dtransReefs West Coast "Simple" - A Fluval Evo 13.5 Journal

[dtransReefs]

Hi Nano-reefers,

 

I'd like to start a journal on this build because I've gotten tons of help through these forums with great advice and perspectives, and I'm hoping that I can offer the same platform and share a bit of my journey into reefing.

 

Traditionally, I would start these journals, stay active for a few weeks then forget about it. I'm hoping that I can keep up with the updates/entries. Does anyone have any tips/hints to keep these journal entries interesting?

 

I guess I'll start by introducing myself! My name is Danny, and I'm 27 years old. I live on the east side of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada! I've got about seven years of freshwater experience and two months of saltwater experience. 

 

MY TANK

Over the first two months, I've been tediously searching for second-hand items to start my saltwater nano reef. I have the Fluval Evo 13.5 Aquarium, and it comes with the stock light and pump. I bought dry rock and threw in some frozen shrimp as an ammonia source. 

I used some leftover egg crates to build a makeshift chamber media basket. I used this Polydoh Moldable Plastic to create a mini lid for the feeding hole that I'm very proud of creating. I mixed my saltwater using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix for Aquarium 55-Gallon Bucket and RODI water using Aquatic Life RO Buddie Four Stage. I aimed for 1.025 salinity but got 1.024. I believe this was caused by not heating my RODI water first.

I ordered a MLW-10 Jebao from Alibaba because I wanted something with a thin profile, and I've ordered lights from 21LEDUSA with the guidance of other fellow Nano-Reef members. Two Actinic Blue 1ft bars.

Built the stand using 2x4s and compressed wood board. I painted it using white spray paint.

 

 

JOURNEY

I then realized that I was currently experiencing what people called the "ugly" phase. Dark brown diatoms started to cover the dry rock, and the water was still cloudy. Was I in trouble? Should I start scrubbing and perform a water change? I left it. I followed the guidance from aquarist veterans and just left it.

 

I tested the parameters and found that even three months after I started the cycle, my ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates had high values (NH3: 8.0ppm, NO2: 2.0ppm, NO3: 5.0ppm). I took out the rotting shrimp and allowed my cycle to continue. 

 

One week later...

 

I found a local reefer through Canreef, and he invited me to his garage display room. We had a great conversation, and I left with a few easy beginner corals to introduce to my aquarium. I'll list them at the end of this post.

 

Introduction of coral in the aquarium

 

I used a 30-minute drip acclimation method that I've done with my freshwater fish, and this seemed to do the trick. 

 

So far, the corals look happy and are opening up nicely. The wavemaker is move the water quite well at 500 gallons/hr.

 

Things I'm working on

• What to feed the corals
• What is too much light?
• What is the ideal light period?
• Is morning moonlight a thing?
• How badly will the pulsing xenia or GSP grow over my rock

 

Coral List

1. Pulsing Xenia
2. Toadstool Leather coral
3. Purple Green Euphyllia Hammer
4. Green Star Polyps
5. Green Trumpet coral
6. Aussie Duncan Coral
7. Kenya Tree Coral
8. Leaf Plate Montipora
9. Single polyp Green mushroom rhodactics
10. Green Euphyllia frogspawn

11. Slipper coral - Herpolitha

12. Palythoa 

13. Green neon montipora

 

 

[dtransReefs]

UPDATE -

 

A few things that have occurred since I last posted:

• Toadstool Leather Coral molted and it freaked me out
• Started feeding the corals Reef Roids 2x/week
• Lowed the water to at least 1/2 inch under the lid to prevent salt creep
• Replaced filter floss
• Killed 10 Aiptasia polyps that popped up
• Got a magnet cleaner
• 10% water change
• Ordered the 21LEDUSA lights
• Tested the ATO but I don't have a reservoir to use yet
• Struggled to get the wavemaker to be in the position I like
• Almost pulled the trigger to buy CUC and 2 clownfish + anemone but will visit LFS first
• Working on building a reef-pi controller for all my peripherals

I have a question for everyone. I have ordered 2 blue 21LEDUSA lights:

https://21ledusa.com/products/453nm-actinic-blue-reefbar-aquarium-led-light-9w-ft

and I have the stock light. I want to use the NICREW dual timer until I get my reef-pi setup. My question is about the voltage and what my capabilities will be. I also bought a "3 light power supply" from 21LEDUSA that I don't know the voltage but it would be enough to power 3 of their lights. Will this be enough to run the stock light + 2 LED bars? My apologies - I'm not well versed in electronics.

