# Switching a 20G planted into a SW nano reef



## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Hi everyone!
I've been pretty busy lately with school and work, so I haven't been here in a while. But for some time now I've been wanting to transform my 20G planted tank into a SW reef with inverts and maybe a few cool looking reef-friendly fish.
So let me tell you what I have, and I'd like if you guys could tell me what else I really need to get. 
So:
- 20 gallon tank
- a 20 AC and a 30 AC
- 100W submersible heater
- 65W Coralife light unit (with a 67k bulb, but will get a new bulb with half actinic, half 10k daylight)
this is what it looks like right now:









I think I know what live-sand, salt-mix, hydrometer and rock to get (basically the ones sold at PJ's Pets, so I can use my discount  ). But I would like some suggestions as far as equipment wise. Are those 2 AC's enough for chem & mechanical filtration, as well as water circulation, or do I need to get a powerhear??? Also I've read quite a bit of pro's and con's of using a protein skimmer on nano reef tanks, and thus far I'm inclined on not getting one, but if you guys believe its a must, please recommand me one.

@offtopic:
I will soon be selling the fish and plants in that tank as very good prices, or even trades. So if anyone is interested in the plants, or a female german ram, 6 beautiful harlequim rasboras, 2 neon tetras and 2 big preg female platies and some guppies, please PM me. I could also sell/trade the gravel (a mix of 1.5 years old eco-complete, 6 months old black-flourite and a bit of normal gravel). But I'll be making another post in the designated section with pics and prices.
2 more pics that I also took today:
my corn-snake, 20G and 45G african tanks:








my new 45G assorted baby african cichlids tank:


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Tanks look good Ozi.

As for a skimmer, it depends on your bioload and water change habits. Sounds like you are going to have a light bioload and if you can keep up with water changes, I would suggest on skipping the skimmer.

The AC's are good for running carbon or converting to a refugium. I would add a powerhead to increase flow as well. You don't really need both AC's running unless you are going to use them for two different reasons, but I wouldn't run both just to replace what a powerhead is capable of.

HTH's

Chris


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Thanks Chris!!!
So then no skimmer for me  and I don't have any problem doing a quick 10% water change once a week.
I personally like the versatility of the AC's, which can be filled with media (bio-wheels, sponges, carbon) and also provide water movement and surface agitation. But can you further explain why a power-head is preferred over running the 2 AC's ? (its not the $ problem of buying one, but I don't like seing too much equipment in the water).
And I have another question: why are HOB filters only used as a little refugium or for being used with carbon alone, in SW tanks?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Mechanical filtration in the SW realm are nitrate factories if maintenance is not done on a regular basis. I personally use two of Lifegard's (Pentair) tower filters with two different micron sized filters and then a carbon tower and 40w UV. I clean the filters every 2-3 weeks and carbon as well.

They are handy to keep the water free of floating debris but again, maintenance is critical. As for why a PH is more useful than the AC, have a look at flow. The water tends to just waterfall. A decent PH is a good idea, you have your standard MJ which is more of a stream flow. PH's with good flow are your Koralia, Seio, Tunze, etc.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Wow, that's an impressive filtration system you have there!!!
Then maybe I'll use the AC 30 for carbon and also filter-floss that i could replace with every water change, & the AC 20 just fill up with a bunch of bio-balls. How does that sound?
I believe it would be a shame not to use both of them, since I don't have any other need for them.
As for the PH, what size should I be looking for? would 100gph be enough, or go for an even more powerfull one, like 200gph?

PS: what does MJ stand for?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Thanks very much....

Skip the bioballs not very common in the hobby anymore.

MJ = MaxiJet

On my 40g I have a MJ 1200 (295 gph) and a Koralia 1 (400 gph) with a Mag12 return pump that is dialed down to about 150 gph. I've got it setup for a little higher of a flow rate for corals.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

So I studied a bit the various types of PHs you suggested, and the one I liked best for its design and affordability is the Hydor Koralia one. But you didn't recommend a specific size for my case, so would the Hydor Koralia Nano Water Pump 260 GPH do the job, or should I spend the extra bucks and get the bigger one, which is rated for 400GPH (wouldn't that be overkill?) ?
Thanks again for all your help.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Koralia 1 should be fine, nano might be under powered.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Hi Ozi!!! Happy to see you! 

