Tips for first nano tank?

[SirDukelll]

I recently got a Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon Nano reef tank. I started cycling it a day ago. I have CaribSea Live sand in it and im dosing it with Seachem Stability. I plan on letting it cycle for at least 6-8 weeks.
I am going to take things very slow with this tank. I do not want to kill a single fish or coral or introduce any hitchhikers into the tank.
I had a 75 gallon reef tank a while ago and i made a lot of mistakes and learned a LOT from them.
I am aware that nano tank water parameters can fluctuate a lot easier vs a larger tank. I do use a RO/DI water filter and use instant ocean reef crystals. I am also going to make sure that the fish and coral i get are compatible temperamental and water parameter wise BEFORE i buy them.
some questions i have include-
Will two premium clownfish and a cleaner shrimp be ok in a 13.5 gallon tank with a good amount of live rock and coral?

Will coral be ok in a quarantine tank with poor lighting for a few weeks or should i get a nicer light for that amount of time?

What are some ways i can avoid introducing pest into the aquarium?

what kind of corals can i get with the stock fluval evo light? (Besides zoas, GSP and mushrooms)

 

[vetteguy53081]

I recently got a Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon Nano reef tank. I started cycling it a day ago. I have CaribSea Live sand in it and im dosing it with Seachem Stability. I plan on letting it cycle for at least 6-8 weeks.
I am going to take things very slow with this tank. I do not want to kill a single fish or coral or introduce any hitchhikers into the tank.
I had a 75 gallon reef tank a while ago and i made a lot of mistakes and learned a LOT from them.
I am aware that nano tank water parameters can fluctuate a lot easier vs a larger tank. I do use a RO/DI water filter and use instant ocean reef crystals. I am also going to make sure that the fish and coral i get are compatible temperamental and water parameter wise BEFORE i buy them.
some questions i have include-
Will two premium clownfish and a cleaner shrimp be ok in a 13.5 gallon tank with a good amount of live rock and coral?

Will coral be ok in a quarantine tank with poor lighting for a few weeks or should i get a nicer light for that amount of time?

What are some ways i can avoid introducing pest into the aquarium?

what kind of corals can i get with the stock fluval evo light? (Besides zoas, GSP and mushrooms)

Fish and coral while limited is fine
Add ammonia chloride to tank and allow ammonia to rise and fall. Same will occur with nitrate cycle is generally 14-21 days
When ammonia is steady at zero for at least 5 days and nitrate steady at 20 or below, you are cycled
Owe it to yourself to start with best test kits possible. API will simply disappoint you in time

 

[JoJosReef]

Two clowns and a cleaner with great in an Evo (some clowns like tomato get bigger though, so maybe not).

No idea about QT lighting.

Dip corals for pests. Good CUC for pest algae. You can take some frags off theor plugs to reduce risk of importing anything like bubble algae, gha or bryopsis. For fish, I'd get pre-QT'd fish like from Dr Reef if you don't have a full QT setup--small tank so cutting corners on fish isn't really a big saver.

Stock light isn't great. You can do the soft corals you mentioned. Koji wada pink nepthea might look really nice under stock with all the whites. Some gorgonians might too. Macros would look good. Sponges too if you can find some good one (try RUSalty). Corals that depend on a lot of blue to look good might look a bit bland. Toadstool maybe? RFAs could make it under that light.

 

[brandon429]

Read this

do opposite of this poster when your time comes

Aiptasia eradication method while transferring tanks

currently have a evo 13.5 with a billion trillion aiptasia everywhere, alot of them are big now. most are in the sand and refugium. im upgrading to a IM 50 lagoon in a few days. heres my plan, please make suggestions. Current relevant livestock: six line wrasse yellow candy hog fish fire...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[SirDukelll]

Two clowns and a cleaner with great in an Evo (some clowns like tomato get bigger though, so maybe not).

No idea about QT lighting.

Dip corals for pests. Good CUC for pest algae. You can take some frags off theor plugs to reduce risk of importing anything like bubble algae, gha or bryopsis. For fish, I'd get pre-QT'd fish like from Dr Reef if you don't have a full QT setup--small tank so cutting corners on fish isn't really a big saver.

