Wall of text incoming.

A bit about me: 34 years old, likes summer rain and bob marley... DOH wrong site! Actually I'm a 15 year freshwater veteran/10 year hydroponic gardener who decided to take the plunge to reefkeeping. After researching for a few weeks, I did some cost analysis and figured I'd spend less going with a all in one setup rather than revamping my 55g, and it would also give me some time to learn from trial and error while i find new homes for my cichlids! Between Reef Central, Nano-Reef, Reefkeeping Mag, Google, Youtube and hundreds if not thousands of hobbyists kind enough to share their hard won knowledge, I figured I was ready to take the plunge. Armed with my knowledge of water quality, lighting and photosynthesis needs, I went on a spending spree. WOW is this an expensive hobby!


The scene of the crime:
28g JBJ Nano Cube HQI 150w 14k MH

The Accessories to the crime:
2x18w Actinic lighting mod from NanoTuners.com
2 stock 266 GPH punps alternating on wavemaker
1 Hydor Koralia 1 400 GPH pointing at wall centerpoint behind rockwork
22 lbs Fiji Premium live rock
Reef Crystals Salt
Nano-Glo Refugium LED light
100w heater
Nano Protein Skimmer w/ air pump
20 lbs Arag-Alive special grade reef sand
Current USA 1/15 hp Chiller and 250 GPH pump
Instant Ocean test kit for PH/Calcium/Nitrites/Nitrates
Salifert Alkalinity test kit (plan on getting all Salifert to replace IO)
Hanna Digital Ph meter w/ 4, 7 and 11 calibration fluids
Nano Cube 28g Tank stand
Turkey baster
several 5 gallon buckets
45 gallon RO reservoir with 4 part RO system on float valve
1 Bottle Instant Ocean Bio-Spora
Miscellaneous other paraphernalia not listed here.
Magnetic algae scraper
Refractometer and Hydrometer
air pump and 25 watt heater for mixing new water in 5g bucket

So, a brief run-down of where I stand so far. Received the cube and stand. put the stand together according to directions. realized after completely assembled that the factory had mislabelled the parts and left out several screws, took the stand apart and put it together the way it was supposed to be. Cursed rabidly at the factories QC. Got my live rock, put it in the tank, added water, bio-spora, and was off and curing. No hitch-hikers apparent except several types of dead algae. The rock was left on my doorstep for 30 mins, which wouldn't be bad if i wasn't in Montana in early february where temps are below freezing. rock wasn't frozen but probably 50ish degrees when i unpacked it. Rock came as 5 large pieces, was afraid to break it and as they're ultimately destined to move into my 55 gallon left them whole which limited aquascaping possibilities.

Week 1.
Right from the start I had issues with PH being too low, continually dropping to mid to high 7's no matter how much buffer i added. finally checked Alk and it was 14, so more buffer was out of the question. Added my actinics, the hydor koralia, the chiller and the refugium light at the beginning of week 2. Bio-Spora was a blessing, water went from ammonia 5, Nitrite 10, Nitrate 0 to being Ammonia 0, Nitrite .25 and Nitrate 20 in 3 days. Read and Read trying to find out why Ph sucked, discovered CO2 in the home can cause it to drop. ambient CO2 is like 300, our house is closer to 500. blasted the rocks with the turkey baster every few days, these rocks shed stuff like crazy. Wish I had everything dialed in right before getting them I bet they'd be beautiful. couple of what looks to be cool coral skeletons making up some of the rock. used Aqua Stix to keep rocks semi-stationary.

Week 2.
Added Chaeto to top media basket chamber under the Nano-Glo, within 24 hours PH had gone from 7.7 low to 7.9 low and was now averaging 8.1. Still a bit low, not sure what else I can do as adding PH uppers isn't a long term solution. Did some water changes (yes i know not to during cycling) to get Alkalinity to more acceptable range, now 11.2. Added Hydor Koralia 1 due to flow not seeming what I envision it should from what I've read. Now have 666 GPH on at all times, 266 of which alternates every thirty seconds from each side of the tank. Had most of my sand turn a dirty brown color, not sure if this is diatoms or something else. have a few spots of what look to be green tufts growing. One spot of very vivid red on upper left side of LR, probably Cyano but wouldn't it be great if it was coralline. Continuing to blast rocks with baster, seems like more and more is coming off. rearranged a little bit of sand to mostly bury one rock, was blocking a view and didn't like it but didn't want to get rid of it.

