sammy33's 28G Nano Cube HQI Thread

[peaglesrx]

Hey sammy,

 

I know you're getting rid of your SPS from the nanotank. However, what do you think about hooking up a phosphate reactor to this tank? I'm thinking about setting up the Two Little Fishies reactor since it only requires an MJ400 pump. The pump could go in the inner left chamber where the stock skimmer usually sits. I was thinking of setting this up rather than putting a fuge in that chamber. This way, I won't have to deal with chaeto macro getting my pumps everytime I have to trim the macro.

 

Thanks,

[sammy33]

Hey sammy,

 

I know you're getting rid of your SPS from the nanotank. However, what do you think about hooking up a phosphate reactor to this tank? I'm thinking about setting up the Two Little Fishies reactor since it only requires an MJ400 pump. The pump could go in the inner left chamber where the stock skimmer usually sits. I was thinking of setting this up rather than putting a fuge in that chamber. This way, I won't have to deal with chaeto macro getting my pumps everytime I have to trim the macro.

 

Thanks,

 

Well the stock filter basket can act as sort of a Phosphate reactor. I have a bag of Phoslock in there and seem to maintain low phos levels.

 

The real trick to phosphate maintenance is to have a reasonably accurate way to measure phosphate ppm. I have tried Salifert, AP, and Instant Ocean tests and they all basically always read zero on phosphates...but I have algae growth and somewhat less than stellar colors on my SPS.

 

I have also tried a Hanna photometer and also high end phosphate test kits like the D&D/Merck high sensitivity test. These tell a different story.

 

I tested my nano with the Hanna meter and my phosphate was .02 ppm. This is just barely below an acceptable low of .03 ppm for an algae free reef. The Merck test results were the about the same showing .015. Now I have been able to keep the algae under control and have fair colors and I have only been able to do so by testing and changing the media if the ppm on phosphate gets above .03 ppm.

 

I would suggest getting at least the Merck test kit ( about $80) so you can really see what your phosphates are doing. I am starting to think a phosphate reactor may come in handy to get the levels down even more? Dangit, and am running out of room for any more toys on this tank.

[peaglesrx]

Dangit, and am running out of room for any more toys on this tank.

 

 

Hey, that's the beauty of this tank/hobby!!

 

Thanks for the info.

[serkel]

hey anything new with your set up have you changed it just keeping up with you tread

[sammy33]

hey anything new with your set up have you changed it just keeping up with you tread

 

I have finally treated the tank for flatworms. I actually did this yesterday and seems like everything went well with no losses except lots of flatworms.

 

One thing I did differently this time with the flatworm treatment is I turned off the lights. Part of the treatment with Salifert Flatworm Exit is to use lots of carbon to help extract the toxins created by the dieing planaria. I had an issue with this last time I used FWE as I bleached most all of my SPS. The best I can figure is the extra carbon I packed in the sump made the water hyper clear compared to normal thereby increasing the light levels.

 

This time I ran the extra carbon for 24 hours only and left the lights off. This morning I took the carbon bag out and put my usual phoslock and smaller bag of carbon back in. I only ran the lights for a couple hours today and all seems well. No flatworms!

 

This treatment was just in time as some of my zoanthids are showing signs of stress. The polyps are staying closed way more than normal as the flatworms were crawling on them and simply irritating the coral. I feel fairly certain that now that the flatworms are gone they will bounce back.

 

I am still on the fence about moving my SPS out of this tank. I have 3 reef tanks that are SPS dominant now and am really actually having the best success in this tank so far. I may move more SPS into this tank and do something different with the others. Stay tuned.

[2nd nature]

I have finally treated the tank for flatworms. I actually did this yesterday and seems like everything went well with no losses except lots of flatworms.

 

One thing I did differently this time with the flatworm treatment is I turned off the lights. Part of the treatment with Salifert Flatworm Exit is to use lots of carbon to help extract the toxins created by the dieing planaria. I had an issue with this last time I used FWE as I bleached most all of my SPS. The best I can figure is the extra carbon I packed in the sump made the water hyper clear compared to normal thereby increasing the light levels.

 

This time I ran the extra carbon for 24 hours only and left the lights off. This morning I took the carbon bag out and put my usual phoslock and smaller bag of carbon back in. I only ran the lights for a couple hours today and all seems well. No flatworms!

 

This treatment was just in time as some of my zoanthids are showing signs of stress. The polyps are staying closed way more than normal as the flatworms were crawling on them and simply irritating the coral. I feel fairly certain that now that the flatworms are gone they will bounce back.

