👇👇MD MERCH CLICK HERE👇👇: FULL SHOP: md-fish-tanks.creator-spring.com So it's a bit scary doing all this for the saltwater tank especially now on my own, but learnt all about freshwater before so I'll apply the same learning pattern to saltwater. So far it's going really well and the fish look amazing as well. Equipment (all links affiliate): LED FLOODLIGHTS: US amzn.to/3m3cEz9 UK amzn.to/3orIdRv GOOD BUDGET LIGHT:: US amzn.to/2MDfjk1 UK amzn.to/3iYlfQQ SMALL HANG ON BACK FILTER: US amzn.to/2Mw63OO UK amzn.to/39rx3b5 NANO INTERNAL FILTER: US amzn.to/3oxGBWm UK CANISTER FILTER: US amzn.to/3iNeVtW UK amzn.to/2Fo774a GOOSENECK CLIP ON LAMP: (similar as product is now discontinued) US amzn.to/2IlwLVA UK amzn.to/2LNat13 MINI WATER PUMP: US amzn.to/2oAmf5y UK amzn.to/2mjHDez TANKS: US amzn.to/2SOocHG UK amzn.to/2SPA24i STRIP LED LIGHT: US (similar) amzn.to/2SNgbm7 UK amzn.to/2Fn9aW1 ASTA LED LIGHT: US amzn.to/3k9EmpY UK amzn.to/3p5XUPY AQUARIUM RACKING: Shelving: US amzn.to/2SrYZ5k UK amzn.to/2GFWKJ2 AIRPUMP (FILTER SYSTEM): US amzn.to/31z8FA9 UK amzn.to/37GIoUa FILTER SPONGES: US amzn.to/3dQLUfM UK amzn.to/3dS2k7K MEDIA BAGS: US amzn.to/34Kaf2N UK amzn.to/3lAj3z1 STAINLESS LILY PIPES: US amzn.to/2FqHpvR UK amzn.to/2RlfrnC BOWL AQUARIUMS: US amzn.to/2M4FwFO UK: amzn.to/2Vx73CL API® products Subscribe to API on RUclips: ruclips.net/user/apifishcare USA consumers purchase API products on Amazon: www.amazon.com/stores/page/2193F555-CE5F-4A6B-BDC4-F315CB7F175D?channel=MDTanks UK consumers purchase API products on Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/stores/page/25663644-6C8C-432C-9E6A-0A85082C3E3C AQUARIAN® products Follow AQUARIAN on RUclips: ruclips.net/channel/UCNxaNWKoWr_ztSgXgPj9r8A Purchase AQUARIAN products here: aquarian.co.uk/where-to-buy/ AWESOME MEMBERSHIP COMMUNITY ruclips.net/channel/UC3uQXzXSPspf2LoGdtYGiHwjoin FOLLOW MY INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/md_fishtanks/ FOR BUSINESS ENQUIRIES: admin@mdfishtanks.com #plantedtank #aquascape #mdfishtanks
Btw even though the plastic cover stops evaporation, it also stops necessary light rays from hitting the water and coral, this will prevent the coral from growing and thriving. Also I recommend getting an auto top-off which automatically tops the pump chamber with fresh water.
Love your videos. I'm from US. I would check out the Bulk Reef Supply RUclips Channel. They have a lot of informative videos about anything reefing you can think of. I've learned a lot from that channel over the years. Keep it up!
I Love the amount of speculation in the comments, what actually happened is I caught MD going behind my back to Adam's shop without my knowledge and I felt betrayed! Before you all think this is real I am definitely joking!!!
I’m 2 months into my first SW Tank, I’ve kept fresh water for about 20 years. Had a massive scare with my 2 clownfish on my 2nd day of having them, they were both laid on their sides! I thought OMG my water needs testing but I didn’t appreciate that they were both sleeping 💤. Every morning when I come downstairs they’re both asleep on the sand 👍 like you I’m learning as much as I can. Great series for a new starter to follow.
Try feeding your nem with a piece of prawn. You’ll see it close completely and then when it reopens it will look ace. Your clowns will eventually host it. It takes a while. My female took a year to realise what it was, she invited the male in and they never leave it. I’ve actually got 14 nems as they divide a lot. Good work MD, good emphasis on the slow rate of setting up a marine tank. It’s so important, too many people rush it to the detriment of the creatures they’re trying to keep. 👍
Thank you, thank you, thank you, MD! You put a smile on my face during a dreary day! I miss Matt but am keeping my fingers crossed you will still collaborate with him once in a while.
Love the tank. For me i run the flush valve for 15 mins, then i let the unit run for 2 hours. It helps get the membrane working better. Then the first 3-4 gallons i make from the RO line gets tossed out. This is a goodway to help keep your tds down without measuring the out tds on the unit with a controller.
