26 gallon Red Sea Max Nano Peninsula Build Thread

[JohnNYC8]

Picture from Day 142

Picture from Day 102

Hello everyone, I'm cycling my tank so I decided to join the community and post a build thread. I have experience with freshwater aquariums but this is my first saltwater tank.

My goal is to build a nano reef with 2-3 fish, a clean-up crew, soft corals, and one or two SPS corals when the tank is more mature. I plan to move slow so I can maintain a stable environment. I'm sure there will be ups and downs along the way but that's all part of the adventure.

My ultimate goal is to create a stable, fun, and attractive environment for my fish.

The tank will be on a countertop with most of the viewing done from one side. There's 4" behind the back of the tank to allow for airflow as recommended by Red Sea. I set aside a healthy budget of time and resources for the tank so I hope to share some cool updates.

Current Set-up:

Red Sea Max Nano Peninsula 26 gallon​

20lbs of CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink Sand​

CaribSea LifeRock Nano Tree​

3 pieces of CaribSea LifeRock to fill out the aquascape (about 15 pounds total including the Nano Tree)​

A 78* fixed temp heater to get the tank started​

Day 1: Dosed with Dr. Tim's One and Only and started the cycle with a few pellets of food (brought ammonia to 1.2, Nitrite to .05, Nitrate to 20 after 8 hours). I have the LED light turned off, the skimmer turned off and the filter sock out. The water was very milky but it cleared in 24 hours. I have pictures of how milky it was if anyone is interested.

Day 3: Dosed again with Fritz Turbo Start and Fishless Fuel ammonia to get a more diverse array of nitrifying bacteria (brought ammonia to 2.0, Nitrite to 0, Nitrate to 5, PH at 8, Alkalinity a little low at 6.5). I turned the return pump off for 30 minutes after adding the Turbo Start to let all the good stuff settle. I turned the skimmer on since the initial food is starting to break down, added the RSM included carbon, but still have the LED light off and filter sock out.

Day 4: Today, joined Reef 2 Reef to share my journey

Future additions:

Epoxy or glue to lock-in the rockwork after it settles (everything passed the push down gravity test when placed)​

Nero 3 powerhead for higher flow​

ClearView lid (possibly with evaporation covers)​

3D printed filter upgrade kit from eBay​

Some bio balls or cubes to create more surface area​

A better heater with adjustability and maybe redundancy​

A battery backup solution for my return pump​

A dosing system​

I'm testing with a Red Sea Max Marine Care Multi Test Kit

Here's the tank cycling with my little island for a zoa garden in the front

Lots of room in my aquascape for fish activities and coral placement

And here's the money shot. For those wondering, that's a tape measure being used to hold down the skimmer lid. I'm having a hard time fine-tuning the skimmer but I'm getting it under control.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Great looking nano!! Can't wait to see that tank stocked!

 

[JohnNYC8]

Great looking nano!! Can't wait to see that tank stocked!

Thank you! I checked out your build thread and you have a beautiful set-up as well.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Day 8 Update:

The tank has been cycled for ammonia control for days now. I don't think double dosing the Dr. Tim's One and Only and Fritz Turbo Start was necessary. When I add ammonia the level drops rapidly. I actually suspect it was cycled for ammonia after day 1 since ammonia dropped from 2 to .2 overnight but that's a debate I'll let others have.

I started keeping an eye on more parameters:

76.6* temp​

PH 8​

Alkalinity 7.5​

Salinity 1.029 (I haven't topped off with RO/DI water today)​

Nitrates 20​

I plan to do a 4-6 gallon water change before I add my fish to bring the nitrates down and to lower the salinity. I definitely need a good ATO solution to avoid these swings in salinity. I've been topping off by hand once a day. I started with Nature's Ocean so I feel like I can trust that the starting salinity was in a good range. I'll be using a calculator to dial this in. My plan is to dilute pre-mixed seawater until I hit the target salinity provided by the calculator. Any advice here is welcome.

