New small marine system & some questions I've not found answers on your site 'Lo there Wet Webbers, <Pronto! Ryan Bowen with you today> first I'd like to thank you for all the help you made to us all newbies with your amazing site. <Certainly my friend> I must admit I've read nearly all your FAQs and articles (not your books as they are not available here in Italy - A SHAME - , I'm trying to order them somewhere) but I still have some things I'd like to be enlightened in before hurting some life forms (whatever they are they are LIVING). <Which books are you having trouble locating?  There is always a way...> I'm new to aquariums and I've set up a marine (reef) small system since 15/11/2003 <For all you Americans like me, that means November 15>,  tank seems to have cycled, but lemme write the details : 29 Gallons glass tank 17-18" deep (not sure in inches but its 40-45 cm water height) Internal biological filter with just carbon and sponges (I'll throw those away and maybe add resins). <Keep them on hand for a quarantine system> 9 Kg live sand 0,5-2 mm sized (less than 1" high) <Great> 20 Kg of beautiful live rocks from Indonesia and Fiji <Awesome> 2 power heads : 1 is 400 l/h in the filter the other is 250 l/h (I'm thinking of buying another 500-600 l/h and alternates this one and the 250 to create variations in water movements, what do you think ?) <The more random the water flow, the better> Probably I'll add a small skimmer when the biological load will grow (or should I add it now? ) <Sooner the better.  But, it's better to get a nice skimmer in a few months than a crappy one now...> 1st important question : LIGHTING !! the tank is closed and it has the usual 2 NO fluorescents 15 w (1 is an actinic 03 blue the other is a 18000 ?K) and now (after I read a lots of things during tank cycle) I found out its too low light and I can only add 2 more 15w NO lights. <That will surely limit the amount of photosynthetic life that you may keep> Let me say that I love blue and I was thinking of another actinic and a 10000, but as far as I can understand from your other FAQs the best may be : 1 10000?K and 1 6000-6500?K, which combo should I add ? <03/10,000k would work well for your preference> To answer your next logical question is : I'd like to grow some mushroom corals , some zoos/paly and maybe some hardy soft corals. :) Common water parameters after 6 weeks ( I test water twice per week ) <If only we were all so good on the other side of the pond  ;)   > PH = 8,0-8,2 KH = 9-12 Ca = 400 Nitrites, ammonia and phosphates = 0 (after the initial spike of course) Nitrates = 0-5 normally (again after the initial spike) <Everything seems ideal> The hardware part is ended. Now the software err... livestock part of the fun. <That's really why we're all here!> Lets say that on the rocks I had found : 2-3 blue/purple Actinodiscus non identified, 1 Discosoma completely bleached (its white and semi transparent with some fluorescence under actinic lights, probably bleached this summer at LFS cuz of high temperatures - we really went high this summer) that its not recovering neither growing (its now recovering and growing cuz of too few light ?), 2 zoos colonies and 1 Palythoa that are regaining colours after I moved them to the upper part of the tank (again too few light I suppose...) but are not growing.  <Provide great water conditions, and watch them regenerate!> I've a good Halimeda grow and since few days a good coralline algae grow (pink-red-purple on the rocks), but I've even some red algae that is not growing (I've bought a rock for it and I'd like to make it grow). <Red Algae can be picky...perhaps you can provide a more detailed description of the algae, and I in turn can provide you with care instructions?> I've noticed a hair algae growing too but I think it'll solve with the new powerhead I'm going to purchase (read above for details). <Hair algae needs nutrients to grow, not just lack of water movement.  Clean up crew will also help with this.> The critters I have till now are : usual amphipods/copepods, bristle worms , many little feather worms of deferens species (some have yet grown a bit) and some little white brittle stars. <Nice little mix> 2 unidentified crabs and 1 green unknown nudibranch that I'll try to catch ASAP. (searched all over the net and I still haven't found anything similar) <When in doubt, leave it out> 2 hermit crabs since only 1 week (1 Calcinus elegans and 1 Calcinus tibicen) that are doing nicely. The questions mainly refers to the FUTURE livestock : Inverts : Starting in February I'll begin to add some more zoos/paly, mushrooms and soft corals in small colonies/frags with enough space to live and grow (probably I'll make a bigger tank in 2-3 years if this one will not fail) at the rate of 1/months till I think its enough. <Nice> 1 more hermit (a scarlet one if I find it) - January 2 Turbos - Jan1 Sabellastarte indica - Jan 1 Sabellastarte not identified - Feb 2 Lysmata amboinensis - Jan/Feb nothing more I'd like to have aside a Stenopus hispidus but I read its not good to have both Lysmata and Stenopus in small systems, right or wrong ?? (system has lot of little caves) <Skip it.  Stenopus Hispidus is a mean one.  I have caught mine with more than just a Lysmata Amboinensis in his mouth, and he lives in a 75 gallon reef.  A better choice would be a pair of Lysmata Amboinensis.  They may even breed for you.> 2 Amphiprion Ocellaris ( mated pair ) - 1 Jan/Feb the other after a good 3-4 weeks 1 Gramma loreto - June + maybe 1-2 little more fish but don't know now and of course it'll depend on their adult size. Do you think it's a fair livestocking rate ? Is it overcrowded ? <I think that it's too much.  Skip the Gramma Loreto, and you're good.  29 gallons is a pretty small box of water, and you want your livestock to be as comfortable as possible.>   Another question bout livestock and more specifically on Zebrasoma flavescens. My LFS said I can host one of them as first fish and when I said it'll overgrow the tank he said that the Red Sea specimen are far smaller than usual Caribbean ones , is it true or is it a Mighty Bullsh*t? <No matter where they're collected from, they'll never fit in a 29.  His advice is killing fish.> Hmm questions seems to be finished , at least no more are popping in my head ... so ... another big thank you for your services !!! <Anytime!> And sorry for my probably BAD English but I'm a silly Italian.... <My Italian is much much worse!  Ciao, and keep us posted on your new project!  Ryan> CIAO !! Andrea (I know there it's a female name but here is a male name as I am) <Bocelli? ;)>

- Nitrates in Micro-reef - Ok, after a year and a half of slowly learning and drifting into salt water tanks (after years with freshwater tanks) I have upgraded from tinkering with a 15 gallon "nano" which I have completely taken down after a year.  I have moved everything into a 29 gallon tank since July.  Yes, I'd love a bigger tank, but for now this is what I have.  I've read so much online and in books (the new Fenner "Reef Invertebrates" book is incredible)  For the past 6 months the organisms in the tank have looked healthy. But looking at what I have set up now I'd love some second opinions on what I have done, and any advice to make the tank as stable as possible over the long haul. <Well... do keep in mind that 'stability' comes with water volume and that usually via tank size. You've chosen a size that will be inherently unstable so there may not be much else you can do except upgrade the tank at some point.> The nano had a large population of macro algae which only a small portion is left of now.  The reason I mention this is because in the nano with about a 3" sugar grain sand bed my Nitrate readings were always zero.  The macro seems to hardly grow in the new tank. The new 29 Gallon Tank: Livestock 50+ pounds of live rock 6+ inches of sugar fine aragonite sand DSB <Good grief... after the rock and the sand, is there even room for a gallon of water in this system? Ok, sorry... two gallons. Really... you'd be better off to lose some portion of either/both in favor of more water volume.> 2 Ocellaris Clownfish 5 Peppermint shrimp (Added to kill off Aiptasia, which they did very well.  Then they finished off any small fanworms they could find.) 6 hermit crabs 6 Astraea snails 3 Turbo Snails 1 Small Caulerpa plant A few very small brittle stars that came with the rock Equipment 1) 29 Gallon Tank 2) Glass top to allow maximum light through 3) 130 Watts of power compact lights 50/50 4) Bak Pak -R Skimmer 5) An Aquaclear 500 HOB filter with nothing but small pieces of live rock basically to add to the water circulation.  I keep a small PC lamp over this filter. 6) I keep the temperature right around 80F 7) Salinity near 1.024 8) I am not using any additives beyond replenishing the tank with fresh saltwater. 9) I do use dechlorinated tap water that sits for days with an airstone running in it.  Getting RO water regularly was becoming a large hassle. Lastly, the equipment I am most skeptical of: 10 gallon wet/dry filter fed from a hang on the back overflow, into a prefilter (cleaned weekly), through some polyfill that is cleaned weekly, though bioballs in the wet/dry, though a sponge which is also cleaned weekly with a Rio 600 return pump.  Occasionally I will place a bag of activated carbon in the wet/dry. Concerns: 1) With "normal" amounts of water changing my nitrates still creep up. They hover around 20ppm.  I take out a few gallons a week.  I could more aggressively change the water, but this wasn't my initial plan. <Well... the wet/dry is the most obvious source, so more frequent water changes are likely your only option if you don't ditch the wet/dry.> 2) I wish my coralline algae looked more vibrant. <This seems to be a universal wish... time, patience, and calcium additions are the key here. If you're not adding calcium, your coralline will wane.> 3) The visible air bubbles in the DSB don't seem to go below 2 inches.  Below that it looks very barren.  Does it just need more time to mature? <Yes.> Once it is more mature will it also begin to drop the nitrate level? <Probably not - it's not really large enough to counter the efficiency of the wet/dry.> 4) Should I slowly pull the bioballs and replace them with live rock rubble? <You could, but if the rock is still exposed to the air, it would have the same effect.> Would this help my drop the nitrates? <I'd scrap the wet/dry in favor of a proper sump. The design of most wet/dries is such that they don't convert well to other duties - not designed for this.> 5) Do I need to seek out more creatures to sift the sandbed? <Perhaps a Nassarius snail or two.> I personally tend not to disturb the sandbed myself more than necessary.   6) There really isn't much space for a proper refugium.  Unless I somehow convert the wet/dry into one, or if I modified or got rid of the AC 500. <I wouldn't bother with converting the sump or the hang on filter. Instead, I'd ditch both in favor of a properly designed sump/refugium. Anything else will be a compromise, and will have varied results.> Any other good suggestions? Thanks so much! Dan Ashland, MA <Cheers, J -- >