Matt, Loving the content, all these years of great builds you have shared Im so thankful. You personality is what keeps people coming back. I have to be honest Im glad its just you again. I like Matt for specials but I felt like we lost something when you did everything together rather than gained. Hopefully you guys can have collabs between your chanels and we can go back to the great balance you once shared.
That gorgeous little fish in the tank with the two clowns you chose us STUNNING! Two-tone fish; front half is a very loud fuchsia, back half is an intense neon green!!! I hope you get that little guy!
I finally got the ok to set up an aquarium at my job. So we went with a 20 gallon long with sand as the substrate. We plan on a planted tank with guppies and one betta. I've had fish for 21 years, watching you with the aqua scapes has inspired me to no degree. The girls in the office are just as excited as I am. Thank you for your videos, you and Mat both have taught me new things and I'm passing the knowledge on to those I know.
Betta and guppy can be an unfortunate combo due to the flowy fins, unless you get an unusually chill Betta. An alternative could be a smaller rasbora (neon green for example). Regardless I wish you the best of luck with the tank.
I've been watching for years, I've always known you'd have coral 🪸. The possibilities with salt water and your love for the scape will be an amazing combination. 🐟 🐠
I'm enjoying this little series! Clowns are such cool fish with extra quirky personalities. No freshwater fish comes close. Bettas are up there but they are sadly solo fish.
I’ve had bettas in with small fish! Unless you get an asshole betta they just seem curious about the smaller fish and leave them alone. I had one in a 40 gallon breeder tank with an endler colony and he had his own little territory he stayed in most of the time and he would come out to patrol the rest of the tank on occasion. The only thing I don’t like about betta is the lifespan. Too short for such a cool fish.
@@Meansi I agree with you! I kinda meant as a pair though but you are so spot on. Especially about the life span. They are really easy to get attached too!
This tank build is a great example for beginners to dip their toes in. I've had a saltwater tank and I think I prefer fresh for the plants but this is a nice step by step as it grows and matures.
I have a 300 gallon acro tank ,she is about 4 years old. I thought it would take forever to have enough fish and grown out acros. Lol. Saltwater teaches time and patience. I think your tank will turn out beautiful. ❤
Yes Xenia can be a “weed” but it can be managed. The easiest way to manage it is with a set of curved aquascaping tweezers. Just grab a stalk close the base and pull up at a bit of angle and it will peel right off the rock. If you grab further up it will just tear and leave the base which will re-grow. I don’t have it in my large reef, but in my nano I confine it to one side of my rockwork with this method.
This reef series is what we needed. Hes about to be addicted. Cant wait to see how he scapes his reef tanks now. If he puts any energy into it like his planteds, its a wrap!
Hey MD…. Started watching your Chanel when you only had 30k subs, got into marine a few years back and your now up to 801k - amazing - congrats! So glad you’re finally into marine. You definitely need an auto top off to keep your salinity stable. Stability is vital in keeping a marine tank (I’ve learned that the hard way!) Definitely replace the lid with netting, you’ll have more evaporation but that plastic will diffuse the light too much for when you get into harder corals like torches and hammers in the future. Even your nem may need more light. Good luck, looking forward to following this build..
I think there's always room for another fishy friend... :) I enjoyed watching this one. Nice seeing MD travel back to a shop again to pick out some new fish.
Everything looks new and prestine which is exciting. Continue updating about this tank also during down times like dinos, cyano and green hair algae outbreaks.
It's so interesting and attracting that if I would have money I would have again marine, coral tank. You can watch everyday corals, fishes, improve maintaining the tank, learning and watching every day new things and corals how they try grow if there is everything good , if not, You can wonder, try to do something to be better - and this is one of the keys - always is something to do, to watch. Good luck.
It's going to look amazing when it's full grown. I always wondered how it is to have a tank with real corals in it instead of fake ones. What better environment you could possible make in a tank for those fish. I hope to see some collab with Matt again in the future. Also it would be nice to hear his stand of view in this matter. The way it got along gives room for interpetation of all kind of wild stories. I'm sure you guys wont get worried about it but it could breed some wrong opinions between some viewers, you both don't deserve that.
If you're filling your RO water into other canisters , it's a good habit to do an ICP control of the water in the canisters. There have been quite a few cases on Yt where people had their tanks almost crash or algae explosions and it turned out that their canisters/jeerycans were leaching zinc and some other stuff into their supposedly clean RO water
hey, just wanted to give simple advice that may help you! First, be careful with the water level, more so in a small tank. You should not let so much water evaporate or you will have problems. Second, be aware that with corals the effects of issues take time, so maybe you might think everything is ok, but then after some weeks they start dying, you have to think back to figure out what happened. Then, with the dosing, yes, very important, and I found out the best thing is to get an automatic dosing pump, because otherwise the values will swing too much. Just a couple of things, it looks amazing right now!
