My first 8G/30L Boyu Nano tank... help needed?

[albinosage]

Hahahahaha, you have barely stocked up and you're now itchy to upgrade to a 3ft? If you can afford the space and set up cost, go for it, as you can see the tank gets crowded very easily.

My only advise is to keep this tank for the time being, use it as a crash course in reefing. I think the learning curve for a small tank is much steeper, but the experience will definitely benefit you when you apply the theories on a larger tank in future.

[Fuzzy]

Oh yeah bro, forgot to ask you what your nitrate readings were like.

If you are under 20ppm you are still ok, just need to change 20% water per week until it drops to below 10ppm, preferably 5ppm.

Marine tanks have no way to export or consume nitrates like freshwater tank.

The only ways to remove nitrates are:

- Frequent Water changes

- Denitrator (Expensive)

- AZ-NO3 additive (not recommended unless emergency)

I think most reefers use option 1

And yeah I forgot to ask, are you using any Protein skimmer (not surface skimmer) or did the tank come with one built in? It will help remove organic waste and help keep nitrates lower too.

If you are using one, it is the airstone powered type, and is it skimming off brown gunk?

[lostboy_cal]

Wow bro you got space!

Gogogo, there are a few tanks on sale at the moment in pasar malam, go look look see see. Tank, sump cabinet around $200?

Add live sand, live rock, lighting, skimmer and FOWLR good to go leow. If you don't mind 2nd hand I think you budget $500 can leow 2ft, 3ft budget about $600.

The virus is spreading fast

Thanks.. Will look at the pasar malam thread once I read more on the set up for the 3 ft tank.

Will check what is necessary at do a shopping list out again.

[lostboy_cal]

Hahahahaha, you have barely stocked up and you're now itchy to upgrade to a 3ft? If you can afford the space and set up cost, go for it, as you can see the tank gets crowded very easily.

My only advise is to keep this tank for the time being, use it as a crash course in reefing. I think the learning curve for a small tank is much steeper, but the experience will definitely benefit you when you apply the theories on a larger tank in future.

You know... the virus is so bad that I'm been too active in the web on fishes.. Work has start to slow down

Did you guys have the same syndrome ???hahahaha.

I will go for the 3 ft since this little nano is too small and limitation of fish.

Well... thanks for the help all this while and may trouble you again and others reef keeper out there... I BE BACK

[Fuzzy]

The virus is spreading fast

Thanks.. Will look at the pasar malam thread once I read more on the set up for the 3 ft tank.

Will check what is necessary at do a shopping list out again.

I just pasar malam setup my 28G tank, but I sort of got a bit crazy with the equipment..

[lostboy_cal]

Oh yeah bro, forgot to ask you what your nitrate readings were like.

If you are under 20ppm you are still ok, just need to change 20% water per week until it drops to below 10ppm, preferably 5ppm.

Marine tanks have no way to export or consume nitrates like freshwater tank.

The only ways to remove nitrates are:

- Frequent Water changes

- Denitrator (Expensive)

- AZ-NO3 additive (not recommended unless emergency)

I think most reefers use option 1

And yeah I forgot to ask, are you using any Protein skimmer (not surface skimmer) or did the tank come with one built in? It will help remove organic waste and help keep nitrates lower too.

If you are using one, it is the airstone powered type, and is it skimming off brown gunk?

Bro, the nitrate reads between 10-15 ppm. Never reach 20ppm.

I did water change frequent and it does drop to 5ppm but a few days later, it reach 10 - 15ppm again.

Now I slowing down in the feeding. 2 meal per day but lesser portion. In average, each fish will have 4 little pellet. Hope this is okie.

My 2 nemo is a food catcher.. so I feeding the others using straw, throwing the pallet into the straw and the food will reach right infront of them.

So far so good. The only fish will hide from the straw is the Chromis as Nemo... they will feed first.

I have not use any protein skimmer yet. Brother Binosage will be passing me his skimmer from his previous tank. Bro, hang on.. will collect from you next week

[albinosage]

I have not use any protein skimmer yet. Brother Binosage will be passing me his skimmer from his previous tank. Bro, hang on.. will collect from you next week

No problem, just sms me, can meet for lunch or coffee

[lostboy_cal]

You want to go real slow with adding more livestock to your tank. Especially since you're not using live sand.