Stock light isn't great. You can do the soft corals you mentioned. Koji wada pink nepthea might look really nice under stock with all the whites. Some gorgonians might too. Macros would look good. Sponges too if you can find some good one (try RUSalty). Corals that depend on a lot of blue to look good might look a bit bland. Toadstool maybe? RFAs could make it under that light.

Thanks! I appreciate the info.

 

[SirDukelll]

Fish and coral while limited is fine
Add ammonia chloride to tank and allow ammonia to rise and fall. Same will occur with nitrate cycle is generally 14-21 days
When ammonia is steady at zero for at least 5 days and nitrate steady at 20 or below, you are cycled
Owe it to yourself to start with best test kits possible. API will simply disappoint you in time

Thanks! What would you recommend for testing PH? Preferably digital.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks! What would you recommend for testing PH? Preferably digital.

Hanna or pinpoint ph

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

Definitely invest in an ATO to keep your parameters as stable as possible because evaporation can easily cause them to fluctuate a lot

 

[JoJosReef]

Definitely invest in an ATO to keep your parameters as stable as possible because evaporation can easily cause them to fluctuate a lot

If using the hood and stock light, might not be that bad.

 

[vetteguy53081]

If using the hood and stock light, might not be that bad.

ATO for a 13 gallon??

 

[MoshJosh]

Go slow, light stocking, ATO

 

[JoJosReef]

ATO for a 13 gallon??

Probably little evaporation if using the hood. Depending on how budget serious OP wants to be, coud just do manual top up every few days or set up a small ATO.

Temp might be a problem (was for my Evo before going mesh), so might end up with fans and evaporation in any case. Best to cover your bases and have an ATO!

 

[Sailaway]

I recently got a Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon Nano reef tank. I started cycling it a day ago. I have CaribSea Live sand in it and im dosing it with Seachem Stability. I plan on letting it cycle for at least 6-8 weeks.
I am going to take things very slow with this tank. I do not want to kill a single fish or coral or introduce any hitchhikers into the tank.
I had a 75 gallon reef tank a while ago and i made a lot of mistakes and learned a LOT from them.
I am aware that nano tank water parameters can fluctuate a lot easier vs a larger tank. I do use a RO/DI water filter and use instant ocean reef crystals. I am also going to make sure that the fish and coral i get are compatible temperamental and water parameter wise BEFORE i buy them.
some questions i have include-
Will two premium clownfish and a cleaner shrimp be ok in a 13.5 gallon tank with a good amount of live rock and coral?

Will coral be ok in a quarantine tank with poor lighting for a few weeks or should i get a nicer light for that amount of time?

What are some ways i can avoid introducing pest into the aquarium?

what kind of corals can i get with the stock fluval evo light? (Besides zoas, GSP and mushrooms)

I have the EVO and it’s quite easy. I change 10-25% of the water once every 1-2 weeks depending and check salinity every 3-5 days and it never fluctuates much. I have two mocha clowns and a shrimp and they are doing very well. I have Zoas and a Duncan (LPS) that has done remarkably well and has began putting out a new head. I think most LPS corals will be fine but NEMS and SPS need more light/better lighting. I did add a wave maker to increase flow which was a good purchase. Planning on adding more softies and potentially gorgonians soon so we shall see how they do.

you are gonna get pests. I bought live rock and I got some pests but if you absolutely want to rid of some of them I think you could do a dip (high salinity or fresh?) or a Coral dip?

I think you should probably grab a light, especially if you have light dependent corals such as SPS and LPS. Softies should be fine

look into LPS because I think you could get some, Duncan’s are easy.

 

[SirDukelll]

I have the EVO and it’s quite easy. I change 10-25% of the water once every 1-2 weeks depending and check salinity every 3-5 days and it never fluctuates much. I have two mocha clowns and a shrimp and they are doing very well. I have Zoas and a Duncan (LPS) that has done remarkably well and has began putting out a new head. I think most LPS corals will be fine but NEMS and SPS need more light/better lighting. I did add a wave maker to increase flow which was a good purchase. Planning on adding more softies and potentially gorgonians soon so we shall see how they do.

you are gonna get pests. I bought live rock and I got some pests but if you absolutely want to rid of some of them I think you could do a dip (high salinity or fresh?) or a Coral dip?

