Nano-Chachita-Tank

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

Hello everyone, i am new to this hobby

 

i set up my JBJ nanocube 12g DX on 11-15-2010

and well i have made some mods since then so currently this is what im running

 

Filtration:

1st chamber: Live rock rubble 3/4 of the way filled up, on top of the LRR is a sponge(which i clean every sunday along with the weekly water change),and on top of the sponge is a rack or shelf i made with a rubber strainer , with holes so water can easily pass through it and on the rack i have Filter Floss( which i change every 3 days)

 

2nd chamber: Purigen

 

3rd chamber: just a heater and the original pump

 

Additonal hardware:

Hydor flo

koralia nano 425

 

Corals and Livestock

 

Corals:

Goniporia - 2 red and geen ( i purchased these when i first started the hobby not knowing anything about this type of coral)

Mushrooms - 2 green and pink

Kenya tree - 1 pinkish green

Armor or God Zoa's_- pink now a friend gave me these they change colors in his tank for some reason a type of xenia coral - pink

 

Livestock:

Six line wrasse - 1

False perc - 2, small one orange bigger one red

Blue Neon Goby - 1

Cleaner Shrimp - 1

Scarlet leg hermit crabs - 4

Mexican turbo snails- 3

Hawaii feather duster - 1

 

i am currently dosing my tank with B-Ionic 2 part calcium and alkalinity and also doing one drop of lugo's solution weekly

 

im new to this hobby so any feed back will greatly help me , the only problem i am having right now is my snaisl keep dying and my corals dont seem to fully open ?

 

Water

PH:8.2

ammonia:0

Nitrite:0

Nitrate:0

[youincolor]

looking good. it might be useful for you to have dkh and calcium tests as well, this might help explain why your corals dont fully open.

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

These are the most recent pics

 

this is what the goniporia use to open too

 

looking good. it might be useful for you to have dkh and calcium tests as well, this might help explain why your corals dont fully open.

 

 

DKH test ? dont know exactly what that means ? lol but do you know any test kit you would recommend for me ?

[Funktastic Wint]

a six line in an 12 gallon?

they need lotsa swimmin space. just sayin

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

a six line in an 12 gallon?

they need lotsa swimmin space. just sayin

 

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74703

 

igreen's ultimate guild says other wise and well it look pretty happy in the tank but im new at this so idk you really think it need more room ?

[youincolor]

i avoided adding a sixline to my tank, even a tiny one, because they like a lot of swimming space. the other guy was really polite in mentioning it which was cool, but some people wont be that cool and will totally call you out because of it. its a tough call, you can make the decision on it.

 

dkh is carbonate hardness, or alkalinity, it will become very important for you as you add more corals. id research about calcium and alkalinity in a reef tank, even a basic primer will give you the basic details.

 

if you ask at your lfs for a dkh and calcium test kit they can tell you all about it. they are really simple tests and easy to check every week or so.

[Enjoij5]

i would suggest moving the heater that is in the third chamber into one that will not have a changing water level. you dont want that heater being exposed to air. either move it to one of the other two chambers or put it in the tank behind the rock so it is hidden. just my quick thoughts on the setup.sounds good besides that. keep on reefin'

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

i know they can reach sizes up to 3 inches but hey i got her when she was about less than an inch big and is by far my favorite fish and is the reason i started a nano cube i mean it seem happy and i made enough caves for it to swim through all day and it seem to enjoy living in my tank for now , but i assure that if she gets too big for my tank i will relocate her to a better home.. i love fish

[cdr5y7]

you have 4 fish in your 12g tank? you need to take out two and just have the pair of clowns in there. (even a pair of clowns would be too much)

 

i only have 3 fish in my 28g NC and feel they need more room.

 

that's just cruel, you need to rehome some of those fish.

[Land0]

good lookin scape!

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

HELP Algae is growing on my coral and i think the Algae is winning the battle !!!!!!!

 

Plz help i do occasionally spray the coral down using a Turkey baster but still grows back . dont know what to do

[urbaneks]

Algae is caused from high phosphates. These could be the cause of

1) Overfeeding

2) Water you are using for top off and water changes is high in phosphates

3) Not doing enough or frequent enough water changes.