But bro, you are already close to or at the limit for the amount of fish that should be comfortably housed in an 8 Gallon.

What you might want to look into is adding more live rock into your tank, go for small pieces so you can squeeze many many in, to maximize your bio filtration. But make sure its already cleaned and cured before you add it in!

If you change your sand, you might trigger a new cycle and endanger your livestock, probably not wise to do this.

I have a better suggestion..

...

....

Buy a 24 Gallon tank and start cycling that with live sand and live rock, then transfer these guys into the bigger tank and keep this to use as a quarantine tank for new livestock

A quick question, used live sand from previous reefer will it activate the cycle process?

One of the reefer is given away his live sand.

[albinosage]

A quick question, used live sand from previous reefer will it activate the cycle process?

One of the reefer is given away his live sand.

Nope, it shouldn't, unless there has been a massive die off of organisms. Usually you will be able to smell it, if it's foul, that means there's stuff rotting. It should smell like... ermm.. the sea? Haha.

[lostboy_cal]

Nope, it shouldn't, unless there has been a massive die off of organisms. Usually you will be able to smell it, if it's foul, that means there's stuff rotting. It should smell like... ermm.. the sea? Haha.

Bro, got it. Thanks. Will clear my nose tomorrow before picking up the sand.

Btw, as mention early, do you think 3 ft tank is better then 24g nano tank?

[Fuzzy]

Bro, got it. Thanks. Will clear my nose tomorrow before picking up the sand.

Btw, as mention early, do you think 3 ft tank is better then 24g nano tank?

Yeah 3 ft should be over 30 gallons, If you have the space forget the nano, go with a bigger tank!

having 5 - 15ppm nitrate level is quite normal especially for a nano, just keep up with your weekly water changes can leow.

The live sand should help prevent ammonia spikes.

[lostboy_cal]

Wow bro you got space!

Gogogo, there are a few tanks on sale at the moment in pasar malam, go look look see see. Tank, sump cabinet around $200?

Add live sand, live rock, lighting, skimmer and FOWLR good to go leow. If you don't mind 2nd hand I think you budget $500 can leow 2ft, 3ft budget about $600.

Saw your post on your setup... Old + New items.. total damage is S$2XXX ...is freaking me out...

I dun think I have the budget for that bro...

BTW.. if get a 3' tank..is it a must to have a sump? Any tank come with the built in system like nanocube?

Saw from the web... REDSEA MAX... is cool but think the prices is X.

Actually I do consider a 24-28G Nanocube but I think the space is limited as it is squarish.

Is there any 24-28G rectangle Nanocube????

[albinosage]

There's some longish covered tanks in the market with similar designs, Jebo or Sunsun or some China brand, but I don't know if they have the internal overflow system. I think there are many reefers who custom made their 2 or 3 ft tanks with internal overflow too, you can PM them and ask about cost.

I think you should keep this tank for a while, see what you like and dislike about it, and take that into consideration when getting a bigger tank. A 24G and a 3ft tank are very different. Personally I prefer a nanocube, and would upgrade to a 2x2x2ft cube at the most if ever, because I enjoy observing my live stock up close, and the rocks can be arranged fairly easily without much headache or backache. In a 3ft tank, the same tiny fishes I'm keeping will disappear in the rocks and space, and I won't even know if they are dead or alive, but the advantage is the option to keep oversized items la, can be quite irritating to see a nice coral but have to consider the scale when compared to the nano tank.

[lostboy_cal]

There's some longish covered tanks in the market with similar designs, Jebo or Sunsun or some China brand, but I don't know if they have the internal overflow system. I think there are many reefers who custom made their 2 or 3 ft tanks with internal overflow too, you can PM them and ask about cost.

I think you should keep this tank for a while, see what you like and dislike about it, and take that into consideration when getting a bigger tank. A 24G and a 3ft tank are very different. Personally I prefer a nanocube, and would upgrade to a 2x2x2ft cube at the most if ever, because I enjoy observing my live stock up close, and the rocks can be arranged fairly easily without much headache or backache. In a 3ft tank, the same tiny fishes I'm keeping will disappear in the rocks and space, and I won't even know if they are dead or alive, but the advantage is the option to keep oversized items la, can be quite irritating to see a nice coral but have to consider the scale when compared to the nano tank.

