T.W.'s 20 gallon Nano

[alberthiel]

If you order the e_Version of my new book by itself today Sunday for $20 ... I will send you a link to a "Personalized" version for all who order ... Let others who do not read this thread know please. This is good till midnight tonight ... Have an e-version with your name and more in it ! Thanks

 

[T.W.]

New Sump

Decided to install a new sump with a fuge + re-do my plumbing. The old sump I will probably turn into a QT/Hospital tank

Thanks to Albert for answering my questions during this project.

 

[alberthiel]

Decided to install a new sump with a fuge + re-do my plumbing. The old sump I will probably turn into a QT/Hospital tank

Thanks to Albert for answering my questions during this project.

Great job ... looks super ... glad you were able to get it all set up and did it in a record time ... Happy reef keeping

 

[T.W.]

Orange Spotted Goby died this evening. Not really sure what happened. Was good until this morning really when I noticed he was breathing a little heavier than normal. Only thing I can think of is maybe stress from my two occ. clowns. No outward signs of anything abnormal. Clowns are eating and acting fine. Condy is fine and eating 3-4 pieces of thawed shrimp this evening (tentacles are extended and full. foot is attached to a rock below the sand surface) Mushrooms are good, zoas are full and open.

SG=1.024 Ammonia =0 Nitrites=0 Nitrates= 10 pH=7.9 Phosphates are less than .25

 

[T.W.]

I have this rock the size of my palm that my zoos came on from the lfs. I took it out yesterday to clean it up and kill an aiptasia. During the clean I accidentally broke a piece of the rock off. Best part about it was there were 2 polyps of Fire&Ice on it!!!!! Bonus! So I glued it to a piece of rubble and stuck it towards the top of my rock work! Opened up about 15 minutes later. Suh-Wheet! And of course my "Nosy Nancy" clown had to see what was going on in HIS tank but quickly lost interest. There's a Frogspawn in his near future but we all have to make it through a move across town (only couple of miles thankfully) in the next few months...Going to set up a secondary tank to house the live rock and livestock while I am tearing down and setting up the DT.

I expect to hear from you Rikerbear as you just moved your tanks a few different times:wink:

 

[alberthiel]

I have this rock the size of my palm that my zoos came on from the lfs. I took it out yesterday to clean it up and kill an aiptasia. During the clean I accidentally broke a piece of the rock off. Best part about it was there were 2 polyps of Fire&Ice on it!!!!! Bonus! So I glued it to a piece of rubble and stuck it towards the top of my rock work! Opened up about 15 minutes later. Suh-Wheet! And of course my "Nosy Nancy" clown had to see what was going on in HIS tank but quickly lost interest. There's a Frogspawn in his near future but we all have to make it through a move across town (only couple of miles thankfully) in the next few months...Going to set up a secondary tank to house the live rock and livestock while I am tearing down and setting up the DT.

I expect to hear from you Rikerbear as you just moved your tanks a few different times:wink:

It it is only a couple of miles can you not just move the tank as it is by taping the top so no water overflows when you drive it to its new location? If it is only a few miles the tank would not really be without filtration for very long so IMO you could do it that way. Your thoughts ?

 

[Rikerbear]

I have this rock the size of my palm that my zoos came on from the lfs. I took it out yesterday to clean it up and kill an aiptasia. During the clean I accidentally broke a piece of the rock off. Best part about it was there were 2 polyps of Fire&Ice on it!!!!! Bonus! So I glued it to a piece of rubble and stuck it towards the top of my rock work! Opened up about 15 minutes later. Suh-Wheet! And of course my "Nosy Nancy" clown had to see what was going on in HIS tank but quickly lost interest. There's a Frogspawn in his near future but we all have to make it through a move across town (only couple of miles thankfully) in the next few months...Going to set up a secondary tank to house the live rock and livestock while I am tearing down and setting up the DT.

I expect to hear from you Rikerbear as you just moved your tanks a few different times:wink:

LOL You should be golden using a secondary tank or large storage bin to keep the rock and livestock happy and healthy while you set up the tank again.
I like using storage bins since they are SO durable and easy to maneuver making it easy to save and use your old water for the LR and 'critters' helping to reduce stress.
During my moves I found the temp flux were the hardest part, so use quality heaters for sure.
In my small nano I was less worried about sand bed issues than someone with a larger tank might be.
Awesome to hear/read about your zoa score! I haven't gotten lucky like that yet LOL

 

[T.W.]

It it is only a couple of miles can you not just move the tank as it is by taping the top so no water overflows when you drive it to its new location? If it is only a few miles the tank would not really be without filtration for very long so IMO you could do it that way. Your thoughts ?

I wasn't sure if a mini cycle was inevitable doing it that way. (ie stirring up the sand bed)
If it is a possibility then you bet I will do that. I suppose then I could just lower the water level to just above the live rock and cap the top temporarily. Then drive like "granny" on a beautiful Sunday morning, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells along the way so as not to slosh around too much! Sorry to all the Granny's for my euphemism!
Would I still be better off removing the clown? Everything else is attached.

 

[alberthiel]

I wasn't sure if a mini cycle was inevitable doing it that way. (ie stirring up the sand bed)
If it is a possibility then you bet I will do that. I suppose then I could just lower the water level to just above the live rock and cap the top temporarily. Then drive like "granny" on a beautiful Sunday morning, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells along the way so as not to slosh around too much! Sorry to all the Granny's for my euphemism!
Would I still be better off removing the clown? Everything else is attached.

