Crytone's 10 Gal. Nano [New pics/frags added Mar 6th, pg.3]

[Crytone]

Hello fellow canreefers. Come with me as I build my first 10G nanoreef!

Background:
I've always been in love with SW aquariums but only had FW tanks as a kid. I was always told SW was too expensive, too difficult, and too big to have at home. This probably was the case 15-20 years ago when this interest first started (or else my parents were lying to me as I didn't need more pets). I've always wanted one and when I heard about nanoreefs I was sold- it sounded perfect for me! I also now own my own place, have my own money and have some spare time (between studying/University)! Also, Santa was kind this year and I had extra pocket money to help get the quest started. I also lucked out with all the Boxing Day sales going on this past week.
I was on the fence about what size of tank to get but settled on the 10G since I feel it'd fit my space better, be slighty cheaper and offer a good starting point for this adventure. If I upgrade later I have a 10G frag tank then!

Equipment:
Have:
-10G tank
-Hydor Theo 50W heater
-Koralia Nano powerhead
-Argonite sand (~12lbs used)
-~11lbs LiveRock
-Other odds and ends
-Refractometer
-RO/DI unit
-Coralife 24" 2x18W T5 light (will be replaced most likely but it was cheap)
-AC70 (DIY HOB Fuge time!) & AC20 impeller

Live stock:
1- Emerald Crab
3- Hermit Crab (possibly Zebra Hermit Crab)
2- Turbo Snail
2- Astrae Snails
3- Nassarius Snails
Plan:
May become an invert only setup!
Inverts (I like Sexy Shrimp and would like some of them if at all possible), a clownfish (I will NOT call him Nemo) and anything else that will fit and that I like.

Corals:
Candy Cane
Button Polyps
Pulsing Xenia
Montipora Digitata?

Plans:
First plan is to paint the back and bottom of the tank Satin Black. This will be after it's leak tested. I don't like looking into tanks and seeing all the equipment behind!
During the next week, while I wait on things to come in, I'll be curing the ~10lbs of LiveRock I bought [on Dec 31, 2009]. I found an awesome piece that is rather large (9lbs for that piece alone!) with lots of holes in it which the livestock will like I hope. I really like this piece so I had to have it and the price was right this week. I'll likely buy more rock later but figured this was a great start. It's currently placed in a bucket with my powerhead, heater and (less than ideal) SW mix. I'm hoping it'll be fine but the LFS said it should be OK like that for a week. Thoughts?
My other plan is to wash the sand over the next week or more. This way it'll be ready to put in when the rest comes in next week! Figured it was a good time to do this and good idea too.
Hoping to have the tank setup and be cycling by next weekend- Jan 9th, 2010!

Pictures:
Leak testing the Aquarium. Looking good so far! I'll let it go as long as possible to make sure though (overnight at the least). Also considering going rimless but... Thoughts?
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/leaktesting_1.jpg

My LR! Can't see it but the bigger piece has lots of big holes through it. Just outside the picture frame is my Koralia Nano and Hydor Theo 50W keeping things flowing and warm. I hope it survives in here for the next week or so...
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/LR_1.jpg

My partner in crime. I have it on good authority that she likes saltwater fish too...
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/partner.jpg

So please leave your comments, suggestions or anything else here and enjoy watching my journey!

[Crytone]

Well, after 2 nights of testing I think my tank is fairly water tight. This is where a problem (or omen?) occurred. While dumping the water I accidentally lifted on the rim of the aquarium and *POP*, it lifted! With very little effort I removed the entire rim. I've heard horror stories about people using razor blades to cut the rim up or breaking glass trying to remove the rim from some aquariums but this was just too easy! The silicon is a bit rough but that can be fixed if I decide to stay rimless! I kind of dig how it looks rimless but now the lid that came with the tank would be useless (a small lid might be nice to have...). The included lid was kinda crap anyways and didn't close properly. What do you think... rim or rimless?!

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/rimless_1.jpg

Needed to get it inspected.. There's some silicon residue left to be scraped off, I'm told.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/helpinghand_1.jpg

Plans for tonight is to keep washing the sand and hopefully get the first coat of satin black on the backside/bottom of the tank.

Another question is how deep should I make my sand bed? LFS said "as deep as you want" but using all 20lbs of sand for this tank seems like an abnormally thick bed. I was thinking like in the 10-15lbs of sand used range.

Comments, suggestions or questions are all welcome!

[365seasons]

Welcome to Canreef, and great start to a tank.


