XIII's Nano Cube - 28 Gallon LED

[briancv]

That sucks about the acro frags. I would put my money on the teperature changes you were having. If your tank hit 86, I would put my $20 down that the temperature toasted them. Acro's are infamous for being really touchy when it comes to temperature fluctuations. Once you get your chiller and can keep the water at a stable high 70's, you would probably have better luck.

[nanew reefer]

looks great, blasted ie6 at work wasnt helpin me good luck

[XIII]

That sucks about the acro frags. I would put my money on the teperature changes you were having. If your tank hit 86, I would put my $20 down that the temperature toasted them. Acro's are infamous for being really touchy when it comes to temperature fluctuations. Once you get your chiller and can keep the water at a stable high 70's, you would probably have better luck.

 

Thanks for the support. I agree, I was surprised my temp hit that high that one day, hasn't gone above 79 since, but with the chiller I'm planning on keeping it between 76.5 and 78.5, so that it is much more stable. I may eventually try acros again, but for now I'm really looking to get an frogspwan, ric, xenia, or monti as my next corals. Might try to pick something up this week.

 

looks great, blasted ie6 at work wasnt helpin me good luck

Much appreciated.

 

 

Sorry for the lack of picture updates, my camera's been acting a little weird with the macro's exposure and white balance settings, so the colors have been way off.

[XIII]

So the chiller arrived, but was missing a part that got shipped separately apparently, and will be here in another couple days.

 

Also, I think I might have had two aiptaisa heads crop up on one of my zoa plugs. I removed the plug and covered that area in coral glue to seal them in their holes, that way i didn't hurt the zoas. Seems to have worked.

 

And for even more fun, one of my scarlet hermits was "cleaning" the clove colony I have (as there was some algae growing on its base), and it got a little overzealous and cut through 3 of the polyps, and almost cut through a 4th before I stopped it. I had to re-glue the 3 remaining heads, and moved the scarlet to another spot in the tank.

 

Tonight while checking out the tank under the moonlights, I noticed that there were tons of these small white things on the glass. The aren't snail eggs,as they move around alot, and they sort of look like fleas for lack of a better description. They are quite miniscule. Any idea what these might be (copepods hopefully perhaps?)

[Sahin]

Tonight while checking out the tank under the moonlights, I noticed that there were tons of these small white things on the glass. The aren't snail eggs,as they move around alot, and they sort of look like fleas for lack of a better description. They are quite miniscule. Any idea what these might be (copepods hopefully perhaps?)

 

Yip, copepods.

[XIII]

Yip, copepods.

That's awesome. That's a good sign for my tank then.

[Sahin]

That's awesome. That's a good sign for my tank then.

 

That is a good sign.

 

About the SPS frags dying, keep a close eye on the Alkalinity. Whilst 86'F isnt that high to be honest, it caused have caused the die off if you usually maintain your tanks temp at say 74'F.

 

Alk swings kills off more SPS frags then temp swings any day.

[typhune]

Please take my comments with a grain of salt, as I'm nearly as much a newbie as you. Same tank, roughly the same amount of LR, although I started with healthier rock that had been cooking for years, and a quick 20 minute trip to my tank.

 

My pH has been consistently between 7.9 & 8.1 or so, sG always around 1.025ish, and temps rock solid at 78.5-78.9.

 

After everything that I've read, I've come to the conclusion that while I'm going to target a goal, I'm not going to dose to reach that goal. I think consistency is more important than realizing an actual number.

 

Currently I've got only 2 clowns and a healthy bunch of corals (Acan, scoly, favia, Acro(new), Trachy, zoas, and a Euphyllia). To be honest, I haven't run a full round of tests in weeks. I keep up with waterchanges, religiously change my floss, never overfeed, and watch what's going on in the tank. I think you can learn a lot from just watching how the corraline grows, how the bubble or hair algae grows, what the snails are doing etc.

 

Didn't someone on here once say that there wasn't a problem with their tank until they ran a test?