Feed thoes corals! They will appreciate small pellets, and frozen. Watching my duncan, and anniname grab hold and eat food is satisfying. Will help your anniname split/grow also.
I must say I was cringing (in a lighthearted way) a little while watching the first episodes, but you seem to be learning fast! Couple things I noticed for anyone new to saltwater: - RODI water quality is measured in TDS which stands for Total Dissolved Solids and means all elements combined , and not PPM which is a way to measure the concentration of a specific element. A good thing you did is flush the system before adding to your container to reduce TDS, not many new reefers do that! - I see you have a second inlet hole to the back chamber (circular thing) at the bottom of the tank, I would find a way to plug that to force all the water to get filtered by the media by entering in the top inlet (that's me though, not totally necessary!) - Your Duncan coral is an LPS like you stated and uses up elements like calcium and alkalinity to grow, but one single LPS that size won't use much. I would not change my water change regimen for one stony coral as this could potentially cause more problems than good (this could potentially bottom out your nutrients and cause nuisance algae like cyanobacteria or worse, dinoflagellates, to take over the tank). - Get yourself a water bottle ATO or a proper ATO unit, super important to maintain proper salinity for the health of the corals. Evaporated water will cause not only the salinity to rise, but also the concentration in alk, calcium, magnesium and other elements which could upset the inhabitants. My main tip would be to test nitrates and phosphates once or twice a week and not worry too much about the rest. If both or one of these bottom out to 0, I would dose an additive to increase the value (between 0.01 - 0.1 ppm phosphate and 5-20 ppm nitrate is fine, don't chase numbers, as long as you have some of both you are fine). Feeding will naturally increase them but in a Nano tank this size, overfeeding will also cause problems, hence why I suggest dosing as it is easier to control. If you have too much nutrients, your water changes will take care of it. Keep it up! 😁
With that small tank, if you do a 25% water change weekly. You'll have great success. Once all the rock is full of coral, you'll need to start doing weekly water tests. But for now, you have such a minimal stock load In there. Weekly water changes will be sufficient for dosing, as long as you are using a good reef salt mixture.
We are both about the same into salt water at the moment. I got my stock in about a week ago! Good to see. Duncan is SUPER forgiving. I have 2 polyps a bit higher up as the centerpiece coral and its doing very well, opened up huuuge! I would suggest a favia as a nice big donut you can have down on your sand. I have one thats doing great with a beginner too
Do a feed at night when the lights are on a low setting. Best time to feed for corals like lps. Try getting a bubble coral next as at night the bubbles change to little tentacles and you can see them feeding the mouth of the coral. Awesome looking tank 💪🏻
Just set up my first adult fish tank (I had one when I was 10 that was the pink gravel/glow fish combo you would expect a ten year old without RUclips to pick). Scape and plants are in and growing! Clean up crew and some schooling fish to start coming soon.
Hey buddy, I'm sure you trust your friends at the LFS, and their tank water. However, it is generally a good practice in saltwater to avoid adding LFS tank water to your tank. Parasites are super common in the reef tanks. I have done it both ways, with no problems before. It only takes once though. Just food for thought - a practice that I like to think helps protect my tanks. Anyways, enjoyed the video man.
Love the build, saltwater tanks are so interesting to me! Im hoping for more turtle tank vids as i would love inspo for my own turtle tank! Keep slaying these aquariums!
This is really fascinating MD 🙂Can't wait to see how this tank develops, the ltitle crabs are so cute and the paired fish are lovely. Very interesting to change from freshwater with everything including the corals being creatures!
That was so informative. I know absolutely nothing about saltwater tanks. I, like you, thought of the anemones as plants, not living things. Although plants are living things. Very beautiful set up you have going. I am looking forward to seeing the saltwater tank progress!
I absolutely love it already, those fish are adorable. Keeping a saltwater tank is outside my budget right now, but one day I would love to own one. Until then, I will enjoy watching yours developing and learning more about this side of fish keeping. 😊
I had a couple saltwater tanks too a while back and my favorite animal was those hermit crabs. They move around so much and look pretty cool. The fish are cool too I guess ;-) For other small critters check out some of the small starfish, they usually come on liverock and unexpected additions, and sea-cucumbers are so cool too. A nice shrimp in that tank would be nice also. The tank is looking great though and good luck with its progression.
Honestly they're fairly boring as they just host one spot all day, mine do in my 5x2x2 mixed reef. Plenty of other fish with more character etc with the same care requirements!
Love it, Love it, I really enjoyed this update, I had a salt water like you many years ago, but never went back due to time, kids etc, but really thinkking of doing another one now. beautiful fish. well done.
