Hey every one!
I introduced my self (with some n00b questions) on this thread: http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/new-saltwater/6079-hello-noob-question.html

I just wanted to start a little log. I do some neat stuff (mods) and wanted to give you guys a chance to possibly catch my mistakes. Be gentle, this is my first SW tank.

Here is my start. The tank was still cycling here. This was also my first attempt to aquascape a reef tank!
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_0797.jpg

Round two with aquascaping (not much better)
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_0804.jpg

Heres my third and final attempt
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/DSCN0604.jpg

Next on my list was some modifications. I swapped the stock pump for a MJ-900. I also drilled the divider to add a second return. The second return has a MJ-404 on it and a Hydor Flo.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/DSCN0603.jpg

The tank was setup end of 11/07. I have not added too much live stock:
True Perc
Peppermint Shrimp
Emerald crab
Snails
Hermits
GSP
Zoa's
Xania
Red mushroom

The next set of mods took me in a different direction. I removed the stock canopy and added a Sunpod MH with a Ushio 14K bulb. I also added a Remora Nano skimmer. In the picture you can see the egg crate I’m using to help acclimate the tank to the new light.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_0931.jpg

I have a JBJ ATO on the way. I never had an open top tank before. It’s amazing how much water can evaporate off of these little tanks!

Now the juggling act begins. I need to find room for all of this equipment. I need space for:
Heater (being upgraded this week)
BOTH return pumps
Skimmer
ATO
Chemi-Pure (Almost used up.)

And finally I want to add Cheato with a small light in the back. I think I can fit a sack of Chaeto under the skimmer’s return. This only leaves me a 4” long section to light up. Where can I find a small 4” CF or LED setup?? I was going to use a palm or perch 7W CF light, but they are too thick to fit “under” the skimmer (and shine through the glass back of the tank). I need to either place it over the tank or use something submersible.
I’ll post a picture when I get home to better illustrate my space issues….

looking good so far. sorry i can not be very much help on a nano, i have never had one.

Hello Keith and :welcome: to TR! I think you have the aquascaping looking very nice with the 3rd try. Looks great! I also admire you for not over stocking your tank and have shown moderation and have compulsive buying under control. :up: For your first tank, I can tell that you have done alot of research and have learned a great many things. Quite admirable and is a great start to a successful reef. Excellent job with the light acclimation and yes, an open top DT will have a good deal evaporation. I can not give you any suggestions for the lighting as I am limited in that area, but there are others here that can help. Carmie Jo and rroselavy are just 2 people that comes to mind out of a list of others that may be able to help in that area. If you had a sump, that would give you a place to house all of your equipment and give you extra water volume.

Anyway, give the others a little time as everyone is just now getting home from work. :heart:

You don't really super duper lights for a refugium or macroalgae. I know that some people use even lights from the hardware store....

Hey Keith, nice looking nano! I too have a 12 gal with a MH fixture and an open top. I got tired of trying to cram gear in the rear chambers and ended up drilling mine for a true sump/fuge.

Here's my thread on the project:
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/member-tank-projects/4656-12-gal-nano-project-5.html

Hey Keith,
I don't have a fuge in my nano although I have considered how to... Looking at all the light on the wall behind your tank I would try to make a DIY reflector for the fuge compartment and use the spillover. I have heard of using aluminum foil for this.

I also admire you for not over stocking your tank and have shown moderation and have compulsive buying under control.

Thank you. I must admit, I have a compulsive side, but it is more towards equipment.. Once I get my setup and routine down, I'll start filler her up.

Phurst, nice setup! You setup is very tempting. But I think I'll keep this tank jambed with gear (nano style) and plot my next tank with a MONSTER sump. (I really want a sea apple one day)

As far as a light for macroalgae, I'm going to buid a waterprood LED light with a custom bracket. I thinking the housing will be smoked acrylic, like the Remora I'm using. I need to see what kind of material we have at my job laying around.

My crab is driving me nuts. He has broken off every frag I had glued or epoxied down. The only one remaining intact is the one pictured below. He waves his arms at me a lot. He looks mean!

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_0948.jpg

This is what the back of my nano looks like. I would assume everyones looks as crowded, right? Chamber one (on the left) has the heater and second return on a Hydor Flo. I have the pump on 15min every hour while the lights are on. Chamber two and three are now one (the divider in the middle is cut). I would have had to cut it anyways to fit the skimmer, but the previous owner did it before I got it (the tank was a free hand-me-down). Chamber four has the main pump and chemi-pure. I plan to have cheato directly under the skimmer's return. The LED fixture I'm going to make will probably mount on the skimmer over what was chamber 3. Does any one see any problem with having cheato in that spot?

