The Plan
I’ve been thinking about making a nanoreef for quite a while. My goals for a nanoreef are very simple. It consists of three phases.
Phase 1: Keeping live rock live
I will begin with a piece of Fiji live rock, either cured or uncured. I will use it to cycle the tank. Water chemistry will be closely monitored. If I can maintain stability in the tank then I can move to Phase 2. I’m hoping that my live rock will have some nice things seeded on it: coralline algae, zoanthids, and disk anemones. I’d like some macroalgae, also. If nuisance algae becomes a problem I may get a small snail. If I have any troublesome hitchhikers they will have to be dealt with and The Plan could have to change accordingly.
To see how Phase 1 has varied from the initial plan, see the Phase 1 page.
Phase 2: Add a featherduster tube worm
When I looked at the invertebrates at stores what I liked most was the big tank of featherdusters at one of them. It looked like the cover of a ’50s pulp science fiction novel. A dramatic and totally alien landscape.
If there’s an infestation of glass anemones in the tank then I’ll have to get a peppermint shrimp for control/eradication. A featherduster might make a meal for a shrimp: some crustaceans and some fish will prey on them. If I end up with a shrimp, it will be the defining factor in the tank for its lifetime. After the shrimp is gone, assuming it totally eradicated the glass anemone population, then I can return to my original plan of having feather dusters. In short, Phase 2 feather dusters could be delayed by years (not sure of the lifespan of peppermint shrimp). Temporarily substituting shrimp for featherdusters would not, however, preclude moving to Phase 3, if featherduster or shrimp is thriving and the tank remains stable.
To see how Phase 2 has varied from this plan, see the Phase 2 page.
Phase 3: Invertebrates on the rocks
Supplement the organisms that came on the live rock with a few choice selections of zoanthids and disk anemones. I like the zoanthid polyps with the pink or orange dot in the center. I’d like a colony of one of those if none come on the rock. More than zoanthids, though, I’d really like a collection of disk anemones in different colors. Various red and also green striped ones I’ve seen locally, and I’ve seen lovely blue ones online.
So, ideally the nanoreef would have at least one colony of zoanthids, three colonies of disk anemonies and 1-3 featherdusters. Three feather dusters is the max for the 10 gal. tank. I want to keep the bioload on the tank low.
The most important things are to keep the water quality good, water chemistry stable, and the animals healthy. The preliminary wishes outlined here are subordinate to that.
