Second Try at Reefing with an IM 20 gal Nuvo Fusion

stayjejune · Jan 31, 2017

strummerfan said:
Do something about the aiptasia now. I've always used joe's and a hypodermic needle

What is Joe's? You're right, I should order something today to take care of it as soon as possible

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Anthony357 · Jan 31, 2017

yeah ive had the spin streams for about 2 weeks now or so, definitely less noise once they get that 'film' built up on them. My biggest noise maker now is the ghost protein skimmer i got about 2 weeks ago as well, still seems to make lots of noise, ughhh. I could always trade it in for a media basket with all the fixin's (which will make ZERO noise..) haha

stayjejune · Jan 31, 2017

Anthony357 said:
yeah ive had the spin streams for about 2 weeks now or so, definitely less noise once they get that 'film' built up on them. My biggest noise maker now is the ghost protein skimmer i got about 2 weeks ago as well, still seems to make lots of noise, ughhh. I could always trade it in for a media basket with all the fixin's (which will make ZERO noise..) haha

That is great news. Luckily the nose isn't as bad as I thought. Haha the ol' protein skimmer!! I'm pretty disappointed that IM made such a noise maker. I'm trying to go as long as I can without a skimmer. Hopefully 10% weekly water changes will do the trick.

I'm think about throwing in a media basket to run some carbon. Water is pretty clear, but I want it CRYSTAL clear. Are you running carbon or any sort of media on your tank?

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rockhead51 · Feb 1, 2017

Re: your ATO. If it is the AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro, you need the sensor in a chamber that is relatively quiet. My chamber 2 has my rack and so is not suitable. I run it in 3, and it works like a charm.

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stayjejune · Feb 1, 2017

rockhead51 said:
Re: your ATO. If it is the AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro, you need the sensor in a chamber that is relatively quiet. My chamber 2 has my rack and so is not suitable. I run it in 3, and it works like a charm.

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By chamber 3 do you mean the middle chamber? I had the optical eye there originally and it filled the rear chamber well past the optical eye. I read somewhere that the optical eye needs to be in a translucent chamber; aka, won't work in the rear compartments

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rockhead51 · Feb 1, 2017

I misread and thought we were running the same tank- my chamber three (in a BioCube 32 LED) is the pump chamber; 2 is the media basket. Mine works just fine there. Not translucent, but not in total darkness either. Bigger issue, from what I've read is splashing.

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stayjejune · Feb 1, 2017

rockhead51 said:
I misread and thought we were running the same tank- my chamber three (in a BioCube 32 LED) is the pump chamber; 2 is the media basket. Mine works just fine there. Not translucent, but not in total darkness either. Bigger issue, from what I've read is splashing.

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Ah, my chamber 3 is also my return pump. I'm sorry for confusing thing but are you running the optical eye in the pump chamber or the media basket chamber? I was running my optical eye in the pump chamber when it almost caused the tank to overflow.

Maybe I just don't know how to place it, but I haven't been able to find a level to place the optical eye so that it keeps the tank at a consistent level.

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rockhead51 · Feb 1, 2017

Yes. My pump chamber. I just filled my tank to normal depth, and then set the magnet and sensor. You are running it so that the wire goes up, right?

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stayjejune · Feb 1, 2017

rockhead51 said:
Yes. My pump chamber. I just filled my tank to normal depth, and then set the magnet and sensor. You are running it so that the wire goes up, right?

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Correct! This may be a crazy question, but at what point does you ATO pump turn on? As in, where is your water level on the optical eye when the pump turns on?

I can't figure out if it is at the bottom of the triangular extrusion or when the water dips below half way past the triangular extrusion

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rockhead51 · Feb 1, 2017

I THINK it is at the bottom. To test, just slide the magnet up until it kicks on... Remember, there will be a slight delay between when the light starts to flash and when the water gets there.

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stayjejune · Feb 1, 2017

rockhead51 said:
I THINK it is at the bottom. To test, just slide the magnet up until it kicks on... Remember, there will be a slight delay between when the light starts to flash and when the water gets there.

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Interesting. I'll have to give that one a try. I haven't tried to pull it all the way until it reaches the bottom. Thanks for the advice, rock!!