 

Take this FWIW, as I'm not as experienced as many in this field, but I do read everything I can get my hands on before making any decision on how to make a change.

 

Also, just a quick question, are you dipping your corals before putting them in? Tiny bit of insurance.

 

And are others with the JBJ LED running their Dawn/dusk lights all day? I haven't done that. Wonder if it makes a difference.

 

Good luck!

[XIII]

Please take my comments with a grain of salt, as I'm nearly as much a newbie as you. Same tank, roughly the same amount of LR, although I started with healthier rock that had been cooking for years, and a quick 20 minute trip to my tank.

 

My pH has been consistently between 7.9 & 8.1 or so, sG always around 1.025ish, and temps rock solid at 78.5-78.9.

 

After everything that I've read, I've come to the conclusion that while I'm going to target a goal, I'm not going to dose to reach that goal. I think consistency is more important than realizing an actual number.

 

Currently I've got only 2 clowns and a healthy bunch of corals (Acan, scoly, favia, Acro(new), Trachy, zoas, and a Euphyllia). To be honest, I haven't run a full round of tests in weeks. I keep up with waterchanges, religiously change my floss, never overfeed, and watch what's going on in the tank. I think you can learn a lot from just watching how the corraline grows, how the bubble or hair algae grows, what the snails are doing etc.

 

Didn't someone on here once say that there wasn't a problem with their tank until they ran a test?

 

Take this FWIW, as I'm not as experienced as many in this field, but I do read everything I can get my hands on before making any decision on how to make a change.

 

Also, just a quick question, are you dipping your corals before putting them in? Tiny bit of insurance.

 

And are others with the JBJ LED running their Dawn/dusk lights all day? I haven't done that. Wonder if it makes a difference.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply. My pH has been a lot more stable lately, and I haven't been dosing regularly, just to give it a boost if necessary. I perform 10-15% water changes every week, so I'm not too worried about my parameters any more either. I do have some algae growing, but it is well maintained by my clean-up crew. My biggest issue is definitely my temps at the moment, but hopefully this will be rectified once the chiller is up and running (still waiting on the last part).

 

I did dip (at least for what I could do) my corals before adding them, and most seem to be fine with the exception of the more sensitive acros. I did lose that clove that the hermit "cleaned" though, which is a shame because it was doing fine before that. A couple of the zoas have several new polyps, and the hulk goni has now almost doubled in size, and the favia and chalice are showing more growth as well. And the pink lemonade acro contiues to get more and more vibrant color too. My fish a very happy, and the RBTA is doing good as well. So I can't be doing everything wrong. I'm holding of on any new updates/additions until I can stabilize everything in my tank for at least a week though.

 

As for my dawn/dusk lights, I originally planned on only having them on during the "dawn" and "dusk" periods, but have been leaving them on to add more blue (actinic) light (as the day lights are only white 14K color) to better promote the coral growth and coloration, and it seems to be working very well.

[XIII]

And now for a picture update:

 

First, here are some of the copepods, as identified by other members.

 

Next, is an shot of a group of corals, from left to right: Eagle Eye Zoa, Rose Bubble Tip Anemone, Candy Cane Acan, Blueberry Lovers Zoa (closed) and the Independence Day Chalice.

 

Here is another group of corals, starting from the one in the back: Ice Ice Baby Favia, Goniopora Polyformis, and Superman Favia.

 

Next, is a combo sot of indivdual corals, clockwise from top left: Ice Ice Baby Favia, Pink Lemonade Acro, Georgia Peach (back) and Crazy Orange (right) Zoas, and the Hulk Goni.

 

I've discovered this unknown growth on one of my Totoka rock pieces. Can any one help identify what this might be, and if it is good or bad?

 

And finally, two new full tank shots, one under the actinics, and one under the daylights.

 

[XIII]

The chiller parts arrived yesterday, but I realized I ordered the wrong pump (submersible when I need an inline). So I'll be picking another one up today. Everything else is still good, though I noticed two more aiptasia heads pop up near that same zoa colony, so I might pick up some Aiptaisa-X as well. Glued them in their holes for now, which worked against the original two I saw. Wonder why they are popping up now?

