# New Nano Reef



## JustJoshinYa (Mar 25, 2006)

hey i broke down my nano 5g planted aquarium and set it up as a nano reef tank so far i only have 10lbs of fiji live sand and 2.5lbs of fiji live rock and a rio400 powerhead/filter i modified the lights a while back for the live plants they are 2x13watt 7000k Power compacts over the 5g nano right now im going to be adding more live rock when i find the right pieces.

what kind of corals can i have with this lighting its not alot but over the 5gallon its really bright

sorry the tank dimensions are 12in high 12in long and 8 in deep temp at around 76-77F and 1.025 SG


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

I would change the bulbs to either 10K or 50/50 first off... Secondly, you should be able to keep soft corals (mushrooms, zoas etc) and some low light harder corals.

I would bump your salinity up to 1.026

And i would test your water and wait before adding any livestock... Really you are limited to 1 or 2 small fish with a tank that size (2 fish would be a pair of clowns)

Any snails or hermit crabs yet?


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## JustJoshinYa (Mar 25, 2006)

no crabs or snails yet i just added a small mushroom and a rock with somekind of polyp on it both i got for free at the store, im waiting for the water to establish before adding anything else though my parameters are all in check and im bumping up my calcium over the next few days to get correct levels

ph 8.0
dkh 9.0
gh 7.0
calcium 360ppm
nitrate 15ppm
nitrite 0
ammonia 0


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

JustJoshinYa said:


> no crabs or snails yet i just added a small mushroom and a rock with somekind of polyp on it both i got for free at the store, im waiting for the water to establish before adding anything else though my parameters are all in check and im bumping up my calcium over the next few days to get correct levels
> 
> ph 8.0
> dkh 9.0
> ...


You need to also consiter that calcium is "linked" to other components such as DKH, magnesium... it will be hard to (if not impossible) get your calcium up, without bringing up the others.

Ideally you want a PH of 8.1-8.4, a DKH of 9-12 (i like the high end better, and kept mine at 12 allowing higher CA and MG levels), CA of 400-450 (mine was stable at 420 with a DKH of 12) MG level of 1320, Nitrites, ammonia , phosphates at 0 (undetectable) and Nitrates less than 1ppm (ideally again 0)

I would use this calculator: CLICKY to figure out how much 2 part, and mag additive you need to put in to bring your DKH MG and CA up... odds are you dont have a magnesium test kit, or additive, but its a good thing to have around... high MG levels have been reported to help with algae problems

Out of curiosity, what salt mix are you using? And what have you done to modify the filtration after switching over... that could be playing a huge part in the 15ppm nitrates.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

JustJoshinYa said:


> what kind of corals can i have with this lighting its not alot but over the 5gallon its really bright


For corals you should be able to do soft corals like mushrooms, xenia, kenya tree, zoas and other hardy soft corals. I think current makes a good pc fixture thats 12", but im not sure if its more then 26W


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## JustJoshinYa (Mar 25, 2006)

i use kent seasalt mix, and i bought a new rio400 with a sponge adaptor my tank also has a wet dry over tank but i dont use it cause its messy it causes water to leak a little, i will go buy some magnesium selenium test kits and test them

out of my tap i get 15ppm nitrate so i cant do much with the nitrates other than condition the water in bucket for a few days to get it down, or cut it with distilled water to bring it down a bit but then i will run into other issues... how harmful is a 15ppm nitrate content in water??


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

JustJoshinYa said:


> i use kent seasalt mix, and i bought a new rio400 with a sponge adaptor my tank also has a wet dry over tank but i dont use it cause its messy it causes water to leak a little, i will go buy some magnesium selenium test kits and test them
> 
> out of my tap i get 15ppm nitrate so i cant do much with the nitrates other than condition the water in bucket for a few days to get it down, or cut it with distilled water to bring it down a bit but then i will run into other issues... how harmful is a 15ppm nitrate content in water??


First off, you need to find a source of RO/DI water... tap water is BAD news, and will start a lifelong algae battle in your tank. You can buy a RO/DI unit, or you can find it locally at a LFS or water purification place by the gallon.

15ppm nitrates, is 15ppm too much... RO/DI water is pure so you wont have that problem.

Wet dry over tank? could you post pictures of your setup? the more the better.


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## JustJoshinYa (Mar 25, 2006)

ok since its a nano i will just buy it by the gallon then i will have to learn how to buffer everything correctlty lol what did i get myself into?? lol

i will post pictures of my setup tomorrow when i get off work and take some.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

JustJoshinYa said:


> ok since its a nano i will just buy it by the gallon then i will have to learn how to buffer everything correctlty lol what did i get myself into?? lol
> 
> i will post pictures of my setup tomorrow when i get off work and take some.


Typically a good salt mix, and 12 hours of mixing for oxygenation and ph balance is all the "buffering" you have to do for waterchanges... So you could mix up 5 gals for water changes (with a lid!) and have another 5 gals of fresh water for top off. Its easier to just get 10 gals when you go if you can.


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## JustJoshinYa (Mar 25, 2006)

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Does anyone know what this coral is in the last picture on the purple rock its not like the other zoa polyps i have in my tank it was a freebee i gort on that peace of live rock, its got tentacles like a small anemone but its round like a pollyp but its hard and stony its just now starting to grown and get bigger i just dont know what it is since it was on the live rock with a small feather duster


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## JustJoshinYa (Mar 25, 2006)

ARGH!!! so my tank sprung a leak two days ago about one drop every 10 seconds







i just bought a new tank exactly like the one i had and im setting it up my corals are sitting in a bucket right now waiting for their new home to settle,

im going to take my tank back and have them reseal it and then use my old tank as a refugium/sump for my nano and just have liverock and a skimmer in the sump


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