24G Nano Cube DX Nano Reef Setup

[Navarre]

Just caught up withthe coraline turning white post.
From my experience i have found that coraline seems to prefer lower light levels. I have a friend who had a 6x3x2 tank. It was fish only with liverock but recently he converted to reef.

He has not changed the lights yet (just a couple of T8s) but he did re-arrange his rockwork and made some new aquascaping. WHenhe turned all this rock over he discovered it was completely purple. Naturally he decided to move all the rock to show all this purple in his tank. Howeer this weekend (2 weeks after the move) he called me over to look at his rocks. the coraline was turning white in areas where the lights were brightest.

The same can be said for my tank. When i moved the rock to transfer over i had a bit of coraline. I dont like coraline algae as i find it restricts water flow in high quantities. i prefer to keep it low (not gone completely) and i keep an urchin for coraline control.
I purposefully placed the rocks intothe light and the coraline has gone white in areas and dieing off.

I would imagine the problem its the lights that are doing this. there are products on the markect that help promote coraline and some people crush coraline up and set it free in the powerhead. it seems to spread faster this way.

hope this helps a little.

 

[steelhealr]

Excellent post Navarre!!! I have some more pix later...to show the white 'die off' and new cleanup batter. SH

 

[steelhealr]

Update

For those still following along:
1) The submersible fuge light is not causing any tank overheating and the macroalgae is still green....success so far, tho' still early.
2) I have a little bit of nitrate in the tank....will water change tomorrow and swap out the sponge
3) Added two emerald crabs to the cleanup crew lineup

4) Finally..here is a pic of the change that occurred on the LR

Note the astrea snails have cleaned off that whole area of LR (compared to the rock at the upper right), leaving exposed a chalky white layer. This, I presume from my readings here, is dieoff of coralline algae. HOWEVER...if you look just below mid photo, the reddish stuff is all brand new, ie, I believe that is new regrowth. Also...man..check out how clean those guys made that rock. I'm surprised how quickly they move. My sand is also cleaning up and algae seems in check (for now, lol). If I can get my nitrates lower, then, I'll be comfortable considering other livestock (cleaner shrimp and first fish). SH

 

[steelhealr]

Update

Added my first fish today:
1) Ocellaris...ok ok, Nemo
2) Firefish Goby

Will probably change up the carbon for Chemi-Pure.

SH

 

[steelhealr]

Common Nano Cube Filter Media Additives ( or ka-ching $$$)

There are a few media inserts that are added as supplementary filtration aids in the back of our Nano Cubes and are worth mentioning. I thought I would post a few here. These have been placed by various reef keepers in all of the chambers, most commonly in the second, followed by the first.

Chemi-Pure

Chemi-Pure is made by Boyd Enterprises. It is a 'filter resin' (looks like carbon to me) which claims to have many properties including:
-eliminates fish loss
-no expensive water change ever
-removes copper, metal ions, odors
-ammonia and nitrate scavenging
-keeps pH at a perfect constant level

Recommendations are one unit for 5-40 gallons. Average cost is $6-12 per unit. Replacement is every 1-6 months (most replace after 3 months).

Purigen

Purigen is made by the SeaChem company which makes a lot of the test kits for reef tanks. Purigen claims to be a "macro-porous synthetic polymer that removes proteins, nitrite and nitrate, ammonia and a broad spectrum of organics at a rate and capacity that exceeds all others by over 500%. It significantly raises redox and polishes water clarity. Exhaustion is indicated by discoloration and can be regenerated easily. For marine and freshwater. 100 ml. treats up to 100 gallons, for up to 6 months."

Average cost is about $7-8.00 per 100mls with mesh bag.

PhosGuard and PhosBan

These products are designed to help reduce the level of phosphates in your tank and are usually purchased to help combat algae overgrowth. Phosguard is about $17.00 for 1.2kg/ 2L's and Phosban is about $16.50 for 150 g's.

SeaGel

SeaGel is another product by SeaChem. They describe it as: A blend of Seachem's Matrix Carbon and Phosguard, Seagel quickly removes organics, phosphate, silicates, toxic metals and acids from any alkaline fresh or saltwater aquarium. A fine mesh bag is recommended.

Cost is about $6.00 for 250mls.

IMO


Here we go...I think if you have a problem with phosphates and algae blooms, the phosphate removers may definitely help. I've seen nothing to convince me that Chemi-Pure or Purigen really do a whole lot . SeaGel seems to be gaining in popularity because it contains both phosphate removal and carbon filtration. Bottom line..NOTHING REPLACES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REGULAR FREQUENT WATER CHANGES. So, make your own decision. I plan to try one or two in combination and see what happens. SH

 

[Grey Legion]

Alot of these so-called wonder additives claim to reduce the number of if not eliminate water changes...I find that very odd, as you mention nothing can replace a simple and very easy to do water change in either a FW or a SW set-up...

I guess profit may outweight information in some cases...

 

[sammydee]

It's a gimmick. These so-called "miracle products" are just aimed at robbing buyers of their money. Granted, some of them may have a small effect, but nothing replaces the need for frequyent water changes as SH has said.

 

[steelhealr]

...agree with Sammydee...hence, the Ka-ching. SH

 

[jflowers]

I am still following along SH, please keep it going well into tank maturity, 6+ months. My tank is not exactly nano, but its close, 32imp Gallons.

What about mithrax crabs? have read that they are good with brown hair algae, which I have a problem with at the moment.

As for additives, I use RowaPhos and also add a little calcium as my tests come out at 380 ppm and I add enough to keep it at 450ppm, see any problems with that? Only reason I ask is that my first pair of clowns died just at the time I started adding calcium (within 2 days of adding calcium, the first died, the second lasted another week, of whitespot). My new pair have been in the tank for 3 weeks and seem very healthy, they are too small I know, but seem to be trying to host my plate coral.

