My first tank.... 20g nano [Archive] - Reef Central Online Community Archives

jamynsdad

12/04/2006, 07:35 PM

Ok guys this is my first tank ever and i am so pumped about this damn thing, it's like having another kid:D i will take you thru a step by step of the set up from day 1 to today..... Help me out with some info and let me know what you guys think about my progress....

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jamynsdad

12/04/2006, 07:36 PM

jamynsdad

12/04/2006, 07:40 PM

jamynsdad

12/04/2006, 07:43 PM

jamynsdad

12/04/2006, 07:44 PM

jamynsdad

12/04/2006, 07:48 PM

this is how the tank looks right now... 35 lbs LR, 40lb LS, 8 blue leg hermits,5 Turbo snails, 1 xtra large hermit, 1 Emerald crab, 1 Banded shrimp.... the flower anemone didnt make it. please give me you opinions... how does my aquascaping look?

BTW, the pics didn't come out completely in order... use you imagination lol

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alien9168

12/04/2006, 08:22 PM

looks nice so far :)

What are you going to stock it with... mushrooms, zoos, softies...?

jamynsdad

12/04/2006, 09:13 PM

mainly softies, im also thinking about a clown with a seahorse... i would love to put SPS in there but i've heard my PC's will not get the job done

weaselslucks

12/04/2006, 09:21 PM

i would say either go with a seahorse tank or a fish tank. usually the clowns and other fish will eat all the food on her seahorse.how long have you had it has it cycled yet? also are you useing R/o water? IMO you should add another powerhead to create more flow I love the aquascapeing though

jamynsdad

12/05/2006, 04:22 PM

i've had it going for a little over a month now and yes it has cycled. i filled up at first with r/o & IO.... i did a 4.4 gallon water change with nurti-seawater after i added all the rock. BTW i am thinking about another powerhead after i try the revolving powerhead add on... i dont know the exact product name

weaselslucks

12/05/2006, 04:51 PM

the bio wheels i'v heard are bad and should be taken out

oldreefer76

12/05/2006, 05:17 PM

yes the biowheels need to go major nitrate factory

jamynsdad

12/05/2006, 06:32 PM

if i remove the biowheels... what part of the process will remove ammonia and nitrite? even if i am doing water changes every 2 weeks i still need to remove them??? kinda chaps my @$$ to buy the damn thing for the biowheels and now i should take them off. BTW, my buddy's 55 mix reef has been going for a year now with an emperor 400 and he has not taken off the biowheels and his tank is great.

FiShTaCo

12/05/2006, 06:39 PM

I have also seen plenty of tanks with biowheels running for years with no problems from them...it's up to you jamynsdad. Choices, choices!!

herostar

12/05/2006, 06:40 PM

The bacteria that lives in the sand and on the rocks get rid of the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. That's why it's called "live rock."

Your tank looks good. I'd either paint the back or put something behind it to help hide the equipment.

jamynsdad

12/05/2006, 06:44 PM

i put on a black background when i got the last bit of rock... you can see it in the most recent pic

weaselslucks

12/05/2006, 08:26 PM

Its just what i was told pain in the A$$ if you ask me i had to tape the spouts the use to turn the wheel what kind of live rock did you get?i love it

jamynsdad

12/05/2006, 08:28 PM

Fiji from the LFS... $4.99 a pound too!!!! can you believe it?

grink dude

12/06/2006, 02:56 AM

cool tank looks like it's gona be goood. good luck

jamynsdad

12/07/2006, 06:00 PM

here's todays update... i bought a tank raised perc, 3 xenias, and a Hydor rotating water deflector..

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Dr.FuManchu

12/08/2006, 10:34 AM

Your tank is looking great! Keep us updated on your progress.

jamynsdad

12/09/2006, 10:40 AM

ok here's the newest update.... over the past couple days i got a Xenia frag, a very unhappy clown, a purple tipped condy, a small polyp colony, and a red and grey zoas colony...

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jamynsdad

12/09/2006, 10:41 AM

macperry

12/09/2006, 11:54 AM

jamynsdad: does that Hydor rotating flow controller spray water up out of the tank as it rotates? Do you think it will splash the light cover on my 12g nano?

jamynsdad

12/09/2006, 12:22 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8713886#post8713886 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macperry
jamynsdad: does that Hydor rotating flow controller spray water up out of the tank as it rotates? Do you think it will splash the light cover on my 12g nano?

no... it does not create any extra spash on my light. i really like the hydor it creates great effect for very little $$$. if you are looking to switch up the flow i would suggest picking one up... and if you dont like it you're not gonna be out of a lot of money

jamynsdad

12/16/2006, 10:47 AM

this week's update.... i got another clown, a red starfish, 4 more turbos and 8 more blue leg hermits. i think i might need to cut back the time on the lights b/c i am getting quite the tint of green... ;)

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jamynsdad

01/10/2007, 06:27 PM

i have aquired a few more corals lately... a fox coral, a shroom, and an acropora (that is doing good under my pc's). one question tho... where does the dreaded red slime algae come from? i heard that it was from high phos. but they are testing at 0. what can take care of it, and is it just a "new" tank thing? also, this tank is running skimmer less... nothing but 2 powerheads and a biowheel.

