A week and a half in after adding fish

[whitasm]

In my opinion you should keep things simple and easy for yourself, so far it's looking great.
If you start removing/adding/ adjusting stuff it just over complicates things and takes away the enjoyment of 'creating your aquarium '
If you feel you are over feeding then you can adjust this yourself by adding less food which will help your aquarium chemistry in the long run.
Unfortunately you will go through an ugly stage at some point if not now then later but it will happen.

I'm unsure about having GSP as a back wall feature as it may grow out of control and smother your rocks, filtration systems etc, maybe try it as an island first and see if you can manage growth but entirely your choice as 'its your aquarium '

Your lights will promote algae growth so research best percentage and hours to have turned on as these vary so much, if you have no corals that have photosynthetic needs then you have freedom to adjust

Your aquarium looks great and I'm following
:)

You’re the man! Thank you for the supportive advice! I am working with lights rn and have a preset from a fellow 13.5 gallon owner at 65% max lighting. I have heard a lot about the GSP taking over which scares me for the amount of maintenance required lol. Would you suggesting letting my lights acclimate over the next 25 days before adding any corals to the tank? I’m assuming during this acclimation I will start to get the ugly phase and want to get that going before adding any corals to the tank to allow for easier removal.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

You’re the man! Thank you for the supportive advice! I am working with lights rn and have a preset from a fellow 13.5 gallon owner at 65% max lighting. I have heard a lot about the GSP taking over which scares me for the amount of maintenance required lol. Would you suggesting letting my lights acclimate over the next 25 days before adding any corals to the tank? I’m assuming during this acclimation I will start to get the ugly phase and want to get that going before adding any corals to the tank to allow for easier removal.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

For me I just put GSP on an island. your lights you will need to adjust depending on what corals you decide to keep, I use vispectra and have whites at 40%, for 6hrs a day, the ugly stage will happen but more so if you promote growth via your lights, if you can keep these low then the growth will be easier to manage :)

 

[whitasm]

For me I just put GSP on an island. your lights you will need to adjust depending on what corals you decide to keep, I use vispectra and have whites at 40%, for 6hrs a day, the ugly stage will happen but more so if you promote growth via your lights, if you can keep these low then the growth will be easier to manage :)

What size tank are you running?

 

[jfoahs04]

You’re the man! Thank you for the supportive advice! I am working with lights rn and have a preset from a fellow 13.5 gallon owner at 65% max lighting. I have heard a lot about the GSP taking over which scares me for the amount of maintenance required lol. Would you suggesting letting my lights acclimate over the next 25 days before adding any corals to the tank? I’m assuming during this acclimation I will start to get the ugly phase and want to get that going before adding any corals to the tank to allow for easier removal.

I have a 13.5 EVO too. GSP is great, you just need to be smart about where you place it. Like Rick's Reviews said, an Island is a smart move to keep it from spreading to the main rockwork. I have a small GSP island in my EVO and some growing on the back wall. Since the EVO is so small and space is limited, I do have to occasionally trim the island as the GSP will grow out over the sand towards the main rockwork.

Keeping your lights limited to limit the ugly phase isn't a bad idea. Soft corals, most LPS, and GSP can do fine with lower lights, so dialing in your lights shouldn't be a a limiting factor in adding those corals (in fact, they'll "acclimate" to your lighting during that period too). The ugly phase will come no matter what. Lower lighting might limit the growth, but I wouldn't go crazy trying to remove any of the algae unless it's a real problematic variety. Most of the rest will go away on their own or be held in check as the tank balances out. I also agree that adding some live rock (even just small bits of rubble) can help in the long run by adding biodiversity to the system.

 

[whitasm]

I have a 13.5 EVO too. GSP is great, you just need to be smart about where you place it. Like Rick's Reviews said, an Island is a smart move to keep it from spreading to the main rockwork. I have a small GSP island in my EVO and some growing on the back wall. Since the EVO is so small and space is limited, I do have to occasionally trim the island as the GSP will grow out over the sand towards the main rockwork.

Keeping your lights limited to limit the ugly phase isn't a bad idea. Soft corals, most LPS, and GSP can do fine with lower lights, so dialing in your lights shouldn't be a a limiting factor in adding those corals (in fact, they'll "acclimate" to your lighting during that period too). The ugly phase will come no matter what. Lower lighting might limit the growth, but I wouldn't go crazy trying to remove any of the algae unless it's a real problematic variety. Most of the rest will go away on their own or be held in check as the tank balances out. I also agree that adding some live rock (even just small bits of rubble) can help in the long run by adding biodiversity to the system.