 

I would also take a close look at your light cycle.

 

Ensure you are not feeding too much. I typically feed my fish a very small amount once per day sometimes every other day.

 

RODI water is best for your top offs and water changes. Make sure you are starting with good water, if you are using tap, you are adding phosphates.

 

Water changes should be done weekly. The amount is up for debate but somewhere between 10 to 20%.

 

I run my main lights for 8 hours a day. I have my actinics on for 2 hours before and after the main lights.

[oogie]

Judging by corals you have in your tank, i would not dose anything in your tank. Also algae is comming from having too much fish in your tank. I would take out one fish, either 6line or one of clown fish.

Just do weekly water change, it will remove bad things and add good things at the same time!

[bwoodward0012]

dont get discouraged by others criticisms, just use that as a learning tool to become a better reefer. algae is usually going to happen, especially in a tank as young as yours and you may see different types of algae blooms here and there, the key is to recognize the problem from the start and research to find out what you can do asap. algae occurs in the wild naturally in perfect conditions, so its not always cut and dry this is whats causing it. granted, there is going to be more nitrates and phosphates fueling algae growth with more fish and inverts and by using bad water. cutting down your light cycle will help along with frequent water changes. you may also want to use a substance such as seachem purigen or carbon matrix or chemipure elite (elite has phosphate removers normal chemipure doesnt). you may also want to look into a small protein skimmer (aquatic life mini 115 for example) or adding a fuge with some type of macro algae such as chaeto (macro eats nitrates, but be careful of disposal when you trim it because it can take over an aquatic ecosystem very quickly if you flush it and it makes it into the ocean, etc., id suggest sell the trimmings off to fellow reefers or throw them in the trash). any way you decide to go, research research research. the more info you know about the hobby, the more weapons youll have against problems and the better off you are at making other decisions. dont give up, youre not off to a bad start, just new and thats gonna happen. happy reefing.

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

?Question ?

 

When i do my regular what change i do on average a 1g water change every week, my question is if i increase it to 2g every week would this be too much of a drastic change in the water since i only have a 12g nanocube ?

 

?

The reason im asking is because im sick of my Xenia getting algae on it and not fully opening now i went to the LFS and they told me that if i buy liquid phosphate or phosphate e that would defiantly stop the algae but now im concerned about dosing my tank since Oogie stated that my tank is too small for dosing?

 

Now also i can currently running my light from 9 am till 10 pm ? Should i cut down on the light and is it ok to leave my nano light off for most of the day if im not home ?

 

Thanks for everyone's input it as greatly help me become a better nano reefer

[spiderjeru]

?Question ?

 

When i do my regular what change i do on average a 1g water change every week, my question is if i increase it to 2g every week would this be too much of a drastic change in the water since i only have a 12g nanocube ?

 

?

The reason im asking is because im sick of my Xenia getting algae on it and not fully opening now i went to the LFS and they told me that if i buy liquid phosphate or phosphate e that would defiantly stop the algae but now im concerned about dosing my tank since Oogie stated that my tank is too small for dosing?

 

Now also i can currently running my light from 9 am till 10 pm ? Should i cut down on the light and is it ok to leave my nano light off for most of the day if im not home ?

 

Thanks for everyone's input it as greatly help me become a better nano reefer

 

Disclosure; I'm newish to coral, but I can say that seems like a very long light cycle to me. I run the lights on my old fowlr from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm. I feel that's on the long side, honestly, but I'm intentionally growing macro in that tank.

[urbaneks]

Adding another gallon to your water change is not going to hurt your corals.

 

If your tank is new than the light cycle you have is a bit long. I started my tank up with a 5 hour cycle and slowing ramped it by 10 min per week until I got to where I currently run which was listed in my previous thread.

 

I would not add any of the phos e or any other remover. Take care of the issues with water changes.

[oogie]

You can certainly do 2 gallon water change! You know, there are some people who do 100% weekly waterchange. Anyways, when i said u dont need to dose anything, its not because of tank size but what you have in the tank.