 

Danny,

[DevilDuck]

Check the outputs of the power adapters, the 21Led may have the amperage needed to power all 3 light but the input voltage requirements are different.

The stock Evo light I think operates on 5V and the 12 inch Reefbars are 12V. So you cannot use the same power adapter for them both without modification. You will need a voltage regulator that will step down 12V DC to 5V DC before it goes into the stock light.

 

 

[dtransReefs]

UPDATE - 

 

I nearly flooded my home. I made the mistake of placing the output tube of the ATO deep into Chamber 2 and after the ATO turned on and the pump turned off, it created a siphon and about 1 gallon of water went into the reservoir and spilled out onto the floor. It is now out of the water above Chamber 1 😄 

 

The LED lights came in from 21LEDUSA and they are beautiful. All siliconed up and ready. Thank you @DevilDuck for the advice. I check the powersupply that currently powers the stock LED is it's rated with the below specifications:

Model SW-135150
INPUT: 100-240V AC
             59/60 Hz 0.7A

OUTPUT: 13.5 VDC 1500mA

 

The specifications of the LED from 21LEDUSA are:
- Input voltage: AC 85-265V 50-60Hz (Power Supply converts to 12V for bar)
- Power consumption: 9W

 

The powersupply came unmarked by the power CORD says 10A 250V.

 

I'm asking the supplier for more information but from the looks of it @DevilDuck, the Fluval Evo 13.5 stock lights power adapter outputs 13.5 VDC, do I still need a voltage regulator?

 

Danny,

[DevilDuck]

If they are both outputting nearly the same voltage then you should be good to use the 21LED power adapter with the Fluval stock light and the ReefBars. 1500mA should be enough to drive all three lights.

 

[dtransReefs]

@DevilDuck I've been told the response from 21LEDUSA:

 

""It should be a 5A (60w 12v)" for the 3ft LED power supply. (3ft meaning the length of LED light not the length of the power cord lol)

@DevilDuck Thanks man , I really appreciate your widsom!

[dtransReefs]

Question for everyone!

 

I've siliconed the LEDs onto the lid and I'm waiting for them to cure before putting the lid back on. Each LED bar has an extension cord on each end to extend the lightbar, do I silicone these ends if I'm not using it?

 

@devilduck what did you do?

[DevilDuck]

I siliconed the end. Little bit of security If water gets in or if it falls in the tank.

[dtransReefs]

-UPDATE

• Added 2 453nm Actinic Blue ReefBar lights to the lid
• Added 1 8000k White ReefBar light to the lid
• Both added using "Silicone Ultra All-Purpose Premium Waterproof Sealant Aquarium Safe" from Home Depot
• Been slaying some more aiptasia after noticing more when flow was stopped
• Switched out the filter floss
• Noticed another brittle star! (making that a family of 2 now)
• Pulsing xenia is still not pulsing
• Major major growth from leather toadstool and mushroom coral

Light schedule:

21LEDUSA lights to be on all day from 12pm-10pm at 30%

Stock lights to be on from 2pm - 6 pm at 100%

 

Things I noticed:

• this grass like 1/2" long algae is growing over everything, it's brown but it's very spaced out. unsure what it is.
• Little aiptasias are popping up everywhere

 

I'm looking for a clean up crew and I've seen some examples of what people hold for this tank, what is your favourite CUC?

 

Danny,

 

P.S. Will post pictures soon

[dtransReefs]

-UPDATE

 

It's been some time so I thought I do an update.

 

The aquarium has been running since last March and here is what I found out.

• The 3 21USALED light bars added caused an algae growing craze
• Testing for Nitrate and Salinity is not enough
• Some of the coral changed the way they looked
  • Leather curl edges started curling into a wavy formation similar to 
  • 
  • GSP was not tight and started to creep but does not give full look
  • Duncan coral arms were short
  • Trumpet coral was splitting lots but not fat and bulgy as before
  • All the montipora turned white and assumed dead

I've ordered a proper test kit and I am on a mission to bring this reef back in order. 

 

I also had a battle with cyano which I thought might have been coralline algae but from a closer inspection, it definitely was cyano. I'm doing about 10-15% waterchange bi weekly.

 

Any tips from anyone? Welcome to any advice.

