Reefoholic's New 20 Gallon

[Reefoholic]

Some pics:

 

Montipora Spongodes

 

ORA Birdsnest (very young still)

 

 

ORA Green Stylopora

[onux20]

Really diggin the tank. Looks great. Very clean.

RT

[Reefoholic]

Thanks! I try to keep it very clean. I do water changes frequently and try to avoid the patches of red film algae. It started appearing on the sand again. I think it is the lights. My new light fixture is arriving today ( a total upgrade from 48 Watts to 96 Watts - almost 5 watts per gallon). I will post some pictures later on today!

 

 

 

Really diggin the tank. Looks great. Very clean.

RT

[Reefoholic]

My lights arrived today! They look freaking awesome! Such an upgrade it is after Biocube PCs. Bonus, the daylight bulbs are 12K instead of 10K! Can't wait to see the coral enjoy their new sun!

 

Here are some pics!

 

BEFORE (Biocube 14 gal stock PC 2X24)

 

AFTER (Nova Extreme 4X24) T5 HO

 

 

Here is how I put the bulbs. Any ideas or suggestions???

 

Edited April 12, 2011 by Reefoholic

[John]

Looking Good

Edited April 12, 2011 by John

[roni]

really like the layout and "cleanness" of the tank.

 

regarding spot feeding. One thing I do, especially for feeding smaller corals, is to get a piece of rigid airline tubing. get some boiling water or a flame going (be careful here) and use it to put a bend in the distal part of the tubing. connect the proximal end to a 10 cc syringe. The small tubing will allow you some more control, especially when you have lots of mouths to feed. I feed my sun corals by blasting some mysid with the turkey baster. that keeps all the shrimp busy (they constantly steal) and then i target feed with the smaller tubing device.

 

the yashi hashi goby would go great in a tank that size. A lot of times you can get a single or pair of gobies with their symbiotic shrimp ordered together. I know Petland had some really nice small fish last time I was in and Fins and Feathers always gets nice small fish in as well. I'd check with them. You can pair afterwards but it's much more hit or miss.

[BowieReefer84]

Nice. I like the look of your tank a lot. I would suggest filling it up with more water.

[Reefoholic]

Thanks for the nice words, guys! It wasn't filled up all the way cos I ran out of water the other day. I bought some today, tho so it is all filled up. One thing tho, I accidentally left seaweed on the clipper in the tank for almost 12 hours and when I came home from work tonight the water was all cloudy. I did a minor water change and cleaned out the Cascade filter. Despite all these and the fact that it has been almost 3 hours since I did all that, the water is still cloudy!!! Such a bummer that I forgot the sea-weed in there. So much for caring for my tang!

 

Any ideas? Do you think the water will clear up soon?

[Reefoholic]

New additions to the tank today, thanks to Mr.Coral! After a 2 hour drive and sitting in traffic on I270, I am the proud owner of many wonderful acro frags (strawberry lemonade, frog skin, some blue tip acro...) Pics to come very soon!

 

Thinking of purchasing a vortech MP10 ES to replace all the powerheads. Ideas? Suggestions?

[Reefoholic]

Hey everyone,

 

I came home today to an unpleasant surprise! There is brown algae everywhere in my tank and one of the corals that I introduced yesterday has gone completely white. Others are doing more than fine, I see polyp extension on all the new additions. Here are some pics and the water parameters:

 

Ph 8.4

Nitrate 5.0 ppm (high much!)

Ammonia 0 ppm

Nitrite 0 ppm

Phosphate 0.0 ppm

 

 

(This is the strawberry lemonade frag that I introduced yesterday)

 

Another new addition, polyps fully extended and looks pretty happy!

 

Frogskin Acro, introduced yesterday. Glowing neon dark green!

 

 

Something blue and pretty. If anyone knows what it is let me know. Also introduced yesterday!

 

 

 

Please let me know what you think is happening! I loved that strawberry lemonade frag and it died on me the first day !

