I feel unsuccessful.

Sandroni · Mar 4, 2017

Quah said:
Have you had a diatom bloom? Can you rule out disease? What did your corals do when you put them in there? How long has the tank been set up?

Yes a little diatom bloom, my corals melted and or turned brown.

ncaldwell · Mar 4, 2017

I've been into reef keeping for 10 years. I just set up a redsea 525 and in under a month the whole tank went to s***. Basically turned into a sewage runoff with dinoflagellets. So ugly but the point is no one on this entire forum just has a perfect tank all the time. There is always a problem to deal with and fix. Just keep your head up and asking questions

Sandroni · Mar 4, 2017

cbear44 said:
Looking at the build thread you may not have enough biofiltration with just a few small rocks. It looks like you added 3 fish and inverts rather quickly so it may have outcompeted the biofiltration capacity.

Did you put anything in the "media chamber" setup? If you don't want to add more rock, consider adding matrix or siporax in the media chamber to significantly increase the surface area for bacteria. You might also want to consider adding Dr. Tim's One and Only to try to give the biological filtration a boost.

The other thing that is really tough in a nano is managing salinity. How stable is your salinity? Topping off water is critical. Being a 1/2 g behind on topoff in my 270g system isn't a problem but that same thing in a 14g can stress everyone out.

What is your water change schedule? Are you using RO/DI? The algae outbreak suggests nutrients are also coming from somewhere.

Patience - I think that you'll get it stable. That being said nanos are a challenge which is why it's rarely recommended for a beginner

The media chamber I run filter floss and chemipure blue, my salinity stays at 1.025 - 1.026, I change biweekly now, and I do use RODI.

Sandroni · Mar 4, 2017

Lionfish Lair said:
This hobby is crazy. Sometimes I do everything "right" and it all falls apart. Then, there are tanks where it should NOT be working, and yet it is. We may draw up a map for where we want to go, how we want to get there and what we'll see at the final destination, but Mather Nature is driving and she doesn't always take directions well.

Hang in there, work the problem as you're doing here now and you'll succeed.

Amen to that! Mother nature doesn't pick favorites either lol

prsnlty · Mar 4, 2017

AndysReef said:
The media chamber I run filter floss and chemipure blue, my salinity stays at 1.025 - 1.026, I change biweekly now, and I do use RODI.

What if you made up some sw at the beginning of each week and changed out a pints worth per day for water changes? That would equal a little under 1 gallon per week but IMO keep it more stable.

Frop · Mar 4, 2017

Lionfish Lair said:
This hobby is crazy. Sometimes I do everything "right" and it all falls apart. Then, there are tanks where it should NOT be working, and yet it is. We may draw up a map for where we want to go, how we want to get there and what we'll see at the final destination, but Mather Nature is driving and she doesn't always take directions well.

Hang in there, work the problem as you're doing here now and you'll succeed.

You know.. it reminds me of a sermon I heard. Pastor was talking about them hooking up electrodes to plants. If the person thought of burning the plant it would react. If it burnt it it would react. I believe it was the guy who invented the lie detector that did those test. Crazy right? What if that is apart of that missing element the feelings of the plants to their master? The pastor was talking about singing praise to God to the plants to make them grow (probably just a theory of his). What if there is music (generic) being played around these thriving tanks?

I guess I'm assuming corals and plants are similar.

I like to think abstract

Sandroni · Mar 4, 2017

prsnlty said:
What if you made up some sw at the beginning of each week and changed out a pints worth per day for water changes? That would equal a little under 1 gallon per week but IMO keep it more stable.

That sounds like a really good idea, I am going to do that in the future.

Mr.Rocc · Mar 4, 2017

If your really can't figure out the issue and none of the information your getting from here is working. I always resorted to water changes. Test salinity prior to changing it and you know exactly the mg, alk and calc that is going in (depending on the salt). Once that is stable is so much easier to break it down.