O! What Do Ya Do With a Ten Gallon? (sung to the tune of "What will we do with a drunken sailor?) >Good afternoon, >>Nay, my friend, tis good morning by now.. >I have a 10 gallon freshwater tank in my office and would like to convert it to saltwater. I have a saltwater at home and going from that to my freshwater here at work is depressing! >>I say, "Go planted!" but it's not my tank.  ;) >My plan is this; putting a 3" - 4" DSB directly in the tank, only putting about 2-3 small pieces of live rock to give fish a hiding place, possibly putting a few "manufactured" corals for looks, using a power-head for circulation and probably an internal filter for mechanical/chemical debris removal. >>Internal, or hang-on-tank? >I would like to put a cleaner shrimp, a few crabs / snails, possibly a sand sifter star fish, and about 4 Green Chromis. >>Too many fish for that size tank, my friend!  Consider going with MUCH smaller animals if you want that number - clown or neon gobies, Basslets should stay small for some time, and don't require the same swimming space the Chromis will.  You could put in something like a couple of neon or clown gobies, a Centropyge argi (smallest and toughest.. and tends to be most pugnacious, of the dwarf angels), and maybe a Royal Gramma or a sixline wrasse.  You'd get variety, one fish that likes to be swimming about, and color.  Also, I'd go with at 10lbs of the best quality live rock you can find. >Anyway, I was wandering what kind (if any) protein skimmer would be best to use. It has to be an in-tank skimmer due to space restraints outside the tank. I know these skimmers suck for larger tanks - 30 gallons and up, but would a Lee's CC skimmer work well enough for this tank? >>Unfortunately, I'm not terribly familiar with the Lee's product, but the thing is this - if the skimmer is able to produce thick, dark, NASTY skimmate, then it should work.  If not, don't even bother. >There is the mini-flotor from Aqua Medic, but I didn't think that would be much better than the Lee's CC.  Is there really even a need for a skimmer in this small of a tank? >>Two schools of thought here; if you go with a bit more live rock and section the tank for "refugium" use (in other words, set aside a third of the tank to grow macroalgae - and light for such), then no, water changes along with harvesting the macro would handle it.  You'd need to do at LEAST weekly w/c's, if not more, and they'd have to be on the order of 50% to be safe.  Remember, if you go with less active fish that remain smaller, you'll not be flexing your "bioload muscles".  Otherwise, with such a small system, a skimmer will afford you much needed leeway.  It's at this point that I will again attempt to dissuade you from going with the Chromis, or at least that many. >Thanks!  Aaron >>You're welcome.  Marina
O! What Do Ya Do With a Ten Gallon? Redux >Thank you very much for your insight! >>You're welcome. >I do appreciate it and take it to heart! >>Heh.. well, it's an idea, eh? >Thanks for the recommendations about the livestock! I had no previous experience with a Green Chromis so I didn't know how big they might get! >>Not just size, but swimming space for most natural/comfortable behavior. >I want to make sure I am understanding you correctly. Does this sound like a better fish lineup: 1 - Pygmy Cherub Angel 1 - Royal Gramma 1 - Six Line Wrasse 1 - Clown Goby >>Yep, clown, or neon (which will perform cleaning duties as well). >Can you tell me which fish out of the above would be my best choice to cycling the tank? >>Cycle fishless, mate.  Put a bit of raw shrimp (or similar) knotted in a piece of nylon hosiery, hang or drop it in the tank and let it rot.  This will cause an ammonia spike, and once that happens, you are ON YOUR WAY!  Pretty neat, huh?  No more killin' fish for cycle. >The Clown Goby is certainly the cheapest, but I NEVER have had any luck keeping Gobies, even in my 30 gallon at home. I have had a Dragon Goby which I really liked, but he just wouldn't eat much, and when he did, it went in and right out of his gills! >>Neons and clowns are easy-peasy lemon squeezy, my friend.  Just no large chunks of food. >Is there some form of extremely small/to liquid supplements to feed them? >>No need, just be sure you offer variety, and that it's broken up into sufficiently small bits (about the size of adult brine shrimp should do just fine - but don't feed brine very often, the Pringles of the deep). >Ok, I think we have the fish situation down..... I will also look into where I can get the best quality live rock as well! >>Sounds like a plan! >Since this is a smaller tank, I don't think I will try to set up a third of it for a refugium. I know refugiums are great tools, but what happens if one isn't feasible in a tank? >>Then you make up the difference with other filtration (outrageous skimming, yeah?) and water changes.  It really CAN be done, and is most easy if you can get a hold of something like Real Ocean (pre-filtered seawater), as you have none of the usual worries when mixing sea salts. >Are you just out, or is there some type of supplement to a refugium? (i.e. liquid supplements) >>A 'fuge supplement?  I'm not sure what you mean, but essentially, if you want the bennies of a 'fuge, but can't dedicate a portion of the tank as a 'fuge, and can't set up something remotely, then yeah, you're "out", as in S.O.L. - gotta go with the w/c's and all that. >I will try out the Lee's or Aqua Medic protein skimmer to see if one of them will work. You never know until you try huh?! I have a few wooden air stones and a mammoth air pump, so I don't think that will be a problem! >>Well, some are known to be better than others, for instance, I can recommend with some degree of certainty Aqua C's units, or CPR units (appropriately sized, of course).  Then again, you might get froggy on us and join MACO and take a class on building your own skimmer.  ;) >Thanks again for your help! Merry Christmas, Aaron >>You're quite welcome, my friend, and good tidings and cheer to you as well.  Marina (who wants to know where her "Christmas Chromis" poem went!)

Small Tank Setup (12-13-03) What kind of protein skimmer would you recommend for a 5 gal tank?  How do you think of my set up right now.  I got a 5 gal tank, 25 watt heater, a ten gallon wet/dry filter, power head and 3 lb of live rock it been cycle for 3 weeks and all test are good.  all I'm planning is to put 1 clownfish.  what  else would I need to complete my setup?<I would go buy a larger tank as I think this would be much too frustrating.  I would not put any fish in there it is just too small.  It could be a nice setup for a mantis shrimp display or something though.  If you do have your heart set on this I like the aqua c remora skimmers.  Other than that your setup looks complete but I think it would just be too tuff to keep stable.> I also got a 30 gal tank, 300 watt heater, 330 penguin filter with bio wheels, power head, and a 2 inch of crush shell.  what else would you recommend to complete my setup?<That's a little better size!  I would get a good skimmer such as the remora I mentioned above, some live rock and a good book or two.  Some good books are: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner and The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paletta.> and what do your think about BIO SPIRA? <Never heard of it, you try posting on www.reefcentral.com to see what others think.  Cody> Thank you for all your reply , it have been so informative

Small marine set-ups >Dear Bob, >>Not Bob today, Marina instead. >You have a very useful site.  Very nice.  I'm setting up a 5 gallon tank and it have been cycle for 3 week with sand at the base.  All my test was good so I put a 3lb life rock in it. >>Ok.  You should know that live rock will provide the nitrifying bacteria you're trying to culture when you "cycle" the system.  However, I'm curious as to how you cycled your tank with only sand in it. >I got a ten gallon Whisper wet dry filter and was wonder what else I need.   >>A decent skimmer, unless you're prepared to do frequent water changes, and/or a small refugium. >Do I really need a protein skimmer, power head?   >>In general, the skimmer will make life much easier.  The power head would only provide for additional water movement, so, unless the pump that came with your wet/dry filter doesn't provide sufficient surface agitation (generally not a problem with wet/dry filters), you don't really need one. >I'm only putting one and only one clown fish in it. >>Still, you do plan on feeding the animal, yes?  If so, we must plan on it being fed properly, and as such we must plan on it growing.  If you must go without a skimmer, then plan on water changes about every three to four days, around 25%. >I'm also setting up a 30 gal. tank and I have a 330 Penguin wet dry filter, a 214 power head and the base is filled with crush shell.  I'm going to get about 30lb of live rock and also a protein skimmer. Wut (what) else would you recommend.  Thank you for having your site for every marine lover to access.   >>Nothing, really.  It depends on what you wish to keep.  We are big proponents of refugium technology, especially with anything resembling reef, or that has many invertebrates or animals that feed on microfauna.  I would recommend, with BOTH setups, that you research deep sand bed methods, as you'll need a good means of reducing nitrate in both.  Utilization of deep sand bed with refugium means you'll address BOTH nutrient export and denitrification.  Marina

Lighting for a 10 gallon reef - 12/4/03 Dear Mr. Fenner, I have had a 10 gal. reef tank for 9 months now and can't seem to find adequate lighting to suit the hardiest of invertebrates (mushrooms & anemones). <Mushrooms yes but most if not all anemones are not exactly hardy and require much aquarist interaction> I have tried using a 15W actinic03 tube with a 19W Daylight "spiral" PC (socket bulb) combo but it doesn't seem to maintain anything but the coralline and green algae that continuously grows in the tank. <The 19w is likely too orange or yellow and most of the light spectrum and energy are probably used up as heat.>  I want to upgrade to two PC bulbs what lighting option would you recommend? <Ahh, glad you asked. I really like the CSL 2x40w enclosed PC lighting system even comes with the Moonlite LED. I got mine from Marine Depot and enjoyed their service very much. Should run about 120 smackers including shipping. This is the lighting of choice for me and my two ten gallon nano reefs> Do you think the CustomSeaLife 15 - 2 x 32 W Power Compact Retrofit would be adequate? <That will work as that is what is on my ten gallon refugium, but again if you can get more light for your tank (and about the same price if not just a teensy bit more) then why not go for it?? Here is a link to the lights I am referring to: http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_pc_csl.asp?CartId=#pcml> I am also currently experiencing a rapid outgrow of these little weird creatures that are growing in the tank and attaching themselves on the live rock and sand. <Look kind of like some type of hydroid. Maybe even a larval stage in jellyfish. Hard to say from your sketch, but that is what it looks like.> They look like fat oval featherdusters but do not retract and are about 3mm-5mm long and growing. (see attachment for sketch) Do you know what this is? Is it bad? <Not likely bad, but keep an eye on 'em once you start getting corals> What can I do? <Likely nothing. They will probably wax and wane with you water changes and the ever changing tank parameters. Happy holidays ~Paul> Sincerely, Henry Milian

Lighting Quandary... Good morning guys!  I have a couple quick questions for you, in regards to my 20G nano.  First off, I have a question about the lighting that I can't seem to answer in spite of a lengthy search on here.  When I upgraded the lighting in my tank, I built a custom hood with 2 55W PC ballasts, with a 50/50 mix of 03/10,000K.  My livestock in regards to corals is as follows-Pulsing Xenia, Anthelia colony, yellow polyp rock, various mushrooms and a lime green Sarcophyton.  After all the time I spent building the hood, I am wondering if this is too much light for my particular set-up.  The toadstool loves the light, as do the yellow polyps both are placed near the surface, in front of the return  lines), but the mushrooms and the Xeniid/anthelia colonies just don't seem to be opening as well as they used to.  The mushrooms are a bit shrunken/pale in appearance, and although the xenia is growing, it no longer fully extends it's stalks as it used to.  I know that leathers appreciate brighter light and stronger current, as well as the polyps, but I am unsure of the particular lighting requirements of the xenia.  It is in an area of rather swift current, and I'm wondering if this may be the culprit.  Should I worry this to death, or keep as is? <Well, I agree that the mushrooms will generally not appreciate high light intensities. Personally, I would remove these animals to a separate tank which is better suited for their needs. As far as the xenia is concerned, I have seen and kept them under a variety of lighting schemes. Personally, if they are carefully acclimated to higher light intensities, I do not believe that lighting is a factor as much as water parameters, such as pH, etc. There are dozens of theories out there on what makes xenia "tick", but it's probably a combination of a number of factors, the majority of them being water-chemistry related. Sure, you could experiment with backing down the light over the xenia and gradually re-acclimating them to the brighter light...> I love the look of the strong light, but it seems as though the mushrooms and the Xeni/Anth were happier when I had a single 55 W PC fixture.  I  know this is not an ideal selection of livestock in terms of lighting, but I figured I could pull it off if I placed the light lovers close to the surface. <Well, this can work in theory- but these animals inhabit different niches in the wild, and really do best in systems dedicated to their specific needs.> As far as chemical aggression goes, am I correct in thinking these corals with the exception of the mushrooms) are fairly "peaceful" when it comes to battling with other corals? <Well, the Sarcophyton species produce literally dozens of potentially toxic (to other corals) compounds. They can be quite aggressive, so sufficient space between the Sarcophyton and other corals is imperative> I know the yellow polyps will sting other corals, but are they also guilty of releasing compounds into the water, as the corallimorphs? <Yes they are. Parazoanthus species (the genus that these animals belong to) are capable of releasing compounds into the water that are toxic even to fishes.> I have a 10 gallon refugium/DSB and I run a small bit of high grade carbon weekly( to battle the chemical releases), along with a 2 gallon weekly water change. <Good methods to help alleviate the buildup of allelopathic compounds> I would love to hear your opinions in regards to the lighting of this particular set-up, as I feel a bit unsure here.  All I want is what is best for my livestock, as we all do.  Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and give me your valuable two cents :) <My pleasure! I would either relocate the mushrooms to a dedicated tank, or I'd set up a "shady" area in the tank for these animals. In general, I have never been a fan of mixing these guys with other corals> P.S.-I have a green, almost yellow macro growing on my LR, and it appears to be untouched by all my grazers, including my emerald crab.  My best description is as follows-"twisty"/branching fronds, very thick/sturdy in appearance, with what appears to me as white "fuzz" on the leaf surface (rhizoids/roots?).  I also has scattered brown dots/pigment throughout the leaves, with no discernable pattern.  It is growing fast now, and spreading to other areas as we speak.  Hardly a nuisance, but nothing I want to leave unchecked.  Any thoughts would be welcomed! <I'd love to see a picture of this stuff...I could probably make a pretty accurate ID with a picture. I love many species of algae, but when it starts spreading to different areas of the tank, it's time to start thinking about what it is and how to control it...Please try to get a  pic and we can re-evaluate!> Ohhhh, and I ALMOST forgot.  One last hitchhiker ID for you reefer maniacs.  On one of my LR pieces from PA, there is a mat like encrusting coral that has sprung back to life, and although I am psyched, I would like to know what it is.  When I first received the rock, it appeared as an encrusting greenish stony color, with a honeycomb appearance to it.  It now is re-growing it's polyps, which resemble star polyps in shape, although far smaller in size(1/16 inch across).  I'm assuming it's some sort of encrusting stony coral, but I have no clue what it is.  Neat looking though, and I'm excited to see this and many other life forms coming out of my rock. <It is cool to see these kinds of animals emerge from rock! Without seeing a good picture, I can guess that it may be a form of Porites, which is a coral that is commonly found in live rock. Other possibilities include Montastrea, Goniastrea, and a few others. A good coral ID book, like Borneman's "aquarium Corals" would help you make a positive ID on this coral.> Anyways, thanks again guys...this site has helped me tremendously.  Happy holidays to you and yours... -David Conners <Glad to be of service, David! And a happy Holiday season to you! Regards, Scott F>