I love the rimless look, and your cat is adorable!

[ElGuappo]

Welcome to canreef.


mixing sexy shrimp and clown fish i think is a big NO. from what i have read anyway. sexy shrimp are anemone shrimp and the clowns may eat them. when i moved i was going to put mine together, then started doing a little research. from what i read they will compete for hosts, leading to the shrimp being eaten due to their small size.

if am am wrong please correct me.

people may be keeping them together successfully, this is just what i read.

[Crytone]

Thanks 365seasons. I like the rimless look also and I think it might stay. I meant to clean up the silicon yesterday but I was out of razor blades so I'll have to go out today to get more. And as for my cat- she just wants to get into everything I'm doing. Annoying at times and I hope she keeps the tank alone when it gets livestock!

And thanks ElGuappo. That's some great info to have and I'll definitely look into it more. I have heard people complain that the Sexy Shrimp bug their corals to the point that they start to die and even may eat the corals- unless you put them on a feeding schedule. I'm still probably a month away from getting any livestock so plenty of time for more research!

[Crytone]

Nothing super to report today and no new pictures either but I did get my refractometer in today and was finally able to test the salt mix I made up for my liverock. I've been doing top-offs by eye and was quite pleased with my 1.027 salinity. A little high but not bad for just mixing to the ratios specified on the bag. Hopefully the rock is happy. I really need to get my RO/DI unit in though so I can get things rolling.

I also cleaned all the silicone off the aquarium rim. Rimless definitely looks good! I was a bit worried since I used GooGone so I made sure I cleaned it well (with water only), and when I thought it was cleaned and I was done, I sprayed it down some more. That hopefully did the trick. It'll hopefully be dry and ready for paint tomorrow after school! I don't really have anywhere to paint it though...

I'm also planning to design my own controller in the future. I figure my education (Elec. Eng.) better be useful for something! Most controllers don't do nearly enough IMO, or at least not everything I want them to do. I'm probably a long ways to starting or finishing any kind of controller but it is brewing in my head already. I think I first need to finish this setup and live with it a while first so I can get concrete plans on what I require from a controller.

[Crytone]

It's now Sunday and I got most of my stuff! Here's a few teaser pics since I'm still working on getting it all ready.

Aquarium on it's stand, silicon all removed from the rim and the back painted black. I decided against painting the bottom because it just wasn't going to be worth the hassle. Sorry for the aquarium being so dirty but the cat decided to sleep in in for the past few days...
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/aquablk_1.jpg

The RODI unit arrived earlier in the week and I finally set it up. The instructions that came with it were a bit... engrishy. So it took longer than expected to setup. Working great now though!
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/RODI_1.jpg

The plans for tonight is to get this all setup and starting to cycle in it's proper enclosure with proper RODI SW mix. I would have been doing this yesterday but my RODI faucet hookup was female and I needed male so I had to do a run earlier this morning to get an adapter. Hopefully I have another update soon.

A problem arose though.. I need to get a new light for my setup. The light I have will work for now but is far from ideal. If anyone knows of any available for a decent price, will fit a 10G (I kind of want a 24" fixture), probably T5HO's (moonlights would be nice too) then please let me know. Also, would a 2x24W be best or go for 4x24W? Thanks!

EDIT: Wow, the water pressure in my condo SUCKS. Only getting max 25psi so needless to say my 100gpd RODI system is pumping out more like 20gpd. Taking FOREVER. So far I have only ~5 gallons (I washed the sand with some RODI water too.. maybe 1 gallon or so) and I've been collecting the water for about 6hrs now or so.... Doubt I'll get anything done tonight at this rate... LiveRock stays in the tupperware bin another day!

[Crytone]

The RODI unit is working much faster now. I guess it needed some time to sit.
I also got my float switches so just need to get a few other things to get my ATO done!

Got the aquascaping roughed in and 12lbs of sand placed. It's a little murky (was clear this morning when I woke up) because I was messing around with the sand/rockwork right before I took this. I was going to place my larger rock differently but accidentally placed it as shown and liked how it created a small cave at the bottom. Figure this would be a great place for things to 'hide'!
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/aqua_day1.jpg
Should I get more rock? Should some be placed higher?

I also checked my params after letting it run overnight;
SG- 1.024
PH- ~8.3
And apparently Ammonia/Nitrates/Nitrites are 0...
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/tests_1.jpg
I doubt this means my cycle is over. This is new water that the rock's been in for a day now (finished at about 2am Monday and worked on it more Monday night too) and don't think it matters much that I've had the rock in a bin for the past 1.5 weeks 'curing'. I'll keep testing throughout the week.

