Nano Lagoon (17): Day 25

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On the 25th day after starting our Nano Lagoon we begin adding a few hardy photosynthetic soft corals to the 10-gallon tank. This is mainly to confirm that our water quality is good.

We add a small colony of Anthelia polyps and two small colonies of Zoanthus polyps. We place them on the bottom and give them a few days to open fully.

Here is a review of our activities so far:

Before Day 1) Prepared tank and light hood; added dry sandbed, dry rock and Instant Ocean
Day 1) Added NanoStart Pack (bacteria, plankton, coralline algae, etc.)
Day 7-10) Observed Diatom Bloom as brown streaks on rocks, sand and glass
Day 10) Added NanoLagoon Grazer Pack (snails, worms, 'pods, etc)
Day 15) Observed clean rocks after most diatoms were eaten
Day 25) Added first few hardy soft corals (Anthelia and Zoanthus)

We're careful to start all of our coral frags on the bottom so as not to shock them with too much light too soon. After a week or two on the bottom we can move them higher on the rocks, but only if we are sure that the polyps are fully open and extended. This indicates good health and favorable acclimation to the light and water quality parameters in the tank. Remember, these parameters may differ from the conditions under which the frags were produced.

We have not changed the seawater AT ALL since starting the tank, though we have added (fresh) topoff water every day or two to maintain the seawater level. We have cleaned the inside and outside glass twice a week as described in earlier videos in this series. We have also gently stirred the sandbed twice a week.

At the end of the first month (Day 30) we will change the filter pad in our Aquatech 5-15 filter, as described in an earlier video.

The temperature in our Nano Lagoon has ranged from about 70 degrees F in the early morning to about 84 degrees F in the late afternoon. We have not used a heater, chiller or skimmer.

The tank is healthy now. On Day 30 we can commence a GRADUAL addition of up to about 20 hardy, captive-bred soft coral frags PROVIDED they do not exceed about 1/2 inch in size in the contracted state. With polyps fully extended the frags should not exceed about an inch in length or diameter. CAUTION: Using larger frags to stock the tank may overload its carrying capacity, leading to deteriorating water quality and possible catastrophic failure of the system.

Some of the best photosynthetic beginner corals include Zoanthus, Palythoa, Anthelia, Actinodiscus (Discosoma), Sinularia and Xenia. These should be mastered first before undertaking more challenging forms!

It is imperative that we RESIST the common impulse to add too much biomass too soon to the tank (overstocking) in an effort to achieve the look of a "mature" reef. This is not how real reefs develop! Patience is key to successful reefkeeping.

It makes far better sense to add tiny frags, to leave ample space around each one, and to allow the corals to grow slowly and naturally until the reefscape looks mature. This will take 6 to 12 months.

In the meantime we should appreciate and enjoy all that is happening in the tank. We should not need to change the seawater as nutrients will now be tightly recycled between producers, consumers and decomposers, just like on real coral reefs in the natural environment. For now no feeding of the reef is necessary. We'll discuss this topic in detail in future videos.

If you have made it this far, Congratulations! Your Nano Lagoon is a model of economical, environmentally responsible reefkeeping.

Please use only captive-bred organisms in your reef aquarium.

To see more of our videos click here:
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To learn more about healthy reefkeeping click here:
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Category:

Science & Technology

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• ipsf.com
• Indo-Pacific Sea Farms
• Nano Lagoon
• nano reef tank

[Magnetul]

Can you show how to put the soft coral into the tank? Been watching all of your videos today (in order) I hope to have a tank of my own soon. I am very grateful for these videos because as a full time student I have every limited budget, however I am very egar to start a tank of my own. I also think a time line would be great or when to add certain features like the soft coral and the packs that you mentions in previous videos.

[ipsfdotcom]

For a timeline please see the "more info" section to the right of the page.

[ipsfdotcom]

That's good. One thing to b careful about with Yellow tangs is that when you have two in a tank, one will try to dominate the other and may kill it, especially if they are of similar size. You can avoid this by having just one, or three or more. Also do be sure your oxygen level is okay.

[ipsfdotcom]

Sorry to hear of the losses. Is this in the 55 gallon setup? Just curious how you pinpointed low pH as the culprit.

[ipsfdotcom]

Congratulations! Full polyp extension is a positive indicator of good water quality. However, don't freak out if it closes up for a while, even for a few days. That's normal from time to time:)

[theaquareef]

how long are you taking to introduce the soft corals to not overload the tank? And can you please do an update on the tank, i just want to see the corals you have used and where you put them. thanks!

[ipsfdotcom]

We're careful to start all of our coral frags on the bottom so as not to shock them with too much light too soon. After a week or two on the bottom we can move them higher on the rocks, but only if we are sure that the polyps are fully open and extended. This indicates good health and favorable acclimation to the light and water quality parameters in the tank. Remember, these parameters may differ from the conditions under which the frags were produced.

[aquafresh1208]

@ipsfdotcom i enjoy your videos. i followed your videos step by step and i have already like two months with my nano lagoon. i never change the water and never feed my coral: pulsing xenia, frogspawn, candy cane, zoas, mushrooms, and anthelia that are doing great. just wondering when you are going to post another video. thanks

[Magnetul]

Thanks so much, I've finished watchying all of the Nano Lagoon Videos and hope you keep it up! I hope to see the addition of fish soon :)

[matthewups]

i hope you guys keep showing up dates on the tank because i'm going to make one like yours. thanks for all the help. Matt

[theaquareef]

ok thanks

[theaquareef]

yes this is the 55 and i checked all my parameters and they were good. and my ph was down to 7.8. Thats what i assumed was the problem =/ but its back up now and everything acting normal

[theaquareef]

i just last 3 fish in my tank because of low ph. the fish were perfectly fine at night when i turned the light out. but when i woke up, my 2 tangs and flame angel were dead....=(. i finally got it back up and checked ammonia, ph, etc. and its great now. do you know why my ph could have possibly gone down?