Have had this tank running for a couple of years, but hadn't done a water change in about as long, and the tank was covered in hair algae, bubble algae, aiptasia, and at one point red planarea. The planarea infestation pretty much made me lose interest in further maintenance, with having little spare time mostly due to a new baby girl and working multiple jobs. My baby girl is now 18 months old, was showing interest in the waving hair algae motion, and my wife pointed out that the tank would be much nicer if it was cleaned up and restocked. Without hesitation I took this as a sign of spousal approval to get back into the swing of things, in the name of my daughter of course!
I removed all of the previous liverock, scraped all the glass, and did a 100% water change after a few sessions siphoning the remaining detritus and algae remnants. I used rock that has been in my basement system (also empty save for rock/water). This rock hasn't had lights over it or any bio load for a long time and was basically "cooked" rock ready to reuse. I used a couple of choice pieces of rock from that system, one of which is a large barnacle cluster and is now a centerpiece at the front of the nano.
I also added a Tunze nano skimmer and modified the JBJ hood with a new set of adjustable LEDs with better spectrum range. So far I'm very pleased with the look of these LEDs! The dimming/blending control gives me the ability to dial in the precise look I'd like, and if I get bored with it I can make adjustments.
For now I'll leave with a current full tank shot from the front left corner. I'm in restocking mode, so I'll update with some closeups as it starts to fill up.
I removed all of the previous liverock, scraped all the glass, and did a 100% water change after a few sessions siphoning the remaining detritus and algae remnants. I used rock that has been in my basement system (also empty save for rock/water). This rock hasn't had lights over it or any bio load for a long time and was basically "cooked" rock ready to reuse. I used a couple of choice pieces of rock from that system, one of which is a large barnacle cluster and is now a centerpiece at the front of the nano.
I also added a Tunze nano skimmer and modified the JBJ hood with a new set of adjustable LEDs with better spectrum range. So far I'm very pleased with the look of these LEDs! The dimming/blending control gives me the ability to dial in the precise look I'd like, and if I get bored with it I can make adjustments.
For now I'll leave with a current full tank shot from the front left corner. I'm in restocking mode, so I'll update with some closeups as it starts to fill up.