Wow! I don't know anything about saltwater but I've seen clown fish, of course, and these are gorgeous! Plump and healthy looking and so dramatically patterned! Loving your selections, MD. Hope this tank continues doing so well for you:)
What a fun video!! I am so glad that you decides on the Designer Clown Fish; they are gorgeous!! I don’t know anything about saltwater fish etc. so this is so interesting. Love it. Thank you for sharing your journey back into saltwater fish, etc.
Congrats on the new lil friends!! I'm waiting for my first saltwater tank to cycle so I can get some clowns too, great to be on a similar journey together 😄
I am so glad that you are doing saltwater. The only thing l have to watch is see MD do a planted monster fish tank with Arowana, peacock bass, gars, african tiger fish, stingrays and many more. Keeping my fingers crossed that day will happen.
As a long time freshwater fishkeeper with 0 saltwater experience, im sharing this new experience with you haha. It looks good I like the idea of a large cube tank
If you ever decide you want another Nem but for like the sand bed I recommend the Malu Anemone they don't split like Bubble tips so you can't sell off the clones but under the blue lights the tips glow bright green its funny as I have trouble with bubble tips which are considered easy to keep and Malu's hard but mines thrived survived two tank moves hosts my clowns and is the size medium dinner plate when fully opened.
If you start getting more difficult corals you might consider ditching the lid and maybe just use an auto top off for the evaporation. The lids significantly impact the lighting.
Oh man, I love those Royal Grammas we had those one Guam in our tank as well as a Melanurus Wrasse. That was the nice part about living just a few miles from the beach is when we wanted fish we just went down and caught them.
I really love it. Saltwater is my favorite tanks. When you said they would look better in a 8ft tank, it came to my mind, that you have an empty one :) I will recommend you to feed them the Nutramar Ova Fish Food, the corals really love it, and don't forget their trace elements. Thank you this video
I actually thought that myself that the big tank maybe the best one for a reef tank, it would be a long term project regardless given how much work would go into scape one that big
Love this video MD I love watching your channel. I do hope that you and Matt do a few episodes together. There’s just something about when you and him are together I seem to like the videos more.
Please MD, buy an auto top up. That much evaporation on a small tank will cause salinity fluctuations and stability is everything! Plus it makes life easier. Just a tip from a new-ish reefer who has learnt this the hard way Also, I know you're sponsored by API, but please ditch that master test kit and buy some Salifert test kits (or Hanna KH/Mg/NO3) for use off camera, the accuracy isn't good enough on the API.
I feed my anemone specialised pellets. He munches one up once every few days. I was also fascinated the first time, I plopped it directly on its mouth then the whole body closed up and I panicked but he waa just eating, few minutes later he opened up again and the pellet was gone. Looking forward to more updates, Im new also to saltwater reef tanks.
The API Saltwater test kit has a lot of the same tests that the Freshwater kit has. You'll want to get the API Reef Master test kit to test for calcium, kH, and phosphate. Both kits have a nitrate test.
You can use an auto top off, or if you want to do it on the cheap a gravity fed bottle filled with RO. Now that you have a nen and other corals you will want to keep your salinity a little more stable.
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So it's a bit scary doing all this for the saltwater tank especially now on my own, but learnt all about freshwater before so I'll apply the same learning pattern to saltwater. So far it's going really well and the fish look amazing as well.
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Don't forget to put a bunch of different sized empty snail shells in to keep the hermit crabs from competing/ killing one another for new homes
Btw even though the plastic cover stops evaporation, it also stops necessary light rays from hitting the water and coral, this will prevent the coral from growing and thriving. Also I recommend getting an auto top-off which automatically tops the pump chamber with fresh water.
I liked also the "Pandas", I know you have another tank that you can use 😝
Love your videos. I'm from US. I would check out the Bulk Reef Supply RUclips Channel. They have a lot of informative videos about anything reefing you can think of. I've learned a lot from that channel over the years. Keep it up!
Gobys gobys gobys gobys!!!!! Bennys blennys blennys blennys! Shrimps! Very excited to see critters!! Giant clam!!!!!
I Love the amount of speculation in the comments, what actually happened is I caught MD going behind my back to Adam's shop without my knowledge and I felt betrayed! Before you all think this is real I am definitely joking!!!
You said we were on a break!!!!
@@MDFishTanks I wish I could reply with the Ross from friends gif!
You’re so funny! I love this comment so much!! ❤❤😂😂
Of course you are joking, there is an 8ft nano piece of work that I expect you both to work on. Cheeky boys!
Hahah oh the dramaaaa in the fishy business 😂
I look forward to Adam quitting his job to work for MD before leaving to run his own RUclips channel. Top bloke!