 

I am still on the fence about moving my SPS out of this tank. I have 3 reef tanks that are SPS dominant now and am really actually having the best success in this tank so far. I may move more SPS into this tank and do something different with the others. Stay tuned.

 

nice thread im in atl too. id like to see your tank some time . im thinking about ordering one sometime next week.

[sammy33]

Lighting

Some thoughts about lighting on this tank. I am really wanting to keep some SPS in this tank. I have been successful with SPS in other tanks and I think this one is close to being able to support SPS especially in the lighting dept.

 

I have checked into just how much light these corals require and the best unit to quantify light is PAR. PAR is Photosynthetic Active Radiation or a unit of measurement for the useful range of light that is used in photosynthesis between 400nm and 700nm.

 

So what is a good PAR range for a reef tank?

I have heard recommendations of 200 to 600 PAR from the bottom of the reef to the top of the reef (Tyree 1999) with this being an acceptable range for "low, medium and high" light corals.

 

Sprungs Coral Reference Guide shows lighting values in a scale from 1-10 (low to high). In Adam Blundell's Lighting Article he proposes using these values as PAR by multiplying by 100. The scale next to each coral in the book can then be used to reference a PAR value (range) it will likely do well under.

 

Here are some examples:

 

Frogspawn (Euphyllia)

(Sprung value) 3-8

(PAR Minimum) 300

(PAR average) 550

 

Acropora (Acropora)

(Sprung value) 4-10

(PAR Minimum) 400

(PAR average) 700

 

Check out this article for more lighting ranges:

How Much Light?! Analyses of Selected Shallow Water Invertebrates' Light Requirements

by Dana Riddle

 

The article shows PAR data for photosynthesis saturation points and photo inhibition points both from labaratory tests and also light readings from various locations on the worlds reefs. This shows a good reference range of PAR reequirments.

 

Examples:

 

Porites

(Saturation point) 250 PAR

(Photo-inhibition) 350 PAR

 

Acropora

(Saturation point) 390 PAR

(Photo-inhibition) 700 PAR

 

Tridacnid Calm

(Saturation point) 600 PAR

(Photo-inhibition) 1,900 PAR

 

So now I have a basic idea of how much light I need for Acropora corals - about 400 PAR would probably work. I just need to be able to measure PAR.

 

Measuring PAR

I have an Apogee Instruments Quantum Meter calibrated for electric light sources that reads PAR in µmol m-2 s-1. The probe is waterproof so you can place it in the aquarium and read the PAR. I have a short peice of PVC pipe with an elbow on the end to position the probe correctly toward the light. I simply place the probe in the tank directly under the light and record the readings at various depths in the tank. Here are my readings on my 28g Nano Cube HQI with the stock JBJ 14K lamp and everything else stock (at least in terms of lighting).

 

 

Now this is not bad performance for this lighting system it would seem I am a little short of 400 PAR! The area where most of my SPS are located are only getting around 140 to 200 PAR. I either need to make my reef taller to get the corals closer to the light or maybe I should try some other lamps to increase my PAR a bit. Maybe a Phoenix 14K will do better?

 

I think I may stick with the SPS for a bit if I can get a better PAR rating from another lamp otherwise this light level seems more suited for an LPS and Softy reef.

[TMcJilton]

Wow! Excellent setup. I really like it. I just started a similar setup with a NC28g HQI. I have a few other "toys" and was hoping you could give me some advice. Im really interested in the RK2. Any additional equipment you can reccomend to make things more automated and self sustaining, would be great. check out my thread here and let me know what you think. I was thinking some kind of skimmer, and anything else that is going to make keeping sps easier.

[peaglesrx]

Good to hear that you're going to keep SPS in this tank. I'm trying an SPS dominated tank also, and your tank is a good tank to follow. Keep up the good work!!

 

Good luck with the flatworms. Hopefully you got all of them. When I had flatworms in my old 24g nanocube, I also tried a velvet nudibranch which worked very well (lucky to have it survive shipping!!). However, once it ate all of the flatworms, it quickly starved and died. Luckilly, my cleaner shrimp found him tasty!!

 

I fought them myself for about 4 months after giving the nudibranch a try. I first tried dosing the tank once per month and then only to have the flatworms come back 1 week later. Tried this dosing method 2 more months, each time, blowing my rocks with a turkey baster, 25% water changes, and running carbon.