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_0944.jpg

I liked your tank on the intro post.. and like it here too.. welcome again!

Dave

I don't see a problem with the cheato there as long as you can keep it out of the pump for the skimmer.

How do you like the hydor flow? I have been considering one.

Is the crab also eating the corals? Did you buy him or was he a hitchhiker? You could always try to get him out and give him to a fellow reefer with a sump.

I have and use Hydors. They are "alright". Knocks down your flow rate significantly though. The other problem is that I seem to have to remove it, and clean it every two weeks. I do my pumps once a month. This hardware seems to need it more often.

Dave

I like the Hydor Flo. On the nano I had to turn down the flow on my pump or I would get a crater in the sand from it. I just use it to periodically stir things up.

I clean mine once a month with my pumps. No problems so far.. Only once did I find it stalled. A light tap with my finger got it going again.

The crab only ate half my GSP the first week. He's been good ever since. He gets fed a lot. He was a gift from a buddy. I could give him back, but I do like watching him. He almost always hangs out in plain sight during the day. I can tell that he sees me, he waves his arms at me. Sometimes I think he's trying to intimidate me (my girlfriend says he is waving gang signs at me. LOL)

My crayfish used to do the same threatening to me... big mean and ugly was he...

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/Rahhhh.jpg

cool dave! Was that a cool water tank??

It was a fresh water, cold tank. yep.

I had a blue cray too for a few years! Really mean! He nipped me a few times.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/DSCN0522.jpg

He ate EVERY fish he came in contact with! Goldfish, loaches, gouramis, etc.. I had to give him his own tank eventually.

Hmm... too freaky.. lots in common. I'll even forget that you are from New York and probably a Yankees fan :) I like you already! If you come out and say you are a Mets fan, I'll call ya "Brothah" :D

Dave

Another major update:

I added Cheato! I used a Rio Mini Sun LED fixture with the 50/50 blue/white LEDs. The small patch of algae more than doubled in size in about 2 weeks! Install was easier than I thought. All I did was use a razor to remove the black vinyl from the back of the tank, prop up the light, and toss a hunk of algae in the back of my tank. (sorry for the lousy pictures)
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_0989.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_0990.jpg

I'm hoping the macro algae will help lower my nitrates. They keep climbing. I caught the tank at 40 last week before the water change.

I also added some more live stock:
Cleaner shrimp
Purple Mushroom
Clove Polyps
Unidentified zoa frag (still not opened)
And a Fountain Head Duster (Like a feather duster with 2 heads. Or maybe a soft shelled coco worm?)

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_0941-1.jpg

All the live stock look great. Good color, every one is active and growing!

A few days ago I started getting a brown algae bloom, now I'm getting a cyano algae outbreak. I used chemiclean and it just got worse over night. Any hints?

Water parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
Sg 1.024
Temp 79.5

Should I just do more water changes??

BTW: My skimmer pulls only green, not black/brown like I've seen on other's tanks. Does this mean anything significant?

Have you measured phosphates? This could be the cause....you could, for the short period, use PhosphoBan or something similar, although you'd need to eventually find the cause of the high nutrients.

Keep doing water changes. How much are you doing at the moment?

Also...how much are you feeding? Could that be an issue?


In terms of green skimmate...mine's the same...it just depends on how much microalgae/phytoplankton you've got free-floating in your tank. As long as you're pulling stuff out, I wouldn't worry too much about the color. If I let the green stuff sit longer in the skimmer, it turns to brown as well.

Keith, I agree with Reefbaby in continuing to do do water changes and regular tank cleaning, along with controlled feeding to keep from necessarily adding too many nutrients to the tank. How is the flow in the tank? We want to keep detrious and excess nutrients up in the water column so your skimmer has a better chance of removing them. Do you dust your live rock and keep it clean? Particles can settle in holes and crevices and decompose there.

I don't have a phosphate test kit. I'll have to grab one!

My flow is great. I have a MJ-900 and MJ-606. I blow my rocks off with a baster once a week.

I am guilty of over feeding. I dose small amounts of zooplex, phytoplex, & marine snow. I also feed mysis, blood worms, and on rare occasions seaweed.

I get a TON of surface scum. When I do water changes, it's all focused on removing the scum. I wish the protein skimmer was surface skimming too, but it's not an option with my setup (lack of room).

Since the blooms/breakouts, the surface scum has green particulates in it (like floating algae??)

One thing that came to mind is that the Chemi-Pure sack is about used up. It's about 6.5 months old...

I meant to tell you that I really like the "Fountainhead Feather Duster." I've never seen one like that before. Is it the size of a "Hawain" one? Just curious as I am a feather duster nut. :D

I meant to tell you that I really like the "Fountainhead Feather Duster." I've never seen one like that before. Is it the size of a "Hawain" one? Just curious as I am a feather duster nut. :D

Thanks! It's a little bigger than a Hawaiian feather duster. It seems to be a little rare as no one I have spoken with knew much about them.

