trying for sps

[Jake.g]

hi all,

i've had my tank for 8 months now its is 33 gallons and does not have a sump due to space constraints. after being able to keep most of my LPS and softies alive( one frog spawn kicked it and mushrooms cant handle the flow of the tank). all is growing and doing well, the only real issue i have is with nitrates.

my tank parameters are as follows

ammonia 0

nitrite 0

calcium 450-465

dkh 10

ph 8.0-8.2

salinity .125

magnisum 1350

nirtates 20ppm

phosphate (test kit is useless, when tested at shop came back undetectable)

 

so basically i was wondering what can be done to get my nitrates under control

i currently run a reactor with bio balls and do a weekly 15% water change and have activated carbon in the filter box. would a canister filter help at all? not so much in the way of filtration but more so for dilution

 

 

[xmas_one]

That's pretty high, are you using tap water?

[ifarmer]

Nitrate is the easiest one to control.

1. Water change helps lower nitrate

2. Cut down on feeding also helps lowering nitrate

3. More flow in the tank to get the debris into the skimmer also helps with lowering nitrate

4. You should throw out the bio balls and the canister altogether. Those traps nitrate. You want to get a hang on tank(back) skimmer. It's okay to use mechanical filter but you would need to clean it out every few days.

 

If you want to try out sps, go for one or two easiest grow sps first.

 

most SPS requires intense lightning. Good flow and low in Nitrate and phosphate otherwise they will brown out.

 

good luck

[Jake.g]

Nitrate is the easiest one to control.

1. Water change helps lower nitrate

2. Cut down on feeding also helps lowering nitrate

3. More flow in the tank to get the debris into the skimmer also helps with lowering nitrate

4. You should throw out the bio balls and the canister altogether. Those traps nitrate. You want to get a hang on tank(back) skimmer. It's okay to use mechanical filter but you would need to clean it out every few days.

 

If you want to try out sps, go for one or two easiest grow sps first.

 

most SPS requires intense lightning. Good flow and low in Nitrate and phosphate otherwise they will brown out.

 

good luck

i have a HOB filter, and have tons of flow, bio balls might not be what i have, they are basically sugar pearls, they are supposed to work the same as the vodka method, i have led lighting and just started to cut back on feeding the fish to every other day, bar giving the blenny a patch of nori to graze on (he nibbles on corals if not fed greens)

 

That's pretty high, are you using tap water?

and yeah i am using tap water atm, its cheaper then constantly getting salt water from my aquarium shop filter units are expensive.

[duncan-junkie]

Gotta get ro/di water......its a must! You'll be much happier when you do.

As for the nitrates and phosphates, water changes with ro/di and a good salt mix. Keep an eye on your feeding, make sure you wash your food before putting in the tank, get a good skimmer, and change out media on a regular basis.

I would say your biggest issue is the tap water. Theres all sorts of icky stuff in tap water....even though its good enough for us to drink, its not for your fish and inverts. Even though ro/di water is a little expensive, your gonna save yourself alot of problems and money down the road if you change over to ro/di. By using Tap water now, your gonna have algae problems sooner than later, and your gonna spend alot of $$ to get rid of it, on things that clam to work miracles, and its just a waste of $$. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience. We've all made a few mistakes by trying to save money in this hobby, but using Tap water is a big no-no. I'm not trying to be an ass, but tap water is the devil when it comes to a reef aquarium.

[dpoltsdsu]

I agree with the above. To lower nitrates you want to do water changes with ro/di water. This is an extremely important part in reef keeping. It will cut down on nitrates and phosphates as well as preventing algae issues later on that are a result of some of the elements that are found in tap water.

[Jake.g]

i'm pretty quickly coming to the conclusion that i am gonna get an RO/DI unit, now the question remains which one?

i cant get anything from bulk reef supplies cause they dont ship internationally but i was think maybe one of these would work? any opinions ?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/75GPD-6-Stage-Reverse-Osmosis-RO-DI-Water-Filter-RCW7DT-/120768063878?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item1c1e566986&_uhb=1

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AQUARIUM-REEF-CORAL-REVERSE-OSMOSIS-SYSTEM-100-GPD-PURE-0-PPM-RO-DI-WATER-FILTER-/201022316858?pt=Fish_Filters&hash=item2ecddd213a&_uhb=1

[ifarmer]

You do not 6 or 7 stage rodi. Get the 4 stages system is good enough

Check out on bulkreefsupplies

Does not matter where you buy. Look for a system that has the DI stage in a vertical canister and not one of those horizontal tube.

 

[Jake.g]

You do not 6 or 7 stage rodi. Get the 4 stages system is good enough Check out on bulkreefsupplies Does not matter where you buy. Look for a system that has the DI stage in a vertical canister and not one of those horizontal tube.

is it a major issue if it isnt a vertical cannister?

[Jake.g]

so i have been doing a bunch of work to get my nitrates down and i was wondering if i'm going in the right directions.

i'v just started dosing NOPOX, added a small fist full of macro algae into the non-bubble compartment of my HOB skimmer, it has room to double in size, i'v cut feeding to 1/2 a cube of rinsed mysis shrimp a dayit may be a little much but i do this because the decora goby and the dragonet dont have enough time to get any food if its any less.