 

The 4th time, I tried dosing 3 days in a row, blowing my rocks, 25% water changes, and running carbon each time. I then dosed once a week for the rest of the month. Finally, I have no flatworms!!! This was 6 months ago. So far, so good.

 

From what I've seen, the flatworm exit doesn't work in some situations due to a number of possible reasons.

 

1. One reason is resistance. Some, as you've found are truly resistent and require higher doses. You just need to exceed the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). It's just like using any other antibiotic on bacteria. I'm not sure if you tried this, but once you identify a more resistent flatworm, you could pull them from the tank, and then dose until the flatworm dies. Then, dose the rest of the tank at an equivalent dose.

 

2. Another reason is distribution. Sometimes, the flatworm doesn't reach low flow areas of all of your rock at high enough concentrations to kill the flatworm. This is where blowing your rock with a turkey baster or powerhead is key.

 

3. I think multiple days worth of dosing is recommended. It's very similar to dosing antibiotics. Dr's don't prescribe just 1 dose of an antibiotic. They have to prescribe multiple days worth (of course, depends on the antibiotic and infection, but for most drugs and most infections, it's multiple days). They do this for a number of reasons. One is to reach a steady state or consistent peak concentration. For some drugs, this takes several doses. Another reason is that, just like the flatworms, the bacteria may still reside in areas of the body that the drug hasn't reached, allowing the bacteria to grow back if the antibiotic is stopped. Unless your body was simply filled with blood and had no other tissues or other types of fluids, then antibiotics could probably be given at 1 or 2 doses because it would easily distribute everywhere and kill all of the bacteria. So, just like your body, the flatworms have a number of places it can hide in your tank (i.e. rock, refugium) where it can avoid high enough concentrations of the medication.

 

You've probably researched Melev's web site on flatworm elimination. Very informative. http://www.melevsreef.com/flatworms.html

 

However, one reason why the flatworm exit worked for me is that I had a smaller tank and was able to blow my rocks easier than other, larger setups. Another reason could be that I didn't have resistent flatworms to begin with.

 

The other pitfalls with the flatworm exit include the "side effects" or adverse effects of potentially killing crustaceans, like cleaner shrimp or even pods. My cleaner luckily survived. I didn't notice any impact on my amphipods or copapods. I also didn't exceed the recc dosing and only used what was recc. However, I think the key is multiple days worth of dosing. It's very similar to dosing antibiotics. Dr's don't prescribe just 1 dose of an antibiotic. They have to prescribe multiple days worth (of course, depends on the antibiotic and infection, but for most drugs and most infections, it's multiple days).

 

Okay, sorry to go off on the flatworms, but they were a real pain. Anytime, I see anyone mention it, I feel almost obligated to tell my story. Obviously, none of my reccomendations above are based on studies or good evidence. It's purely my observations (actually the multiple dosing, I've seen on a couple of other threads. the rationale for it is mine though!!).

 

Glad to see that you beat the flatworms!!!

 

 

Lighting

Now this is not bad performance for this lighting system it would seem I am a little short of 400 PAR! The area where most of my SPS are located are only getting around 140 to 200 PAR. I either need to make my reef taller to get the corals closer to the light or maybe I should try some other lamps to increase my PAR a bit. Maybe a Phoenix 14K will do better?

 

I think I may stick with the SPS for a bit if I can get a better PAR rating from another lamp otherwise this light level seems more suited for an LPS and Softy reef.

 

This is great info. I don't think I've seen anyone measure PAR in the 28g nanocube yet. Thanks again Sammy!!

 

I hear a lot of good things about the phoenix 14k bulbs. I may try them next. I'm currently running Radium 20k bulbs and love it. It's definitely brighter than my XM 20k bulbs. However, it's tough to say b/c I ran the XM bulbs only in my Sunpod in my old tank. So, not sure if it's b/c of the bulb or the reflector.

 

Keep us updated.

[lanamarks]

Thanks for all the great info. I am trying to decide on an all-in-one tank (downsizing my 100gal) and this was really helpful.

 

I don't really want to get a chiller - however I did consider an Ice Probe. Did you look into that at all?

[sammy33]

Here is an AquaC Remora skimmate shot. I am very happy with this upgrade.

[peaglesrx]

Here is an AquaC Remora skimmate shot. I am very happy with this upgrade.

 

Hey sammy, what color is your skimmate? Is it a dark, tea-colored skimmate? How often do you feed and how often does your skimmate cup fill up?

