be ill effects without the sponge? Otherwise the heater will have to be inside the display. The 100W may be a bit too big for this tank, as it is set to 25 degrees C but keeping the water 27 degrees.
Sun Sun Wave Maker with Magnet Holder, 4,000L/H--what an eyesore these are! On high they are just gently stirring the water, which may be ok for the softies we're planning. Our other option in wave maker is the $300 name brand...maybe someday we'll upgrade and leave these for salt mixing.
Thermometer with probe--just a basic one the LFS sells. It is 1.7 degrees off. Between the heater surpassing the set temp, and this thermometer being so far off, I'm having a hard time getting the temp right (though it does stabilize after an adjustment). I'm having to use our meat thermometer to check. Got a stick-on analog thermometer coming soon but not sure how reliable those are. Does anyone have a thermometer that works really well, besides having a whole controller?

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.026 Will this balance out with water changes, or do I need to add RO/DI?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: .01
pH: 8.2

1 fish incoming in a couple days...as much as I wanted to do a fishless cycle, the bacteria products here are just not meant for it and you can't hardly even get plain ammonia. The products are designed to reduce ammonia in the tank though, in those first weeks before the biological filtration is ready, so hopefully the fish will still be happy. Will be testing daily to ensure all is healthy.

 

[FuriuzReef]

1.026 Salinity is a little bit on the high side, all depends on your corals tbh.

If i look at your wishlist i see a "mixed reef" wishlist, i have learned from my previous threads that this could prove difficult in a small tank like this, i would opt for a more coral specific kind of reef.

That wavemaker positioning is kinda weird, i have a similar tank & mine is placed on the back wall, i let my flow "bounce" downwards on the front glass, wich creates different flow zones, wich helps with different corals & placement.

How long is your tank running? Are you dosing bacteria to get it started? Because adding fish now would be a bad idea imo, but someone else with more expertise should give you an answer for this.

 

[aztoza]

1.026 Salinity is a little bit on the high side, all depends on your corals tbh.

If i look at your wishlist i see a "mixed reef" wishlist, i have learned from my previous threads that this could prove difficult in a small tank like this, i would opt for a more coral specific kind of reef.

That wavemaker positioning is kinda weird, i have a similar tank & mine is placed on the back wall, i let my flow "bounce" downwards on the front glass, wich creates different flow zones, wich helps with different corals & placement.

How long is your tank running? Are you dosing bacteria to get it started? Because adding fish now would be a bad idea imo, but someone else with more expertise should give you an answer for this.

Oh ok, thanks for posting! Yeah I'll go for mostly softies, maybe eventually try one or two that aren't, but if they can't live and I have just a softy tank that'll be fine with me. Don't want to shoot for the moon on the very first tank haha.

Hmmm ok, I was going for surface agitation with the wavemakers on the diagonal but you're right, it's not hitting any walls and there's probably dead spots. Not sure I can mount this magnet kind against the back wall, but will check it out. There's time to play with those I guess.

If salinity doesn't come down today maybe I'll calculate a fresh water dose, then. Thanks!
You got a thread or pics of your nano, btw? =)

 

[FuriuzReef]

Oh ok, thanks for posting! Yeah I'll go for mostly softies, maybe eventually try one or two that aren't, but if they can't live and I have just a softy tank that'll be fine with me. Don't want to shoot for the moon on the very first tank haha.

Hmmm ok, I was going for surface agitation with the wavemakers on the diagonal but you're right, it's not hitting any walls and there's probably dead spots. Not sure I can mount this magnet kind against the back wall, but will check it out. There's time to play with those I guess.

If salinity doesn't come down today maybe I'll calculate a fresh water dose, then. Thanks!
You got a thread or pics of your nano, btw? =)

I just tried adding a video, but no succes...
I don't have a thread, simply because i know i don't have the willpower for it lol.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Added the water, skimmed the dust out, began bacteria dosing, and ran a first batch of tests! Overfilled the tank slightly which has the salinity a tad high.

Gear (220V):
Eheim heater 100W--right now it is in the sump where the bubble sponge should be...will there be ill effects without the sponge? Otherwise the heater will have to be inside the display. The 100W may be a bit too big for this tank, as it is set to 25 degrees C but keeping the water 27 degrees.
Sun Sun Wave Maker with Magnet Holder, 4,000L/H--what an eyesore these are! On high they are just gently stirring the water, which may be ok for the softies we're planning. Our other option in wave maker is the $300 name brand...maybe someday we'll upgrade and leave these for salt mixing.
Thermometer with probe--just a basic one the LFS sells. It is 1.7 degrees off. Between the heater surpassing the set temp, and this thermometer being so far off, I'm having a hard time getting the temp right (though it does stabilize after an adjustment). I'm having to use our meat thermometer to check. Got a stick-on analog thermometer coming soon but not sure how reliable those are. Does anyone have a thermometer that works really well, besides having a whole controller?

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.026 Will this balance out with water changes, or do I need to add RO/DI?
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: .01
pH: 8.2

1 fish incoming in a couple days...as much as I wanted to do a fishless cycle, the bacteria products here are just not meant for it and you can't hardly even get plain ammonia. The products are designed to reduce ammonia in the tank though, in those first weeks before the biological filtration is ready, so hopefully the fish will still be happy. Will be testing daily to ensure all is healthy.

Nice looking aquascape!

 

[aztoza]

Nice looking aquascape!

Thanks!

 

[aztoza]

I just tried adding a video, but no succes...
I don't have a thread, simply because i know i don't have the willpower for it lol.

Haha no judgment