Since I have a single tank set-up with no quarantine system I'm ordering my fish from @Dr. Reef https://drreefsquarantinedfish.com/ I'm currently debating between a bonded pair of Ocellaris Clownfish or a pair of Percula Clownfish. If anyone has any advice, or a favorite, I'd love to hear your thoughts. [Edit Day 8, 5-22-23 with Reef2Reef answer I'm going with a bonded pair of Ocellaris based on this thread]

I cleaned some of the sand off my aquascape and plan to move sand from the front area to the back (the "back" being the right side of the picture).

I have a Nero 3 powerhead on the way from BRS that I plan to add and "tune" before I add any fish. I don't want to play around with 80% power and freak the fish out in their new home. I'll play around with the placement because it would be cool to put it in the same space as the return pump on the back wall but it might provide better flow and move detritus to the front if I put it on the back glass (oven side) and blow along the side of the skimmer/return pump area. I plan to add higher flow corals to the top of the reefscape but that's many months in the future. If anyone has any advice for where to add the powerhead I'm all ears.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Day 9:

List of items to take care of before I add my first fish

• Bring the salinity down. I'll bring it within a point or so of where Dr Reef ships his fish and then slowly raise it with future water changes.
• Install an ATO so I'm not topping off by hand and experiencing these salinity swings. I'll use the one included with the RSM for now but I'll have to place my heater in a different location.
• Place the Nero 3 powerhead
• Bond my rockwork with BRS super glue gel underwater during the water change [edit Day 10, 5-24-23: this did not work. I had to wrap Oceans Wonders Coralline Purple Reef Safe Epoxy around the IC Gel. I also shoved some Epoxy down the reef rod hole to lock in the nano tree. The main section is very solid and two-piece modular if I ever have to take it out. I was really worried when the IC gel did nothing but I'm very relieved that the epoxy worked.]
• Install a temporary cut-to-fit mesh top. I got a Jumpguard DIY from BRS.

 

[Stephen8169301]

Really like that rock buried in the sand good idea that is a rock right? Lol

 

[JohnNYC8]

Really like that rock buried in the sand good idea that is a rock right? Lol

Thank you, it is rock down there. Someone returned a box of Caribsea flatz to the LFS so they were selling it by the piece. I was planning to buy a premade zoa garden frag holder but I grabbed this flat because it's a perfect match for the rest of the rock. I want to build 3-4 levels of coral with the front being the lowest.

 

[Stephen8169301]

Thank you, it is rock down there. Someone returned a box of Caribsea flatz to the LFS so they were selling it by the piece. I was planning to buy a premade zoa garden frag holder but I grabbed this flat because it's a perfect match for the rest of the rock. I want to build 3-4 levels of coral with the front being the lowest.

Yeah that’ll be perfect for zoas or even a favia or mushrooms so many options lol

it’s looking good!

 

[JohnNYC8]

My first coral is in. I picked up a really nice looking mushroom from Reefco in Green Brook, NJ. I forgot to ask for the name, can anyone ID it? [Edit: question answered by @Saltyreef , it's a green carpet/hairy mushroom https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/mushroom-id.988515/post-11429940 ] They have a beautiful selection of corals on display there.

I dipped it in Red Sea DipX and then rinsed it in tank water really well. A few tiny things and a nice little starfish came out. ReefCo's tanks look nice and clean but I don't have a quarantine tank so everything gets the dip.

As soon as I got it in the tank it opened up and basked in the light. So far it looks like a happy customer.

I turned down the AI Nero 3 to 30% during the day and then a half hour at 40% at night to clear debris off everything.

I set the Reef LED 50 to 45% blue and 8% white. The mushroom was in a tank at 150 par so I think that should be safe.

I'm keeping my salinity low at 1.023 in preparation for my fish (they ship at 1.022). I'll gradually raise it with water changes to 1.025-1.026. I picked up 10 gallons of Nature's Ocean Nutri-SeaWater so I should be good for a while.

Edit: It was really swaying so I turned the AI Nero 3 down to 10-20% random. It still has quite a bit of movement. Here's a video:

 

[JohnNYC8]

Day 18: We have two new customers. I got WWC AOI Zoanthids for the zoa island and a WWC Laser Beam Chalice from @WWC for the bottom right shelf.

I'm thinking of moving the green hairy mushroom to a rock on the sand bed. It would be cool if it took over a big area on the left side but I don't want it to take over the whole aquascape. If anyone has any suggestions for controlling the hairy mushroom let me know. Could blasting the arch in the middle with 200 par light keep it down on the rock on the left?