 

Also the cyano seems to be spreading a bit beyond what my clean-up crew can maintain, so I cut back on my feeding a bit, and repositioned my Koralia to try to improve the flow. Any other suggestions on this?

[XIII]

Today I did a 15% water change. The cyano seems to be holdig, though it is still prevalent. I srubbed some of the rocks, cleaned the glass and rear wall, and cleaned the media rack components. I also ordered a Vortech MP10, which will be here in a few days, so that should help me increase the flow.

 

No sign of the aiptaisa, so hopefully that has been prevented.

 

While cleaning the tank, I found the carcass of what used to be one of my scarlet hermits. Seems it was picked on by the female clown (she took a few nips at the male last night while feeding too), and then eaten. So I may have to increase my feeding a little bit if she is being aggressive for food.

 

My wife noticed growth in the corals, so that's a good sign that they are doing well. I'm hoping that they are stable enough to remove them from their plugs soon and attach them to the rocks. I still haven't seen much coraline algae growth, through there is a small patch in the back rock work. So next time I go to my LFS to get corals, a new fish, and some new hermits, I'll also pick up a rock that is heavily encrusted with coraline to use to seed my tank.

 

All in all, things are still progressing very well.

[XIII]

My chiller pump (2nd attempt) arrives today along with my MP10. Can't wait to have both up and running.

 

My luck didn't last and I noticed a few more aiptasia heads pop up in the same location, so looks like I definitely need Aiptasia-X or a peppermint shrimp.

 

Also, my Ice Ice favia is growing so much now that it is starting to overtake the plug (had a growth spurt the last few days). I want to transfer this to a rock, so what is the best/safest way to remove it without damaging it?

[cdr5y7]

best way is to just glue the plug to the rock where you want it. you risk killing it by taking it off. and you can cut off the tip of the plug and just make it a disc and glue it somewhere.

[XIII]

best way is to just glue the plug to the rock where you want it. you risk killing it by taking it off. and you can cut off the tip of the plug and just make it a disc and glue it somewhere.

I know that that is what a lot of people do, but I really don't like how that looks (looks too "artificial" if you understand me). If you have some great looking rock work and aquascape, and then have this floating disc attached to it; it detracts from the aesthetic of the tank and breaks the "reef" illusion in my opinion. I have the reef glue de-bonder to separate the frag from the plug, but am hesitant to use it in case it harms/aggravates the favia. I can use it on the others (such as the zoas) as they haven't overgrown their frags. Obviously I don't want to harm or kill the favia, so I won't do anything risky, but I would like to move it if possible.

[rO.oster]

great progress!!! looking really nice, how do you like your new vortech? have you found a cycle % setting that works best for you?

[XIII]

great progress!!! looking really nice, how do you like your new vortech? have you found a cycle % setting that works best for you?

Thanks.

 

It will be waiting for me when I get home, so I'll be setting it up tonight. I'll start kind of low at maybe 40-50%, and gradually increase to something higher in order to allow the tank and everything to acclimate and build up a tolerance to more flow. I don't want to blast everything and damage the soft tissues, or create a sand storm.

 

Does anyone else have the MP10 in their 28 gallon Nano Cube, and what setting and flow rte due you use?

[rO.oster]

all I can say from experience is to make sure it is deep enough tp prevent it from sucking air down via a whirlpool from the surface. couple that with trying not to blast rock, it makes the vortech take up the middle of one of your sides.. the max i go is 60%, which in an empty tank i dont even see the flow, but when it catches some air and spits the microbubbles, you see just ho wmuch flow is going on. its awesome, your gonna love it. ES model?

[XIII]

all I can say from experience is to make sure it is deep enough tp prevent it from sucking air down via a whirlpool from the surface. couple that with trying not to blast rock, it makes the vortech take up the middle of one of your sides.. the max i go is 60%, which in an empty tank i dont even see the flow, but when it catches some air and spits the microbubbles, you see just ho wmuch flow is going on. its awesome, your gonna love it. ES model?

