Nano Tank with STUNNING Scoly Garden! No Controller Reef Tank!

The trip in New Jersey continues on and today in this video I'm very excited because it seems like all the time we talk about so many big systems and all these systems that honestly can be a little out of reach. I'm here with Tom. Tom, thank you so much for letting me come by. Let's go ahead jump into your tank. This is a beautiful system. I'm sure we've got a lot to talk about even though it's in a smaller package. But what size tank are we talking about here? So we're looking at the Waterbox uh Marine [music] X 60.2. So it's a 20 uh 4x 20x 20 display roughly about 36 g and then the sump is around 18 gallons. So the whole system is around 55. And then how long have you been keeping reef tanks at this point and is this one of your first iterations of reef keeping or how many tanks have we had now to get to here? So this is technically my third. Um I've been doing this for about 5 years. started when COVID happened like most people did in a couple [music] uh recent years and what I did was I started with a 5gallon was like okay we'll try some saltwater fish just want to get some clowns saw how not easy it was but like oh this is fun like not too bad to manage the salinity that was my biggest worry [music] and then it eventually went to a 29gallon aquon tank with a hang on the back filter and then eventually I was like all right we need to just [music] upgrade to an all-in-one system so then I have some where I can put some protein skimmers, other equipment on without it being just wires everywhere and looking not as appealing. Um, and just wanted to look a nice clean aesthetic for the house. But that's been now running for 4 years with the Moira box and it's been better ever since. You know, it's funny. I think a lot of people when they get into reef keeping, the idea in mind originally is I should go with a small tank, a nano tank. But in, you know, the grand scheme of things, nanot tanks can be kind of difficult in a way because there's a lot more swings that can actively be happening. That 5gallon you had the aquon seemed like it was kind of some more simple equipment you had on those tanks before we got to this point. Yeah, definitely. It was like a tidal filter on the Aquon tank, a heater and a AI prime. That was it. [music] And then the other one was an all-in-one flu spectra tank, the 5gallon. Not bad, but again, just to really fit more fish, that's what I really want to go for. Didn't work out at that point. Yeah, li limitations with nano tanks. No [music] doubt. Let's go ahead and start talking about speaking of the fish. Let's talk about the fish we have in this tank. So, we have two clowns, which they are a mated pair. So, they have been laying eggs over the last couple years, roughly every 2 to 3 weeks, which is awesome. And seeing that whole process [music] and kind of noticing when they're ready to start spawning is a great sign cuz I like to just kind of pop over and see when it happens. It's just really cool to see the way they behave. And then we have a blue flasher rass, [music] a toini tang, and a longnose hawkfish, which their body shapes and their coloration [music] just really make them um something that gets everyone's attention when they come in to the house. [music] And then a sixline rass. Funny, right? We talked about it off camera. Sixline rasses, honestly, [music] really great working fish. They're going to go around, they're going to chase after things, but they can be kind of bullies. [music] Even though they're tiny little guys, they can kind of be jerks in a tank. Yeah. So, this one, he's definitely better than my last one I had years ago, but he is a little bit of a bully. So, when I got the [music] blue flash, um he was picking on him and he's more than, you know, the flash arrest is twice his size and he had to go in jail for about a week and then that kind of stopped all the aggression, but now he's a model citizen, at least for what's currently in the tank. And you've got a complete mixed reef. Now, at this point, we [music] have there's a lot of things I definitely want to touch on and talk about, but let's kind of go over the idea. How did you start leaning into the mixed reef vibe? So, [music] once I was really doing well with soft corals and I really just wanted to change things up because I really love the flow of like torches. I like the look of the sticks when they really get taller and bigger into the tank and the way they uh branch out. Ghanis obviously are just an I, you know, they appeal to you so well with the way the movement is. So really once [music] that started doing well for my in my system and things got dialed in really well, it was a no-brainer just to start making the shift over to more challenging corals and also things that really appealed to me, not just to get something in the tank to make it look good. You've got a beautiful scolie garden up in the front. This is the second time this trip I have seen skullies that look like athos. Those things are crazy looking. Let's talk through the skull garden. How do you typically keep those guys super happy and looking how they're looking now? So, honestly, very hands-off. I don't target feed them. They get fed with when I broadcast feed the tank. And I took time to figure out where they did best where they get a good amount of flow at certain points of day, but other parts of the day they're not getting blasted by the wave makers. And they just took off once I found that one spot. and the green um bleeding apple