 

[JohnNYC8]

Quick update: I added my bonded pair of clownfish from @Dr. Reef. Their names are Pizza and Penne. also picked up some clean up crew snails. Everyone seems happy. I was worried that the AI Nero 3 at 55% max random would be too much flow for them but they have no issues getting around.

I also got a nice big shipment of corals from @WWC and 3 nice frags of cyphastrea from @Legendary Corals for lower light areas. The corals are acclimating now but I might start to mount some tonight. The clownfish have taken an interest in the wobbling birdsnest coral. The only one not opening up fully is the Acan Lord but it's slowly showing its colors.

Update: they're eating on day 1 and seem super healthy.

 

[Shanephillips27]

Day 8 Update:

The tank has been cycled for ammonia control for days now. I don't think double dosing the Dr. Tim's One and Only and Fritz Turbo Start was necessary. When I add ammonia the level drops rapidly. I actually suspect it was cycled for ammonia after day 1 since ammonia dropped from 2 to .2 overnight but that's a debate I'll let others have.

I started keeping an eye on more parameters:

76.6* temp​

PH 8​

Alkalinity 7.5​

Salinity 1.029 (I haven't topped off with RO/DI water today)​

Nitrates 20​

I plan to do a 4-6 gallon water change before I add my fish to bring the nitrates down and to lower the salinity. I definitely need a good ATO solution to avoid these swings in salinity. I've been topping off by hand once a day. I started with Nature's Ocean so I feel like I can trust that the starting salinity was in a good range. I'll be using a calculator to dial this in. My plan is to dilute pre-mixed seawater until I hit the target salinity provided by the calculator. Any advice here is welcome.

Since I have a single tank set-up with no quarantine system I'm ordering my fish from @Dr. Reef https://drreefsquarantinedfish.com/ I'm currently debating between a bonded pair of Ocellaris Clownfish or a pair of Percula Clownfish. If anyone has any advice, or a favorite, I'd love to hear your thoughts. [Edit Day 8, 5-22-23 with Reef2Reef answer I'm going with a bonded pair of Ocellaris based on this thread]

I cleaned some of the sand off my aquascape and plan to move sand from the front area to the back (the "back" being the right side of the picture).

I have a Nero 3 powerhead on the way from BRS that I plan to add and "tune" before I add any fish. I don't want to play around with 80% power and freak the fish out in their new home. I'll play around with the placement because it would be cool to put it in the same space as the return pump on the back wall but it might provide better flow and move detritus to the front if I put it on the back glass (oven side) and blow along the side of the skimmer/return pump area. I plan to add higher flow corals to the top of the reefscape but that's many months in the future. If anyone has any advice for where to add the powerhead I'm all ears.

Hello I have this tank as well. But I seem to be getting microbubbles in my display when the skimmer is on. Have you dealt with this. What is the fix if so?

 

[JohnNYC8]

Hello I have this tank as well. But I seem to be getting microbubbles in my display when the skimmer is on. Have you dealt with this. What is the fix if so?

I found it tricky to tune the skimmer. I think bubbles on the return side would indicate a high overall water level which allows water to bypass the filter sock. If you bring your water level down a half inch or so it could stop the micro bubbles. There are 3d printed pieces on eBay that block water from entering the return side before going through the bubble catcher and filter sock.

As far as tuning the airflow and skimmer height, that was a lot of trial and error for me. I’m running a fairly low rate of bubbles but the biofilm that built up takes waste over the top.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Quick update: my clownfish have started hosting my green hairy mushroom. Since they like the mushroom so much I moved it near the flat rock on the bottom to grow onto. The zoas weren't getting enough light down there so it'll be a mushroom garden.

I picked up a Reefing Art floating rock frag rack to add a floating gonipora island to the tank. I picked up a nice big goni from ReefCo. in Green Brook, NJ. They have beautiful corals and a huge selection of tank-bred gonipora and euphyllia. This goni is super healthy and fully extending so I'll add a second and third soon. They're definitely my LFS going forward.

I have diatoms so I went with some advice from Than at Tidal Gardens and added some ROWAphos Phosphate Removal Media to remove some silicates to slow down their growth. I've been dosing Red Sea Reef Energy to keep my phosphates from bottoming out.