[lorenz0]

looks like you have a good little start going. Great start to a new addiction as well, its like crack, you start small and a year later you have a 50+ gal tank and just can't get enough of it. I am in the same situation as you, university student but it really keeps you sane between study breaks. Let it cycle for a month and than start looking into adding livestock, its torture but the more patient you are in this hobby the better the outcome.

[Crytone]

It's been a week and I felt I should post an update.

I'm getting a bit concerned. I've been monitoring my params over the past week and they haven't budged AT ALL. SG 1.024 (doing the odd RODI top off ever few days), Ammonia 0, Nitrate 0, Nitrite 0 and pH is about 8.0. I'm starting to wonder if a cycle will ever happen as I expected something to happen within this time. I've had the rock since Dec 31st where I kept it in a tupperware bin for a week (with my heater and Koralia powerhead keeping the water flowing/warm. I didn't monitor params during this time) before I moved it to my tank. I'm really starting to worry that the LiveRock is, infact, dead rock.

Am I worrying over nothing? I don't mind waiting longer but I expected at least some ammonia rise during this time! Should I go buy another piece of LiveRock to try and get things going?

[mseepman]

There are some products that you can add to help a cycle along. I think I've heard of people using "cycle" to help it along. I've also heard of other things but can't remember any names. You might want to search it on here.

Just remember that patience will be your greatest friend in this hobby.

[Crytone]

I'm trying to be as patient as possible. I really don't mind waiting but I expected something to happen in this time.

Today when I got home from school I noticed my sand looked 'dirty'. Brown sediment on it, which wasn't there yesterday (at least not this noticeable). I assume this is possibly a diatom bloom. I tested my params again and Ammonia is 0-.25 (depending how the light hits it you could argue either) but my Nitrate is now probably about 5-10ppm. Still 0 Nitrites.

Also, upon closer inspection I'm noticing growth on my rock. It's pretty small right now but it definitely is new. It's starting as small green 'petals', that's how I'd describe it. I assume it's a type of algae. The feather duster I found last week seems to be doing well too (it even retracts back sometimes too!). I also found some new red growths that I never noticed before. They seem to be like little red twigs coming from my rock.

Hopefully these are all good signs!

Edit: Decided to test the pH also. 8.3!

[Crytone]

I haven't posted new pictures lately so thought I should. Sorry if they are small but I try to resize them from being 'OMG HUGE' so it's not hard on the slower interwebs people.

Also had an order problem that worked out in my favor; ended up getting 2 AC70's, 2 AC20 impellers and 2 pumps (for my ATO I'm going to build). Can't beat deals like that! Not sure what exactly I'm going to do with the free stuff for now but I guess I'll probably have them as spares...

Parameters are still holding steady with 1.023 SG, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites and ~5ppm Nitrates and a pH ~8.3. I'm waiting patiently and praying that my cycle is over without me even noticing but I'll give it more time to be sure I think. I'm getting excited to add a CUC though and the wait is torturous! I'm still debating what I want for a CUC too.

This picture is from earlier in the week. Notice how everything is so white and clean!
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/aquascape_1.jpg

Picture taken tonight. Notice how 'brown' everything is. This picture doesn't really capture how brown it really is in contrast to earlier this week! Do you think it appears there's enough rock or should I get more?
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/aquascape_2.jpg

Here is... something. It's rather small. Also sorry for the bad picture but it is VERY hard to get a good picture of it.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/whateveritis_1.jpg

And some green algae (I think, correct me if I'm wrong). I talked a bit about it in a previous post. Nothing too exciting I'm sure.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/whateveritis_2.jpg

So leave any comments, suggestions, complaints or anything! I like hearing it all!

[nlreefguy]

that first pic could be aiptasia, it's not really clear. The second is definitely some form of bubble algae. While it's only small and you have the ability to do so without completely rearranging your tank, I would suggest you manually remove it before it has the opportunity to take over your tank (and it does have that potential).

[Crytone]

After researching those for the past hour or so they both don't sound too appealing. For the bubble algae I'll try to remove it myself but am thinking of adding an Emerald Crab to my CUC to deal with any new blooms (plus I really like crabs!). I'm hoping the hair algae I have the hermits will deal with, thinking of getting 2 red leg and 1 blue legged hermits. And as for the aiptasia I'm unsure how to deal with it. Lemon injections seem like it'll work, but would be hard at this tiny stage, or a peppermint shrimp, which is ok but I was hoping to get a cleaner shrimp instead... Any tips on dealing with these from the canreefers?