Every aquarium in the world needs one thing and that's good quality h2o Bobby Boucher taught me that. Mix your own salt water and I guarantee you'll be able to atleast narrow down your issue.
Also, stick with the hobbies it's super rewarding

Hemlawk · Mar 5, 2017

Maybe your salinity tester is not correct.

saltyfilmfolks · Mar 5, 2017

If you (we), are unsure of the strength of the cycle started, you may want to look into an all in one aggressive bacterial.
I would suggest these as its a set and forget method. Probidio offers 2 versions, the Nano maintenance and also a start up kit.
http://www.marinedepot.com/Prodibio...tent=PD02737&gclid=CPOfxJv6v9ICFYKSfgodAiACyA

http://www.aquacave.com/prodibio-st...e=1&fep=5287&gclid=CMjiqvj6v9ICFZeXfgodxmsIXw

I spoke at some length as Macna last year, besides being some of the most enjoyable and kind folks, very very serious scientists.

Centerline · Mar 13, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
If you (we), are unsure of the strength of the cycle started, you may want to look into an all in one aggressive bacterial.
I would suggest these as its a set and forget method. Probidio offers 2 versions, the Nano maintenance and also a start up kit.
http://www.marinedepot.com/Prodibio...tent=PD02737&gclid=CPOfxJv6v9ICFYKSfgodAiACyA

http://www.aquacave.com/prodibio-st...e=1&fep=5287&gclid=CMjiqvj6v9ICFZeXfgodxmsIXw

I spoke at some length as Macna last year, besides being some of the most enjoyable and kind folks, very very serious scientists.

And it works like magic!

amazongb · Mar 13, 2017

I'm with you bud.. but giving up is not an option LOL. I have a 24g, and in my case, it took a bit to figure out that param stability has been an issue with my small little tank, so I've been focusing on that, and things are doing much better (knock on wood) lol. Even ATO helped, as these little tanks lose 1/3 gallon of water it swings everything in all directions.. just my .02.. good luck and hang in there!

rbraunberger · Mar 13, 2017

Never give up! Learn from mistakes and keep going forward! I did and love this hobby more each and every day!

brandon429 · Mar 13, 2017

regarding the post about music and reefs

mine gets death metal more than anything, and judas priest painkiller album, ergo music cannot have an effect on coral growth regarding genre (assuming that would be less preferable than manilow to scleractinians) although I can't rule out excessive double bass causing acropora to take over my whole pico reef to the point it smothered most growth.

Centerline · Mar 13, 2017

I have farmed A LOT of clownfish and found them to be really tough fish once grown out little. They are little porkers and want plenty of food and assuming you were feeding them that leaves something like brooklynella or velvet - both are fast moving and once caught kill clowns fast. It is possible that you brought something home from the LFS. I say this because as I said clowns are tough as nails and can handle alk and salinity swings with no problems. Did the clown suddenly die? Were they feeding the previous day?

Sandroni · Mar 13, 2017

Centerline said:
I have farmed A LOT of clownfish and found them to be really tough fish once grown out little. They are little porkers and want plenty of food and assuming you were feeding them that leaves something like brooklynella or velvet - both are fast moving and once caught kill clowns fast. It is possible that you brought something home from the LFS. I say this because as I said clowns are tough as nails and can handle alk and salinity swings with no problems. Did the clown suddenly die? Were they feeding the previous day?

The cause of all this madness was: faulty hydrometer. I had a 1.003 reading so I bought a refractometer

Sandroni · Mar 13, 2017

I would like to thank everyone for the high hopes and wishes you all have been more than generous to me and I appreciate all the help and guidance. I though I would shine a little light on this thread with a great update. So the reason for my whole mess was a faulty hydrometer, invested in a RedSea refractometer and got a reading of 1.003! One week later and this is my tank...

brandon429 · Mar 13, 2017

calibrate it well

posts exist where faulty refract calibration caused the same thing, hydrometers ruled the nineties and Paul B didn't have access to anything but floating hydrometers or swingarms for approx. 95% of his 45 year old tank.

I still like them but am awr the trend now is to move away. mines old but holds steady, have to thump the bubbles off then good to go