Nanolutionary's 30g Long Shallow - Retired - Lost to Cyanobacteria

[Markburns43]

Yes this is a nice tank! The rock work is awsome and I love the look of the radions.

[Spiderguardnano]

this tank is to sick!

 

did you start with dry rock?

 

also what tank is this?

[Driftwood58]

So far so good the anemone hasn't tried to attack anything, my clownfish loves it!

 

And I say do a sump if you want to add anymore equipment in future.

What type of anemone is in your tank ?

[nanolutionary]

What type of anemone is in your tank ?

 

I believe it is a Caribbean Anemone.

 

this tank is to sick!

 

did you start with dry rock?

 

also what tank is this?

 

Thanks Spiderguardnano, I did start with all dry rock for the entire scape. It's a custom AC Aquatics.

 

Yes this is a nice tank! The rock work is awsome and I love the look of the radions.

 

Thanks Markburns43 - thoroughly recommend the Radions, though ask me that in twelve months when the finance has been paid off and it could be a different response!

 

How big of a sump did you end up adding to your tank?

 

It's a small sump like 60 cm long 24cm high and same width.

Ive just seen the new ecotech marine rail sliders been released - should i move the light brackets to the side and get the rail is what i'm now asking myself - hmm.

[myarmolich]

Hey, sorry to be a pain in the ass but could you detail your sump design/tank holes? I really like how you dont have an overflow box as it frees up a bunch of space in the tank. What size holes did you drill? Thanks!

[nanolutionary]

Hey, sorry to be a pain in the ass but could you detail your sump design/tank holes? I really like how you dont have an overflow box as it frees up a bunch of space in the tank. What size holes did you drill? Thanks!

 

Not a pain at all my friend. I drilled 1 and 3/4 inch holes my sump is split into three chambers the first is where the water dumps and i located my skimmer here as well, the water then flows over a baffle to prevent water going into the second chamber which is where my heaters, return pump, media filters and auto-top-off are located, the third chamber is sealed off from the rest because it contains the ro/di water that is used to top-off the evaporated water.

[myarmolich]

 

Not a pain at all my friend. I drilled 1 and 3/4 inch holes my sump is split into three chambers the first is where the water dumps and i located my skimmer here as well, the water then flows over a baffle to prevent water going into the second chamber which is where my heaters, return pump, media filters and auto-top-off are located, the third chamber is sealed off from the rest because it contains the ro/di water that is used to top-off the evaporated water.

 

awesome! im assuming you used 1 1 inch hole for the intake, and 2 3/4 inch holes for the outflow?

[nanolutionary]

All 1 inch

[nanolutionary]

My Maxima Clam has been constantly retracted since last night, I suspected the Midnight Angel might have been giving it some grief, I haven't seen the fish go for the clam while I've been around but it's the only thing i've changed about the tank and the clam was fine for a few days after the oxygen crash.

Maidenhead Aquatics at Syon Park have said I can return the angel if the clam doesn't extend again soon.

Hoping the Angel might have just been picking algae from the shell and not going for the mantle.

[Dryland]

Awesome build! Following.

[nanolutionary]

Thanks Drylands - I'm raging - was going to catch the angelfish and place it in my quarantine chamber but i can't catch it!

[nanolutionary]

On second thoughts the Angel is staying and I'm not going to risk the clam dying - I will exchange it for corals instead.

[DCUEVAS74]

What an awesome setup! Keep up the great work! Grow, grow... Grow!

[nanolutionary]

What an awesome setup! Keep up the great work! Grow, grow... Grow!

Thanks DCUEVAS74. My thoughts exactly on the latter!

 

Off to aquatic design centre in London now to pick up a fish trap.

[nanolutionary]

After over an hour of standing next to the tank with a piece of string attached to a trap door I got it!

 

[Spiderguardnano]

We need a new fts

[nanolutionary]

More pics over the weekend

[nanolutionary]

So I just did some tests and it seems like my PH, Alkalinity and calcium are a little off (well alkalinity at least).

But I have also been reading (shown below) that buffering can affect the alkalinity reading.