Choosing a fish Any suggestions for a small marine fish to go in a 10 gal nanoreef? I want something unique and interesting but don't want a goby or clown. any ideas?<small damselfish, this is really a small aquarium, not many choices here, good luck, IanB> James

- Hair Algae & pH Issues in a Nano - Hi guys & gals! I sure miss chatting with you and answering all of the fun questions that get sent in but now that I've let go of some things my life is much more relaxed so I think I did the right thing. Anyway, I am writing with a purpose. I have a terrible hair algae problem and my PH is slightly low in my nano. The specs on the tank are: 10g, 2x13w PC bulbs (1 actinic) run from about 8am to 5pm (I'm getting a timer soon so I can leave these on longer!), about 15lb LR, 2 small Ocellaris Clowns, 1 small Yellow Watchman Goby, 3 or 4 Cerith Snails, 3 or 4 Nassarius Snails, lots of feather and "coin" Caulerpa, 1 cucumber, Ammonia/Nitrites 0, pH 8.0, Nitrates <5, temp 78, crushed granite substrate approx 1" thick, water changes, 1 gallon every week or two and I use RO water for all water changes. Filtration is a trickle filter that's built into the tank (Via-Aqua) with the round bone looking filter media. I don't have a skimmer because with the style this tank/filter is I can't add one without adding a sump which involves plumbing I'm not ready to do. The first problem is my pH. I'm getting a couple of corals and want to make sure they live but I think my low pH may be a problem here (everything else is thriving!). How can I safely bring this up? <I'd start with baking soda... add a little [1/8 tsp.] to a cup of tank water, then add to the tank and test the pH. Repeat as often as necessary until the pH is in proper range.> I know the granite doesn't provide the buffering that other sands and stuff do and I'd much rather have a DSB but I'm afraid of shocking my tank by removing everything and adding sand. Would I be better to use baking soda or just go ahead and do the sand? <I would do both - the granite isn't doing you any favors.> The second problem is hair algae. I was told that phosphates can cause hair algae problems so I bought some PhosGuard and have been running that for 4 days. I don't know what my phosphates were when I put this in but they are now 0. Now I'm assuming (and we all know what that does!) that if my phosphates were actually high enough at the start to cause a hair algae problem, they wouldn't have dropped to 0 in just 4 days so this leads me to believe something else is causing the problem. Any suggestions? <Perhaps too many nutrients present, not just phosphate. Likewise, problem algae is almost always an issues in areas of low circulation, so you might want to add a powerhead, give things a scrub and then see where you stand after that.> Thanks in advance for the help! Ronni <Cheers, J -- >

- Ahhh! Confusion! - Hehe.  Evening folks :)   Alright, here's the deal.  I've been reading so much on your site in regards to KH/CA maintenance and trace element dosing, and I feel as though I may be a bit more confused about it all now than before I started my research.  I also have a few more questions in regards to the tank, but I'll try and take it easy on ya :).  I have had many successful marine tanks in the past, but they have all been seahorse/pipefish tanks, and I've never had to pay attention to some of the more in-depth husbandry techniques that a reef requires. I have a 20 gallon nano reef, which is very young, btw, and I have come up with a regimen that I believe will satisfy this tanks requirements.  I currently am housing a pulsing xenia colony, a yellow polyp colony,  a green Ricordea polyp, a blue mushroom rock, and a couple button polyps that came in on my LR.  The only fish inhabitants of the tank are a Firefish goby and a little neon goby, both of which are happily gobbling on frozen mysis, Selcon/Zo?enriched live brine shrimp, and ocean nutrition pellets (I'm huge on a varied diet after seeing the incredible results with my syngnathids!).  I also have 20 lbs. of Marshall island, Fiji, kaelini island LR (Premium Aquatics rules... I thank your site every day for introducing me to them!).  I have an AMiracle overflow draining into a homemade 10 gallon sump/fugium, returning through a Mag 3 into a DIY return manifold.  This refugium has a 6 inch DSB (grain size ranging .02 to 1.4mm), which will be seeded with the kit from IPSF (arriving in 4 days), and will house Gracilaria (sp.?), Halimeda, Ulva and Chaetomorpha algae... heck with the Caulerpa.  I also am going to take some of the hundreds of Cerith snails I have now (started with 4 six months ago...hehe) and put them in the DSB as well.  Onto the lighting.  I built a hood with 2 55W PC fixtures in it, which is just about perfect for the coral livestock I intend to keep, I believe.  I am using one 10,000K bulb and one 12,000K bulb, which really gives the tank a blue appearance.  It may be a bit too blue for me, but I think I'm getting used to it... I don't want to drain out the nice yellows/reds and such, which this lighting scheme seems to a bit (not much, maybe a hair... can't rightly say to be honest).  Anyways, that is the overview of my set-up.  Now onto the questions.  First off, is it safe to say that all my trace element requirements could be easily satisfied with a strict regimen of water changes......say, 2 gallons every 5 days? <Sure.> Will this also satisfy the CA/ALK requirements of this tank? <Probably, it doesn't sound to me like you have any heavy calcium consumers, which might require additional supplementation.> I will be housing strictly soft corals/mushrooms and MAYBE a LPS (an open brain, if anything), although I am not sure. I guess I was figuring with the abundance of fine sand between the display tank and the refugium my CA and ALK levels would be partly maintained by the dissolution of the aragonite. <My thinking as well.> My main question about CA levels is all this talk about calcium chloride and it's ill effects when over-used.  I have C-balance, and I was going to dose it in small amounts, but after reading all the posts here, I'm worried that I will skew the ionic balance very easily in such a small tank. <If I'm not mistaken, C-balance is a two part system. As long as you use both parts in equal measure, you should be fine.> Is it safe to say that the regular water changes will remedy any potential imbalances that may be experienced when dosing with the calcium chloride? <Not sure... depends just how out of balance you are.> I'm just trying to figure out if I need to dose anything at all, with the exception of iodine, if I employ frequent water changes. <Even with the iodine, you're best off to test for things you think you might have to supplement.> I know if this was a SPS tank I would have to dose Kalk and all that jazz, but I do not want to get anywhere near that stuff, and I don't think I need to given the CA requirements of the proposed livestock. <I concur.> I figure, given the small size of the tank and the absence of stony corals (well, there are a couple wee pink fuzzy frags on my LR...which are growing!), I could get away without dosing anything at all and simply change a few gallons of water every couple days. I will say that I plan on dosing Seachem reef calcium for my coralline growth, as I love a nice coralline growth as much as I love the corals. I know I need to dose carefully with it...I plan on halving the recommended dose to start, and SLOWLY increasing the dose to one that seems to work without causing any algae blooms. My only fear with this is that the gluconate calcium is in chelated form... if it is, it is safe to say that a problem algae bloom would be a sign that it is too late and I am in store for weeks of battling? <Not sure about the formulation of C-balance, but you could send a query to Two Little Fishies and get a clarification.> Would it be better to dose it daily as opposed to 2x weekly, as listed by the manufacturer? <I'm always in favor of at least starting off by following their directions - they are written for a reason - and then follow that up with testing to make sure that whatever it is has the desired affect.> Alright, enough of that. Last question.  I am planning on trying to go skimmer-less with this one, as I plan on keeping a very light fish load, and I have a lot of macro growing in the refugium. It seems as though I still should use a skimmer though, after reading what you guys all seem to concur on here.  When I say light bio-load, I mean really light, as in what I have now and that is it.  I have always kept my tanks as such, and I've always had healthy, clean tanks due to it.  I understand that an increase in bio-load on such a small system would most certainly require the employment of a good skimmer, but for my set-up, I'd like to at least try going without it.  Any comments/criticisms on that notion would be welcomed :) <Sounds good to me.> Sorry for rambling on and on guys, but I figured I'd get it all out at once. I appreciate your site more than you know....it's been such a huge help, so....thanks! Sincerely, David <Cheers, J -- >

Lighting a 20 gallon - 10/17//003 I currently have a 20 gallon tank that is about to become a reef tank <Welcome to the wonderful world of reefing...heheh>....it has one of those ecosystems on the back with miracle mud and Caulerpa....<Cool> I bought the tank a few years ago, it was a typical 20 gallon tank from a pet shop with a top and a light....<Oh yeah. Here is what I have on my 20 gallon plexi: 2x65 watt CustomSeaLife Power Compact hood. Here is where I got it from: http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_pc_csl.asp?CartId=#pcml I have only soft corals. No LPS and a Pocillopora and a Montipora Cap. No other SPS. I believe this lighting will grow most anything> I need to know what kind of lighting system you would recommend, and the best place to get it.<Well, this all depends on what types of corals you plan to keep> I am going to have a basic reef tank, nothing too high tech, it will be my first reef tank. <I believe tanks don't have to be high tech to be functional>  I have seen some setups at the LFS that run about 250 dollars....<Well, they can be costly, but again, the first step is to map out your inhabitants and their requirements> just wondered if you new any good sites where I could see the current products out there, and what to look for. <Uh....no offense, but.....uh.....there are lots of sites out there with lighting examples and information on VHO, Metal Halide, Power Compact.....are you not capable of typing in "reef lighting" into a Google search tool? Any online marine retailer will have a list of a great many manufacturers and lighting types. Try it. Give it a shot. Better yet, try the link for etailers on our site. Thanks for the question -Paul> Thanks, Keith Hundley

