Nano Tank Help

[jordan be]

My 10g is 2 weeks old, parameters almost steady, just waiting on pH! (its low) I have live rock, live sand, about 2 inches for nassarius snails so I've read, and good flow. I'm new to reefing, and very excited!!! I've only ever had fish only tanks, and a few shrimp. So, should I put in the CUC, fish, or coral first? In what order? For CUC I was thinking either scarlet or blue legged hermits, a nassarius snail, a peterson cleaner shrimp and a turbo snail I think? Would a dwarf feather duster be too big? Livestock will probably be a green clown goby first and a temporary small black ice clownfish. Coral plans as of now is some pink pulsing xenia, gsp, zoanthids, rhodactus mushroom, and a small toadstool? Oh, also, I have a "Coralife LED Clip-on Light" Not too sure on how lighting works. The avg. par is 26, avg. lux is 1512 and cut is 25,000K. Thoughts?

 

[Katrina71]

The pederson needs the tank to mature a little bit.

 

[Katrina71]

You'll love it!

 

[Katrina71]

I added my cuc first and fed them lightly.

 

[JoshH]

I added my cuc first and fed them lightly.

I second this, take things easy and start there, watch how your tank reacts to the new bioload and go from there. What kind of tank is it? Any pictures???? ;Snaphappy

 

[Katrina71]

Just my opinion...put your Xenia and GSP on a rock island. When they decide to get really happy, they are a pain to kill. I love both of them as well.

 

[ElitePirate]

you have a 10G tank? hmm that's way too small.. I have a 15G tank and had several issues. Please don't add more than 3-4 fishes... just my 2 cents. I also have a blue legged hermit, 3 nassarius snails, a cleaning shrimp and a fire shrimp.

 

[Mikedawg]

My 10g is 2 weeks old, parameters almost steady, just waiting on pH! (its low) I have live rock, live sand, about 2 inches for nassarius snails so I've read, and good flow. I'm new to reefing, and very excited!!! I've only ever had fish only tanks, and a few shrimp. So, should I put in the CUC, fish, or coral first? In what order? For CUC I was thinking either scarlet or blue legged hermits, a nassarius snail, a peterson cleaner shrimp and a turbo snail I think? Would a dwarf feather duster be too big? Livestock will probably be a green clown goby first and a temporary small black ice clownfish. Coral plans as of now is some pink pulsing xenia, gsp, zoanthids, rhodactus mushroom, and a small toadstool? Oh, also, I have a "Coralife LED Clip-on Light" Not too sure on how lighting works. The avg. par is 26, avg. lux is 1512 and cut is 25,000K. Thoughts?

In my experience, feather dusters need a mature tank and feeding with phytoplankton to thrive; might consider adding them later. Also, some of these corals will grow rapidly under the right conditions so you'll want to make sure your tank has adequate space for them and be prepared to "cut them back" from time to time.

 

[jordan be]

Just my opinion...put your Xenia and GSP on a rock island. When they decide to get really happy, they are a pain to kill. I love both of them as well.

I have two islands planned for the xenia and gsp! The xenia is going on a rock in the back corner where there is low flow and the gsp on a rock in the sand bed in front of that. I'm getting the piece of rock today, should I get live or dry in your opinion?

The pederson needs the tank to mature a little bit.

That's good to know! Thank you. Maybe I'll put one in later down the road. What about sexy shrimp? I've read they nip at corals but can't recall which ones. Would they be okay in a softy tank?

you have a 10G tank? hmm that's way too small.. I have a 15G tank and had several issues. Please don't add more than 3-4 fishes... just my 2 cents. I also have a blue legged hermit, 3 nassarius snails, a cleaning shrimp and a fire shrimp.

I've had success in the past with larger tanks, specifically a 55 for my old professor. Nothing in that tank has died since I set it up over a year and a half ago I feel pretty confident with my water chemistry and only plan on adding a clown goby, and my mind is starting to change from the one clownfish. I might do a yellow-tailed damsel and a filefish instead. Slowly though, starting with one clown goby and going from there. 3 small fish will be the absolute most that will go in here and probably not even 3.

In my experience, feather dusters need a mature tank and feeding with phytoplankton to thrive; might consider adding them later. Also, some of these corals will grow rapidly under the right conditions so you'll want to make sure your tank has adequate space for them and be prepared to "cut them back" from time to time.

I might just add one down the road then How long do you think it will take before the xenia takes over the one rock its going to be on and starts to 'break off '?

 

[jordan be]

I second this, take things easy and start there, watch how your tank reacts to the new bioload and go from there. What kind of tank is it? Any pictures???? ;Snaphappy

These are my plans on where to put things

 

[NS Mike D]

2 weeks old - there are some really reputable folks that believe 4 months is a good waiting period. I wouldn't be able to wait that long, but patience is key to success in this hobby
Great that you are planning.