If you haven't guessed I'm really pro-biomanagement. I'm looking to create a small ecosystem that's self correcting with very little outside manipulation.

In other news. I found out late last night that I can order many aquarium/fish products through the family business at cost! I still have to see exactly what is offered but it can be written off as a business expense. Hoping to get decent deals on T5HO bulbs, food, supplements, test kits, filter media, etc... The benefits of having family that owns veternairy clinics!

[Crytone]

Well, my parameters are STILL holding at Ammonia- 0, Nitrite- 0, and Nitrates ~5-10ppm so I feel the tank is done cycling. My coraline algae is growing more too and the bigger rock is looking more and more red everyday. I also did some slight re-arranging of the rock too (the rock between them now sits higher cheating a larger arch). I'm getting more and more anxious to start adding a CUC! Possibly have a few additions before the weekend is over...

I'm kind of wanting to add more rock but I think to keep costs down and to minimize a chance of any cycle happening at this stage, I'm going to use dry rock and let my LR seed it while the tank matures. I figure I want about 5-10lbs of LR or that's be about 5lbs of dry rock which would be about ¼ the cost of buying LR I figure. Another option is to buy rock from someone shutting down their tank. Any thoughts on this?

Also on the agenda is modding one of my AC70s into a fuge. I've literally scoured the internet for hours and hours trying to find the most info I can about this mod. I also ordered a 5w submersible light for my fuge which should be here tomorrow. It was in Canada too which saved me on shipping (the company everyone seems to buy these from in the states wanted $25usd just for shipping to Canada!).

A few questions:

1- I want the option to run carbon (Chemi-Pure Elite likely) in my AC70, does it need to be placed directly in the path of the water flow to be effective? I was thinking of placing it near where the intake tube enters. I've seen this done a few times before but really question the placement. I'll also likely run filter floss too.

2- I'm wanting to place my heater in my modded AC70. I notice that some people create a separate baffled area for a heater. I'm concerned as this would 'cut into' my fuge area for my chaeto. Would I be fine running it in the same compartment as the chaeto (and possibly touching the chaeto when it grows too large)?

[Crytone]

Well, a few new updates. I'll try to get pictures tomorrow.

First thing.. I got mad at my big rock since it was too hard to clean around. Took it out and with a quick hit with my trusty hammer, it wasn't so big anymore. Ended up getting 2 still rather large (but much more manageable) pieces and some rubble for my fuge when it's done. I still want to aquascape better so looking at getting a bit more rock (probably dry rock or cheap LR from someone) and curing it in another bucket.

In other news I went out today and got the start to my CUC (thanks to BWA). I didn't want to get too big too fast so I only got 3 Hermits, an Emerald Crab, a Turbo Snail, 2 Astrae snails and 3 Nassarius snails. The Sexy Shrimp were VERY tempting but I held back... Someday though! The Emerald crab is a little power house! He's been working non-stop since I finished acclimating him and placed him in the tank (really hoping he rids my tank of the green bubble algae)! I'm actually considering making this an invert tank now- I just love watching invert work! Do you think I'm off to a good start on my CUC? Did I make good choices? Should I add more? Suggestions?

Now a few concerns/questions:

1 (EDIT: SOLVED, see my next post below)- One of my Nassarius hasn't moved since I got home (was a 10minute drive and I came straight home). While acclimating he was in his shell and after I placed him in the tank and he's still exactly where I placed him (same with another guy but he has his feeler out and checking stuff out at least). The 3rd one burrowed immediately into my sandbed. Should I be concerned? I'm hoping I wake up tomorrow and he's fine but I'm a big worrywart that something is wrong!

2- I asked for Blue-legged hermits since they were out of Scarlet Reef Hermits (and apparently they are hard to get atm) but the ones I got, after getting them in the tank, do NOT appear to be Blue-legged hermits either.. I took a picture of one chilling on my rock below. After some quick research I believe it to be a Zebra Hermit (or Left-Handed hermit). It's left claw is bigger than the right. Am I correct in my ID of these guys? Is this good or bad? Should I try to take them back and get what I originally wanted or stay with these?

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/hermit_1.jpg

Thanks for any of the help and post any comments or suggestions you may have!

[Chase31]

i think it looks good, cant wait to get my cuc :(

[Crytone]

Thanks Chase21, I hope you'll get your CUC soon!