really just shows how [music] spread out it got and that's been there for like 2 years now. Wanted to ask you about your zoas. Uh something that becomes an issue for some people that are trying to create zoa gardens. It can be kind of an issue where one zoa begins to kind of take over. I see the frozen apples here on this side. How were you able to kind of create that nice little zoa garden you've had here [music] on that side rock and how are you able to kind of counteract and create that nice little garden? So, originally they were much smaller when they got put on the rock and I gave them a nice space. As they've grown in, they've kind of formed into more of that garden look. And these hammers that I have all down here and the guys at the top are kind of keeping them contained to that area. So, I don't have to worry about them going too far past where I [music] want them. but everything kind of unfortunately stings them, but not in a bad way, but to kind of contain it. So then I don't have to actually go in and chop up any of the zoas or the rocks to kind of manicure it myself. That's a super smart point. Utilizing other corals as like a barrier to keep them away from growing out too crazy that you know that the opportunity is there. It's easier again than doing manual work yourself and creating more maintenance that you have to do if you don't need to. [music] And if they can do the job for me, that kind of goes back to like a cleanup proof. They can do certain aspects that I can't do. [music] Why not utilize them to that aspect? Absolutely. Kind of just let the tank do its thing, right? And have the corals kind of work with each other or work against each other to kind of create such a beautiful little reef. One of those issues most people have with mixed reefs is, [music] you know, you have a lot of chemical warfare, coral warfare that kind of occurs. We see up top we've got a bubble tip in jail. Let's talk through why we've got the bubble tip kind of locked away. And also, there's still one more bubble tip that's smack in the middle of the system. Yeah. So that bubble tip actually was from my other one that's in the middle of the system that broke off and you know it's split and I was like that's awesome. And I left them there for a while. They were both doing great. They're maintaining to the middle of the tank. And then once they both got big enough the flow is pushing the one that's currently in gel into my hammer garden and started seeing some of the hammer. So then he had to get kind of putting off to the side for now just to kind of keep everyone else happy. And then we've got a ton of rock flowers all throughout the tank. Something that I noticed right away which kind of caught my eye was I saw a little speck of orange in the sand bed and I realized that these things are actually spawning in your tank. Yeah, they every couple weeks and if you are looking online I usually try to capture it whenever it does. It's really cool to see the process of the way that the rockflower will start to cup itself and [music] then it starts going through the spawning action. And it's usually at night and if it's going to happen, it's very consistent with like the timing of the day when it does it. And then usually within a couple days to a week or two, you'll start seeing all the little baby rock flowers throughout. And there are a couple that have made it past that initial baby stage [music] and they're starting to actually get some good size on. And you get some different colorations which are ones that are not on any of my other ones that it's pretty cool that the jeans must be dormant within these other ones that they're spawning with. Yeah, it's really cool to see the different colorations that are starting to pop up as well. You've got some really beautiful ganis as well in the tank. They really are some stunners. It's interesting to see, we kind of talked about it in a past video, the idea of you can actually blast gn with some flow because you've got some gnis literally directly in front of one of the wave makers and it's the happiest it's been. Like it's fully opens every single day. It gets hit with from a Nero 5. It's not a weak pump either. And it's pretty content. You know, it keeps away from all the other corals. It's the biggest thing cuz originally it was up in the front where the uh torch garden and it was [music] getting too big in that spot where it was starting to take over other things. So, it got bumped to the top and [music] doing just as well. And then in the back, we've got one more cage. We're holding something else. Let's talk about the story of this coral as well. Yeah. So, I have some jawbreaker mushrooms that I got from another local reefer. She gave me one and then it created a baby which then gave me more babies and then they kind of just sit back there as [music] I pick them off the uh sand bed if they come off the rock work and they just kind of hang out back there and it's pretty cool because they're ones that um they're mostly red with yellow versus being the um yellow with the red streaking. And [music] I just really enjoy like the bright vibrant red that pops off it with that very vibrant yellow streak to kind of make it a little different than what you're usually seeing when it comes to jawbreakers. Absolutely. As for a tank this size, what's the goal when it comes to your cleanup crew? [music] What are you kind of trying to shoot for for the cleanup crew? So, I have a bunch of blue legs um and [music] a good handful of uh nario snails. Those are the