Nano tank question

[Tham121988]

Hello,

I have a nano tank 12 gallon i've been trying to cycle and set up for a few months. The specs are as follows:

1. Fluval nano 12 gallon tank
2. Phosban reactor (w/ purigen and phosban)
3. 501 canister filter
4. Lighting is marineland led strip light
5. Stock aquarium lighting which is also LED
6. I'm using coral pro salt
7. All tested parameters are 0 (Including phosphates) except nitrates (10ppm). I couldn't test calcium, alkalinity, or my magnesium but the tests to do so are on the way.
8. Live rock with only 2 zoas, 1 candy cane coral frag, and a few snails.
9. I have been feeding coral frenzy food.

I set up a 10 gallon sump but still working on it with a skimmer, nano overflow eshoppe, etc.

My question is, how can I reduce the algae? Why aren't my zoas opening fully? They seems a little stressed. Am I missing anything in my setup? I'm not sure if the lighting or what? Thanks for any advice!

 

[brandon429]

The cycle was complete on day one, so that's helpful to know. Moving live rock among tanks doesn't kill bacteria, it merely transfers them already doing just fine.


You didn't have massive dieoff or your tank wouldn't be ready still, true cycling from zero bac systems takes over a month unless its precisely guided.

You didn't gain or lose any more -critical- bacteria so far than what you brought in with the live rock and animals it carried day 1, plus any live sand if applicable.

That means the cycling thing is past...you are now reefing, because you have live animals named above who cannot live in the presence of ammonia free in the tank, and we cycle to make ammonia bound as its liberated as waste, so it doesn't build up in the tank and kill the animals in tow.


Algae control will never have universal agreement in reefkeeping, everyone has their way. Ill link my way: how many tanks are we saving here, fifty?

http://reef2reef.com/threads/reef2reef-pest-algae-challenge-thread-hydrogen-peroxide.187042/



**algae control is not nutrient based all the time, its action based in that thread

 

[Tham121988]

Thank you for that link and information!

 

[Coral Frenzy]

Congrats on the new tank and welcome to Reef2Reef.

Water quality is extremely important so make sure when you are feeding that you don't feed too much. To be honest with you, until you get the algae under control I wouldn't feed your tank at all and then start out very slow. The majority of beautiful tanks on here, where you see amazing growth, have 3 things in common, great water quality, good water flow, and the right lighting.

One thing that is very hard for new reef keepers is keeping your hands out of your tank as much as possible. There are always going to be times when you need to but try and do it as little as possible.

Lastly, thank you for using Coral Frenzy.

 

[Tham121988]

Thank you Coral Frenzy! I ended up finishing the sump so I have that running now. The algae is pretty much under control now. Only see in one corner small hair algae.

In addition to getting the sump up and running with a new skimmer, reactor running carbon, and my biggest upgrade was the kessil a160we light.

My current test of last week turned up:

pH: 8.3~
Ca2+: 460~
Mg2+: 1325~
Temp: 79*
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
Salinity: 1.026
KH: 9~

I don't have any inverts or fish in the system. I still have just the zoas. They are still unhappy and I'm not sure exactly why. I've tried different placements, lowered the intensity, did a coral dip is revive. Is it possible my water is too clean without a fish to dirty it up? I was running phosban for a few days but i'm done running that as I heard it can be harmful for coral due to the aluminum in it. Although debatable. Only other thing I can think of is my light was too bright when I switched and cause light shock.

Yes! It was certainly hard to keep my hands out of the tank for awhile! I've gotten better to where I'm usually only sticking my hands in when I'm doing a water change on Sunday's.

You are welcome! I have heard nothing but great things about this food. And seeing that you all are active in the forums and the hobby makes it that much better! Thank you!

I'm going to start a thread to show my stock tank progress to the final build.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Coral frenzy rocks !

Keep in mind corals need no and Po. Zeros are actually not good. You May have heard ZOA like dirty water. So slightly higher nutrients ar ok.
Scope the ZOA threads here. There are some amazing reefers here with a lot of tips.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/zoa-dominated-125g.98197/

 

[Tham121988]

Hey salty! Thank you for the link and insight. I kind of figured it could have been too clean and thats one other reason . Hopefully I can get it figured out soon. That is one of the other reasons I stopped phosban. I have a couple of inverts and a fish showing up tomorrow morning so hopefully that will help dirty up the water a little.