I am looking forward to seeing what you do!


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Ciddian, I'm really excited of finally going into SW!! And I'll make sure to start a journal, with lots of pictures and lots of questions  
After researching different powerheads and water movement recommendations for reef tanks, I ended up wanting one that will change the direction of its output, in order to create a more turbulent water flow that mimics the waves, and not just a laminar flow that mimics streams and rivers. 
So do you guys think I should go for a PH just as this one: the Power Sweep or get a normal PH fitted with the Rotating Water Deflector ???


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

ozi said:


> Thanks Chris!!!
> So then no skimmer for me  and I don't have any problem doing a quick 10% water change once a week.


you will need more then 10% weekly !!!!!!!!! You will see!!!

I do 20%x2 weekly on my 12gl (cause the tank is smaller)
and because not a lot of LR in it as I wanted to start fresh!

Your in trouble now !
welcome to the Salty world !

p.s. I used 3 korilla nano in my standard 20 gl


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

I don't think powersweep is common in SW. I'd go with regular PH and rotating deflector (not cheap for few bits of plastic). 

My 12G has one PH /w rotating deflector and Koralia Nano. Your 20G will definitely need more than one Koralia Nano.

I do ~3G water change everyweek along with filter floss replacement. It's been OK but I think things could be better. Depending on what you plan to have you might need a better light than what you have there.

Good luck!


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I don't plan to keep anything fancy in there. I don't even know much about reef-keeping and inverts, I'm still in research/learning mode. But I do have a general idea on setting and maintaining a fish & live rock SW tank (all from reading and none from actual experience). 
You guys are starting to scare me a bit with the water-changes  
Maybe I should consider looking for a nano protein-skimmer.
Then I will be going for a stronger PH with rotating deflector. 

Another problem: since I will be starting with just the sand and live rock and slowly adding frags and corals, should I start with a fish-only salt mix (like Instant Ocean), and then at every water change thereafter add the Reef Crystals salt-mix???


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

I only use IO Salt, haven't tried anything else. It has worked for me so no complaint. I do dose kalk once a month and do water changes every 3 months, but I have a much larger system with lots of rock and sand. If you are going to be looking at softies for corals that aren't pigs on calcium and the other minerals than IO will be fine.

As Conix said Powersweep is not common in SW


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

I've read bits and pieces about salt. It seems the Instant Ocean is the most popular, and that's what I use too. 

I've measured calcium level of instant ocean mix + RO water, which is steady at 460ppm. Other parameters I could measure with my test kit looked good too.

I was tempted to switch over to reef crystals, but I couldn't find any proof it was really better for corals.


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

conix67 said:


> I've read bits and pieces about salt. It seems the Instant Ocean is the most popular, and that's what I use too.
> 
> I've measured calcium level of instant ocean mix + RO water, which is steady at 460ppm. Other parameters I could measure with my test kit looked good too.
> 
> I was tempted to switch over to reef crystals, but I couldn't find any proof it was really better for corals.


I think the IO is most popular because of the price factor, under $40 for a 160g bucket and most stock up on boxing day at that price. Most public aquariums do use IO as well.

I have tested several times myself and get low 400's ppm on calcium which is why I top up using kalk drip.


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

Dont be scared of water changes they are your friend and everything like it !
chris system is tops and been running a long time so he is different lol 
your looking at a year maby more depending on what you have ,of good waterchanges .
best thing tho when in doubt do a waterchange and should do the trick! and sooo simple , I do my waterchange in 5 to 10 min !

2x a week for me works water is perfect and clear and everyones happy!


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Thanks guys for all your input!!! I really appreciate it.
Though I have stumbled upon another problem: THE WATER.
At work (PJ's Pets), we use plain dechlorinated tap water for SW, both for the system tanks, and for the individual tanks. Mind you that none of them are reef tanks. The system tanks are fish and sand only, or with small live rock and maybe the ocasional mushroom and anemone. And the individual tanks have mostly mushrooms, few frags here and here, and several corals. But everything is spread out, nothing is densily packed like in a reef tank.
And here, everybody uses RO water, or buys distilled water.
Is that just for the reef tanks or what???
I don't have a RO unit, and I believe buying distilled water would be to expensive over time....what should i do, is the RO filter a must have???


