stingd21 Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Hello! Overview: I've got a quite a bit of experience with saltwater tanks, but I lack around the coral bits but am keen to learn. I've had larger tanks in the past but never a nano! After doing a lot of research, I found the the Dymax iQ3 and iQ5 tanks seem to be a good little all-in-one solution, so I ended up settling on a iQ5 :happy2: Tank start date: 5th March, 2015 Equipment Specifications: Tank: Dymax iQ5 Dimensions excluding filter box:W22cm x L20cm x H27cm Dimensions including filter box:W22cm x L27cm x H27cm Volume: 13 litres Protein skimmer: Dymax Mini Skimmer Lighting: Dymax Zon 46 LED Blue and White Auto Top-up: Nothing yet, open to suggestions... need to learn more here. Water Flow: Dymax Pump that came with iQ5 (think it puts out 300lph) Heating: Dymax Mini 30W Heater Cooling: none yet, heading into winter so may not need any yet... Water Quality and Changes: Last tested: 7th March, 2015 Salt: Red Sea Salt Water: Pure Dew purified water kH: N/A pH: 8.20 (test kit) Phosphate: N/A Ammonia: 0-.25ppm (test kit) Nitrate: 0ppm (test kit) Nitrite: 0ppm (test kit) Calcium: N/A Magnesium: N/A Salinity: 1.023 (Hydrometer temporarily) Additives: None yet. Open to suggestions. Future plan: Am handicapped at the moment the tank is about to go through the Nitrogen Cycle, but will look at add a cleaning crew after consisting of snails, hermit crabs, and a cleaner shrimp. Livestock: What appear to be a few hitchhiking brittle starfish? Other than that, nothing yet. Corals: None yet. Open to suggestions. Photos: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I love those little Dymax tanks. I'd go zoa and perhaps one feature coral. It won't take long for the tank to be full. Did you start with live rock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingd21 Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I love those little Dymax tanks. I'd go zoa and perhaps one feature coral. It won't take long for the tank to be full. Did you start with live rock? Definitely going to put in some zoas, will probably be the first set of coral to go inside. Yea, I started with live rock, figured this would be best to help the tank's cycle, which has yet to start.... hmmm. Already starting to see a bunch of Amphipods and Isopods running around, guessing these were hitchhikers. Also over the weekend, I found a nice piece of rock and stuck it in towards the top and just noticed there is a crab living inside, but he is super shy. Haven't even see him out yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingd21 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Tank Update Re-tested everything. So far no spike in anything after 1 week. Have noticed a slight rise in ammonia but it was hard to tell with the colour chart. Seeing brown algae starting to cover the rocks and a little bit on the tank walls (only within the last 2 days). We got a bit drunk last night and were screwing around in my room, and my flatmate knocked my LED light into the tank as I didn't have it screwed tight enough to the back. Now, the light shorts out and the buttons on the back do not work. Looks like I'm upgrading sooner than I thought. The Dymax Zon light is good, but not be good enough. I think ill get a Maxspect Razor Nano... pricy but nice. Also, think I might pick up a small clean up crew this weekend. Few crabs and snails. Pods are slowly taking over my tank! Crazy when you sit still you can see them everywhere. Noticed 3 feather dusters so far too on the mature live rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingd21 Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Tank Update Have introduced a small cleanup crew including: 1 x Hermit Crab (this guy was $45?! is this normal.. ) 2 x Medium Turbo Snails 3 x Shrimp (1 medium, 2 small) collected from a local beach 2 x very small snails collected from a local beach 1 x medium snail collected from a local beach So far I've noticed that all my pods are gone! I think the shrimp ate them?! Also, yesterday I found my hitchhiker crab dead, and the medium snail from a local beach dead. Did not have time to test the parameters last night, but will do tonight. Wonder if there is a spike? I've purchased a Micmol Aqua Mini Color (gen 2) to upgrade my lighting, and also a cover for the top. Should have the lighting up in a day or so. Excited to see what it looks like as i've heard amazing things about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Could be a spike, could also be your tank is too hot for the local marine who like cool - low temperate conditions. I suspect that in a tank that size adding that many cleanup crew in one hit will cause a spike eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingd21 Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Could be a spike, could also be your tank is too hot for the local marine who like cool - low temperate conditions. I suspect that in a tank that size adding that many cleanup crew in one hit will cause a spike eventually. Yeah I was hoping it would, that was the plan anyway. I've got my temp set at 28C right now. Maybe I'll drop it to 27? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I really don't know enough about using local CUC in the tank. I know people do use them and the majority seem to have success. My tropical marine sits between 26 -27 - chiller kicks in at 27.1 so I think 28 is probably too high anyway even for a tropical marine tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingd21 Posted March 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I really don't know enough about using local CUC in the tank. I know people do use them and the majority seem to have success. My tropical marine sits between 26 -27 - chiller kicks in at 27.1 so I think 28 is probably too high anyway even for a tropical marine tank. Yeah I've read mixed reviews, so I thought I'd give it a go considering I've yet to see my cycle kick in. Could have been a 1 day cycle since the tank is so small, maybe happened while I was at work? Cool, I'll drop my temp down to 26, thanks for the input. I think the new lighting might help with the heat as well, but will need to keep a close eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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