 

I currently have the remora, too. It's definitely a great upgrade that I love! Right now, I'm pulling out dark, tea-colored skimmate.

 

I was curious as I've seen some of my reefclub member's skimmers on bigger tanks and their skimmers pull out nasty, black coffee colored skimmate.

 

Thanks!

[sammy33]

Hey sammy, what color is your skimmate? Is it a dark, tea-colored skimmate? How often do you feed and how often does your skimmate cup fill up?

 

My skimmate is dark tea color as well. I have been moving the cup around to tune the skimmate and I think I have it close. I really don't want to skim to excessively dry as this more concentrated skimmate seems to also remove more trace elements and plankton.

 

I feed the fish some green algae sheet bits or maybe some flake/pellet Formula 2 daily and the feed phyo-feast + roti-feast blended about once a week right now. I also am dosing Seachem Reef Plus weekly for a little booster on amino acids, vitamins and some important elements like potassium. This helps make up for what the corals and skimmer takes out.

 

I have been cleaning the cup every 3 days or so. A good amount of the export product from the skimmer is the ocean funk-a-gunk coating the riser tube and lid of the collection cup. Cleaning this stuff off keeps the skimmer performing well.

[peaglesrx]

My skimmate is dark tea color as well. I have been moving the cup around to tune the skimmate and I think I have it close. I really don't want to skim to excessively dry as this more concentrated skimmate seems to also remove more trace elements and plankton.

 

I feed the fish some green algae sheet bits or maybe some flake/pellet Formula 2 daily and the feed phyo-feast + roti-feast blended about once a week right now. I also am dosing Seachem Reef Plus weekly for a little booster on amino acids, vitamins and some important elements like potassium. This helps make up for what the corals and skimmer takes out.

 

I have been cleaning the cup every 3 days or so. A good amount of the export product from the skimmer is the ocean funk-a-gunk coating the riser tube and lid of the collection cup. Cleaning this stuff off keeps the skimmer performing well.

 

Good info. Thanks!!

 

I've never tried adding amino's, vitamins, or trace elements to my nano. Of course, this is the first time I've tried runnign a skimmer in my nano. How do your SPS respond to the booster dosing? Improved color, improved growth? I was also thinking about dosing some trace elements, too as I was worried that my skimmer was pulling out too much.

 

One other question: have you noticed any drop in your salinity due to the skimmer pulling out too much water? Do you add a little mixed salt water to your top off?

 

Thanks!

 

Keep up the good work!

[sammy33]

nice thread im in atl too. id like to see your tank some time . im thinking about ordering one sometime next week.

Sending PM.

 

 

Wow! Excellent setup. I really like it. I just started a similar setup with a NC28g HQI. I have a few other "toys" and was hoping you could give me some advice. Im really interested in the RK2. Any additional equipment you can reccomend to make things more automated and self sustaining, would be great. check out my thread here and let me know what you think. I was thinking some kind of skimmer, and anything else that is going to make keeping sps easier.

The RK2 on my tank is definitely my favorite "toy". I am thinking of also adding a ReefDoser to this setup. I have one on my tank at home to auto dose b-ionic two part. The four channel setup would allow the dosing of two more liquids - maybe magnesium and some sort of trace element? Heading over to check out your thread.

 

 

Thanks for all the great info. I am trying to decide on an all-in-one tank (downsizing my 100gal) and this was really helpful.

 

I don't really want to get a chiller - however I did consider an Ice Probe. Did you look into that at all?

That may be a decent option if you could get it to fit/work without drilling. I wonder if the probe would fit far enough down in the water to actually chill?

 

 

Good info. Thanks!!

 

I've never tried adding amino's, vitamins, or trace elements to my nano. Of course, this is the first time I've tried runnign a skimmer in my nano. How do your SPS respond to the booster dosing? Improved color, improved growth? I was also thinking about dosing some trace elements, too as I was worried that my skimmer was pulling out too much.

 

One other question: have you noticed any drop in your salinity due to the skimmer pulling out too much water? Do you add a little mixed salt water to your top off?

 

Thanks!

 

Keep up the good work!

I am working towards Oligotrophic conditions (very low nutrients). I am running carbon and puraphos continuously in the media basket. My nitrates are 0ppm and phosphates under 0.03ppm each time I have tested (Hanna photometer and D-D/Merck). The skimmer is pretty much doing the job with the media as backup.

