New IQ3 tank (Need advice)

[fookintosser]

Hi Guys

I've just become the proud owner of a Dymax IQ3 and would like some general ideas on setting it up.

I've already gone through a lot of posts on this forum and others and am very aware of the limitations of the tank.

I'm thinking of just keeping live rock, one soft coral (possibly a mushroom) and 2 sexy shrimp.

Would this be a good stocking suggestion for the IQ3 without me having to purchase any additional equipment?

I would like to get smaller pieces of live rock as well as some live black sand. Any idea where I can get this in Singapore? Thanks!

[comycus]

Welcome bro!

Since you are aware of the limitations, let's not dwell on them

Your stocking sounds reasonable. Think you can afford to keep small frags of zoas too. Will have to take note of temperature and prob install fans to cool the tank though. You will encounter evapouration and need to top up with DI water regularly to maintain salinity.

Since it's such a small tank, your best bet on getting LR and live black sand is actually from reefers here. Doesn't make sense to buy 1 bucket of live sand from LFS.

[raydiative]

Hi Guys

I've just become the proud owner of a Dymax IQ3 and would like some general ideas on setting it up.

I've already gone through a lot of posts on this forum and others and am very aware of the limitations of the tank.

I'm thinking of just keeping live rock, one soft coral (possibly a mushroom) and 2 sexy shrimp.

Would this be a good stocking suggestion for the IQ3 without me having to purchase any additional equipment?

I would like to get smaller pieces of live rock as well as some live black sand. Any idea where I can get this in Singapore? Thanks!

Welcome to SRC!!

i see that you must have done enough reading to decide on your stocking level and i must applaud you for making such wise decision to keep the stocking level that low..

it you can, you should add on a airstone skimmer... i believe you can add in afew more mini sized corals as well...

try getting black sand from reefers here if they have extra.. given the size of your tank you wun need that much..

[iskay]

Kudos for reading and learning before jumping in. Now you have to control the urge to buy more LS... The pull of the dark side is VERY STRONG.....

Other than sexy shrimp, you can also consider clapping shrimp. They will give you an applause whenever you approve the tank.

[peacemaker]

Welcome to the IQ3 club! I just started mine 2 days ago!

As what comy stated, you will need a small fan to keep things cool. To deal with the evaporation, you can use a hamster bottle as an ATO (auto top-off) for freshwater replacement. Just remember to remove the metal ball from the metal tube, and insert a rubber or plastic tube as the contact point in case the metal portion rusts. Some links from Nano-reef.com to give you an idea how it works:

Hamster bottle ATO

Concept (This is an interesting read. This reefer conducted an experiment to find out if the freshwater and saltwater will eventually dilute and mix together. Check out the results.)

For such a pico, regular weekly water changes will suffice. You might wanna consider replacing the black sponge with Bio-homme as it will be a more effective bio filter. Live rocks are your natural bio filters as well, and they are easily available in most LFS. From what I read, Coral Farm sells good, cured live rocks so you can consider getting it from there.

Keep stocking levels to the minimum, and you should have a thriving pico in no time! Start a tank thread, and we'll look forward to your progress updates!

[grover]

hi, good luck with your tank. I've had mine for a week now. I replaced the black foam filter with a bag of crushed coral. This should make a better bio filter as the coarse foam is not very useful as there's barely any bio load.

I have approx one inch of sand, and i have one fist-size rock with some nice mushrooms on it. Otherwise I didnt add anything yet, intend to cycle it for 2 weeks. As I have the tank in the office, I dont use a cooling fan, and found that even without aircon overnight, the water temp is still pretty ok. For topping up, I use ice cubes made with distilled water. The evaporation in aircon office isnt bad, just asked our cleaner to top up once when she comes in on Sundays to make sure it stays under control. Think a few shrimp are nice, but one tip, make sure your corals are glued to the rock as they will displace the corals otherwise. And with the high water level, you cant really stick your hand in there to put it back, so thats a worthwhile effort. ;-)

[fookintosser]

thanks for the tips guys!

so anyone have any spare black live sand and rock for an IQ3 owner?

Or should i be posting something like this elsewhere?

[gerrard_boon]

bro, could pass u a frag of rhodatics when u feel yr tank is ready..

[fookintosser]

Hi gerrard

will definitely take you up on your offer...thanks man!...will pm you when i'm ready

I'm waiting a few more days before I finally add in corals...bought some small pieces of LR from coral farm...

think the auntie there must think I'm damn suaku as I didn't really know how many pieces to buy at first!

ended up with 3 small pieces but get this feeling it's not enough...total only about 0.5kg...for a 1.8 gallon tank.

by the way, is it really necessary to have a fan? and is the stock lighting strong enough for softies?

[peacemaker]

by the way, is it really necessary to have a fan? and is the stock lighting strong enough for softies?

Unless you keep your tank in a well ventilated area, or under air-con conditions, you will need some form of additional cooling, in which, getting a fan for an IQ3 makes most sense. Some fans are really weak though, so do ask the staff to give it a demo before deciding. Do take note of the rate of evaporation, and top up fresh water accordingly.

IME, the stock lighting is sufficient for simple mushrooms and yumas. Zoas will require more light.

[fatbike]

Can spare u some common zoas oso,

if u wan, can pm me to get some to try.

cheers

[fookintosser]

thanks fatbike!...will pm you when I'm ready

Currently, i've had the tank set up for a week already.

Can I find out more about the cycling regime for pico tanks?

I've read all sorts of stuff that seem to contradict each other...I'm using cured live rock and I've read some articles saying that one week of cycling is enough...

while others say have to wait 4 weeks...what's a good practice?

Also, i need some help with my water tests...

current my readings are like this...

ph 8.2

ammonia - 0.5ppm

nitrite - o ppm

nitrate 20ppm

is it necessary to get the nitrate levels lower before putting in hardy corals like mushrooms?

also, any tips on what i should be doing to help my pico would be much appreciated...

for some reason, there doesn't seem to be much evaporation and my salinity levels seem ok...

i thought it's common to top up with freshwater daily or every 2 days?

[jackywongto]

Can I find out more about the cycling regime for pico tanks?

I've read all sorts of stuff that seem to contradict each other...I'm using cured live rock and I've read some articles saying that one week of cycling is enough...

while others say have to wait 4 weeks...what's a good practice?

Also, i need some help with my water tests...

current my readings are like this...

ph 8.2

ammonia - 0.5ppm

nitrite - o ppm

nitrate 20ppm

is it necessary to get the nitrate levels lower before putting in hardy corals like mushrooms?

also, any tips on what i should be doing to help my pico would be much appreciated...

for some reason, there doesn't seem to be much evaporation and my salinity levels seem ok...

i thought it's common to top up with freshwater daily or every 2 days?

cycling for big tanks and small tanks are about the same.

if you do not understand cycling, follow the 3- 4 weeks rule when your ammonia and nitrite drop to zero.

when you do a 50% WC after cycling, your nitrate level will naturally drop.

.