The Nano Reef Cube - The Salty Side on a budget

[Tanksy]

Any updates?

 

[LondonAquascaper]

Any updates?

Yes..... but, its not quite nano as it was....... because I accidently hit the wrong button on my keyboard and bought an Optiwhite Douro 60p (60x30x36cm - 64l... so still small). Its a beauty of a tank, and it comes with a glass lid so still no ATO required. I have to say, I do think that's a way better size than the 30l I had before.

I picked up some very cheap corals from an ebay seller plus two Bicolour chalices and another Zoa from my LFS. I also got a couple of snails to deal with the ugly stage. Added some more rock and sand when I transferred it to my new tank

Everything is doing really well apart from a single head of Utter Chaos I bought which didn't make it (never opened up when I got it home).

Anyway, found a few Aiptasia on frags and scraped them off + covered them with superglue the other day which was slightly terrifying but I think I got them all. For anyone that doesn't know. Aiptasia is an invasive anemone and will take over your tank given the chance.

I am now using a second hand TMC Reef Photon light which looks great and has decent coverage. I've got it setup running mostly blues. After feeding the corals with reef roids yesterday, they are all looking puffy and healthy. I'm loving everything at the moment and can't wait to see how it all evolves!

 

[LondonAquascaper]

Pic!

 

[seedoubleyou]

Just be mindful that most of the corals you have in there will also soon take over and become a real pain to control, ie the green star polyp, the clove polyps and those zoas.

I’d also say don’t worry about feeding the tank reef roids at this early stage, you’ll end up over doing it and having an algae outbreak. (Benepets is a good but expensive alternative that won’t cause havoc with your PO4)
Just keep the parameters consistent and the lighting consistent and that’s all you need at this stage.

At this stage I’d be more concerned about diversity in the micro fauna ie phyto, copepod’s, bristle stars etc…..

 

[LondonAquascaper]

Just be mindful that most of the corals you have in there will also soon take over and become a real pain to control, ie the green star polyp, the clove polyps and those zoas.

I’d also say don’t worry about feeding the tank reef roids at this early stage, you’ll end up over doing it and having an algae outbreak. (Benepets is a good but expensive alternative that won’t cause havoc with your PO4)
Just keep the parameters consistent and the lighting consistent and that’s all you need at this stage.

At this stage I’d be more concerned about diversity in the micro fauna ie phyto, copepod’s, bristle stars etc…..

Green star polyp is on its own island to mitigate that issue!

I'm more than happy for the zoa and the clove polyps to do a bit of multiplying, as the tank is mostly empty and I'm not going crazy on new corals until its decently matured.

I'm feeding reef roids once a week the day before a water change. Good idea?

I've added copepods from my local LFS but would I be better off buying them from Reef Phyto or somewhere? Also, what can I do to help with diversity? I got some rubble from my LFS but I dip all my corals to remove any nasties.

 

[seedoubleyou]

Green star polyp is on its own island to mitigate that issue!

I'm more than happy for the zoa and the clove polyps to do a bit of multiplying, as the tank is mostly empty and I'm not going crazy on new corals until its decently matured.

I'm feeding reef roids once a week the day before a water change. Good idea?

I've added copepods from my local LFS but would I be better off buying them from Reef Phyto or somewhere? Also, what can I do to help with diversity? I got some rubble from my LFS but I dip all my corals to remove any nasties.

Copepod’s from your LFS will die within a few weeks. They’re great as a food source but that’s about it. Try sourcing some rock or something from another reefer this will be teaming with micro life.
Most of the old school reefers don’t even dip their frags and I must admit I got to the point where I didn’t either. Most of the problems they bring also bring about a natural solution to eradicate them. (However I do recommend you continue to dip).

I think you’re approaching right, if I was to go back to having a tank or give any advice to a someone starting out, it would be to go with only soft corals for a good while and develop from there.

Reef roids are good, I just don’t think you need to worry about them right now. Maybe wait until when your tank is fully stocked.

 

[Tanksy]

Yes..... but, its not quite nano as it was....... because I accidently hit the wrong button on my keyboard and bought an Optiwhite Douro 60p (60x30x36cm - 64l... so still small). Its a beauty of a tank, and it comes with a glass lid so still no ATO required. I have to say, I do think that's a way better size than the 30l I had before.

I picked up some very cheap corals from an ebay seller plus two Bicolour chalices and another Zoa from my LFS. I also got a couple of snails to deal with the ugly stage. Added some more rock and sand when I transferred it to my new tank

Everything is doing really well apart from a single head of Utter Chaos I bought which didn't make it (never opened up when I got it home).

Anyway, found a few Aiptasia on frags and scraped them off + covered them with superglue the other day which was slightly terrifying but I think I got them all. For anyone that doesn't know. Aiptasia is an invasive anemone and will take over your tank given the chance.

I am now using a second hand TMC Reef Photon light which looks great and has decent coverage. I've got it setup running mostly blues. After feeding the corals with reef roids yesterday, they are all looking puffy and healthy. I'm loving everything at the moment and can't wait to see how it all evolves!

I want to set up a nano reef as well. I used to have a SW aquarium, but it didn't go well. I rushed it and had so many problems.
So, the only filtration is a surface skimmer?

 

[LondonAquascaper]

I want to set up a nano reef as well. I used to have a SW aquarium, but it didn't go well. I rushed it and had so many problems.
So, the only filtration is a surface skimmer?

It was, though now I have a Seachem Tidal 35 instead because I upgraded the tank from 30l to 64l.

I'm taking my time. Have just got cheap corals, and a few snails at the moment. No fish + regular water changes mean there isn't much to go wrong so far.

I am dealing with aipstasia popping up on a frag I bought, but I'm tearing bits off the frag each time it pops up and super glueing over the top. I also have quite a bit of green algae on the rock work but the snails are making a great job of keeping that down to a minimum. You can see where its trying to grow, but its just not getting a foothold.

 

[seedoubleyou]

I found astrea snails to be the most effective snails, Conch is also great for the sand and they can reach up on the rocks too.
Is the green “algae” more of a green staining?