15 Gallon Salt Tank Lighting >Hi guys, >>Hello, Marina here.  (Sorry for the delay, we've been swamped!) >You have the best, most comprehensive site on the web for marine aquarists.  I have a question regarding a 15 gallon FOWLR system.  I currently have only a single fluorescent bulb, a Rio powerhead, and an Aquaclear 150 running on my tank.  I'm thinking about moving up to power compact lighting of some sort and possibly a Prizm skimmer.   >>Not familiar with the performance of the Prizms, but also consider AquaC or CPR BakPak. >I have a pair of ocellaris clowns, Jawfish, a royal Gramma, a star fish, one cleaner shrimp and a few snails.  Do you have any suggestions as to what types of lighting would be good?  I am thinking about the new custom Sealife PC/Moonlite systems (are they worth the $$$?) or a Coralife PC (or anything you suggest, hehe).   >>The Coralife PC units are quite popular, though I'm curious as to why you wish to upgrade the lighting.  The "whys" of the upgrade should first be addressed, and then I would steer you towards an outfit with an excellent reputation, http://www.hellolights.com (I *think* that's the URL!).. not only for great prices, but for their customer service. >Also would it be OK to add some corals or should I get some kind of sump going before I do that?  THANKS!!!  Mike Chang >>If you wish to upgrade the lighting in order to get some corals, first decide what types you wish to keep.  This will help greatly in deciding lighting.  Right now I'll steer you away from anemones, difficult, move about, small tank, bad combo (unless it's dedicated to one anemone).  Then, consider a small refugium, search our site as we have MUCH information on 'fuge setups.  A ten gallon tank or H.O.T. 'fuge would be great for you.  The 'fuge can act as refugium filtration and as a sump, and with this in place you can keep your water quality very high.  Thus, your only limitation would be lighting (heh...).  With what you're thinking of, I think you could keep MANY different types of soft corals, polyps, zoanthids, and LPS corals.  If you're interested in clams, I suggest Tridacna derasa.  Marina

Stocking a 20g.  (10-9-03) Hi<Howdy, Cody here today.> I have a 20g High saltwater aquarium with about 20lbs of live rock and a 5.5in deep sand bed that has been cycled for quite some time.  The tank has lots of "pods," small tube worms and at night I can see worms just under the top of the sand moving around.  I took your advice from the web site and let the sand bed mature for about 6 months before adding any livestock.  During those 6 months I have also been dosing Kalkwasser at night and have beautiful purple, red and pink algae on the rock.<You won't be disappointed that you waited.  This is a part of setting up a new tank many over look.  The benefits will be well worth the wait as you are already witnessing, also gives you a chance to recover from the initial start up costs J.>After reading an old Martin Moe book, I got curious and decided to acclimate two black mollies just to see how my system would react. Well, they have been in the tank for about a month and I have noticed that they constantly pick at the live rock and most interesting of all, they have this habit of scooping up large mouthfuls of sand and sifting it through their mouth.  Any time the sand gets even the hint of brown algae forming in a small area it is usually gone by the end of the day from these mollies eating it? <Not sure what a mollies eating habits are but it could be they are eating it or they just sift through it and it gets  stirred up.> Also is it necessary have a clean up crew of snails and hermit crabs? <You will probably need one in the near future and it is always best to get it before it strikes.  Limiting the amount of nutrients in your tank also helps.> Seems to me these mollies are doing a pretty good job on their own.  In the future I'm planning on adding some mushrooms, leather coral, some macro algae and possibly some Zoanthus (are they really poisonous to humans?). <I have had heard of some pretty bad cases from them but I have never had a problem handling them.  It is always a good idea to wear gloves when ever you are working in the tank though.>: I do a 5% water change in the middle of the week and a 10% change at the end of the week.  I have a ViaAqua Multiskimmer and two power heads for water movement and 96w PC lighting.  Right now, all water parameters are "spot on."  Thanks in advance for your opinion.<Looks like you are on the right track so far!  Good luck, Cody.>

- Livestock for a 23 Gallon Tank - Hi, Could you recommend some fish Suitable for a 23 gallon tank. Regards A.D.M <I do hope you mean saltwater ;-) I'd pick three, perhaps four fish maximum that are generally peaceful and stay small. Perhaps an ocellaris clown or two, a neon goby or two, and perhaps a Royal Gramma. Cheers, J -- >

- Euphyllia in a 20-gallon Mini-Reef? - Hi folks! I just started reading WWM a few months ago, and I've decided to set up a mini-reef tank. Here's my setup so far (it's been going for about 2 months): Standard Top Fin 20 gallon tank 96w Aqualight PC hood (2 10,000K and 2 Actinic) < I wasn't aware that they made a 4 lamp 96w Aqualight, are you sure it's not just a 2 lamp unit? Power compact lamps at first look like a double lamp, but they're simply one long thin tube bent in half w/ pins on only one end.> HOB filter with floss and carbon 25lbs live rock ~18lbs "live" (wet-bagged) sugar-fine aragonite sand <I personally love this stuff, nothing worse than the classic week-long cloud from un-washed sugar-fine aragonite!> Yellowtail Damsel 3" Bubbletip Anemone Cleaner shrimp Emerald Crab 2 x Astraea Snails <Wow, somebody finally spells Astraea right!!! You win... well... nothing, but cool nonetheless!> Various small hitchhikers PH 8.2 Alk "Med-High" (according to test kit) <Sounds like you need a new kit, get one that gives you readings in Alk or dKH.> Temp 80 degrees Calcium 450 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0.1 Weekly 10% water changes, monthly carbon changes <If you run carbon monthly, only leave it in for a few days (a week at most). It absorbs and adsorbs just about all it can in short order and can re-release...>, trace elements and iodine additives, small amount of reef builder in top-off water (trying to get that coralline to grow). :) Anyway, after much deliberation and research I've decided to trade in the BTA for some kind of centerpiece coral. I've got a 2.5" Yellowstripe maroon clownfish in my quarantine tank right now, itching to get in the main tank (not literally, thank goodness). I'm considering getting some kind of Euphylliid, probably a hammer coral since there is a beautiful 4" or so specimen at my LFS (Pet Kingdom here in San Diego) and I'm hoping my clown will host with it. <It might, although it's almost guaranteed to pair up with your BTA> I'm also planning on adding a Skilter 250 with air stone within the next week or so and turning the HOB filter into a mini-refugium. <Eh, even with the air stone, the Skilter would still be a bit cheesy. How 'bout a Seaclone (gasp!) or even an AquaC remora run by a Rio 800 instead of the MaxiJet?> Will a hammer coral or frogspawn do ok in a 20-gallon tank?  <Sure, go with a frogspawn so you can break parts off if it gets too big, this is very risky with a hammer of the classic growth form.> Also, what other types of corals would you recommend, and how far should they be from the Euphylliid? <Hehe, you'd be surprised how long the sweeper tentacles can get. I'd wait to see exactly how bad they are before choosing a neighboring coral...> I was thinking some zoos, mushrooms, and maybe some yellow or green star polyps. Or... would I be better off with a finger leather for the centerpiece? <That's up to you, a leather coral would be a less aggressive centerpiece though.> I know they're easier to take care of, but I feel confident that I can care for the hammer coral, if the tank size is acceptable. <It's fine, just plan ahead for growth.> I also plan on upgrading to a 50-75 gallon tank within a year, to account for growth and so I can get more fish and corals, maybe start trying to breed maroon clowns. :) <Excellent, have you purchased Joyce Wilkerson's clownfish book yet?> Anyway, thanks for putting together such a great website! It's like having a second, much smarter brain! <Haha, I wish! -Kevin> Jarin

A New Tank <Hello! Ryan with you> My friend just started a 20 gal reef with my old tank.  I wanted your input on stocking -33 lbs live rock -30 lbs aragonite sand not live (yet) -2 pumps for circulation 1 penguin mini Plan to get a backpack skimmer soon.<Perhaps an AquaC Remora is in the budget?> it has a 36 watt power compact. 1 rock with green star polyps. <Hmmm...1.8 watts/gallon is pretty low.  Please read up: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/lighting/index.htm 16 hermit crabs 10 snail 1 sally light foot crab to clean up <Overkill.  Skip the Sally lightfoot, it belongs in a bigger setup.  Try 8 hermits, 5 snails.> fish. 1 Pseudochromis purple 2" 1 maroon clown 1 1/2" <Too large, too aggressive.  Perhaps a small wrasse, goby of some sort would be a better choice.> My friend wants to add a long nose hawk. <OK...then certainly skip the maroon.  Only 2 fish of this size will coexist happily in 20 gallons of water.> I know the maroon clown will get bigger will it be too big? <see above.  With a small system, the water can pollute very quickly.  It's important to keep it under stocked, with a good amount of live rock for a balance.  Best of luck! Ryan>

Too small, too soon  (9-17-03) Hi,<Cody, Cody here today!> This is my first mail. but I have been reading the articles on your website for quite sometime. very informative. I have a 12 gallon saltwater tank.. and have recently a week back) introduces a Blue Damsel and an Ocellaris Clownfish. Damsel dude seemed to be fine. but the Ocellaris color have faded. fins are droopy. Water condition is fine. temp around 80f. salinity around 1.024.<This is way too soon to have fish.  Do you have any live rock or anything?  Did you go through a cycle.  Have you checked you ammonia, nitrite, or nitrite?> By the way, was it a good idea to have a clownfish and a damsel is a 12 gallon tank. is this size too small?<It is a bit small especially with a fish as aggressive as the blue damsel.> Any help will be greatly appreciated.<Answer these questions and get back to me.  Other than that just keep reading and learning and you will get it with time.  Cody> Ajish C