Hi Bro, any idea where to see fish tank? Usually I will head to OTF at pasir ris.

I will still keep my Nano as I still like it but I have reach the max for fishes... so thought of buying a new 3 feet to stock up with coral.

I'm a ambitions/greedy guy and hope to house lots of fish..hahahahah. Well.. let me work on the budget and will update you on this.

First thing first...

I have collected some sands from bro kschew(thanks bro for the sand and really nice talking to you) yesterday to replace my fake sand in the nano but a few question before I replace it.

I did throw some sand into a small tank(1 gallon) to test but the water turn brownish and cloudy so the question is

1. can I wash the sand first till the water turn crystal clear before throwing into my nanocube? Will it start the cycle process again?"

2. Bro kschew ask me to remove all my fishes and cycle the sand in the nano for a week till it turn clear but I dun have another spare tanks to house the fish. So any alternative?

3. Should I cycle the sand in the small tank, till the water turn crystal clear then move it to the nano. This process is real pain in the ######

Pls help.

[albinosage]

I think you should cycle the sand in a pail and keep your nano as it is. If you wash it till water is crystal clear before throwing it into the main tank, I think it will start a mini cycle, because the freshwater rinse will cause a lot of die off also. Since your nano is cycled with fishes already, keep it as it is, then cycle the sand and keep the pail out of sight till ready lor hahaha.

I think you don't need a filter or anything to cycle the sand, just have a small powerhead to provide water circulation, and leave it running for a week or more.

This is what I do with live rocks when I buy them, if I'm giving the wrong advise, someone please correct me

[lostboy_cal]

I think you should cycle the sand in a pail and keep your nano as it is. If you wash it till water is crystal clear before throwing it into the main tank, I think it will start a mini cycle, because the freshwater rinse will cause a lot of die off also. Since your nano is cycled with fishes already, keep it as it is, then cycle the sand and keep the pail out of sight till ready lor hahaha.

I think you don't need a filter or anything to cycle the sand, just have a small powerhead to provide water circulation, and leave it running for a week or more.

This is what I do with live rocks when I buy them, if I'm giving the wrong advise, someone please correct me

Can I say I wash the sand first, add saltwater to cycle it for week or more in the pail then replace it after the whole process.

[albinosage]

Can I say I wash the sand first, add saltwater to cycle it for week or more in the pail then replace it after the whole process.

Oh forgot to add one crucial point:

I wash the rocks with old water from main tank during water change! This way, the sea water you change out won't go to waste, and you will not experience so much die off as compared with washing with fresh water. With the sand, you can rinse one time with the old sea water, then after that let it cycle in the pail with old or new sea water.

[lostboy_cal]

Oh forgot to add one crucial point:

I wash the rocks with old water from main tank during water change! This way, the sea water you change out won't go to waste, and you will not experience so much die off as compared with washing with fresh water. With the sand, you can rinse one time with the old sea water, then after that let it cycle in the pail with old or new sea water.

Thanks bro. I have a whole pail of sand about 20kg and it will require lots of sea water to clean it up and is quite dirty too

So... I decided to wash it with clear water.. rinse and rinse till the water turn clear....use up lots of water too..

Have done up the washing and pour in sea water (1/4 only) to cycle for a week. Hope everything is okie and correct.

Will update you on this again

Cheers

[Fuzzy]

Thanks bro. I have a whole pail of sand about 20kg and it will require lots of sea water to clean it up and is quite dirty too

So... I decided to wash it with clear water.. rinse and rinse till the water turn clear....use up lots of water too..

Have done up the washing and pour in sea water (1/4 only) to cycle for a week. Hope everything is okie and correct.

Will update you on this again

Cheers

You can do it this way too, but for best effect, put in some pieces of live rock and a small piece of market prawn also when you cycle, otherwise there may not be enough beneficial bacteria to seed the sand.

Then like normal cycle, test for Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate detection later on, before you put it into your main tank.