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ReeferND

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Hi, everyone. Quick update. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. I cannot tell you folks how awesome it is that we have a community like this. Anywho, I upgraded the return pump to Sicce 1.5. OMG people! This thing is now so quiet the only thing I can hear is the gyre pump which i only have ramping to 20%. All the coral is doing great and i have decided that for the time being i will rely on water changes to replenish alk and cal. I tested and it took about 3 days to go from 8.2dkh to 7.7dkh. So I figure in between water changes I will simply add some alk solution to keep it stable. I will be getting some more coral this weekend perhaps even try fish again. My daughter really wants her nemo fish back. Do you folks run quarantine tanks? I am only looking to get about 3 fish in this tank and I am not sure if setting up a quarantine is worth it. Especially for the first 2 fish in the system. Thoughts? 

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22 hours ago, ReeferND said:

Hi, everyone. Quick update. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. I cannot tell you folks how awesome it is that we have a community like this. Anywho, I upgraded the return pump to Sicce 1.5. OMG people! This thing is now so quiet the only thing I can hear is the gyre pump which i only have ramping to 20%. All the coral is doing great and i have decided that for the time being i will rely on water changes to replenish alk and cal. I tested and it took about 3 days to go from 8.2dkh to 7.7dkh. So I figure in between water changes I will simply add some alk solution to keep it stable. I will be getting some more coral this weekend perhaps even try fish again. My daughter really wants her nemo fish back. Do you folks run quarantine tanks? I am only looking to get about 3 fish in this tank and I am not sure if setting up a quarantine is worth it. Especially for the first 2 fish in the system. Thoughts? 

For the first fish I wouldn’t worry about quarantine. Quarantining fish is more about protecting the other fish that are already in your tank. You won’t get any coral pests coming in on a fish. Coral I would be more careful with. It may be worth setting up a quarantine. Definitely at a minimum use some sort of coral dip. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/18/2018 at 11:39 AM, Dprosser4 said:

For the first fish I wouldn’t worry about quarantine. Quarantining fish is more about protecting the other fish that are already in your tank. You won’t get any coral pests coming in on a fish. Coral I would be more careful with. It may be worth setting up a quarantine. Definitely at a minimum use some sort of coral dip. 

Thanks! I appreciate the input. It looks like I will be getting the fish this weekend. Params have been very stable and everything is growing very well. I will provide more details in a few days when I am less busy with work.

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in responding. I am a researcher (study bats) and I have been out bat hunting for the last month. The tank is doing pretty good I think. I have not added anything to tank since I wouldn't be around to monitor. I do need to pick your brains though...... I have been battling some small white algae all over the tank. You can't really see it until you get close and if I don't clean the glass every other day you can barely see in the tank. I run a skimmer and use filter floss for filtration plus I do a 30-40% WC every week. I test all my params every week and alk daily. I am dosing kalk to keep big 2 stable and have yet to add any mag to the tank as numbers are always around 1350. My big issue is I have seen the algae on the corals and ever since I started seeing it my hammer, frogspawn and paly rarely open up much. Frogspawn has one head that doesn't really come out anymore. Today I noticed of the paly heads died. I feed reef chili and reef roids directly to corals about 3 times a week. You folks have any ideas about what I should do? My current thought is to dip them in coral RX but I am not sure that will do anything for algae....if it is even algae. I will post a picture tomorrow when the lights are on.

 

Also, my corals came with coraline on them but since I have put them in the tank the coraline algae never took off and is no where to be found. Alk=8-9, Cal=420 always and consistently, Mag=1350. Should I try to reseed? Anyone know of good online dealers that specifically sell it? I figure if I can get some coraline, maybe it will reduce the trouble algae.

 

Thanks for reading today's rant. Any help would be great! Happy reefing!

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I wanted to follow up a bit from my last post.....I scrubbed the tank completely. There was alot of detritus in the sump section (especially under marine pure rock) but the bacteria were obviously taking care of any ammonia produced as I have not had any ammonia or nitrite or nitrate since the tank was cycled. Anyway, its clean and I have been thinking that a better question to ask everyone is....why is my water always cloudy? Even after a water change it is cloudy......when the tank was younger the water would look crystal clear for several weeks but now.......not so much. 

 

I just thought of asking this because today I went to work and examined my work tank which is about 2 years old and hasn't had a water change in 3 months and the water is crystal clear..... any thoughts? 

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Hello folks! I really need some help! Everything in my tank is very upset, corals haven't opened in days with the exception of the galaxea but now it is closed too. I noticed that I have this stuff growing on the glass, it is long l, white, and branches. I think most would initially say algae but I am wondering if it is not some kind of slime mold.....I truly have no idea and cannot find any pictures of it anywhere. To give a better idea of what I am seeing, it looks like a lightning strike with thousands of side branches. Please Help as I am afraid of losing the tank!

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Just catching up on your thread.  If I understand you only have 3 corals in the tank?  With just 2 LPS there is really no reason you should need to dose, especially if you are doing 30-40% water changes each week.  I personally would recommend taking a step back and just doing water changes for a couple of weeks and see if things don't start to look up.  