😂😂😂😂
If that means more salt water in the videos, great! Don’t think theyll still let him in at Maidenhead though…
We were all thinking it 🤣😅
😂😂😂
I swear I thoght the same thing while he was explaining about the clown fish 😂
MD moved fast with Adam. Matt's side of the bed isn't even cold yet.
😂
Brutal, fishkeeping f*** & chuck 😂 @@BennyRob85
Brutal, fishkeeping f*** & chuck 😂@@BennyRob85
Absolutely brutal
Just a rebound or the real deal?
I’m 2 months into my first SW Tank, I’ve kept fresh water for about 20 years. Had a massive scare with my 2 clownfish on my 2nd day of having them, they were both laid on their sides! I thought OMG my water needs testing but I didn’t appreciate that they were both sleeping 💤. Every morning when I come downstairs they’re both asleep on the sand 👍 like you I’m learning as much as I can. Great series for a new starter to follow.
I’m no expert but I’ve been keeping clowns for a few years and I’m pretty sure they don’t sleep on the sand
Try feeding your nem with a piece of prawn. You’ll see it close completely and then when it reopens it will look ace. Your clowns will eventually host it. It takes a while. My female took a year to realise what it was, she invited the male in and they never leave it. I’ve actually got 14 nems as they divide a lot. Good work MD, good emphasis on the slow rate of setting up a marine tank. It’s so important, too many people rush it to the detriment of the creatures they’re trying to keep. 👍
Clowns don't host!
No that's anamil cruewelty
I miss Matt. I knew it was too good to be true here on earth to have such a fun duo!
right!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, MD! You put a smile on my face during a dreary day! I miss Matt but am keeping my fingers crossed you will still collaborate with him once in a while.
Love the tank. For me i run the flush valve for 15 mins, then i let the unit run for 2 hours. It helps get the membrane working better. Then the first 3-4 gallons i make from the RO line gets tossed out. This is a goodway to help keep your tds down without measuring the out tds on the unit with a controller.
I know nothing about saltwater tanks ... I'm enjoying seeing the process and now all the little corals, fish and creatures that you are adding.
I love watching this and learning about salt water. I can't believe how great it looks already!
Is Adam an actor playing matt??
If so he has absolutely nailed it 😂
I hope MD and Matt make a new extra channel with them both as one, could be Md & Matts adventures😊
I checked the comments for similarities between Matt and Adam. I wasn't disappointed 😂😂
Matt, Loving the content, all these years of great builds you have shared Im so thankful. You personality is what keeps people coming back. I have to be honest Im glad its just you again. I like Matt for specials but I felt like we lost something when you did everything together rather than gained. Hopefully you guys can have collabs between your chanels and we can go back to the great balance you once shared.
I’m glad I’m not the only one, I’ve said similar on the last couple of videos.
That gorgeous little fish in the tank with the two clowns you chose us STUNNING! Two-tone fish; front half is a very loud fuchsia, back half is an intense neon green!!! I hope you get that little guy!
I noticed it too, never seen those to colours together on a fish before
Gramma fish, they’re neat!
matt and adam are so similar in their mannerisms 🤣🤣
Its his twin
MD has a type 😉
I also noticed that
*Matterisms
I finally got the ok to set up an aquarium at my job. So we went with a 20 gallon long with sand as the substrate. We plan on a planted tank with guppies and one betta. I've had fish for 21 years, watching you with the aqua scapes has inspired me to no degree. The girls in the office are just as excited as I am. Thank you for your videos, you and Mat both have taught me new things and I'm passing the knowledge on to those I know.
Betta and guppy can be an unfortunate combo due to the flowy fins, unless you get an unusually chill Betta.
An alternative could be a smaller rasbora (neon green for example).
Regardless I wish you the best of luck with the tank.
@dhxmg I've had a single betta with guppies before. Females are a bit more chill them males. Like I said, I've had fish for 21 years. But thank you.
@@WhiteWolf-92 21 years doesn't mean that you've kept betta, but yeah. I missed that you were talking about a female betta, my bad I suppose.
I've been watching for years, I've always known you'd have coral 🪸. The possibilities with salt water and your love for the scape will be an amazing combination. 🐟 🐠
Gonna be awkward when he’s with Adam in the studio and Matt comes by to pick up his things 🫢
I'm enjoying this little series! Clowns are such cool fish with extra quirky personalities. No freshwater fish comes close. Bettas are up there but they are sadly solo fish.
I’ve had bettas in with small fish! Unless you get an asshole betta they just seem curious about the smaller fish and leave them alone. I had one in a 40 gallon breeder tank with an endler colony and he had his own little territory he stayed in most of the time and he would come out to patrol the rest of the tank on occasion. The only thing I don’t like about betta is the lifespan. Too short for such a cool fish.
@@Meansi I agree with you! I kinda meant as a pair though but you are so spot on. Especially about the life span. They are really easy to get attached too!
