IQ5 Dymax Nano Tank :D

[FD2R]

Hi Everyone, I just started this new hobby. As im still pretty much new to this. I have Tons of questions to ask. Hope the big boys here can guide me alil, Thanks a mill in advice!

What's the best PH, KH, GH, No2, No3 required for an IQ5 Size tank?

And any advice on how to keep this tank healthy without having to change water WEEKLY! Prolly once a month or so would be ideal.

I have currently got 2x nemo(Tiny ones), a royal gramma? 8 corals

Feed me up with comments as i really need some help! Thanks.

[Terryz_]

Hi Everyone, I just started this new hobby. As im still pretty much new to this. I have Tons of questions to ask. Hope the big boys here can guide me alil, Thanks a mill in advice!

What's the best PH, KH, GH, No2, No3 required for an IQ5 Size tank?

And any advice on how to keep this tank healthy without having to change water WEEKLY! Prolly once a month or so would be ideal.

I have currently got 2x nemo(Tiny ones), a royal gramma? 8 corals

Feed me up with comments as i really need some help! Thanks.

Have you gone thru the proper cycling process?

A thread for you if you have not gone thru the cycling process..

Because this is a small tank, NO3 tends to go very high in a week and trace element that is depleted quite quickly(Although we cant test for them) thru water change you can reduce the NO# and replenish trace elements...

With a small tank, you cant go wrong with weekly water change..

[FD2R]

Thanks for the prompt reply Terry. So i guess the only way is to still change water weekly? no other options?

As for the proper cycling. I wasn't told and am not aware of it. So what i did was purchase the IQ5, Place 3 corals and 3 live rocks. Next day, i put 1x star fish, 1x Cleaner Shrimp, 2x nemo, 1x royal gramma, in total. Im left with 3 fishes and 8 corals and 3 live rocks now and after 2 days. The star fish and cleaner shrimp died on me . Of cause i went back to the shop and the sales person intro'ed me this Kent marine phytoflex and Prime thingy. So i was told to use phytoflex daily? Prime as and when the ammonia level is high? i have the tester kit which is placed in the tank for good. Just changed 50% of my water today, Ammonia level looks safe at 0.02pm. Did another 5 in 1 AQI ph ,KH,GH,no2,no3 Test and from what i see, my ph level is at 8.2, GH 180, KH 60, No2 and no3 looks fine. Im wondering what's ideal for my KH and GH level to be? Thanks.

[Terryz_]

Thanks for the prompt reply Terry. So i guess the only way is to still change water weekly? no other options?

As for the proper cycling. I wasn't told and am not aware of it. So what i did was purchase the IQ5, Place 3 corals and 3 live rocks. Next day, i put 1x star fish, 1x Cleaner Shrimp, 2x nemo, 1x royal gramma, in total. Im left with 3 fishes and 8 corals and 3 live rocks now and after 2 days. The star fish and cleaner shrimp died on me . Of cause i went back to the shop and the sales person intro'ed me this Kent marine phytoflex and Prime thingy. So i was told to use phytoflex daily? Prime as and when the ammonia level is high? i have the tester kit which is placed in the tank for good. Just changed 50% of my water today, Ammonia level looks safe at 0.02pm. Did another 5 in 1 AQI ph ,KH,GH,no2,no3 Test and from what i see, my ph level is at 8.2, GH 180, KH 60, No2 and no3 looks fine. Im wondering what's ideal for my KH and GH level to be? Thanks.

Nope, IQ5 is so easy to change water, it is only a small amount of water...

I am curious which irresponsible this LFS is? There have been a lot of new reefer who dunno about the proper way of cycling their tank and it seems to originate from the same LFS or as least it seems the same way...

It is not surprising that the starfish and cleaner shrimp died, They are more sensitive to bad water conditions.

Phtyoplex is just phytoplankton for the corals and most corals can just survive on light and no feeding is required, it is just extra...

Seachem prime is a water conditioner basically is a dechlorinator, It claims to reduce ammonia, nitrite and nitrate via reduction but it is by the means of binding and not reduce by bacteria... Ammonia and nitrite should always be 0ppm... They are highly toxic to livestock even 0.01ppm... And ammonia and nitrite will not go above 0 if you have done the cycling properly as the bacteria will be able to handle the ammonia from the fish waste before it can be detected and start a ammonia spike. And 0.02ppm is NOT OKAY...

Is your API testkit used for FW or SW becos GH is not required in Marine and there is something wrong with the KH, it should not be too low.. There is a API master reef testkit set that is suited for SW..

[FD2R]

Ic, not very nice to review about the LFS as they are also running a business. I can pm u tho if u really want to know. Anyway, i just changed water (40%) and im still getting the same result. What else can i do to remove all the nitrate and how to get the KH or GH and also my akaline (60ppm) level up? I suppose my tank's running on salt water? lol.

[FD2R]

And also, im thinking of getting a chiller for my iq5. As i have read up and many has said that the only way to have your corals open up healthy and all is to maintain good water temp and also having enough flow. Have purchased an Eheim compact 600 for my iq5 aready.

[Terryz_]

Ic, not very nice to review about the LFS as they are also running a business. I can pm u tho if u really want to know. Anyway, i just changed water (40%) and im still getting the same result. What else can i do to remove all the nitrate and how to get the KH or GH and also my akaline (60ppm) level up? I suppose my tank's running on salt water? lol.

Sure, can tell me thru PM..