[dtransReefs]

-UPDATE

 

• Changed lighting schedule to 10AM - 10PM
• Running  2 453nm Actinic Blue ReefBar at 50%
• Turned off the white reefbar
• Running stock fluval led at 50%
• I tested for PAR meter using my phone on Phontone and I'm getting the following data:
  • 50%
    • 130 PAR 2 inches under light
    • 70 at the top of rock structure
    • 38 at the middle of the rock structure and
    • 22 on the sand
  • 75%
    • 175 PAR 2 inches under light
    • 95 at the top of rock structure
    • 47 at the middle of the rock structure and
    • 30 on the sand
  • 100%
    • 270 PAR 2 inches under light
    • 140 at the top of rock structure
    • 73 at the middle of the rock structure and
    • 46 on the sand

Looking for any protips on light settings for the corals i have listed above.

Danny,

 

P.S. I know it's late but I JUST ordered a master api reef testing kit. I'm going to test for phosphate, calcium, alkalinity, etc. 

Also, i cleaned out most of the "cyano". I'm certain it's cyano today, it's fluffy but only was able to remove using a toothbrush.

[dtransReefs]

-PHOTO UPDATE

 

1. Scrunched up Toadstool Leather Coral:

 

2. Kandy Kane Coral splitting and growing but the heads are not bulbous like they were previously

 

3. Purple Green Euphyllia Hammer is not out like it was originally

 

4. Even the GSP is not looking great

 

5. Whole tank shot:

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by dtransReefs
photos were not available to others

[GobyBryant]

Without knowing your parameters, I’d say your best bet is a big water change. I can’t see the pics you posted earlier today, but I’m curious about the lighting.

[dtransReefs]

On 1/9/2023 at 4:59 PM, GobyBryant said:

Without knowing your parameters, I’d say your best bet is a big water change. I can’t see the pics you posted earlier today, but I’m curious about the lighting.

Thank for the comment GobyBryant.

 

I've gone ahead and did a 50% water change, adjusted the salinity to 1.025 and dimmed the lights to 50% intensity. Removed the "white 16K" led reefbar and left the other 2 blue actinic blue led lights plus the stock fluval light.

 

I'll update params when I get my kit.

 

P.S. Are you not able to see any of the images I added above in the recent post?

[growsomething]

I can't see them either, no.

[GobyBryant]

50% WC should do wonders. I know that seems like a blanket solve, but it’s kind of the best thing about nanos. Mixing water only takes a bucket or two! 
 

Yea, the images aren’t loading for me. 

[dtransReefs]

@GobyBryant @growsomething Photos updated now 😄

 

I did a water change. The parameter kit came in today and guess what!

Ca 460

Ph 8.0

Alk 8.0!!

Nitrate 0

Phosphate 0.25

 

I'm using Red Sea Coral Pro Marine Salt and was expecting alk to be 12. I'm going to test the bucket and see what base parameters I get.

 

Lights are at 50% now.

[growsomething]

Nitrate: 0, Po4: 0 25!

@seabass, @mcarroll, any nutrient level suggestions here to avoid trouble?

[seabass]

It's arguable that phosphate is OK at it's current level; however, I'd prefer it to be 0.10 ppm instead.  Drastic changes aren't ideal.  So while a 50 percent water change would mostly correct phosphate, I might do a series of smaller water changes to accomplish the same thing.

 

Undetectable nitrate could currently be a bigger problem (although easily corrected).  I'd probably get a bottle of NeoNitro and start dosing.  I'd shoot for 5 ppm for now.

[growsomething]

That N/P ratio is what I meant.

[mcarroll]

Your corals typically have many sources of N available to them, some of which aren't testable (eg urea, amino's, etc), especially if there are fish in the system being fed regularly.  At least some corals (maybe all) can actually fix their own nitrogen internally.

 

So NO3 being 0 doesn't mean your corals are cut off from a source of N.  (In contrast, when PO4 hits 0 they are essentially cut off.)

 

Coral-wise, there may even be some advantages to running a low-N system (with plentiful phosphate).

 

Your tank is probably getting to the point it's grown in....to the degree you think that's true (I'm only guessing) IMO it becomes more OK to run a low-N system.  If you still think you have a lot of bare rock, then it might be better to keep N higher than 0 for a while longer....dose if you have to in that case.

 

(No magic ratio a la Redfield.  What's ideal can be pretty situation dependent.)

[dtransReefs]

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

Your corals typically have many sources of N available to them, some of which aren't testable (eg urea, amino's, etc), especially if there are fish in the system being fed regularly.  At least some corals (maybe all) can actually fix their own nitrogen internally.

 

So NO3 being 0 doesn't mean your corals are cut off from a source of N.  (In contrast, when PO4 hits 0 they are essentially cut off.)