Cichlids are very expressive as well
This tank build is a great example for beginners to dip their toes in. I've had a saltwater tank and I think I prefer fresh for the plants but this is a nice step by step as it grows and matures.
I like the new Salty Matt
I have a 300 gallon acro tank ,she is about 4 years old. I thought it would take forever to have enough fish and grown out acros. Lol. Saltwater teaches time and patience. I think your tank will turn out beautiful. ❤
Yes Xenia can be a “weed” but it can be managed. The easiest way to manage it is with a set of curved aquascaping tweezers. Just grab a stalk close the base and pull up at a bit of angle and it will peel right off the rock. If you grab further up it will just tear and leave the base which will re-grow. I don’t have it in my large reef, but in my nano I confine it to one side of my rockwork with this method.
MD I'd be terrified to do a salt tank. I'm glad you're doing it so I can at least enjoy the process. 🎉
This reef series is what we needed. Hes about to be addicted. Cant wait to see how he scapes his reef tanks now. If he puts any energy into it like his planteds, its a wrap!
Hey MD…. Started watching your Chanel when you only had 30k subs, got into marine a few years back and your now up to 801k - amazing - congrats! So glad you’re finally into marine. You definitely need an auto top off to keep your salinity stable. Stability is vital in keeping a marine tank (I’ve learned that the hard way!) Definitely replace the lid with netting, you’ll have more evaporation but that plastic will diffuse the light too much for when you get into harder corals like torches and hammers in the future. Even your nem may need more light. Good luck, looking forward to following this build..
MD, absolutely stunning small salt tank, beautiful corals!
More videos please! ✌🏼
Those clowns are so cool MD! Good choice! I love everything you picked out. It’s a great little tank.
I think there's always room for another fishy friend... :) I enjoyed watching this one. Nice seeing MD travel back to a shop again to pick out some new fish.
SaltyShopAdam RUclips channel in the making. The MDverse just got bigger
Everything looks new and prestine which is exciting. Continue updating about this tank also during down times like dinos, cyano and green hair algae outbreaks.
The tank is looking great!!! An ATO was one of the best purchases I made for my saltwater tank. Helps keep the salinity more stable.
It's so interesting and attracting that if I would have money I would have again marine, coral tank. You can watch everyday corals, fishes, improve maintaining the tank, learning and watching every day new things and corals how they try grow if there is everything good , if not, You can wonder, try to do something to be better - and this is one of the keys - always is something to do, to watch. Good luck.
I set up my tank around the same time as yours! So it’s cool to see us both learn and put fish and coral in at the same time. Happy Reefing!
It's going to look amazing when it's full grown. I always wondered how it is to have a tank with real corals in it instead of fake ones. What better environment you could possible make in a tank for those fish.
I hope to see some collab with Matt again in the future. Also it would be nice to hear his stand of view in this matter. The way it got along gives room for interpetation of all kind of wild stories. I'm sure you guys wont get worried about it but it could breed some wrong opinions between some viewers, you both don't deserve that.
The tank is so simple to look at, but way too complicated to achieved. Great going.🐟
If you're filling your RO water into other canisters , it's a good habit to do an ICP control of the water in the canisters. There have been quite a few cases on Yt where people had their tanks almost crash or algae explosions and it turned out that their canisters/jeerycans were leaching zinc and some other stuff into their supposedly clean RO water
hey, just wanted to give simple advice that may help you! First, be careful with the water level, more so in a small tank. You should not let so much water evaporate or you will have problems. Second, be aware that with corals the effects of issues take time, so maybe you might think everything is ok, but then after some weeks they start dying, you have to think back to figure out what happened. Then, with the dosing, yes, very important, and I found out the best thing is to get an automatic dosing pump, because otherwise the values will swing too much. Just a couple of things, it looks amazing right now!
Feed thoes corals! They will appreciate small pellets, and frozen. Watching my duncan, and anniname grab hold and eat food is satisfying. Will help your anniname split/grow also.
I must say I was cringing (in a lighthearted way) a little while watching the first episodes, but you seem to be learning fast!
Couple things I noticed for anyone new to saltwater:
- RODI water quality is measured in TDS which stands for Total Dissolved Solids and means all elements combined , and not PPM which is a way to measure the concentration of a specific element. A good thing you did is flush the system before adding to your container to reduce TDS, not many new reefers do that!
- I see you have a second inlet hole to the back chamber (circular thing) at the bottom of the tank, I would find a way to plug that to force all the water to get filtered by the media by entering in the top inlet (that's me though, not totally necessary!)
- Your Duncan coral is an LPS like you stated and uses up elements like calcium and alkalinity to grow, but one single LPS that size won't use much. I would not change my water change regimen for one stony coral as this could potentially cause more problems than good (this could potentially bottom out your nutrients and cause nuisance algae like cyanobacteria or worse, dinoflagellates, to take over the tank).