 

Just be patient and do water change, feed less, one less fish, your algae will go away in time!

[bwoodward0012]

i do 2.5 gal changes on my 10 weekly and my corals love it... they always look theyre best the next day. as far as lights go id cut them back a little. you may want to try dosing magnesium (start with half the recomended dose and work up to normal dosing or more), it tends to help with algae as well as bacteria (brightwell microbacter7 or something similar), but honestly keeping up with changes and maintenance and feeding a little less will probably do just as well.

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

Thanks everyone for you input i have just recently finished my water changes and maintenance on my filter floss and sponge, Hopefully this works i'm hoping for the best

 

Another question how do i know if i have too much flow or too little flow in my tank because i have been reading some forums online about the koralia nano mod where i remove some of the restriction flow bars any insight on this ?

 

i am currently running the stock jbj pump with a hydor deflector and a koralia nano ?

 

Thanks for Everyone's info and help

[bwoodward0012]

more flow is almost always good, but with the corals you are currently keeping you should have plenty. if you decide to upgrade your lights and start keeping sps, more flow would be beneficial (another k-nano or something else small). supposedly more flow helps with certain types of algae but ive seen hair algae grow directly in front of a 1200 gph power head and the stuff was whippin everywhere but still surviving so im not so sure about that. the right amount of flow also helps prevent dead spots where detritus can build up, allowing more detritus to be overflowed into your back chamber and caught by your filter floss, eliminating it as a nitrate source when you change the floss.

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

Thanks for everyone's help so far , just wanted to give thanks to all those who gave me great advise it has help me become a better reefer

 

So just to bring everyone up to date my Xenia coral is doing much better now there is no longer a problem with algae groing on it, the uping the water change volume really helped out, i have really learned the importance of water chamges and in order for one to have a successful reef they need to keep up with water changes

 

I will take and update pick of it tomorrow when its fully open

 

Also would like to thank Nano-reef because this is a one of a kind website and i would be lost in this hobby without it. by far the best

 

Now this might sound like a dumb question but how often should i change the filer floss ? should i do it everyday ? Also should i buy chemi pure elite ? or would that not work because im running purigen ? any insight on this mater would greatly be appreciated

[spiderjeru]

Thanks for everyone's help so far , just wanted to give thanks to all those who gave me great advise it has help me become a better reefer

 

So just to bring everyone up to date my Xenia coral is doing much better now there is no longer a problem with algae groing on it, the uping the water change volume really helped out, i have really learned the importance of water chamges and in order for one to have a successful reef they need to keep up with water changes

 

I will take and update pick of it tomorrow when its fully open

 

Also would like to thank Nano-reef because this is a one of a kind website and i would be lost in this hobby without it. by far the best

 

Now this might sound like a dumb question but how often should i change the filer floss ? should i do it everyday ? Also should i buy chemi pure elite ? or would that not work because im running purigen ? any insight on this mater would greatly be appreciated

 

Floss - basically there to catch anything solid before it can get out into the tank. My style is to wring it out until it's gross, then toss it. I'd check it fairly often. If you're close to a fish store, independently wealthy, and ecologically unconcerned you can just chuck it instead of wringing and replacing.

 

I'm running Chemi-pure Elite and not purigen. I think they're for the same purpose; redundant maybe to run both but can't comment on whether it would be harmful.

[bwoodward0012]

pretty much the same idea for the two.... id just stick with purigen. besides, you dont want to completely remove all of the nutrients in the water, then nothing would do well, you just want to limit them so that there is less to feed the algal growth. i had a bloom of algae in my water column 2 weeks ago and it turned my water green and cloudy, couldnt even see my rockwork (sometimes my job sucks when i dont get home for an entire weekend). i added chemipure elite, fixed my skimmer and got that goin, dosed bacteria and peroxide everyday, and did 20% water changes twice weekly and my water is completely crystal clear as of yesterday. just goes to show that with research you can solve ALMOST any problem in this hobby.

[Nano-Chachita-tank]

I have a big question should i does B-Ionic 2 part system in my tank ?