I am completely new to saltwater aquariums. I’ve had freshwater aquariums throughout my life so I know that there is a wide variance of opinions you will hear from hobbyists regarding every subject from equipment to feeding to water changes and on and on. However, I had no idea how much this variance in opinion is amplified in the saltwater world. I simply wanted to share the journal of my 20 gal. nano reef tank as yet another reference point for nano hobbyists, especially beginners like myself. I will also share both advice and opinions, both in (parentheses). I am no expert, and have/will make mistakes, so please just use the advice and opinions as just that – advice and opinions. If you are using this as a guide supplement for your nano reef I will assume you have read lordroad’s step-by-step nano reef guide (thank you very, very much lordroad – I probably would never have set up a reef tank if it wasn’t for your guide).
3/7/09
Rinsed 20 lbs. of sand and added to tank along with 18 gallons distilled water. After two hours installed two powerheads (295 GPH each) and heater (100w). Added IO salt and API Marine Buffer per directions.
(Opinion – Regarding Water Gravity: I believe 1.023 is an “ideal” gravity because nano’s are subject to evaporation and the subsequent increase in gravity. With a low preset gravity there is more tolerance to this known increase.)
3/8/09
Gravity at 1.020. Added more salt. pH at 8.2. Temp. at 81 deg. Water is cloudy.
3/9/09
Gravity at 1.022. Added more salt in ratio to the increase from yesterday (1/8 cup salt = +.002 : 1/16 cup salt = +.001). pH at 8.2. Temp. between 78 – 83 deg. Water still cloudy. Procured 22 lbs. of partially cured Fiji live rock (LR). Removed 2 gallons of water from tank and rinsed rocks. Found a hitch hiking snail (I still don’t know what he is – looks like a larger spiky Nerite). Turned powerheads off. Put rocks and snail into tank moving sand aside as I placed rocks to make sure they were firmly planted. Waited an hour and turned powerhead back on. A few hours later the water cleared up completely. (Time to acknowledge and thank Lotus for answering questions and moderating the saltwater forums on MFT.net.)
(Advice – Regarding placing LR: Add the sand after placing the LR in the tank. It may be a bit messier, but the powerheads are going to blow sand all over your tank anyways. If sand ever ends up on LR and you want it off, either use a turkey baster to “blow” water over the LR or use an unattached gravel cleaner upside down, so the small end is down, and quickly pump up and down again “blowing” water, or pressure washing, the LR. )
(Opinion – Regarding LR: This is where you will encounter your first real difference of opinion, which is what type of LR to procure. Not specifically what location, or if you should get premium or not, but rather if you should get cured or uncured LR. Cured is more expensive than uncured, but your tank will cycle quicker with cured as opposed to uncured. My suggestion is uncured. Not only is it less expensive, but you will ensure that your tank properly cycles. This will also give you more time to read as much as you can about your next few steps with your nano reef. Information and patience/caution are your best friends.)
3/12/09
Gravity at 1.023. pH at 8.2. Ammonia is unknown (I think I threw away the saltwater card when I originally opened my API test kit as I never thought I would have a saltwater tank – anyways ,the tested saltwater looked like lemon juice). 0.5+ Nitrites. Nitrates unknown (I wasn’t using the test kit correctly. I ignorantly assumed that the API Nitrate test was performed the same as the API Ammonia test. Well, it’s not.). Temp still between 78 – 83 deg. Topped off at 84 deg. so I opened the hood to vent better. I have, and will be, running my 15w light 10 hours a day until I receive my new light fixture.
(Opinion – Regarding running lights during the cycle: Some say to run lights normally while some say not at all, just as lordroad stated in the guide. There are more opinions to keep lights on than to keep them off, so I decided to go with the majority. Actually the majority was that it didn’t matter either way.)
(Opinion – Regarding water changes: Some say to start partial water changes (PWC) as soon as you see Nitrites to preserve as many life forms as possible. Most believe that the benefit of doing this is not worth the effort, and therefore PWC’s during the cycling stage are obsolete. I believe that PWC’s can’t hurt during the cycling stage, but will definitely prolong the cycle and are burden. I actually opt not to change my water until about a week after adding the clean up crew unless there is an emergency.)
3/16/09
pH, Ammonia and Temp all the same. Gravity now at 1.024. Topped off tank with distilled water. Nitrites now at 1.0. Nitrates still unknown. (Time to thank Joeyb1731. Joey’s similar tank is about 1-2 weeks ahead of mine and we have been providing each other with “real time” information. Fortunately this has probably helped me a bit more, like learning how not to acclimate inverts, but I try to be a good cheerleader.)
3/17/09
All readings the same. Nitrates at 5 (I finally decided to read the directions after being concerned about a reading of 30). BTW – The snail is still alive and active.
3/18/09
All readings the same except Nitrites which are now 0.25 and Nitrates which are at 5+. I am yet to see any pods.