bulk of it. And then I have two conches that are in there that are tiger conches that take care of the sand bed. And then usually when I go through my maintenance, I just hit the sand bed a little bit with the siphon [music] and keep it at that. But otherwise, it's mostly just the crabs that are doing majority of the work. I was going to say you have a super clean sand bed. That is something that's really nice to see. I think you kind of hit it right on the nail is the fact that we as reefke keepers need to tend to our sand bed. We can't just forget about the sand bed. Correct. Yeah. And sometimes, you know, certain areas do. So, you get I have, you know, one little dead spot in the back that gets a little more rougher looking at times. And that's the one that really needs the most attention by me. Uh but usually the front and the middle are taken care of by the cleanup crew, which makes it, you know, see that they're doing their job and I do my part to make sure that they're everything else is happy and clean. You hit on the fact that you're doing maintenance on your sand bed. Let's go over what maintenance looks like for this tank. So, I do a 5gallon uh water change weekly. Sometimes I may go two weeks if something comes up or if I see my my nutrients are too low, I'll skip a week just to kind of give some time [music] in between. Um, but generally it's very, you know, one, five gallons. And that's a nice thing, too, is just only having to do one bucket and not lugging five or six over or running a hose through the house [music] and things like that. Definitely trying to keep it simple. Now that we've kind of gotten to know the tank a little bit better, let's see the equipment that kind of makes it [music] tick. So, we'll start from the top and work our way down. What are we using for lighting and what's the schedule? So, we're running the Dua uh X Force on the on the tank. They turn on at 9:00 a.m. And I actually run them until like 10:45 at night. [music] Starts more on the whiter side during the day and then slowly ramps up to that heavier blues once we get to around 5 6:00. And then [music] at night, it's very heavy blues until they shut down at around 10:30, 10:45. And then for the flow in the system, what are we running with flow? So I got a neuro 5 on this side and a neuro3 on the other. And they are running about I would say 30% 40% to just kind of push all that off the rocks and get the corals flowing. The Neuro 3 is obviously a little bit set to a stronger schedule than the Neuro 5 just cuz it's a little bit bigger of a pump. Um but then they also are set to a high um turn change rate where then it's changing [music] the intensity more often and having that high and low mode in between. And then what are we using down in the sump space? There's obviously a little sump that's down underneath the stand. What do we got for nutrient control and other things like that? So we're running the Dua uh G7 Great [music] White um skimmer, which has been great. It's really pulls a lot of stuff right from day one, which has been awesome. [music] And then I have the Red Sea ATO in there as well. And that's [music] been the best atto I've had to deal with like over the years. I've had a couple different ones and that's been the cleanest and most efficient for [music] um keeping everything stable. What are we actively dosing the tank to make sure that we got everything happy? So every day I do manual dosing of about 8 to 10 millit of all. So depending on where my numbers are currently, they're kind of fluctuating a little bit there. So between 8 and 10 and then I do about 5 milliliters of coral essential essentials um for the aminos and then nightly for the fish they get uh reef nutrition roe and the um occasional broadcast feeding of benipets that I just soak in some water and then there's an auto feeder that's on tank that they get fed as well uh daily for benipets pellets in the morning. You brought up the fact that there's some testing that probably comes involved when you're doing that dosing. What are the numbers we're shooting for on the system? So, I'm aiming for at least a nine for alkalinity. Sometimes it's a little bit higher, sometimes a little bit lower, but I'm in that 9 to 9.2 is where I like to keep it. The nutrients right now are a little bit lower. So, the um nitrates are actually at a 1.5 and the phosphates are at a 16. And then my calcium is at [music] about 485 and my mag magnesium is at like 1500. These tanks have gotten so smart over the years, you know, when it comes to controllers, different interfaces and things like that. This is a great example of making sure a tank isn't too smart and you have the controllability as well, but kind of walk us through. There's not really any controllers on this tank, correct? There's none. um outside of obviously the ATO, but all my equipment is run just by smart switches. So, anything that happens with the tank, I'm physically doing it and I just want to keep it to where I know what's going on with the tank and if something has to get shut down. I know automation would be great on certain situations, but I can [music] control every piece of equipment from my phone no matter where I am. Um, about a year ago, we were in the Dominican Republic for a wedding and I got off the plane and got a notification my heater wasn't working. I was able to shut it down and restart it remotely, which made it ideal because those smart switches. For a lot of people, you know, with these saltwater tanks, traveling can be a bit of a concern, right? Because