Aqua One 35 Nano Tank

[DominicDuffy]

Yeah I have turned my wavemakers off and are using other method to create circulation to stop the nem getting chopped up.

I’m upgrading to ai prime HD.

[Tamberav]

I have never kept this species but this is what people say about it online, it does not appear it will survive long term in your system based on this info. I am not sure why you would want to throw away money on specimens likely to die when there are alternatives. If you have a fish store, try and trade it in for something appropriate for your tank. I would do it now while it looks healthy. At least this way you don't just lose all your money you invested.

 

H. magnifica, the Ritteri anemone, is another symbiont and unsuitable for most captive systems, requiring several hundred litres as it reaches 1m/3.3’. It attaches to a rocky substrate and is quite mobile.

This demanding Indo-Pacific species, requires exceptional water quality, brisk w rater movement and intense lighting.

 

They require high light and medium to high back and forth motion flow. They require perfect water parameters. They also require large tanks because they grow huge. They also do better in tanks that are dedicated to them. They will wander for a while in most cases several days after being added to the tank. The best set up is to have a pile of rock high in the middle of the tank. Also magnificas do not play well with other anemones and can wander. They are not as sticky as carpet anemones. They benefit from 2 to 3 feedings a week of shrimp or fish.
 

[DominicDuffy]

Does my anemone look fine ? It keeps leaving a slim on the glass. Also it has been moving all around the tank since I got it about 3 weeks ago.  It is a gold tip purple base anemone or H.magnifica riterri anemone I have also just noticed that the gold tips arnt as visible anymore could this be because of my lighting. My lighting is a aqua one mariglow 45. Can someone recommend better lighting for my tank.

[Lula_Mae]

1 hour ago, DominicDuffy said:

Does my anemone look fine ? It keeps leaving a slim on the glass. Also it has been moving all around the tank since I got it about 3 weeks ago.  It is a gold tip purple base anemone or H.magnifica riterri anemone I have also just noticed that the gold tips arnt as visible anymore could this be because of my lighting. My lighting is a aqua one mariglow 45. Can someone recommend better lighting for my tank.

Don't know, maybe it's starting to die like everyone told you it would in your tank.  Please take it to an LFS.  When it does die, it will nuke your tank and possibly kill everything else.  Anemones are known to move around tanks.  And yes, it could be losing color since the light is probably inadequate for it.

[samnaz]

I would say get rid of it and get an anemone suitable for a tank of your size. Tamberav mentioned above that it grows to 3 feet. I'm assuming your tank isn't even that large. Give it away or trade it.

[Tamberav]

Anenomes move around because they are unhappy. So it is not getting enough light, space, water quality, ect.

 

You said you were upgrading your light but you have not.

 

It is a living animal, this is like buying a dog and then not having the money to buy it dog food and letting it starve. 

 

Light is its source of food and it will slowly die without it. The nem is moving around because it is desperately trying to find a suitable home to live.

[DominicDuffy]

I am currently having a problem with Cyanobacteria or red algae. It seems to be growing all over my sand and rocks. What is the best way to get rid of it without using chemicals.

[Tamberav]

1 hour ago, DominicDuffy said:

I am currently having a problem with Cyanobacteria or red algae. It seems to be growing all over my sand and rocks. What is the best way to get rid of it without using chemicals.

Cyano is fed by excess nutrients, mostly phosphates. 

 

Do you use tap water or RO or RODI or pre-mixed?

 

Do you vaccume the sand bed? 

 

Do you use a turkey baster to blast debries free from the rocks?

 

How often do you do water changes and how many gallons/liters?

 

What filtration do you use?

 

Do you use filter floss or a sock to catch debris?

 

I'm sure clown has a better list to ask..  but this is a good start.

 

 

 

 

[DominicDuffy]

I use RODI from my LFS, filter floss on the inlet to the sump. I do a 40% water change every week which includes vacuuming the sand bed whith my eheim vaccume. I also remove debris and red algae from the rock using a turkey blaster and siphon it out. When I test for phosphates with my api test kit I get very low readings.

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Cyano is fed by excess nutrients, mostly phosphates. 

 

Do you use tap water or RO or RODI or pre-mixed?

 

Do you vaccume the sand bed? 

 

Do you use a turkey baster to blast debries free from the rocks?

 

How often do you do water changes and how many gallons/liters?

 

What filtration do you use?

 

Do you use filter floss or a sock to catch debris?

 

I'm sure clown has a better list to ask..  but this is a good start.

 

 

 

 

This is exactly what I would have asked. Lol.

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, DominicDuffy said:

I use RODI from my LFS, filter floss on the inlet to the sump. I do a 40% water change every week which includes vacuuming the sand bed whith my eheim vaccume. I also remove debris and red algae from the rock using a turkey blaster and siphon it out. When I test for phosphates with my api test kit I get very low readings.

What is low readings? The Api test kit is a high range kit, not suitable for reefs, so low would be 0.25 with the api, which isn't low. 

 

You want no more than 0.03

 

Are you testing alk or ca as well.

 

Have you tested the ro/do from your lfs? If they are lazy on changing the cartridges, the water may not be as good as you think.

Also if your city use chloramines and they aren't using a catalytic carbon, then chloramines won't be removed. 

 

How often are you changing your floss?

[DominicDuffy]

I’ve tested my rodi water and everything is 0 on my api test kit. I change the filter floss every three days normally when I see it discolouring. I test alk and ca aswell and that seems to be fine. I used nopox before as you may know to reduce my phosphate levels to get rid of diatoms but it ended up killing my shrimp and goby due to not being enough oxygen in the water. Would you recommend me using this product again in smaller doses and maybe adding an air stone to my tank.