So that's where i stand now. Pics will be included later, WARNING! I'm not a very good photographer, my camera sucks, and i haven't cleaned the tank from todays water changes so pics are a little sloppy!

Things I won't do again:
Get live rock before everything is set up
Buy large rocks for a nano aquarium, severely limits options
Assume a new all in one Nano is cheaper than revamping a 55g freshwater
Buy any test kits other than Salifert. I feel so much more comfortable with their results.

Things I will do again:
Chaeto Chaeto Chaeto
Bio-Spora you're my only friend!
Use less putty on rocks so it's not as visible (i hope algae or something covers it!)
Stick with the stock Nano protein skimmer. I know a lot of folks think it's a joke, but i've found that if i have my water level at the right height, just to the point where filter column water level is just below the lip of the media basket and all flow is going into just the basket, with the protein skimmer set as low as it fits in the column I get a nice slimy brown water out of the cup.

Current Parameters as of an hour ago: PH 8.13, Alk 11.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 0, Temp 81.5, SG 1.025, Calcium 385

So now some questions for anyone that likes to answer them. I'll number them for ease. Be gentle.
1. How far would you let algae go before adding CUC? I'm in no hurry, want to do it right and not rush.
2. Will diatoms (if thats what they are) disappear or just stop growing?
3. Is 666 GPH for a 28g tank going to be enough for a mixed tank with SPS, a few LPS and zoa's?
4. What do i need to tweak in my water parameters?
5. Should i still be blasting stuff off the live rock with the baster to be filtered out or just leave it be?
6. Any suggestions for my PH issues?
7. I would like to do a few LPS namely a Favia and maybe a torch or frogspawn or even a bubble coral, mixed zoas and a handful of SPS... and a sun coral. Is my tank flow adequate for that?
8. I have the two 266 GPH return pumps on a wave-maker (30 seconds) pointing to the front center of the tank, and the 400 GPH pointing at the back low center wall running continuously... Is this sufficient water flow for these types of corals?
9. What am I missing/forgetting/needing?
10. Should i be running my protein skimmer while I'm cycling? I've read mixed reviews.

Anyway I've rambled long enough. Here are some pics using a camera flash on the night cycle, I'll put up some pics under the HQI in a day or two.

Front view... I assume that's Cyano in the upper left? Brown stuff on sand diatoms?
Click to view attachment

Left view... little green patches, some kind of hair algae I assum
Click to view attachment

Right view...
Click to view attachment

Wow thats alot to read. JK, after scanning through it I will have to agree with you about salifert, they are the only test kits that I trust.

Sounds like you're off to a great start. The brown is definitely diatoms. I'm working on a new setup and though about using a wavemaker with the return pumps, but read that most return pumps are made to run continuously, not constantly switching. What brand of pump are you using for those?

Not sure if linking to websites is ok, but the wave maker is the Ocean pulse duo

Wavemaker

and the pumps are Acella SP1-1000

Acella Pumps

It's the stock stuff that came with the nano

I heard the same thing but about the Hydor pumps... LFS guy told me they don't like to stop and start. originally planned to put the two 266's on one outlet and the 400 on the other.

1. How far would you let algae go before adding CUC? I'm in no hurry, want to do it right and not rush.
If your cycle is clearly over you can start now or wait it really doesnt matter. The longer you wait the more it may take for your cuc to get it under control.

2. Will diatoms (if thats what they are) disappear or just stop growing?
Diatoms will generally go away on their own, the cuc will help.

3. Is 666 GPH for a 28g tank going to be enough for a mixed tank with SPS, a few LPS and zoa's?
You should'nt guage flow with a number like that, you just need to set it up so you get good flow across your SPS.

