Nero 3 positioning/ Clownfish Questions

[jmr0613]

Hello

New reefer here, just introduced my first fish today (2 black ocellaris clowns) into my 31g Tideline AIO (see pic).

The question i have is whether or not I’ll need to get a second wavemaker? Currently have a Nero 3 set on a 75% random preset from the mobius app (still trying to learn how to create a schedule) and my return pump is a AI Axis 20 which is pushing about 180GPH (replaced the 250GPH Chinese crap that it came with because it was really hard to get good water levels with, moving too much water). I’ve got them set up to clash together, trying to get that “chaotic” flow, which seems to be working. I’ve still got some low-flow spots, but not completely dead zones. I guess I’m wondering if I should look at getting another wavemaker for the opposite side of the tank? Or any suggestions on placement for the Nero/ return nozzle to get good flow all around? I was thinking of turning the Nero up to 100% to make up for the lack of flow from the smaller return.

Also, what’s up with clowns when it comes to flow preference? They seem to have found a liking in the front left corner of my tank. They don’t seem too stressed being it’s their first day, they even ate for me a little after a few hours of being in(they didn’t get fed at the LFS before I picked them up).

Open to any and all suggestions, thanks!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The clowns will find a spot they like in your tank and then never/rarely move from that spot, thats just what clowns do. Fish are able to handle flow much better than we think, I don't consider the fish when setting up my flow, my main issue is to eliminate any dead flow spots.

It sounds like you have decent flow, I would try it out for a while and see how it goes, you can always add another later on if you want, I don't like to change too much too fast

 

[jmr0613]

The clowns will find a spot they like in your tank and then never/rarely move from that spot, thats just what clowns do. Fish are able to handle flow much better than we think, I don't consider the fish when setting up my flow, my main issue is to eliminate any dead flow spots.

It sounds like you have decent flow, I would try it out for a while and see how it goes, you can always add another later on if you want, I don't like to change too much too fast

Thanks. Yeah, I wish you could tell them where to host. I’m not sure if they have truly claimed that corner yet, but I hope not. I’ll monitor flow and adjust in a week or two if needed. I hate to keep putting my hands in the tank, don’t want to hurt anything.

 

[Biokabe]

I hate to keep putting my hands in the tank, don’t want to hurt anything.

Tell us you're new to reefkeeping without telling us you're new to reefkeeping.

Mostly that's a joke about clownfish. If you don't understand it yet, you will eventually. (The joke being, it's not your tank that will be hurt by putting your hands in the tank)

All joking aside, that's a good practice until it isn't. Generally it is best to keep your hands out as much as possible, if only because we're often quick to intervene when intervention isn't necessary. That said, there are times when you absolutely do need to get your hands in there to fix something, and you shouldn't be afraid to do so.

With regards to your specific situation: What do you want to grow in the tank long-term? A single Nero 3 for that tank is plenty for almost all stocking situations - it has a 2000 gph max, which at 100% would give you 70x tank volume. That' enough movement to cover pretty much everything we keep in reef tanks; in practice you need a lot less than that for most things you'd want to keep in a 31g AIO tank.

Return pump throughput is a lot less important for in-tank water movement - you want between 5x-10x tank volume through your filtration system. 180gph is giving you about 6x water movement, which, again, is probably fine for most things you'd want to keep in that tank. If it's working your filtration and introducing a little bit of chaotic flow, it's doing its job.

 

[jmr0613]

I hate to keep putting my hands in the tank, don’t want to hurt anything.

Tell us you're new to reefkeeping without telling us you're new to reefkeeping.

Mostly that's a joke about clownfish. If you don't understand it yet, you will eventually. (The joke being, it's not your tank that will be hurt by putting your hands in the tank)

All joking aside, that's a good practice until it isn't. Generally it is best to keep your hands out as much as possible, if only because we're often quick to intervene when intervention isn't necessary. That said, there are times when you absolutely do need to get your hands in there to fix something, and you shouldn't be afraid to do so.

With regards to your specific situation: What do you want to grow in the tank long-term? A single Nero 3 for that tank is plenty for almost all stocking situations - it has a 2000 gph max, which at 100% would give you 70x tank volume. That' enough movement to cover pretty much everything we keep in reef tanks; in practice you need a lot less than that for most things you'd want to keep in a 31g AIO tank.

Return pump throughput is a lot less important for in-tank water movement - you want between 5x-10x tank volume through your filtration system. 180gph is giving you about 6x water movement, which, again, is probably fine for most things you'd want to keep in that tank. If it's working your filtration and introducing a little bit of chaotic flow, it's doing its job.

Ha! Yes, I’m very new, this being my first saltwater tank. Thank you for the insight when it comes to intervention, I keep getting yelled at by my friend(10 year reefer) for worrying a bit too much. Just want to do my best to keep a happy, healthy tank!

As for future plans, I’m not quite set on anything specific. I’d like to have a bright beautiful tank like I see all over this forum but I know there will be limits. Just trying to do some research on what will work with my setup while I’m introducing fish. Any suggestions on what to start with/ stay away from? For context, if this helps, I’m running the AI Hydra 44HD as my light at 60% everything and i think 12% white(will have to confirm that when I’m home)

I’ll trust your advice with my flow. I think all I’m really concerned about is ridding the tank of dead spots, but there don’t seem to be any areas that are completely dead, just low flow.

Thanks!

 

[Biokabe]

With that light and that flow, you can pretty much keep whatever you want in that tank. That said, there are some corals that I think are more trouble than they're worth in small volumes, but that's purely a personal choice.

LPS and softies, I find, are the easiest fits for an AIO tank. With modern equipment, it's not so much that you can't support anything else in that kind of tank, it's that going for more demanding corals kind of defeats the purpose of running an AIO to begin with. For a small tank, I like to keep a small footprint without too much equipment load. But that's my personal preference, not a hard and fast rule.

One thing I will caution about is getting an anemone for your clowns. I'm not going to say "Don't do it," but I will say to research it thoroughly and be prepared to put your hands in your tank to correct things with it if you need to. Clowns don't need an anemone, though obviously lots of people enjoy having that relationship in their tanks. Anemones can eat up a lot of real estate, and they're more mobile than people think they are.