3/19/09
All readings the same except no Nitrites. Time for the clean-up crew. I procured the following:
2 Scarlet Hermits
10 Margarita Snails
2 Nerite Snails
1 Turbo Snail
3 Nassarius Snails
1 Conch (Jury’s still out on this guy)
4 empty shells, all larger than the existing Hermit’s shells
And that original snail is still around
Turned off light and drip acclimated inverts using the following method: 1 drip every 2 seconds for 10 minutes. 1 drip every second for 10 minutes. 2 drips every second for 20 minutes. 4 drips every second for 20 minutes. By this time the water had quadrupled. Removed the inverts from the acclimation water and placed into the tank. Discarded acclimation water. Left lights off for the day.
(Opinion – Regarding Hermits: Some say don’t get hermits at all. With snails only you have a lot less worry about harming coral or them eating each other. Some say hermits are fine, but don’t get any that will grow over 1” as most of these can unintentionally harm coral and intentionally eat snails. I personally think the hermits are some of the coolest creatures in the tank, so I’m getting them. I will keep a close eye on them, along with everything else in the tank, and have no problem returning them if a problem arises.)
(Opinion – Regarding Turbo Snails: Yes they are big, but they provide a “big bang for the buck”. I am not worried about it knocking over rocks as most are large and heavy, but will be worried once I have coral. So I have decided to use the $1.25 snail until the coral stage, at which point I will exchange for a few smaller snails.)
(Advice – Regarding acclimation: I know nothing about plants, but highly suggest you drip acclimate every other living creature you put in your saltwater aquarium. There are still many different ways to do this. Your three variables are the frequency of the drip, the duration of dripping and how much water to ultimately add. Also, some say to discard some water throughout the process. Most depends on the sensitivity of the creature, which I’ve been informed is related to the percent of water the creature is composed of, which completely makes sense. My true advice is read as much as you can then develop a cautious method developed from information you’ve gathered related specifically to the creature you are acclimating.)
3/20/09
All readings the same except Nitrites increased to 0.25. All inverts survived the night. Lights back on. As of this date I am still yet to see any pods.
(Opinion – As you can see, not only did I cycle fast, 11 days, I also encountered a second Nitrite “spike”. My theory is that since I used partially cured rocks, which now seem to pretty much be the same as cured rocks, I may have missed a true Ammonia spike which created a smaller population of bacteria in my tank. This smaller population couldn’t completely handle the waste that the inverts stirred up which created an increase in the Nitrite level. This is another reason I suggest uncured LR.)
3/7/09
Rinsed 20 lbs. of sand and added to tank along with 18 gallons distilled water. After two hours installed two powerheads (295 GPH each) and heater (100w). Added IO salt and API Marine Buffer per directions.
(Opinion – Regarding Water Gravity: I believe 1.023 is an “ideal” gravity because nano’s are subject to evaporation and the subsequent increase in gravity. With a low preset gravity there is more tolerance to this known increase.)
3/8/09
Gravity at 1.020. Added more salt. pH at 8.2. Temp. at 81 deg. Water is cloudy.
3/9/09
Gravity at 1.022. Added more salt in ratio to the increase from yesterday (1/8 cup salt = +.002 : 1/16 cup salt = +.001). pH at 8.2. Temp. between 78 – 83 deg. Water still cloudy. Procured 22 lbs. of partially cured Fiji live rock (LR). Removed 2 gallons of water from tank and rinsed rocks. Found a hitch hiking snail (I still don’t know what he is – looks like a larger spiky Nerite). Turned powerheads off. Put rocks and snail into tank moving sand aside as I placed rocks to make sure they were firmly planted. Waited an hour and turned powerhead back on. A few hours later the water cleared up completely. (Time to acknowledge and thank Lotus for answering questions and moderating the saltwater forums on MFT.net.)
(Advice – Regarding placing LR: Add the sand after placing the LR in the tank. It may be a bit messier, but the powerheads are going to blow sand all over your tank anyways. If sand ever ends up on LR and you want it off, either use a turkey baster to “blow” water over the LR or use an unattached gravel cleaner upside down, so the small end is down, and quickly pump up and down again “blowing” water, or pressure washing, the LR. )
(Opinion – Regarding LR: This is where you will encounter your first real difference of opinion, which is what type of LR to procure. Not specifically what location, or if you should get premium or not, but rather if you should get cured or uncured LR. Cured is more expensive than uncured, but your tank will cycle quicker with cured as opposed to uncured. My suggestion is uncured. Not only is it less expensive, but you will ensure that your tank properly cycles. This will also give you more time to read as much as you can about your next few steps with your nano reef. Information and patience/caution are your best friends.)