 

Coraline can be odd as well.  I have had my tank setup for 2 months and most of my corals seem to be doing really well but there isn't any coraline in sight as of yet.  Sometimes it takes many months for it to really take hold.  

 

Good luck, hope you figure things out.  Like I said, best advice I have is to keep it very simple.  

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@specoreI couldn't agree more. I was hoping that dosing a tiny amount of kalk would just keep things more stable so my alk was going from 9 to 7 over the course of the week but I think your right. In fact, 2 days ago I siphoned all the water out of the ATO and didn't put any kalk in new water. I have 5 corals with 4 being lps. So there is definitely a change in water chemistry over the course of a week but maybe my tests are accurate and my Cal and alk are too high. I was also hoping for the increased pH from kalk since I always struggle getting it above 7.8.

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9 minutes ago, ReeferND said:

@specoreI couldn't agree more. I was hoping that dosing a tiny amount of kalk would just keep things more stable so my alk was going from 9 to 7 over the course of the week but I think your right. In fact, 2 days ago I siphoned all the water out of the ATO and didn't put any kalk in new water. I have 5 corals with 4 being lps. So there is definitely a change in water chemistry over the course of a week but maybe my tests are accurate and my Cal and alk are too high. I was also hoping for the increased pH from kalk since I always struggle getting it above 7.8.

Anything over 7.7 pH is considered normal.  The reality is we are never going to achieve pH found in natural seawater just due to having our tank indoors, so I wouldn't worry about that.  IMO kalk is not a great fit for nanos.  It is powerful stuff and often difficult to dose in small amounts for a nano.  Kind of like squirrel hunting with a bazooka 🙂

 

You may consider going to a 2 part, as they are a little more straightforward and you can dose a ml or two a day if that's all you need.  

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Yeah I think 2 part is the way to go when I get more corals. Hope to place a big order with unique corals here in a week or so. That is if my tank is looking alright.

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A Little Blue
5 hours ago, specore said:

Anything over 7.7 pH is considered normal.  The reality is we are never going to achieve pH found in natural seawater just due to having our tank indoors, so I wouldn't worry about that.  IMO kalk is not a great fit for nanos.  It is powerful stuff and often difficult to dose in small amounts for a nano.  Kind of like squirrel hunting with a bazooka 🙂

 

You may consider going to a 2 part, as they are a little more straightforward and you can dose a ml or two a day if that's all you need.  

2 part is the way to go for anything under 75g. How much 2part will depend on your tank consumption. Testing daily will determine how much is needed. 

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I have the stuff for 2 part that I got from BRS way back when I was deciding between 2 part and kalk. I have never heard any suggestion about not using kalk under 75 gallons. Great advice I wish I would've had a year ago🤣.....where were you then @A Little Blue 😋

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A Little Blue
22 minutes ago, ReeferND said:

I have the stuff for 2 part that I got from BRS way back when I was deciding between 2 part and kalk. I have never heard any suggestion about not using kalk under 75 gallons. Great advice I wish I would've had a year ago🤣.....where were you then @A Little Blue 😋

I was enjoying my little tank till glass cracked this April and forced me to upgrade/rebuild. And then, I resurfaced. 🤣

Two part suggestion is just my personal opinion. It’s quite simple and safe. Just get enough Alk/Ca regents to keep up with the testing regiment. In all honesty Alk/Ca/Mg is the only thing I test for + salinity ofcause. I have not test for anything else in months ...... or years🤫

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  • 4 weeks later...

@A Little Blue thanks for that advice and I apologise for my delayed response. Life gets busy sometimes. Anyway, I have been having trouble with hydroids and recently (about 3 weeks ago) used Hydroxs to treat them. Well......hydroids gone, for the moment, and a clove is dead and zoa is looking really bad. I guessed this would probably happen but I am still bummed. Good news, hydroids gone and they were beginning to kill all corals anyway. Everything else looks good. See pics below. I also received my BRS 7 stage RODI system today and got it installed (see pic). Producing 0 TDS water for the first time in my life. Before I was using either water from lfs (very rarely) and water purchased from Walmart (purple and green lid) and neither I recommend.

 

Let me restate that to any new reefer that might read this.....Purchasing an RODI system is as important as the tank itself. If you short yourself by putting bad water with unknown elements in it to begin with, you are probably going to have issues. I thought I could get by and the answer is no. Learn from my mistakes!

 

I will keep everyone posted. I also ordered the spin stream to increase variable flow. I hope they help.

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Congrats on the RODI.  I really wish newcomers were taught how important Light, RODI, ATO are, and what guarantees you'll face if you skip out on quality stuff from the get-go.  Life lesson = take teh wrench that you were supplied with the BRS RODI and hang it near the unit or just simply toss it on top of the little bracket that the cannisters hang to.  I lost mine and it was so hard to get them off.  I haven't lost it since I just left in on top of the bracket. 

 

Did you check out the RFG nozzles?  They seem to be all the rage at the moment.  I'm not sure if I want to go with the spinstreams (a lot of complaints about them sticking/clicking) or if the RFG nozzles are more than just a fad?