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

I only use tap water with prime and never had any problems with water ..
Others will say different


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

At first, 10% will not be enough, as you will find water changes will be more necessary as top ups rather than actual water changes. I found that as I was adding livestock and drip acclimating them, I was going through my store bought SW pretty quickly the first three months.

In terms of the water movement, get the regular PH with the hydor deflector, and clean it out every so often. The powersweeps will fail on you sooner than later, as the parts that "sweep" will break down and seize up rather quickly. But the Korallias are a good option too, as they provide more broad flow.

I'm sure you'll have lots of fun setting this up and getting it going. I had a huge amount of fun going from FW to SW, and everyday is something new and exciting


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Ozi, stay away from distilled water. Definitely the best option is RO/DI. I have seen tanks that use tap water and even well water and the tanks look amazing. The issue with the tap and well water is the chemical balance changes and you never really know what you are adding to your tank.

Once you get some corals in your tank, they are great indicators as to water quality, especially pulsing xenia. They are very sensitive to water conditions and PH fluctuation.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

I guess that explains why the SW tanks at PJs don't look very clean. They say the tap water contains too much impurities that might cause algae problems. 

Just like UTC says, stick with RO/DI, or at least RO. You can't easily generate distilled water at home and I personally don't believe buying water is a good option in the long run.

Surprisingly the RO/DI units available are cheaper than RO units for drinking water, and have a higher capacity.


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

Re your sponge questions lol

Iuse the aquaclear sponges when I used a HOB on my open top ,along with carbon (from chris) and sometimes amm lok .
the sponges are cheap enough so I would toss them but you can rinse them ...never had any problems with them .
Im actually thinking of rigging one up in my eclipse hood because them filters are so darn expensive!!!!


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I looked at some RO units, but the smallest and cheapest I found so far was $80, and I'm not sure I want to spend that money yet  Also I live in a condo, so I don't have the extra basement tap to hook up the unit.
I guess I'll try tap water with Prime, and I'll put a small internal filter with carbon or purigen when I'm preparing the SW in a 5G bucket.
So at your recommendations of gettin a powerfull PH, I got the AquaClear 50 PH and a Hydor deflector. This PH is rated at 270GHP, so much less than the Koralia 1 which is rated at 400GHP. Besides the bulkiness of this PH, I have found the flow to be extremely powerfull. I put it first in the 45G, and in there it seemed great. But when I tried it in the 20G it was pushing away plants with a lot of force, a lot of detrius from the bottom was send flying everywhere and even the fish were being thrown all around in a pretty aggressive manner. When the deflector was spitting out water towards the top it was almost rising to touch my light unit. I understand a lot of flow is needed in SW tanks, but this seemed ridiculous to me. I want to return this PH back, and just get the AC30 PH which is rated at 175GHP.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Keep the AC50. Think about it. Ever swam in an ocean? I'm almost 6 feet tall, weigh 180lbs, and everytime there was a wave when I was snorkeling off a reef, I'd get thrown about 10 feet in 2 seconds. That's ridiculous water movement. The AC50's got nothing on that. Keep it, you're going to need the flow.

As for the water, get the RO/DI unit. I live in a condo too. My 4 stage RO/DI unit cost about $180, but the single membrane set (5 micron sleeve, carbon, RO membrane, DI cartridge will cost about $80 to replace) I'm on now will last me at least 2 years, as I only make about 10g a week (top off + WC water).
Also, I hook it up to the showerhead's water supply - unscrew the showerhead, and attach the RO/DI intake (with a 3/4" male to 1/2" female adaptor of course), and make RO in the bath tub. Also eliminates overflowing the reservoir onto the floor. And it eliminates the need to add extra crap into the water, and use up expensive chemical media and resins (which won't cut it BTW....you will exhaust that purigen faster than you could ever hope to lower phosphate/nitrates in the water, and you'll still have all the silicates and other TDS in there too). 

