Damaba's 17 Gallon Journal

[damaba]

I did a 20% water change and cleaned all of the glass pipes and skimmer. Replaced carbon and replaced GFO and all filter floss.

 

Nitrate are still high Hopefully the small amount of sugar that I'm dosing will beef up the bacteria to help export the nitrates.

 

 

Tank stats

Ph: 7.8
Temperature: 78°
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0PPM
Nitrite: 0 PPM
Nitrate: 10 PPM

Heres the tank last night, the water is crystal clear and even though the tank has few creatures it's still mesmerizing to stare at.

[damaba]

Heres a look at how the equipment is set up behind the tank. I have a 2 gallon reservoir for ATO water, air pump which is covered with a Tupperware container and weighted down with dry rock to muffle the noise, the Mame nano skimmer collection cup, DIY Inline heater and Sicce canister filter. It's a tight fit.

 

[damaba]

The Inline heater I made closely follows the design from "The King Of DIY" but with 2'' PVC piping and a Fluval M series heater of 100 watts. I chose 2'' PVC cause I wanted the heater to have more contact with the water to help the thermostat read the water temperature more accurately (Just a estimated guess). This was my first time working with PVC and I must say that it was surprisingly simple. A few tips I would suggest are using teflon tape on threaded parts of the build. So far I'm loving the heater as it keeping a consistent temp and is completely silent. I had a Hydor heater previously connected to my tank but it made a very audible click every time it turned on, about every 60 sec.

 

 

 

[damaba]

This is the basic landscape plan. I tried to take into account what areas of the rock received more light and flow and allow for some grow out. I want to try and keep hardier corals but I'm also looking for some unique colors. I especial like the white pulsating xenia, botryocladia and purple gorgonian. Any recommendations?

 

Bottom left are is small patch of Mexican caulerpa, zoanthids, then a large patch of blue mushrooms/blue ricordea, very top will be a beginner yellow birds nest coral and below that will be a patch of white xenia, then a patch of botryocladia and a few purple gorgonians and lastly a lager patch of Mexican calerpa.

 

[Learn It]

Awesome inline heater setup, how is it working so far?

[damaba]

Awesome inline heater setup, how is it working so far?

It's working great! Holdin 78 degrees.

[damaba]

Tank update, I think the sugar dosing is slowly working. If not that what would explain the drop in nitrates?

Water change this weekend will be 1 gallon and switching out filter floss.

 

 

 

Tank stats

Ph: 7.8
Temperature: 78°
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0PPM
Nitrite: 0 PPM
Nitrate: 5-10 PPM

[damaba]

Tank Stats

Ph: 8.2
Temperature: 78°
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0PPM
Nitrite: 0 PPM
Nitrate: 5-10 PPM

[damaba]

OK im a little worried. After doing my sat maintenance I'v see an increase in brown dusting and slimy stuff cover my tank within a day. I'm fine with diatoms but I think This might be something else.... Dinos : currently I run GFO and carbon, I also am doing some sugar dosing only a 16th of a teaspoon a day to help reduce nitrates which has worked. so maybe with is some kind of cyano or bacteria. Also out of the tank inhabitants that I introduced, 2 of the ceriths have died and the 3 remaining really don't move and are above the sand. Both checkered Nerite snails have died and the 2 tiny blue legend hermits are very sluggish and hide. I'm not sure if this is because the tank is young but somethings telling me that I'v got a problem. It docent look that bad in the pics but there is a white and brownish hair/gunck collecting on everything. I need your help Nano Reef! I'v included some photos of the tank, this is mid week after my sat cleaning.

 

 

[ADAPT]

maybe stop dosing sugar. I dont see why you began to in the first place

[metrokat]

I don't see it in the pictures but from the description it sounds like dinos. Is it slimy snotty brownish buildup on everything? You siphon and it comes back?

[damaba]

Ok I'm going to stop sugar dosing since the tank is so young and I'm still trying to get a feel for its mood swings. I'm not sure if its dino, bacterial or diatoms but Im putting the tank in lights out mode for 4 day and hopefully this gives me the upper hand. I'll clean the walls Friday and do a small 1 gallon water change Saturday replacing the carbon and filter pads. I think I need to give the tank time and stop fiddling with it.

[vlangel]

Hi Damaba, I love your scape and idea for corals. I have never sugar dosed but I think folks who do always use a protein skimmer because of the by product produced by the bacteria. I don't remember seeing a protein skimmer in your equipment, (although I only started reading your thread on this page so I am going by the pic of your equipment behind the tank). Anyway I think it is a good thing to stop until the tank matures and you have a good protein skimmer in place.

[damaba]

Hi Damaba, I love your scape and idea for corals. I have never sugar dosed but I think folks who do always use a protein skimmer because of the by product produced by the bacteria. I don't remember seeing a protein skimmer in your equipment, (although I only started reading your thread on this page so I am going by the pic of your equipment behind the tank). Anyway I think it is a good thing to stop until the tank matures and you have a good protein skimmer in place.

 

I love your tanks! Thank for checking mine out. The skimmer is a Mame nano skimmer.

[vlangel]

I love your tanks! Thank for checking mine out. The skimmer is a Mame nano skimmer.

Oops, my bad for missing the skimmer. Thanks for the kind words. I am actually down to just 1 tank now. I consolidated the 30g XH and 36g bowfront into 1 seahorse tank. Its been a good move because it improved the flow and with everything in just 1 tank I finally have a tank that looks full. Not so full that I can't add any more coral however, ha ha!