Solved concern #1. Turned on the lights after about 4 hours of them being off (for acclimation purposes) and the 2 Nass snails that hadn't burrowed yet (and 1 which I thought might be dead) burrowed almost immediately. I get the feeling I won't be seeing these guys much.

The emerald is so fun to watch! He's working so hard that I feel bad for paying him nothing for all this work.. He's a tough guy too, if I go near the tank he puts his pincers out to intimidate me!

I think the hermits may be slightly mentally challenged too.. I placed a few shells in the tank and 2 of them decided to move nearly instantly but the smaller guy moved to a shell that are likely WAY too big. He's struggling a bit to move but he seems happy. The other guy is currently testing his 3rd shell... They're fun to watch though.

I'm extremely happy how things are going!

EDIT: I finally identified the things pictures before that others thought was Aiptasia. It is, in fact, hydroids! Not exactly a good thing but everything I've read says they are relatively harmless filter feeders. Better than Aiptasia at least.

[Crytone]

Well, I finally settled on a fuge design and it's working great for me so far! It's a modified AC70 with an AC20 impeller (to reduce flow). It's modified to accept a cartridge (that has a filter floss and carbon in it). I opted to keep the heater in my tank though due to wanting the most chaeto possible. I also was thankful enough to get a huge ball of chaeto from a fellow canreefer yesterday that was teeming with life. Found a mini-brittlestar in it and various other pods! Huge thanks again to him!
So now.. PICS!

Top of the fuge. I placed the foam on the sides of the cartridge to hold it better and encourage the water to go through it (rather than around). Working well so far! Submersible halogen light is awesome too, stuffed it into the middle of the ball of chaeto.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/fuge_1.jpg

Side view of the chaeto. Hard to see but there's some LR rubble at the bottom of the fuge (great pieces for fragging I figure). Also shows the submersible light I'm using! Running on a reverse cycle.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/fuge_2.jpg

Finally got an OK picture of the Emerald crab the other week. He likes hiding!
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/emerald_1.jpg

Turned around after taking the fuge pics and someone wasn't happy with me...
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/madcat.jpg

[Crytone]

Got my first 2 frags! Bought one and ther other *mystery frag* was thrown in free. Ended up getting...

Small Xenia frag! Been in for about a day so far and doing good so far. I placed it in a mediumish flow area on the sandbed for now.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/xenia_1.jpg

The other is a mystery but I believe it to be a Brown Montipora Digitata frag. Placed it higher up in a hole I found in my LR. Anyone care to confirm or tell me exactly what it is?
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/mysteryfrag_1.jpg

I'm still on the hunt for more frags though. If you have anything you think would work for me then please let me know!

[Crytone]

New day, new frags!

First is my new Candy Cane frag.. Not looking super great right now but hoping it comes around. Parameters are all good and even did a water change early this morning to 'freshen' everything up.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/candacane_1.jpg

Next is my 1 of 2 new Button Polyp frags I got yesterday. They opened right up and are HUGE. But I noticed today that one was closed and upon closer inspection I found this...

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/dumbhermit_1.jpg

That's right, one of my hermits NAKED (no shell) just chilling on it. I think they may be starting a commune in my tank.. I stared at him for a good few minutes and laughed since it looked so weird. I left and when I came back he was in a new shell that was 1/2 way across the tank and left his old shell at the frag.. Weird hermit wanted to go streaking I guess!

[Crytone]

Well, the Candy Cane is doing MUCH better after a few weeks. I think that's a new head starting at the top too!

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/candycane_1.jpg

My Xenia is growing nicely also.

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/xenia_2.jpg

Also picked up some GSP from a fellow Canreefer the other week. I've been warned countless times it's a 'weed' so I found a decent size piece of rubble in my fuge and stuck it on that and made a 'GSP Island' in my tank! It's working great so far!

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/GSP_1.jpg

Well, I was at BWA yesterday and happened to see this small Frogspawn frag for a very tempting price so I got it. It's the most expensive frag in my tank at a whopping $14.99+gst. And yes, it has a big and ugly frag plug but at least there's zero chance of it getting knocked over by anything short of a semi.
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/frogspawn_1.jpg

And since my tank was pretty barren I decided to finally get a fish at BWA also. Got myself a False Perc. This one was darker than the others I saw in the tank. Cute thing and it's favorite pastime is swimming in place against my flow! My cat absolutely loves it too (I placed a chair in front of my tank and my cat will sit there and just watch!)!

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/Crytone/clown_1.jpg

[Flash]

looking great!