Boomer's IM 20G Nano

[Nick Steele]

I can’t comment on the exact type of algae it is but I had to too for a good 6-8 weeks. I would go in with a toothbrush every week or so and clean it off before a water change. I did it over a week ago and it hasn’t come back and I’m starting to see coralline algae now!

 

[boomeraudio]

I can’t comment on the exact type of algae it is but I had to too for a good 6-8 weeks. I would go in with a toothbrush every week or so and clean it off before a water change. I did it over a week ago and it hasn’t come back and I’m starting to see coralline algae now!

That's awesome! I have been scrubbing mine weekly as well and it seems to have stayed away. Hoping for the best! It's nice to see the tank start to settle down.

 

[Luckyduck]

Looks like they want more light...they are reaching so I moved them up.

The others on the sand bed, which opened when I got them still haven't opened, been about 4-5 days. No coloration at all. Are they gone?

I'm having the same issue with a small colony of Zoos. It's weird because the large colony next to it almost all of them are open. You think with the AI Prime (I also have the 16HD) we'd be getting plenty of PAR, especially for Zoos. I can always raise them higher but they're already at the mid to upper level of my tank. To be exact they are 20" away from the light (8" from the surface of the water and the light is 12" inches above the tank). It's annoying cuz they're really cool looking zoos, I wanna see them!

 

[boomeraudio]

I'm having the same issue with a small colony of Zoos. It's weird because the large colony next to it almost all of them are open. You think with the AI Prime (I also have the 16HD) we'd be getting plenty of PAR, especially for Zoos. I can always raise them higher but they're already at the mid to upper level of my tank. To be exact they are 20" away from the light (8" from the surface of the water and the light is 12" inches above the tank). It's annoying cuz they're really cool looking zoos, I wanna see them!

I totally get it! Thankfully I saved 3, unfortunately, the others disappeared . Hoping they continue to do well. This morning I woke up and my @XP Aqua - Joseph Duetto overflowed the tank. Salinity was down to 1.022 and thankfully everything is okay. Water was all over the floor. Not sure why this is happening. Product has worked great for 6 months. I've cleaned the dual sensor and everything.

Anyone else had this issue?

 

[Tahoe61]

If socks or filtration, sponges, floss become clogged enough it puts too much drag on the ATO and it will cause overflow. I have to clean my socks at least every 4 days. I have the same ATO.

 

[boomeraudio]

If socks or filtration, sponges, floss become clogged enough it puts too much drag on the ATO and it will cause overflow. I have to clean my socks at least every 4 days. I have the same ATO.

I just changed the floss in the tank - so it's odd that it's doing it! I did a full clean on Sunday...

 

[Tahoe61]

That is odd.

There is supposed to be an auto shut off if the ATO fills for longer than previous top off. Mine has never overflowed to the degree that the tank overflowed. That would concern me VERY much.

Where is the sensor placed and did you turn the unit on and off prior to this?

Might want to put less water in the reservoir for a while to be on the safe side.

 

[boomeraudio]

That is odd.

There is supposed to be an auto shut off if the ATO fills for longer than previous top off. Mine has never overflowed to the degree that the tank overflowed. That would concern me VERY much.

Where is the sensor placed and did you turn the unit on and off prior to this?

Might want to put less water in the reservoir for a while to be on the safe side.

Looking at the tank it's in the second chamber from the left. The first chamber is UV sterilizer, second is empty with the sensor, the middle is the pump, fourth is the heater, the fifth is in-tank media basket (1- floss, 2-empty, 3-floss).

I had all 3 filled with floss until this morning without issue until last night. So I'm going to try 2 with floss and see.

I've unplugged it this morning while I worked on raising the salinity back up to 1.024/1.025ish. Plugged it back in just now. It's in my office where I spend most of the day so I'll be able to keep an eye on it.

Of course these things happen only in the middle of the night when you're sleeping or when you're on vacation haha.

 

[Tahoe61]

Many put the sensor in the same compartment as the return, that is where mine is.
My Duetto malfunctioned once but a huge Turbo snail was sitting on the sensor.

 

[Luckyduck]

I totally get it! Thankfully I saved 3, unfortunately, the others disappeared . Hoping they continue to do well. This morning I woke up and my @XP Aqua - Joseph Duetto overflowed the tank. Salinity was down to 1.022 and thankfully everything is okay. Water was all over the floor. Not sure why this is happening. Product has worked great for 6 months. I've cleaned the dual sensor and everything.