you're getting ready to leave, you're leaving behind your baby and you got to make sure that everything's kind of online. So, it's nice to know that those smart switches have definitely helped you out over the time. Yeah, definitely. You're manually dosing. A lot of people probably at home are screaming to the camera or to the screen right now like why not a doser? Can you tell me why? Why are you manually dosing yourself? Really? I'd rather spend the money on corals. Um [music] I know I can get a doser very easily if I really wanted to. Um and it would make life a 100 times easier. Cut [music] out 5 minutes of my night every night. Uh might be something down the road as things start progressing in my life. I might need to get one. But for now, honestly, doing manual dosing has been nice cuz then it kind of I'm aware of what I'm putting into the tank versus possibly overdosing from a doser going rogue on its own. But I know how much I'm putting in of what every night, which kind of gives me peace of mind that the primer should be very stable. Great point. You know, obviously we lean on a lot of equipment in reefkeeping to do the job and sometimes things go wrong, lines get clogged, everything can kind of go ary. And with you actively dosing manually on your tank, you're actually also getting the chance to be in tune with your system every single night, every single day, actually walking up to the tank, dealing with the tank. I feel like sometimes we get a little too smart and too automated on the systems where we tend to let the tank kind of take over rather [music] than us being actively involved as the hobbyist. Correct. And it's funny, too, cuz if we ever do go away for 2 or 3 days, um, I'll set up, I have disposable plastic syringes where I pre-measure everything out, I label, this is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, A.M., P.M., whatever it is, and whoever's watching the tank while we're gone, they just squirt the syringe right in. So, they don't even have to do any of the work of how much to give the tank. But, it's I'll just set up as like a little science experiment, which makes it a little fun, too. on that piece. I was about to say you need to set up one of those like those pill dispensers for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, you need a bigger one to throw syringes in. But that's cool to hear that you know you have people that are able to do that. I know if I were to try to get my wife sorry to my wife watching at home, if I tried to get her to do anything outside of just feeding the fish, it's like pulling teeth. [laughter] Yeah. But you know, my wife is a science background, so if I asked her to do something like that, she definitely would. And you know, the chemistry behind it would be a little more appealing to her than the actual fish [music] and coral part. Obviously, you're limited on some space. You don't have like a ton of room to be adding a ton more fish, maybe a ton more corals, [music] but do you have any big additions or things you want to change with the tank in anytime soon? Are you going to start swapping out some of the other corals and try moving [music] in some more difficult to keep species? So, definitely going to keep an eye out for any more skullies that really grab my attention. That's [music] my favorite coral that I can find in the tank. And any show I go to, I always look for those first. Um, [music] but there are some plans to get maybe one or two more fish for the tank. Um, I love chalk bass. They're a very, you know, nothing super flashy about them, but their patterns [music] and just their behavior going in out of the rock work. I love that. Um, so getting one of those, I did have one in the past that just didn't do well. It got dam got hurt by one of the other fish. And um you know eventually if we ever relocate then a bigger tank would be an option but for now this size is perfect for this this place [music] and just for my lifestyle. I think chalk bass are one of those super underrated fish. I love the way they look, how aggressive they are when they feed. I mean legitimately bass [music] they are super fun to have in tanks. Yeah. And their personalities are great too. Like just watch them interact with the other fish. They aren't too aggressive towards each other, but they will flare up when they need to if things get a little dicey sometimes. We talked about it off camera. You know, the limitation in [music] sometimes your household life, everything like that. You got your family, you know, the want to set up a bigger tank, right? That's always kind of the goal, right? We want to do a bigger tank. I'm right there with you. I'd love to go bigger anytime I can. But let's talk about how you see the nano tank. I mean, of course, some people will say it's not a nano tank. It's a little bit bigger, but I would say it's in that nano range. How has that been good for you running a nano tank at this point? Honestly, it's nice. I spend maybe an hour, hour and a half, a week max between feedings and maintenance, you know, to get things looking the way that they are. And that's what I want cuz I want to balance between that and [music] obviously my outside life because that's not my sole priority. Uh so if I can be as hands-off as possible when I need to be, that gives me the flexibility to make sure this is healthy. And then obviously everything with everything outside of my work and my family, you know, doesn't get hindered by a hobby. Totally. You made a great point earlier saying, you know, this