 

I planned on putting it about 4-5 inches from the top on the right hand side. I don't ever plan on running it at max (no need to simulate a hurricane/typhoon ). I just got the standard model for now, as the ES is really meant for using 2 or more MP10's in order to take full advantage of the two additional modes. If/when I ever upgrade to a larger tank, I'll also upgrade to the ES and pick up a second one to run them together, but for now this is more than enough.

[rO.oster]

I planned on putting it about 4-5 inches from the top on the right hand side. I don't ever plan on running it at max (no need to simulate a hurricane/typhoon ). I just got the standard model for now, as the ES is really meant for using 2 or more MP10's in order to take full advantage of the two additional modes. If/when I ever upgrade to a larger tank, I'll also upgrade to the ES and pick up a second one to run them together, but for now this is more than enough.

 

 

You may find this is still not enough, as mine is about 5" under the surface right now, and when in Reefcrest at 60% (meaning it only hits 60% very briefly, and is its max level) it still pulls in air. I am needing to lower it further if I want the bubles to stop. I think I remember reading in the manual that 6" or more is required.

 

Also, I use the rubber spacer (on the outside of tank between dry side and glass) for the BC29. This would probably hold true for the NC as well. The first time I tested it, my tank was filled with just fresh water at 40% and the MP10 was SO noisy for an hour, I was very dissapointed. Did forum research, everyone says it quiets down after 24 hrs. I took it off, allowed it to dry and sit for 48 hrs as I was setting up the scape, and when I put it back in it was dead silent. I was expecting to have to run it more to quiet it down, so who knows.

[XIII]

You may find this is still not enough, as mine is about 5" under the surface right now, and when in Reefcrest at 60% (meaning it only hits 60% very briefly, and is its max level) it still pulls in air. I am needing to lower it further if I want the bubles to stop. I think I remember reading in the manual that 6" or more is required.

 

Also, I use the rubber spacer (on the outside of tank between dry side and glass) for the BC29. This would probably hold true for the NC as well. The first time I tested it, my tank was filled with just fresh water at 40% and the MP10 was SO noisy for an hour, I was very dissapointed. Did forum research, everyone says it quiets down after 24 hrs. I took it off, allowed it to dry and sit for 48 hrs as I was setting up the scape, and when I put it back in it was dead silent. I was expecting to have to run it more to quiet it down, so who knows.

Thanks for the advice. I know it needs to be calibrated and aligned just right to keep it silent.

 

UPDATE: So the MP10 is in and functioning beautifully. It's operating at about 50-60% in the Reef Crest mode, and the clowns love it. I wasn't able to run both main pumps at the same time though, as the rear chamber drained too fast, so for now they are still on an alternating wave every 30 seconds. I'm going to tweak things this weekend to see if I can increase the flow through the main chamber with my media basket.

 

I took the time to clean the tank again while i was mucking about, even though I had just done it on Saturday. Everything still looks good, the glass is clean, and the corals are happy. And no sign of the aiptasia again (this stuff confuses the hell out of me).

 

As for the chiller, the new pump is in (MaxiJet 600), but the tubes don't connect properly, so I need to pick up an adapter and tube clamps, so I'm heading to my LFS after work tomorrow (and plan to pick up some new tankmates and corals as well ).

[XIII]

So I picked up a few new additions to my tank last night: a Six Line Wrasse, Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, Halloween Hermit, a Green Star Polyp colony, and a Pulsing Xenia with bonus Green Zoas.

 

Unfortunately, my camera was acting up again, so the images are pretty low quality (kept getting a lot of noise and the wrong color/white balance). This was also under just the moon lights as they were taken really late. So I'll try again tonight. The cleaner shrimp was a little camera shy, and couldn't get a decent quality pic of the Halloween hermit, so I apologize for the lack of those pics.

 

The wrasse found several really small caves and crevices to hide in. Takes a few minutes to locate it, but every once in a while it pops out and swims around. It had a lot of personality at the LFS, so hopefully it will warm up to its new home.

