ZachP's 20 gallon build

[Wtyson254]

Add some marinepure balls to the return section of your filter

 

[Wtyson254]

You may also want to consider dosing Red Sea NOPOX

 

[ZachP]

You may also want to consider dosing Red Sea NOPOX

I'll definitely look into both of these. I just don't know how I feel about dosing to help with nitrates. I'd feel more comfortable finding out where the problem is coming from first. But I also haven't looked into it much so I'll definitely check it out.

 

[ZachP]

Well this sucks. I just got my new nanobox lights and the mount won't tighten down on the tank at all. The screws are dang near free spinning and I put hardly any pressure on them so I know I didn't strip them out

 

[Wtyson254]

Well this sucks. I just got my new nanobox lights and the mount won't tighten down on the tank at all. The screws are dang near free spinning and I put hardly any pressure on them so I know I didn't strip them out

I had the same issue, Dave overnighted me a new pair that worked well

 

[ZachP]

I had the same issue, Dave overnighted me a new pair that worked well

Awesome, glad to hear they worked good. I just talked to Dave. He got back to me almost instantly which was very nice

 

[ZachP]

Well for now I got 2 metal screws from lowes and put rubber caps on them, seems to work well. I'll try to get a better picture after I mess with it some. My question is, can I control the color to be whatever I like or is there a reason for the "blue" look? I did the preset for now and it's pretty blue looking, I would like a little bit more natural if possible. Might be a dumb question but this is my first go with good leds

 

[ZachP]

You may also want to consider dosing Red Sea NOPOX

So I've done some more looking into carbon dosing and NOPOX. I still don't love the idea of having to dose to lower nutrients in a brand new system, probably just because I have no experience with it. But if I can't get these nitrates under control I may try going this route. Thanks for the idea

 

[ZachP]

So I'm getting used to these lights and so far I love them. Can't speak for coral growth or anything as I have none yet but I love how easy these are to setup and control from my phone. Plus they look and feel super high quality. So far I'm impressed

 

[Wtyson254]

So I've done some more looking into carbon dosing and NOPOX. I still don't love the idea of having to dose to lower nutrients in a brand new system, probably just because I have no experience with it. But if I can't get these nitrates under control I may try going this route. Thanks for the idea

I totally understand that It can be confusing. The marinepure balls are also a great option for nitrate reduction

 

[ZachP]

I totally understand that It can be confusing. The marinepure balls are also a great option for nitrate reduction

I'll look those up too later when I get a chance. So I'm thinking the nitrates are leaching from the rock or die off in the rock. I found a couple dead hermits today and they are not the ones I put in the tank. So if I start dosing nopox, in a few months when everything is under control could I stop? Or will that also cause problems

 

[Wtyson254]

I'll look those up too later when I get a chance. So I'm thinking the nitrates are leaching from the rock or die off in the rock. I found a couple dead hermits today and they are not the ones I put in the tank. So if I start dosing nopox, in a few months when everything is under control could I stop? Or will that also cause problems

You can always stop it without much of a problem, I really like it.

 

[ZachP]

You can always stop it without much of a problem, I really like it.

Well I ordered some better tests for phosphate and nitrate so maybe I'll try it when they get here. Thanks for the help

 

[ZachP]

Update: I got my Red Sea nitrate pro test kit today. Unfortunately one of the glass vials was shattered inside, but I did have an extra sitting around. I tested and got 16ppm of nitrate, so not great but not as bad as I was thinking. I haven't done a water change in 3 days and the other kit I've been testing with says about 30ppm or so. So my suspicions were correct, that other kit was off. I won't have my Hanna checker for phosphates for about another week so I'll check that as soon as I can. But really everything in the tank seems to be doing good. I have been getting some diatoms on the rock but the 2 snails I have are making a dent in it, tomorrow I'll get some more CUC. But even with the new lights I haven't been growing much algae at all, other then the little layer of diatoms on the rock. For now I'm going to keep up with water changes and just see if I can get these nitrates to stay lower.

 

[ZachP]

Everything is still doing good. The diatoms have come and are now going away. The lfs has a really nice Wyoming white clown that I'm thinking about getting, we'll see

 

[ZachP]

Well got an early Christmas present from my girlfriend. She got me the Wyoming white clown [emoji3]

 

[macnets]

Pics!

 

[ZachP]

Pics!

I'll try to get some good ones tomorrow. I got a little video clip but can't post it from my phone

 

[ZachP]

I'll try to get a better picture soon

 

[Paul87]

I'll try to get a better picture soon

Congrats on the clown! It's a cute little bugger.