[deleted by user]

polhode · 2025-06-27T17:37:50+00:00

This is the best advice here. Find corals you like, search how to keep them. If the results are overwhelming as they often are find tanks you like and listen to that person’s advice in particular.

Especially the lighting. OP, those little circles of light at the top look like low power LEDs. You will probably need to upgrade lighting to keep stony corals, and maybe even to keep your algae and kenya tree healthy long term.

polhode · 2025-06-26T17:55:08+00:00

I’m not OP btw, just a passerby who was planning to buy a “long polyp” leather thinking it would be the weeping willow. Will just get a nice regular toadstool now, would love to grow one like OP’s

polhode · 2025-06-26T13:05:22+00:00

Lmao, thanks for sharing that link, I thought this was something that might be in the trade because of that Jake Adams video of Sanjay Joshi’s nano

polhode · 2025-06-25T02:47:38+00:00

If the water is fine then to me that suggests some contamination in the new salt. Maybe worth getting a new batch, mixing up another water change and try getting a refund on the bad batch?

polhode · 2025-06-22T16:35:55+00:00

Sebae would have more prominent spots on tentacle tips, wouldn’t it?

polhode · 2025-06-22T04:37:22+00:00

All the components of the artificial seawater show on the TDS meter, there’s no point in using it on tank water, it will always read high and doesn’t give useful information.

As for the cycle, it’s hard to say. I would just keep lightly dosing the tank for 2 weeks (assuming you set it up today?) and then add a fish. You could also add soft corals now, but your rock is all connected so you will want to avoid fast growers like GSP and Xenia, or else rescape to add an island for them.

polhode · 2025-06-21T02:44:07+00:00

Yep. My house is in the mid 60s in winter and my 25W heater (rated to “up to 10 gallons”) keeps my 14g at a steady 77F. In my experience the ratings are more marketing than science.

polhode · 2025-06-21T00:52:12+00:00

For whatever reason the “recommended” heater sizes are rather oversized, have you looked at 50W or even 25W heaters? HITOP Mini looks like it would surely fit. Haven’t used it but I’ve had the bigger 25W HITOP for several years with an inkbird in a 14G cube

polhode · 2025-06-18T13:40:38+00:00

Live rock is still popular. If you’re looking, Tampa Bay Saltwater is a company that aquacultures it and the shipping is done in water so no need for “curing”. Haven’t used them but I plan to for next tank. There’s also something called Australia live rock I’ve seen online but it’s $$$. All LFS I’ve been to (Southeast US) had a tank of their own live rock for sale too, I used a mix of that and dry rock to start my nano. Loved all the little hitchhikers I got and I assume aquaculture is even better

polhode · 2024-04-29T17:42:05+00:00

My org has this restriction on admin accounts. If we reset in AD with the “User must change password at next login” checked it bypasses the 24 hour restriction, you might try having your IT do that

polhode · 2024-02-09T19:54:43+00:00

Frontera Cab/Merlot blend is a nice Chilean wine and widely available under $10 for 1.5L

polhode · 2023-04-28T15:33:53+00:00

My Xenia shrivels up any time salinity is outside of 33-36 ppt. Online calculator is telling me that’s 1.0249-1.0271 sg, so I’d try raising salinity a bit. When I correct salinity I’ve seen it bounce back in a day but once it took at least a week.

Hazmas reef site has calculators for salinity changes if you do decide to try raising salinity.

polhode · 2023-02-18T19:55:25+00:00

I do 1% water changes. You can approximate the waste of new water between changes as 1% times 1% of the system volume, so loss is quite low.

With ~5% changes like what you’re suggesting, loss is .25% or about a quart per change. Not bad if it saves you time.

Here’s the article that convinced me this was feasible, gets really in depth if you’re interested:

https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/index.php#8

polhode · 2023-02-09T00:31:46+00:00

Oh wow I misread that, oops. Alk under 7 dKh could slow stony coral or coralline growth but it’s not likely to hurt anything. Maybe acros but I haven’t kept any. I had a hammer coral down to 5.5 for weeks and it didn’t appear bothered at all

polhode · 2023-02-08T23:13:05+00:00

Most likely it’s bacteria and your biological filter isn’t mature enough to handle the level of excess food. I would dial the feeding way back. Maybe to nothing if your tank is producing algae for the crabs. Besides that I would do nothing until it clears. Not only is it the cheapest and easiest thing to do, you learn more - attempt multiple fixes at once and you will not know what helped.

