Silver97's Official tank chronicle

silver97

silver97

Active Member
Hello!
Figured I should at least start a thread if I was going to be asking questions on here, so here goes nothing! I just hope this turns out to be as impressive as the other chronicles on here...
My tank:IMG_0233.JPG
It is a 40 gal reef tank, used all my graduation money and money i saved from working to get everything for it, and currently very happy with what its turned out like.
Its about 2 months old now, have only had a few major problems with towards the beginning of it but they are under control as of now.
The current inhabitants are a single oscellaris clownfish, I will be getting a 2nd one (probably a black oscellaris) within the next 2 weeks (hopefully). I also have 6 hermit crabs, 8 turbo snails and 2 big nerite snails. After the other clown i need to think, as size really matters here, to determine what other/how many other fish i can get.
Coral wise I have a mystery type of gorgonian (thought by my novice eyes to be a xenia) which has been growing well. Dont worry, I already have a thread on this that is trying to figure out everything out about it that i can so i can take care of it better.
I have some Radioactive Dragon eyed, blue eyed monster and eyes of Rah zoas, all seem to be living well, have not seen any multiplying from them, but then again have only had them for 2 weeks. I also have a single Lunar paly, started out as a frag of 5 polyps but the other 4 have died off, not necessarily my fault because 3 broke off in shipping and got crushed and another just shriveled up and disappeared. The single one is brown, and i dont think its supposed to be, but it hasnt died yet so ill leave it go and see how it does, not necessarily concerned about it. I plan on getting some REAL xenia and some star polyps because from what I've heard they are easy to keep and I love the way they both look.
Water parameters are normal, no ammonia or nitrites, nitrates are around 10. I try to keep my tank around 77 to 80 degrees f
As for equipment I have a hydor koralia 850 gph pump, works well enough circulating the water. For my filter I have a Fluval 306 canister filter, easy maintenance(mostly) every few weeks. My lights are some Orbit Marine LED's, I bought these because they were a good, powerful light that was programmable and were not ridiculously expensive. I also have a standard heater, nothing special about it. I do not run a skimmer or a sump on my tank, my LFS said it was a small enough tank that i didnt necessarily need either, they helped me decide what I needed to successfully set up the tank.
Thats most of the basic info, if you would like to know anything else about it, please just ask!
I will upload some up close up pics later in the week.
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
silver97 said:
...
As for equipment I have a hydor koralia 850 gph pump, works well enough circulating the water. For my filter I have a Fluval 306 canister filter, easy maintenance(mostly) every few weeks. My lights are some Orbit Marine LED's, I bought these because they were a good, powerful light that was programmable and were not ridiculously expensive.
...
I do not run a skimmer or a sump on my tank, my LFS said it was a small enough tank that i didnt necessarily need either, they helped me decide what I needed to successfully set up the tank.
...
Click to expand...

Your off to a good start, but I think your going to find that long term your going to want some serious upgrades to your system.

Over time, canister filters on SW reef systems tend to become quite a burden, since they need to be cleaned at least weekly. Otherwise, they tend to become dirt traps and nitrate factories. Don't get me wrong, I use a canister filter also, but it's on my FW planted tank, where the production of nitrates is actually an advantage.

The Orbit Marine LED fixture is OK for what your keeping today, but if your ever want corals with greater light requirements, you'll need to upgrade. The light output by the Orbit Marine LED fixture is only about 36 w.

Just to give you an example, for LED lighting I would have recommended something like two AI Hydra 26's, which are about 85w each. The downside is that this configuration would end up costing about three times what you spent on the Orbit Marine.

As for not running a skimmer or sump, on the tank you have a sump would be optional. I would consider a skimmer to be so "highly desirable" that you should seriously consider adding one. Get something that's high quality.

Your going to find out that most LFS's are clueless when it comes to any type of advanced aquarium system. They will often try to sell you products you don't need or products that they happen to carry. Best to ask here first.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
welcomefish.gif


to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

Cheers for starting a tank thread & sharing your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics !

Nice start !
 
silver97

silver97

Active Member
So @DaveK, a follow up to your statement
What other type of filter would you recommend if not canister? Seeing you are right about the LFS recommending only what they carry, I am not necessarily aware of any other type of filter that would be good for my aquarium.
I still think in the future I wont run a sump, mainly because the area my tank is in right now doesn't have the room for it. That's another reason I went for the 40 gal.
I was however, thinking about getting a skimmer in the future. What brand/model would you (or anyone reading this) suggest for my tank? Its a 40 gal breeder, so i dont know how large/powerful it has to be, personally I have not done much research on skimmers.
I'm happy with my lights right now, I am not going to buy any LPS or other intense light corals for the foreseeable future, maybe once I'm older and have enough money/space I'll experiment with those. Im happy with my softies!
I probably should have joined here before I got my tank, but I wasnt thinking that far ahead. Now I know to ask here before I buy so I can get my money's worth.


On another note, I am thinking about buying a type of blenny in the future. My sand bed is starting to get ugly in the spots where I dont have much flow and the snails just ignore it. My LFS has a lawnmower blenny, (possibly ) a bicolor blenny and an orange spot blenny. Im partial to the bicolor because it looks so beautiful, but would be open to any really. Are there some that are better than others? And would they be able to live comfortably in my tank? I know most sites that sell them say "minimum tank size 20/30 gallons" but you never know with so many varying bits of information.
 
silver97

silver97

Active Member
Thank you for the video on the skimmer, now I at least know where to start!
Now for the blenny, my purpose of getting one was twofold. I wanted one obviously to sift and aerate the sandbed. Again, the astraea turbos dont like to go there much. 2, I wanted one because they look so cool! I figure I can only keep around 4 fish comfortably in my tank, so I thought getting a 'cleaning' fish would be worth it both ways, cleaning and looks/size.
The sand isnt necessarily brown from algae, I use the food Coral Frenzy and feed my corals every other day with that stuff. I dont have a spot feeding item yet, so I just put it over my pump and broadcast feed the corals that way. It settles in the dead spots and is starting to be noticeable. When the snails DO go over it I can see some of it removed, but not the amount I'd like. I figure with a blenny, they would eat it all if there was a time with little algae. I started to notice a bit of hair algae, nothing worth worrying about yet, and it just got me thinking that if the snails aren't into it, maybe a fish would be.
So again, any of the 3 i mentioned better than the other? I will have at least a month before I decide to get one, I will be getting my second oscellaris within the next week or so before I get a blenny, any and all suggestions would be helpful.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I have & love my starry blenny (great personality) and an algae eater, I keep nori hung for him & my tang ... but I love snails for cuc, would not recommend a blenny just for algae control, but if you want one otherwise, they are great fish... midas blennies are very pretty too !

watch... feeding Coral Frenzy ... a little goes a long way, of you will soon be dealing with cyano ;)
 
silver97

silver97

Active Member
I have seen a few midas blennies, they are amazing! I'll have to order one online if I decide I want one of those. But I love the blue in the bicolor blenny
All around, would you say most blennies are the same and what I get should be based on color/size preference?
Cyano algae, is that slime algae? Or is that the kind that spreads ridiculously through your sandbed?
And kind of a funny follow up, would a blenny eat cyano algae? haha it might be best to get one for algae control after all!
 
NickF

NickF

Well-Known Member
I'd recommend some Nassarius snails for your sandbed, they will eat any detritus and uneaten food on the sandbed. Conches are Good too.
 
silver97

silver97

Active Member
So having just read that link you sent, it said towards the end to give it plenty of marine and blue-green algae containing foods, along with eating algae in the aquarium. Will he eat the leftover food I feed my clown that falls to the bottom? Its a simple flake food, 'Ocean Nutrition: Prime Reef Flakes'. Would this be good or should i get some sinking algae pellet food or something else to supplement him once i get one?
 
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DaveK

Well-Known Member
Dry foods are ok to use, but they can contain a lot of phosphates. You also want to feed your fish a wide variety of foods.