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Anthony357 · Feb 2, 2017

stayjejune said:
That is great news. Luckily the nose isn't as bad as I thought. Haha the ol' protein skimmer!! I'm pretty disappointed that IM made such a noise maker. I'm trying to go as long as I can without a skimmer. Hopefully 10% weekly water changes will do the trick.

I'm think about throwing in a media basket to run some carbon. Water is pretty clear, but I want it CRYSTAL clear. Are you running carbon or any sort of media on your tank?

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Im not running any media right now, just the two sock filters in the corners and the protein skimmer, but i have been thinking about that 3 level media basket to replace the protein skimmer, im pretty religious with water changes, and its not hard considering i have a 90 gallon fowlr so i already have the pre made water and everything for water changes for that, so whats a littke 2-5 gallon change on the 20gallon while im at it lol. I might just try turning the protein skimmer down so that it doesnt make much noise at all, although it might hinder its skimming capabilities that way...my water params are good so im not sure what i should do lol, "if its not broke dont break it" LOL

stayjejune · Feb 7, 2017

Hi everyone,

Just a little updated. I've added some new tank inhabitants! I put in two Benggai cardinals (Kevin and Dwight) and a cleaner shrimp (Jacques). So far they seem to be loving everything. I'm also considering putting in an order for an Aquamaxx HOB-1. Water changes haven't been as regular as I want them to be so I'm hoping the skimmer will help keep parameters in check.

My goby seems to be doing better! Still have yet to seem him eat though and he doesn't hangout in the front of the tank much. He seems to like to toy with the idea of going into the Pistol Shrimp's cave, but refuses to do so. The pistol shrimp seems to only like to go out when I feed. You would think that would be a perfect time for the two of them to meet, but the goby hides whenever I put food into the tank :headwallblue:

THE PISTOL SHRIMP IS LITERALLY RIGHT UNDER THE ROCK WHERE THE GOBY'S TAIL IS

Corals are doing great as well! Everyone but the torch coral as of today. One of the heads has lost its color and only inflates a minimal amount. Not sure what is happening there. Otherwise, everything is going great!

Anthony357 · Feb 7, 2017

tank is looking great! love the coral choices!

stayjejune · Feb 8, 2017

Anthony357 said:
tank is looking great! love the coral choices!

Thanks! I can't wait until they cover the plugs a little better so I can mount them

stayjejune · Feb 10, 2017

Stocking Ideas & Input

Stocking Ideas & Input

Just thought I'd post some ideas and see if I could get some feed back in regard to livestock. I know I'm pushing the upper limit of fish/inverts that I should responsibly have in my tank. I currently have two Benggai Cardinals (kind of regretting putting two of them in), an orange spotted goby, pistol shrimp, and cleaner shrimp. With weekly 2.5-3 gallon water changes I feel comfortable enough adding in one snowflake clownfish. The reason being is that I'd like to eventually put in some sort of anemone to get the clown to host in.

In terms of corals I'm starting to put together a list of what I'd like to put in for my next order. I'm set on another zoa or two and two more acans and/or blastos. I'd like to have one rock on the bottom right side as my zoa garden and put the blastos/acans on some island in the middle or glue them to the larger rock on the left side of the aquarium. Any input on just how high I could place them would be greatly appreciated.

I've never had Favias or Echinatas, but I think they're beautiful corals. I have my eye on a few that I'd like to put in the tank, but I'm not sure how difficult they are to care for or their placement. Do these corals encrust the rock they're placed on or do they grow a large calcium base? Further, other than these corals does anyone have any recommendations as to what I could put in my tank next?

Finally, I've been doing some research on whether the Aquamaxx Nemo light can provide enough light to sustain growth of SPS. After reading many reviews, it seems like it is possible. After seeing a few tanks much deeper than mine sustain healthy growth of SPS I'm considering getting an easy to keep SPS or two and place them at the highest point in my tank. I'm considering getting two from the following group: (1) ORA Neon Birdsnest; (2) WWC Mint Green Stylophora; and (3) Tyree Rainbow Stylophora. Any input before I begin the experiment is more than welcome.