3/12/09
Gravity at 1.023. pH at 8.2. Ammonia is unknown (I think I threw away the saltwater card when I originally opened my API test kit as I never thought I would have a saltwater tank – anyways ,the tested saltwater looked like lemon juice). 0.5+ Nitrites. Nitrates unknown (I wasn’t using the test kit correctly. I ignorantly assumed that the API Nitrate test was performed the same as the API Ammonia test. Well, it’s not.). Temp still between 78 – 83 deg. Topped off at 84 deg. so I opened the hood to vent better. I have, and will be, running my 15w light 10 hours a day until I receive my new light fixture.
(Opinion – Regarding running lights during the cycle: Some say to run lights normally while some say not at all, just as lordroad stated in the guide. There are more opinions to keep lights on than to keep them off, so I decided to go with the majority. Actually the majority was that it didn’t matter either way.)
(Opinion – Regarding water changes: Some say to start partial water changes (PWC) as soon as you see Nitrites to preserve as many life forms as possible. Most believe that the benefit of doing this is not worth the effort, and therefore PWC’s during the cycling stage are obsolete. I believe that PWC’s can’t hurt during the cycling stage, but will definitely prolong the cycle and are burden. I actually opt not to change my water until about a week after adding the clean up crew unless there is an emergency.)
3/16/09
pH, Ammonia and Temp all the same. Gravity now at 1.024. Topped off tank with distilled water. Nitrites now at 1.0. Nitrates still unknown. (Time to thank Joeyb1731. Joey’s similar tank is about 1-2 weeks ahead of mine and we have been providing each other with “real time” information. Fortunately this has probably helped me a bit more, like learning how not to acclimate inverts, but I try to be a good cheerleader.)
3/17/09
All readings the same. Nitrates at 5 (I finally decided to read the directions after being concerned about a reading of 30). BTW – The snail is still alive and active.
3/18/09
All readings the same except Nitrites which are now 0.25 and Nitrates which are at 5+. I am yet to see any pods.
3/19/09
All readings the same except no Nitrites. Time for the clean-up crew. I procured the following:
2 Scarlet Hermits
10 Margarita Snails
2 Nerite Snails
1 Turbo Snail
3 Nassarius Snails
1 Conch (Jury’s still out on this guy)
4 empty shells, all larger than the existing Hermit’s shells
And that original snail is still around
Turned off light and drip acclimated inverts using the following method: 1 drip every 2 seconds for 10 minutes. 1 drip every second for 10 minutes. 2 drips every second for 20 minutes. 4 drips every second for 20 minutes. By this time the water had quadrupled. Removed the inverts from the acclimation water and placed into the tank. Discarded acclimation water. Left lights off for the day.
(Opinion – Regarding Hermits: Some say don’t get hermits at all. With snails only you have a lot less worry about harming coral or them eating each other. Some say hermits are fine, but don’t get any that will grow over 1” as most of these can unintentionally harm coral and intentionally eat snails. I personally think the hermits are some of the coolest creatures in the tank, so I’m getting them. I will keep a close eye on them, along with everything else in the tank, and have no problem returning them if a problem arises.)
(Opinion – Regarding Turbo Snails: Yes they are big, but they provide a “big bang for the buck”. I am not worried about it knocking over rocks as most are large and heavy, but will be worried once I have coral. So I have decided to use the $1.25 snail until the coral stage, at which point I will exchange for a few smaller snails.)
(Advice – Regarding acclimation: I know nothing about plants, but highly suggest you drip acclimate every other living creature you put in your saltwater aquarium. There are still many different ways to do this. Your three variables are the frequency of the drip, the duration of dripping and how much water to ultimately add. Also, some say to discard some water throughout the process. Most depends on the sensitivity of the creature, which I’ve been informed is related to the percent of water the creature is composed of, which completely makes sense. My true advice is read as much as you can then develop a cautious method developed from information you’ve gathered related specifically to the creature you are acclimating.)
3/20/09
All readings the same except Nitrites increased to 0.25. All inverts survived the night. Lights back on. As of this date I am still yet to see any pods.
(Opinion – As you can see, not only did I cycle fast, 11 days, I also encountered a second Nitrite “spike”. My theory is that since I used partially cured rocks, which now seem to pretty much be the same as cured rocks, I may have missed a true Ammonia spike which created a smaller population of bacteria in my tank. This smaller population couldn’t completely handle the waste that the inverts stirred up which created an increase in the Nitrite level. This is another reason I suggest uncured LR.)
I've already exchanged him for store credit as I didn't want to acclimate another fish that day and didn't know why he actually died. Green goby seems to be freaking out and swimming up and down the glass, but I know this is "normal" behavior for a new fish. However I have a very high current (630 GPH) in my tank and know gobies aren't big swimmers, so I turned off one power head while the lights are off. After three hours I turned dual daylight bulb, and power head, back on. Fed tank a sliver of zooplankton. Goby didn't seem to eat (still freaking out) but the hermits sure loved that stuff.