My first reef tank: IM Fusion 15 AIO

[danielm5]

Hello everyone! Yes, this my build thread ;-)

I'm beginning on this adventure and I've so many questions.

I've setup an IM 15 at the end of June (about a month ago). I started with dry rock and cycled with fish food. About 2 weeks in, I moved a couple of rocks, one nassarius, and one turbo snail I had on a small tank. I waited another week watching the water parameters. Since everything looked fine to me I made a trip to my LFS. I asked which fish could be fine in such small tank and they recommended a pair of firefish gobbies. I'm glad they did. I love them!

Here are a few pictures:

 

[danielm5]

Here's a picture from today (about a week later from the last one). I see that algae on the top of rock is growing really long. It kind of looks like "grass" to me. I don't mind how it looks, but should I be worried about it?

 

[dangles]

I love firefish

Are you testing your nitrate and phosphate?

 

[danielm5]

I haven't tested recently. Let me do it now.

 

[girlsdad_AAA]

I'd recommend turning off your lights since you don't have any corals.. I didn't turn my lights on until after 3 months, and no ugly phase! Also, hit up Eric Cohen, and buy some mature rubble rocks from Australia, you only need 1-2 lbs.

 

[dangles]

Also yes kill the lights for now

 

[danielm5]

I tested with API:

• Phosphate 0.5 ppm
• Nitrate 0 ppm (as far as I could distinguish)
• Nitrite 0 ppm (as far as I could distinguish)
• Ammonia 0.5 ppm

Since ammonia looked higher than recently, maybe because of the new fish and the extra food for them, I dosed Biological Booster and put an ammonia remover bag in the filter caddy. I'll probably do a tiny water change to be on the safer side.

 

[Ottoson]

looks great! love your aquascape

 

[danielm5]

looks great! love your aquascape

Thank you!

 

[danielm5]

I turned the lights off as suggested by @girlsdad_AAA and @dangles.

Today water parameters are:

• Phosphate 0.25 ppm
• Nitrate 0 ppm
• Nitrite 0 ppm
• Ammonia 0.25 ppm

Some small improvement.

 

[dangles]

Cool good deal. I'd keep the lights off until you plan to add corals. In the meantime you can get a few nails (trochus, nessarius, astraea, cerith), and/or hermits (blue legs). Maybe a tuxedo urchin. All of those will help with the algae to some extent.

*edit - I just saw you have a nessarius and turbo. Good start. I'd get a couple trochus, another couple of nassarius, and maybe a tiger (fighting) conch, too.

 

[danielm5]

Cool good deal. I'd keep the lights off until you plan to add corals. In the meantime you can get a few nails (trochus, nessarius, astraea, cerith), and/or hermits (blue legs). Maybe a tuxedo urchin. All of those will help with the algae to some extent.

*edit - I just saw you have a nessarius and turbo. Good start. I'd get a couple trochus, another couple of nassarius, and maybe a tiger (fighting) conch, too.

My worry about getting a big CUC is that they would later starve. What is reasonable long term for a tank of this size?

 

[dangles]

My worry about getting a big CUC is that they would later starve. What is reasonable long term for a tank of this size?

I definitely wouldn't go big. When I say a couple I mean just that. Maybe 2 each

I'm being conservative because I'm new too. Somebody with more experience might chime in with a more specific number.

 

[girlsdad_AAA]

Currently in my 15G, I have one red-legged hermit, one turbo, two trochus, three nassarius, and one conch and they are the best CUC!

 

[girlsdad_AAA]

My worry about getting a big CUC is that they would later starve. What is reasonable long term for a tank of this size?

I agree, don't get too much, I originally started with three three turbos (two died) and three banded trochus (one died), and two red-legged hermit (one died). I believe they died due to starvation

 

[danielm5]

I agree, don't get too much, I originally started with three three turbos (two died) and three banded trochus (one died), and two red-legged hermit (one died). I believe they died due to starvation

Thank you for the info. It gives me some guidance for my own tank.

 

[Xniv]

Take a toothbrush and start scrubbing off the GHA when you do your next water change then siphon it out. I did that before when my tank had an outburst of GHA, it doesn't always get rid of everything but it's a start while your parameters are getting stable.

 

[danielm5]

Take a toothbrush and start scrubbing off the GHA when you do your next water change then siphon it out. I did that before when my tank had an outburst of GHA, it doesn't always get rid of everything but it's a start while your parameters are getting stable.

Thank you for the advice @Xniv . My turbo has been eating some but there's still a lot to go. Keeping the lights off seems to be helping but if I leave them off all day PH is getting low. Things aren't stable yet.

 

[snackpack]

I agree with slowly building your CUC, or having another tank to move them to when the job is done. Wife bought a Turbo for her RS Nano. After 3 or 4 days the tank was spotless and the thing stopped moving. She was sure she killed it, so we tried moving it into the 120g in the other room. Thing instantly sprung into action and hasn't stopped moving since. Her 20g is now down to a single margarita, two hermits, and a sand star. The 120g has taken her refugees as well as new additions from the LFS, and could still use more, but we're slowly building the 120g CUC to meet demand. That tank is up to 4 turbos, 8 margaritas, 1 trochus, 4 hermits, 3 nassarius, and a tiger conch. We've got 3 more conch in QT that'll be going in shortly, and will likely move her star over sooner than later.

 

[kevgib67]

You can always supplement their feeding with a piece of nori rubber banded to a rock or sinking algae wafers.I’ve done that about 2 times for my tuxedo urchin when there was very little algae. For the most part you’ll always have a little algae in your tank.