giving it a try

[mdqc01]

hi all i'm a newbe here, and some what new to reefs (4 years). I started off with a 29 high, moved to a 75 about 2 years ago. I had a 150 but had no room to set it up so it got sold. any how, I allways wanted to set up a nano in my work cube. well to my suprise it is not a nano but a pico! I had no idea. well it is a 2 gal. aga. I got a coralife pc 9w 10k w/ a 9w 03. to set on top. I also got a zoo med 510 (this is a reptile/anfibian (sp) canaster filter) 96gph and comes with a spray bar. it is a realy nice filter. I run denitrate, phosphate remover and carbon in it along with a sponge. I made a lid out of 1/8" acrylic to fit snug ontop. I only have a small opening (1"x1.5") for tubbing/wire (filter/heater).

I have 2lbs lr and 1lbs sand. the lr came from my 75gal. sump. I added some soft corals and a frag of green monti (doing realy well if I my add). as for criters I have one feather duster, 1 neon goby, 1 hi fin red banded goby, 2 bumble bee snails, 1 turbo snail.

I want to get 2 or 3 sexy shrimp (lfs did not have them), and a crab of some sorts (thinking about 1 blue leg and a porcelain crab).

 

as for corals I figure I would go with a mix of lps and softys.

 

all is good so far, the only problem I see is the temp seems to swing 4+ degs. at 7am it is around 74. it is now 10:50 and it is 77. that is 4 degs. in 4 hours! the light stays on for 9 hours so at this rate it will contuinue to climb another 4+ degs.

 

how do you battle water temps? remember minr is in an office cube.

 

thanks

Frank

[neanderthalman]

Wow - two fish in a 2 ga? Seems like a hell of a bioload. As far as water temps go, it would seem that you're running a little on the cool side, most I've heard, people are keeping their tanks closer to 80 degrees. I've got a 1.6 ga, and I have heat issues on really hot days in the summer (I don't have A/C). You also have quite a bit of light over your tank, nearly 10W per gallon. Try adding a small fan (or two) to the back of your hood to try to vent some of the heat before it gets to your tank. Computer case fans are cheap and do a pretty good job.

 

My heat issues weren't from my light, but from my PH. My first solution was to mount a CPU fan blowing heat onto the water surface. The evaporation rate was extremely high, and the fan shorted from the saltwater after a few days and left a scorch mark on my acrylic top. My successful (read: desperate) solution was to point my desk fan at the tank. I've seen little plastic fans for a few dollars at wal-mart in the past, and I'd expect to see them again as summer approaches. Try picking one up and pointing it at your tank and see if your temps stay more constant. I'm not sure if this will work if you don't have a heater - I simply made sure I had too much cooling from the fan, then let the heater kick on to keep the temps up.

[mdqc01]

neanderthalman, thanks for the input. I stoped at wallmart last night, and picked up a small desk fan (4"). I have it pointing towards the tank and the temp has only risen .7 degs. in 2 hours. seems to be helping. I need to rearange some items on my desk so I can get a better angle on the tank with the fan.

 

as for a high bio-load, I can't see how, with the filtration.

Frank

[neanderthalman]

You have a hell of a filtration system, that's for sure, but you have to worry about oxygen levels. A general rule of thumb is 5 gallons for every inch of fish - not including the tail. Glad to hear your heat seems a little more under control.

[mdqc01]

redid the fan, moved it closer and more direct on the light. temp has not moved! in fact the heater needs to come on to heat the water up! that is a good thing.

as for the o2, I have a spray bar that mixes air and water together to help inscess the o2.

Frank

[neanderthalman]

Sounds like you've taken care of the basics, so long as your fish are happy in that size of a tank.