DaJMasta Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 I've only been in austin for a few months, but after a couple years of keeping small tanks and a long history of aquariums, terrariums, and ponds I am getting myself back into it again. I bought myself a glass 7.5G bow front with the intention of making a high-flow blackwater (freshwater) tank, but I've always been interested in reefs and small tank applications, so here I go. I've got quite a bit of hardware en route to my apartment and I'm ready to start mixing the water and cycling (I'm out of town at the moment but will have packages arriving next week when I get back) and hope to start a mixed nano reef aquarium from the ground up. I've done some research, read some tutorials, and bought more testing equipment than I ever used for freshwater tanks (refractometer and a 4 pack of chemical tests is way more than nothing!), and I've got high hopes for a slow starting reef. I intend to go with a mechanical filtration-less tank, so I've got a fair bit of coarse(ish) live sand en route and intend on getting 10-12 lbs of live rock - but I'm not exactly sure what to get. I like the idea of getting precured rock or locally sourced rock from established aquariums (and will be visiting Aquatek to browse in my first few days back), but I'm also intrigued by the prospect of imported live rock with the possibility of some more unusual creatures. I don't mind the effort or time involved in curing (I'm planning on 3 weeks in the tank so long as the water params are good before I buy any livestock) and have found a few reasonably priced sources online which can get me the small quantity I'd like, but if you've got any advice about live rock I'd be happy to listen. Other than that live rock question, I'd like to know if my new refractometer will be calibrated or if I've got to do this for myself straight from the factory, and how you keep your stock of saltwater going. I was planning on getting a pump and a 5 gallon bucket and mixing it to age before using in the tank (along with some of my sand for a buffer and a heater), but since I only need relatively small quantities (a 15% water change is only a gallon), is it really worth it to have a continuously circulating saltwater stock? My basic parts are looking like this: 7.5G gal bow front tank Hydor Koralia Nano 50W Heater Nova Extreme SLR 18" (2x18W T5 hood) Approx 10 lbs of live sand Approx 10 lbs of live rock (to be cured) Enough testing, measuring, mixing, and treating supplies to make and age my own water and do basic maintenance and proper cycling And eventually two fish, a bunch of inverts for cleanup and cause I like them, and a couple corals. Of course, any of this is still more than a month out - with the inverts and corals coming before any fish. So, uh, Hi! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Nice introduction. Sounds like you are on the right track. Personally I would go with locally found live rock. Any of the cool stuff you would hope to get on imported rock more than likely will not make the trip. You may get lucky and I have seen a few people actually get a surprise coral. It's just easier to pick out the exact sizes and shapes you want if you buy locally too. As for the water it is not a bad idea to always have some saltwater ready to go. If you have an emergency and need to do a large water change right away, it can come in handy. You don't really need the sand in the mix water. If you mix it in a sterile container and keep a lid on it, it should keep for several weeks. Just do a test before introducing it to make sure the KH is where you want it and the temp is close to the same as your tank. If you need to adjust the KH you can always buffer then. I will tell you now the hardest part of keeping a small tank like that is evaporation. I ran a 1.5g pico for a while and was topping off twice a day. It get's really old. Be prepared to stay on top of it or find a away to put a float switch in there for an auto top-off. Good luck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJMasta Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 Nice introduction. Sounds like you are on the right track. Personally I would go with locally found live rock. Any of the cool stuff you would hope to get on imported rock more than likely will not make the trip. You may get lucky and I have seen a few people actually get a surprise coral. It's just easier to pick out the exact sizes and shapes you want if you buy locally too. As for the water it is not a bad idea to always have some saltwater ready to go. If you have an emergency and need to do a large water change right away, it can come in handy. You don't really need the sand in the mix water. If you mix it in a sterile container and keep a lid on it, it should keep for several weeks. Just do a test before introducing it to make sure the KH is where you want it and the temp is close to the same as your tank. If you need to adjust the KH you can always buffer then. I will tell you now the hardest part of keeping a small tank like that is evaporation. I ran a 1.5g pico for a while and was topping off twice a day. It get's really old. Be prepared to stay on top of it or find a away to put a float switch in there for an auto top-off. Good luck!!! I suppose that will be an issue, in it's current iteration there will be no top (and I don't really want to add one).... then again I knew going into this that I would be doing weekly water changes and having a little aged unsalted water on hand shouldn't be too much additional work (at least in theory). With the rock - I've read about all sorts of things coming out as stragglers, and some of the (of course cherry picked) pictures of imported live rock seem a little more colorful than your average-aquarist-selling-their-spare-rock's quick snapshot.... but I guess the reality is that they're active filter medium and structural support for your reef, they're not supposed to be a way to randomly plant your tanks with corals and inverts. I'll pay for my livestock fair and square Out of curiosity though, how important will KH measurement and monitoring be? I've got the basics for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and pH, as well as the salinity measurement.... so if the sand and rock acts as a buffer and I don't go around swapping salt mixes - would it be a crucial parameter to measure? I figured between a fairly large sand bed, a standard synthetic sea salt, and probably very little in terms of hard coral of any sort, that I wouldn't need to go checking the KH so long as the pH is stable and the ingredients going in don't change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Well that can be one of the biggest variances in new salt water. Even within the same salt company. I know someone who buys the same salt in huge batches and got a few buckets with very low KH. Steady KH should keep your PH stable. So it is always important to test your new SW from each new source for KH and Calcium mainly. It doesn't hurt to test for ammonia too. The problem with having an open top mixing bucket is it will evaporate and raise the salinity. A lid on a 5g bucket should be easy to find. Oh and the refractometer needs to be calibrated. It will come with instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Welcome to ARC!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJMasta Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 Good to know about the KH, I'll get a test kit and keep my eyes on it. I also looked around at some of the auto top off setups available and while they're not the cheapest (considering it's about 2x the price of any of the bits of my nano so far) but if that really becomes an issue it looks like a low flow pump using airline tubing, a JBJ ATO or something similar, and a bucket of clean water could be a good solution. Also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJMasta Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 Well I can say bye in the same thread I said hello in. I am by no means getting out of reefing, but my Master's degree is over and I'm off to Kansas City, Missouri to continue my training and get paid for it (awesome). Gone through a lot of stuff, kept a lot of critters - it's just as fascinating now as it was then. I can't wait to get a new setup going in KC.... and I have plans for a Haddoni anemone species tank. Thanks to you ARC members and the local shops which supported my adventures. By the looks of it KC doesn't have the same size community or saltwater vendors - you will be missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Good luck in KC! Be sure to pop back on here with pictures of your new tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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