[hypertech]

You just set this tank up, right?

 

Likely diatoms. They'll go away in a week or two on their own.

[Reefoholic]

Technically yes. But all the LR (except from those two pieces on the left side of the tank) are from my old tank which was 2 years old and the water is partially from the other tank as well. I am more concerned about the acro frag turning all white tho. any suggestions?

 

 

You just set this tank up, right?

 

Likely diatoms. They'll go away in a week or two on their own.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Reefoholic

[Reefoholic]

New addition: AquaC Remora Nano HOB Skimmer. Here are some pics! It has already started collecting up some gunk. It is releasing tiny amount of micro bubbles into the tank as of now, but I think those are gonna disappear when it completely breaks in. How long do you think the "break-in" period is? 2 weeks?

 

 

 

 

Remora at the corner!

[hypertech]

Is the sand new? Its purely anecdotal, but I tend to think whatever causes the diatoms comes in new sand. I have no proof.

 

The SPS simply died. Could be bad acclimation, could have been stressed before you got it, could have been bad luck. Since your tank is new and you are already adding things like SPS, you should be prepared for more losses with or without any explanation. SPS do better in more established tanks. They are tough in any nano and extra difficult in a new nano.

[Reefoholic]

the sand is partially new. I had to add more sand to make up after the transfer from 14 gal. I am watching the other SPS closely to see if they are stressed or getting worse. Will keep you guys posted!

 

Is the sand new? Its purely anecdotal, but I tend to think whatever causes the diatoms comes in new sand. I have no proof.

 

The SPS simply died. Could be bad acclimation, could have been stressed before you got it, could have been bad luck. Since your tank is new and you are already adding things like SPS, you should be prepared for more losses with or without any explanation. SPS do better in more established tanks. They are tough in any nano and extra difficult in a new nano.

[trockafella]

Back to the sump idea... You dont need a sump half the size of your tank, but a 10 gallon would probably work just fine. I dont know that you have space for another 20g underneath. You have a very nice clean tank, EXCEPT for ALL the equipment hanging there.. Painting the back may help hide some of it, but all that stuff, pumps/heaters/cords/filter intake and return, kind of clutters up your tank. In a large tank it would be spread out, but in your tank you have as much equipment in the tank as you do rock/corals.. Do yourself a favor, get a sump, add a refugium to it, throw all your equipment in there, and make your livestock the focal point and not all the wires, pumps etc.. You will end up with more flexibility, better filtration and a very clean looking tank.. Just my 2cents.

[hypertech]

If you do do a sump, maybe a 20H? I wouldn't put any baffles in it, hang the skimmer on there and use the whole thing as a fuge. Typically, tiny fuges on small tanks are pretty much useless, but if you had a 15g fuge, it would probably do your tank well. I had a 40B with a 20H fuge once. I grew a basketball sized cheato ball every two weeks and the tank did really well.

[trockafella]

I guess I will just post in both threads..

 

My reason for the sump is to give you 1.) a place to keep all of your eqiupment, so your display is for looking at livestock not equipment 2.) A place for a refugium, which will beneficial to your tank.

If you dont wanna go with a sump, I would go with the HOB refugium with the built in skimmer, then you have the best of both worlds, and I think it would look better and be more useful to you..

[FearTheTerps]

+1 on what hypertech said, I think you found your source of the diatom bloom. The sand you used may have seen silica based. This just gave the diatoms more stuff to eat which resulted in the bloom.

[Reefoholic]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! I truely greatly appreciate everyone's help!!! I have been reading about SUMPs and fuges lately. I have looked at a couple of designs as well. I don't think I can cut glass or build one from scratch tho. Nor I have the space or the necessary equipment. Any ideas for a ready made SUMP? Something like Eshopps maybe? To be honest, the sump addition will put a dent in my wallet... (esp after Remora and the lights). But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! Any ideas on SUMP designs will be greatly appreciated!