Anyone else had this issue?

Ooooh nooo! That sounds terrible. That was always my fear with my over flow that the siphon would somehow get broken and the tank with overflow in the middle of the night. Luckily it never happened and I don't have a sump anymore on my new tank but yeah I know the feeling I of fear you have.

 

[boomeraudio]

Looks like the Dinos are back. Time for lights out for a bit...again. Ugh.

 

[boomeraudio]

Quick update cause it’s been a while! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

I had the lights out for about a week which always seems to solve the algae issue. The second the lights come back on, even at 50% for acclimation mode, the algae seems to spike.

The rocks turned green a while back and I thought it was the beginning of coralline algae but it hasn’t turned purple. Not sure how long it takes but it won’t scrape off.
Nitrates were up this past weekend so I did a water change about 2 gallons and dosed a little prime which helps reduce them!

Finally, the sand seems to be extremely tough to keep clean even with hermits and snails. Any ideas there? I’m changing the filter pads weekly, have the UV sterilizer on regularly and the parameters seem stable.
Any advice would be awesome!

 

[Nick Steele]

My rocks also turned green before going to a very light purple I believe it’s just the stages of coraline algae.

I’ve ran into the same problems with my sand bed and I believe I don’t have enough flow to keep detritus suspended for my filter pads to catch it. I have another powerhead on its way and it should be here tomorrow and I’ll play around a little with them both and see if I can work something out.

 

[Tahoe61]

That looks like a typical progression, neon green and next you will notice light pink, or darker green.
I have 10 small hermit crabs that do a good job of keeping the sand bed clean.
Over all the tank looks good.

 

[Cencalreefer56]

I also have had the same as above, I even get coralline on the glass every week or so I have to scrape off and it’s green in color, my rocks were like green as yours and after years they’re now a light purple/brown. I always restock my clean up crew with reef cleaners and get a clean up crew package that seems to do a good job. I also siphon my sand every week when I perform a 20% water change so roughly 5 gallons for me.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

That looks like a typical progression, neon green and next you will notice light pink, or darker green.
I have 10 small hermit crabs that do a good job of keeping the sand bed clean.
Over all the tank looks good.

What size is your tank? I have 3 in my 20G & my sand looks so so. I rarely see mine off the rocks.

 

[boomeraudio]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.
It seems like there’s Stringy clumps on the top of the sand in some spots so I remove it when I see it. Not colored and doesn’t look like Dino’s so I’m not sure.
Moved the tank recently to a darker spot from sunlight and reduced the light to 50% acclimation again after a blackout.
going to stirup the sandbed frequently to keep it in good shape. I’ve also been changing the filter pads weekly now in the IM 3 tier basket. 1 on top empty middle and 1 on bottom. Hoping this all helps. I won’t add any coral until this thing stabilizes! Ha ha.

 

[Nick Steele]

I just wanted to update my 2 powerheads are keeping my sand bed much cleaner! I now have 2 Jebaos set at 50% power (second dot on controller).

Also if you didn’t wash your sand when you put it in I’d suggest taking a turkey baster to a section every water change until it’s all done. This is very messy and I’d suggest doing it before a water change and even still probably Turkey baste you’re Rockwork for the week to get it all off when it settles. When you do it if the sands dirty it will puff out a cloudy grey/sandy substance but when it’s clean it won’t cloud the water at all.

 

[boomeraudio]

I just wanted to update my 2 powerheads are keeping my sand bed much cleaner! I now have 2 Jebaos set at 50% power (second dot on controller).

Also if you didn’t wash your sand when you put it in I’d suggest taking a turkey baster to a section every water change until it’s all done. This is very messy and I’d suggest doing it before a water change and even still probably Turkey baste you’re Rockwork for the week to get it all off when it settles. When you do it if the sands dirty it will puff out a cloudy grey/sandy substance but when it’s clean it won’t cloud the water at all.

Nice!! I have the Nero 5 by AI set around 35%. It definitely stirs things up. I have it on the back of the tank right now in the middle. Maybe I should put it on the side to cover more than just the middle. What do you think?
I’ll also use a turkey baster to blow out the rocks and bits of sand when I do a water change he for sure.

 

[Nick Steele]

How’s the flow around the corners once it’s hitting the front glass? I think that would determine placement better. Also have you tried turning it up some? When I had one pump I had to set to 70% and only dead spot was right under the pump because of the Rockwork.