As for other additives, I avoid them unless its proved that it works, in my FW and SW tanks.

Jon

 

[parker313]

Update

Added my first fish today:
1) Ocellaris...ok ok, Nemo
2) Firefish Goby
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y55/steelhealr/firefish.jpg[/IMG

Will probably change up the carbon for Chemi-Pure.

SH [/quote]
Good choices B) :whistle: :lol:

Thanks for the rundown on the additives! I still need to make up my mind about what to do about my hair algae problem :sly:

 

[steelhealr]

Well..so far, I've been fortunate since coming up on 2 weeks:

1) My nitrates are falling...only half a bar away from 0. This could be multifactorial including reduction in die off material, water changes and, of course, if the macroalgae has 'kicked in'. Someone posted elsewhere that their macro is alive and doing well in the middle of their 12 gallon NC WITHOUT ANY ADDED FUGE LIGHT.

2) I added the live sand that arrived from a live tank. I kept it overnight in SW with a heater and all parameters checked out 0 the next day. I didn't add all five pounds...about 2-3. It came with some shells and a piece of what looked like branch rock. Really clouded up the water despite having poured off as much cloudy effluent as I could. It'll settle tho.

3) My livestock are still alive. The ocellaris is out and active. The firefish is extremely shy. So....I added two ne members (ready Parker?). Added a green goby:

and a cleaner shrimp:

Let me tell you...that shrimp is intense in color. I love the blood shrimp, but, at $39-49 a pop out here.....they'll wait. I'm gonna hold here for now and let everyone adjust. I'm leaning towards a lawnmower blenny next.

4) The chalky white change on the LR is receding and I"m starting to get small areas of really intensely colored coralline algae, purple and burgundy colors.

5) One astrea snail was upside down...I hope I righted him in time (they can't right themselves).

In response to jflowers. I added two mithrax crabs. To be honest, I haven't seen them since I added them. I'm optimistic and will assume that they are still alive and hiding. I added them for exactly the same reasons you stated...they can eat that and bubble algae.

As for the calcium, my SW is 500ppm when mixed. Adding calcium is a serious matter and I"ve read some horror stories here about 'dripping kalk'. It's very important for certain corals and even some macroalgae (halimeda). I'm curious...why did you want to dose the tank vs. increasing calcium with water changes? Was your tank or inhabitants having a problem?

Parker...how are your phosphates? Have you tested them? SH

 

[parker313]

Wow, a clown, a firefish AND a goby?! You really do just want my tank, doncha?! My firefish was really shy at first, now he's out as soon as the lights come on and hangs out in his spot in front of the rocks all day and then goes back in the rockwork at night when the lights go off. Does yours "twitch" his fins all the time? Mine did a lot at first, but has settled down considerably.

My phosphates tested 0.25 - a tad on the high side, but not nearly enough to explain my algae bloom. It was explained though that it could be because the algae is such an effective consumer of the phosphates that there's not that much left in the water. Makes sense. I have been slacking and I need to just go get some PhosBan or ChemiPure and get that added in.

Before adding another fish, I'd give your tank some more maturation time so you can keep an eye on your nitrates and make sure that your LR can handle the waste from your fish you've already got. A lawnmower blenny would be cool in there

Aren't the clown gobies hysterical?

Did you get a purple or a red firefish? I like both, but my husband didn't like the red ones so I got a purple one one day when I was at the lfs without him.

 

[steelhealr]

Hey Parker...the firefish (red) twitches he does. He found one of the caves in front and he can dart in there in a 'nano' second. Fast. The green clown goby disappeared. The shrimp is out and fearless.

Back to the algae...again..no expert yet, but, I tested my phosphates today and they are zero. 0.25 would be better at zero if possible. I think the PhosBan is a good idea. Hey...didn't you have macroalgae in your tank? It's supposed to compete for nutrients. I"m gonna have to go back and start going thru your thread from scratch. If my livestock continues to do well, I guess it's time to start reading up on corals. SH

 

[parker313]

My green clown goby is just now starting to actually be out and about during the day. Before, he'd come out for food or a quick zip around the tank, but hid almost all the time. Lately, I've been finding him "sunning" himself perched on a rock more and more often.

Yes, I have some macroalgae growing in my tank too - nothing I've planted, just stuff that's cropped up. It's not putting a dent as far as competing against the hair algae though.

I need to just get the PhosBan.

Oh, and I need to update my nano-diary, but everything's just clicking along smoothly, so there's nothing really to update

Corals are fun! They can be expensive for the full size ones which are often too big for nanos anyway. If your lfs doesn't do frags, check out seacrop.com - you can usually get a secret code for discounts through nano-reef.com and their customer service is top notch. liveaquaria also has good prices and their shipping is only $25 instead of the $45+ that most other places charge.

 

[jflowers]

I'm curious...why did you want to dose the tank vs. increasing calcium with water changes? Was your tank or inhabitants having a problem?

No, nothing was wrong with the inhabitants, I bought a calcium test kit as I was interested in keeping some corals and knew it needed to be around the 450ppm mark. Tested the water and it was 380-90ppm, I also got my lfs to test it and they came up with the same figure and suggested dosing.

I use Tropic Marin salt and pre-mixed from the lfs. I change 20litres a week. Maybe if I used the Tropic Marin Reef salt, I would not need to dose? I only used the standard TM salt as thats what I first used when setting up, is there a problem with changing salt brands now the tank is maturing nicely? I have read yes and no.

p.s. Love that goby.

Jon