Hagen Fluval 206 for 25g Marineland reef cube?

[Groove-Colo]

Noobie here and just finished cycling a Marineland 25g cube. I started with live sand and live rock and experienced very little in the way of an amonia spike. Lighting provided by a single Current Orbit Marine LED on the M1-preset. All seems to be going well having kicked things off with two damsels and a green hermit crab only. I've experienced a bit of a bloom of brown algae which disappeared and gave way to green algae. My LFS says, it's all normal!

 

I'm running only a Hagen Fluval 206 (no carbon, obviously) and at 8wks in, I'm starting to see some unexplainable cloudiness in my water. I've not cleaned the filter yet and will likely do so within the next week or so. Only have added RO to maintain water height and keep salinity in check. No measurable nitrate yet...

 

All this being said, there seem to be a lot of opinions about canister filters vs sump based systems. Admittedly, as a noobie, the idea of any possibility for a flood is *not* a possibility as this tank sits in my living room next to a rather expensive rug. At the time I purchased all this it just seems like a no-brainer combination...

 

Can anyone please comment on this system, canister filters for reef use, or other (add-on?) possibilites for safe filtration? I've been thinking about a protein skimmer too but that seems like overkill for a 25g where I'll undoubtedly be doing monthly water changes. Maybe run the skimmer for 2-3hr per week???

 

Is it time for my 1st water change? 25%???

Is the cloudiness typical for canister filters?

Other suggestions for possible causes?

 

Oh one last thing to add is a EcoTech MP10 pump coming this week for added circulation.

 

Please comment. I could use all the help I can get.

 

Thanks in adv.

 

Oh btw, no coral introductions yet. A pair of ocellaris likely coming soon. (hopfully big boys to limit the conflict with the two damsels)

[Hexadron]

Noobie here and just finished cycling a Marineland 25g cube. I started with live sand and live rock and experienced very little in the way of an amonia spike. Lighting provided by a single Current Orbit Marine LED on the M1-preset. All seems to be going well having kicked things off with two damsels and a green hermit crab only. I've experienced a bit of a bloom of brown algae which disappeared and gave way to green algae. My LFS says, it's all normal!

Although quite normal for a new tank, algae is a sign of excess nutrients caused by excess nitrate/phosphates.

I'm running only a Hagen Fluval 206 (no carbon, obviously) and at 8wks in, I'm starting to see some unexplainable cloudiness in my water.

Why no carbon? If your cycle is done, adding carbon will only help with the water quality and clarity. Now cloudiness could be caused by a bacterial bloom, or just plain ol' dirty water. What filtration media are you running if not carbon? Mechanical? Chemical?

I've not cleaned the filter yet and will likely do so within the next week or so. Only have added RO to maintain water height and keep salinity in check. No measurable nitrate yet...

Clean that out ASAP. 8 weeks is far too long to go without cleaning your filter - especially a canister. Why have you not done any water changes? I don't see how you couldn't have any measurable nitrate? If that's the case and you mentioned above you barely seen any ammonia spike, I am almost thinking you didn't actually have a proper cycle. Either that, or your test kits are wrong.

 

Ammonia should spike, then Nitrite, then once the cycle is complete, the nitrite is turned into Nitrate, which needs to be removed by your first water change.

 

What did you use to introduce ammonia? Die off from the live rock? Ammonium Chloride, Food, Dead shrimp?

All this being said, there seem to be a lot of opinions about canister filters vs sump based systems. Admittedly, as a noobie, the idea of any possibility for a flood is *not* a possibility as this tank sits in my living room next to a rather expensive rug. At the time I purchased all this it just seems like a no-brainer combination...

Canisters are known to be 'nitrate factories' as many reefers call them. Honestly though, they can work just fine, but constant maintenance is something that needs to be done in order to prevent this from happening. You should clean it at the very least once a month.

Can anyone please comment on this system, canister filters for reef use, or other (add-on?) possibilites for safe filtration? I've been thinking about a protein skimmer too but that seems like overkill for a 25g where I'll undoubtedly be doing monthly water changes. Maybe run the skimmer for 2-3hr per week???

You may want to re-think your maintenance. it sounds to me like you may have jumped the gun here. Although you may be able to get by on monthly water changes, it's not going to do you any favours and definately won';t be enough to have a thriving tank IMO.

 

Larger tanks can get away with this due to a heavy dirty skimmer that helps things along. With a nano tank, parameters can shift drastically and water changes should be performed weekly to bi-weekly to replenish trace elements and remove waste.

Is it time for my 1st water change? 25%???

Yes. Change water AND clean that filter out.

Is the cloudiness typical for canister filters?

I don't think it's the canister, but some people encounter this during a cycle. Your canister would be pretty dirty by now, I suggest you clean it very well as i mentioned.

Other suggestions for possible causes?

Oh one last thing to add is a EcoTech MP10 pump coming this week for added circulation.

Very nice pump, that would suffice for your tank!

 

I highly recommend you do some more research on the nitrogen cycle, and filtration and water changes on nano's.