 

The cleaner shrimp loves my rock work, and already set up a "cleaning station" it seems. This morning I woke up and for a second thought it had died as I found its shell on some Totoka rock work by the female clown, but it was just a molt. So that's a good sign I guess.

 

The Halloween hermit has some awesome coloration; very vibrant orange stripes with black bands and blue eyes. And he is using an Astrea snail shell which is cool. This is a similar image of it that I found:

 

The xenia is fairly small at the moment (about 2-2.5 inches), but has two heads. It also came with a fairly substantial zoa colony, so for $20 this was a great deal. The zoas are a deep green color, and I'll try to get a better pic when they open up. They were just starting to this morning.

 

The GSP colony is several inches in diameter, and came on a really cool rock encrusted with rich purple and deep red coraline, so I'll be using this to help seed my tank as well. It was really pissy after the move and dip, but it too was just starting to open again this morning.

 

There was a really nice Fire and Ice zoa colony and leather coral that I wanted to get as well (the guy at the store was making fun of me for changing my mind 5 times), but I'll save that for next time.

 

I did pick up a bottle of Aiptasia-X, and zapped the few heads that were in my tank. I didn't want to resort to this, but don't want an outbreak, and couldn't justify the peppermint shrimp as there were so few of them.

 

My biggest frustration last night was with setting up the chiller. After modding together an adapter for the tubing to connect properly to the intake on the pump, I just didn't feel comfortable that it was a secure seal, and decide to just run the pump submerged. With so little room in the back compartments, this was a challenge, but I managed to get in in the same chamber as the right main pump. All of this trial and error took about 2 hours to get it working right. Everything worked out fine in the end though, and the chiller is now programmed through my RKL to kick in if my temp goes over 78.5 degrees (the pump is just running constantly however). This morning, my tank was a stable 78 degrees. The only lingering issue is that the pump is making a lot of noise (both vibration and the impeller might be unbalanced). So I think I'm going to have to take it all apart again in try to better position it. I hope that the pump isn't underpowered however, but that could be the problem in that it is straining. There is good flow through the chiller system though, so I'm not sure. I really don't want to get another pump, or run it inline externally, but there isn't room for a larger pump in the rear chambers (this one was a pain to get in as it was).

 

Those are my updates for now. As I said, I'll try to get better images of the new additions and post them when I can. I plan on spending some time on Saturday moving my frags around and attaching them to the rock work, so I may alter the aquascape "slightly" to better accommodate something I've been thinking about, but we'll see.

 

As usual, feed back and advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[rO.oster]

I didn't want to resort to this, but don't want an outbreak, and couldn't justify the peppermint shrimp as there were so few of them.

 

So few left in the petstore? I was thinking of picking one up to take care of my aiptasia, before he has any alternate food sources so I know he'll completly clean it up.

 

Nice additions !!!!!!!

[XIII]

So few left in the petstore? I was thinking of picking one up to take care of my aiptasia, before he has any alternate food sources so I know he'll completly clean it up.

 

Nice additions !!!!!!!

Thanks. I meant so few aiptasia, I only have 3 tiny heads of it....which are dead now.

 

UPDATE: While checking on my tank and the new guys, I actually found my second Scarlet hermit that I thought had died or was eaten. Apparently it was just a really colorful molt that was picked apart by the clown.

 

While feeding the fish, the skunk shrimp swam up to me at ate from my hand, which was kind of cool. The wrasse is swimming around freely now, and the GSP, zoas, and xenia are opening a bit. The zoas are very cool. I'll try to get a pic up tomorrow so someone can help ID them.

[XIII]

Here are a few more pictures of the new additions.

 

The Sixline Wrasse

 

The Halloween Hermit (with the Xenia in the foreground)

 

The Green Star

 

And the Xenia and green zoas. (pics were taken under different lighting)

 

 

Can any one help ID the green zoas? The have a dark green skirt, rich green face, and neon green star-shaped center. My guess would be either Green Lanterns or Incredible Hulks (maybe?).