In this case you want to supplement algae, so get some frozen foods that contain a lot of algae. You can also feed nori. These are the sheets of dried algae used to wrap sushi roles. Many grocery stores carry them. Cut or break off a small piece of the sheet and use a clip to hod it in place. Most fish will tear into it.
 
silver97

silver97

Active Member
@NickF, I was planning on doing that in the very near future. When I go to get my 2nd oscellaris later this week in fact. Now I almost always come home from the pet store with a few more snails, I have enough turbos (8) or at least a good amount, and 4 nerite snails, 2 little ones that were hitchhikers and 2 big ones that sift the sand well. Nassasarius were next on my list.

@DaveK, I also feed my clown freeze dried krill, they are pretty big but I crush one up and put it in for him. He eats a good amount of it and the hermit crabs get the rest. I feed my one clown 3 times a day, but I've been going off and on every other day between 2 and 3 feedings to see if he acts differently when he isn't fed a 3rd time. Not seeing much of a difference except that he goes after the food more actively at night.
I'll experiment later this week when I get my other clown and buy some algae-based food for them. Any worth recommending? I know you say frozen but I have yet to buy any frozen food yet, so not sure what good and what isnt in that area.

And as a general tank update...
I noticed the other day a bunch of new things that seemed to come out of nowhere in my tank. First, on my tank glass I saw a bunch of little white things just scooting around eating algae (I assumed). Instantly I thought 'Copepods?', looked up some pictures and read some articles and sure enough they're pods! So then I started to examine my rockwork for amphipods, because I figured if I had one I would have the other, and after close observation I saw some rather large amphipods crawling on my rocks! I'm extremely happy at this because I haven't added any directly to my tank, so free food! They need to be a bit bigger for my clown to notice is the only thing.
Excited at this, I looked for any other cool things on my glass and rocks, and on one of my rocks looks to be a ridiculous amount of very small feather dusters. Im talking like around 20.
I know I had 3 hidden inside my other rock, but had never noticed them on these rocks before.
I will post some pics of my new clown when I get it later this week.
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
... I feed my one clown 3 times a day, but I've been going off and on every other day between 2 and 3 feedings to see if he acts differently when he isn't fed a 3rd time.
...[/QUOTE]

Way way too much feeding for this fish. There are some species such as anthias that need this type of feeding schedule, but for most fish feeding every day or even every other day is the best way to handle things. I feed my reef about twice a week.

As for frozen foods, only feed frozen brine shrimp once and awhile. It has little food value. It's great to yse to get a fish to start to feed. Frozen krill, bloodworms, squid, clams, and most others are also good. Look for foods that contain algae in the mix for what your doing.
 
silver97

silver97

Active Member
ok, the only reason I had been feeding that much was because I read in a few different places to feed 2-3 times daily. I will cut back to once a day, thank you for that information.
I dont even feed the brine shrimp that often, maybe once a week. I didnt realize it wasnt that good for him.
I'll look at the selection of frozen foods my lfs has when I pick up my clown this week. Im going to be buying quite a lot when Im there, but its all worth it.Squid or krill sound interesting, ho would I go about thawing it? Just set it in a cup of aquarium water until its all done? Is any healthier than the other?
 
silver97

silver97

Active Member
Damn that gave me a headache!
But good info. regardless. I never really realized how badly my fish needed a varied diet. I am going to start buying mysid shrimp or some other frozen food to alternate feedings with him. It still said that I should be feeding fish 2-3 times daily. Lee seems to know his stuff, so i think i'll cut back on the amount im feeding but ill only feed 2 times a day. It was kind of funny how he stated in one of the reads that the fish sometimes will spit out a food because it doesn't like it. I have seen my clown spit out the flake food I'd been feeding him, but up until now I thought it was just because it was too big for him to swallow. although that still might be the case, I'm definitely going to buy something else.
Do you guys do the vitamin soak that he talks about? If so what do you use?
 
silver97

silver97

Active Member
Great, I know I've definitely seen the second one at least at Petco, and if its at Petco than my lfs definitely carries it! I'm sure i've seen that first one also, not sure which store but i might be going to both this week anyway. The third one looks great, and it looks like all of these would last a while.
So for the 2nd item, how much of it do you feed? I'm assuming not a whole block, but then again im not sure what your fish needs are. If I were just feeding this to my 2 clowns how much would i cut off and thaw? And i would soak this in the vitamin supplement, correct? One more question, I can use the vitamin supplement in my flake food too, right?
 
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