I think you should probably grab a light, especially if you have light dependent corals such as SPS and LPS. Softies should be fine

look into LPS because I think you could get some, Duncan’s are easy.

Thanks for the info! What wave maker do you recommend for a tank this size?

 

[olonmv]

Thanks for the info! What wave maker do you recommend for a tank this size?

I run an aqamai kps on my evo.

Amazon product

 

[NotReefsafe]

I have a similar sized tank, and have had it set up for six months.

1) inspect fish before you buy them, and know what an unhealthy fish looks like. I didnt, and ended up buying a pair of clowns and one was unfortunately too skinny to make it long in my tank

2) dip your corals after you get them, dip is cheap

3) get cheap plug ins that allow you to control tank lights and pumps with wifi

4) clownfish and cleaner will be great, my tank is stocked with one clown and a cleaner

5) two nassarious, two astrea, two turbo will be a good CuC. Maybe even less.

6) pipe organ, duncan, and zoa are good corals to start with.

7) I added Fritz Turbo start, two clowns and two corals on day one and everything turned out fine.

8) I do not test and everything is fine. Note that I only have easy corals, though, and do maintain temp and salinity

good luck

 

[Sailaway]

Thanks for the info! What wave maker do you recommend for a tank this size?

Of course! I use the small Fluval wave maker at the moment, I’m gonna upgrade soon though.

 

[SirDukelll]

I run an aqamai kps on my evo.

Amazon product

Thanks! Ill look into it

 

[SirDukelll]

I have a similar sized tank, and have had it set up for six months.

1) inspect fish before you buy them, and know what an unhealthy fish looks like. I didnt, and ended up buying a pair of clowns and one was unfortunately too skinny to make it long in my tank

2) dip your corals after you get them, dip is cheap

3) get cheap plug ins that allow you to control tank lights and pumps with wifi

4) clownfish and cleaner will be great, my tank is stocked with one clown and a cleaner

5) two nassarious, two astrea, two turbo will be a good CuC. Maybe even less.

6) pipe organ, duncan, and zoa are good corals to start with.

7) I added Fritz Turbo start, two clowns and two corals on day one and everything turned out fine.

8) I do not test and everything is fine. Note that I only have easy corals, though, and do maintain temp and salinity

good luck

Thanks for the advice! You can add fish on the first day with turbo start?

 

[1epauletteshark]

I recently got a Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon Nano reef tank. I started cycling it a day ago. I have CaribSea Live sand in it and im dosing it with Seachem Stability. I plan on letting it cycle for at least 6-8 weeks.
I am going to take things very slow with this tank. I do not want to kill a single fish or coral or introduce any hitchhikers into the tank.
I had a 75 gallon reef tank a while ago and i made a lot of mistakes and learned a LOT from them.
I am aware that nano tank water parameters can fluctuate a lot easier vs a larger tank. I do use a RO/DI water filter and use instant ocean reef crystals. I am also going to make sure that the fish and coral i get are compatible temperamental and water parameter wise BEFORE i buy them.
some questions i have include-
Will two premium clownfish and a cleaner shrimp be ok in a 13.5 gallon tank with a good amount of live rock and coral?

Will coral be ok in a quarantine tank with poor lighting for a few weeks or should i get a nicer light for that amount of time?

What are some ways i can avoid introducing pest into the aquarium?

what kind of corals can i get with the stock fluval evo light? (Besides zoas, GSP and mushrooms)

In terms of inhabitants I have made a document of fish and inverts in nano aquariums if that helps

Announcing: Nano aquarium fish compatibility document!

I am here to announce the Nano fish compatibility document created over a span of a few days currently containing 83 different fish and inverts that can live in a 30 gallon or smaller aquarium. I ran into a bit of a problem as I started (and still am) setting up my first tank that is also my...

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