Alex's Truly Mixed 20g Reef

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Today i am offically starting my Nuvo 20 Build thread. i have been waiting to start this tank for about a two years and the time has finally come. The goal of this tank is to be a mixed reef tank catering to multiple types of coral and about 3-4 fish.

As you can see we are rocking a ton of amazing gear. I will make a full list of the current hardware and when i add new stuff i will try my best to stay up to date and post about it.

Current equipment
Flow
-Mp10 QD by Ecotech Marine
-Mighty Jet DC Return Pump
-2 Spin Stream Return Nozzles

Lighting
-Kessil A360w

Heater
-Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 75 Watt

Filtration
-AquaGadget Desktop Custom Caddy
-Marinepure Ceramic Spheres

Equipment on stand-by

Filtration
- Eshopps nano Desktop Skimmer
-IM Desktop DC UV Sterilizer
- Chemi-Pure Blue
-Filter Sock

Testing equipment
- All Hanna Checkered Out
- except for the Ammonia,Nitrite,nitrate im using the good old API test kits

Current Point/Cycling the tank

My Salinity is a little low aswell as i brought my temp up to around 83 degrees to promote bacteria growth during the cycle. i set the tank up under the impression that my LFS had some Dr.Tims in stock. well i went there and they were all out but my tank was ready to go. I was sold a bottle of Stability by Seachem and i got a little bottle of Ammonia Chloride from Dr.Tims. i got home turned off the return pump and powerhead and threw in the bacteria and about 30 minutes to a hour later the recommended dose of Ammonia followed the instructions on the bottle to a tee. I did not test the tank that day because i knew i would have just had a ton of ammonia in the tank. The next day around noon i tested the water and these were my results Ammonia 4.0ppm Nitrite.15 ppm Nitrate 0.00ppm Ph7.73 the next day i tested and the ammonia stayed the same Nitrite was at .50ppm and Nitrate was at 20ppm within 3 days the cycle has really started to take place. now my plan is to go pickup a bottle of Dr.Tims one and only from the LFS tomorrow and keep with the stability schedule and dose the Dr.Tims once because i think that the blend of Bacteria are different. The plan is to start off with a nice designer Clownfish and a small zoa or LPS frag when the cycle is complete. I am also planning on doing a waterchange of 5 gallon before i add any livestock to try and bring that PH level up aswell as remove any of the residual Nitrates. so i think that about covers it all i will answer all questions and keep this Thread up to date as best as i can. oh i almost forgot this is my Schedule for the MP10 let me know what you think and if you have any recommendations. its reef crest during the day lagoon at night and some tidal swell mixed in.

 

[Chris4reef]

Looks great. The IM20 is such a classic and great looking tank.

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Looks great. The IM20 is such a classic and great looking tank.

Thank you so much . I am looking forward to getting this tank established and taking on the challenge.

 

[tharbin]

Nice looking set up.

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Nice looking set up.

Appreciate it been colleting parts for almost a year and a half.

 

[saramachen]

I set up my 25lagoon last week and used Dr Tims, it hasn’t gone near as quickly as yours. I think you got lucky with your lfs being out of stock

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

I set up my 25lagoon last week and used Dr Tims, it hasn’t gone near as quickly as yours. I think you got lucky with your lfs being out of stock

100% agree my ammonia is starting to fall as of today. i also picked up a bottle of Dr.Tims today and plan on adding some once the cycle is more complete. I dont know if i mentioned i brought my temp to 85 and my salinity is low at 1.022ppm to increase bacteria growth.

 

[V A R I A N T]

“Good old API test kits” - not sure I’ve heard anyone refer to them in that way

 

[PR_nano]

Nice, setup. I have the same tank and will be looking forward to your stock list.

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

“Good old API test kits” - not sure I’ve heard anyone refer to them in that way

Back when I first started keeping saltwater tanks that was the tried and true affordable method of testing those parameters. I wouldn't say good but old defiantly.

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Nice, setup. I have the same tank and will be looking forward to your stock list.

Thank you i will have to go check it out. But im going to try and mainly stick to LPS im going to try and keep some SPS on that top rock but we will see plus as soon as this cycle is complete i will be adding a nice designer Clownfish.

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Does anyone know when i should add the extra Dr.Tims should i do it before or after the first water change when the cycle is complete or near the end? i know you cant add it with high concentrations of ammonia in the water.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Looking great!!

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Looking great!!

Thank You so much

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Update Time

Soo today we are on day 16 of the cycle and have experienced a few hiccups. The beginning of the cycle started off strong. originally i had a super high amount of Ammonia in the tank i believe the rock leeched some out and i didn't read up on it to realize that it could happen. I used Seachem Stablilty and i completed the dosing instructions. once Ammonia read 0 i added almost 25% of a bottle of Dr.Tims because i believe that bacteria blend is superior to Seachems. Now this is where things began to get a little hairy 2 days after i used the Dr.Tims i had a full on bacteria bloom on my hands. i just rode it out and the bloom went away. as soon as it did i got a precise test at LFS and my nitrites were ridiculously high they weren't going down as fast as they should. I did almost a 45% water change and dosed the bacteria again a little and waited 2 days i got my water tested again at my LFS and my nitrites fell from about 4.0ppm to 2.1ppm. when i got home today i did another almost 45-50% water change and this brings us to the present. hopefully within the next couple days the Nitrite falls to 0 and we can do that last water change and get a move on with these fish.(Yes i did not touch the sand or rock when doing water changes and ive been careful to not disrupt it.) on a side not I'm having a low PH problem due to the windows being closed in my apartment to stay warm. im currently keeping a eye on the PH after i did that water change today to see if it falls.

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

0 Nitrite Yesssir gonna post the fish and an update soon.

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Update Time

Well two days ago i tested 0 Nitrite at night. was not 100% sure whether it was 0 or really low. the next day we went to the LFS to make sure and to my surprise they were at 0ppm and nitrate was at 7ppm. so i picked up a medium/larger Frostbite Bullethole Clown and a small sized Davinci Clown.

When I got home I did about a 25% water change and while the water warmed up a degree or two I started to acclimate the fish. They seemed very happy and were super active during acclimation, after about a hour and a half we popped them in the tank.

They only hid for a few minutes and then they were swimming in the current front and center. Unfortunately upon further inspection I realized the small Davinci Clown had a little cut in his lip and was missing a fin on his belly. I'm praying to god he makes a full recovery. Today i added one of each a blue and red legged hermit crab tiny ones. I made sure at least one of the Hermits was fully encrusted with coraline algae.

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

So on i believe exactly day 30 of this tank we turned on the lights and added some easy coral. I added a small unnamed Zoa Frag aswell as a candy cane. I floated the bag and then dipped them with some reVive and in to the sand bed with the least amount of flow they go. Within a matter of a few hours both corals polyps are wide open happy as ever. Never knew the candy canes had feeding tents.

The reason i added these specifically is just to get the maintenance schedule down aswell as dialing in the parameters. the next addition cross our fingers will be a nice WWC Rainbow Hammer.

 

[Gedxin]

Looking good! Let's see a full tank shot when you get a chance please!

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Looking good! Let's see a full tank shot when you get a chance please!

About to post an update with a full tank shot.