NanoGurl's 75g Reef Thread
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NanoGurl
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10586451#post10586451 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by muelpaul
Very cool NanoGurl
A local RCer in my area has a red sea nano tank, and they have more than enough corals from a 65 tear down to fill it up.
Are you going with all zoo's and mushrooms with this nano?
I like the Red Seas.. they have T5 lighting and look really cool. I was turned off from them by reports of lighting problems, and their customer service response on a few threads here on RC. I doubt Oceanic would be much better with problems though.
No, I'm not going to do mushrooms I don't think. Right now I think some zoas, some acans, sun corals and maybe a frogspawn or something similar. Still researching that one =)
NanoGurl
In Memoriam
I forgot to update about my nitrate problem earlier. If you remember, I was having very high nitrates, even with regular water changes. I even did large water changes to get the levels back down to around 20, but they would go back up to 30 to 50 within a few days.
I thought the problem was Oreo (zebra eel) and Ocean (PBT) being so dirty... and I am sure that's part of the problem still...
But if you remember me asking about my ASM skimmer sponge on the PVC... i asked about if that needed cleaning.. and the answer was yes... I had never cleaned it ever... never even thought about having to do that!!
So I cleaned it and removed everything from the sponge. It was green and brown... after the cleaning it went back to being black.
The good news is my nitrates have remained steady at 10 or under since then. What a big difference that made!
I thought the problem was Oreo (zebra eel) and Ocean (PBT) being so dirty... and I am sure that's part of the problem still...
But if you remember me asking about my ASM skimmer sponge on the PVC... i asked about if that needed cleaning.. and the answer was yes... I had never cleaned it ever... never even thought about having to do that!!
So I cleaned it and removed everything from the sponge. It was green and brown... after the cleaning it went back to being black.
The good news is my nitrates have remained steady at 10 or under since then. What a big difference that made!
Darkstar04
New member
Need a recent full tank picture. 75g is a nice size, and your aquascaping that I have seen thus far has been great.
I want to know where you find your zoas!
I want to know where you find your zoas!
NanoGurl
In Memoriam
Heater and Thermometer Issues
Okay, so I'm starting to get annoyed again. I originally had pro heat titanium heaters that I was told were good.. but they ended up sucking and breaking and one almost caught on fire. So I threw those away.
Then I was told Ebo Jager heaters were great. So I got them for my tanks.. and now I'm having issues with them as well. I know one out of three is broken and overheating my tank way too much.
Then.
I bought the coralife digital thermometers thinking they were good. Well, I think they are not working right either.
The digital one reads 82.7 in my nano and I bought a cheap mercury floating one from Wal*Mart (actually two) and put them in the tank. They are both reading 86. The heater was set at 79 and was still on!!!!!
So I ask.
What brand of heaters are good, and what do you guys use to check your temps that's reliable? At this point, I don't know what to trust.
Okay, so I'm starting to get annoyed again. I originally had pro heat titanium heaters that I was told were good.. but they ended up sucking and breaking and one almost caught on fire. So I threw those away.
Then I was told Ebo Jager heaters were great. So I got them for my tanks.. and now I'm having issues with them as well. I know one out of three is broken and overheating my tank way too much.
Then.
I bought the coralife digital thermometers thinking they were good. Well, I think they are not working right either.
The digital one reads 82.7 in my nano and I bought a cheap mercury floating one from Wal*Mart (actually two) and put them in the tank. They are both reading 86. The heater was set at 79 and was still on!!!!!
So I ask.
What brand of heaters are good, and what do you guys use to check your temps that's reliable? At this point, I don't know what to trust.
melev
Well-known member
There are a few things you need to know:
Heaters should never be set based on the numbers on the heater. I have many of them set to 72F that really shut off at 79F - 81F. When setting a heater, what I do is do it when the tank is the correct temperature at that moment. Then I dial the heater up until the light clicks on, then dial it back down until the light goes out. You have to kind of work it back and forth until you feel you hit the sweet spot.
The best way to avoid cooking a tank is to get two heaters that each provide 50% of the necessary heat. The recommendation is 3w per gallon, so if you have a 100g tank, you need two 150w heaters. If one stays on, it doesn't have the juice to cook your reef.
I like the Big Temp Alert and the smaller version. I also have some glass ones for verification/comparison. And I recently purchased the Pinpoint Wireless thermometer, which is nice. You can have up to four tanks (4 sensors) talking to the main base and keep track of each system.
Heaters should never be set based on the numbers on the heater. I have many of them set to 72F that really shut off at 79F - 81F. When setting a heater, what I do is do it when the tank is the correct temperature at that moment. Then I dial the heater up until the light clicks on, then dial it back down until the light goes out. You have to kind of work it back and forth until you feel you hit the sweet spot.
The best way to avoid cooking a tank is to get two heaters that each provide 50% of the necessary heat. The recommendation is 3w per gallon, so if you have a 100g tank, you need two 150w heaters. If one stays on, it doesn't have the juice to cook your reef.
I like the Big Temp Alert and the smaller version. I also have some glass ones for verification/comparison. And I recently purchased the Pinpoint Wireless thermometer, which is nice. You can have up to four tanks (4 sensors) talking to the main base and keep track of each system.
melev
Well-known member
I use Hydor and Ebo Jagers. I heard Ebo's were bought out by Eheim, and that is why they are now called Jagers.
Ebo Jagers used to be considered excellent. However, over time some people reported issues. It turns out some submerged them fully, while others kept the capped section above water level as directed on the package (Canadians were instructed to install them that way, while USA clients were not - weird but true).
If you don't like glass heaters, Hydor feels theirs are relatively indestructible. And titanium heaters can't break, but their knob can be bumped accidentally. Those really should come with a flip cover like DefCon Nuclear Red Buttons in the movies. That way nothing can brush it accidentally and nuke your tank.
Ebo Jagers used to be considered excellent. However, over time some people reported issues. It turns out some submerged them fully, while others kept the capped section above water level as directed on the package (Canadians were instructed to install them that way, while USA clients were not - weird but true).
If you don't like glass heaters, Hydor feels theirs are relatively indestructible. And titanium heaters can't break, but their knob can be bumped accidentally. Those really should come with a flip cover like DefCon Nuclear Red Buttons in the movies. That way nothing can brush it accidentally and nuke your tank.
You can also get an idea of how close a thermometer is to "true" by sticking the probe part in a glass of ice cubes, add water, and stir vigorously. Temperature should be close to 0 degrees centigrade or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Obviously, this generally works better with digital thermometers rather than mercury ones.
Spleen
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