 

 

+1 on what hypertech said, I think you found your source of the diatom bloom. The sand you used may have seen silica based. This just gave the diatoms more stuff to eat which resulted in the bloom.

[hypertech]

All you need for a sump is an empty tank. If you want baffles, silicone in a piece of acrylic. My sump is a 20L. It cost me $20. No need to spend a lot of money.

 

Now, the main tank is either going to need some sort of u tube overflow or you'll need an overflow box and drill it. Since its already full, you've got some choices to make. Small tanks like that tend to crack sometimes when drilling, so don't try to drill it full. If you move forward with an internal overflow idea, I'd just get a new tank, set it all up, then move the stuff over. Perhaps put it on a stand big enough for a 20L to fit in it and then use your current tank for the sump and a new drilled tank for the main tank.

 

Or, just leave the HOB stuff there and run what you have. Redoing your setup to have a 20L with a sump seems like more work than its worth IMHO. Chances are, if you stick with it, you'll be setting up another tank in not too long anyway. Few people stick with a 20g. Most quit or go bigger. Put a sump on your next setup.

[Reefoholic]

Exactly what I was thinking of. It seems like I am going to stick with this hobby for as long as I can afford to run a tank, small or big, so why not wait till I get a bigger setup and implement a SUMP then. Do you think my current setup will be enough to provide a healthy and happy home for my fish/corals/animals? All the pumps and powerheads are going out when my Vortech arrives, so it is olny going to be the skimmer pump and the spray tubes from the canister filter. If my skimmer does so well, as you have suggested earlier hypertech, I can even get rid of the filter too.

 

Now, another question: Do you think it is wise to add more LR for more biological filtration? Wouldn't that limit the swimming area of the fishes?

 

 

 

All you need for a sump is an empty tank. If you want baffles, silicone in a piece of acrylic. My sump is a 20L. It cost me $20. No need to spend a lot of money.

 

Now, the main tank is either going to need some sort of u tube overflow or you'll need an overflow box and drill it. Since its already full, you've got some choices to make. Small tanks like that tend to crack sometimes when drilling, so don't try to drill it full. If you move forward with an internal overflow idea, I'd just get a new tank, set it all up, then move the stuff over. Perhaps put it on a stand big enough for a 20L to fit in it and then use your current tank for the sump and a new drilled tank for the main tank.

 

Or, just leave the HOB stuff there and run what you have. Redoing your setup to have a 20L with a sump seems like more work than its worth IMHO. Chances are, if you stick with it, you'll be setting up another tank in not too long anyway. Few people stick with a 20g. Most quit or go bigger. Put a sump on your next setup.

Edited April 17, 2011 by Reefoholic

[Reefoholic]

Just made my first batch of homemade fish food! The ingredients are:

 

2 Bay Scallops

2 Jumbo Sea Scallops

1 Jumbo Shrimp

2 Sheets of Two Little Fishes Sea Veggies

1 tbspn New Life Spectrum Marine Fish Formula

2 tbspn Rod's Food Pacific Plankton

 

Before

 

 

After

 

 

Disclaimer: After grinding them all together in the food processor, be wise and get your significant other out of the kitchen or big trouble could be coming your way. I washed all the equipment with hot water right away because it stinks like H-E-double hockey sticks!(cool edit, I didn't know it was a forbidden word, lol)

Edited April 17, 2011 by Reefoholic

[Reefoholic]

My Vortech MP10 is arriving today. Any placement and setting suggestions? I was thinking of putting it on the left side wall and maybe leaving one powerhead down below to establish some current right above the sand.

ideas?

 

Also, suggestions for a RO/DI unit? I was looking at TYPHOON 5 Stage RODI Reefkeeper 75 or 100 GPD by AWI.

[dakotasreef]

Side placement should be good. In that size tank you won't need to run it at full speed. I personally like reef crest mode. It should actually create a nice undertow that should eliminate any need for more powerheads.