[damaba]

Tank update,

 

So I'v had the lights out for 3 days now and I'll be returning to my normal lighting schedule. This was done as a proactive step to combat what I thought was the beginning of dinos. After reading horror stories on different forms where tanks had to be nuked, I figured better to be safe than sorry. In all reality what I think is happening with the tank is a bacterial bloom fueled by excess fish food and sugar dosing. So until I understand my tank better the sugar dosing is going on hold. I also bought a API reef master test kit to help understand my water chemistry.

 

After 3 day black out

 

 

 

I will be logging my maintenance routines. I'll make these as concise as possible.

 

Maintenance:

2 gallons added to ATO reservoir

1 gallon changed out from the Sicce canister filter

2 gallons syphoned out of the tank while gravel cleaning and vacuuming the rock for detritus

Replace carbon

Replace filter floss

Empty skimate container

 

 

Tank Stats

Ph: 7.8
Temperature: 78°
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0 -.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 - 5 ppm

Phosphate:0 ppm

Calcium:400 ppm

Carbonate Hardnes: 107.4 ppm KH

[damaba]

Tank update,

 

I'v glued a few rocks down with vertex and took a tooth brush to clean off some of the hair algae and diatoms that were growing on the rocks. The diatoms come back with in hours. Tank chemistry is looking good.

 

 

Maintenance:

2 gallons added to ATO reservoir

1 gallon changed out from the Sicce canister filter

Replace filter floss

 

Tank Stats

Ph: 7.8
Temperature: 78°
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 - 5 ppm

Phosphate:0 ppm

[damaba]

Tank update,

 

I fiddled with the tank too much and lost my scape I was trying to secure the large rock on the right but even with epoxy it was still very wobbly. The new scape is much more secure and it kind of reminds me of waves crashing or the Sydney opera house. I'm also beefing up my clean up crew. I added 2 more blue hermits and an astera snail and one small piece of live rock from my LFS to help add some biodiversity.

 

 

Maintenance:

2 gallons added to ATO reservoir

1 gallon changed out from the Sicce canister filter

2 gallons changed from tank

​vacuumed sand bed

replaced carbon and floss

​brushed rocks to remove white unknown fuzz

cleaned glass pipes

 

 

Tank Stats

Ph: 8.2
Temperature: 78°
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm YES!!!

Phosphate: .25 ppm

[pewpewkittah]

I can't believe I haven't seen this tank in over a month! You've done a great job keeping it updated. Scape still looks good as well, I have to agree with what another fellow said, it reminds me of a freshwater planted tank. I think it will be a very refreshing and unique reef tank! I'm really surprised with the amount of patience you have... I think it's time for a fish and some easy corals, like Xenia.

[damaba]

I can't believe I haven't seen this tank in over a month! You've done a great job keeping it updated. Scape still looks good as well, I have to agree with what another fellow said, it reminds me of a freshwater planted tank. I think it will be a very refreshing and unique reef tank! I'm really surprised with the amount of patience you have... I think it's time for a fish and some easy corals, like Xenia.

 

lol yep I'm taking it really slow, I'm having fun with the scape and hermits at the moment also i'v got my eyes pealed for a white xenia. Thanks for the comments.

[damaba]

Maintenance:

2 gallons added to ATO reservoir

1 gallon changed out from the Sicce canister filter

2 gallons changed from tank

brushed rocks to remove unknown white/brown fuzz

​So I'v been battling what ever this stuff is for about a month now. It started out as a patch on my rock in a high flow area and now it's growing on every piece of rock, equipment and even the walls. Saturday I cleaned the rocks with a toothbrush but its back with a vengeance, I'v thought it might be lynbgrya so since friday I tried to used Kent tech M to raise my magnesium to kill it. I don't think it's working as its still thriving and all over. It seems to be stimulated by light. I'm got some Microackter7 shipping from amazon and will start dosing that as soon as it arrives. I ope that this stuff works. I'm ready to start enjoying my tank Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I also have a thread dedicated to this but I thought I might post here also.

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/369864-white-hair-like/

 

 

[damaba]

Tank Stats

Ph: 8.2
Temperature: 78°
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm

Phosphate: .25 ppm

Maintenance:

Replace GFO

Replace Carbon

2 gallons added to ATO reservoir

1 gallon changed out from the Sicce canister filter

2 gallons changed from tank

Brushed rocks to remove unknown white/brown fuzz scrubs all equipment with electric tooth brush

[hinnenkm]

It's nice to see how this is progressing - thanks for sharing!

To get rid of the stuff you mentioned in one of your last posts, if it's fueled by the light, a blackout might be a good idea - since you don't have any corals or anything that requires light yet. Just my opinion, but I'd rather do that than try messing around with nutrients and chemicals with a tank this young. Good luck!

[damaba]

Tank update:

 

Since Friday I have been dosing my tank with microbacter7. Im trying to get a hold of whatever this white/brown short furry hairs that seams to cover everything. The tank received a complete scrub down of all rocks and equipment on Saturday along with a 20% water change and new filter media. I kept the lights off sat and sun and things looked good. so I switched the lights back on today and when I Im starting to see this same stuff starting to cover everything . It seems like it really likes light maybe I should get something like alagefix? I'm at a loss to what I can do next? Please help. I really starting to tear my hair out.

[hinnenkm]

I'm sorry, didn't realize you tried a blackout already. It might need to be a complete blackout though, as in tank covered and everything. Most likely though there are others here who can offer a much better insight. Hopefully you get this taken care of soon - best of luck!