 

as for flow i have a mps 10 plus 500lph fromd my in tank filter pump

 

cheers

[Nano sapiens]

The suggestions made are all important and should help. If after you remove the 'pearls' and start using RO, RO/DI or Distilled water, and you still have high nitrate, then you should start vacuuming a small portion of your SB with each WC (assuming you have a substrate). A clogged substrate significantly reduces the effectiveness of the denitrification process occurring therein.

[Jake.g]

The suggestions made are all important and should help. If after you remove the 'pearls' and start using RO, RO/DI or Distilled water, and you still have high nitrate, then you should start vacuuming a small portion of your SB with each WC (assuming you have a substrate). A clogged substrate significantly reduces the effectiveness of the denitrification process occurring therein.

i have swapped tap water with ocean water, how would i go about vacuuming the sand bed?

[Nano sapiens]

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/327364-maintenance-and-the-nano-reef-tank/

[Jake.g]

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/327364-maintenance-and-the-nano-reef-tank/

awesome, thanks for that, i have always been suspicious of sand bed vacuuming but will give it a go after grabbing a the material for it.

thanks a bunch

[Jake.g]

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/327364-maintenance-and-the-nano-reef-tank/

hey sapien is there a proper way to get to the detritus under the LR with out having to remove it from the tank? if not would just vacuuming the available sand be be okay?

 

cheers

[Reefkid88]

Maybe you'd want to check this RO system out from Aquaticlife

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticLife_RO_Buddie_3_Stage_Reverse_Osmosis_System_w_Tubing_35_to_60_Gallons_Per_Day_RO_Water_Filter_Systems-AquaticLife-AK010161-FIROROTS-vi.html

 

Good flow should be able to kick detritus from under the rocks so you don't have to take them out or move them around during a water change,or use a long piece of air line tubing to get under the rocks that's what I used to use.

[blacksand_reefer]

I'm intested of everyone thinks spa will grow in this tank. Kind of got the same stup and wondering the same thing.

[Nano sapiens]

hey sapien is there a proper way to get to the detritus under the LR with out having to remove it from the tank? if not would just vacuuming the available sand be be okay?

 

cheers

 

You can try various methods to get at least partially under the rocks and see if that does the trick if moving the rock is a problem.

[tran]

it's a lot harder to grow sps in a smaller tank than on a bigger tank.

just keep doing frequent water change (small amount like 4%-5%) every week then you should be fine.

[Jake.g]

just a quick update, i got the nitrates to drop to 0 as well as phosphates on a salifret test kit.

the Pocilliopora that i have had in the tank has colored up quite nicely and has good PE but no growth i put the growth down to it being in bad shape when i bought it from the LFS with a couple dead spots on it. the green acro that i have has good PE but is a brown/green color (another cheap LfS buy)

 

hopefully in the next month or so i can start to get some growth on the pocilli and color on the acro

 

thanks for all the help

[Jake.g]

i'v tried a few types of pellets but my cardinals decora gobie and dragonet wont touch them. which is a pain but i cut feeding to 1/3 a cube a day

[Jake.g]

hi all, this is just a update on the tank as i have been away from home for two weeks and just got back on the first.

my issue with nutrients has finally finished.

my currents specs are as follows

no3;0

po4 (salifert) nearly undetectable, test comes up with just a tiny touch of color

dkh 7

ph 8.1

cal; 400

salinity 1.026

lighting 20k LED

flow vortx mp10

tunze nano (i think)

i have a couple of easy to keep acros (WA'S) a birdsnest and a pocci

the pocci is doing really well and has good growth and awesome colors

two acros have decent growth and ET but not great color.

while the third acro is tan with purple grow tips but the tips are barley purple. these have been in my tank for about 3 weeks going onto a month.

 

i was wondering if anyone had insight on getting them to color up. my system probably hasnt been the most stable while i was gone drops in dkh and cal are likely to have occurred.

[Arkayology]

Good light, good flow, the right amount of nutrients in the water, time, and above all, stability.

 

If you trust your kits and believe your system has very low amounts of nitrates and phosphates, then I would suggest you increase feeding. What lighting do you have (brand of LEDs, fixture brand)? SPS take a lot of time to color up properly. It isn't something that will happen in a week, or even 10 weeks.

[Jake.g]

Good light, good flow, the right amount of nutrients in the water, time, and above all, stability.

 

If you trust your kits and believe your system has very low amounts of nitrates and phosphates, then I would suggest you increase feeding. What lighting do you have (brand of LEDs, fixture brand)? SPS take a lot of time to color up properly. It isn't something that will happen in a week, or even 10 weeks.

my LFS actually make their own LEDS not the flashiest piece of gear but a good work horse. my tank is only 50cm deep and 80cm long so penetration and spread isnt a issue i need to worry about.

 

as for nutrients i'm pretty confident.i tested on both salifert and API. phosphate is probably ball park at best but i run a phosgaurd sort of liter media and a carbon reactor so it really shouldnt be high.

what do you mean by feeding exactly? i feed my fish once a day and dose the tank with acro power once a week and coral color pink from red sea to help the birdsnest get to color (rescued from a bargain bin)

i'm also working on a ATO to stabalise my salinity and with winter on its way the temp will stabilize as well

 

cheers