In preparation for the experiment, I will be doing weekly tests to determine just where my nutrient levels are at with weekly water changes. Here are yesterday's test results:

Salinity - 1.025
Ammonia - < 0.2 ppm
Nitrates - 0 ppm
Calcium - 450 ppm
Alkalinity - 7.8 dKH
Magnesium - 1200 ppm

This is the first time I've used the Red Sea test kit so my results might be off, but everything seems to be in an okay range. Feedback is more than welcome on any of the above!

bdare · Feb 10, 2017

Just my .02 here....

On 1/12 you posted that a few days ago you put a piece of raw shrimp in your tank. Unless you packed your tank with fresh live rock from another tank which had no die off and was packed full of bacteria, I can't see how you would possibly be cycled by 2/10.

I suspect this is the reason your clown fish died and why you are still showing ammonia i your tank.

I'm sure you've heard this a thousand times, but "nothing good in this hobby happens fast" are words to live by. It appears things are simmering down, but I would S L O W down.

I also don't see what your nitrites are at. I suspect if you have ammonia in the tank you'll also have nitrite.

stayjejune · Feb 10, 2017

bdare said:
Just my .02 here....

On 1/12 you posted that a few days ago you put a piece of raw shrimp in your tank. Unless you packed your tank with fresh live rock from another tank which had no die off and was packed full of bacteria, I can't see how you would possibly be cycled by 2/10.

I suspect this is the reason your clown fish died and why you are still showing ammonia i your tank.

I'm sure you've heard this a thousand times, but "nothing good in this hobby happens fast" are words to live by. It appears things are simmering down, but I would S L O W down.

I also don't see what your nitrites are at. I suspect if you have ammonia in the tank you'll also have nitrite.

Hi bdare,

Thanks for you input! After rereading my post about the shrimp I realized it was rather vague and unclear. Prior to that post I already had live rock and live sand that was sitting in the tank.

The live rock came from my LFS and went directly into my tank within two hours of purchasing. The shrimp that I put into the tank was to spike the ammonia and test the biological filtration after the live rock, sand, and water were in the tank for a few weeks.

I'm not sure why, but my last post didn't include my ammonia reading when I thought I put it in there. As of yesterday, when I tested, my ammonia reading was zero.

stayjejune · Feb 19, 2017

Update

Update

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to post a little update. Tank is doing great. Corals all seem to be doing well as are the fish. Finally saw the goby eat quite a bit of food yesterday so I'm pretty happy to see him eating again. For valentine's day my girlfriend surprised me with an order of coral -- winning her the girlfriend of the year award :love2: :dance:

In other news, thanks to a dank tax return I placed an order for a Radion XR30 G4. Along with that I placed an order for a coral propagation kit so hopefully some time this week I can get the coral off the sand bed and onto the LR. Here are some updated shots of the tank

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918910526/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9038.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2601/32918910526_421b0c54ab_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9038.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918910776/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9039.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/744/32918910776_f51768ec30_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9039.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918910986/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9040.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2525/32918910986_0b2a334d13_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9040.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32116223314/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9041.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3926/32116223314_9aa03f4fb3_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9041.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32116225144/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9042.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2877/32116225144_137ab94ba7_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9042.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918911596/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9043.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2591/32918911596_8b94b88a64_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9043.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32116223694/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9044.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2359/32116223694_512e48604b_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9044.JPG"></a>

stayjejune · Feb 19, 2017

Update Continued...

Update Continued...

Can someone help ID this coral? I think it's a Jason Fox Limelight Hydnophora, but I'm not 100% sure.

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918911886/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9045.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/653/32918911886_89fa98d29e_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9045.JPG"></a>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32116223904/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9046.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2565/32116223904_6db3c55ed0_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9046.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918912196/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9047.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2560/32918912196_848b4c7745_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9047.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918912656/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9049.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3932/32918912656_83e263ed97_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9049.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918913316/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9052.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/319/32918913316_096f225a54_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9052.JPG"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32116224684/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9054.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3738/32116224684_e700e8cd37_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_9054.JPG"></a>

And FTS

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32918914196/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_9056.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2634/32918914196_6cc6df4779_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="IMG_9056.JPG"></a>

Second Try at Reefing with an IM 20 gal Nuvo Fusion

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