4. What do i need to tweak in my water parameters?
Ca up and Alk down just a little. More important then the actual number is consistancy.

5. Should i still be blasting stuff off the live rock with the baster to be filtered out or just leave it be?
I only do it when I do a water change, once weekly.

6. Any suggestions for my PH issues?
Their is no issue with yor PH, my PH is just over 8 and has been for the whole year I have had my tank with no problems. DO NOT CHASE PH VALUES, or any value for that matter.

7. I would like to do a few LPS namely a Favia and maybe a torch or frogspawn or even a bubble coral, mixed zoas and a handful of SPS... and a sun coral. Is my tank flow adequate for that?
Again, tank flow is not the most important factor here. Consistancy in water parameters and dont over feed.

8. I have the two 266 GPH return pumps on a wave-maker (30 seconds) pointing to the front center of the tank, and the 400 GPH pointing at the back low center wall running continuously... Is this sufficient water flow for these types of corals?
Again, Again, dont worry so much about flow. Most people will have just one simple power head flowing across their SPS with great success.

9. What am I missing/forgetting/needing?
Take it really really reallly slow.

10. Should i be running my protein skimmer while I'm cycling? I've read mixed reviews.
Yea it wont hurt anything.

Most important is just take it slow and enjoy the hobby. Dont rush things and DONT chase water parameters. If you keep up with your water changes and be consistant things will go great.

Oh yea, and welcom to NR!!!!



just kidding about Cherynobyl, I had to vote. Please excuse my spelling I was typing fast.

I would not try and create a wave maker out of the return pumps, if i read that right. If you can get a vortech, and you will enough flow for anything you want. I would go for a MP10.

MP10!

It's an expensive piece of equipment, but in my BC29 I wasn't satisfied with 2 koralia nano's and one Koralia 1 along with the return pump. With the MP10, I have it dialed at 50% and it has wayyyy more flow than all the koralias.

The flow is random, so the corals will thank you

The wavemaker doesn't do much if you get an MP10, but you have to keep it running. If you have both return pumps going at the same time, then you will have microbubble issues (tiny bubbles in your display that get annoying).

Remember that as your lights are on, your pH raises.

Sounds good. I'll pitch in with a couple answers:

You should get coralline growth on the putty eventually.

The diatoms will "disappear," at least only being noticeable in low flow areas. No worries for you here.

When you cycle is complete (looks like it is), toss your CUC in!

Thanks for the input! always nice to hear from people that have experience.

I think you're right that i'm obsessing about flow too much! It just sucked so bad out of the box I now have a complex about it!

As far as PH, now that i have the Chaeto going at night, it seems to have stabalized significantly at 7.9-8.1. Good to know I can forget about it, again the 7.5-7.7 worried the hell out of me.

As far as timelines go, I don't really want to add anything other than cleaners before Aprilish just to make sure I have things dialled in. losing some 1$ snails wouldn't bug me nearly as bad as losing 30-50$ corals!

Thanks again for all input! All thoughts welcome and appreciated!

Yea, I have a MP10 in my RSM, I think if i turned it up all the way it would blow my rock right out of the tank.

Yeah, I read about the Vortech's tonight for the first time.... and thought I had thoroughly researched! I think that's going to be what i switch to in a few weeks.

The moral of this story is read, read and read. Then when you think you've researched enough, spend that much time again.

My PH at night - when the algae is sleeping - is as low as 7.7, I have never concidered it to be a problem. Eventually you will forget about the numbers and just watch your livestock. They will tell you alot more than a test kit will.

Where are you located? When you get your tank stable, I will hook you up with some frags.

If your not local you just pay for shipping. I need to figure out this shipping thing. You can be my guinea pig.

When you upgrade the bulb, get a radium 20k by the way. It's like the phoenix... but more PAR (more PAR = more growth), brighter, crisper, and more pop. In my opinion, it's the best 150w DE bulb there is. I've run that and a phoenix, which is the crowd favorite, and the radium is better than it in every way possible.

