rica5tully
New member
Hi, I'm new to Nano tanks and my tank just isn't doing well. Any suggestions would really be appreciated...
I recently downsized from a 72-gallon bowfront. My lighting was just powercompacts and I had low to moderate flow in tank. I had a sump and a Euroreef skimmer. For corals, I had pulsing xenia, orange monti-cap, green pocilopora-digi, candy cains, GSP, mushrooms, frogspawn, hammer coral leathers and some other misc. corals. Everything grew like crazy and was super healthy. For space/budget reasons, I had to take it down, and decided to move into a 20-gallon nano.
I bought a hydora powerhead and I'm running an Aqua-C remora skimmer as well as an AquaClear HOB filter with sponges for mechanical filtration. So there is a decent amount of flow in the tank. I have Tech T-5 lights (2x24) which is a huge increase in lighting with nice parabolic reflectors. These are my parameters:
Temp = 79-80F
PH = 7.8
Alk = 8
Calcium = 380-400
Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 0
SG = 1.025-1.026 (some fluctuation with water changes)
It's a 20-gallon tank and I change 2.5 gallons a week with Reef Crystals.
Fish: Six-line Wrasse, bi-color blenny, Cinnamon clown
Inverts: coral banded shrimp, hermits, snails, serpent star
Corals:
green pocilopora-digi (now faded with only one branch still barely showing polyps)
orange monti-cap (faded; one piece is dead, the other is close)
purpose mushrooms (shriveled)
GSP - looking great
Candy Cane - looking great
Hammer coral - fair; polyps look o.k. but it's not growing
I also have some VERY healthy aiptasia anenomes (wouldn't you know)
So that's my problem. I set this tank up about 4 months ago and it is just languishing. I can't think of any reason why the corals are struggling so much. I have lots of purple algae, so it doesn't seem to be a calcium problem (since the SPS are especially bad).
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? It would be a big help.
Thank you,
Eric Tully
I recently downsized from a 72-gallon bowfront. My lighting was just powercompacts and I had low to moderate flow in tank. I had a sump and a Euroreef skimmer. For corals, I had pulsing xenia, orange monti-cap, green pocilopora-digi, candy cains, GSP, mushrooms, frogspawn, hammer coral leathers and some other misc. corals. Everything grew like crazy and was super healthy. For space/budget reasons, I had to take it down, and decided to move into a 20-gallon nano.
I bought a hydora powerhead and I'm running an Aqua-C remora skimmer as well as an AquaClear HOB filter with sponges for mechanical filtration. So there is a decent amount of flow in the tank. I have Tech T-5 lights (2x24) which is a huge increase in lighting with nice parabolic reflectors. These are my parameters:
Temp = 79-80F
PH = 7.8
Alk = 8
Calcium = 380-400
Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 0
SG = 1.025-1.026 (some fluctuation with water changes)
It's a 20-gallon tank and I change 2.5 gallons a week with Reef Crystals.
Fish: Six-line Wrasse, bi-color blenny, Cinnamon clown
Inverts: coral banded shrimp, hermits, snails, serpent star
Corals:
green pocilopora-digi (now faded with only one branch still barely showing polyps)
orange monti-cap (faded; one piece is dead, the other is close)
purpose mushrooms (shriveled)
GSP - looking great
Candy Cane - looking great
Hammer coral - fair; polyps look o.k. but it's not growing
I also have some VERY healthy aiptasia anenomes (wouldn't you know)
So that's my problem. I set this tank up about 4 months ago and it is just languishing. I can't think of any reason why the corals are struggling so much. I have lots of purple algae, so it doesn't seem to be a calcium problem (since the SPS are especially bad).
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? It would be a big help.
Thank you,
Eric Tully