Part of the SW hobby that I've read over and over and over again is to get the best and most optimal equipment possible the FIRST time around. Get the RO/DI machine; it may be a bit pricey, but it'll be well worth it. Alternatively, buy all your RO/DI and pre-mixed SW from a place like BA which makes RO/DI SW. It's more cost effective for a small tank than buying a RO/DI machine and Salt to make your own SW.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

You made me think of things in a new perspective ameekplec. Thanks!!
So I will hang on to the PH and maybe play around with finding a better location for it in the tank. You're so right about buying quality products the first time around, cauz otherwise there will only be extra money wasted along the road, until you will smarten up enough to actually go and get the right stuff. And I certainly don't want to buy all the corals and frags and have them die on me, or be covered by algae. So then I need to do more research on the RO/DI machines.
How do these 2 look?
1 and 2


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Congratulations Ozi!!! You will LOVE SW and realize that they really aren't as scary as you may think. 

I have a Cadlight 22g at work. My routine consists of Kent 2-part daily dosing (except on weekends) and weekly water changes every Friday of approximately 5 gallons. It really takes no time at all, I have it down to a fine art. I don't have a protein skimmer and besides the 400 gph pump, I have a Koralia Nano pushing water in the opposite direction of the loc-line return. I have mainly LPS and softies as well as 2 ocellaris clownfish and a yellowheaded jawfish, a few snails and hermits. I am going to move the jawfish to our custom 112 shallow reef at home and add a PJ Cardinalfish simply because the jawfish doen't come out of his hole very much except to eat.

With regards to water, you can have RO water delivered from Cedar Springs if you don't want to hook up a RO/DI system. Ross uses them as do I on occassion. I do not recommend using tap water, but that's just my opinion. 

Good luck, I'll be tagging along!


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

ozi said:


> You made me think of things in a new perspective ameekplec. Thanks!!
> 
> So then I need to do more research on the RO/DI machines.
> How do these 2 look?
> 1 and 2


No problem! It's a mistake that becomes costly not now, but a year or two down the road. Buy what you need the first time around, and you won't be spending two or three times what you need to spend.

As for those RO units, I've heard of some using them, but I think more people with nanos use this:
http://www.amazon.com/MIGHTY-MITE-RO-SYSTEM-50GPD/dp/B000WE8470

But after exchange rates, etc, you'd probaby be just as well off getting a full size RO/DI unit. I got mine off of a group buy on aquariumpros, so my unit cost me just under $180 or $190 shipped (can't remember)


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> No problem! It's a mistake that becomes costly not now, but a year or two down the road. Buy what you need the first time around, and you won't be spending two or three times what you need to spend.
> 
> As for those RO units, I've heard of some using them, but I think more people with nanos use this:
> http://www.amazon.com/MIGHTY-MITE-RO-SYSTEM-50GPD/dp/B000WE8470
> ...


I don't think this vendor even ships to Canada. I'd say just go with local source. $180 is bargain compared to those units from Home Depot.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I started my very first SW tank 2 weeks ago.
A day later I added live sand, which I got for free from PJ's Yorkdale because the store closed down. Unfortunately there was no more live-rock in the store, so I added 3 pieces of spaghetti rock from my african cichlid tank, until I manage to find something better. About a week later, I got a bunch of other freebies: 2 starfish, 2 snails, a crab and a yellow-tail chromis. 
I asked my manager what species did I get, but he was busy & stressed out and did not give me a proper answer...he said he didn't know...which might be true after all  
So now I ask you guys to give me a hand in identifying what these little critters are.
First thing, here's a pic of my tank:








Temperature: 26 C
Salinity: 1.022
NH3: 0.1 ppm
N02: 0.1 ppm
NO3: 25 ppm
I don't have other test kits at the moment, but I have in mind a pH, GH, KH & calcium test kits.

Yellow tail chromis:









Now for the list of unknown critters:
MACROALGAE:








2 STARFISH:
after a good & long google search I found out what these guys are => SAND SIFTING SEA STARS 
















CRAB:
















2 SNAILS (live in the sand, only come out when food is on the suface of the sand. I've seen it eat a whole dead fish once, at the store):


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Hey, looking pretty good already. The water parameters look ok for fishes, but if you plan on keeping corals you might have to work on it.