 

Coral-wise, there may even be some advantages to running a low-N system (with plentiful phosphate).

 

Your tank is probably getting to the point it's grown in....to the degree you think that's true (I'm only guessing) IMO it becomes more OK to run a low-N system.  If you still think you have a lot of bare rock, then it might be better to keep N higher than 0 for a while longer....dose if you have to in that case.

 

(No magic ratio a la Redfield.  What's ideal can be pretty situation dependent.)

Thank you for the knowledge dump. Although nitrates are undetectable with my master api kit, it's possible it's above 0 given ammonia and no2 is 0. Right?

 

I'm going to do my best to be stable with the water changes because I think that is what might be causing the stress to all the coral. 

 

[dtransReefs]

2 hours ago, seabass said:

It's arguable that phosphate is OK at it's current level; however, I'd prefer it to be 0.10 ppm instead.  Drastic changes aren't ideal.  So while a 50 percent water change would mostly correct phosphate, I might do a series of smaller water changes to accomplish the same thing.

 

Undetectable nitrate could currently be a bigger problem (although easily corrected).  I'd probably get a bottle of NeoNitro and start dosing.  I'd shoot for 5 ppm for now.

I have fish coming this week in hopes that having them in the system and feeding them will add to the p04 and n03 stability, with that in mind.  Would you still suggest neonitro? 

 

 

[seabass]

3 hours ago, growsomething said:

That N/P ratio is what I meant.

There could be something to what mcarroll stated.  That said, it's a bit unusual for tanks with shallow sand beds, or that don't dose carbon, to have undetectable nitrate.

 

Recently, I've seen more people stating there might be an advantage in trying to achieve a 10:1 nitrate to phosphate ratio:

https://www.tankfacts.com/article/a-magic-ratio-nitrate-phosphate-ration-vs-concentration_563

 

I'm not sure if there's really anything to that or not.   I've often recommended nitrate levels between 3 and 10 ppm, and phosphate between 0.03 and 0.10 ppm.  That would be more like a 100:1 ratio.

 

So if the ratio of nutrients in the water is higher or lower, does the ratio consumed actually change?  I don't believe that it does.  And is there any benefit in trying to adjust the ratio of inorganic nutrients in the water to match the ratio consumed?  I would guess not.

 

I'm thinking that availability of nutrients is the key.  And I feel that cyano has more to do with excess organics than with high, or imbalanced, inorganic nutrients.

 

Just my thoughts.  I could be wrong.

 

1 hour ago, dtransReefs said:

I have fish coming this week in hopes that having them in the system and feeding them will add to the p04 and n03 stability, with that in mind.  Would you still suggest neonitro? 

I'm not sure about improved stability; however, fish will increase nitrate production, and their food will increase the input of phosphate.  I can see you waiting to see if nitrate increases after introducing fish.  That makes sense to me.  And since fish have no use for inorganic nutrients, we are only concerned about levels for coral.

[dtransReefs]

17 minutes ago, seabass said:

There could be something to what mcarroll stated.  That said, it's a bit unusual for tanks with shallow sand beds, or that don't dose carbon, to have undetectable nitrate.

 

Recently, I've seen more people stating there might be an advantage in trying to achieve a 10:1 nitrate to phosphate ratio:

https://www.tankfacts.com/article/a-magic-ratio-nitrate-phosphate-ration-vs-concentration_563

 

I'm not sure if there's really anything to that or not.   I've often recommended nitrate levels between 3 and 10 ppm, and phosphate between 0.03 and 0.10 ppm.  That would be more like a 100:1 ratio.

 

So if the ratio of nutrients in the water is higher or lower, does the ratio consumed actually change?  I don't believe that it does.  And is there any benefit in trying to adjust the ratio of inorganic nutrients in the water to match the ratio consumed?  I would guess not.

 

I'm thinking that availability of nutrients is the key.  And I feel that cyano has more to do with excess organics than with high, or imbalanced, inorganic nutrients.

 

Just my thoughts.  I could be wrong.

 

I'm not sure about improved stability; however, fish will increase nitrate production, and their food will increase the input of phosphate.  I can see you waiting to see if nitrate increases after introducing fish.  That makes sense to me.  And since fish have no use for inorganic nutrients, we are only concerned about levels for coral.

Thank you for your input, the post about the p04 and n03 ratio I'd interesting and like most things in this hobby that I found, everyone has their own opinion and whatever works for them might not work for another, we can only use them as guides.