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:
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:
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.
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.
Last edited: