My Custom 6G Nano

[EDGRAY]

a gallon sounds ok but personally and well everyone does their water changes as they think but if i had the 6g tank of what probably i do since i have 12g but with LR, LS and other stuff i think i have like 6-8g of water anyways i do 4-5g of water change every week and for you to keep everything ill be doing 2-4g everyweek but is up to you...

 

[skipm]

The more you change the better you water parameters should be but you also need to be more careful to make sure that the temp, pH, salinity, etc. match or you will shock your tanks inhabitants. This is a good reason to use either Catalina or NutriSeawater, both of these products are basically filtered natural seawater (NSW). The water parameters are already the same with the exception of temp and thats the easiest one to check and to adjust.

 

[EDGRAY]

You right skipm i forgot to mentioned that... i always check the PH & SG... and well i always heat up my new water until is 1 degree higher than the tank combined with a pump so all the water got and some ventilation....

 

[skipm]

It is also a good idea to make sure the water is well aerated before adding it to the tank.

 

[TimSchmidt]

According to Mike the UV unit is worth the price. He claims without it he would have lost quite a few of his fish. You could get a smaller one for quite cheap. I would recommend setting up the UV so it can be taken off without undoing your plumbing. I think it involves getting it's own powerhead to run the water through the UV unit, this way you can take off the UV when it's not needed. Just remember that a UV unit kills EVERYTHING in the water. So if you just "feed the tank" with live food turn it off for a bit Hope that didn't confuse you.

 

[aquemeni5110]

Thanks skipm and EDGRAY. Sounds like a lot of work especially for weekly water changes. I will do the 1 gallon a week change and see how things go.

Hey Tim, I came across this UV sterilizer. It has a built-in powerhead.

http://nanotuners.nanocustoms.com/nanot ... f383cfeedf

What do you think? I too thought about purchasing a UV but like you said it kills everything. Does that include corraline algae? What about trace elements? Is Micro-vert and Marine Snow, Phytoplex, etc, considered as live food? If so, can I run the UV at night so that corals and invertabrates have enough time to eat? Sorry for all the questions but I gotta ask! Thanks.

Brian

 

[TimSchmidt]

That is a pretty cost efficient looking UV. I've never used or seen those up close that one seems to be as basic as it gets. So if money is an issue I say go for it and take it for a test. Nanotuners is pretty good about taking things back if you are not happy with them (don't take too long to make your mind up though). I personally would prefer a UV sterilizer that has a twist action in it like the one listed here.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/P ... 004+113778

This one is more expensive but the idea is with the twist the water stays in contact with the UV light longer thus being more effective. It's all a matter of quality versus quantity. Plankton is alive so if the food you are using is alive (varies by producer I believe) yes it will kill it. You can run the UV for a set time each day or target feed your corals and fish and leave the UV running for a week to kill as much Ich as possible. I really hope Mike chimes in to give you better advice. But that is my two cents. Hope that helps you out.

I'm not sure how to link other threads but do a search for "Getting the right exposure to kill parasites..." and you should find a thread that will really help you.

 

[skipm]

The UV will kill anything that is waterborn so things like coraline are safe.
Products like Phytoplex, Microvert, marine Snow, etc. are stabilized but are not live so there would be no affect on these, its stuff like DTs and the other stuff that is refridgerated that it will kill along with planktonic life in the water column.

 

[aquemeni5110]

Tim, skipm - Thanks for the help. I'm dosing the last of the "NO ICH" treatment. I'll keep you guys updated.

Brian

 

[aquemeni5110]

Just finished dosing "NO ICH", did my first water change, put in a bag of chemi-pure and phos-zorb, and removed the bio balls which will soon be a fuge. Hopefully planning to get a uv sterilizer and new lighting sometime next month.

Here are some new pictures:

I had cut (2) pieces of black acrylic to cover up each end of the filter. One of them has a cut-out to view water level.

Added 2 more pounds of LR.

Just added: I forgot the name of this coral. Does anyone know?

Just added: Anemone Crab

ROAR!

Still plain: Not much to look at. I'll probably pick up the uv sterilizer and the new lighting before I buy any new corals.

I stopped dosing Kent Pro-Buffer and am now trying Purple-Up..

