James’s 29g Nano Build

[James_O]

Some Duncan pics:

You can really see the new heads starting to come in under the head on the right.

Also, the baby head all the way to the left is really starting to push out.

——

And a Kenya pic just for fun

 

[James_O]

Everything has its own way of adjusting. Don't worry about the cloves. Like I said, if they die. There's a huge issue. But, the torch and hammer would probably go first.

Hope not… I don’t even want to THINK about that.

 

[Goaway]

Get some chemipur blue or elite. Should help get the gha off of the corals.

 

[James_O]

Get some chemipur blue or elite. Should help get the gha off of the corals.

Will do. I’ll try to order it tomorrow.

I’ve heard that it breaks down or leaves the water brown or something?

 

[Goaway]

Will do. I’ll try to order it tomorrow.

I’ve heard that it breaks down or leaves the water brown or something?

I don't know why I never got notified for this. But no. It removes the brown out of the water as well.

 

[James_O]

I’m thinking of adding another Seachem Tidal 35 for a reefugium? Is this doable? Or might it be too much flow?

 

[Goaway]

You need something with a bigger box. i don't know how wide the 35 is. How many power heads do you run?

Edit: are you using a skimmer?

 

[James_O]

You need something with a bigger box. i don't know how wide the 35 is. How many power heads do you run?

Edit: are you using a skimmer?

You need something with a bigger box. i don't know how wide the 35 is. How many power heads do you run?

Edit: are you using a skimmer?

Any suggestions on wide HOB’s with adjustable flow?

Im just using the one.

No, no skimmer.

 

[Goaway]

Get a reef octopus skimmer. I loved my hob one. That may solve 70% of your algae issues. But. Skimmers take about a month to fully kick in.

Edit: OMG those got expensive. I don't recall them ever being that much.

Might want to ask the nano guys what they like. I think 220 is pretty spendy for a 30g.

 

[James_O]

Looks like a nice product, but DEFINITELY not that.

 

[James_O]

So what exactly does a skimmer do?

 

[Goaway]

Removes waste products from the water column. Like poop and broken down foods.

 

[MaxTremors]

So what exactly does a skimmer do?

It removes organic material, oils, and larger particulates before they can break down in the nitrogen cycle. It ultimately lowers the nutrient levels in your tank (NO3 and PO4), and polishes the water. There are some concerns about trace elements and other beneficial things (also salt) being skimmed out, but in a nano (as good as nano skimmers have gotten in the last decade, they’re still not as productive as larger skimmers) that gets regular water changes its not an issue IMO.

 

[James_O]

It removes organic material, oils, and larger particulates before they can break down in the nitrogen cycle. It ultimately lowers the nutrient levels in your tank (NO3 and PO4), and polishes the water. There are some concerns about trace elements and other beneficial things (also salt) being skimmed out, but in a nano (as good as nano skimmers have gotten in the last decade, they’re still not as productive as larger skimmers) that gets regular water changes its not an issue IMO.

How often would you suggest I do water changes, especially considering I’m battling algae and I have LPS and SPS?

 

[fishguy242]

changes are kinda dependent on your parameters,
do you have all your test kits yet?
that hair has got to go..
i will second the reef octo hob,worth every penny. excellent skimmers.

 

[James_O]

changes are kinda dependent on your parameters,
do you have all your test kits yet?
that hair has got to go..
i will second the reef octo hob,worth every penny. excellent skimmers.

Nope, no kits yet. :/

 

[Goaway]

You got a lot to catch up on. I wouldn't buy any more corals until you get the basic kits in.
You got beautiful corals and they are worth every penny now.

Edit: it will help save a lot of heartbreak.

Second edit: api calcium isn't so bad. I never used their alk test. My lfs only use api and the only kit that fails is ammonia. It doesn't read saltwater well.

 

[MaxTremors]

How often would you suggest I do water changes, especially considering I’m battling algae and I have LPS and SPS?

I have a 28 gallon tank that (I think) I started just before you started your tank, and I’ve also been battling algae. I’m currently doing a 5g water change once a week. For a while, I was doing a 5-10g change twice a week because my nitrates were over 80ppm. I’ve been carbon dosing for the last two and half months, and my nitrates are now consistently around 20ppm (still a little high, but I’m okay if it stays there). My phosphates, on the other hand, have always been really low, right now they’re around 0.015, I think I may end up dosing some phosphate because I don’t want to overfeed and raise my nitrates to get the phosphates up (if that makes sense). Anyway, I would recommend a 20% water change once a week for the first six months or so, and then if everything is stable and your nutrients are in the acceptable range, you can cut back to 10% a week or 20% every two weeks. Are you dosing any two part or anything for cal/alk?

Edit: I agree that you really need to get test kits before any more corals, depending on your lfs to test for you is too inconvenient and unreliable. I don’t want to compare you to Noah, you’re very clearly open to advice and are eager to learn instead of pretending you know everything, but in this case, the thing I told him applies here too, and that is that it’s borderline unethical to keep these animals without testing your water to ensure that conditions are appropriate. Buying corals before test equipment is putting the cart before the horse. It’s impossible to troubleshoot or to give you solid advice if we don’t know your parameters. If money is tight, I would recommend you buy them in this order: Alk, PO4, NO3, Cal, Mag, PH. Again, this is not to tell you you’re not doing a good job with your tank (I actually think you’re doing great considering it’s your first tank), but being able to test your water isn’t optional once you start keeping corals, it’s just part of ensuring and insuring that the corals you’ve invested in stay alive and healthy.

 

[James_O]

You got a lot to catch up on. I wouldn't buy any more corals until you get the basic kits in.
You got beautiful corals and they are worth every penny now.

Edit: it will help save a lot of heartbreak.

Second edit: api calcium isn't so bad. I never used their alk test. My lfs only use api and the only kit that fails is ammonia. It doesn't read saltwater well.

Ok, I will get the test kits ASAP. Should I get those over the chemi-pure elite?

And I also won’t be getting any more corals until I have the test kits.

I just need to figure out what brand to get: Salifert or Red Sea?

 

[Goaway]

Test kits before the chemi pur. I didn't know you didn't have any kits.
Max wrote up a solid amount of information for you. Solid advice.
We just want to help prevent the worst case scenarios. They will happen without testing.
I currently saw a post of a guy trying to save his trumpet corals that were taken over by algae. It's a hard battle.