# It's official



## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

The smaller cube I picked up from Alex is full of salt and ready to take it's new inhabitant of LR. I've officially started a salt cube and I must admit it's really fun so far, even though there's nothing really in the tank yet. 

I'll try to take some pictures and what not as I go.

Wish me Luck!!


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Good luck!


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Well I'm on the 3rd day of the tank and I have my small LR and the water is at 1.025. Lucky for me the big storm came thru and took out our power for 4 hours. Hopefully the little tank is alright but I'm glad it didn't have any inhabitants in it.


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

It should be ok maybe is good to get a UPS for the future.
Good luck and enjoy the process


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## ThaChingster (Feb 25, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> Well I'm on the 3rd day of the tank and I have my small LR and the water is at 1.025. Lucky for me the big storm came thru and took out our power for 4 hours. Hopefully the little tank is alright but I'm glad it didn't have any inhabitants in it.


Same, my power was out for about an hour.
What area are you in ? the streetlights were still on


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Warden and St. Claire area for me. The streelights and the power for the house was out and as soon as it happened we heard alot of sirens which makes me think it was probably someone who couldn't drive in the rain and decided to park their car in a telephone pole.

The water has cleared up quite nice and i'm on my way upstairs to check the ammonia and nitrite/nitrage levels


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

So after 5 days I'm getting
Nitrate 15
Nitrite .50
Ammonia 0

Am I on the right track?

Oh, and I put in a small piece of LR to help stabilize the larger one.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

So I added a couple corals to the tank and a blood shrimp on the weekend. Thought I would add a hermit to make it look pretty. Now it seems the LR is bleaching. I have no idea why but I'm thinking it's due to either the new light I put on, leaving the lights on too long, or possibly wrong water temp? I have no clue either way but it seems all the params that I've tested for seem fine. 

Also my GSP is doing very nice in the tank but it seems the other frags of zoas aren't opening all the time.

Any advice?


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Knew a girl like that once......just give it time 

First Tank?


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Yeah first tank for me. It seems that most of the LR is almost bleached now and one of my zoas is dead. The other isn't opening up as much anymore but it seems the GSP is loving the tank. 

I just have no idea what is happening in it now.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

What are your levels at? How are your phosphates? Have you done any water changes?


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

altcharacter said:


> Nitrite .50


I waited until this was 0 before adding anything to my tank.

I've been running FOWLR for about a year now and will be adding more corals soon. I had to 2 zoa frags fade away over time, but my GSP's are spreading across the bottom as well.

I found some Zaos are sensitive (lighting included) while others grow like weeds......also heard that Calc and Mag will effect coraline, although I've not supplemented either, and my coraline is spreading as well.

If this is your first tank I'd recommend fowlr for a bit, before adding corals.

Have a look HERE for params.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Nitrite should be at 0 at all times. If its anything but 0, do a water change immediately (Do not put in any livestock or they will die). Remember not to change the water too often in nano's but in a good frequency (0.5 gal a week for every 5 gals or 10%). The reason for this is to remove protein and replace trace elements in the water as most nano's do not have a protein skimmer. 

Calcium and Magnesium are extremely important for any corals. Magnesium is required to help the corals absorb the calcium found in most water supplies. Finding a good product that has both Calcium and Magnesium can make all the difference in this. I have had a lot of success with "Seachem Reef Complete."

Also, trace elements are required as well in maintaining healthy growth of corals. Research on which reef salts contain a good amount of trace elements. You can use supplements instead, however I find good salts have them already in there.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Nitrates 0
Nitrites 0
Ammonia 0

They have all been in the 0's for a few weeks now and that's when I added a small CUC. The coral I added last weekend and the GSP is doing amazingly but the zoa's weren't doing as well. I'm still waiting on my LED's from RapidLED so for now I've been using a 9 watt CF in a hello kitty lamp. I have a blood shrimp and a camel shrimp inside with a hermit walking around doing his business.

One question that I have:
The blood shrimp seems to be very aggressive towards anything and everything. I've caught him numerous times walking past the zoa's and giving them a quick swipe so they close. I've tried to move the corals but it seems the dam shrimp keeps going over there and smacks them so they close. 

Are blood shrimps this aggressive? Should I replace him? Should I eat him?


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> Nitrates 0
> Nitrites 0
> Ammonia 0
> 
> ...


One thing that could be triggering this behaviour is no hiding areas. Blood shrimp often prefer shade and tend to come out only to look for food. The other thing it could be is you have both a cleaner and a blood shrimp in a small tank. They can be very territorial.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Also, when you say 9 watt cf, what is the colour temp? Generally that isnt a lot of light for zoas especially without a proper reflector. GSP does not need much light which is why its doing great. Wait till you get that rapid LED and you will see how fast your GSP grows. LOL!


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

9 watt actinic. It was really only supposed to be used for a couple of days while I waited for my shipment of LED's to come. But now since I was lied to by RapidLED, it seems the zoa's have been struggling and I'm still waiting for my shipment. 

The shrimp do have places to hide and the camel shrimp was going to go into the refugium when the LED's showed up so that should take care of the territorial part, but I still can't figure out why the blood shrimp is smacking the zoa's around.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Ok here are some shots of the tank so far


















































Some of the shots you'll see that I was messing with the pots on the LED's to make the colors stand out more.
Thanks for looking!
And I'll always take comments on how to better the tank


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

Very nice tank, but to small 

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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

sig said:


> Very nice tank, but to small


I know, I'm thinking of changing my 30 gallon over to saltwater but I have to convince my wife first.


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## wildexpressions (May 3, 2010)

altcharacter said:


> I know, I'm thinking of changing my 30 gallon over to saltwater but I have to convince my wife first.


Why? She has to leave the house for a few hours sooner or later and BAM! Its a done deal


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

altcharacter said:


> The smaller cube I picked up from Alex is full of salt and ready to take it's new inhabitant of LR. I've officially started a salt cube and I must admit it's really fun so far, even though there's nothing really in the tank yet.


Careful! Alex uses salt laced with crack cocaine to make us more addicted to reefing. I hope you washed the tank well 



wildexpressions said:


> Why? She has to leave the house for a few hours sooner or later and BAM! Its a done deal


That's USUALLY how it's done, but use this method sparingly. After a while it could stop working and backfire. Greg knows all about this... LOL


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

So yeah she gave me the green light to switch up the tanks. Hopefully I'll have it going soon enough. I'll let you guys know


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

altcharacter said:


> So yeah she gave me the green light to switch up the tanks. Hopefully I'll have it going soon enough. I'll let you guys know


Congrats.....she's a keeper


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