Thanks man! This was very helpful. This made me a lot more relaxed and calm about the process of adding corals, experiencing algae and overall maintaining the tank. My question to you is how do you monitor nutrient levels and would it be worth for a first time to get a hanna checker for phosphate and and nitrates? That’s the next thing I am trying to figure out is what the best way to monitor parameters would be.

 

[jfoahs04]

Thanks man! This was very helpful. This made me a lot more relaxed and calm about the process of adding corals, experiencing algae and overall maintaining the tank. My question to you is how do you monitor nutrient levels and would it be worth for a first time to get a hanna checker for phosphate and and nitrates? That’s the next thing I am trying to figure out is what the best way to monitor parameters would be.

Hanna Checkers are great for Nitrate, Phosphate, Alkalinity, and Salinity. Fairly accurate and easy to use. I use Red Sea for Calcium and Magnesium. Salifert makes good tests too. The Hanna Calcium checker is useless - I have one sitting on the shelf and can’t give it away.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Okay sweet! I’ll look into buying some live rock but I think it might be difficult finding something under the 15lb minimum you have to buy online.

You can check around LFS - they often have pieces of live rock you can buy by the piece. Might be better and cheaper than buying online - just check to make sure there aren't pests or algae on it. Tank looks off to a good start! I personally would add more of the same rock you started with, but that's just me and my OCD wanting everything to look uniform lol. It will BECOME live rock as it will be seeded by the existing bacteria etc from your tank. But never hurts to add already live rock. Your choice. :)

 

[whitasm]

Hanna Checkers are great for Nitrate, Phosphate, Alkalinity, and Salinity. Fairly accurate and easy to use. I use Red Sea for Calcium and Magnesium. Salifert makes good tests too. The Hanna Calcium checker is useless - I have one sitting on the shelf and can’t give it away.

I jus try found a hanna alk and phosphate kit for $100 and trying to decide whether to pull the trigger or not.

 

[whitasm]

You can check around LFS - they often have pieces of live rock you can buy by the piece. Might be better and cheaper than buying online - just check to make sure there aren't pests or algae on it. Tank looks off to a good start! I personally would add more of the same rock you started with, but that's just me and my OCD wanting everything to look uniform lol. It will BECOME live rock as it will be seeded by the existing bacteria etc from your tank. But never hurts to add already live rock. Your choice. :)

I do have more of the dry rock that I started with. About 5-10 pounds more I would say. I could add that and add to the scape or keep it simple like it is now. Hard to decide for me haha

 

[jfoahs04]

I jus try found a hanna alk and phosphate kit for $100 and trying to decide whether to pull the trigger or not.

That's basically the going rate. You can always check Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or a local reefing club website for used ones for a bit less (several of mine came from eBay). The catch with used ones is to make sure the reagents are not expired. The Alkalinity reagent is notorious for being unreliable as it ages.

I'd also consider patronizing an online store like Bulk Reef Supply or SaltwaterAquarium.com, both of which have solid rewards programs.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I do have more of the dry rock that I started with. About 5-10 pounds more I would say. I could add that and add to the scape or keep it simple like it is now. Hard to decide for me haha

The way it is now is ok for the clownfish, but if/when you start adding different types of fish and inverts, they are going to need a lot more as far as hiding places and caves. I'm not a fan of overdoing the rockscape - you still want swimming space and space for corals to grow out (if you plan on that). But I try to scape based on the habitats of the fish I plan to get. If they don't have enough hiding places and territory, they'll get stressed. Nothing wrong whatsoever with keeping a more minimalistic scape though! If you go that route, you just want to be conscious of the fish you add. Like if you want a blenny - they need little "hidey holes" etc. If you don't want to build that into your rockscape, you could instead buy some barnacles and they will love that. I got some real barnacle clusters on Amazon and my blenny lives in one, but moves between the two all day long. They feel safe that way and fish that aren't stressed don't get sick as easily.

You can always play around with the rock outside the tank - even break some up with a hammer and glue the smaller pieces together and create different shapes. A lot of people do that - it looks better than just stacking rocks on top of eachother. :)

 

[Rick's Reviews]

What size tank are you running?

45 g (200lt)

 

[whitasm]

First sign of diatoms starting to show. I’ve been running the light at an acclimation starting at 20% and up to 50% over the next 30 days. Here are some pictures of the diatoms growing on the rocks. Getting ready for the long haul with this stuff. Going to keep a close eye on parameters as we go into this. Let me know if there’s anything you would do differently.

 

[whitasm]

45 g (200lt)

Stunning!

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Stunning!

Thanks, each aquarium is unique, try going down your own route to get full enjoyment from 'your aquarium' just take comments lightly,
Enjoy what you create and enjoy.. :)