Salinity: 1.022 -> 1.026
NH3: 0.1 ppm -> 0
N02: 0.1 ppm -> 0
NO3: 25 ppm -> ~0 (or under 5ppm according to some sources)


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Don't you worry conix, the tank is still in the cycling and experimenting phase (2 weeks old).
I won't get any other inverts or anything until I have LR and good water parameters.
I added last night Chemi-Pure Elite & Kent's Nitrate Sponge to my HOB filters in order to purify the water better. Until now, I was too lazy and just left the AC's with their initial filter media configuration.


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## blossom112 (Mar 19, 2008)

I know you started a new tank and are wanting to trade stars ... not sure I can take it as my tank is small .... but I have green star if you would like a cutting ......I have lots you have fw stuff we can work a trade  im easy but I cant come to you lol broke my leg lol scarbrough area ...


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Looking good Ozi.

You should probably get a pound or two of LR to get that rock seeded, so you'll have more biological buffering ability in the tank. 

If you're up for that cheato, let me know.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

please send me a pm blossom with what trade you had in mind. i can come to scarbrough, but only on tuesdays or saturdays. i'm working every other day of the week and by the time i come back home its usually late.
ameekplec, i will be getting LR as soon as possible, 10 to 20 pounds. but the sand i have in my tank is live sand from 2 SW tanks that ran for years. as for the cheato, i would love it, but i still have not solved the problem of illumination. I'm waiting to get some sort of moonlight on my tank and something for the cheato and I want to put both on a timer to go on at night.

i found a nice moonlight on ebay: click here
do you guys think 24 LED lights would be way too much for my tank???
and if it would be too many, how many LED's would be needed to create a nice moonlight effect in a 20G?


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Honestly,you need like one or two LEDs. There's no need to completely illuminate the tank, so I'd keep it on the dimmer side of things. I have 4, but they're tucked behind the reflector in my fixture so they provide a bit of light to the tank, but not too much.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I want to post a few pics of my tank, since I haven't been here for a while and some things changed. I got some more LR and some corals from a trade with hojimoe (thanks for the frags), added a couple of clowns and also bought some mushrooms.
I'm not too happy with the arrangement of my LR, so that will change with time and I'm striving to add more corals to the tank. Anyways, here's a pic of my wannabe-reef:








And here's a bunch more pics of close-ups on the corals + other stuff:
Green Star Polyps:









Finger Leather:









Green striped mushrooms:









Red mushroom:









Purple mushroom:









Xenia:









Ocellaris clown:









Astrea snail:


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

More than half a year has passed since my last journal entry and a few things have changed in my little reef, but I'm taking it nice and slow, one pace at a time. 
First, I traded some mushrooms for a nice hammerhead coral, which my clowns are currently hosting. I lost my xenia colony and my biggest finger leather because of a small head on the hammer that died over a weekend when I was away and its goo spread and touched those 2 corals. So far that's the only "tragedy" I've encountered in SW.
I switched my lights to a Current USA 65w PC, which is pretty similar to my old PC light, except the color seems more powerful and better. It has a cooling fan & white LED moonlight.
I added a cleaner shrimp and a blood shrimp. Then someone gave me a yellow-tail blue damsel and a neon damsel. Another friend that was going back to a planted tank from a reef that kinda crashed, gave a rock with some closed almost dead green zoas (that have fully recovered in about a month) and a half-dead turban coral (Turbinaria sp.), all white and no heads at all, just round holes. I liked it as a support rock for some mushrooms, but to my surprise it came back to life 3-4 weeks later. 
Anyways, here's a bunch of pics I made today. 
First a full tank shot.








And now some close ups:







|

































Today I also got a small GBTA, I dripped it for about an hour and then placed it on an empty rock. It crawled downwards for an inch and then just stopped there. Hopefully it will look better in the upcoming days.









I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.


