City's 15 gallon Column NANO reef build

[NY_Caveman]

Can’t say. I’ll never know exactly what you had in mind [emoji1]

What I CAN say is: You don’t have a solid rock wall. Or a pile of rocks in the middle of the tank. And your pillars certainly aren’t simple.

You’ve got plenty of open space and something that reaches towards the top of the tank.



I think you’ve got a really good thing going right now with negative space. You’ve created an epic aquascape in a tiny footprint without it feeling crowded. You certainly could build a cave or a ledge or a structure to hide your pumps, but I think you run the risk of taking away from the minimalism and drama that you’ve got going just as is.

Things might look a little spindly or incomplete now, but I think when your structure starts filling out with coral growth it’ll fill right out and be a real jaw dropper. I’ll be following this one for sure

KJ

I would agree with this. It is so unique now. A few well placed corals with the right growth pattern could create a cave over time. With an aquascape like this, you may want to get corals growing before adding any (or many) fish.

BTW, that is an Asterina Star. Some consider them pests as they can overpopulate a tank. I tend to leave them if I only see one or two.

 

[JBKReef]

How did you get an asterina star? Did that come out of the sand or the rock?

 

[Dj City]

How did you get an asterina star? Did that come out of the sand or the rock?

I have no idea.

Only thing I can think of is it came from the TINY piece of live rock that I place in the fuge to help seed the tank.
I really thought that rock was CLEAN.
I inspected the heck out of it and rinsed / swished it very vigorously in tankwater before placing it.

I also have filter floss covering the entire opening to the D.T. so I can't see how it could have entered.

Only other option is that it came in with the live sand.

 

[JBKReef]

I have no idea.

Only thing I can think of is it came from the TINY piece of live rock that I place in the fuge to help seed the tank.
I really thought that rock was CLEAN.
I inspected the heck out of it and rinsed / swished it very vigorously in tankwater before placing it.

I also have filter floss covering the entire opening to the D.T. so I can't see how it could have entered.

Only other option is that it came in with the live sand.

I didnt think Asterina are sand sifters so I'm not sure how it showed up. Crazy, always get those hitchhikers. Best of luck!

 

[Dj City]

Wow!
I was not expecting this so soon.

I really am on my way.

 

[Dj City]

I wonder how long it will take for the nitrite to drop to zero?

Im still going slow or at least im trying to but it seems like the cycle is on fast mode.

If the nitrites drop to zero, I think I have to put some kind of real life in the tank.

I don't have anything for a clean up crew to eat so I'm not sure how to start or what to introduce when it drops.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I wonder how long it will take for the nitrite to drop to zero?

Im still going slow or at least im trying to but it seems like the cycle is on fast mode.

If the nitrites drop to zero, I think I have to put some kind of real life in the tank.

I don't have anything for a clean up crew to eat so I'm not sure how to start or what to introduce when it drops.

Trochus and/or Cerith Snails will eat detritus and diatoms too. I add some dried seaweed once a week too and the Ceriths seem to really like it. Hermits will clean up everything.

 

[Kevin Jaako]

Nitrite showed up early for me too, but it still hung around like a bad smell

 

[Dj City]

Trochus and/or Cerith Snails will eat detritus and diatoms too. I add some dried seaweed once a week too and the Ceriths seem to really like it. Hermits will clean up everything.

I'm probably going to go this route.
Hermit crabs can sometimes be a little aggressive towards LPS and clams. I plan on having both in the future so I need to be thoughtful in my choice of hermits.

I know I want Nassarius snails to help keep my sandbed turned.
I will probably have an emerald crab or two as well.

I want to add detritus eaters and algae eaters when the time is right.

Im curious. At what point should I turn the skimmer on?
At what point should I add chaeto and when do I add pods?

 

[NY_Caveman]

I'm probably going to go this route.
Hermit crabs can sometimes be a little aggressive towards LPS and clams. I plan on having both in the future so I need to be thoughtful in my choice of hermits.

I know I want Nassarius snails to help keep my sandbed turned.
I will probably have an emerald crab or two as well.

I want to add detritus eaters and algae eaters when the time is right.