I also added a jar of Galaxy (mixed) copepods from Algae Barn in June and again in July. I have a population built up so I don't think I'll be adding any more. From what I've read the tank will reach a carrying capacity and adding more is a waste of resources.

My CUC consists of some bumble bee snails and astraea turbo snails from @Dr. Reef They're all happy healthy and active.

Daily additions: 1/3rd of a frozen cube of mysis or brine shrimp defrosted with tank water and added with a turkey baster. A dose of OceanMagik phyto to feed the copepods/corals/compete with nuisance algae, and a small dose of Red Sea Reef Energy.

A few times a week: I mix Reef Energy with Reef Roids and target feed the corals. The mushroom eats up everything but it's hard to gauge the feeding responses of the smaller corals. I have an orange cyphastrea from Jason Fox and it catches brine shrimp out of the water column when I feed the fish. [Edit day 101 8/23/2023: this was a mistake. I shouldn't have fed the corals more than once, let alone 3 times a week. I'm dealing with phosphate issues a month and a half later.]

I have a few corals that require calcium so I'll start using my Hannah checker. I'd rather introduce everything with water changes (Red Sea Blue Bucket salt) but if I have to dose I'll dose. More updates to come...[Edit day 101 8/23/2003: my calcium and everything else came back great on my ATI ICP test. I don't have enough corals to need anything beyond 5 gallon/~20% water changes every week. The only thing that came back depleted way iodine.]

Here's a full-tank shot from this morning. Not everything is opened up for the day but my AOI zoas are much happier with more light up top.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Yeah that’ll be perfect for zoas or even a favia or mushrooms so many options lol

it’s looking good!

It's turning into a mushroom island. The zoas weren't getting enough light there so I moved the green hairy mushroom next to it.

 

[JohnNYC8]

An update with some pictures.

Day 82 and it looks like I'm on the ramp down of my ugly phase . I never had any major issues and I credit the addition of Galaxy pods from Algae Barn, daily live phyto additions and RowaPhos to take out silicates to slow down diatoms. I was away for a weekend and came back to a small patch of what looked like stringy dinos but I scooped them out with the surrounding sand and they never came back. I will say that if you use RowaPhos to take out silicates you have to make sure you don't bottom out your phosphates. I use Reef Roids to pump up my nutrients as needed. [edit Day 101: I used too many Reef Roids and now I have phosphate issues. It's not the worst problem in the world but if I could do it over again I'd only feed the corals after I saw my phosphate numbers getting low.]

Morning shot with the corals just waking up:

I picked up orange zoas and Space Invader pectinia from ReefCo. I also ordered a "Snow White" pipe organ from @TopShelfAquatics . I really like the pipe organ/tubipora corals and I wish they were more widely available. It's hard to find anything other than the green variety. I should have a cleaner shrimp and blue neon goby from Dr. Reef in the next few weeks. I'm strongly considering a starry blenny as my final addition.

I got some fireworks clove polyps from ReefCo. that I'm trying to get to grow up the back wall.

I'm doing weekly 5 gallon water changes with Red Sea blue bucket salt. I'm only dosing Reef Energy by hand but plan to start getting ATI tests to see if I'm depleting anything faster than the water changes can replenish.

I turned up my white light for a better looking color temp. I'm currently acclimating to 50% blue and 16% white from 45% blue and nearly no white (4%). I think the pectinia near the bottom will appreciate the light bump and I don't see any signs of bleaching at the top of tank.

The clownfish, Pizza and Penne, are a happy bonded pair from @Dr. Reef . They not only host the hairy mushroom but they also pick detritus off of the goniporas. They've been model tank residents and have never tried to bite me when my hands are in the tank. The big female, Penne, is definitely in charge.

I got a better heater and have the tank at around 80*. It's in the tank now but I'll eventually hide it in the return chamber in the back.

