JoshO's Nano Reef

[JoshO]

Just over a month into the 4 month cycle. Once I hit this mark I'll be increasing the photoperiod to its maximum of 8 hours with an hour either side of ramp up/down.
My parameters have been exactly where I want them for the past few weeks so hopefully things are headed in the right direction!
Temp - 25°c
Salinity - 35ppt
pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 3
Phosphate - 0.02
I'm not checking calcium, magnesium or alk yet as I won't be stocking corals until I'm up to 7 hours total photoperiod (3 month mark).
Tomorrow I'm picking up 1 Trochus and 1 Nassarius snail. They'll likely be the only clean up crew for a good while as the tank is too new to sustain anything more!
Few pics below of the tests and the clown, stay safe and have a great week!

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[JoshO]

2 new additions today, 1 Nassarius and 1 Trochus.
Many people talk about 1 snail for 1-2 gallons, but knowing my set up is very new and the detritus/algae is low there is no way that level of CUC would survive.
BRS recommend 1 snail per 10 gallons, for each area of the tank (substrate, rockwork) so that's what I've gone with!

 

[JoshO]

Got hold of the Hector's Goby today, absolutely beautiful little fish! It's being acclimated to the QT as we speak for a week of monitoring before it has 14 days of Cupramine, followed by 1 final week of monitoring.

 

[JoshO]

Hector's goby is settling well into the QT, got hold of a few zoas today.
Green Bay Packers and Fire & Ice
Attached a picture below, will get a better on once the lights are on and they're fully open!

 

[JoshO]

Some better pictures!

 

[JoshO]

Had a lightbulb moment this evening. I've been struggling to photograph the new zoas under blues before I remembered I have a yellow set of lenses on some fishing glasses...and this was the outcome!!

 

[JoshO]

Tested my "reefing" parameters for the first time today and I'm pleased they're all within the parameters recommended by @Randy Holmes-Farley . Would like to see magnesium a little higher but overall I won't go chasing anything as long as I'm within the ranges I've set! Carried out a water change to get the phosphates down slightly.

Temp - 24.8°c
pH - 8.3
Nitrate - 3ppm
Ammonia - 0ppm
Phosphate - 0.2
Salinity - 35ppt
KH - 8.4
Calcium - 450ppm
Magnesium - 1360ppm

 

[JoshO]

So after initially planning on modifying the lid to raise it slightly and house 2 t5 bulbs either side of the LED I've had a massive change of heart (thanks to my other half complaining about how ugly the lid is...she was the one who wanted a lid initially!!)
Decided to go for an AI Prime 16HD, most likely, and suspend it from a floating shelf above the aquarium. Mocked up a drawing on procreate to give a better idea of what it'll look like.
Can I have your opinions on this please!!

 

[JoshO]

Made a huge change to the Evo yesterday, it's been on my mind to do it since shortly after filling it up...a bit late!
So I decided to cut out chamber 1 as its main purpose was for the skimmer, which I don't run.
I can easily fit my sponge, floss, bio media and carbon into chamber 2 so it was just empty space that didn't look all that great to look at!
It's not finished yet, I'll be covering all the cuts and glue lines with black Milliput (I'll drain it down so I don't suffocate anything) should be a quick 10 minute job so I'm not concerned about anything suffering in that time!
What do people think??

 

[najer]

Do not use milliput please, remember I run one of these, leave the edges and let coraline cover it, milliput is poison in little tanks until fully cured.

 

[AlessandroB]

Made a huge change to the Evo yesterday, it's been on my mind to do it since shortly after filling it up...a bit late!
So I decided to cut out chamber 1 as its main purpose was for the skimmer, which I don't run.
I can easily fit my sponge, floss, bio media and carbon into chamber 2 so it was just empty space that didn't look all that great to look at!
It's not finished yet, I'll be covering all the cuts and glue lines with black Milliput (I'll drain it down so I don't suffocate anything) should be a quick 10 minute job so I'm not concerned about anything suffering in that time!
What do people think??

Hi, I think it look gorgeous, but how did you manage to cut it? What tools etc?

 

[JoshO]

Hi, I think it look gorgeous, but how did you manage to cut it? What tools etc?

Thank you!
I used a dremmel with a flexi shaft. Used the engraving attachments to remove as much material as possible before scoring a line with a Stanley blade so I could break it fairly cleanly. It was difficult to make sure I didn't break through fully (made a few tiny holes which caused it to start filling up) I cut the silicone initially with a blade, then used some strong fishing line to separate it fully.
One I had the piece out I cut off the Weir section, then removed a similar sized piece from the top of chamber 2 so I could glue it back in.
I used the leftover plastic to cover the baffles between chamber 1 and 2, need a bit of glue all the way round to watertight it. Going to be covering the glue with black Milliput to make it look cleaner.
One note on this is have EVERYTHING ready in advance. I had carbon bagged and ready, and 25l of water ready too. I had a vacuum there too which I was using to remove as much of the bit of plastic while cutting. Extra floss on hand to catch all the pieces that ended up in the main display.
I have lost 2 zoa polyps in the aftermath but overall it was really successful

 

[JoshO]

It's been a little while since my last update, and a lot has changed! Plenty of new corals and FINALLY got the Prime 16HD over the tank! Having a few software issues but I'm confident they'll be resolved...but the tanks looks amazing! I've got 2 new fish in QT which will eventually take the stocking levels to 4, which is where I'll be stopping.
As for corals, well, enjoy the pics!

 

[Tahoe61]

Those Ricordia are gorgeous.

Looking good.

 

[JoshO]

Those Ricordia are gorgeous.

Looking good.

Got them super cheap from someone who was shutting down their reef, along with the orange acan!

 

[JoshO]

CHECK THE FIRST PAGE FOR A BRIEF COMPLETE OVERVIEW!
10 days on from the last update and I've added yet more corals!
My plan has always been for a mixed reef, and now it's starting to take shape. I added a few pieces of SPS after having a hystrix have amazing PE and show signs of growth after a few weeks so that was good signs for me!
Couple of pictures below to give you an idea of how it looks!

 

[JoshO]

Decided I'd share my lighting schedule, for me it's the perfect balance of a whiter daylight period and blue night.
The corals pop throughout the whole lighting period so it works beautifully.

 

[noobreefer2]

Hey, got an update on this tank?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Curious about updates as well!