No need to remove the Clown and to prevent a possible build up of ammonia which would not happen immediately anyway if there was one, put a Poly Filter in the tank as the pad will remove any ammonia should any appear ...

It sure would be simpler than alternate methods ... and yes lowering the water is good idea and sealing the top is what you should do and just avoid sudden hard bracking when you drive or fast take off from stand stills and you will minimize sloshing but by the time you get to the new location the water will be cloudy as some of the sand will be stirred up ... not a bad thing though

 

[Rikerbear]

Each move I made (twice in 9 days) took a little over 5 hours and I had no evidence of a mini cycle. The LR was kept in old tank water with circulation and heaters....critters were kept in a smaller container with rubble for hiding, old tank water, air pump, and a heater.
The tank was drained down to 1 inch water over the sand bed for the actual move. Once moved I added more water, heater, and a power head.
I am sure you will be just fine how ever you decide to make the move. :smile:

 

[alberthiel]

Decided to install a new sump with a fuge + re-do my plumbing. The old sump I will probably turn into a QT/Hospital tank



Thanks to Albert for answering my questions during this project.

Looking good ... Nice sump and even a little fuge in it ... +1

 

[T.W.]

Whew! Boy oh Boy do I have some decisions to make! I have been having trouble with my current full siphon overflow not starting back up properly. SO I need to come up with a new plan. Here is what I have so far:
Option 1- Buy a new tank, drill it and install bean animal overflow and transfer from old tank to new tank
Option 2- Transfer everything out of current tank, set up bean animal overflow and transfer back
Option 3- Run around the house like a chicken with my head cut off....no wait I do that too much already! might push the Wife over the edge!

Or do you think it would be better to just get the move out of the way and once life is back to normal inside the tank make the plumbing changes? I am thinking that would just be too many stressors in too little time.

Sorry my thoughts are all over the place. I am just trying to come up with the best solution and I tend to ahead of myself some times LOL

 

[Rikerbear]

You could always build one of these overflow siphons. I'm in the middle of building one myself for the sump I am adding.

 

[T.W.]

thats what I have now...Unfortunately I think the seal around my one-way valve is breaking OR the valve itself is failing.:sad:

 

[T.W.]

Update Pics

Not much has changed other than losing the last fish I had in my tank about a month ago...I decided to let the tank go fallow for at least 8 weeks to rid the water column of any possible fish disease...With the move coming up at the beginning of July I didn't want to add anything new until afterwards...just the Condy Nem, a few Blue Mushrooms, a nice little zoa colony and my CUC are all I have at the moment. The DT looks cluttered right now because I tore down my sump in preps for the move across town...

 

[alberthiel]

T.W .... I think that is an excellent idea and will at least eliminate the possibility that your fish are getting internal diseases since you lost two I believe and since it has not been determined why ... so leaving the tank fallow is indeed a very good step.

 

[T.W.]

Yes and I am going to change out my Aqueon 500gph power head after the move also. I really think that the pinpoint jet stream this produces is a major contributing factor. I am opting for 2 koralia 425's to replace it (one on either end facing and colliding) I think I'll leave the 240 pointing forward and at the surface a little more for aggitation. That will give me about 54x turn over. But with the fan type flow of the koralias I think that it will provide a better current for fish in the future.

 

[alberthiel]

Yes and I am going to change out my Aqueon 500gph power head after the move also. I really think that the pinpoint jet stream this produces is a major contributing factor. I am opting for 2 koralia 425's to replace it (one on either end facing and colliding) I think I'll leave the 240 pointing forward and at the surface a little more for aggitation. That will give me about 54x turn over. But with the fan type flow of the koralias I think that it will provide a better current for fish in the future.

You could consider using one of those, and a Marineland one, and attach a "Spin Stream" device to it which will have its front rotate and direct the water in different directions as it moves around .... Note that it does not attach to all PH's but you can look up some more on it on: Innovative Marine

I use one of them btw ...

 

[T.W.]

Our move across town was successful...no losses except 1 old tiger barb of my sons.. Have everything set up at the new house all is running good..

I installed a Jebao WP25 last week and wow is that thing awesome...whisper quiet, tons of flow and some good setting choices..I can't wait to get the 40 breeder set up and everything transferred..this pump will rock that 40 I think..I cant toy with any settings other than Wave 1 on the 50% strength setting..otherwise I get the sandy snow globe effect but everything is loving the new flow (no fish).. had to break the flow just before the condy though..I felt as if it was going to wander with the full flow blast so made a rock wave break..seems happy with the pulse and strength... All in All a big success!! thanks for all the advice..the next move will be easy as its only about 10 foot LOL..

 

[alberthiel]

Our move across town was successful...no losses except 1 old tiger barb of my sons.. Have everything set up at the new house all is running good..

I installed a Jebao WP25 last week and wow is that thing awesome...whisper quiet, tons of flow and some good setting choices..I can't wait to get the 40 breeder set up and everything transferred..this pump will rock that 40 I think..I cant toy with any settings other than Wave 1 on the 50% strength setting..otherwise I get the sandy snow globe effect but everything is loving the new flow (no fish).. had to break the flow just before the condy though..I felt as if it was going to wander with the full flow blast so made a rock wave break..seems happy with the pulse and strength... All in All a big success!! thanks for all the advice..the next move will be easy as its only about 10 foot LOL..

Good for you that it all went so well .... and as you say the next move should be "a piece of cake" ... 10 feet ... NP .... right ... Thanks for the update