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## AnnaZ (Dec 1, 2009)

this is great, keep it up.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I've been a real slaker about updating my nano-reef "journal" 
That bubble tip anemone I bought in my last post has grown, split in two for like a couple months and then I suspect it merged back together for some wierd reason.
In this pic from late June, you can see the 2 recently splitted anemones, one on the middle left and one on the middle right side of the tank:








A month later, at the end of July, there was only one anemone, almost the same size it was before it originally divided in two.
















I thought that one of them was just hidden bellow the rocks for a while, and that the sister that remained on top just grew larger in the meanwhile...but it's been almost half a year since that incident, and I have never seen the 2nd anemone. In such a small tank, the death of an anemone would probably mean a whole tank crash.
I also converted the AC30 into a mini fudge:








And I found a Prizm protein skimmer barely used, at a third of retail price 
It's a decent skimmer for a nano tank. I wouldn't recommend it for anything bigger than a 30G though, since it's not the best design for mixing-time of the bubbles. I like it because its slim and "non-intrusive" as other larger ones.
I haven't had enough time lately to properly take care of my tank, and the bulb was getting old, so nothing much has changed since those pics from July. I did change the bulb a couple of weeks ago, and all corals seem to have blossemed again and seen to start growing again. I will take some pics over the holidays.
PS: does anybody know why an anemone would do what mine did, splitting and then merging back together after a while?


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## PACMAN (Mar 4, 2010)

your tank looks great! i like your shrooms. very colourful!!

what light are you using for your fuge? and has it shown chaeto growth with them? Im looking for a light for my biocube's fuge!!


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Looking good!

I don't think Anemones merge back. Never heard of that before. Please have a careful look inside your tank, it must be hiding somewhere.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Thanks!!! 
LOOL the light is from one of those Tetra Betta kits that come with a LED light and an air powered wisper filter. "wisper" my a$$ 
Anyways, the light has 9 white LEDs and I'd say it's of medium brigthness. I harvest some cheato out (about 1/2) about every 3 months...so I'm not sure if that's the norm or what  but for the moment I'm happy with it.
As far as the anemone story goes...trust me on this, I've been looking for the 2nd one for the last 5-6 months. It's only a 20G, so I can pretty much see almost everywhere inside the tank. I haven't taken all the rocks apart...but I doubt its necessary. You think it could still possibly be alive so long in the darkness?

PS: I even went to the extent of counting the tentacles of the anemones in the June pics, and they have around 30-40 each, as opposed to the pics from July when the one anemone has around 70-80 tentacles.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I made a little video over the weekend. Sorry about the shakiness, its just a small digicam.






I'm planning on adding a few more rocks and raising the mushroom 'platform' on the left side, but I always keep delaying it because I don't like moving stuff around. It gets very stressfull for me when I try to move rocks around cauz I always end up hurting at least one of the corals in the process.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I sold the anemone, because there was no more room for it and it was stinging the other corals. Today I added a couple more rocks, did a rescape (which took way longer than I expected) and finally managed to catch that blue velvet damsel that was getting large and dirty. 
I tried a trap and leaving the net in for days, even a week and tried with food...nothing worked. I had to take 2/3 of the rocks out to catch him. At least I got the bastard now, and while I was at it I also removed the yellow tail chromis, to lighten the bio-load.
Now there's just the pair of clowns, a yellow-tail blue damsel, a cleaner and a blood shimp, snails and one hermit.
The water is still too cloudy for a pic...


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Here's a picture after the re-scape:








I hope I didn't mess up the rock-work and create no-flow areas behind the rocks..


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Your tank looks awesome, I love the different colours of mushrooms, great job!


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

Hi A, I agree with everyone the mushrooms look amazing as everything else.
Nice video


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

I like it. Very, very nice

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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Thanks guys, the colours are actually even nicer in reality. I have a few more pics, since my new moonlight finally arived, a month and a half later  I got it off eBay for only $8(free shipping) from Singapore. I glued it to the back of the light unit.








Picture with lights on:








Picture with lights off (LEDs are on always):


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I managed to grab some close-ups today, but still with a regular digicam.

Hammer coral hosted by a pair of clowns.