 

The corals are growing in this tank. When corals grow they use up elements to form new tissue and structure. I notice my SPS will begin to lighten over time, especially if I skip water changes. I am trying to start small weekly water changes of maybe 5% (1 gallon) to help with the element depletion. I see improved growth and color when I keep these elements in supply.

 

The trick is to not overdose as this just pollutes the tank again.

 

With salinity it does tend to creep down but I usually correct this during water changes. I can not use saltwater in my ATO because of the kalkwasser.

 

Thank you all for your interest, comments and questions. I will get some new tanks shots this week and I encourage more questions or comments or both.

[peaglesrx]

thanks sammy!

 

Have you tried any other products other than seachem's reef plus? I was wondering about Two Little Fishies products for trace elements. Not sure on this one though.

 

thanks

 

What type of salt do you use, too?

[sammy33]

Have you tried any other products other than seachem's reef plus? I was wondering about Two Little Fishies products for trace elements. Not sure on this one though.

 

What type of salt do you use, too?

 

Yes, I have tried many trace supplements and I like the Seachem Reef Plus product because of the amino acids, ascorbic acid and the potassium. I use it more for just these three ingredients.

 

I have tried several salts over the years and am currently using Tropic Marin Pro (love it!). I also use Reef Crystals in a pinch.

[KennyKen]

WOW

i just spent 2 hours studying this thread top to bottom. Ive been running my JBJ 28 HQI for over 3 months now. I havent added any mods, but the skimmer idea is becoming more likely. I just added my first fish and coral this week, and im still not pulling anything from the skimmer ( i understand there really isnt much bio-load)

 

This thread has been more help in 2 hours than in 3 months. Im definetly working with your tweaks and putting serious thought to some of the mods you've done.

 

This is my first tank, and i decided to go with the HQI cause i wanted to go to the good lighting right away, rather than worrying about upgrading later, that and im fascinated with SPS and Clams. Im gonna with a softie tank to start, before i get more accustomed to all of the advanced gadgets required in dosing and keeping elemental levels where they should be to keep a serious reef tank, needless to say im pretty overwhelmed by your setup.

 

I definetly cant wait to see where your tank goes, and i soon hope to start a thread that you can review and lend a helping hand.

 

Keep it going....

[peaglesrx]

My skimmate is dark tea color as well. I have been moving the cup around to tune the skimmate and I think I have it close. I really don't want to skim to excessively dry as this more concentrated skimmate seems to also remove more trace elements and plankton.

 

I feed the fish some green algae sheet bits or maybe some flake/pellet Formula 2 daily and the feed phyo-feast + roti-feast blended about once a week right now. I also am dosing Seachem Reef Plus weekly for a little booster on amino acids, vitamins and some important elements like potassium. This helps make up for what the corals and skimmer takes out.

 

I have been cleaning the cup every 3 days or so. A good amount of the export product from the skimmer is the ocean funk-a-gunk coating the riser tube and lid of the collection cup. Cleaning this stuff off keeps the skimmer performing well.

 

Hey Sammy,

 

I'm still trying to fine tune my skimmer. I thought by now (a little over 1 month), it would be producing much darker skimmate. Do you mind posting a pic of your skimmate? I just want to see if maybe I should be running mine a little dryer.

 

thanks!

[bamaboy333]

How did the lighting upgrade from nanotuners go? I thought I read on here that you were considering getting this, and I have the same tank and was considering the same. I have been following the thread and was curious to see if the upgrade was worth it, or how it reacted with everything. GREAT tank by the way, I am modeling much of what I do after you. Imitation is the best compliment.

[sammy33]

WOW

This thread has been more help in 2 hours than in 3 months. Im definetly working with your tweaks and putting serious thought to some of the mods you've done.

I definetly cant wait to see where your tank goes, and i soon hope to start a thread that you can review and lend a helping hand.

Keep it going....

Thanks for checking out my thread. I am glad that you got something out of it. I think I do have more ideas to share. I have some new gadgets that I am swapping out in the near future.

 

 

Hey Sammy,

I'm still trying to fine tune my skimmer. I thought by now (a little over 1 month), it would be producing much darker skimmate. Do you mind posting a pic of your skimmate? I just want to see if maybe I should be running mine a little dryer.

thanks!

My Remora skimmate was darker initially and is now a bit lighter. I still only have one fish in the tank and am feeding fairly light. I will try to get some pics of the skimmate tomorrow. I actually plan on taking several pictures in the next day or two as many things have changed on/in my nano.