That would be great! I live in Montana, more than willing to pay shipping as there is precisely 1 reef store within 400 miles of me!

Quick off topic rant.

What is it with the people at McDonalds drive thru's? I've actually vowed to never again visit McDonalds for that reason, plus of course how absolutely horridly unhealthy it is. Last time i hit a McDonalds drive thru was about a year ago... bad day at work...hit the drive thru for a McChicken sandwich... got home... opened it up, and it had a burger patty instead of a chicken patty. Haven't been back since.

end rant.

Enjoyed your first post, you had me laughing. Seems you are wise beyond your years. Congrats on the new tank and best of luck with the cycle.

1. How far would you let algae go before adding CUC? I'm in no hurry, want to do it right and not rush.
My CUC went in after a week. I still have my original hermits and snails.

2. Will diatoms (if thats what they are) disappear or just stop growing?
Never actaully saw any blooms like I've read about.

3. Is 666 GPH for a 28g tank going to be enough for a mixed tank with SPS, a few LPS and zoa's?
I would add an extra powerhead. I installed mine low in the display behind my live rock.

4. What do i need to tweak in my water parameters?
If you keep up with your water changes, use good salt water, your parameters will take care of themselves. The exception to that IME would be Phosphates. Watch those closely after the cycle. Easy to cure with Phosban or like product.


5. Should i still be blasting stuff off the live rock with the baster to be filtered out or just leave it be?
I use the baster twice a week. Once on Monday's which is filtered out with my media basket and again on Thursdays right before my water change

6. Any suggestions for my PH issues?
Water change if you have to. This will raise the Alk and pH.

7. I would like to do a few LPS namely a Favia and maybe a torch or frogspawn or even a bubble coral, mixed zoas and a handful of SPS... and a sun coral. Is my tank flow adequate for that?
Adequate yes. Do your homework on the sun coral. I've heard they are a pain to keep.

8. I have the two 266 GPH return pumps on a wave-maker (30 seconds) pointing to the front center of the tank, and the 400 GPH pointing at the back low center wall running continuously... Is this sufficient water flow for these types of corals?
I would run the return pumps 24 by 7 and put your other powerhead on the wave maker.

9. What am I missing/forgetting/needing?
Off to a great start.

10. Should i be running my protein skimmer while I'm cycling? I've read mixed reviews.
I don't run a skimmer at all so can't comment.

Hey urbaneks! Thanks for the tips.

I do like the nano cube overall, can't really judge it as it's my first all in one. My only issue is that there are a couple design flaws that are so glaringly obvious even a noob can see 'em. Can't wait to pull that stock basket out of there!

I'm also concerned about the stand. I have a cat that adopted us and has a serious terror streak. He likes to sit on my 55g and fish for cichlids. Hasn't caught one yet. I'm worried he's going to tip that damn stand over, or jump up on the hood and have his hair sucked into the fan intakes! I've been using a cat repellant and surveillance to keep him at bay... seems to be working. He's never left unattended in the house anymore!

You put too much credit into bio-spira and not into the bacteria in your live rock.

pH is best ignored in a new tank because it is not stable. Any pH 7.8 or above is not low pH. Also, you should not use the instant ocean test kits for reliable information. Anything besides ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, salinity, and temperature (phosphates are difficult to reliably test) doesn't need to be tested now. Since you like links, read the four part guide here:

Regarding the sun coral. I have had mine for over a year, their requirements are simple. You have to feed, feed, feed and feed them. They dont gain anything from light, they are hungry little bastards and need lots and lots of food.

Yeah, from what I've read the sun corals don't seem overly hard, just labor intensive with frequent feedings.

I have to confess lakshwadeep, your links to that four part guide in another thread is what helped me figure out the mid 7's PH, thus the chaeto which brought it up to between 7.9-8.1. It's good to hear that this is an OK range. When testing for ammonia and Nitrites started coming up 0 I figured it was time to start watching the PH/Alkalinity, perhaps I jumped the gun on this.

Yeah the instant ocean tests all suck. I'm switching to all Salifert just for accuracy.

Seems like popular consensus from those "in the know" is to chill out and not worry just let it do it's thing. Patience is always so hard!

You're most likely right about the bio-spora vs live rock, i guess i just assumed that letting the rock hit 50F would cause all the bacteria to die off but in retrospect bacteria are pretty hardy!

I'm sure I'm going to kick up a firestorm of flames with these questions!

A. I'm in an area with very pure, mountain water. Tap water here has .05 ppm of Copper. I've read that anything above i believe it was .1 ppm is fatal to corals and inverts... safe to use tap water to rinse and clean tools after use or stick to the RO? All other minerals either ND or very low range.... TDS of tapwater is 150. Obviously I would never put anything wet from tap into the tank for chlorine etc, just wondering if it's safe to use tap after using tools to clean them.

B. Hermits. I know alot of very mixed opinions of hermits, they kill snails, will nip and irritate corals, shell stealers etc. My question is... Are there any straight herbivore hermits that won't cause issues? particularly Dwarf Zebra Hermits or Dwarf Red Tip Hermits? Will they kill the snails wontonly or only when they are in need of a larger shell? Can providing them with empty shells keep them more pacified?

A little worried over half think I'm going to screw this up! Course that just makes me want to try harder and read more.

A. You should be totally fine on this.

B. I personally have owned all kinds of hermits and never had any issues with them killing each other or snails. There are many on here that won't keep any hermits in their tanks because of bad past experiences, but I personally think they add to the tank (especially my halloween hermit).

Also, there probably aren't any on here who actually think you'll fail. You're far more prepared than most noobs on here ("i set my tank up yesterday and today the LFS sold me these awesome corals and told me they're totally easy to take care of, what are they and what do i feed them, lol!" -- idiots). You will find that this is by far the most knowledgeable forum out there on reef tanks, but also the one that requires the thickest skin...

And since I didn't say it earlier...

Thanks for the welcome

Yeah, if my skin is too thin I could always try API Stress Coat! I never take things too seriously

Anyway here's a couple shots today with the HQI and actinics up and running. needing to clean the glass every other day to keep stuff off, upper left shows red spot I think is Cyano, can't miss the green hairy grass looking stuff. Live rock came with a dead clam embedded in the rock as you can see in the lower right.

Sounds like you've been doing your research and you're off to a great start. I haven't had much of a problem with my hermits yet, but there are no herbivorous hermits. They are all omnivores and scavengers. If there is insufficient food in the tank, they will eat anything they can to survive. Some individuals may have more carnivorous, aggressive leanings regardless. So I'd suggest you get way more snails than hermits (I've got about a 4:1 ratio) and keep an eye on them if you do decide to get hermits. Nice thing is if they do become a problem they are easy to catch as they do not hide at all and are not particularly fast moving. I got scarlets and some blue legs - they are pretty fun to watch and are constantly eating, so as part of a CUC they will do their job.

Regarding an earlier question about adding CUC, the longer you keep purchased carnivores or omnivores out of your tank, the larger and more mature your pod population will get. Think of it as cultivating a refugium before turning it into a reef tank. It really comes back to your patience and "neatness" inclination. Some will go up to three months adding nothing but live rock, then slowly add CUC, wait a few more months and start adding fish (or never adding any at all). Most people (myself included) doing their first reef tank don't have the temperament for that, to be honest.

What I would suggest is that you make sure you develop your long-term plan and stocking list, backed up by plenty of research. You of course may wind up deviating from it a bit, but knowing what you want to add several months to over a year from now will guarantee that you are catering your tank to meet any specific needs your fish or corals or other livestock may have before you get them. It also will dictate your timeline to a certain degree. Good luck!

Looks Good, I like your rockscape. I would recomend ripping of all the green hair algae, it can become a pest later down the road. I currently use am emerald crab to get my hair algae under control. Plus they are cool little crabs.

Other than my emerald and a porcelan crab I dont keep any other crabs, I prefer snails for a clean up crew. My crabs would kill snails and make feeding my LPS a pain in the ars. I am really happy I am crabless....

All hermits are omnivores. This is a good explanation of the "usefulness" of hermits in reef tanks:
http://www.fishchannel.com/saltwater-aquar...ius-snails.aspx

Thanks for the good info.... LiveAquaria should be ashamed of themselves for labelling some of their hermits as herbivorous! Corals are my main goal, so looks like it's gonna be snails for me. Might get 1 small crab for decoration purposes, maybe not. Do you think the mistreatment of my rocks (50F) would have caused all the worms and micro critters to die off? obviously the algae survived!

If i go several weeks and don't see any signs of worms, anyone know of a good place to get some beneficial ones? I've read they're somewhat hard to know if you have.... any signs to look for that worms may be lurking about?

no plans to add at this time, but when the time comes, what do people use to raise calcium and only calcium? calicum hydroxide or something else?

If you did get a crab, a small emerald would likely be a more useful choice. Also, porcelain crabs are harmless filter feeders.

Most worms and small animals should survive a short time of cold temperatures, but it's important to get a heater in there quickly to achieve stable tropical temperatures.

You should be able to get worms from a local reefer's or LFS's established tank. Many people get them on coral frags. Check during the night when many worms and other animals are more active.

Calcium hydroxide will both increase calcium and pH/alkalinity (it is a strong base). Calcium only supplements include calcium chloride, where the chloride ion will minimally impact the huge chloride concentration in saltwater. It's most common name in the hobby is kalkwasser. This is a very good four part guide to reef aquarium water chemistry, including a discussion on supplementation.
Part 1: The Saltwater Itself
Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented
Part 3: pH
Part 4: What Chemicals May Detrimentally Accumulate

Yeah sorry, the Calcium Chloride is what i want to just raise calcium. after checking it out, another question. Most instructions say to mix up a gallon of the solution at I believe around 37000 ppm is what it comes out to. My quesiton is, how long will this solution be good for and what should it be stored in, plastic glass etc. I assume it's ok to shrink the batch your mixing? I also notice alot of them have a small percent of sulfates, not harmful?

Thanks!

You should not try to only raise calcium for a long time. Calcium and alkalinity (and magnesium) are closely tied to each other. Just keep on reading dosing schemes and when you should dose.

What kind of purity/quality is the calcium chloride; do you have the brand name? Info:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2004/chem.htm

yeah i should clarify, I'm not planning on adding any supplements for a good long time, minimum of 2-4 weeks before i even start adding anything to my tank. I'm just trying to plan ahead and get as much info as I can. I think I'm just going to use the randy calcium/alk/mag dosing three part when/if I need to, I wont start dosing until my salifert kits show low levels. I like the idea of the three part because you can tailor what you need rather than using the all in one supplements. I know the concept of the system is to add calc/alk/mag in the ratio used by corals, but is it ok to slightly increase one component of the system if for instance calcium were to fall a little faster I could add a bit more of that?
Dosing system

The product I was considering is for the calcium chloride dihydrate part of it is
Calcium supplement
Alk Supplement
and
Mag Supplement

These seem relatively reasonably priced, so the main question is if I mix these into 1 gallon batches per the recipe, how long will it keep and what type of storage vessel would be best? 1 gallon with a 28 nano seems like it'd last forever!

Hah. now that i reread the three part dosing recipe i see that "The solutions can be mixed and stored in any plastic or glass container, and they will last indefinitely. Plastic 1-gallon milk jugs (typically made of HDPE, high density polyethylene) can be a good storage choice."

Nice

Bloody hell, so much to take in. You know when you think "maybe I should have just kept taking the dog for a walk"
And it seemed such a good idea at the time!!!

Uhhhhhm, I just put two and two together, and I'd like to know where you live and if you'd like to hang out.

Just remember the key to SPS is Water Quality first and Lights seconds. I had a guy come by my house and buy some frags off of me. He looked at my tank and said wow you SPS looks great I just can't have any not die in my tank and I have tons of light. I wanted to say your water quality must really suck!!!! Also check out some Acan Lords for some LPS they are awsome and have intense colors!!!!!!! Just relax and enjoy the ride when you run into a problem do a water change and ask questions on here.

+1

I learned later than I wish I had that water quality is absolutely the key to successful SPS care. I have alot of SPS under nothing but T5 lighting and have great color and crazy growth. I have to dose alot of CA, ALK and MG to keep my numbers just right and consistent.

I have figured out that my water changes actually lower my MG, even though I use D-D H2Ocean Magnesium Pro PLUS Salt Mix. I have ended up having to dose MG heavier right after a water change or dose my mixed water before adding it. It sucks.

SO... finally got my chiller plugged in and installed. Current USA 1/15 hp, using a Danner pump inline with in/out lines into the pump columns of the nano. One issue I noticed is that there are now tons of micro bubbles in the tank, I assume that's from the water coming back into the pump column from the chiller. I'm going to try and move the heater to the pump column and the line coming from the chiller into the heater column and see what happens. the bubles are super tiny micro bubbles but there are alot of them so I'm sure it won't be healthy for corals etc, not to mention not being overly nice to look at.

A word on Danner pumps.

bought a 250gph model. while setting it up, was hand tightening a connector into the exhaust, was no where near tight, and the pump manifold cover cracked. took it back, paid the difference to get the 350gph model, set it up, had everything nicely teflon taped and tight, fired it up and the pump manifold cover on this one leaked, right out of the box! I wrote them a nasty email about my thoughts on the quality of their product. I should probly take this one back too but i just took the cover off, added a ring of aqua putty, put it back on and now it's leak free.

I know certain corals can get air bubbles and die... are micro bubbles harmful?

is it possible that there is just residual air in the chiller that will work out over time? all connections seem tight and I don't see anything that could be leaking air in.... pump is submerged, only thing i can think of is the outlet from the chiller/pump assembly is right next to the stock pump in the back. So I'm guessing it's some kind of cavitation due to the proximity of the outlet and the tank pump? How long does it take to clear all the air out of a chiller?

I even drew a diagram! can't get decent pics of the setup due to placement. forgive the childish image (is that being unfair to children?)

Moved the chiller outlet to the heater column. problem solved. Wow did it kick up a lot of dust though, I'm guessing the heater column had a lot of dust particles settled from the sand or something. definitely solved the micro bubble issue.

That is kinda scary... I would return it and get a different brand pump. If it started leaking right out of the box, what is going to happen a month or more down the road. Come home to an empty tank and a flooded room.

Scary...

Yeah, definitely scary! I actually had the same thought, so I put the pump in a 5 gallon rubbermade, and have the inlet tube only an inch below the waterline so worst case it only coul possible drain a gallon or two. Definitely sucks though, I have emailed the manufacturer I'll let you know what they say.

Added 3 turbo snails, 1 astrea snail and 2 hermits. Only wanted one hermit... but bought a handful of extra shells to give him new homes as he grows.... put the new shells in a bag on the microwave with no water... left them for a couple hours. Then put them into a bowl of tap water to wash off any remaining nastiness his tank might have had (figured chlorine in tap would kill anything bad). 4 hours later I walk by and there are legs kicking out one of the supposedly empty shells! took him from the bowl and threw him in the tank. three days ago, he's still alive. never would have guessed hermits would be that hardy. so now I have two tiny hermits, about the size of a pencil eraser. here's a pic!




Btw... Does snail crap classify as "detritus"? Those turbo's are doing a number on my hair algae but they keep crapping all over! would nessarius snails eat this?

Detritus is basically any non-living particulate matter, which includes wastes.

Ok, so being overrun now with algae, looks like mostly green hair and diatoms. There must be something in the live rock that is rather large and decaying... chaeto is going nuts, so is the green hair, nitrates are 0 so something is putting out some funk. Now have 2 very tiny hermits, 2 med (1 inch) turbo's and 1 large (2 inch) turbo. Also ordered 10 cerith, 5 nerite and 5 nessarius snails, probly pick up another 9 or so astreas. . What sort of advice on other cleaners for the tank? mini stars? bristleworm pack? sand bed clams? Sort of want to stay away from cukes due to fears of it puking all over my tank and killing everything. I plan on giving 2 if not all 3 of the turbo's back to a friend of mine that lent them to me due to their size. Rockwork is all secured but i imagine they'll suck at knocking over frags etc.

should i introduce the cleaners and see where it goes or should i black out the tank for a few days, or both?