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Yeah, I took a peek at the RFG from VCA. I really wasn't sure about them but it does seem like people like them. The reviews on the spin streams seemed so various that I just decided to pull the plug. If they don't work...oh well I will try the RFG. I did hear about the reduced flow but I have a gyre in there that I can always ramp up. I will let everyone know how it goes and a fair review of them shortly.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey everyone, 

So here is the honest review of the spin streams.....at least for the first week. They are fairly noisy to be honest. Definitely the first thing you hear even with the return, gyre and skimmer on. The return is a sicce 1.5 so no surprise there. For those of you with a gyre (2300gph), I would say the noise is similar in loudness to the pump on 30%. Of course it is a different type of noise. I will be keeping them as I do think they will quite down as they get work in. They produce pretty awesome movement and I can imagine with a softy only tank, they would probably be all you need. @A Little Blue you are definitely correct in the reduced flow from the return, I would guess I lost about 20% of flow with the spin streams. Looks like I will be getting a new return because I do think the spin streams are worth it. 

 

On that note, has anyone tried or know more about the mighty jet dc pumps from IM? They look appetizing for the price and flow but they also look unappetizing because the price 😁 ......makes me wonder about quality and noise. But 500+ gph flow for $100 is pretty amazing, especially considering they are controllable. Any information would be great! 

 

Tank is looking much better! I have come to the realization that when something looks off in the tank I just need to increase wc and not do drastic things. It is so easy to say, "OMG, why aren't my corals extending, I should start looking at dosing things" or in my case to add snake oil that killed 3 corals. I know they would still be alive if I wouldn't have done the Hydroxs. It did kill the hydroids and who knows, maybe they wouldve killed my corals, but more wc and diligence probably would have fixed it too. Live and learn I guess.

 

PS. 7 stage RODI system is pretty amazing. It is so nice to be able to produce my own water. I am sure it is over kill since my TDS leaving the RO unit is only 4 but it is really clean water after the DI stages. Love it.

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Love my jebao DCS-2000 pump. It’s essentially the same as the mighty jet (probably made at the same factory lol) but only 60$ on Amazon. Been running smooth and quiet for 9 months now and I barely clean it. Love the soft start after feed mode or turning it back on after a waterchange. 

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I had spin streams b4 and liked them for a very short while. Lol 

VCA nozzles in comparison to streams have no moving parts and create more random flow. They are also more expensive. 

Also got Mighty Jet and Jebao 2000 DC. 

Very similar pumps. Mighty is smaller and has pulsing mode (not sure if you would find it useful). 

Using chemicals is always risky. I hope it’s going to be a smooth sailing for you from now on. 

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Thanks for the input everyone. I am struggling on what to do next regarding equipment. I was thinking of getting a new return pump but I would also like to setup a refugium as well. Unfortunately, the tunze skimmer I have will only fit in the left or right chambers of the sump. I have a customcaddy in the other side. Here is my question: do any of you run a system without a skimmer and rely on a refugium to control nutrients? Do any of you use 2 return pumps and split the return line so that a skimmer can fit in the return section?

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50 minutes ago, ReeferND said:

Thanks for the input everyone. I am struggling on what to do next regarding equipment. I was thinking of getting a new return pump but I would also like to setup a refugium as well. Unfortunately, the tunze skimmer I have will only fit in the left or right chambers of the sump. I have a customcaddy in the other side. Here is my question: do any of you run a system without a skimmer and rely on a refugium to control nutrients? Do any of you use 2 return pumps and split the return line so that a skimmer can fit in the return section?

You can't put a skimmer in the return section because the water level fluctuates, and skimmers need a consistent water level.  If you do regular water changes you will be ok without a skimmer anyway.  I personally do grow chaeto in my 30l, but it isn't a must either. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the reply @specore. Yeah, I am really contemplating taking the skimmer out. I do two 10% WCs each week....religiously. My skimmer has never pulled really nasty stuff out but of course I don't have any fish and only a handful of corals. In that same thought, I tell myself not to remove or change anything because all my corals are looking great again. Stability is the name of the game so.....

 

Anyway, corals are looking great. I was sure I was going to lose the paly but all color is back and they are open and happy. Same is true with the others. I am still fighting what I now believe is a bacteria all over the rocks. It is white and extremely brittle..... literally can't touch it with it disintegrating. I have read other people have had this problem without any great success in identification or treatment other than time. So, I am going to continue plugging forward. My wife has agreed to let me spend some money so I am going to be purchasing about $600 in corals soon. I have been looking really hard at unique corals. Have any of you ordered from there? Any issues? Also, a complete noob question, should I be cautious introducing too many corals at once? Should I spread them out a bit or is it ok to put them in all at once? I will be getting softies and lps if that helps you to answer. I am also looking for fish suggestions. I have to get clowns because my daughter is has to have her Nemo so I will definitely be getting two of those. Any other suggestions would be awesome. I am thinking 4 or 5 fish total. 

 

Again, thanks everyone for helping me out and giving me feedback. Gotta love this community.

 

Happy reefing!!

 

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