Small Tank- Big Considerations! Hi, <Hi there! Scott F. at your service> I was wondering what I should put in my new 25 gallon marine set-up. I have kept marines for some years and have other tanks. I am torn between keeping a solitary dwarf lionfish or having a few smaller fish like clowns/dwarf angels etc. <I'd stick to one small pygmy angel, like C. fisheri or C. acanthops...Even a dwarf lionfish might be pushing it a bit..> I have a T8 lighting system with 1 actinic tube and a daylight tube. The filtration is an Ecco 2233 suitable for a 40 gallon aquarium. I also employ a protein skimmer. <Excellent, especially for a smaller tank> The only problem is that I purchased some sand which packs down quite a lot so I think I will need some clean-up crew like hermits but I want to keep them as small as possible. Can these tough little critters be kept with a small dwarf lionfish? <I don't think that it would be a major problem> Also for molting, do cleaner shrimps require extra calcium/iodine in order to successfully shed their exoskeleton? Thanks a lot. Ari <They sure do, Ari. In my opinion, however, a well-maintained tank (in which you conduct regular water changes), you will, in most cases, not need to supplement additional iodine or calcium. In a reef tank, the situation might be different, as there are usually plenty of animals that utilize these substances. All good things to consider, and I think that you're on the right track for success. Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Nano Corals? Hello, <Hi there! Scott F. with you tonight!> I just setup an eclipse 12 as a desktop reef tank. Right now, I have a flower pot coral, a little finger leather coral and tiny (1 inch) blue regal tang. I know my tank is on the small side for the tang, <Okay...We're talking MAJOR understatement here!> but I have a 75 gallon tank to move him into when he grows a tad bit. <Much better...For a while, anyways...> My question is this. 1) I live in Texas where the weather outside is consistently 100 degrees. I have my house set to 70 degrees at all times, but my tank is getting up there in temperature. Currently the temperature in the tank is 82 degrees. Is there any thing I can do to safely lower the temp? 2) I have been searching endlessly for a pc lighting kit with no prevail. I am stuck using the light that came with this unit. <A lot of nano keepers use small desktop fans, blown directly across the water surface, to help encourage evaporative cooling...> Are there any low light corals you would recommend? Some suggestions I have heard was most polyps and mushrooms. <Some, but not all...Do read up on the FAQs regarding specific varieties...Many species of mushrooms would work...> I was really wanting to get a frogspawn, but I don't know if the lighting would be suffice. <Not just the lighting...Think about the wallop of a sting that these guys can pack, especially in the confines of a 12 gallon tank...Sweepers could be devastating to other corals and sessile inverts...> Thanks, Paul <I'd stay with some small mushrooms and some polyps...Read up a bit before choosing animals...So many possibilities, but you're on the right track...Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Nano No-No's? Add me to the list of 'Conscientious Marine Aquarist' lovers. Here's my question/s: I just bought a twelve gallon mini-reef setup (JBJs new nanocube unit). I'm intending to keep the bioload extremely light, thinking maybe a cleaner shrimp, and one small fish. . . with mostly macroalgae cuttings from my main system instead of corals. <That's about it!> (1) How does 'black sand' compare with oolitic aragonite for some minimal nitrate reduction in this kind of setup? <If it is volcanic in origin, it can cause massive algae problems... Carib Sea makes a black sand product called "Tahitian Moon", which is black, and is an aragonite product...> I'll be depending mostly on water changes. . . no room for a skimmer. . . <And little margin for error! Be vigilant with maintenance!> (2) The lighting system included is a 24 watt power compact. No macroalgae will be more than 12" from the bulb, once some live rock and a bed are accounted for. A black bed is going to minimize reflected light. . . is this going to diminish the light for 'things that need it' significantly? <Good question, but I don't think it's a problem, if most of the animals are up on the rocks> (3) Will a small emerald crab, if added in addition to the aforementioned, likely attack any Ulva/lettuce, Gracilaria, and/or other macroalgae rather than hair algae? (I've never been able to avoid hair algae completely, and doubt this system will be an exception). <It's a possibility...They are not that selective in their eating habits! It's a calculated risk...> Thanks in advance for any help on this.  Chuck <My pleasure, Chuck! Proceed with caution! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Nano reef power heads and Caulerpa I have a 10g nano-reef with 10lbs liverock and 15lbs live sand and is stocked with various corals. I was wondering what powerheads would provide sufficient water movement and not take up to much space. I was thinking about getting mini jet pumps from aquarium systems. <personally, I like these; nice sizes, good output, and they seem to last quite a while> I also have a large growth of Caulerpa prolifera which is also taking up to much space. The Caulerpa is an essential part of my tank by absorbing nitrates. <yeah, I hear ya on that.  Have you considered doing a small refugium?  That'd keep the Caulerpa in the system, but not taking up space in the tank.  I've even heard of folks using a power filter with no media in it for the purpose - just a bit of rock for the Caulerpa to hold on to> I was wondering if I could take the Caulerpa out and in its place do more frequent water changes. <you could, conceivably, but it really is nice to have something for nutrient export.  Perhaps try Chaetomorpha macroalgae instead?> Sorry for any inconvenience. <Don't be, that's what we're here for!> Kevin        <Sabrina>
Re: Nanos 'n' Caulerpa I was thinking about putting in a refugium. but I think I will just try a different type of macro algae. Thanks a lot <sounds good, hope all goes well for you> Kevin <Sabrina>

Nano Propagation Tank? If I had a spare 5 1/2 gallon tank, do you think that would make a good propagation tank. I would use the MiniMight as a light, but I would have the frags on a stand so that they would be very close to the light. Thanks-Mike <Well, Mike, it is possible to compensate for lower light levels with more feeding and closer proximity to the available light...I'd go for it, with this in mind. Good luck with your little experiment! Regards, Scott F>

Lighting a 10 gallon and a grave for a Copper - 7/28/03 hey. <Hey. Sorry for the delay. Paul here> I just set up my first reef tank, a 10 gallon a couple of weeks ago. <A 10 gallon eh? Can be done, but not a good idea for the casual reefer, that's for sure> so far I have 2 mushrooms, 2 zoanthids, and a Copperband butterfly fish. <Me thinks the Copperband needs to go. First off, let me say that the Copperband is hard to sustain for a long period of time. Even with reefers with a bit of experience. Do look here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/chelmonfaqs.htm Add to the scenario that your tank is gravely small even for a baby Copperband and you have the recipe for disaster. See, these fish are sometimes hard to feed, shipping survivability is a question mark, and in a small tank you could magnify the problem. The animal can't grow, is stressed by its confinements etc. etc. Please it would be wise to research all purchases as it will make it easier on yourself, your pocketbook, and the ocean and research your future inhabitants and needs before placing or even starting that next tank. This works out the best for all involved. This is not to say a small tank can't be worthwhile and beautiful it just takes extra work. Either way, though, the Copperband has to have a 55 gallon minimum for survival to 100 gallon tank to be in an ideal environment. Don't mean to discourage you but just to inform =)> my lighting is a MiniMight. It has 2 nine watt lamps--  one is a daylight 5000k(600 lumens) and an actinic blue 7100k.   Is this lighting powerful enough to keep all types of zoanthids, button polyps, and sea mats? <Mmmmmm.......I am thinking this is doubtful. I believe the MiniMight is way under powered even for these hardy low light corals. I would expect that the PAR output to be nil (at least not even penetrate the first few inches of the water layer in a standard 10 gallon. I would upgrade at least to a power compact (the spectrum and PAR output is good and seems to provide enough of both for quite a few soft corals (zoanthids and leathers alike.) Maybe even double that if you can afford to. Check out offerings at Marine Depot. I saw a deal on there for a Custom SeaLife hood with fan and two 40 watt PC bulbs 1 Actinic and the other a 10K (also comes with their Moonlite LED) for 121.00 bucks with shipping. I also like offerings from Dr. Foster and Smith, Champion Lighting Supply and ReefGeek>   also, what is the best way to make the zoos grow as fast as possible. I dose 5 drops of iodine per week, and that's it. <No need to dose anything unless you test for it. Proper lighting, flow, and foodstuffs (detritus, floc, bacteria, and probably very tiny small meaty pieces and algal matter) would suit them best. Don't buy miracle foodstuffs, or even DTs as there is no proof that it actually supports growth in zoanthids and leather corals. I wouldn't buy another supplement of any type (unless you test for it), but the best way to maintain animals and proper mineral constituents is to do water changes 2-3 times weekly. Be sure to have 2 smallish powerheads, do more research on your inhabitants, ;-) and enjoy! You are on your way to becoming a Conscientious Marine Aquarist. Keep the questions coming and exploit our site to its fullest and your fullest potential -Paul> thanks

20 Gallon Reef Hi, <Howdy, Don with you today> I have a 20 gallon setup using a bio wheel mini, a used in-sump protein skimmer that I retrofitted to be a hang on (not sure which kind.  It uses a Rio 800 and produces medium dry foam with about 1/8 cup brown stinky liquid a week).  Lighting is 2 55w PC bulbs.  A 10000K and an actinic.  There is a yellow tail damsel, 2 Astrea snails, 3 small red legged hermit crabs, a bunch of tiny tiny snails and two 1 inch long light green tentacle like things (they come out at night) that stowed away on the live rock, 16 pounds live rock with about 20 brownish zoanthids and 2.5 inches sand.  A coral tank is my goal, with maybe 1 small fish and or 1 shrimp.  What corals would you suggest?  The tank is 3.5 months old.  I am open to all suggestions. <Hmmmm, first, remember that a tank this small will be difficult to keep stable which will make this adventure more of a 'challenge'. I would suggest a 40G minimum and maybe use the 20 as a sump. With I would say you could do most anything you wanted short of anemones and clams. I would try to stick with corals that have a common need for light and water movement. With a 20 it will be difficult to keep the water stable so maybe some of the more hardy corallimorphs and soft corals? I would suggest you check out the Book of Coral Propagation by Anthony Calfo and Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman as well as our forum at http://www.wetwebfotos.com/forum All excellent resources. Hope this helps, Don>

Neo Nano Nut? I've had a 10G FW tank since I was 3 (now 17) my last fresh water fish recently died, and I decided to upgrade my 10 gallon tank to an 18 gallon. The 18G has been sitting in my room for the past week, with filter, heater and water but no fish because I can't decide what I want in it. <Easily solved, of course!> I then came about your site and thought about doing something completely different; going saltwater; however, reading through the saltwater portion of your site I didn't come across anything saying there was a minimum tank size for saltwater tanks. Is there? <Well, there is no minimum saltwater tank size, per se. However, IMO, there is a minimum tank size that a hobbyist should attempt to keep saltwater fish in...Sizes much under 20 gallons are just too tough to maintain stable environmental conditions (particularly temperature and specific gravity...Also, we as a group tend to overstock our systems...disaster in small water volumes (and potential disaster in large volumes, too!). You have to be absolutely diligent with maintenance procedures...lapses in husbandry can be disastrous, too!> Reading through the FAQs, I saw that many people have 100G+ size tanks and it made my 18 G feel like a dwarf; would this 18 G tank be large enough for a SW tank? <It would if properly stocked, equipped, and maintained! You really have to draw the line at a certain stocking density...> In addition, I have an AquaClear mini water filter (the mini series are ok for tanks up to 20G), is this water filter suitable for SW tanks as well? <Well, it really depends on the creatures you intend to keep. Frankly, I think you'd be better off with a filter that cranks 10 times the tank's water volume per hour, at the least...You really want to move and filter the water at a "good clip", as they say> Thanks from Nicole <Well, Nicole, you can certainly keep a nano reef, but you need to be disciplined. I'll bet that you can do it! A good site for nano-nuts is nano-reef.com . Check it out. Regards, Scott F>

