H20's Nano-Reef AquaPod 24

[H20]

H2O

 

just read through your entire thread. Very Nice!! keep it up!

 

thanks for the info and advice on my cycling

 

 

Thanks, will be looking to see more of your tank down the road......

[H20]

Hey H2O nice tank, i've just finish reading through your thread and everything looks great. Can't wait for my tank to finish cycling ><. I love that HOT Magnum filter idea after wc, i think imma steal that idea too =p.

 

 

I think that is the part the has been the most beneficial to me with the HOT Magnum. Using it after water changes. If you use a turkey baster to blow the rocks off, you can siphon out as much junk as you can, but there is still lots of small/tiny debris left floating in the water after you are done siphoning out the % of water you are removing for your water change. Normally, your filter would eventually catch most of it, but, that kinda stinks as you may have just changed your filter media, and now you are giving it lots of stuff to have to catch again. I run the Magnum for about an hour with the filter pump in the back still turned off, the Magnum cleans up all the water, then I take it out, and turn the rear filter on again once the water is clear.

[H20]

Another Filter Mod:

 

 

I finally got my filtration mod somewhat straightened out. I had been using my eggcrate shelf mod with a rolled up, cut down blue filter pad (see my posts above in the thread to show that). I ended up not really liking it, because it too was slightly messy and clouded the water when I took it out. Plus, you would have to really rinse it out and let it dry to re-use, but the filter floss is disposable. One main problem with my blue filter pad setup, was that it was not really allowing me to surface skim, and I had a layer of film on the top of my water all the time. I feared this was blocking some light to my corals. I needed a way to better filter. After seeing so many people on here use filter floss with success, I decided to give that another try. After some fiddling around with it and the shelf, I think I having something that works.

 

I have my eggcrate shelf in the rear filter chamber, with a bag of Purigen sitting on the shelf, and a wad of filter floss sitting on top of the Purigen. I only have the top grate open, and the water flows down onto the top on the filter floss, and down through the Purigen. This immediately resolved my issue with the surface film, and has kept it clear. I had to make the wad of filter floss thick enough so that the water level in the back dropped down, and that now allowed the water to flow down onto the filter floss, with the water level in the back a couple of inches lower than the front tank water. Seems to be working great. I changed the floss for the first time since I tried this two days ago, and it was very simple to pull out the wad of floss, and stick a new one in there.

 

This stuff (pillow stuffing) is cheap and disposable. I am using the Morning Glory 'low loft' brand from WalMart. You can get a huge bag of the stuff for around $5.

 

 

 

Floss after two days:

 

We'll see how this works for while.

 

 

 

Edited later:

 

 

I am adding this now, about 3 weeks later, after I have had some time to watch this mod work. I can say that out of every kind of way I have tried to mod my mechanical filtration (rolled up filter pads, sponges, etc), this has worked the best. The filter floss on top of the eggcrate shelf, with the water pouring in from the top (one top grate open), onto the filter floss, works great. It is so easy to change, and doesn't muck the water up when trying to change it out, like the rolled up filter pads or the sponges used to do. This works great, and will be my means of mechanical filtration for the foreseeable future. (I will still run my HOT Magnum at times, to turkey baste the rocks and do some of my water changes though)

[H20]

Using MacroAlgae:

 

 

After a small outbreak of diatoms on the sand and glass from a slight rise in nitrates after a re-aquascape that I did a couple of weeks ago, I decide to try to add some macro algae to the tank. I decided to try Chaeto (chaetomorpha) since it was popular among nano-reefers and seems easy to use. (By the way, thanks to fellow Nano-Reefer 'Dr. Fosi' for the chaeto. He has a great item here, and I would recommend him to anyone that wanted to order some.)

 

Chaeto is basically a macroalgae that can be helpful by exporting nutrients/waste from the water. They can export nitrates and phosphates, which means that the chaeto can out-compete unwanted micro algae from our tanks. Most people will put chaeto into their rear chambers, or refugiums. I decided to try something I have seen here on Nano-Reef, and use a soap/sponge holder in the main tank.

 

I cannot decide if i like the look of this or not. On one hand, it is out of place and might be unsightly, but on the other hand, the bright green kinda gives the tank some color. I will try it for awhile and see how it goes.

 

[shaz1971]

Nice job with the DYI Chaeto box. I ended up buying a CPR fuge and stuck it in the back.

 

H2O, I got a little diatom developing in my tank now, do you think its time for CUC? come check out my new hardware specially the Karolia 1. Let me know if I have it placed right. Thank you for all your help.

 

Shaz

[Mr. Fosi]

I don't think the chaeto looks bad at all.

[eric_weiss]

I don't think the chaeto looks bad at all.

 

H20, like everyone else has said, this is a great thread, and I've enjoyed following your progress. I have a 24G Nano, which is stock except I've added a Koralia nano pump. It's, finally, finished cycling. I just put a CUC in to go after my diatom bloom, which they're doing w/ great gusto. I really like the DIY chaeto holder in your tank and was thinking about doing something similar, as I don't really want to mod one of my rear chambers in to a refugium but want some macroalgae to help control nutrients. How's it working out for you? Do you get enough water flow to the chaeto? I've read that it needs to tumble in order to thrive (check out liveaquaria's description: http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_displa...d=2401&N=0).

 

Mr. Fosi, if you have extra chaeto and need to get rid of some, let me know...

[Mr. Fosi]

Mr. Fosi, if you have extra chaeto and need to get rid of some, let me know...

 

I'll put you on my list.

 

I keep a list of interested parties who get PMs before my chaeto goes up for sale to the larger community.