Im curious. At what point should I turn the skimmer on?
At what point should I add chaeto and when do I add pods?

I can share what I did:

• Day 1 - Skimmer on
• Week 4 - Chaeto added (I had a CUC, a couple of corals and one fish at this point).
• I added mixed size Copepods while I was maturing the rock before I even had the tank. I added Amphipods at week 5 and Apocyclops Copepods at week 7. Probably done with that. I do does Phytoplankton daily.

If I had sand I would definitely have Nassarius Snails as well. I should note as well, I really had no cycle as I started with a mix of matured and live rock (as you know, but for others reading). For that reason the skimmer seemed necessary day 1. I also like the gas exchange in addition to the removal of organic waste.

 

[Dj City]

Well now.....

This is not quite what I was expecting to see.

Ammonia is at zero.
Nitrite is a super buttload
Nitrate is about 40ppm
PH is 7.7 at 9:07pm
Salinity is at 1.024

I have not tested anything else. I don't see a need to yet.
I also have better test kit's but I don't see a reason to use them yet.
Im not fine tuning at this point, just trying to get ballpark numbers on where I am in the cycle. (Apparently still early in the cycle).

I turned my skimmer on today and I'm considering adding chaeto to start to combat the nitrates.

I have not made up my mind yet.

 

[Dj City]

I am cycled!​

I was thinking this would take about 2 or 3 weeks but this cycle was most definitely on fast track mode.

I can't believe it was only 12 days ago the tank got "wet"
This is the fastest cycle I've ever done.

Blue as a clear summer sky.

I will add some chaeto from my 110gal to start beating back the nitrates.
I will order my clean up crew within a few days and get this show on the road.

 

[Dj City]

I went to petco (Uuugh).
They had some pods and a few snails and hermit crabs.
I said I want to get life in the tank as soon as the cycle completed so...

Two bottles of pods going into the fuge. I also may have transferred some over when I added chaeto from the 110 gal reef.

 

[Dj City]

Snails to start the tank off...

I wish I could remember the name of these little guys.
(Edit)
5 Nertie snails

 

[Dj City]

Can't have snails without crabs...

5 red leg hermits..

Needless to say, better pics are coming once all these little guys are in the tank.

 

[Dj City]

Side view of the HOB fuge.

I purposely started small with the chaeto. I want to see it grow and I want it to eat the nitrate!

 

[Dj City]

Oh...

I also added the 1st corals.

1 whisker frag? At least that's what petco calls it. Im pretty sure it's an unhappy duncan

1 moonstone

1 green trumpet

Im curious to see how all this turns out.

I also need to learn how to take better pics with my Note 8 phone camera.

Im not adding any fish yet.
My snowflake clown would be so happy to have this tank to himself but since I plan on having other fish besides him, he's going to have to wait.

I want the less aggressive fish in there before introducing him.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Nice! Cycle is done, the CUC and Copepods should help start the maturing process.

I am adding a clownfish last as well.

 

[Dj City]

I plan on expanding the CUC in the Nano. I'm going to place an order from aquarium Depot for...

25 Certh Snails
10 Glowing Marginella Snails
15 Nassarius Vibex Snails
10 Tonga Snails
2 Coraline encrusted Margarita Snails
15 Brown leg Hermits
15 Blue leg Hermits
10 Scarlet leg Hermits
1 Pepperment Shrimp
1 Sexy Shrimp
2500 Pod mix (Copepods and Amphhipods)

All this will be split between the 15 gallon Column Nano and my 110 Gallon Mixed reef.

Am I forgetting anything important that should be going in?
Is anything on my list Discouraged?

 

[Dj City]

This evening I'm doing two 5 gallon water changes.
Dilution is the solution to pollution.

For anyone that does not know, you remove more bad stuff if you do your water changes a certain way.

I take out 5 gallons. I then replace that 5 gallons with fresh mixed ro/di saltwater.
That knocks the nitrate concentration down somewhat.
I then take out another 5 gallons but remember, the nitrates (or whatever you are trying to remove) are already diluted.
Replace with another fresh mix of ro/di saltwater and you have removed more nitrates than bu just simply removing 10 gallons and replacing it.