He's Nuts About Nanos! Scott, <Hi there once again!> Thanks again for the help and thanks for the web site for Nano nuts.... <It's a pretty cool site- some good "nano nuts" there!> One last question. <Sure> Would you raise the live rock off the sand using PVC pipes or just put them directly on top of the sand? <Good question...I like to put the rocks in and then add the sand...It will provide stability...You could also use the PVC trick...it helps when you want to clean around the rocks...Have fun with this project..! Regards, Scott F>
Nuts About Nanos (Cont'd.) Scott, <Hello again!> I am ready to start buying live rocks, etc for this adventure.  Local fish store has uncured Tonga rocks (I heard these are less dense than Fiji which is a good thing). <Yep- and they are darned attractive, too!> I have a question about cleaning/preparing live rock. Would you cure it directly in the Eclipse since it is brand new set up with no fish in it? <I think that it is possible... However, I prefer a separate container where you can control water quality better through massive water changes and a protein skimmer...> BRISTLE WORMS: I know I want to get rid of mantis shrimp for sure, but I read conflicting info. on bristle worms.  Are they good or bad?  Since I will go with DSB, more sand sifting creatures would be good.  I heard bristle worms help with sand stirring and eat detritus (good for Fish ONLY), but will cause harm to reef corals (Bad of Reef).  I am OK now because mine will be FOWLR but if things go well, I will turn it into Reef so I want to know what bristle worm do in Fish Only vs. Reef if I encounter some during live rock preparation. <Frankly, I have not had any problems at all with bristle worms in either reef or FOWLR tanks. In my opinion, they are essentially harmless, for the most part, and perform a function in the aquarium that is analogous to an earthworm...helping to aerate the sand bed, consuming detritus, etc. If they are kept in check, I don't see them becoming a problem> Oh, one more thing.  When they say you need 1 - 1.75 lb of live rock per gallon, do they mean the tank size or actual water amount in the tank?  Obviously, after adding sand, my Eclipse 12 will hold a lot less than 12 gallon of water.... <Right...It can be interpreted either way, but I tend to favor "x" pounds per actual gallons of water volume in the tank> Thanks, Kevin <My pleasure, Kevin! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Nano No-No's? Scott, <Hi there!> That was quick!  :)  Thank you very much for the quick reply.  I have some questions for clarification... <Sure- ask away, my friend> It seems you place more importance on DSB than live rock in this setup.  Does DSB serve dual functions (nitrification on upper layer and denitrification on lower layer)?  If that is true, then is 3" sand (instead of 4" for water volume issue) and 5 lb of live rock good combination (again water volume issue)? <That's my take on it...In fact, make it over 3 inches for best results...> I read 1 - 1.25 lb live rock per gallon of water as rule of thumb.  But if DSB can help in nitrification too, above combination maybe best considering the water volume issue or do I still need at least 7lb of live rock (after DSB, it would definitely hold less than 12 gal of water) in addition to 3" DSB?  Or would still you go for 4" sand and 5lb or 7lb live rock? <I'd go for 4 inches of sand, and whatever amount of rock you choose...remembering, of course, the displacement that these materials will cause> Grain size: I saw CaribSea aragonite.  The bag said 1-2 mm grain size but it definitely looked more coarse than that and was not uniform size.  Grain size similar to sugar powder is the best size for DSB? <I like the so-called "sugar fine" grade, which is from 0.2 mm-1.0 mm> Critters:  You mentioned just a couple of snails.  You would not trust hermit crabs in the small set up (may try to eat shrimp or bother clowns)?  I think snails and shrimp will help with detritus (and some sand sifting with Nassarius or Bumble bee snails) <I'd go for the Nassarius and maybe some Trochus or Strombus - Bumble Bees are cool to look at, but they don't do much for your system, IMO> and was considering hermit crab for sand sifting, but if they will likely bother other creatures like Banded Coral Shrimp, I will forget about them.  I remember reading red legged ones are nicer than blue one or the opposite. <Well, I love those little crabs, but they sometimes snack on the snails! Counterproductive in a small tank, if you ask me!> Should I stir sand manually once a week?  Both upper and lower layers? <If you are running 3 inches or less, you may want to stir the top layer once in a while. Personally, in a 4 inch bed, I just let it be> Dumb question: The water inlet strainer for Eclipse pump.  I currently have it come as close to the bottom as possible.  I should do the same with DSB (as close as possible to surface of sand) for better water circulation and allow it to suck in detritus? <Actually, I'd probably trim the intake to get it just a bit farther off of the sand. In a tank this small, manual extraction (i.e. siphoning during H20 changes) of detritus is still the best way...> Thanks, Kevin <My pleasure, Kevin...Good luck with your efforts. You might want to check out this site dedicated to nano-nuts: http://www.nano-reefs.com/    Regards, Scott F.>

Nano- NO-NO!! I sent this e-mail before but for some reason I did not get a reply.  You probably get hundreds of e-mail and maybe that is why.  Here is my second try.    <Let's get it right, then! Scott F. here for you tonight!> First of all, great web site!!! <Thrilled that you like it- we have some great folks here!> I am considering converting my existing Eclipse 12 (used as fresh water) as a marine fish only tank for my toddler son's bedroom. Fresh water set up was going great until we added the fish from bad fish store that had disease which wiped out most of the fish.  If we are to put in the effort to re-establish the tank, we thought we would go marine to get more colorful fish I had marine tank about 10 years ago (before marriage and kid) and it seems so much has changed since then especially the use of DSB (deep sand bed).   <Yep- so much HAS changed- even in the last 3 years! LOL> My main goal is to do everything I can in initial set-up to improve odds for the fish's survival because I do not want to see fish suffer and, more importantly, see my son crying when fish starts dying every week. <Yep- that's a definite consideration!> I spent many hours on WWM but did not quite find what I needed or found some conflicting info. <No. Really? Here? About fishkeeping? Seriously? LOL> I plan to put 2 small true Percula clowns (tank bred) and add anything that will help them (cleaner shrimp, snails, hermit crabs, and goby) or more importantly not add anything that will hurt them.  My biggest question is on substrate as you will see below. Q1: Live Rock Is it better to have live rock or just use bio wheel on eclipse 12 for biological filter? <Well, I'd go for about a small amount of live rock, and a 3-4 inch sandbed if you could swing it. Problem is, in such a small tank, DSBs can really eat up water volume. And, water volume is paramount in a small system- instability is the biggest gripe that I have about small saltwater systems...Such as small volume of water- you must be absolutely vigilant about maintaining excellent water quality> If so, how much live rock for Eclipse 12? <Again- as little as you can get away with, IMO> I read a posting in WWM too much live rock displaces too much volume in small system leaving only little water which makes the system less stable.  Too little live rock and you do not get enough filtration. <Yep- as above!> If live rock, then would you recommend removing bio wheel?  I read in WWM that bio wheel is very effective in nitrification so maybe live rock is not needed. <Well, I'd dump it.> But because it is so effective, it generates too much nitrate. <True, in many cases> Q2: Substrate Is DSB (deep sand bed) the best option for Eclipse 12 Fish Only? If so how much? (I know 3" is min.  Is 4" better?) <# inches plus> OR since this will be fish only with probably live rock, would you recommend 1" or less instead?   <1/2 inch or less, or 3 inches plus> I would think live rock would (in correct quantity) would take care of nitrification, so DSB would be good for denitrification.  But I read for fish only with live rock, DSB is actually bad.  With 2 clowns on Eclipse 12, it is too much load and DSB (3"+) will create problem? <I don't think so, myself...> With either DSB or SSB (shallow sand bed), is Eclipse 12 pump (rated 150gph) enough flow for fish only or do I need to add a powerhead? <I'd like more flow...But then, there is the heat issue...> Do I need to seed it with live sand if I use Home Depot sand (south down brand) do organisms from live rock move to live sand to populate it? (I will buy some live sand if live rock to live sand transfer will take too long or live rock does not had diverse organism the live sand has). How many pounds of live sand do I need to seed? <Surprisingly little- a half a pound for such a small system should work> I have seen fine pink sand (dry sand, not pre-packaged fake live sand) at local fish shop and also FreshAquaria.com Is this a same good material to use as South Down sand? <As long as it is fine, silicate free, and of uniform grain size, it should be okay, IMO> Background info. for substrate question: I kept Eclipse 12 bare bottom (no substrate) for freshwater water (taking advantage of BioWheel) because substrate tends to trap uneaten foot, waste and caused problem . I planned to go bare bottom for marine but after reading WWM, it appears I need substrate for marine tank at least for buffering. <Yep> I do not like the idea of larger grain (crushed coral) because it may trap uneaten food, fish waste.  I think fine grain of sand would prevent this problem. <Well, it can still accumulate some detritus, but a lot less than the coarse stuff> Q3. Would you add sand and live rock at the same time in the initial stage or sand first, wait a week, then live rock or the other way around? <I'd put it all in at the same time> Q4:  Would you recommend adding an air stone to Eclipse 12?  I read some FAQ in WWM recommending it and other FAQ in WWM recommending against it because of salt creep.  Is air stone more likely cause problem than help it?  Eclipse 12 pump outlet does not drop water like waterfall but instead push water into it, so surface disturbance is little (kind of like submerged powerhead) so I wonder if I need more aeration from air stone. <I agree- and another plus would be a protein skimmer- something that is tough to install on this small, self-contained tank. Perhaps another one of my "anti-nano" tank gripes...A protein skimmer is of tremendous help in maintaining a healthy environment...Not something I would skip. There are hobbyists who have attached skimmers to nanos- I'd post on the WWM Forum to see what fellow hobbyists have done> Q5: Sand sifting fish/invert. Do I need them for both DSB and shallow sand bed? After reading WWM, I found not all snails, crabs, stars are appropriate for this (some are lazy, some eat fish, some eat beneficial organism in the sand, etc).  How many of each specific species do you recommend for Eclipse 12 that would not try to eat each other or eat all good things in sand?  Variety of this critters would be good since fish variety is limited. (Nassarius snails," nice" hermit crabs (blue or red legged?), "nice" goby.  It is probably too small for any kind of starfish not to starve)  Ideally I hope to choose creatures that will eat detritus since some overfeeding will happened from time to time although I will be very careful. <I'd avoid a goby, and opt for a snail or two> Adding a goby or 2(neon goby) would be too much bioload for Eclipse 12 on top of 2 clowns? <I think that it would, to be honest> Q6. Red skunk shrimp, Peppermint Shrimp, Red Blood Shrimp.  Which one would do well in this set up? <I like the Blood Shrimp, myself> (I think I trust Coral Banded Shrimp less in such a small size) <No, you couldn't!> Q7: Stocking plan. Is it better to add fish first or critters first (territorial behavior concern on nano size) My local fish store suggested after running with live rock for a week, add critters (shrimp, snail, hermit crab) first to finish cycling, but aren't these creature equally affected by cycling effect? <Yes they are...I'd go rock/sand- wait 'till the tank cycles, then add the fish and inverts gradually> Q8: According to the label, marine fish medication harms/kills invert.  When invert. is used in this context, does it include shrimp, crab, snails or just corals?  I bought a 10 gallon tank as hospital after the recent incident, but even if I move a sick fish to hospital tank, I would think you need to treat main tank a little bit as a preventive measure and want to know if shrimp. crab, snails, live rock/sand would be affected by medicine.  I read that most medication is not too harmful for fresh water tank except Methylene Blue and Erythromycin and wonder it is the same with salt water. <I would not use any medication anywhere except a dedicated "hospital" tank. Yes- crabs and snails are adversely affected by these meds> Q9: When I set up bigger main tank in future and want to get yellow or hippo tang (ick magnet), 10 gal would be too small for these guys as a quarantine/hospital tank? <Well- if it's a little guy (4 inches or less), it can work as a QT> Is 10 gal to small to use as a sump for 55 - 75 gal main tank?  How about refugium (refugium benefits only if you have reef, not fish?) <Better size for a refugium, IMO> Q10:  Maybe the most important question.  Should I not attempt using Eclipse 12 for marine (even for fish only) because it is too small and very likely kill the fish?  Or as long as I get right kind/number of fish/critters it is OK? I see more and more people running small marine tank (even eclipse 6) which I could not even imagine 10 years ago.  A local fish store has 5-6 Eclipse 6 and Eclipse 12 running in their store. <Well- you asked for my opinion. I hate to discourage people or dampen their enthusiasm, but I really hate small tanks for marine fish. Environmental stability is absolutely critical with marine fishes, and stability is soo difficult to achieve in such as mall water volume. It's so much easier (and better) to work with a 40-50 gallon tank at a minimum: Its greater water volume eliminates many of the possible environmental fluctuations encountered in a dinky little tank, and is much more forgiving if you mess something up (we NEVER do that, right?). In the end, even though the initial investment may be more in a larger tank, you'll be ahead in the long run, and your fish will be much happier for it> Sorry my e-mail is long but I want to be really well prepared/informed considering the small size of setup and recent episode with the fresh water tank. Thanks in advance, Kevin <My pleasure, Kevin...Take my advise with a grain of salt- but do think about the shortcomings of a small marine system...Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Nano... Hello, hello! Your Web page is invaluable. I can't thank you enough. <We're glad that you enjoy it! We take great pride in bringing it to you! Scott F. at the keyboard today!> I'll make this short and sweet...well, maybe not that short but hopefully sweet :o) ...  1. 30gal with an Emperor filter. Do I need a pump or a powerhead for water flow and how many gph do you think I should be looking for? <If I were doing this, I'd shoot for a flow of around 200gph...Move that water! You can always "turn down the flow if needed"> Going nano with easy corals in the next few weeks. 2. Dumb question related to powerheads, if I need one. All the powerhead info I see says it works with an undergravel filter but I don't have one and assume others don't either. Will I need a hang on system or will I be able to get one of the submersible units? <You could get a submersible model like the MaxiJet series, or you could be a total, raving SPS lunatic like one of my friends, who dropped an external Gemini pump on his 40 gallon SPS system, and pushes 960 GPH! (to put it in perspective, I use two of these on my 150gal reef for supplemental circulation! This guy's hardcore!> It's all about the needs of your animals.> 3. Cleanup crew - I'm thinking snails and hermit crabs but I'm not sure how many to add. I'd like to have some sort of combination of Nassarius, Astraea, Golden Turbo, Nerites, Bumblebee for the "pretty" factor. I've heard they're freeloaders. I know that may be too many so I'd love suggestions. <I'd go for about 10-15 total grazers...> As for hermit crabs, scarlet okay or are they going to bully the snails? 1 or 2 okay for the system? I'm more interested in getting the algae cleaned up. <I'd use the "Micro Hermits" that you can get from Indo Pacific Sea Farms. They are really safe, and seem to do a nice job on various microalgae. Not 100% certain of the species, but I have found them to be largely coral safe..> Tank is established and has plenty of food but don't want to throw too many in. I should quarantine for at least a month right? <Yep- right on! All new fishes should be quarantined...Ideally, you'd quarantine inverts, too> 3.Do you guys accept Paypal for donations? Would love to help out any way I can. <Very thoughtful of you! Actually, you can purchase cool "WetWebGear" from a link on the site, or, you can pledge  some proceeds from your Amazon.com purchases to WWM...These both help support the WWM mission!> That's it for me. Have a wonderful weekend! -Ash <And same to you, Ash. Good luck with your nano! Regards, Scott F>

- Greedy Shrimp in a Nano Tank - Greetings Gang: <Good morning, JasonC here...> You guys perform such a great service.  Thanks for your support. I have a 5 gallon nano-reef, which includes all the living rock I could cram into it, several varieties each of red and green macro algae, several snails, including a small bumble bee snail, a small orange sea star,  a red legged hermit crab, assorted types of button corals, a hammer coral, a Euphyllia, and two hungry peppermint shrimp (to control the Aiptasia). This tank has been set up for several years and has a great balance.  I have been feeding the stony corals frozen mysis shrimp and frozen zooplankton, rotating on  a daily basis.  I keep the water clean with very regular water changes every other day and have not had any problems, until I had a heart attack and spent a week in the hospital. <Good grief - I hope all is well with you now.> After coming home I noticed the Euphyllia was not very happy (hammer is doing fine), so I immediately got back to the water change thing.  Problem is that part of the Euphyllia looked like it was just not going to make it. <Probably not - a tank this small, with as much life and live rock in it as you have, has much less than five gallons of water in it, and that balance you speak of is precarious at best. Without the water changes, things would go south quickly.> I noticed last night that my two peppermint shrimp were busy cleaning up the last few remaining polyps off the skeleton.  Do peppermint shrimp pose a threat to a healthy Euphyllia? <Not to a healthy one... and not if they've been getting fed with other items, but... again, the week off... your system was out of balance.> Now I'm not sure if the coral died due to water quality or is being irritated and digested by the shrimp because I've seen them walk over the coral and seem to irritate it. <I'd think the changes in water quality would be most likely.> I would like to keep the remaining half of the Euphyllia alive and not sure how to protect it from the peppermint shrimp, or were the peppermint shrimp just performing housecleaning duties? <Most likely the Euphyllia was on its way out.> One of the peppermint shrimp is extremely red while the other one is more subdued and in the past have watched one of them giving birth to dozens of baby shrimp.  I am impressed how they can "walk" upside down on the surface of the water.  It is truly hard to believe so much life can survive in such a miniature ecosystem. Also, I am having trouble controlling the razor Caulerpa.  The Bubble is a little easier, but both require constant harvesting.  Do you have any ideas regarding natural controls while keeping the size of my tank in mind? <Not in a tank of this size - you're just going to have to continue to remove it manually.> I was thinking along the line of either an invertebrate or small fish which feeds on the stuff. <I think it would throw your system off... make it harder to maintain.> I have tried to pull it out but, as you probably already know, totally getting rid of it is impossible. Please don't suggest upgrading to a larger tank. <Ok.> We are in the process of adopting two otherwise homeless children and this tank is not a priority. Thank you very much for your assistance.  You guys are very helpful.  I have submitted questions in the past and your advise is always right on. <Cheers, J -- >

Green open brain coral and leather coral 5/31/03 Hello, <Cheers> I am going to buy a green open brain coral but am unsure of a few things. First I keep reading conflicting information on your site as to how often to feed it ...some places say no more than twice a week and other places say at least 3-5 times weekly so I need to know how often I actually need to feed it. <the difference here is the case by case e-mails we receive. An aquarist that has a large or heavy bio-load (other/large fishes, heavy feedings etc) will need to feed an open brain less often. Yet, if you have few fishes that are fed lightly, you will need to feed the coral more often> Also I need to know what to feed... I feed the tank Mysis shrimp are those the right size and healthy enough for it? <as you may have noticed in the archives repeatedly, you will need to feed a variety of meats of marine origin. Mysids are a good staple, but not complete or to be fed to exclusion> If not than what would be best? How far apart do green open brain corals need to be form each other? <a minimum of 10" (25 cm) between all corals is a fair start for the 2 year pictures. Still... some fast growing corals will need more room> I want to have 2 or 3 if possible. I have a finger leather coral (I attached a pic of it from when I first stuck it in the tank) that I fragged into 3 parts... all three parts are doing good. So I need to know if this coral needs to fed and if so what? <nope... they cannot be target fed (polyps are too small). Rely on a fishless refugium instead and feeding on DOC's> I was told and have read that they don't need to be fed ,and that they need to be fed so I'm not sure. <they need to feed and eat, just not organismally (particles)> Is it normal for them to expand open there polyps and then after several hours shrink? <quite common> or are they suppose to be open during the whole day? one more thing ....since they're the same coral does it matter how close they are to each other? (the picture is before I fragged it ) <frags from the same colony can touch> I have a 29gal. <yikes! This tank is too small for more than one brain coral... the leather will also outgrow this tank soon> tank with 110watts of pc lighting that has been up for 6months. here's what I plan on having (corals) finger leather (already have it) 1-3 green open brain corals milk leather coral or toadstool leather coral cabbage leather coral colt coral probably some mushrooms and/or green star polyps and maybe a candy cane coral and/or bubble coral if you think any of these is a bad mix or too many than please tell me what to leave out thanks allot, Eric :) <it really is too much for a 29 gallon my friend. Forego the mushrooms and perhaps the star polyps for their aggression (need a larger tank to spread). Also resist the LPS like the bubble and other brains in smaller aquaria. Your best bet IMO is a variety of hardy leathers that you trim as necessary. Best of luck, Anthony>

New Tank Set-up >Hey There! >>Well hey there yourself!  Marina this morning. >First let me commend you on an awesome and most helpful web site! >>Not exactly my doing, but thank you nonetheless. >Now to the fun part! I currently own a 12Gal. Nano tank. It's rather small so I decided to upgrade to what my apartment can withstand, a 37 gal. Oceanic cube.  This is my concept so I was hoping you guys could critique me, and offer some advice.  I drilled the tank with three holes two inches from the top of the tank.  One hole is fitted with a 1in. bulkhead with an overflow strainer (which is the center hole), while the other two are serving as 3/4in. returns fitted with loc-lines. The overflow will drain down to a sump which will serve as a refugium. >>Excellent, Marina likes natural methodologies.  :D >The sump/refugium will have a Myreefcreations calcium reactor, heater, & Ice Probe chiller.  I plan on using a Mag 5 as a return pump.  Does this make sense?  Do you think it will work?   >>Yep, makes sense, sounds good to me. >Also, I plan on using my sand bed in my 12gal. nano for the refugium to help seed the tank's sand. It's about 3-4in. of live sand, a mix of Tampa Bay live sand as well as Nature's Ocean live Biosand.  The refugium is roughly the same size as the nano.  I only plan on using about a 1-2in. sand bed in the main tank, for aesthetic reasons. Does that make sense or am I going about this the wrong way? >>It still makes sense, you wish to run the DSB in the 'fuge instead of the tank.  Go with a 1" sand bed in the tank, maybe even less in this case. >I also am consider running without a skimmer, since I am planning on stocking the refugium heavy with nutrient sucking algae, but I have an Aqua C Remora skimmer just in case. Any help & advice will be greatly appreciated. >>Generally I advise folks to use foam fractionation, but in the case of utilization of a 'fuge w/DSB, and *especially* in situations where you may have many filter feeders, skimming may not be appropriate.  The 'fuge w/DSB will handle the nutrient export/utilization issues you will encounter quite well, so I see no problems with your plan.  In fact, it should work out pretty well.  Best of luck, Oscar! Marina

Sick Feather Duster I just got a my aquarium set up. It is a 1/2 gallon tank.<Way to small, I recommend at least a 29.> I started with a domino damsel and a clown fish, a small feather duster, a small hermit crab and a little bit of live rock.<You need to start small (and stay small with this size of tank) and let it cycle with live rock before adding any livestock.> a couple nights ago It got real cold outside and in the house. Because my tank is so small it didn't come with a heater, just a lamp, and the water must have gotten way to cold because the next morning my damsel was dead and the clown fish didn't survive the morning. The hermit crab is okay and there are still plenty of organisms within the rock and sand; however my feather duster began discharging a mucus. It is clear with flecks of red. I don't know if it is dying or just sick. What should I do?  <Just watch him and do water changes.> Should I quarantine it or is it some kind of disease that can be cleared up with a medication. I looked every where on the site but couldn't find anything quite like this. Please help.  <You can find more info at www.wetwebmedia.com.  Keep reading, learning, and get a bigger tank.  Best regards, Cody>

