Chronicle of the small and ambitious tank

[Brian Wilson]

These are the progression pictures up to this point. Let me list specs now and maybe some suggestions for how I should proceed could follow from all of you tank specialists.

-30 gallon tank (at least it took 30 gallons of seawater to fill it up after adding rock and substrate)
-half and half CaribSea Arag-Alive black and CaribSea coraline substrate
-Rocks in tank were dry when placed into tank, but were previously used in another SW tank
-two Powerheads moving around the water nicely, though I think I will purchase a new one to replace both that also allows for air intake.
-200 watt heater
-Digital thermometer reading 76.8 at the moment
-Truval 304 Canister filter using charcoal medium and sponge filters along with bio rocks
-currently using one fluorescent light for plants but will be purchasing a 10k bulb when adding fish.

 

[Brian Wilson]

Hydrometer readings using Standard Hydrometer/Precision Float Hydrometer

9-29-15 1.235 standard / 1.22 Float

10-04-15 1.25 standard / 1.24 Float

WATER TESTS
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9-17-15 PH = 7.8 AMMONIA= 0.50 NITRITE= 1.0 NITRATE= 0.0

9-21-15 PH = 8.0 AMMONIA= 2.0 NITRITE= 5.0 NITRATE= 10.0

09-29-15 PH = 8.0 AMMONIA= 0.25 NITRITE= 5.0 NITRATE= 5.0

10-04-15 PH=8.0 AMMONIA= 0.0 NITRITE= 5.0 NITRATE= 80

 

[Brian Wilson]

Sorry about the compressed format of the above numbers. For some reason, the formatting I created while writing it does not transfer over to the published edition. It removes all the spacing and such.

Anyhow, as you can see, I have some odd nitrite readings and now a very high nitrate reading. Any ideas on how to proceed or is this normal?

 

[rostervandross]

Nice man. You are starting off very thoroughly so it looks like you are in good shape.

I'm not sure your tank background sheet will hold up . They make it hard to clean the back glass and it will get covered up with algae either way

I am also still running my fluval filter. I basically planning on using it as a media reactor but I have been pretty good about rinsing the sponges often and have no nitrate issues. I am in the process of building a sump so I can take the sponges out of it completely and run just the bio ceramic pieces and carbon/purigen/phosguard as needed.

 

[DaveK]

Sorry about the compressed format of the above numbers. For some reason, the formatting I created while writing it does not transfer over to the published edition. It removes all the spacing and such.

Anyhow, as you can see, I have some odd nitrite readings and now a very high nitrate reading. Any ideas on how to proceed or is this normal?

This is normal, since the normal progression is ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate. Once ammonia and nitrite drop to 0, you might want to make a close to 100% water change so the nitrates are close to 0 too.

A few additional comments...

Your system doesn't contain enough rock. You want about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per gallon of water, so you should have about 30 pounds of rock as a minimum. A couple of your rocks look like solid rocks, not like live rock or dry coral rock. If that is the case, these should be replaced, Use rocks that will do some good.

I'd recommend you keep the existing power heads for now. Don't add power heads that have an air intake, as all they will do is make a mess of unwanted bubbles, and a lot of salt creep.

In your canister filter I think you mean your using carbon. If your actually using charcoal, it should be replaced. Actual charcoal will throw off all sorts of unwanted things you don't want in the tank, like nitrates and phosphates.

I would also remove all the bio rocks from the canister filter. You want the biological filtration to be in the rock in the tank itself. You'll get a lot more biological activity with the rock in the tank. Biological filters in canister filters tend to become major dirt traps, and a big oxygen consumer. As for the sponges, they are ok as a mechanical media, but they need to be cleaned often, so they don't become a dirt trap.

On lighting, figure out what you are going to keep in the tank, and then upgrade he lighting as needed.

 

[Brian Wilson]

Great input. I will follow all of these suggestions and let you know about the progress. Thanks!

 

[Brian Wilson]

The levels in the tank are spot on and my LFS owner has given me the go ahead to introduce my star attractions. He wants to start out slowly since my tank is rather small. He suggested two Clownfish (wife chose one standard and one black). He also provided me with some snails and a blue legged hermit crab. Honestly, I don't know which species i am enjoying more. The crab explores all day long and loves to check out the other shells provided for it. The Tongan Nassarius snail is a ton of fun to watch during feeding time as it jumps out of the sand in search for food. A couple of Ceriths are thrown in for good measure as well.

Additional live rock is coming shortly and some shrimp will be added to the mix soon.

 

[Brian Wilson]

So, with these guys in the tank already, I understand that may be the limit to my setup. What is the communities recommendation for any possible additions? How much COULD this setup accommodate and what species would be best?

Aside from fish and invertebrates, what about plants and possibly coral?

 

[DianaKay]

Reading though your thread, I'm assuming that your tank has only been running for a little less than a month. And you have a pair of clownfish
Hope they are doing good & that your water is still maintaining at ZERO ammonia & nitrite levels.

If your tank is actually a 45gal (that's what it looks to be to me ) I would think one more (small that stays small) fish could be added. I would advise to pick one that is rated as "peaceful" not semi-aggressive or agressive for a tank that size.

No matter what the LFS says, check out the fish rating before you buy one.
I always check at liveaquaria.com because it's easy to research fish there.
And honestly IMO, you need to use a QT set up if you plan to buy another fish soon for safety of your clowns & to give your system more time to be able to handle the bioload of another fish.
What fish are you thinking you want
What Color of fish & body shape do you prefer? That's what comes to my mind when considering what I would get. I like the Royal Gramma (my avatar) & Blennies...but it's YOUR TANK , your choice.

 

[rostervandross]

Sounds like you enjoy the little things like snails and shrimp too. You could get a kind of shrimp watching goby and a alpheid shrimp to make a burrow and pair up. Blennies are nice fish, and some graze algae. Yellow or black Coral/clown gobies are nice. An anemone for your clownfishes?

 

[Brian Wilson]

I'm really interested in the Goby / Shrimp Combo! That sounds like a great pair. Plus, the yellow and blue spots will be a great color addition to the team. My substrate is deeper than I intended so this may be the ideal environment for them.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Looks great so far!

~SF

The new HOG, SURF and DROP scrubbers® from www.Santa-Monica.cc

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