Stop changing water and let the bacteria colonize the LR amd media... Ammonia and nitrite is the parameter to be 0ppm.. Nitrate below 20ppm should be good enough if you not keep sps or difficult corals... Please do read up on the pin up topics on the forum to set up a proper marine tank.. I suspect there is something wrong with your kH testkit, If it is 60ppm, it is 3.5 dKh which is very low also.. Is your salinity in range?

[Terryz_]

And also, im thinking of getting a chiller for my iq5. As i have read up and many has said that the only way to have your corals open up healthy and all is to maintain good water temp and also having enough flow. Have purchased an Eheim compact 600 for my iq5 aready.

It is not the only requirement, you have to get your water parameter right first...

[FD2R]

noted, won't be changing water till i settle all this problems. i have currently got 8 corals. Zoas, Tube Worm, Anemone, Jewel, the other 4 im not certain no more

i just bought this API 5 in 1 test kit yesterday. How's that spoiled! lol.

[Terryz_]

noted, won't be changing water till i settle all this problems. i have currently got 8 corals. Zoas, Tube Worm, Anemone, Jewel, the other 4 im not certain no more

i just bought this API 5 in 1 test kit yesterday. How's that spoiled! lol.

DUN TELL ME IT IS THE TEST STRIPS? LOL...

Please go and get these if you dun wish to spend so much on test kits, They are quite accurate and affordable..

Each testkit set is around $50.. Which is cheaper than salifert testkit...

Edited December 2, 2011 by Terryz_

[FD2R]

OMG yes, i bought the test strips Christ. Paid like $30 for it.

This is how my silly tank looks like

[Terryz_]

OMG yes, i bought the test strips Christ. Paid like $30 for it.

This is how my silly tank looks like

Not bad for a new reefers, Just refrain from buying seafans and cauliflower corals, They require high density of feeding to keep alive... Try to keep those those low lighting corals like leathers, mushroom and zoas.. They require light but not a lot so it should be fine for your tank..

[FD2R]

I'm actually running on the 46 led by dymax made for iq5. Lights pretty much enough I suppose.

My zoas ain't opening for the past 2 days. Wonder what is wrong. Any idea?

[Terryz_]

I'm actually running on the 46 led by dymax made for iq5. Lights pretty much enough I suppose.

My zoas ain't opening for the past 2 days. Wonder what is wrong. Any idea?

It is actually not sufficient for corals even zoas... Try to get a par38, 1 should be enough...

[FD2R]

How much is par 38 and where can i get em?

[Terryz_]

You can get the stand from DE also...

PAR38

[FD2R]

Always thought the light was good and all till I read up bout par 38. Omg so many thing to change! I'm feeling lost now. Like totally stuck lol.

[peacemaker]

You could always sell them all, do plenty of research, and re-start again.

[Jameshong]

Always thought the light was good and all till I read up bout par 38. Omg so many thing to change! I'm feeling lost now. Like totally stuck lol.

This is the result of not reading enough and gradually you will lost interest, $$$ and patient in this hobby which lead to decommmmmm... !

My advice to you is the same as bro Peacemaker, "sell them all, do plenty of research, and re-start again" :whistle !

[FD2R]

Nooooo. i love my current set up Nothing's dying on me yet. But my fren's royal dotty back died today. omg

[Jameshong]

Nooooo. i love my current set up Nothing's dying on me yet. But my fren's royal dotty back died today. omg

If you intend to keep it then I would suggest you stop buying any fishes or corals right now till one month or more and let the tank go for natural ANN cycle. Feed less and change water once a week.

Btw, the most widely known rule for stocking a tank is one inch of fish per gallon of water. While this type of calculation works as a rough estimate, it leaves plenty of room for error.

So be patient and remember to stock slowly after 1 month. IMHO, not more than 4 nano fishes in your tank b'cos' you need to cater the room for the fishes to grow .

Hope your hear my voice and Happy Reefing .

[yeo99]

Nooooo. i love my current set up Nothing's dying on me yet. But my fren's royal dotty back died today. omg

Monitor the ANN, just do not add anymore fish until everything is stable. If the ANN are high, do water change, you can easily change almost 80% of the water as it is a pico tank.

[Rxcp14]

Nooooo. i love my current set up Nothing's dying on me yet. But my fren's royal dotty back died today. omg

Hmmm try to read on what u wanna keep first or ask advice for the livestocks u wanna keep before commiting... That'll save u alot of cash and dissapointment due to lack of knowledge on each lifestock's requirement/needs.... u can use a fan or iceprobe to cool ur tank... Chillers for ur size is quite an overkill though...

[desideria]

if you really want chiller use an ice probe or those hang on fans ( but take note evaporation will be high) however for ice probe you'd need to get an external thermostat or you put it on timer like on for 30 nmins off for 30 mins etc.

don't add anything else to your tank right now and just let it mature.. , also ... don't trust what the LFS tells you , take everything with a pinch of salt and read up , do your own research and ask fellow reefers before buying or doing anything. Marine is Not like a freshwater setup. I had an IQ5 before and because of it's basic filtration system, it's imperative you change water weekly. After all it's so small the max you'd change is 2L out of the 13L water volume.

How are you dealing with the water top up currently? Are you using Distilled water? Are you dosing bacteria at the moment?

[Terryz_]

There is no need to restart, just stop adding anything and monitor the ANN... After a month or so, it should be fine to add stocks but keep to small fishes such as goby and blenny and etc...