Tiny Tanks, Yellow Polyps... I started out a few months ago with a 5.5 AGA tank. My inhabitant's (Yellow colonial polyps) Were doing well, multiplying in only a couple weeks. I had an AC MINI on the tank for circulation. I used 2 6500k pc bulbs. Last weekend, I moved some LR and LS into a new 2 gallon cube that I got from a friend. In the last week, the polyps have taken a turn for the worse. Only a couple will open partially during the day, and they seem much skinnier and are wider in some spots than others. The bottom of the polyps are very skinny, and the tops are big. They look so much smaller than they used to be. I'm using the ac mini on the 2g as well, and think it may be too much current in the tank. <Well, they actually do better with stronger water movement. They also tend to maintain their yellow color better when exposed to  light that is heavier in blue. Just give them high water quality and consistent conditions, and they should be fine. They may just be reacting to the changes in their environment...Be patient with them!> Could it be the polyps have still not adjusted to the new tank? What else could be the problem? I've searched the forums religiously  everyday, and still have not come up with a probable cause. <Well, really hard to guess, but I'm leaning towards possible changes in the water quality/conditions, and reaction to a different lighting regimen...> I have not listed any specs, as my test kits were accidentally thrown away, but I used all new water, and ls/lr from my existing, cycled tank. I know it's hard to make a diagnosis without water specs, so I hope to get new test kits this weekend. <Really a worthwhile investment, IMO!> Thanks in advance, Daniel <Good luck to you, Daniel! Hang in there, use basic good husbandry and a few water tests, and these polyps should be fine! Regards, Scott F>

- Damsel Question - Hi, I just added 7 pounds of live rock, doubling what was in my 12 gallon eclipse already. <Zoinks! That doesn't leave much water.> My domino damsel has been acting differently ever since as he isn't as active and is showing a small white spot towards the back end of his body. <Was the live rock cured? If not, your damsel could be in a world of hurt...> He used to be the king of the tank but is now just hiding a lot.   I do 25% water changes weekly and I was going to do one tomorrow as an extra precaution. <I would, along with a full round of tests.> What do you think has happened. <As I mentioned before, this is a small tank which has just gotten smaller due to the displacement of the extra rock. If the rock wasn't cured, it is curing now, and that would make the water a toxic brew for even the hardiest of fish.> Thanks in  advance, Jon <Cheers, J -- >

Small Tank, Big Future! Hi crew, <Hello! Scott F. with you tonight> I have a 60 Litre tank, which I guess is a 15 gallon tank in your language. I am finding out slowly that this is more like the size of a quarantine tank, which of course makes me feel sorry for my fish. <Well, if you have fishes that are suited to small areas (like Clownfishes, gobies, frogfishes, etc.), or don't move around a lot, a small tank is not a recipe for disaster, and, in fact, can make a nice display that you and the fish will enjoy. However, husbandry issues (water changes, filtration, stability, etc) are critical in tanks with small volumes of water.> My fish seem really happy though. I have in there a Moorish Idol juvenile (pretty small for a MI) two small clowns, a starfish and a coral banded shrimp. No corals or anemone. I think the tank is too small for corals, so will keep it as a fish only tank (unless you think otherwise). <Well, not too small for some corals, but a combination of different species would be ill advised, as the "chemical warfare" that would take place in the confines of this tank would be disastrous for them. You're really at your tank's maximum capacity right now for fishes, particularly the Moorish Idol, which is a notoriously difficult fish to keep. Even many public aquariums have a tough time with them. It's going to need a much, much larger tank in the near future, and highly specialized care. Perhaps the fact that you have a small one may give it an outside chance of adapting to a captive diet...Sadly, most Moorish Idols die in captivity in a very short time. Since you have the fish, please do everything possible to give it the best possible care, or offer it to someone who can if you're not up to the challenge...> I am falling in love with the Blue Tang. I know there are issues with white spot and other diseases, but I was told there are supplements you can add to the water to help out the tang with some mucus membrane for their skin. <I'd rather rely on good selection, careful quarantine, proper feeding, and high water quality to accomplish the same thing! Yes, these fishes can be a bit "touchy", but with proper conditions and diet, they can make spectacular pets for many, many years!> Is my biological load already too high to get another fish? <I'm afraid so...As mentioned above- you really need to find a more suitable home for the Moorish Idol; and you should not even consider the purchase of any tang unless you can provide substantially larger quarters in the very near future. As you correctly surmised, confinement to such a small tank for one of these fishes is cruel. Better to stick to smaller fish with less demanding requirements until you get a larger tank. Lots of interesting small fishes to choose from!> If not, can I get a blue tang and successfully keep him without a QT, just using chemicals to treat his white spot? This would be the last fish I would get for a long time. Thanks for your advice, Jared <Well, Jared- I'd quarantine any new fish that is added to a tank. In addition to giving you the opportunity to prevent disease from entering your display tank, quarantine gives the new fish a chance to "relax" and recover from the rigors of capture, transport, and acclimation. If disease does manifest itself in the quarantine tank, it's a much easier process to treat the fish there. Even though you may be discouraged by your tank's size right now, don't be! Take the time to study your selections, enjoy some smaller, more suitable fishes, and gain valuable husbandry skills, and most of all, have fun! When you move up to that larger tank (as I know you will one day!), you'll already have the 60 litre tank for a quarantine system! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Mixing corals in a small reef tank 4/19/03 Good evening, <cheers> Quick question but take your time in answering. I am following your advise and not mixing hard corals with soft ones.  My 29g reef tank has several varieties of corallimorphs.  Would introducing star polyps violate the principle of avoiding the "mixed garden effect?" Thanks <in such a small tank, there will always be prominent issues with aggression. The Starpolyps may be fine with the 'shrooms if their growth is checked. Both can grow quickly, however... and both are very aggressive. Best regards, Anthony>

Re: set up >Hi there, >>Hi there yourself.  ;) >Just come across your site, looks very interesting. >>Quite! >The question is, I am looking to set up a 18g marine tank on a limited budget! >>Then you're talking to the right woman!  (All about cheap to free here) >Now I have set up tropical tanks before, but I really like the look of a more natural tank. >>Me too. >I was looking at a mixed ( fish and inverts) but this sounds like it should only be attempted by someone with years of experience. >>Well, if this is your first attempt, then yes, you should be cautious.  I'll also tell you that since you're inexperienced with marines, 18 gallons is generally considered a "nano" system, and because of the small volume of water they can be quite tricky.  You don't have much "buffer" should problems arise. >At the moment I have tank, 10 kg of coral sand, some coral rock (not living), a Fluval filter and a small thermo heater. >>Is the heater properly sized for the tank (2-3W/gal)? >So when you have stopped laughing, what do you suggest? >>Hardly laughing here!  You can even set up a marine tank using a good old undergravel filter, you know!  I will suggest spending a bit of money on some things--namely, quality live rock, and a decent protein skimmer.  Should you wish to utilize a deep sand bed (DSB), this is a more natural method of filtration (when deep enough-->3") as well as good for growing nice "pods" (iso, arthro, cope) which will feed any filter feeders, as well as the small fish that you'll be limited to.   >>You haven't mentioned having yet purchased any books, there are two I will strongly suggest you get, Bob Fenner's "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist", and Martin Moe, Jr.'s "Marine Aquarium Handbook" to start.  The latter has much information on the utility and construction of many devices used in marine aquaria, and I wouldn't have been able to build my filters or light hoods without this book.  Also, besides our site, there is another site which sports a "nano-guru", by the nick of brandon429--this guy takes nano to the extreme!  He can be found at http://www.reefs.org in the forums. >Also I live in Surrey, South of England.  In advance thanks for your time and pity.  Steve     >>You deserve no pity, silly man!  j/k Keep reading this site, hopefully you'll be able to find these books across the pond, stop drinking those shandies, and be sure to look up the nano-guru!  Good luck!  Marina

- Dosing Kalkwasser in a Small Tank - Sirs/Madams, <Good evening, JasonC here...> Is a 30 gallon reef tank too small to attempt using Kalkwasser? <If not too small, certainly on the small edge of small... I'd be very careful.> I have been using two part Bionic for months with fair success. I have no sump so would have to dose directly into the tank. <If you must, use very small doses, and monitor the pH like a hawk.> Thanks <Cheers, J -- >

Mini Compact Fluorescent Hi!   >Greetings! I wrote a couple of times before, about filtration. I have been reading a lot from your site and keep learning new things on every visit. >Good to know. We now have set up and cycling an 18 tall tank; I think it is 18 gallons but it might be 20, it measures 18 inches from top to bottom, same base/top size as a ten gallon. >The method to figure total gallons of any rectilinear vessel is to multiply the three dimensions: width x depth x height.  Then divide by 231 (the number of cubic inches in a gallon) and you'll have your number.  Anyway!  Let's see what we can do for you here. We purchased some Fiji live rock to start things off. I soon found there were some lovely bright green coloured green star polyps growing on one of the bits of live rock, which was very exciting for me because I am a newbie. Right next to it on the same rock is one of those brownish, clear pest anemones, but right now it is cute and new and tiny so I like it. >Cute for now, but you'll want the Aiptasia gone soon enough.  We'll tackle that when you're ready, yeah? For lighting I decided to try out the mini compact fluorescent bulbs. These are little things that screw right into a regular incandescent style hood; this one has two sockets for bulbs. The kind of bulb is Coralife 50/50, which says it is equal to 50 watts of incandescent light. It is half 10k daylight, and half actinic 03 blue. I read about them and learned that they supposedly don't get as hot as a regular fluorescent tube, but give more light. >Not that normal output gets all that hot in the first place, maybe you meant incandescent?  The ballasts are what gets hot with fluorescents, including normal output, high output (HO), very high output (VHO), and power compacts (PC).   No one at the aquarium store seems to know much about these mini compact fluorescent bulbs. My question is, with 2 of these is that 100 watts of light then? Will the star polyps be happy with that amount of light? >Ok, it's not so much the wattage that's important as it is the lumens (light intensity) and Kelvin rating.  This is a rating by which we measure the quality of light against that perfect source--the sun.  This information should be easily available from the manufacturer.  Also, the star polyps *should* be happy, but if you're worried then simply observe, and if you do move them, move them only small bits.  I think they should be fine, myself. Should I prop them up higher closer to the light? I would really like them to grow. Right now they are about 15 inches from the light, being on top of a rock near the bottom. >Just watch for extension, and I think that your water quality is going to be more important in the long (and short) run.  How exciting, yeah?   Thanks, -Laura >You're very welcome, I hope this has helped you a bit, and good luck!  Marina

Small marine tank filtration - 4/8/03 I've got a ten gal. hex. w/ a Fluval 404 hooked up to it. <A little overfiltered in my opinion but it will do the job>  I want to start a marine tank...is that enough filtration?...<I have a better idea. I too, have a ten gallon mini reef aquarium. I use two small powerheads and a mini quickfilter (I place carbon and or poly-filter media into) 4 inches of substrate and about 15 lbs of live rock. That is all the filtration I have.> I also have an undergravel filter I could put it in w/ a powerhead attached...is the canister filter enough? <Well, the canister filter will be fine (read more than enough) minus the sponges and other media. In my opinion, the 404 is just not needed or used in marine setups per se. Can be done, though>   or do I need the UG filter <Don't use the UG filter.>...or is this a bad idea all together? <I would just use the live rock and thick sand bed and forget about the rest. If you do want to use the 404 then just pull the sponge and use poly filter, use a bag of carbon and go for it. See out links on filtration here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fw2mar.htm and here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marineSetUp.htm Read on my brother- Paul>