Thanks again for all the help and great links!

COPEPODS! They have arrived. was watching a turbo snail eat his way up the tank glass at close range and saw these little white flecks that kept jumping ahead of him.... almost like static or something was pushing them away. scoped it out at 100x and sure enough, little copepods! between me and the snails most of the algae has been fought back, still a few tufts and the green algae on the sand is very stubborn.

If your having a lot of problems with algae still I would make sure to get a phosphate test kit. Even if your NO3 and NO4 are looking good there still could be some phosphates that are allowing the algae to grow.

Definitely good advice! I don't currently test phosphates but plan to prior to adding any corals, algae growth has slowed dramatically, snails are slowly gaining ground. Nassarius snails are just cool... I've been feeding them and the two hermits I have 1/4 of a cube of mysis shrimp every 3 or so days to keep them healthy, they love it. I especially love how if a nassarius is on a rock it'll just blindly walk over a ledge to get to the shrimp. ZOMBIES!

I've noticed several different flavors of critters now, and one microscopic red worm leaving a trail through the diatom dusting on the glass. At 100x magnification it looked like a little red worm, too small to really see much detail... going to check some different identification guides and see if it looks bad or not. it's far too small to really see with the naked eye, just looks like a dark spec.

All the levels I do test seem pretty optimal but calcium is a hair low. Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Calcium 380, Ph 8.3, Alk 9, SG 1.026. Still early to mess with Calcium but I'm trying to get a feel for what i need to do to maintain levels before adding anything that takes it out, though i think snails use a bit of calcium right? My plan is in the next week start testing phosphates and magnesium and then in a few more weeks get something like a GSP or something.

so new update... I have flatworms as well. I have only spotted two tiny ones. They look clear but do the redishbrown ones look clear when tiny? Added a 10$ frag of zoa's from LFS (before I noticed the flatworm) and a skunk cleaner. everything (see below)seems to be doing fine 3 days later. Treat the flatworms or get a wrasse? Is it true they eat flatworms?

Zoa's open when light comes on, then they start closing and opening pretty much randomly, and after a few hours of that they close up and are closed for the rest of the light cycle so I'm not sure they're doing fine.They look healthy and whole when open. could they be adjusting to the light? They went from a ledge that was barely catching much light to a 150 hqi. If i turn the light off when they're all closed for 15 mins or so and then turn it back on, they all open again! Are zoa's supposed to open and close randomly?

Editted to add parameters

am 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
Calcium 390 (been moving up, adding about 20 ppm per day
Alk 9.1
Ph 8.2
Temp 77-79
SG 1.026

At one point in time my ATO stopped working and my salinity went from 1.023 where I keep it to 1.027. My Zoas and polyps all had irregular activity during the light cycle. I would bring your salinity down some.

Hope all else is going good with your tank.

you hit the nail on the head. calibrated my refractometer and it was reading off, brought it back down to 1.025 and today they opened and stayed open!

So added some coral's over the last few weeks and thought I'd post some pics... most of them can be found in the ID forum where i'm trying to get definitive ID's, but here are a couple green torch heads and a green star polyp that may be dead, haven't seen anything come out yet in 4 days. LFS guy just ripped a piece off the mat with his hands so it was treated kinda rough.

Coral ID thread with new corals

And yes I probably shouldn't be adding SPS after only 2 months but they seem to be pretty happy.



Oh yeah... and a sponge that I may ditch

Welcome to Nano.

You seem to have all the bases covered, but here's a link for ya:

http://reef.diesyst.com/flashcalc/flashcalc.html

I use this for keeping values in "recommended " ranges.

Just remember, as has been stated, "chasing" values is a bad thing and real headache.

I think ya found that out already.

best-o-luck