Unfortunately I had to move it behind my rocks kinda out of sight. The front of my tank just has too much flow for him.

Picked up something new last night. After reading a thread about euphyllias being good hosting alternatives for clowns, I got this:

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_1001.jpg

I got it from a local reef club meet. Any input on what it is? A fiend said some kind of frog spawn.

I like it a LOT.

I agree with frogspawn. Looks a little bleached, but it might just be the pic. Nice score.

Hi Keith,

I keep the outflow of my nano pointed up enough to break the surface of the water. I think it helps keep the scum from forming.

I've had percs host in Frogspawn, Hammer, Alveopora, Open Brains, large frilly mushrooms, and on my powerheads :)

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d176/JustDavidP/clownalveo.jpg

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3d708b3127cce9b5f731515b600000046108DcuHDZi10

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b4da23b3127cce9b5f739d257400000016108DcuHDZi10

Thanks David. Atleast I know there is hope for my clown. She just won't host anything.

A friend of mine reccomended placing a picture of a clown hosting a frog spawn against th glass. The theory is that the clown will see the picture and possibly mimic it. I may try this rediculous technique.

Any one see any problem with my frog spawn location? I'm a little nervous that it is too close to the xenia. I'm such a noob, I always worry about coral placement. My girlfriend keeps yelling at me "Get your damn hands out of the tank! You keep disturbing everyone.." LOL

Yeah..it probably is too close to the Xenia. They pack a punch. Though, the Xen may just move on its own if it is stung. Personally, I'd move it to an area where it can grow and have room.

Another trick to get the clown to host, is to use one of those "veggie clips" that is designed to look like a clown fish. Place it near the frogspawn. The other should either a) get mad and move in to "claim" the coral or b) mimic the clip/fish. I've also harassed my percs before, to get them to dive into the anemone. It's kinda mean, but it worked.

Dave

And squirt the food into the frogspawn to encourage the clown to go that direction.

Phosphates are at zero. I got a new Chemi-Pure sack and it eliminated the cyano problem..

Picked up a nice Ricordea mushroom:

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_1014.jpg

I also found this hanging out on the back of my tank:

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_1019.jpg

Snail eggs! Yummy fish/coral food!

Pretty ricordia!

Snail eggs!

Yeah, just a few :w000t:

But what's the squiggly thing??

Eggs also. I'm inclined to believe snail as well, but they could be nudibranch eggs.

Hmm, I don't think the long squiggly is eggs. It moves. It was on the other side of my tank last week in a "daisy" shape. I'm thinking it's some kind of worm.

Interesting. Well, I have no idea then.....

I thought the squiggly thing was eggs too. Did you observe it move or did it just disappear and reappear somewhere else?

I have not seen it move, but it was on the other side of the tank the day before and now it's gone.

I have seen some baby snails moving around. CUTE LITTLE THINGS!

I'm willing to bet 110 bucks its Cerith snail eggs. A "ribbon" typically doesn't last more than a day; consumed by fish and such. The "move" was just another lay. When snails begin to spawn, it is often a reaction to positive or negative environmental changes. If one begins to spawn, others of its type will do so at the same time, or shortly thereafter.

Dave

Awesome! I hope it's due to a positive change...

Thanks for the help!

I just finished building my new stand. Tonight I will organize the wires, clean things up and get a few pics posted.

I'm sure it is. By "negative" I mean high temp spikes, salinity swings..anything that makes the inhabitants think "oh nutz... the world for me is ending... I'd best pass along the family genetics before I go". :)

Very pretty ricordia. Did you purchase it as a button or was it already fragged to a piece of rubble or cap? Glad you eliminated the cyano you were fighting in your tank. :D

"A bit early in the morning for kung fu ain't it keithy" lol

well that joke is only funny if you've seen eric banners movie 'chopper' - i sometimes forget im talking to americans mostly.

This is another of those threads under the radar, nice job brother, you've got some serious goods happening there! very nice!

Very pretty ricordia. Did you purchase it as a button or was it already fragged to a piece of rubble or cap?

It's on a piece of ruble. Since the last pic it really opened up

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_1106.jpg

I also figured out that my camera has 2 different macro modes!

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_1109.jpg

My girlfriend said no more green. So we got these:

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_1119.jpg

This little guy has 3 mouths. Can't wait for it to get bigger:

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_1117.jpg

And my frogspawn's color is getting much better:

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/canttuckmyshirt/reef%20tank/IMG_1115.jpg

Keith, nice additions! Your tank is looking really good.