Aqua One 35 Nano Tank

[DominicDuffy]

Can anyone recommend an auto topoff solution for my tank as I am constantly having a fluctuation in my salinity.

[Clown79]

If you are manually topping off the best thing you can do is make a small discreet mark on the side of your tank when it's full and at correct sg.

 

-top up, check salinity. If correct, make a mark on that level

 

-Top up to that level everyday

 

When doing waterchanges, ensure you match the salinity.

 

I don't use ato's, I manually top up but others will advise on a good brand

[DominicDuffy]

It’s been 4 weeks since I started to cycle my Nano and for at least two weeks I have had problems with brown algae diatoms. I am constantly moving my sand and cleaning surfaces in the Nano to remove them. My nitrates are about 10PPM after a water change and I currently have a goby, clown and a red fire shrimp in my Nano. Is there any way I can stop this algae from appearing and what type of inverts can I buy to remove this?

[Tautoo]

What does your feeding schedule look like?  What are you feeding them?  At 4 weeks you are likely at the end of your cycle, which usually brings algea.  Water changes will drop your nitrates etc, but need to see why they are high.  

[DominicDuffy]

I normally feed my fish flakes once a day and I feed them slowly to make sure they eat all the food I put in the tank.

[DominicDuffy]

I have just ordered this gold tip purple base anemone and have just relised I will need good lighting, will my aqua one mariglow lighting be enough? 

[Tautoo]

at 4 weeks old, with algae blooms I would be more concerned with fluctuating water quality then lights at this point.

 

It really is too early to be adding a Nem.

[Jesterrace]

On 7/17/2017 at 5:05 PM, DominicDuffy said:

How come people suggest it when there suppose to be proper into the hobby but they don't know how to look after there fish

Also would anybody be able to let me know when I should use live rock or a prebuilt structure and if I do use live rock how much will I need for this 35l 7.5 gallon tank

 

There is also a guy out there who did a tutorial on how to setup a saltwater tank and used tap water from a garden hose with a carbon bag rubber banded around it (as if that was supposed to magically cure all the harmful chemical additives in tap water).  He then stuck a snowflake eel in it.  The point is that just because someone makes a Youtube video doesn't make them an expert and just because a fish can survive what amounts to a Biochemical attack doesn't mean it's a good idea.  The cycling process goes through spikes of Ammonia and Nitrites which are toxic to all fish and plant life.   If you care about the fish at all don't do it.  

[DominicDuffy]

I have started to use Red Sea nitrate and phrosphate remover in my Nano to try stop my brown algea from getting any worse, has anyone else used this product before and does it work.

[Tamberav]

 

16 hours ago, DominicDuffy said:

I have started to use Red Sea nitrate and phrosphate remover in my Nano to try stop my brown algea from getting any worse, has anyone else used this product before and does it work.

 

This stuff requires a skimmer, do you have a skimmer? if not, stop now.

 

It says right on red sea's website: "Efficient protein skimming is essential to provide the necessary oxygenation of the water and to remove bacterial flocks from the aquarium."

 

http://www.redseafish.com/reef-care-program/algae-management-program/no3po4-x/

 

This is also for advanced hobbiests, it is like vodka dosing and comes with dangers, especially if you do not have a POWERFUL skimmer. Worse case scenario, it can crash your tank and reduce oxygen and suffocate your fish.

 

SLOW DOWN

 

You are most likely having excess algae issues because you added fish to cycle with and fish poop and the tank isn't stable yet and you end up with nasty crap. If you had just cycled without fish, you would be in a lot better spot now.

 

You ordered a nem without knowing if your lights would support it? Nem's also require a stable parameters which come with a older mature tank. The fact you have algae issues shows your tank isn't stable. If the anemone dies, it could crash your whole tank. 

 

Do you want to be successful in this hobby or do you want a box of algae and death?

 

Sorry to be so blunt but sometimes that is what people need. I am not trying to be mean, I just want to to look at your tank, take a step back, and see the bigger picture.

 

My advice is to stop adding livestock and get your tank under control through extra water changes and cleaning and TIME, be patient or you could end up with an ugly mess. When your tank is healthy and telling you its happy, then move forward with the next addition.

[DominicDuffy]

Thanks for the advise my skimmer seems to be working perfectly, I have set it to skim a little wetter to make sure that the chemical and deposits created by the chemical are removed. I have dozed my tank twice yesterday and today with 3ml of the solution as stated in the instructions for 10PPM of nitrate or higher and it has cleared all my algea up already and stopped it from growing. I am currently trying to get my clown fish to host an gold tip purple base anemone and it seems to be working great using this method in the pic.

[Tamberav]

What type of anemone is that? Maybe Heteractis magnifica?

[DominicDuffy]

Yes it’s a h. magnifica, it seems to be doing very well in my Nano and my clown is already hosting it ?

[DominicDuffy]

Anyone who is reading this post for advise don’t use the redsea nitrate and phosphate remover if your protein skimmer is not working perfectly or even in small Nano tanks. It has caused two of my fish too die and made me do a 100% water change. The way I believe the chemical has killed my fish is by removing the oxygen from the tank.

[DominicDuffy]

Does anyone know if I should leave the light of my Nano turned on on a night as I turned them off last night and this morning the nem was a bit shrivelled.

[Tamberav]

You should not run your lights 24/7 as they need a time of darkness too. Nems and corals deflate a bit at night, this is normal, if it starts not opening during the day, then something could be wrong.

[DominicDuffy]

Yeah it’s tentacles or what ever you call them some have shrivelled in is that alright, but when I turn the lights on in the morning they come full out within half an hour. What if all of the tentacles done show through the day is this a bad sign.

[samnaz]

On 8/25/2017 at 10:54 PM, DominicDuffy said:

Yeah it’s tentacles or what ever you call them some have shrivelled in is that alright, but when I turn the lights on in the morning they come full out within half an hour. What if all of the tentacles done show through the day is this a bad sign.

Yes. Take it back to wherever it came from. You said yourself that your light isn't strong enough to support the anemone. What do you plan to do about that...? Nothing but hope the anemone survives anyway? 

 

Please take the time to learn about the livestock you want BEFORE you purchase it. That is the most important thing you can do and it's absolutely critical if you want to have a successful tank.

[DominicDuffy]

Could someone let me know if my anemone is doing alright by this picture. My water parameters seems to be perfect after doing a 100% water change. Here’s my results. Also I am currently running Aqua One Mariglow lighting will this be enough for my anemone.

 

Test 7

PH - 7.8

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - 0

Phosphate - 0

Calcium - 420

KH - 161.1

10 hours ago, samnaz said:

Yes. Take it back to wherever it came from. You said yourself that your light isn't strong enough to support the anemone. What do you plan to do about that...? Nothing but hope the anemone survives anyway? 

 

Please take the time to learn about the livestock you want BEFORE you purchase it. That is the most important thing you can do and it's absolutely critical if you want to have a successful tank.

 I believe my light is strong enough I just want someone to verify it for me.

[DominicDuffy]

I am unable to take the anemone back to the previous owner as they have sold due to dismantling there Reef tank. Also why would I when my water chemistry is fine. Also I need some advise on my brown algea problem. As you can see above my water chemistry is fine and I have 0 phosphates. How come I have this brown algea and how can I prevent it from coming.

[Tamberav]

1 hour ago, DominicDuffy said:

I am unable to take the anemone back to the previous owner as they have sold due to dismantling there Reef tank. Also why would I when my water chemistry is fine. Also I need some advise on my brown algea problem. As you can see above my water chemistry is fine and I have 0 phosphates. How come I have this brown algea and how can I prevent it from coming.

We need a picture of the algae. If it is diatoms, the tank needs to mature. If it is another type than there is phosphate but the algae is using it up.. What type of test kit are you using? You need to be using a low range kit. Api will not give you a correct reading. 

 

That type of anenome needs very powerful lighting. The light on their website is listed as 15 watts... I would say no.. That light is not powerful enough. 

 

People say bring the anenome back because your tank is young and there are many many variables you can not test for to know if they are okay. 

 

http://www.aquaone.com.au/2015-04-16-04-47-04/2015-04-16-06-00-17/aquariums/item/3439-53429

 

Is the link above your set up? 

[DominicDuffy]

Yeah that’s my setup, the anemone seems to be fine atm, I was thinking on upgrading my lights to ai prime hd. Would these be enough.

[cju84]

This thread is the epitome of what NOT to do when getting into this hobby.  Holy $hit.

 

Dude, you should have been reading a solid year about everything before jumping into this.  Most of these questions can be answered in the stickied threads in the Beginner section of this forum.  I'm sure every other forum has "Read Me: Beginners" sections as well.

 

 

[samnaz]

Why did you do a 100% water change? What were your parameters before the wc?

[Lula_Mae]

7 hours ago, samnaz said:

Why did you do a 100% water change? What were your parameters before the wc?

Look for his help help thread, he used nopox to get rid of the brown algae (likely diatoms) and lost fish due to oxygen deprivation.

 

Duffy, the nem may look "fine", but the thing is, you don't have the experience to recognize subtle signs of "not fine." I don't know if that nem is a walker, but if it is, did you nem-proof your tank? If you don't know what that is, it shouldn't be in your tank. When we say take it back, we mean take it to an LFS. And testing parameters after a huge water change does NOT mean your tank is "fine." Nems need powerful lights. Yours is not.