Finger leather in a field of GSP:









Toadstool leather:









Colt/Turban coral (Turbinaria):









Green-brown zoas:









Red mushrooms:









GSP on a stony branch:









Unidentified flying object/mushroom:









Green striped mushrooms:


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Ooooh ozi! Looking fantastic!  Are some of those mushrooms from way back when? lol


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

Very Nice. Is your AC50 produces bubles? I am asking because I ttried to use 110 and bubles were blowing on the surface. As result it was going on the lights. Now, I am using hang on canister Magnum to run media without sponge.

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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

LOL actually all of them are from way back almost 2 years ago, 3-4 months after I started the tank. The green ones I bought as a bunch, but the rest all came as individual `shrooms.
My AquaClears only make bubbles when the water level drops bellow their edge, which sometimes does happen and it gets my light splashed too. But mine has a protecting glass, which I wipe every 2 weeks. 
I've been thinking of getting one of those aqualifter pumps for automated top-offs, but I wanna keep it simple so I'm planning on timing how long it takes to pump up a litre of water (since that's about how much it evaporates per day) and then plugging it in a timer for that many minutes a day  Obviously I will have to further adjust it over time as I see how it works, but it seems a lot more simple and cheaper than a float switch and all the other stuff.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

March update - not much has changed, except the finger leather showing some nice growth. Im still having high nitrates, but I haven't done a waterchange in over a month. Im thinking of getting biopellets and giving that a try.
Here's a pic:








And a little youtube video:


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

This is a beauty. I hope my will be like this one day (after I stop to change tanks every month)

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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

Thanks for the kind words Sig, but I donno what you were talking about...all of your tanks so far were awesome, one more beautiful than the other. I can't wait for the day my home will have the proper space and my wallet the proper $$,$$$ to build a monster tank (maybe one that I can scuba-dive in  )
Until that day, I have to keep myself entertained with this little nano. Not much has changed in the past month in regard to corals, but I did change my mini-refugium light from a LED light with 9 small bulbs to a clamp-on lamp from Canadian Tire for like $8 and a spiral eco bulb 23W 1600 lumens and 2700K. I know that the recommanded colour for plants and macro-algae is around6500 K, but even this bulb does wonders.
Here's an overall pic from a couple of weeks ago:










The location is perfect due to a number of reasons. First of all, I was lucky to have one of the TVs speakers there to attach the lamp on it's leg. Second there is a fan inside the aquarium's light unit, on the left side, blowing air directly over the bulb, cooling it. And third, the AquaClear refugium was already located on the left side. 










In this pic you can even notice the growth in my cheato over 2 weeks. Initially it was only a fraction of the clump you see in the picture, and it was able to freely rotate. And if you look closer you can observe oxygen bubbles on the cheato strings:










This never happened with the previous tiny LEDs. Before it would take around 3 to 4 months before I would have to harvest some cheato out, now it takes about 3 weeks. Hopefully this will lower my nitrates (40-50 ppm)and phosphates (~ 0.5 ppm) down.


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

I've been thinking of switching everything I have to a larger tank, to provide extra room for coral growth (especially the hammer & finger leather are getting pretty big for a 20G). Since I'd like to move everything including equipment, I will be constrained to tanks under 24" because that's the length of my light.

I haven't been looking too much, but so far I've got 2 options:

1) Fluval 26G Bowfront
It would cost me about $150 for a new tank & stand. It also comes with HOB filter, heater and a fluorescent canopy which I don't really need, so I could possibly sell them.

2) Solana 34 G Cube
It's been used by a buddy of mine for about 1 year and it's been sitting dry for another year. Would there be any silicone problems??? I could get it for $200 and it includes the tank & stand (he removed the filtration box at the back) and possibly a MH lamp (the hanging sphere kind), but I'm not very thrilled by the heat issues with MHs.

Both tanks are 20 " in height, while my actual tank is either 14" or 16". Do you guys think this might make a huge difference in the amount of light that reaches the corals? I have a 65W PC lamp and I'm not intending on buying more live rock. I could try to arrange/glue the rocks more vertically.

Which option do you guys think is better and why???

PS: 
There's also option 3) I keep the same tank, but frag the corals. That way I make extra room in the tank & some $$$


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## ozi (Aug 23, 2007)

This thread can be closed!
I moved all the contents on that tank into a Solana 34 cube and I made a new thread for it here


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