Humble beginnings (first build, 5 gal)

[Goku333]

Hi all!
I’m 17 years old and a senior in high school. My friend got me into the hobby after he upgraded his tank and gave me the Fluval Evo V tank he was previously using. I’ve been on the forums for some time now and learned a lot, but now decided to make a build thread.

Corals:
-Zoas
-Toadstool
-Gsps
-Kenya tree

Inverts:
-5x hermits
-3x trochus snails
-4x nessarious snails
-1 emerald crab

fish:
1 black cardinalfish

my biggest issue so far has been fish health.
I’ve previously had one clown fish, and one Firefish however, the clown fish got ich and despite my efforts to cure him, he passed away. My fire fish was alone for a while, and was fine and healthy. He got it, but I cured him. I got my black cardinal fish, and they were together for a little while but one day the fire fish seemed to have a problem with his swim bladder, and died the next day. I have a feeling that stress from overcrowding might have contributed to their deaths so for now I’m keeping the cardinal fish by himself. I plan to trade him in the near future for a different type of clown, fish, or another fish which benefits from an anemone as I plan on buying an anemone for this tank.

I also am working to figure out a set up for a better flow in this tank as the max setting on the stock pump is only 80 and seems to be lacking.

I appreciate you looking at my thread, and I welcome any questions or pieces of advice as I still consider myself a newbie.

 

[Crustaceon]

The best piece of advice I can provide is to be patient and don't do too much every day. You can test as much as you want of course, but don't worry if nitrates seem too high for example. Look at how it's trending and make tiny changes that'll resolve issues like that over the course of a few months. Nothing good happens in the span of few days in this hobby.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hi all!
I’m 17 years old and a senior in high school. My friend got me into the hobby after he upgraded his tank and gave me the Fluval Evo V tank he was previously using. I’ve been on the forums for some time now and learned a lot, but now decided to make a build thread.

Corals:
-Zoas
-Toadstool
-Gsps
-Kenya tree

Inverts:
-5x hermits
-3x trochus snails
-4x nessarious snails
-1 emerald crab

fish:
1 black cardinalfish

my biggest issue so far has been fish health.
I’ve previously had one clown fish, and one Firefish however, the clown fish got ich and despite my efforts to cure him, he passed away. My fire fish was alone for a while, and was fine and healthy. He got it, but I cured him. I got my black cardinal fish, and they were together for a little while but one day the fire fish seemed to have a problem with his swim bladder, and died the next day. I have a feeling that stress from overcrowding might have contributed to their deaths so for now I’m keeping the cardinal fish by himself. I plan to trade him in the near future for a different type of clown, fish, or another fish which benefits from an anemone as I plan on buying an anemone for this tank.

I also am working to figure out a set up for a better flow in this tank as the max setting on the stock pump is only 80 and seems to be lacking.

I appreciate you looking at my thread, and I welcome any questions or pieces of advice as I still consider myself a newbie.

Tank is off to a good start, be patient with the tank and don't rush anything, and you'll have a thriving tank!!

 

[Dom]

Is that the factory light that came with the system? If so, it won't be enough to support your corals. Think about doing a light upgrade if it is.

Good luck and ask questions!!

 

[Goku333]

Is that the factory light that came with the system? If so, it won't be enough to support your corals. Think about doing a light upgrade if it is.

Good luck and ask questions!!

Yes it is the stock light for the Evo V. As a matter of fact, a light upgrade is what I currently have my sights on. I’ve found some good contenders on amazon, but any good recommendations for a unit between 200-300 PAR that won’t break the bank?

 

[John Bolden]

Yes it is the stock light for the Evo V. As a matter of fact, a light upgrade is what I currently have my sights on. I’ve found some good contenders on amazon, but any good recommendations for a unit between 200-300 PAR that won’t break the bank?

Ai prime 16 or kessil a160 tuna blue

 

[Goku333]

Ai prime 16 or kessil a160 tuna blue

I looked at the Ai prime and it says on the website it only has a peak of 100 PAR. Will that be enough?

 

[MarcosTacos]

That's not true, ai prime 16's have great output depending on mounting height.

 

[Goku333]

That's not true, ai prime 16's have great output depending on mounting height.

Ohhh, I just remembered what peak means. It's 100 at 24 inches. Yeah the ai prime 16 is really good. The owner of a local reef shop offered me a used one for 175. I'm considering taking the deal.

Amazon

Is this one any good? Ideally I'd like to spend less money.

 

[Dom]

Yes it is the stock light for the Evo V. As a matter of fact, a light upgrade is what I currently have my sights on. I’ve found some good contenders on amazon, but any good recommendations for a unit between 200-300 PAR that won’t break the bank?

The lighting demands of a Reef Tank are far greater than that of a Fish Only With Live Rock setup. So when choosing a light for your reef tank, consider the following:

• Light Spread. When we speak of light spread, we are speaking of the area which a light covers.

An easy way to demonstrate light spread would be to take a flashlight, turn it on and stand it on end with the light facing down on a table. Now, slowly pick it straight up, moving away from the table. Notice that as you move the flashlight further from the table, the area of the table covered by light increases. The growing and shrinking of the area covered by light on the table based on the distance from the table is the spread.

So when selecting a light, the spread must cover the footprint of the tank. And much in the same way you adjusted the spread of light on the table top by changing the distance of the light from the table, you can adjust the spread of your light by changing the height at which the light hangs over the aquarium. But there is more…

• Light Intensity. It isn’t enough that your light spread covers the entire footprint of your tank. It must do so with the proper light intensity as well.

When speaking of light and it’s intensity in aquariums, people will reference light measurements in “lumen” or “PAR”. What is the difference between PAR and Lumen? Generally, lumen are used to measure the brightness of light as perceived by the human eye.

PAR is the amount of light that is actually available to be used during the photosynthesis process. So when speaking in terms of PAR, we are speaking about the portions of the light spectrum usable by the inhabitants in the tank.

You might consider the AI Prime HD

or

The Kessil A80 https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/a80-tuna-blue-nano-led-light-kessil.html

 

[Rugops]

You could look into the AI Blade too. I haven't tested the par on coral (because I don't have any) but it seems decent.

 

[Goku333]

Update! It’s been a couple months and I wanted to keep y’all in the loop. I’ve had a long battle with cyano but just a few days ago I finally beat it I’ve upgraded my light and my pump.

Light: Fluval Marine nano 2.0
Pump: ViaAqua VA-302 160 gph

I finally have LPS corals and they have been doing great except for one We’ll get to that.

I now have a rock flower anemone and a porcelain anemone crab. The crab was added before the anemone so he’s been a bit of a recluse chilling in his cave but recently he’s been coming out more and I think he’ll notice the nem soon.

About that LPS. It was a frogspawn that I placed on the sand bed. He was doing alright for a while but after doing treatments for the cyano (water changes and dosing microbacter), the frogspawn has turned a translucent white color, and to my dismay, just this morning I saw that almost all the tentacles are gone and it is basically a husk. What happened? Was he not getting enough light? Too much? Did lowering the phosphate take away his nutrients? It’s a bummer but I got him for very cheap at a local marine association meeting so not much a financial loss but a disappointment nonetheless. I loved him he added so much flowieness to the tank aesthetic. I want to cultivate another similar one (frogspawn, hammer, torch) but this time I want to do it right. I need your help.

I’ve attached pictures of during the cyano wars while my frogspawn was in tact, as well as after where it has slowly closed up and turned white.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Goku333]

I feel like some of my other LPS have lost some zooxanthelle. Would that because of lowering phosphates? If so, how do I restore their zoo without bringing back the cyano?