[eric_weiss]

I'll put you on my list.

 

I keep a list of interested parties who get PMs before my chaeto goes up for sale to the larger community.

 

Thanks!

[H20]

Do you get enough water flow to the chaeto? I've read that it needs to tumble in order to thrive

 

 

 

I have only had it in the tank a few days, but so far so good. I think I am getting decent flow, because my Koralia Nano that is pointed at the surface is also directed towards the chaeto container. Looks like it is getting flow, but I will see how well it does in some time.

[H20]

My first Frag:

 

 

I got up the nerve and did my first frag today. I have noticed that my Trumpet Coral (Caulastrea) was getting quite large, almost 30 heads on it. Some of the bigger heads were starting to squeeze a couple of smaller heads, to where they could not expand anymore. After about a week of being smushed, one of the heads was starting to show some skeleton. I decided that I needed to frag a part of it to save that branch. The caulastrea can be one of the easier corals to frag, so I had that going for me. All you have to do is snap off whatever heads you want, making sure to break on the branch/skeleton limb, and not where there is flesh. So, I gave it a go.

 

My supplies:

A pair of heavy 'Revlon' toenail clippers from Walgreens

Some 'Reef disks' for a base (or you could use a piece of rock rubble)

Some Aquarium safe epoxy

A Tupperware container to hold my coral while they were out of the tank.

 

 

 

I then took a cup and added enough tank water to the Tupperware container to cover the coral. Then I simply looked at the mother coral and found where I wanted to cut off a frag. I used the clippers to cleanly cut a piece off for my frag (the few heads that were getting crowded out). Then I put them back into the Tupperware water. I mixed up a small ball of epoxy, and made a mound on top of the ReefDisk. I then got the frag and stuck it down into the top of the mound. I should mention that I used a small bit a SuperGlue Gel under the mound to better hold it to the ReefDisk and a few drops at the top of the mound to better hold the coral into the epoxy. I have found that using the Super Glue Gel in conjunction with the epoxy works the best, as the Aquarium epoxy doesn't stick the best in the world. Together, they hold a strong bond.

 

Here is the mother coral and the frag after I mounted it:

 

Then, I put them back into the tank to recover on the substrate.

 

'Mother' Trumpet Coral: (under actinic lights, and a few heads temporarily shrunken up due to me handling them)

 

New Frag:

 

Both together:

[c est ma]

Nice job! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your thorough documentation of everything!

 

I never would have thought of combining superglue gel and epoxy. I, too, have had mixed results with the epoxy--I attribute it to uneven variation in "squishing" time (it's the 2-part stuff)...

 

--Diane

[spanko]

Can't remember if you have a skimmer, and did not want to go back through the thread to find out. Lazy SOB that I am. But if you do did you find it goes bananas when you use the epoxy?

[H20]

'c est ma' - thanks Diane. Yeah, I found the super glue/epoxy trick from another thread on the board somewhere. Works well.

 

spanko - nope, no skimmer in my tank as of now, but that would be interesting to see if the epoxy would cause the skimmer to foam up. I wouldn't think so, but who knows.

[ClowningAround]

Tank looks great H2O how are the zoas doing they are quite the multicolored bunch!

[luusreef]

your tank looks gorgeous. i especially like your rock work!

[spanko]

On some of the packages it tells you to turn off your skimmer for like 48 hours because it will cause it to bubble excessively. I have found that even after 48 hours it still takes a couple of times emptying the collector after short periods of time because it fills so quickly.

great thread and updates as always. Thank you for sharing.

[Maco]

Nice job! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your thorough documentation of everything!

+1 tank looks very nice

[paca444]

I am currently looking into buying a 64w compact fluorescent AP24 for 169.99 from Drsfostersmith.com

 

Do you all find that it really is worth spending almost twice the price on the 150w version?

 

Btw, I already have two other 30 gallon regular setups, one with a 150w mh, so I could put some higher requiring corals in there should I have the urge.

[shaz1971]

Nice frag job H2o, very clean. Where are you located btw?

[H20]

Nice frag job H2o, very clean. Where are you located btw?

 

 

 

Thanks. I am down here in the South..... In Memphis.

[H20]

I finally got a good picture of my Tail Spot Blenny. He is a fast moving guy, so a good pic can be a challenge at times. I like his funny look.

 

 

[c est ma]

Oh, those are super shots! That's always been one of my all-time favorite fish.

 

Does it eat well for you? Seems to me a year or so ago there was a thread about them being a bit delicate...

 

Again, wonderful photos!

 

--Diane

[H20]

Oh, those are super shots! That's always been one of my all-time favorite fish.

 

Does it eat well for you? Seems to me a year or so ago there was a thread about them being a bit delicate...

 

Again, wonderful photos!

 

--Diane

 

 

Thanks for the compliment. Yes, he eats very well. He is quite the pig actually. I only feed him about every 3 days since he is a herbivore and picks at the rocks and tries to find algae all day. I feed him small flakes of Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 and he loves it. He know when it is time to eat because when I feed him, I always cut off my Koralia pump so that he can get the flakes easier. When he hears that pump cut off, he goes flying to the surface and swimming around all excited. It is fun to watch. He will even eat flakes out of my hand. I can get a pinch in between my fingers and hold it down to the water, and he will swim right up and pull them out of my fingers. He is a cool little guy.

 

He was shy at first but now that he has gotten used to me, he will swim right up to the glass and get nose to nose with me against the glass. and then swim back and forth just watching me. I am sure he is wanting some food. ha

[c est ma]

How sweet! I'd say he's just about the perfect fish!

 

--Diane