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danoreef

01/10/2007, 11:31 PM

tank looks great. good luck with the red slime.I used a product called slime away, I am not even sure if they sell it anymore and it removed it immediately. however, then about a year later I had gotten some macro algae from some one whose tank was covered in red slime (he didn't tell me at that time) and the red slime remover did not work that time.

birdy607

01/11/2007, 10:31 PM

red slime ehh? coch did the trick for me

NanoReefWanabe

01/11/2007, 11:47 PM

4.99 a pound great deal...i just paid 6.99 canadian for mine...

what happened to your purple tip? was he stingin the poop out of your softies?

rock work looks nice...

i too just set up my 20 H. your tank looks bigger then mine though..

hammerswinger

01/12/2007, 09:32 AM

Its a new tank the red slime will go away on its own. Just make sure you are using RO water and you will be fine. Looks good!

jamynsdad

02/01/2007, 01:21 PM

here's the newest FTS.... my coraline is really blowing up, so are my zoas and other polyps since i started dripping kalkwasser. BTW, thank god i got rid of the red slime

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Rosseau

02/01/2007, 01:46 PM

It's looking nice and purpled. Thanks for sharing.

-What happened to the Purple Tipped Condy? Light issues..?

Rosseau

02/01/2007, 01:50 PM

also, I see you have 2 clowns now, how did they take to each other?

jamynsdad

02/01/2007, 02:17 PM

the clowns did good with one another... they were from the same litter... lol. i flushed the condy before he started stinging all my other stuff.... guess i should have researched that first

jamynsdad

02/02/2007, 04:04 PM

I got a candy cane and some more zoas today... pics will be up when everything opens up

jamynsdad

02/02/2007, 04:44 PM

BTW, my larger clown began hosting in my hairy shroom.... VERY happy about that

jamynsdad

02/05/2007, 10:58 AM

Todat has been a sad day.... found my emerald crab belly up this morning
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but on a lighter note... i'm really beginning to like my polyp garden
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storagedaddie

02/05/2007, 11:16 AM

Great thread... Progressing nicely. Keep it up, oh and good pics too!

jamynsdad

02/11/2007, 05:44 PM

THE TANK WENT THRU SOME MAJOR CHANGES TODAY!!!!! A buddy called me up and wanted me to help him with a 72g takedown.... In return i got to pick whatever corals i wanted from the tank. I got a brown polyp colony, 1 big leather and a smaller leather, and i picked a piece of LR that had another leather on it, misc. zoas, and some star polyps. I also got a 29g, a Red Sea Prizm skimmer and to top it all off he gave me $20 for gas.... Not bad for a 1/2 days work

FTS before all the new stuff
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jamynsdad

02/11/2007, 05:47 PM

And here is everything in the tank... I plan on removing my 350 biowheel and replacing it with the Prizm skimmer i got. But i think i'll wait a couple days before i make that transition
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InvaderJim

02/11/2007, 07:39 PM

Looking good. :)

manzillo11

02/11/2007, 07:53 PM

looks great!! what did u use to get rid of the red slime?

jamynsdad

02/11/2007, 08:10 PM

Ultralife Red Slime Remover... cost $20 at the LFS. Killed everything off in 1 day and had no ill effects on anything else in the tank.... so far so good. BTW, i gave the small leather to a friend just a minute ago and i forgot to mention the rock flower anemone. I did't really want him but he didn't want to come out of the rock. Then the wife saw it..... needless to say it is here for the duration

nynex

02/14/2007, 11:46 PM

jamynsdad in a Nano Reef your live rock and live sand are your main filtration. You
dont need a huge HOB filter...esp a bio wheel. You would have been way better off
building a 5 gallon Refugium in the bottom part of the stand. Or getting an Aquaclear
110 HOB and making a Fuge from that. Its pretty easy and way more efficient. The
bio wheels in my opinion are awesome for Freshwater...not bad for saltwater..but if I
had a choice...I would take a Refugium anyday.

Also Seahorses are a bad idea in your setup. They like very low flow and less lighting.
Plus like it was mentioned earlier...With other fish..the seahorses would have a hard
time compeating for the food.

Other then that...its looking good.

jamynsdad

02/19/2007, 04:49 PM

Aight, i bought a 6 headed Frogspawn and some loose mushrooms to fill in some gaps from the LFS.... i think the tank is a max capacity now i just need to sit back and let everything grow.....

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Bmgrocks

02/19/2007, 08:10 PM

Yeah get rid of those bio wheels, they are more trouble than they were worth., you could always turn your Emp 400 into a fuge as well, melt down/take off a propellor to slow the flow, add some sand, LR and Chaeto, small desk lamp, whatever and ur good to go......

I heard prism skimmers were some garbage, give it a try and see how it goes.

How'd ur Coraline come in so Fast...

jamynsdad

03/14/2007, 05:37 PM

ok... i was REALLY bored today plus i got my new MJ900 yesterday so i figured that today would be a good day to **** off all my critters.....

i started out with this
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jamynsdad

03/14/2007, 05:42 PM

and turned it into this.....
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what do you guys think? the flower anemone was killing most of my red zoas and he ate my goby last week so today he met his doom...... muhahahaha!!!! Will the zoas make a come back after being stung for a while? Oh well, I am pretty happy with all the movement and one bright side to the story is... I made a lot of room for more corals ;)
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jamynsdad

04/21/2007, 03:19 PM

5 months...
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jamynsdad

06/03/2007, 11:14 AM

here is the 7 month update...

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