- Get yourself a water bottle ATO or a proper ATO unit, super important to maintain proper salinity for the health of the corals. Evaporated water will cause not only the salinity to rise, but also the concentration in alk, calcium, magnesium and other elements which could upset the inhabitants.
My main tip would be to test nitrates and phosphates once or twice a week and not worry too much about the rest. If both or one of these bottom out to 0, I would dose an additive to increase the value (between 0.01 - 0.1 ppm phosphate and 5-20 ppm nitrate is fine, don't chase numbers, as long as you have some of both you are fine). Feeding will naturally increase them but in a Nano tank this size, overfeeding will also cause problems, hence why I suggest dosing as it is easier to control. If you have too much nutrients, your water changes will take care of it.
Keep it up! 😁
Fellow reefer here with a mixed reef, I agree with everything you've just said tbh!
With that small tank, if you do a 25% water change weekly. You'll have great success. Once all the rock is full of coral, you'll need to start doing weekly water tests. But for now, you have such a minimal stock load In there. Weekly water changes will be sufficient for dosing, as long as you are using a good reef salt mixture.
We are both about the same into salt water at the moment. I got my stock in about a week ago! Good to see. Duncan is SUPER forgiving. I have 2 polyps a bit higher up as the centerpiece coral and its doing very well, opened up huuuge! I would suggest a favia as a nice big donut you can have down on your sand. I have one thats doing great with a beginner too
Do a feed at night when the lights are on a low setting. Best time to feed for corals like lps. Try getting a bubble coral next as at night the bubbles change to little tentacles and you can see them feeding the mouth of the coral. Awesome looking tank 💪🏻
I miss seeing you guys together. The banter is great.
Just set up my first adult fish tank (I had one when I was 10 that was the pink gravel/glow fish combo you would expect a ten year old without RUclips to pick). Scape and plants are in and growing! Clean up crew and some schooling fish to start coming soon.
Its like watching a divorced parent dating again it doesnt feel quite right :(
who gets custody of all of us, MD or Matt? 😆
Shared custody 😂
weekdays with MD, weekends at Matt's @@rebeccaallardice7577 🤣
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
waiting for the future build where MD, Matt, and Adam are all cohabiting a huge studeo together 😅
I miss fish shop Matt to help you with saltwater. As a Reefer myself.
Goodbye Matt... Hello Adam! 😂
The comment I came here for lol 🤣🤣🤣
I love the new additions to the salt water tank. Well done MD
MD telling us about his enema 😂
Hey buddy, I'm sure you trust your friends at the LFS, and their tank water. However, it is generally a good practice in saltwater to avoid adding LFS tank water to your tank. Parasites are super common in the reef tanks. I have done it both ways, with no problems before. It only takes once though. Just food for thought - a practice that I like to think helps protect my tanks. Anyways, enjoyed the video man.
Love the build, saltwater tanks are so interesting to me! Im hoping for more turtle tank vids as i would love inspo for my own turtle tank! Keep slaying these aquariums!
This is really fascinating MD 🙂Can't wait to see how this tank develops, the ltitle crabs are so cute and the paired fish are lovely.
Very interesting to change from freshwater with everything including the corals being creatures!
That was so informative. I know absolutely nothing about saltwater tanks. I, like you, thought of the anemones as plants, not living things. Although plants are living things. Very beautiful set up you have going. I am looking forward to seeing the saltwater tank progress!
Adam just saw his new career walk through that shop door lol
I absolutely love it already, those fish are adorable. Keeping a saltwater tank is outside my budget right now, but one day I would love to own one. Until then, I will enjoy watching yours developing and learning more about this side of fish keeping. 😊
I had a couple saltwater tanks too a while back and my favorite animal was those hermit crabs. They move around so much and look pretty cool. The fish are cool too I guess ;-) For other small critters check out some of the small starfish, they usually come on liverock and unexpected additions, and sea-cucumbers are so cool too. A nice shrimp in that tank would be nice also. The tank is looking great though and good luck with its progression.
An auto top off is a great investment and a net lid is better for light transfer.
Really cool. Have never attempted saltwater but just might have to give it a try. Who doesn’t want to keep a pair of clownfish? 😊
Honestly they're fairly boring as they just host one spot all day, mine do in my 5x2x2 mixed reef. Plenty of other fish with more character etc with the same care requirements!
Love it, Love it, I really enjoyed this update, I had a salt water like you many years ago, but never went back due to time, kids etc, but really thinkking of doing another one now. beautiful fish. well done.