My AI Nero 3 in conjunction with my return pump keep everything in the water column. My Nero 3 program is 65% random for most of the day with a 68% 4 second on 4 second off pulse for 10 minutes during sunrise and 10 minutes during light rampdown. I also run 10 minutes of 70% constant to take care of any stubborn detritus from 8:05-8:15pm. The Nero 3 makes a little bit of noise above 60% so I probably would've gone with a Nero 5 if I had to do it over again. [edit day 101: this was too much flow. It only requires about 10-35% random flow all day to keep detritus from building up. I'm running it 5-18% random right now because I have berghia nudibranchs eating aptasia and they can't take strong flow. I'm not noticing any issues.]

Corals that didn't make it: JF Vino Monti, WWC Laser Beam chalice, Oingo Boingo zoanthids, and a JF Goblin Scroll. With the exception of the zoanthids, the theme is that most stony corals don't love my tank right now. I'm not sure if it's lighting or parameters but the rest of my corals are happy and healthy.

I'm having an issue with aptasia. I know it's a small tank to use berghia nudibranchs but I added two last night and plan to add two more soon. I just like the idea of eradicating the aptasia and I don't want to introduce crabs or other livestock to deal with it.

I also had bubble algae take over my Stargazer zoas but I removed them and did a peroxide dip and it looks like they're saved.

The next project is a good auto top-off solution. I'm eyeing up a slim reservoir from Advanced Acrylics to hide behind the tank and a Tunze ATO.

 

[Scubaguy5]

Hello everyone, I'm cycling my tank so I decided to join the community and post a build thread. I have experience with freshwater aquariums but this is my first saltwater tank.

My goal is to build a nano reef with 2-3 fish, a clean-up crew, soft corals, and one or two SPS corals when the tank is more mature. I plan to move slow so I can maintain a stable environment. I'm sure there will be ups and downs along the way but that's all part of the adventure.

My ultimate goal is to create a stable, fun, and attractive environment for my fish.

The tank will be on a countertop with most of the viewing done from one side. There's 4" behind the back of the tank to allow for airflow as recommended by Red Sea. I set aside a healthy budget of time and resources for the tank so I hope to share some cool updates.

Current Set-up:

Red Sea Max Nano Peninsula 26 gallon​

20lbs of CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink Sand​

CaribSea LifeRock Nano Tree​

3 pieces of CaribSea LifeRock to fill out the aquascape (about 15 pounds total including the Nano Tree)​

A 78* fixed temp heater to get the tank started​

Day 1: Dosed with Dr. Tim's One and Only and started the cycle with a few pellets of food (brought ammonia to 1.2, Nitrite to .05, Nitrate to 20 after 8 hours). I have the LED light turned off, the skimmer turned off and the filter sock out. The water was very milky but it cleared in 24 hours. I have pictures of how milky it was if anyone is interested.

Day 3: Dosed again with Fritz Turbo Start and Fishless Fuel ammonia to get a more diverse array of nitrifying bacteria (brought ammonia to 2.0, Nitrite to 0, Nitrate to 5, PH at 8, Alkalinity a little low at 6.5). I turned the return pump off for 30 minutes after adding the Turbo Start to let all the good stuff settle. I turned the skimmer on since the initial food is starting to break down, added the RSM included carbon, but still have the LED light off and filter sock out.

Day 4: Today, joined Reef 2 Reef to share my journey

Future additions:

Epoxy or glue to lock-in the rockwork after it settles (everything passed the push down gravity test when placed)​

Nero 3 powerhead for higher flow​

ClearView lid (possibly with evaporation covers)​

3D printed filter upgrade kit from eBay​

Some bio balls or cubes to create more surface area​

A better heater with adjustability and maybe redundancy​

A battery backup solution for my return pump​

A dosing system​

I'm testing with a Red Sea Max Marine Care Multi Test Kit

Here's the tank cycling with my little island for a zoa garden in the front

Lots of room in my aquascape for fish activities and coral placement

And here's the money shot. For those wondering, that's a tape measure being used to hold down the skimmer lid. I'm having a hard time fine-tuning the skimmer but I'm getting it under control.

I'll be following you, as I'm currently cycling my RS Max Nano Peninsula as well! Best wishes!

 

[JohnNYC8]

Day 97

My new reef residents from Dr. Reef have arrived and I started feeding Benepets because I'm still battling the high phosphates. After 3 feedings my corals seem to really like benepets so I might only do reef roids if I see my phosphates drop a lot. I don't want to use too much RowaPhos to remove phosphates--I'm trying to go light on any water adjustments.