[Groove-Colo]

Thanks Jordan! Just trying to proceed carefully. 2 serparate LFSes claim patience is key to success so I'm just trying to move slowly and deliberately.

 

To answer some of your questions, the thought process was that the damsels would kick the ammonia and start the cycle. They did, however small. Small, from what I'm told, due to live rock and live sand. Theoritically (so they claim) the live material were comsuming the ammonia immediately. At 3-4wks I had small ammonia and nitrite levels, by wk6 (or so) I saw some measurable nitrate (still low) but that has since gone to zero. I've had my chemistry measured by both LFSs weekly so I'm pretty sure my test kit is dead on.

 

My LFS originally said to remove the carbon and run for a few days with just the live sand/rock. I started with the damsels after 2-days but they ensured me that those damsels were hearty, those two (girls?) should be enough to kick up sufficient ammonia and, to a degree, (sadly) dispensable. I'll keep em as they were/are my worker bees/originators of this environment to a degree. The bigger of the two is quite aggressive which worries me but hey, I can't just flush em! That's just not in my m.o.

 

So filteration is merely physical (as I understand it)

 

- 4 Foam pads
- 1 x 120 g BIOMAX
- 1 x Bio-Foam

 

I'll leave the "BIOMAX" alone, scrub the rest of the shit in RO, do a 25% heated, RO/salt water change and pray!

 

Isn't the algae a mere visual nusance and the okay mark of a live, healthy tank??? Brown->Green is a more developed algae, no? I'd love to add a fire shrimp at some point. Would that help as a valued member of the "clean up crew"? I'm in no hurry and don't want to rush anything.

 

So in total, right now, I've only populated the 2-damsels, -1" snails, 1-green hermit (molted and changed shells once), 1-redish/orange stripped hermit and 2-other very small hermits. (see para below...)

 

Oh I also failed to mention there's an amber alert out for 2 1 very small hermit crabs. 1-complete with shell is totally MIA. (Turned up hiding in the grotto) The other left his shell behind and I half presume him to be cohabitating with a larger redish/orange stripped guy. Every so often I see random antenna-like things peeking out of the spiral tip of the shell.

 

Thanks again for the comments!

[Halo_003]

If you don't want a fish take it to a store, some give credit and some just take donations.

[paulrw]

i wouldn't leave the bio-max as is i would rinse that out as well using the water from the water change not r.o. water just to make sure there is no detritus in there. that's why canisters are considered nitrate factories, they hold all the waste and detritus inside them and cycle the tank water through all that crap 20 times an hour. they need to be cleaned out once a week minimum and make sure your spray bar is breaking up the surface of the water. with no sump or hob filter it's a must to have surface agitation to aid in gas exchange. i.e. o2 in co2 out. algae is not the sign of a healthy live tank it usually means an in-balance of some thing. but don't sweat it to much most tanks battle with algae at some point in time. just use it as a warning to do some tests and check all your maintenance. a basic rule of thumb is every week do a 25% water change. stir up the sand bed real good and scrape the glass before you siphon out the water. do the water change then clean all the filters. good luck.

[Groove-Colo]

Squeezing out sponges etc in the 206 is going well. Clearing things up nicely along with my periodic water changes. I'm not to the point of doing weekly water changes yet. Right now, it feels like overkill. The combination of water changes and squeezing out the filter sponges seems quite workable, fast and easy when the water is prepped the night before (right specific gravity, a bit of airation, and temp)

 

I've just elliminated the damsels. One got quite large, dominant, aggressive and had taken to cornering the other such that she was actually pinned 90% of the time (surprising for a 25g cube...) I separated the two putting the larger into a small plastic container and floated it in the tank. The hope was that the smaller of the two damsels would have some recovery time and get the lion's share of the food for a couple of days. Well, that didn't work out so well. She was perhaps overstressed and didn't make it though the night. The three hermit crabs made short work of her and I don't know if it was a hermit crab attack or merely the three prior days of harassment that did her in.

 

So, damsels are gone. The larger returned for a $3 credit. Repopulation already in place after another filter cleanse and water change and a couple days of just a few soft corals, hermit crabs and two snails.

 

The new population is as follows:

4-small clowns

1-fire fish

1-skunk cleaner shrimp

3-hermit crabs (from previous)

2-snails(from previous)

1-med size green star polyps

1-med size pulsing xenia

1-very small 3 polyp frag zoanthid

 

I'm concerned about stiring up all the gravel and how much of a cloud it would make. The big concern is for the existing fish and any undue stress that might cause. I was hoping to merely do a slow syphon to help clear the gravel a bit.

 

Also for paulrw, the boimax really hasn't taken on much detritus. I check it and mildly give it a rinse in the same water from what was in the canister... nothing at all that would shake much loose. Yes, the spray bar is kept right at water level making for a mild water bubbling sound. I also have a small circulation fan mounted from on the side.

 

Thanks all for your input. I appreciate all the coments and contributions.