16g BB SPS cube

[uhuru]

dp

 

[InsaneClownFish]

What's your specific gravity?

 

[uhuru]

1.026 why is there a correlation?

 

[InsaneClownFish]

I am a firm believer that certain types of nuissance algae become more prolific when you get further away from nsw, and more specifically, the lower you specific gravity is. At 1.026, this shouldn't be a factor at all.

I had actually suspected you were running lower.

How large is your sump? My second idea is to somehow increase your total water volume.

 

[uhuru]

Sump is 10g only about 6g full. A bigger one is definitely something I've been considering. I've also thought about an RDSB to get some denitrification going on that way. We'll see

 

[InsaneClownFish]

I liked your setup from the get go, but the one thing I wasn't comfy with was the lil sump.

I'm doing a 16g with a 40g sump..

The dwell time and turnover should be perfect for the big Euroreef. I'm not concerned at all about siphoning detritus...I'm going to point a Koralia at the bottom and let any small amounts swirl. The massive sump and turnover should take care of any issues that might arise from 'stuff' in the water column while still providing 'stuff' for the sps. Regular water changes are a must.

 

[uhuru]

The problem for me was I was so thrilled that nothing settled on the bottom I didn't realize half of it was eventually finding it's way into the rocks. You are right with a 40g sump even if some of the detritus breaks down in your tank it will be so diluted in relation to the water volume it will not be a big deal. In all honesty if I would've just taken a turkey baster to the rocks every day it would not be a big deal either. That's what I do now. I think even in your case I would blow off the rocks daily. It feeds the corals anyways.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

Consider that it might not be the problem of the detritus settling on or in the rocks. You could blow it off but that just puts the junk back in the water column. I think small amounts of that type of biological filtration, the LR, are very important and neccesary for what you are trying to achieve.

I would also consider the possibility that you may have gone a touch to high/fast with your bioload and your feedings. I understand your mindset with indirect and natural feeding of your sps, however I'm starting to think that this can be achieved with a much more subtle bioload.

Or, look at it this way, if you had the bioload with a larger sump it might not have been an issue.

All things being equal- and it sounding like you have a firm grasp on all your other parameters, I would say you have two options.
1. Lower the load
2. Increase the water volume

 

[uhuru]

just posting an updated shot of my tank -

don't remember if I mentioned this here but it turns out I had a dinoflagellate problem NOT cyano. It was a major PITA to truly eradicate this stuff, finally I started using the zeovit system and within 7 weeks it was gone and never came back. They have a product called Pohl's Coral Snow that is just amazing. Supposed to work for cyano as well. I also switched from Reef Crystals to Seachem Reef Salt.

My corals are all pretty pale but they are showing excellent growth (and PE) and I'm going to start feeding them more again soon to get the colors back.

 

[glassbox-design]

looking good. how are you liking zeo? i'll be trying out FM's version of coral snow in a couple weeks. i've only heard good things about the CS and hope the FM works as well.

 

[uhuru]

So far I'm very impressed. It was awesome to watch the progression. First I started having new algae appear from the rocks, from nutrients being flushed out. About a week after the first zeolite exchange is when the tank started becoming low nutrient. The algae (including dinos) started to disappear - yes even bubble algae started dying off! I was a little worried that my snails would now start to starve but they actually seem to eat the bacterial film that grows on the panels. I kept my fingers crossed and the tank only seems to be getting better. The thing is I don't feed a lot anymore, and with only the basic 4 you can get really washed out colors. That is my problem right now. I'm hoping as the zeo system becomes more established and I start introducing new supplements (just started dosing Elos AA's and have sponge power on order) the colors will return. The funny thing is the corals are encrusting like mad so I don't know if they are truly starving or what?

If the FM product is like CS you will love it. It should clean up the water and really kick up your skimmer production too.

 

[uhuru]

Well lets hope 2008 is a better year for my corals! Heres what some of them look like now, hopefully by 2009 they will have outgrown my nano tank. (Some of the colors are off I was experimenting with different light settings on my point and shoot.)

Lets hope this guy turns purple for me again.

Lets hope this birdsnest grows back all the branches it lost from dinos

 

[temec_luver]

wwhat type of fish are those

 

[uhuru]

thats a long nose hawkfish, they have great personalities and are probably my favorite type of fish. I also have 2 flame hawkfish in QT that will be going in a different tank

 

[Western_reefer]

Sweet looking nano! Any updates?

 

[uhuru]

thanks! the system was taken down several years ago when I moved to another state

 

[Western_reefer]

Oh, that sucks. It was a beautiful tank!