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| Articles for the new Reefkeeper Read these articles. They answer many common questions. |
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#1
25-02-08, 09:35
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How to setup a Nano Tank
How to setup a nano reef tank Reef keeping has always been thought of as an expensive, high maintenance and difficult hobby. In this article, I aim to show you that reef keeping does not have to be any of those things! Setting up a nano reef aquarium can be done very easily and sensibly if you take a little time to plan out the tank and livestock. It does not need to cost a small fortune and has its own unique set of challenges. Nano reef aquariums have become quite popular in recent years as our understanding and technology available to us improves. They can be a lot of fun and allow you to observe smaller animals that you may miss if held in a larger aquarium. Nano reefs are perfect for anyone who lacks space, wants to keep costs low, or just wants to have another tank at home or at work! I will firstly go through the equipment list including all the ‘bits and bobs’ and why you need them, then I will run through how to put it all together and finally, talk about stocking your nano reef. Equipment list Aquarium Tank: WAVE Cubos 30 Available from: All WAVE dealers Price: ~ GBP 50.00 This small 30 litre tank was chosen for its lovely curved edges and clean look. WAVE do a range of nano tanks from 25l cube to 45l box (rectangular) shapes. Other nano tanks available include D-D and Orca nano tanks. These are enclosed tanks that also have a hood with lights included and a rear compartment for filtration. However, the D-D and Orca Nanos tend to be more expensive.  WAVE Cubo30 Other Nano tanks:   (left) D-D Nano Cube (right) WAVE 45 Lighting Lighting: WAVE Solaris 18w 50/50 Marine Available from: All WAVE dealers Price: Included in WAVE Cubo 30 (marine lamp ~ GBP 11.50) Stand alone price: ~ GBP 25.00  The Solaris over tank lighting unit is included in the WAVE Cubo price. One 18w unit is enough for most soft corals and large polyp stoney corals (LPS). You can increase the lighting by buying additional Solaris units. The Solaris comes with Daylight tubes as stardard but for an additional GBP 11.50 you can buy a marine tube for a more blue look. Flow and Filtration Filter and Flow: Unbranded 600lph hang on filter (600lph) Available from: ebay Price: GBP 16.00 WAVE recommends using their Niagra 250 or 300 hang on the back filter for their cubos tanks. As I will be using the filter as the only means of flow in the tank, I have opted to use a larger 600lph hang on the back filter instead. It is of the same design as the Niagra filter but is double the size. 600lph will also give the tank a turn over of around 20x. I recommend at least 15-20x flow for any reef aquarium. If you cannot get this with your filters, I would recommend adding a few pumps. Flow is very important for your liverock to function properly and for the health of your corals. The 600lph Hang on the back filter comes with some sponges for some biological filtration but I will swap these out and use zeolites, phosphate removers and active carbon instead. It is still OK to use the standard sponges but I feel that the filter will be put to better use by using zeolites to absorb ammonium, phosphate absorbers and active carbon to remove yellowing compounds. In order to use zeolites and other filter mediums, I have modified this filter a little by removing the black sponge and adding an egg crate grating to keep the media in the filter compartment.  This 600lph filter also has an added surface skimmer which pulls water from the surface to prevent any oil films appearing on top of the water Heating Heating: Aquarium Systems Newatt 25w Available from: Most LFS (anywhere that sells maxijets!) Price: GBP 15.00 Tropical Marine aquariums should be kept at between 24C – 26C This particular brand of heater was chosen because it is the only black coloured heater on the market. I will be painting the back of the aquarium black so by choosing a black coloured heater, it would be less visible when inside the aquarium. ____________________________________________ Salt Water A reef aquarium is nothing without saltwater! RO water: Available from your LFS or you can produce your own with an RO unit. Using RO water from the start is very important. Tap water containers high nutrient levels, chlorine and other chemicals that are fit for human consumption, but can cause you a lot of grief and algae problems in an aquarium. High quality Reverse Osmosis water will have most of these contaminants removed. More reasons why you should NOT use tap water: http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/s...d.php?t=206314 Reef Salts: Available from all LFS I use Korallen-Zucht Reefers Best Salt which I buy in 20KG buckets. However, you can buy small 2kg packs of WAVE salt for less than GBP 5.00. Measuring Salinity: Reef aquariums should be kept at 35ppt Salinity or 1.024-1.027 Specific Gravity. These can be measured using either a refractometer or hydrometer. Refractometers costs GBP 20 - 35.00 A refractometer is initially more expensive than a hydrometer but if you play to be in this hobby long term then it’s a worth while investment. I find refractometer easier to use and easier to read. You will be making saltwater regularly so you will be using it often. Also, nano tanks have only a small volume of water so it is important ensure that salinity remains stable even with daily evaporation. A refractometer or hydrometer will help you check this. In a small skimmer-less nano reef tank, regular weekly water changes will be the best routine maintenance you can do! Therefore, you will need a regular supply of RO water and salt. IMPORTANT: Make up enough salt water to fill your tank before you buy any liverock! Ideally, you should make this water 8-24hours before hand ____________________________________________ Bits and bobs Test Kits: To start with, you will need the following test kits: Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate Phosphates I would recommend Salifert test kits for testing all the above parameters except Phosphates. The D-D/Merck Phosphate test kit is currently the most accurate test kit. To find out why you need to test for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate please refer to Dave_P’s article: http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/s...d.php?t=206357 Other useful items:
____________________________________________ Substrate: Sand: I have chosen to use sugar size fine aragonite sand. I used dry sand, which I sieved and pre-washed in tap water to remove some of the fines. You can use any substrate you want and I recommend that you keep the depth to no more than 1 inch. Some shops such STM also offer live sand. This is different from the ‘live’ sand sold in pre packed sealed bags. The live sand in sealed bags is only biologically live and does not contain any sand bed fauna of true live sand. Live rock Live rock forms the base of our biological filtration. Bacteria living inside the rock will break down nutrients and help maintain a healthy tank. With such a small tank it is important that you spend a little extra on the best quality live rock you can find. I have chosen to use 3.2Kgs of STM’s ultrarock. Remember to pick out some nice shapes to aid you with the aquascaping. Estimated price for Quality Live rock from most LFS ~ GBP 8 - 12.00 per kg ____________________________________________
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#2
25-02-08, 11:15
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Putting it all together... 1. Clean & Test Firstly, water test the tank. Fill with tap water and check for any leaks. Return the tank to your retailer if there are any faults. Once checked that your tank is fault free, clean it with tap water and a new sponge. Do not use any detergent. Vinegar can be used for any stubborn patches of dirt. Do not use a pan scourer or you will scratch the tank. 2. Add a background to your tank I have chosen to paint the back of my tank with black paint. I personally prefer to use a black background as it gives a more dramatic look and coral colours tend to stand out more. A black background also helps reduce the visibility of black coloured equipment and cables. You can also use coloured plastic sheets; however, painting the glass will give you the best end result. The painted background should look smooth and wrinkle/bubble free.   3. Setup your filters In most cases, this includes making sure everything is the correct place (read the instructions), giving the plastic parts a quick rinse under tap water and fitting the filter materials e.g. Sponges, carbon etc In my case, I have decided to modify the filter a little. The sponges on the filter were removed on both sides and an egg crate grid was added to keep the media inside the compartments. The left side held zeolites and the standard carbon screen, and the right had some zeolites, the standard carbon screen and a filter sock with aluminium based phosphate removers (FM ultraphos) and some active carbon (FM ultracarb L). Left side  Left side with zeolite stones  Filter sock with phosphate remover and carbon  The filter complete with media  4. Throw it all together... a. Attach your filters to the tank b. Attach heater in a suitable position where it will get enough flow and does not look too obtrusive c. Attach your lighting unit d. Add your washed substrate - in this case its fine aragonite sand e. Add live rock and aquascape - You can aquascape your liverock out of water for a short while. Tips on aquascaping: You can secure the liverock structures together with milliput, drilled holes with pipes, cable ties or reef safe cements. Keep the rock structure lose, make sure you have places to mount your corals, you can access your equipment (heater) and there is enough space for you to use an algae magnet or other cleaning equipment for the glass. If all goes to plan... You should have something that looks like this:  5. Adding Saltwater Take your pre made saltwater, and slowly add this to the tank. I suggest that you pump this into your tank with a small pump and hose. Try to avoid stirring up the substrate too much. You can do this by pumping the water over the rocks rather than the sand. Don't be alarmed when you tank goes cloudy. This is perfectly normal and will settle in a few days. Clouding can be worse if you use fine sand but it will all clear.  6. The waiting game... This is the waiting stage! Wait for your water to clear and start testing your water daily for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. If you have used good quality liverock, it is possible that you will not see any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate appear. However, it is still good to wait at least a week with continual testing to be sure. As the rocks settle, you should start seeing tiny critters emerging from your liverock and they will begin populating your sand bed.  Wait at least 1 week before you add any stock. There is no harm in waiting longer but it is not advised to add livestock to a tank straight away. Use this time to research and plan out what stock you would like to add to your tank. Form a live stock list that you would like, then post it up on Ultimate Reef so that experienced reefers can advise you on what corals/fish will be suitable from your list.