is supposed [music] to be fun, right? We're supposed to enjoy this. And at times, I think we as reef keepers get super wrapped up with everything going on with the tank, chasing after numbers, and it kind of doesn't become fun anymore. It kind of becomes a chore in [music] our correct. Yeah. And that's usually when like you're dealing with issues. Like we had I was telling you earlier, we had a little bit of brown jelly on one of my corals and that became a a project, but that was a commitment that had to be done for a week and every day I was going in siphoning out where the brown jelly was to get it controlled and to stop spreading. But now that we're back to a point where it's gone and things are [music] calming down, it's hands off again for the most part outside the regular schedule. Grass is always greener. I feel like whenever I come into these homes and get a check out tanks, there's always like, "Ah, I wish this, I wish that," you know, and I'm always super impressed [music] by what you guys are able to create. If you had to go back for the beginning of when you set up this water box, is there anything you would have changed or are you happy with the trajectory of where this tank has gone? I never imagined it getting to this point originally and the fact that it did and it's as healthy as it is, that's really what I'm just happy about. Um, you know, it was been a struggle over the years to really fine-tune and get it to a point where a lot of these corals are obtainable for me where in the beginning they weren't. And that was just by lack of knowledge and [music] trial and error to find what works and what doesn't. But really the only thing maybe I would do is maybe a different location for it because it's impossible to get to that back corner where the wall is. But for the layout of my house, that's the optimal spot to put it. You know, something funny with this [music] reefke keeping journey we all go through. We all think that this is a big hobby. There's so so many people involved with it, but honestly, it's such a tight-knit community and something that I loved before I left. I was talking with Evan. Big shout out to Evan from the farm and he was talking and so excited about me coming up here. Talk about that relationship that you had with Evan even before he ended up leaving Topshelf and how that relationship has kind of continued. Yeah. So when I got into the hobby and I really started diving into actual corals, [music] not just the fish part of it. He worked at a local fish store and he was the one that was dropping all the knowledge when I had questions, super patient. You know, he eventually learned my tank, what I have in it, [music] and was able to help make suggestions based on what I have, what I want to keep, and what my goals [music] were. And, you know, since then, we really just staying connected since he moved down to Florida. And if I still have a question this point this day, I'll reach out to like, hey, I'm having this issue. What do you think or what is your suggestion how I can approach it? And he's always responsive and provides the best information possible. Yeah, big shout out to Evan. He's one of my favorite guys at TopShelf. We go back and forth all the time with the studio tanks. I have to ask you, Tom. So, [music] everyone I asked the same question kind of near the end of the interview because Jake Adams used to do it. You would come into homes, you would do these tank tours, and you would ask if you had a piece of advice, something you would give to a brand new reef keeper. Obviously, you've been reefing for some years now at this point, but if you were to give a piece of advice to someone that's wanting to get into saltwater, getting ready to make that leap either from freshwater to salt, what would that piece of advice be? Honestly, I would say it's a combination of find yourself a group that you can bounce ideas off of each other that you're confident in, that the advice you're giving you is going to help you through any hurdles and roadblocks you're encountering, and just [music] patience. Because as much as you would love to buy that big coral at the store, the flashy one that looks amazing, if your tank's not ready for it, make sure you know what you're doing and how to keep it happy. Because as soon as you bring it home, it's going to last a week, unfortunately. and then you're going to be really upset and possibly leave the hobby. But that patience and having that group to bounce ideas off of idea off each other and suggestions really makes it a lot more achievable. It is it's important to have patience in this hobby. You know, we all [music] can have tell people the stories of things that we've lost, the money that we've spent and it's gone away. I think [music] really honestly people just have to kind of hunker down, put their feet in the ground, and really weather the storm when it comes to the beginning of their reef tanks. But Tom, I want to say thank you so much. Thank you for letting me come by. This has been so much fun to check out your nano tank. If you guys want to check out more of his system, be sure to check out his socials as well. And of course, [music] you can always rewind this video and watch it all over again. If you guys have any questions, though about this tank in particular, feel free drop them down in the comments below. And if you've watched all the way through, I want to say thank you very much. Be sure to like, subscribe, and hit the bell notification so you don't miss out [music] on any future uploads.