Read up on lights DanaRiddle has great articles on lighting- PAR measures quantity and not quality. Also, what coral need and what we see are two different things. Your planned corals have simple lighting needs. Higher end LEDS ability to dial in desired spectrums, intensity and periods provides for healthier corals (although not really a concern with softies) and view enjoyment (getting corals for fluoresce).

The coralife should work for now. It's a blue/white light LED. The white (there really is not such thing as a white LED, it's a treated blue led, and white is really a mix of blue/green/red) should provide the blue and red spectrums for photosynthesis and the blue (moonlight) will fluoresce.

 

[jordan be]

2 weeks old - there are some really reputable folks that believe 4 months is a good waiting period. I wouldn't be able to wait that long, but patience is key to success in this hobby
Great that you are planning.

Read up on lights DanaRiddle has great articles on lighting- PAR measures quantity and not quality. Also, what coral need and what we see are two different things. Your planned corals have simple lighting needs. Higher end LEDS ability to dial in desired spectrums, intensity and periods provides for healthier corals (although not really a concern with softies) and view enjoyment (getting corals for fluoresce).

The coralife should work for now. It's a blue/white light LED. The white (there really is not such thing as a white LED, it's a treated blue led, and white is really a mix of blue/green/red) should provide the blue and red spectrums for photosynthesis and the blue (moonlight) will fluoresce.

awesome! Thanks so much!

 

[NS Mike D]

@jordan be

BRS and WWC are rolling out a series of videos right now. I have a feeling these may be the best learning tools to date given the deep bench of knowledge and experience being packaged into a practicable format for the hobbyist.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/t...-keeping-the-brs-wwc-system-ep5-brstv.474065/

 

[Mikedawg]

I have two islands planned for the xenia and gsp! The xenia is going on a rock in the back corner where there is low flow and the gsp on a rock in the sand bed in front of that. I'm getting the piece of rock today, should I get live or dry in your opinion?



That's good to know! Thank you. Maybe I'll put one in later down the road. What about sexy shrimp? I've read they nip at corals but can't recall which ones. Would they be okay in a softy tank?



I've had success in the past with larger tanks, specifically a 55 for my old professor. Nothing in that tank has died since I set it up over a year and a half ago I feel pretty confident with my water chemistry and only plan on adding a clown goby, and my mind is starting to change from the one clownfish. I might do a yellow-tailed damsel and a filefish instead. Slowly though, starting with one clown goby and going from there. 3 small fish will be the absolute most that will go in here and probably not even 3.



I might just add one down the road then How long do you think it will take before the xenia takes over the one rock its going to be on and starts to 'break off '?

Good placement and will look great when it grows out. Hard to say how long this might take; its growth will depend on lighting, flow, nutrients, size you bought etc. But not to worry, they are hardy corals and once you achieve good conditions it will become a weed!

 

[Katrina71]

I love live rock. It's more expensive, but...

 

[ScubaZ]

you have a 10G tank? hmm that's way too small.. I have a 15G tank and had several issues. Please don't add more than 3-4 fishes... just my 2 cents. I also have a blue legged hermit, 3 nassarius snails, a cleaning shrimp and a fire shrimp.

I wouldn’t say a 10 gal is necessarily way too small you just need to be carful of your parameters in a small tank when somthing goes bad it goes bad fast due to how easy conditions spread in a small amount of water vs large amount. Clean up crew and fish should come first before you introduce any coral as coral is far less forgiving to inconsistent water quality. Be carful not to feed too much either as that is a common problem is small tanks. Just keep testing your parameters it’ll work out! As for lighting this is a critical part to your tank I would suggest not to light your tank more than6-8 hours a day as you will get algae any longer. Those lights you have now are okay and will keep soft coral as you listed alive but you may not get superior growth....don’t be disappointed! This is how I started and it’ll be that much more rewarding when you decide to upgrade to new lights.

 

[Katrina71]

If you decide to get a Tailspot, I can send you a barnacle cluster.

 

[ScubaZ]

Good placement and will look great when it grows out. Hard to say how long this might take; its growth will depend on lighting, flow, nutrients, size you bought etc. But not to worry, they are hardy corals and once you achieve good conditions it will become a weed!

I agree with above it might take a little bit for you to find that sweet spot but once you do you will consider gsp and Xenia a weed, it grows like crazy and you can’t get rid of it but that’s why it’s a great beginner coral because who doesn’t love to watch corals grow that’s what it’s all about. You have the right idea with keeping them isolated on island rocks you will be very happy you did this in the future.

 

[ScubaZ]

I love live rock. It's more expensive, but...

I would say a few pieces of love rock to start to get the beneficial bacteria growing but as you add more rock dry rock is totally okay it might take some time to color up but it’s pest free and a heck of a lot cheaper. It’s also easier to really examine dry rocks you like because they are in a dry bin rather than a tank at the LFS

 

[jordan be]

Yeah I was thinking the same. I have a piece of live rock I put in there day 3 and I found some aptasia today [emoji52]