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#3
25-02-08, 15:53
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Stocking your Nano Reef  Corals Choosing corals for your nano tank can be fun and challenging. With such a small volume of water, I would recommend selecting hardy corals and preferably those that have been aquacultured in aquariums. There are now a whole host of corals that are easy cultured by companies, shops and hobbyists. These tend to be well adapted to aquarium life. If you are new to reefing (as recommended earlier), it is a good idea to make a wish list of potential corals you want to keep in your reef tank, post up your tank spec and wish list on UR so experienced members can advise you on suitability. With a small tank, I would advise sticking with corals that tend to stay small or grow slowly so you can prune them. In general, I would say stick to mostly soft corals so that you don't have to worry too much about calcium, alkalinity and magnesium additions. I have chosen to stock my nano mostly with Ricordea sp. mushroom corals. These soft corals come in a wide variety of colours, each ear stays relatively small and they are regularly aquacultured for the aquarium trade. In addition to the Ricordea I will also add a couple SPS and LPS frags I have from another tank. I would generally advise new reefers to avoid SPS and most LPS corals in a nano tank but there is no harm trying if someone local can provide you with a frag or two. Other corals that I feel are suitable are: Most mushroom corals: Rhodactis sp. Ricordea sp. etc Xenia type corals Star polyps small leather and finger corals however, these will quickly out grow your tank so will require regular pruning Some photosynthetic nepthya corals Some photosynthetic gorgonians (regular fragging will be required) Zoanthids Possible SPS & LPS for more advance reefers Aquacultured SPS frags Candy cane coral (Caulastrea sp.) Sun coral (Tubastrea sp.)- providing you can keep on top of nutrient levels SPS & LPS should not really be tempted in a nano tank unless you have a good understanding of maintaining stable water parameters. Fish When it comes to fish stocking its easy over stock in a small tank. In my nano tank I stocked one damsel fish. These tend to be hardy fish but do have a reputation for being bullies. When stocking a nano with fish err on the side of caution. It is better to understock and over stock! Overstock can cause you problems with nutrients which lead to algae issues and in some cases it will harm your tank and livestock. I would stock no more than about 2-3 large nano fish in a 35l nano. When I say large, i mean in terms of nano fish. A damsel or clownfish, which most would consider small fish when talking about normal sized reef tanks, is considered large for a nano tank! Even most dwarf angels are too large for most nanos. Please do not even consider any tangs, butterfly fish or anything that grows over 3". Here are some fish that I recommend: Neon gobies (Elacatinus oceanops) clown gobies (Gobiodon sp.) Trimma gobies (Trimma sp.) Eviota gobies (Eviota sp.) Firefish (Nemateleotris sp.) Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion percula) Skunk clownfish most small damsels (Chrysiptera sp.) Small blennies (Ecsenius sp.) Critters Grazers and critters are important to help keep algae at bay. However, it is important not to overstock with grazers in a small tank or they will starve to death. In my nano I have stocked with 1 true mexican turbo snail, 1 red leg hermit crab, 5 Nassarius Vibex snails, 2 cerith snails. It is good to have a range of grazers in any tank as they all tend to prefer different foods. Have some that graze off the rocks and will take more filamentous algae as well as algae films and diatoms (turbo and Astrea snails), have some that will help turn your sand bed (cerith and N. vibex snails), and have some that will feed on left over food (N. Vibex) etc.   |
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#4
23-05-08, 00:52
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Maturing your Nano Over the first few weeks/months of setting up any tank you must allow it to mature. It will go through phases where the bacteria develop and the tank will need to find its own equilibrium. Stocking slowly, especially with fish, will help these maturity phases pass quicker. Don't be alarmed when you start seeing diatoms or cyano appearing. These are signs that the tank is maturing and should be embraced!  photos: A mix of diatoms and a cyanobacteria developing on the sand bed  During this maturing period it is important that you keep on top of your parameters. Regular testing is essential and regular weekly water changes is recommended. This should continue well after your tank has matured
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#5
23-05-08, 01:13
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After a few months of careful slow stocking and allowing the tank to mature, it was more or less complete. Well, as complete as a living breathing tank could be! Of course with any tank, it must be regularly maintained, but I had at least reach a point where I could really sit back and enjoy the tank.        With the right amount of planning a reef tank does not need to be too heavy on the wallet nor particularly time consuming to maintain. They can be just as enjoyable as a large tank and as I have shown, they are not hard to setup. So, whether you are a new reefer or an old salt hand, why not try setting up a little nano tank in your office, bed room or study or just about on any solid flat surface! Happy Reefing! For further updates on this tank or if you have any questions please visit this thread:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/s...d.php?t=250441 |
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