But first, my new Pisces EXO lid from ClearView Lids arrived and it's perfect. They have a beautiful product and great customer service. I got one feed door, a condensation cover for the middle and spaces around the corners for cords. I turned up my blues 5% (to 50% on the RSM ReefLED 50) to account for any light loss and I'm doing a 40 day acclimation. I think the corals can tank more light anyway.

Close-up with the feed door moved to the side:

I got a bonus blue neon goby so I acclimated them both and added them to the in-tank acclimation box from Reefing Art with some rubble rock for cover. The clownfish went to check them out but don't seem very interested in their new neighbors. I released them into the tank after 8 hours. The clowns will approach them if they get too close to the area they sleep in but they aren't showing overt aggression. So far the gobies are getting along OK. They chase each other a little bit but have settled on different sides of the tank for most of the day. I've read that it's hard to keep two unless they're a bonded pair so we'll see how this works out. Names TBD.

Scampi the cleaner shrimp setting up shop next to the space invader pectinia:

Here's a shot of everyone getting along with one little goby in the back left:

More to work on:
I should have my Tunze Osmolator Nano set-up before the end of the month. I ordered a 3.25 gallon slim ATO reservoir from Advanced Acrylics to stash behind the tank.

There's one bit of bubble algae in my pipe organ coral. I don't want to go in an remove it yet because the pipe organ is brittle. It is stopping the pipe organ from extending the polyps around the algae but it seems to be getting enough light because it's growing quickly to the other side. I removed a blob of bubble algae from my clove polyps with a turkey baster and it came off in one piece and doesn't seem to be an issue anymore.

The nudibranchs have been clearing the aptasia. I saw one munching last night so I just hope they can finish the job and I can scoop them up and pass them on to someone else in need. I added four nudibranchs but I only ever see one or two when I check at night. I turned down my AI Nero 3 to 24 hour random 5-20% so I don't blow the nudibranchs into another dimension.

I fed Gonipower once and my gonis are extending more. I might target feed a little bit every few days since they liked it so much. Once again, I don't want to spike my phosphates so I'll have to carefully monitor my numbers after feeding. [Edit day 101: this was another mistake. My phosphates were already high and I shouldn't have fed any corals.]

I'm starting to get frustrated with the included RSM Nano skimmer. It's really hard to adjust the bubbles and weir gate for the right mix. It's either barely taking out any material or it's wet skimming and filling up the cup daily. Just when you think you have it dialed-in you have to adjust it again in a couple of weeks. If anyone has any tips for better operation, or an upgrade that'll fit perfectly, please let me know.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Quick update: my phosphates are a whopping .42 on the Hanna Phosphate ULR checker. My Nitrates are 18.9. I'm going to add 4 tablespoons of RowaPhos based on the calculator. I'm targeting 0.05 phosphate so I'm way off base.

Clearly I'm overfeeding, even with the big pullback in nutrient additions. I've read in the chemistry forum that phosphates will bind to surfaces and release again so it looks like I'm in for a long battle.


Update: Checked phosphates this morning and the RowaPhos lowered them to .3 so we're headed in the right direction.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Day 99:

Scampi the cleaner shrimp molted already. I'll leave the molt in the tank for nutrients.

I set-up the Tunze Osmolator 3152 Nano drawing from the Advanced Acrylics slim reservoir and it's working well. I've only heard it go off once but I have a condensation cover on the lid so my evaporation rate is low. This should help a lot with reef stability. I left my Tunze nano scraper near the water line so I can do a quick check on my water level.

I've been using Benepets Benereef every 3 days and feeding less to combat my phosphate problem. I've also cut back on the live phyto additions to the "starting" amount of 5ml. The tank is looking super clean so I'll stick with this routine. Here's a morning shot before all the corals "wake up."

The high phosphates took a toll on some of the more sensitive corals. I'm noticing a lot of brown tissue on one cyphastrea. Also, I noticed the zoanthids aren't as brightly colored. They're starting to look a little better with the new routine but I don't think the cyphastrea will bounce back any time soon.

It has taken nearly 100 days but I think I'm nailing down what I need to do to achieve stability. More updates to come.