 

[Anonymous]

i really like this tank - your doing a very nice job! nice crab and i believe your coral is capnella or any one of a number of softies commonly called "kenya tree"
but, you don't need to dose anything in that tank your likely just going to mess up the water params and alkalinity. people who need to dose have systems with Ca hungry corals like SPS's. for most small mixed garden reefs simply changing water is by far your best option. they rave all those products up cuz they want to SELL poduct but you don't need ANY of that stuff! and i believe purple up has iodine as well as Ca in it so if your not testing for that you can easily overdo it. save your money for more water changes and high quality lighting - you're critters will be happier. and as far as the uv system IMO you don't need that either. keep your system stable and avoid overcrowding and other stressers and you don't need one - fish and critters get sick when there are probs in the tank, like overcrouding stress or ammonia spikes. again money that can be spent on whats really important - like a high quality skimmer.

 

[TimSchmidt]

Well good luck. I agree about the purple up. Keep those pictures coming. Love the tank setup, the added rock looks nice!

 

[aquemeni5110]

So, do you guys dose anything in your tanks? Or do you just do frequent water changes? The Kent supplements that I have been dosing with, I bought a while back when I had a 20g. The only supplement that I've bought recently was the Purple Up.

It seems like everyone on this site has at least one custom modification on their tank(s) and I really like that!

 

[Anonymous]

yea customizing is the fun!!!
i dose my SPS nano with a kalk drip and that is it - very high CA demand cause it is all acros and montis. my 125 also gets some KALK and buffer (i also have SPS's in there) if the ALK falls but otherwise nothing but water changes. a mixed garden reef doesn't even need kalkwasser really.
i believe in good lights, good flow, good protein skimmer (some get away without this on nanos), and water changes - spend your money there and with time/patience you'll be successful. JMO of course

 

[TimSchmidt]

I don't do the skimming (but I will add one later I'm sure, when I increase my bioload) but all I use is buffer on my top off water.

 

[aquemeni5110]

Tim,

I no longer have room for a skimmer. Well, Maybe if I get a Hang on w/ longer tubing and a stronger pump.


With my 2 1/2 gallon top off tank below, would it be safe to put buffer in it and let it sit till it automatically tops off? There's no circulation down there. If so, can I dose liquid buffer or just the mix kind? What other additives can I add in my top off?



Johnanddawn - Thanks for the tips and comments!

 

[TimSchmidt]

Mix the buffer in the top off water until it matches the P.H. of your tank water then you can put it under your tank with no huge worries (If you use the mix make sure to mix well). Some people dose kalk (calcium) in their top off water. Ask someone with more experience with kalk though, I'm pretty sure it has a really strong PH level.

 

[aquemeni5110]

Thanks Tim. I'll be sure to look into it more. Ever since I put the chemipure and phos-zorb bags, my flow of intake has slowed down. It doesn't seem to skim the surface as good because I now have some-what of an oil film. Plus the water is also a bit cloudy. Any suggestions?


I purchaced a 9w 3X Coralife Turbo Twist UV Sterilizer and a 606 Mini-Jet powerhead. It should arrive sometime next week.



I really want to put a skimmer and a bigger refugium so I looked around for some ideas. Here's what I found:

If I were to build my own, I plan on using a 5.5 gallon tank since it fits perfectly in the cabinet below. It won't be the exact same design but it's pretty close. I'd probably fix the fuge after the skimmer.

 

[aquemeni5110]

Update:

My Coralife Turbo Twist UV Sterilizer arrived and was installed yesterday.

Picked up some mushrooms at my LFS

Close up

Couple of tubeworms popping up.

I got a couple of these.. Flatworm??Harmful?

Tank Shots: I removed some sand that had accumulated some algae hair. Looks a lot cleaner now. Hopefully the UV Filter will keep it from coming back.

Yup, It's official.. I'm broke..!! I can only imagine how much more damage I could do with a bigger tank.

Brian

 

[EDGRAY]

uuuuohhhh you tank is looking great and all that setup WOW i think Mike has some competition here :lol: and well it look like FW .... and they are really bad if i were you dose FLATWORM EXIT ASAP before is too late... :mrgreen: