12g nano-advice/suggestions

[mike6021]

Hey guys (gals)..love reef central
-Water-~8.0 ph, 3.5 alk, 0 am, nitrites,nitrates/water 76-78f
-Light 24watts blue/white on 11am-9 p.m.
-4 urchins donated to LFS...3 more may be donated
-cool red emerald crab, lots feather dusters, misc. worms, few snail hitchhikers, two "bad" anemones..so far harmless
- tube, cup and 3 fuzzy brown big button type corals
- "cooking" for 30days...looks good..some green hairy algea..small amount red slime...1-2mm grain aroganite along w/ 1 cup seeded sand fro reef at LFS
-10lbs. Florida rock (looks great..orange growht, yellow sponges, and different color coralline algea (?)..2lbs. pacific from LFS
- two clams attached to florida rock
-Initially small amounts drid phyto ..bit of marine snow..today fed 1 teaspoon DT's (will do twice/week)
-Glass a bit dirty..not too bad
-topping off w/distilled....one 2.5 g water change so far/oceanic

After 30 days...seems o.k...plan to let cook another 30-60days maybe add some more...maybe not..

Any suggestions/advice...my plan sound o.k.///learnig as much as possible through books/couple years worth of mags/online stuff...also seems to be pretty decent life at night in water,,amphipods...some whitish stuff in water...

appreciate any input.....Mike!!!!!!

[bertoni]

I'd kill the aiptasia now, if that's what you have. Once they start spreading, they're a pain to kill, IME. Watch the quality of your distilled water. Some is pretty dirty as far as nitrates, copper, etc.

Sounds fine so far.

[aquaman67]

First, Welcome to R/C!

I'm not sure what your plan is...

Do you have the JBJ Nano cube?

Waiting is the hardest thing to learn and it seems you have that down!

[mike6021]

yes jbj nano...one very small aiptasia and one good size one (isolated in the corner on a piece of rock)...they seem harmless..so far...and the big one was kind of the first ooh ah life form that popped up...don't have the heart to nuke him/her yet..maybe i'm too much of a softie...Mike

[mike6021]

Oh and by the way...the plan for now is to let my rock "garden" grow and mature (it's only 12g)...It's in a prominent spot in my living room...at first was going to add a few simple corals and a small fish (blennei/gobie), but hey it looks good now and why rush things...Mike

[elwaine]

Hi Mike,

Any pictures of your nano "rock garden?"

[mike6021]

no camera sorry.....got back from a biz trip..the one (2lb.) branch rock(pacific?) is covered w/green algea.....(a lot)...a bit on the florida rock..water readings o.k. is this normal after 35 days.. to review... 1 nice emerald crab (2nd molt)..lots of feather dusters..I cleaned up all algea as much as possible...will do a 2g water change on sunday...water crystal clear..three urchins hanging out..clams o.k...tank looks great...,but that green algea has me nervous...I guess I need to add some snails? right?..thanks for all the reply's (elwaine ect..)..did adding one teaspoon dt's affect algea?...fun hobby !!!...Thanks!!!..Mike

(by the way...beeen letting things cook..only one small water change..topping off w/distilled...good life on rocks..tube, cup corals ect..feather dusters ect....)

[jonny1972]

Take it slow and I agree with bertoni about the water. Also I belive that urchins will feed on coraline, leaving your rock bare. I know I've enjoyed my 12 gal. alot more than when I had a 65 gal. bow front.

[TooFar2Sea]

I can understand your initial excitement over the new life in your tank but your excitement will turn to disappointment if your tank becomes over run with aptasia.

[mike6021]

Hey folks..thanks for the info...I will do my do homework..while watching my "bad anemone".......thanks for all the imput!!..Mike

[elwaine]

branch rock(pacific?) is covered w/green algae.....(a lot)...a bit on the florida rock..water readings o.k. is this normal after 35 days.. that green algae has me nervous...I guess I need to add some snails? right?...did adding one teaspoon dt's affect algae?...
Algae can be a sign of too high a level of dissolved nutrients - especially Phosphates... but also nitrogen based nutrients. But it may be quite normal, as well... depends. If your nitrates are OK you might want to check Phosphates... but don't rush into anything if the ammonia/nitrites/nitrates are OK. Too much testing and not enough observing has done in far too many aquariums and aquarists.

At 35 days it is normal to have algae blooms for a new tank that is emerging from it's initial cycle... but your situation is somewhat different.

I would have not added anything to the tank, other than cured LR and LS for at least the first 6 weeks, making sure that the chemistry was settling and stabile. Then, I would have added just a few clean-up crew members, waited another several weeks and then added some of your inverts (but just one urchin). But that's just my $.02, and is by no means a criticism of what you did. It's just that it is now difficult for me to say whether or not your algae growth is normal or not. You have a fairly large bio-load in a relatively small volume of water and 1) your tank may not have finished it normal cycle (hence an expected algae growth about now) and/your inverts (urchins esp.) may be "pumping" too much waste into your water, causing/contributing to the algae growth.

That said, in my view, a small, controllable amount of algae is desirable for a more natural and balanced system... as long as it doesn't run wild. - Yes, a few grazing algae eating snails may be all you need.

Sorry for the long-winded answer.

[mike6021]

Thanks Elwaine (doc)...

it looked better this a.m.,but still I think too much and the bubbles are still there..will do a small wter change on Sunday..

Keep you posted...thanks agian...Mike (btw..all the live was tiny
hitch hikers from the LR that I did not see...i'm going to be patient for another 30-45 days before I add anything I think...maybe a small blennie down the road...I also think the nano advertised at 12g might be quite a bit less w/rock ect...maybe 7g...I'm not sure how they compute the 12g...they may take the overall dimension and take into account the "double back wall"..the inch or so base on the bottom ect...)

[elwaine]

all the live was tiny hitch hikers from the LR...
:) That's great! I love that aspect the most... never quite knowing what will "pop out" of the LR. Sounds like you have things well under control. Enjoy! And whenever you do get a camera, send us a picture.

Best,
Larry