'...buffering (3.5X the amount in normal seawater) will go a long way toward making the pH much more stable than in natural seawater, and is the reason that Seachem incorporates it into the salt mix.' (Buffering in artificial seawater. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/12/chemistry)

and

'One important caveat to this surrogate measure is that some artificial seawater mixes, such as Seachem salt, contain elevated concentrations of borate. While borate is natural at low levels, and does contribute to pH stability, too much interferes with the normal relationship between bicarbonate and alkalinity, and aquaria using those mixes must take this difference into account when determining the appropriate alkalinity level.' (Alkalinity - http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php)

So now I'm a little confused as to how I go about figuring out what I should be dosing.

[nanolutionary]

Based on my readings I'm not sure about which water conditioning to purchase based on my salt - aqua vitro salinity - enhanced buffering capacity, do I need to compensate for this?

 

[jabeuy]

I'm kinda in the same boat. Since I've started dosing and being aware of more parameters, it's opened a whole new can of worms haha.

 

What have you done so far? My alk and calc were similar to yours, but I've gotten them up slowly by manually dosing 2-part. Now I'm worried about my salt mix (reef crystals) cause it seems to have really high levels of alk/calc.

[nanolutionary]

I've sent seachem an email querying if the buffering of their salt mix is affecting my alkalinity readings but so far no reply. I know that the buffering is affecting my test results somehow because i've read it from several sources and if my ph is perfect then i'm gonna assume my alkalinity isn't doing too badly despite the low reading on the test result because my salt mix has a buffer which will mean alkalinity is high to protect ph swings at the cost of distorted readings. Seachem do a test kit which enables an accurate reading by taking into account the buffering distortions their salt creates when using other test kits to check alkalinity but it costs like £50 and I'm on a budget especially with the ecotech stuff already on finance!

 

So my solution is to assume that my alkalinity is ok because of the above and supplement Calcium and Magnesium in the form of Red Sea's A and B supplements I've done a 20% water change tonight same again tomorrow to get levels right, then I will start the four day test to see how much levels of calcium and magnesium are depleted in order to start dosing accordingly.

[nanolutionary]

Eventually I will buy the test kit seachem do to account for the buffering of their salt mix but for now I'm assuming the alkalinity is fine because the ph is always fine and getting my levels of magnesium and calcium up whilst keeping a close eye on the corals as I'm essentially blind to my true dkh levels.

[nanolutionary]

So I did a 50% water change and you can see why I think my salt mix salinity's buffering capacity is affecting my test results.

 

 

So I am not sure if it will have an affect on my readings after four days but i've decided not to feed during this time frame to make sure my calclium and magnesium readings are as accurate as possible, then I'll start dosing

[nanolutionary]

I pusposely chose not only the most concentrated salt mix on the market but also the one which is most rigorously tested with enchanced buffering to make sure ph swings don't happen as I knew I wasn't going to go for a huge or if I had a fuge it would be nowhere near big enough i.e. near the size of the display tank to make a dent in parameters.

So here is the salt mix I use:

http://www.aquavitro.com/products/salinity.html

The only explanation after doing a 50% water change - and testing after 10 minutes - for the KH to still be so low is that the enhanced buffering capacity of salinity is throwing off my salifert alkalinity reading. I've contacted Seachem the manufacturer of the salt who stated that it might be my testkit - which I know not to be the case as it has been fine all along with my other tanks - unfortunately they haven't been too helpful on the issue - probably due to the advanced reef articles I quote and link above which I sent them that discredit the overall benefit Seachem claims their enhanced buffering capacity provides in the long run - I believe its because the buffer they use to enhance their salt mix and reduce PH swings has been scientifically proven in the quantities they use it in their salt mix to cause death in certain marine species.

I am thinking I might switch to Red Sea Coral Pro mix and start the process of measuring element depletion over another four-day period - after I've fed my fish back up to strength of course! That way I can purchase the alkalinity buffer they recommend for their specific salt.

I'm a little disappointed in Seachem for not replying to me in the last 48 hours after initially being so prompt.

I've got a 60% water change on the mix this morning with a small tub of Red Sea Coral Pro mix. I have also purchased the full range of Calcium, KH and Magnesium supplements as part of their coral growth program. Red Sea seem to be the most holistic brand and until I get my knowledge up to expert level I'm going to ride on the wave of having everything mapped out for me in neat packages and fool-proof instruction manuals!

[nanolutionary]

Can anyone give me an I.D on this algae?

 

 

Also any idea which creatures I can employ to shift it?