 

 

How did the lighting upgrade from nanotuners go? I thought I read on here that you were considering getting this, and I have the same tank and was considering the same. I have been following the thread and was curious to see if the upgrade was worth it, or how it reacted with everything. GREAT tank by the way, I am modeling much of what I do after you. Imitation is the best compliment.

 

I appreciate the good review of my tank and my thread.

 

I did get the parts for a lighting upgrade a while back. I actually stripped the parts from a 12g aquapod hood with the 27w lamps. I would do the mod but I am concerned about the extra heat. I already am going to have to buy one chiller this year (for my reef tank at home) and did not want to push this tank into also requiring a chiller. I am riding 80F and peaking at 80.5F with just the stock lighting and the cooling from the extra fan on the back.

 

The other reason I decided against the pc light mod was I have now moved most all of the SPS out of this tank. I am swapping in several nice leather corals (some were in here before) and more zoanthids. I was very satisfied with how these corals did in this tank before and I wanted to get all the softies out of my tank at home.

 

I am still moving things around and placing the new corals. I will get some pics as soon as I get everthing situated.

[bamaboy333]

I understand, I have been battling heat s well. I live at the beach so it gets warm enough as it is. the fan saved me from a chiller, so i dont want anything to put me back in that situation if at all possible. Thanks for the input, i will be following along.

[sammy33]

I finished moving most of my SPS out of my nano and into my tank at home. I still have the Pocilopora damacornis and my "LE Turkey Turd Brown" Montipora digitata that hitch-hiked in on a peice of live rock. I still think that this tank will support SPS "out of the box" (with the exception of flow). The main reason I moved the SPS is that my home reef is really starting to take off and I think the SPS will do much better in that setup.

 

I moved in all of my leather corals. The Neon Polyp Toadstool (Sarcophyton sp.) is the only one that has not opened and shown full polyp extension. It was in this tank previously and actually did better in here than in my tank at home. My Fiji Yellow (Sarcophyton elegans), Neon Sinularia and the Neptheid are doing great and have all shown full polyp extension. Here is a side shot I got today:

 

 

The Sinularia is the big green one up top, the neon Sarcophyton is to the left (closed up) and the Fiji Yellow is behind. The Neptheid is just above the Ricordea. I am very pleased with how the aquascape looks now. The leather corals are nice and grown out and add more presence and color to the tank.

 

I also got this shot of my skimmate (for peaglesrx):

 

 

This is about 4 days of skimmate. I have mine set to skim a bit wet. Raising the collection cup dries the skim too much IMHO.

[jdokos]

That skimmate looks better than mine and I have the cup ALL the way up. Way too wet. AquaC says it is because my bioload is too low, but I have enough nutrients to grow plenty of algae, cyano mostly. Oh well, gonna look into getting a Deltec or Octopus, both of which seem hard to find in the US right now.

 

Sammy good shot of the rics. Nice.

[sammy33]

Finally got some time today to get a full tank shot.

 

 

I have gotten things somewhat under control now. No flatworms, stable chemistry, stable temps, etc. So far, so good.

 

I do have a little patch of cyano that is showing up on the sand. You can see it in the back left corner. I am treating the tank for the cyano using a probiotic method. Probiotic methods introduce beneficial bacteria into the aquarium system or introduce a fuel source for the bacteria presently in the system to consume nitrates, phosphates and organics. These create a water born bio-mass that can be removed by your skimmer. These methods include Prodibio or Zeovit or Polyp Labs Reefresh or Ultralith or even DIY method with vodka dosing or even using bio-spira/cycle.

 

I decided to try Prodibio on this aquarium in an effort to control the nuisance growths like the cyano and other potential algae. Prodibio is probiotic style reefing additive system that uses certain strains of bacteria along with a bacteria food, an overall coral broadcast food, strontium and iodine. These additives come packed in little glass vials in a plastic case so they are unique in they way they are packaged. The glass vials are sealed and nitrogen flushed to preserve the liquids inside from contaminants. There is also a specific dosing schedule for the additives. I got the Nano Reef Bio Kit:

 

 

I have been using Prodibio system on my tank at home for about 3 months now and have seen some great improvements - better water quality, zero phosphates, undetectable nitrates, better coral coloration, less detritus on the sand and rocks, slowed nuisance algae growth and less diatom build-up on the glass. I hope to get the same results in my nano. I will of course continue to post as I see results. Hopefully the cyano will be gone after the second or third dose?