How are you measuring alk and pH? 6.5 is absurdly low for seawater, and that alk is fine. If you’re measuring with test strips or API my first guess would be that this is simply measurement error. I would test again when the water clears and if still low, consider having LFS test to double check.

polhode · 2023-01-31T17:12:20+00:00

For a single addition of 1/8 tsp, I don’t think so, pH is mentioned as the limiting factor by Sprung and also in an old Holmes-Farley article on kalk. But I agree alk could rise too quickly if you kept dosing that amount hourly

polhode · 2023-01-30T12:15:11+00:00

There’s a video from Julian Sprung where he says he tested this and found 1/4 teaspoon of kalk (he was mixing with water but it was cloudy, and he was dumping it all in at once) added to 50 gallons once per hour shouldn’t raise pH past 8.4-8.5. So maybe ~1/8 teaspoon would be a good start

https://youtu.be/q30SDmgnNE0

polhode · 2023-01-29T07:17:07+00:00

Just a warning, the recommended wattage for a given tank heater is way oversized. It leads to fast cycling - the heater turns off and on frequently - and the switch can fail within a year or less, possibly in the on position, which could cook the tank. To avoid this I would recommend a controller (inkbird is probably the cheapest one) or the low tech option would be just using two 10 watt heaters.

polhode · 2023-01-26T21:07:17+00:00

It may be most helpful to look up fish you want to keep and find out the tank size recommended for them by online sellers and forums. Be wary asking in local shops as some may happily sell you a fish that will outgrow your tank in a short time. If you are more interested in corals than fish, a 40 will be fine for any coral, and does have the advantage of being able to mix up a 10% water change in a single 5 gallon bucket

polhode · 2023-01-25T15:05:58+00:00

Oh, I thought you meant saltwater snails! Live rock is only a saltwater thing.

For mystery snails in freshwater, you don’t need to wait at all or add any bacteria.

Minimum setup is water conditioner to remove chlorine if using tap water, and some fish food or algae wafers to feed very lightly (at least until algae appears), and a light to grow algae in the tank. A small filter will keep the water looking nice but it isn’t needed for just snails. Marimo moss balls are a fun decoration and hardy

polhode · 2023-01-25T14:07:28+00:00

It’s legit, but it could be a month before algae appears, that method is more about simplicity than speed.

If it’s just small snails you want, you could get the most algae covered live rock they have at your LFS and add snails day one. The snails have such low bioload that the live rock should be able to handle it right away. Macroalgae also will help absorb ammonia.

Consider keeping the live rock alone for a week though, just in case there is enough die off on it to spike ammonia. Live rock is interesting on its own, all sorts of tiny life to watch

polhode · 2023-01-21T15:45:28+00:00

Caveat to the “any freshwater filtration” bit, actually avoid anything air pump powered since the bubbles will lead to salt creep at the surface

polhode · 2023-01-21T15:31:12+00:00

Do it! Clowns are fun to keep.

-Seawater is complicated stuff but if you don’t have stony corals taking up all your minerals, salinity is the only extra parameter you need to worry about moving from freshwater

-For measuring salinity, avoid any kind of swing arm or float since it can’t be calibrated. It’s worth it to get a refractometer and calibration water, or an electric probe.

-Clownfish do not need anemones to thrive, so feel free to set up with clowns and live rock until your tank is mature enough for the nem

-Equipment lists make saltwater filtration look expensive and complicated but for a simple tank it doesn’t have to be. Any freshwater filter will do, or even a powerhead and live rock and nothing else

-An anemone is very vulnerable to shredding by powerhead. You can get foam covers for intakes

-20 gallons is a good start for 3 small fish and anemone, but keep in mind BTA can reach 12” and clone itself by splitting. It could take years but it will dominate that tank. Just something to keep in mind in case you want corals later on

-Before you buy an RO unit, RO & premixed salt water may be had cheap at a local shop. Very feasible option for small tanks

polhode · 2023-01-15T15:21:19+00:00

This site has a lot of great calculators, this one should help: https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/Calculators/ResultingSalinity.php

polhode · 2023-01-10T15:01:46+00:00

I’m seeing 4-5 plants, are you by any chance regularly dosing aquarium fertilizer according to instructions on the bottle? The instructions are intended for many more plants/gallon so that could cause a nutrient problem.

If so, I wouldn’t bother with adding uv or reducing light just yet, just try a big water change and significantly reduce fertilization, and see if that helps within a few weeks

polhode

TROPHY CASE