Quinton2396 Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Hello all, Looking for a little help with upgrading my 10g. My main question is what can i do to upgrade the tank without breaking the bank (college student) I know i could really use an MP10, AI prime light, etc.. but not willing to spend $500 on a couple pieces of hardware at the moment. Background and specs... It has been up and running for about 6 months, no problem as it is right now but would like to get some better equipment in. Have some basic zoas, xenia, and mushrooms in there. Those are the only species i really plan on having, maybe just adding more eventually. Livestock = 2 yellow tailed damsels, 5-6 blue legged hermits, 3 astrea snails, 1 sexy shrimp, 1 transparent cave goby there is about 7-8 lbs live rock, caribsea aragamax on the bottom, temps staying consistent between 77-78 degrees I have the return pump that came with my 16 gallon nuvo on this tank, (211gph compared to 93gph which is what it came with) i moved recently and lost the tip that goes onto the output back into the tank, waiting to see what you guys think i should do before trying to get another one. I had a powerhead in there but it just seemed like too much and my zoos and xenia didn't seem to do as well as before. I have the lights that came with my nuvo fusion 16 gallon on this tank as well, each light is 6 watts and 14k color, giving me 12 watts total, not much, i know.. I had a 35 watt par 38 led 18k trucolor bulb over this tank for about a week but the algae was just appearing to fast and none of my zoos or xenia would open up, not sure if it was to much light or not. I also have the in tank media basket from the 16gallon in there but have not changed the media that is in them, still stock at what it came with and i just rinse it out once in while, not good, i know haha I have been getting this algae on the glass walls of the tank that is pretty hard to get off, i can't get it just by wiping down the walls with paper towel, not sure what it is or how to get rid of it. If anyone knows what I'm talking about it and has advice on how to get it off/prevent it from coming back i would appreciate it. Also, anybody know what this jelly/sponge is that is only on 1 of my rocks? (2-3rd picture i believe) Link to comment
dferrari13 Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I would buy the Nano flipper.... itso a algae scraper magnet and works wonders also you can try some turbo snails Link to comment
gena Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I don't think there's anything you can do to prevent it. I've had it on every single tank I've owned. Just have to get a scraper. I've found the hand held type scrapers to work best on this algae as opposed to a magnetic cleaner. Although the flippers have pretty strong magnets so those might work fine. But a hand held will definitely do the job. Link to comment
dferrari13 Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 In my opinion, to upgrade your tank I would start with adding more flow...the powerhead mp10 ( no wires going into the tank, magneticly powered) is a great product but there are definitely cheaper options out there like the koraline 240 made by hydor....flow is important and I have tons of it in my tank... also possibly an automatic top off system ( which will automatically top off fresh Ro di water to compensate for evaporation).... if you want to grow different types of coral you should really upgrade those lights, I would say with either a Kessil or nanobox.... all of these ways of upgrading your tank are rather expensive a cheaper way to upgrade your tank is to improve in water quality. I would start using chemi pure blue Nano products in media basket and also purigen and phosguard... Another option is adding the ghost protein skimmer it does a pretty decent job at lowering phosphates and nitrates by eliminating excess waste Nice start...looking good....I would watch out with that many xenias...they could take over a tank as they grow like weeds....but I also have a small colony in my pico reef...so i really should talk lol Also that stuff in the picture looks like some type of sponge....I would remove it asap I don't think there's anything you can do to prevent it. I've had it on every single tank I've owned. Just have to get a scraper. I've found the hand held type scrapers to work best on this algae as opposed to a magnetic cleaner. Although the flippers have pretty strong magnets so those might work fine. But a hand held will definitely do the job. I agree sometimes my nano flipper just can't cut it (not strong enough) and I have to use my hand held scrapper Link to comment
Quinton2396 Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 In my opinion, to upgrade your tank I would start with adding more flow...the powerhead mp10 ( no wires going into the tank, magneticly powered) is a great product but there are definitely cheaper options out there like the koraline 240 made by hydor....flow is important and I have tons of it in my tank... also possibly an automatic top off system ( which will automatically top off fresh Ro di water to compensate for evaporation).... if you want to grow different types of coral you should really upgrade those lights, I would say with either a Kessil or nanobox.... all of these ways of upgrading your tank are rather expensive a cheaper way to upgrade your tank is to improve in water quality. I would start using chemi pure blue Nano products in media basket and also purigen and phosguard... Another option is adding the ghost protein skimmer it does a pretty decent job at lowering phosphates and nitrates by eliminating excess waste Nice start...looking good....I would watch out with that many xenias...they could take over a tank as they grow like weeds....but I also have a small colony in my pico reef...so i really should talk lol Also that stuff in the picture looks like some type of sponge....I would remove it asap I agree sometimes my nano flipper just can't cut it (not strong enough) and I have to use my hand held scrapper Thank you for the advice! I just placed an order for "chemipure blue nano packets"... so for those i will just place 1 in my media basket right? it says each one treats 5 gallons of water, but i feel that with all the rock and sand in my tank i probably only have 6-7 gallons anyways. I also ordered a 100ml bag of purigen, but now that i ordered it i am realizing that it is probably too big to put in my media basket right? Once i go home this weekend i will grab my powerhead that i had in there before and try it again, i believe it was the 240 like you stated above. In the past i have used a razor blade to scrape the algae off the sides and it works great but i am worried that since it is metal that it may not be safe to have in there while I'm scraping, what do you think? Link to comment
dferrari13 Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 I use two small bags of chemipure blue nano...and the 100ml purigen does fit if you have the upgraded media basket....as for the razor blade..it will rust...I would buy a nano flipper...it uses a stainless steel blade Link to comment
Quinton2396 Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 I use two small bags of chemipure blue nano...and the 100ml purigen does fit if you have the upgraded media basket....as for the razor blade..it will rust...I would buy a nano flipper...it uses a stainless steel blade sounds good! I have 3 slots, so 1 chemipure in 1 slot, 1 in another, then the 100ml bag of purigen in the 3rd? I always use a new razor blade when i do scrape, but i will definitely look into the nano flipper! Link to comment
dferrari13 Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 I usually pack my media basket to maximum capacity from the top in the first chamber I put a yellow mechanical sponge and just below it (but in the same slot) a chemipure blue nano bag...then in the second slot I put another chemipure blue nano along with the phosguard...and then finally the purigen alone in the last chamber....this all BARELY fits into my media basket but it keeps my water quality excellent....I'll try to pull out my basket and take a pic later today Link to comment
Quinton2396 Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 I usually pack my media basket to maximum capacity from the top in the first chamber I put a yellow mechanical sponge and just below it (but in the same slot) a chemipure blue nano bag...then in the second slot I put another chemipure blue nano along with the phosguard...and then finally the purigen alone in the last chamber....this all BARELY fits into my media basket but it keeps my water quality excellent....I'll try to pull out my basket and take a pic later today just packed my media basket full as well. 2 chemipure blue nano bags, a yellow sponge, purigen, and the black sponge that it came with as well. Link to comment
dferrari13 Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 I would try incorporate some phosguard in there....the black sponge is a carbon sponge and it's not really necessary if your running chemipure blue nano Link to comment
reefhound Posted September 9, 2016 Share Posted September 9, 2016 think about a spinstream for water movement definitely upgrade the light.. I don't think you need a lot of light, but a better light I was having plenty of problems with a crappy light causing algae blooms (a lot of red) you can find a used nanobox on here also, just a note.. sexy shrimp are social creatures.. keep 3 or more together, also it's such a low bioload Link to comment
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