Wow! I don't know anything about saltwater but I've seen clown fish, of course, and these are gorgeous! Plump and healthy looking and so dramatically patterned! Loving your selections, MD. Hope this tank continues doing so well for you:)
You should move the Xenia further away from the anemone. They grow really fast and the anemone with start to sting it
It is absolutely true. I am using an Eheim 2213 to run my 20L.
What a fun video!! I am so glad that you decides on the Designer Clown Fish; they are gorgeous!! I don’t know anything about saltwater fish etc. so this is so interesting. Love it. Thank you for sharing your journey back into saltwater fish, etc.
Congrats on the new lil friends!! I'm waiting for my first saltwater tank to cycle so I can get some clowns too, great to be on a similar journey together 😄
I am so glad that you are doing saltwater. The only thing l have to watch is see MD do a planted monster fish tank with Arowana, peacock bass, gars, african tiger fish, stingrays and many more. Keeping my fingers crossed that day will happen.
As a long time freshwater fishkeeper with 0 saltwater experience, im sharing this new experience with you haha. It looks good I like the idea of a large cube tank
If you ever decide you want another Nem but for like the sand bed I recommend the Malu Anemone they don't split like Bubble tips so you can't sell off the clones but under the blue lights the tips glow bright green its funny as I have trouble with bubble tips which are considered easy to keep and Malu's hard but mines thrived survived two tank moves hosts my clowns and is the size medium dinner plate when fully opened.
I like the new guy
If you start getting more difficult corals you might consider ditching the lid and maybe just use an auto top off for the evaporation. The lids significantly impact the lighting.
Hopefully MD and Matt will still do collabs....starting with that 8 foot tank! Good luck to both of you 👍
Oh man, I love those Royal Grammas we had those one Guam in our tank as well as a Melanurus Wrasse. That was the nice part about living just a few miles from the beach is when we wanted fish we just went down and caught them.
Used to keep marines, getting very tempted to start again watching this.
like we have a new "matt" friend 🤣😂
I really love it. Saltwater is my favorite tanks. When you said they would look better in a 8ft tank, it came to my mind, that you have an empty one :) I will recommend you to feed them the Nutramar Ova Fish Food, the corals really love it, and don't forget their trace elements. Thank you this video
I actually thought that myself that the big tank maybe the best one for a reef tank, it would be a long term project regardless given how much work would go into scape one that big
I could watch salt water tanks for hours
Love this video MD I love watching your channel. I do hope that you and Matt do a few episodes together. There’s just something about when you and him are together I seem to like the videos more.
Please MD, buy an auto top up. That much evaporation on a small tank will cause salinity fluctuations and stability is everything! Plus it makes life easier. Just a tip from a new-ish reefer who has learnt this the hard way
Also, I know you're sponsored by API, but please ditch that master test kit and buy some Salifert test kits (or Hanna KH/Mg/NO3) for use off camera, the accuracy isn't good enough on the API.
Fuffin awesome MD. Love this salt water setup and I cannot wait to see what you do with the other salt water tank.
I feel like I need to delete my browser history now in case Matt sees.
I feed my anemone specialised pellets. He munches one up once every few days. I was also fascinated the first time, I plopped it directly on its mouth then the whole body closed up and I panicked but he waa just eating, few minutes later he opened up again and the pellet was gone. Looking forward to more updates, Im new also to saltwater reef tanks.
That tank is gorgeous! Starting to regret picking up a cheeky cheap Fluval Evo, now!
“We’ve got an enema” - haha have we now 😂
❤❤❤. Well done MD! I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to seeing this project thrive!
Fran, Staten Island, NY. 😊
Tank is starting to look good
Hey MD! Just for fun, check out anemone anatomy compared to a sarlacc (Star Wars) anatomy diagram! You’ve got your own alien!
Oh man! How did I miss you were working on a salt water tank!?!? Super exciting!
The "normal" clownfish is the prettiest. The Nemo
A-ne-MO-NY. Mony. Not enema :D Beautiful tank!
Get an ATO for your saltwater tank. Salinity and stability in a reef aquarium is very important.
Yes the saltwater aquarium it's been ages since the last episode those clowns are amazing
The API Saltwater test kit has a lot of the same tests that the Freshwater kit has. You'll want to get the API Reef Master test kit to test for calcium, kH, and phosphate. Both kits have a nitrate test.
Nice to see you found a way to do a blue n white set up 👍
I can’t wait for you to hire Adam and him start his own channel and him leave the shop lol
Hosting sometimes happens and sometimes doesnt. Also its pretty normal for clowns to pick a spot in the tank to live and rarely leave it.
You can use an auto top off, or if you want to do it on the cheap a gravity fed bottle filled with RO.
Now that you have a nen and other corals you will want to keep your salinity a little more stable.
Gorgeous! I can't wait to try my first salt tank!!! ❤❤❤ You are my guru!!!