[Clown79]

Nopox is only to be used with a very good skimmer. 

 

Phosguard can be used without one.

 

Finding the cause is important.

[Moorahs]

Hi Dominic,

I’m gonna chime in coz it’s so rare I find anyone else in the Aqua One family  - I just upgraded to a minireef 120 from the old 36. 

 

Is the 35 an all in one or is there a sump? If it’s AIO I’d suggest you *need* to get comfortable with chemical filtration. I couldn’t keep the phosphates down in the 36, even using phosguard changed out twice weekly wasn’t enough. Your water changes won’t be enough to export enough to make a difference and it’s gotta be removed somehow...

 

Also please listen to what @Clown79 said re “low level”. You need a phosphate test that does low range. I read a comment here somewhere that said testing phos with the API kit is like appropriating your weight to the nearest ton... scary but true. The lowest API shows is still 10 times more than you’re shooting for.

 

One last thing - have you upgraded the light yet? The mariglo is enough to illuminate your tank for you to look at and grow algae but not much else! 

 

 

[DominicDuffy]

Yeah it’s an all in one tank with a mini sump built into the back. I am going to buy a low reading test kit when I go to the LFS and I still have the same light which came with it. Is the Salifert test kits any good ? The light is alright as it is grown lps but will be upgrading soon. What would you recommend for my dimensions ?

What types of chemical filteration are you suggesting ?

[Moorahs]

7 hours ago, DominicDuffy said:

Yeah it’s an all in one tank with a mini sump built into the back. I am going to buy a low reading test kit when I go to the LFS and I still have the same light which came with it. Is the Salifert test kits any good ? The light is alright as it is grown lps but will be upgrading soon. What would you recommend for my dimensions ?

What types of chemical filteration are you suggesting ?

eBay is your friend  - check lights out on there. You don’t have to spend hundreds, but look for the right spectrum and higher wattage.  I’m not going to recommend a brand - just search google and forums to research your shortlist. Mine is a cheap n cheerful Chinese one, was only about $100 (so what, £60?) and it’s 75W, dimmable and WiFi programmable. 24cm long so plenty for that size tank and with a bit of lateral thinking you can mount to the arms that come with the tank. Go more than you need because then if / when you move to a bigger tank you don’t need to upgrade again. Mine is now doing the 120L minireef and I’m still only running it at about 70% max power.

 

I dont use salifert (I use nyos) but lots of people on here do. 

 

Chemical filtration - again, research, see what works for most. There is a lot of love on here for chemipure blue - I tried it but it didn’t work well for me. I think my phosphates were so high it was exhausting too quickly, so I wanted separate components I could replace individually. So phosguard plus purigen plus carbon. That requires zero mods to your tank.

 

And if you haven’t already, ditch the sponge and wool that cane with the tank and replace it with filter floss. Again doesn’t have to be expensive, don’t have to go to a LFS. Go to a sewing store and you can buy thick wadding, a foot or two for a few dollars and you’re good for months. Cut to size and change it out once or twice a week.

 

Honestly the best advice is read, read, read. We are so lucky that every conceivable problem we can run into has been had by countless others first, and their questions and answers are all out there on the net. 

 

Good luck - don’t get frustrated, don’t give up. Don’t drop cash on anything living or otherwise till you’re comfortable that you’ve read about and understand it  

 

[Moorahs]

And hey @DominicDuffy list of don’ts aside - do feel free to check back in and let us know how it’s all going..... cliffhangers are no fun...  

[DominicDuffy]

Hi just quick update I have changed my anemone food to pellets and the anemone seems to be doing very well and seems to be inflating much more. For anyone wondering I am still trying to get rid of it but seems to be very difficult due to its requirements, but hopefully as it is looking more healthier it will look more attractive to buyers. Also i have started using phosphate reducing polyfilter and that also seems to be getting rid of my red slime algae.

[Moorahs]

Good luck  

[DominicDuffy]

I am still having a serious issue with red Cyanobacteria and it has covered everything in my tank including the sand glass and rock structure. I have tried manually removing every trace of the red slime, tried nopox to lower phosphates and used a phosphate reducing filter pad. I have looked online and have seen a product called chemiclean and it seems to remove every trace of algae. I know this is a quick fix and does aim at the source of the problem but it’s really get on my nerves seeing it everyday. Does anyone know if I will have the same issue as the nopox I used with fix dying or will this fix my problem.

[Moorahs]

Touch wood I’ve never had to deal with it - someone else might chime in, in the meantime tho I just searched nr for “cyano” and got 17,575 hits... you might find your answer if you do some reading 

[samnaz]

any luck battling the cyanobacteria? 

[Clown79]

Cyano is from nutrient issues and lack of flow aids it.

 

You have to determine what you are/are not doing that's leading to the cyano.

 

That can be:

Water source

Lack of waterchanges

No sand vacuuming

Not changing filter media often enough 

Filter media being used

Over feeding

Over stocked

Lack of flow

[Jcard71]

I am new to this site and thinking about starting with the Bio Cube. Ive always had large freshwater tanks,

 

This thread has been really good. I have learned NOT what to do when I get started.

[samnaz]

6 hours ago, Jcard71 said:

I am new to this site and thinking about starting with the Bio Cube. Ive always had large freshwater tanks,

 

This thread has been really good. I have learned NOT what to do when I get started.

This site in general is great for learning what to do and what not to do. Welcome to the salty side!