James’s 29g Nano Build

[Goaway]

But I don’t have a refractometer… only a hydrometer.

So james. You would make the calibration fluid, fill the hydrometer you have. Mark where the pointer sits. That would be the true 1.026. I made a little line just for you. Hopefully it makes sense. You could store 2 liters of calibration fluid and test at any time.

 

[danieyella]

Proper aeration and help manage, maintain your PH. If done right would be the biggest thing. Alot of people don't use skimmers. I dont see any difference in nutrient levels with mine on or off. Ph is huge though

This tank, which has nutrients controlled via other means - can have the skimmer off without a change in nutrients - it pretty much handled pH consistency.

My little 20g it helped with nutrient control quite a bit. There was a significant difference if it wasn't running.

 

[shadow_k]

So definitely not as expensive as the octopus, that’s good.

So does it go inside the tank? Or can you hook it up outside?

It goes inside of your tank

 

[F i s h y]

Gotcha. I just need to get a good tester. I know @F i s h y has this one, and he says it’s really good:

Anyone else have experience with this one?

Yup love mine. When properly calibrated it can't be beat.

 

[fishguy242]

Nothing good comes fast in this hobby especially from super fast salinity swings. Gradually bring it down over next cpl weeks/water changes.
Honestly James your next best thing would be to get refractometer and calibration fluid. My wife hates the refractometer and picked up a hygrometer like yours. Her Hygrometer reads around 1.028 when I'm locked in at 1.025. I honestly wouldn't have made any salinity changes until I was sure your hygrometer was reading at least close.

Hope you checked your Nitrates and Phosphates before you did anything today. Day 1 after deep clean is a really good starting point to know where you sit.
Trust everyone when they say algae is your worse enemy and Frank couldn't have said it any better. Nuclear bombs just waiting to go off on one level or another whether it be killing corals or sapping up all your nutrients and letting them go and killing stuff next time your led goes crazy.
Your on the right track its just going to take that daily and weekly due diligence to keep it there. That husbandry gets super easy after awhile once you get handle on things.

missed the dipper..good call...

Would a refractometer or a digital salinity tester be better? (Like the one @F i s h y has?)

i my opinion ,i use both dipper and refractor,calibate with ro,note difference from dipper to refractor.
jmo digital can creep off also, 1 point off is not critical ,but consistent is...

Everything with us is personal E....

I like the redundancy of both. Calibration fluids can be off so using more than one thing to check is always a good bet. Even with my fancy one I fried a bunch of coral because I hadn't calibrated it in a while.

yep... consistent.

Awesome.

Could someone please give me a brief description of what a skimmer actually does for the tank?

tasty ..ehh...

But I don’t have a refractometer… only a hydrometer.

amazon ,think 20$,get new keep dry and clean after every use.
what test kits you have now,and did you get your phos and nitrate numbers before you changed water ?...

 

[James_O]

amazon ,think 20$,get new keep dry and clean after every use.
what test kits you have now,and did you get your phos and nitrate numbers before you changed water ?...

Alrighty, good morning all.

So does this one look good?

Has the most reviews so I figured people like it.

—-

Let me find the test results… I know I wrote them down somewhere. ;Facepalm

 

[Goaway]

Those are fine.

 

[F i s h y]

Alrighty, good morning all.

So does this one look good?

Has the most reviews so I figured people like it.

—-

Let me find the test results… I know I wrote them down somewhere. ;Facepalm

Make sure any refractometer you get has ATC (automatic temperature compensation) or else both your solution and tank temp must be 78 degrees for accurate results

 

[danieyella]

Or you could get the Tropic Marin floater if you can be gentle with it. I've heard excellent things about it but haven't used it yet myself.

 

[LRT]

This tank, which has nutrients controlled via other means - can have the skimmer off without a change in nutrients - it pretty much handled pH consistency.

My little 20g it helped with nutrient control quite a bit. There was a significant difference if it wasn't running.

I honestly had no idea a skimmer could make that kind of difference with nutrients on smaller tank. Makes total sense though when I split my old system and ran independantly my skimmers where much more efficient!
100% agreed it will shine and clean that water up and id imagine help tons with proper aeration and ph swings.
You guys are gangsters I needs to stay on me toes around here

 

[James_O]

Well… great. Leaving for Arkansas tomorrow morning around 7:00 to look at houses… be down there for around 3 days.

We are moving. AGAIN. I’m only 16 and have moved 6 times in my life, and this will be the 7th time. Every single time I just start to get planted and make friends, a “better opportunity opens up” or “we will make more money”. Every 2-3 years we usually move. The past 3 houses my parents have said “this will be out forever home”… yeah… ;Penguin

 

[LegalReefer]

Well… great. Leaving for Arkansas tomorrow morning around 7:00 to look at houses… be down there for around 3 days.

We are moving. AGAIN. I’m only 16 and have moved 6 times in my life, and this will be the 7th time. Every single time I just start to get planted and make friends, a “better opportunity opens up” or “we will make more money”. Every 2-3 years we usually move. The past 3 houses my parents have said “this will be out forever home”… yeah… ;Penguin

I’m sorry bud, moving is always hard. Didn’t realize you were only 16; you have a fantastic tank, and have put more care and work into your aquarium than men two or three times your age. Moving is never fun, but look to the future with bright eyes full of hope. Opportunities can arise behind every corner, and being the new kid isn’t always a bad thing.

I ended up in a new school when I was around your age, having repeat my junior year of high school due to transfer, and it was unironically the best thing to have ever happened to me. I ended up making friends at this new school who have become lifelong brothers, guys who I would take a bullet for and vice versa, and that never would have happened otherwise. It’s not all bad, keep your eyes open for the good. At the least, you’ve got a bit of a community here on R2R to lend you some support if you need it!

 

[F i s h y]

Well… great. Leaving for Arkansas tomorrow morning around 7:00 to look at houses… be down there for around 3 days.

We are moving. AGAIN. I’m only 16 and have moved 6 times in my life, and this will be the 7th time. Every single time I just start to get planted and make friends, a “better opportunity opens up” or “we will make more money”. Every 2-3 years we usually move. The past 3 houses my parents have said “this will be out forever home”… yeah… ;Penguin

Maybe there will be some good lfs near the new home

 

[LRT]

Yeah I moved around a ton growing up as my dad was in navy. Honestly its only going to make you more independent when you grow up. Flipside is your almost at that age where you can plant your own feet this time.
Flip flip side id take it as a huge opportunity to continue to groom and cure rock and get it ready so you can start a crazy epic tank when you land and start new tank.

 

[James_O]

Digi update:

August 30th:

Now:

(there’s a huge difference, it’s crazy)

 

[James_O]

I somehow feel like this tank is also it too tall. (As in too much height and not enough length)

If I had more length I would have more rock work, which would be more room to put my coral on instead of the sand bed.

The light would also be able to reach the coral much easier.

—-

When I move, I will most likely be selling this tank (keeping the livestock/coral) and selling one of my fw tanks to help pay for a new tank.

Still don’t know what size I want, but I do want it to have a sump and has some nice length to it.

(also keep in mind it might have to go in my room, but I don’t know if it would be on the foundation or the second story)

 

[F i s h y]

A 40 breeder makes an excellent tank size...

 

[James_O]

What exactly is a “lagoon” style tank? I know @LRT’s tank is a lagoon, but what all does that entail?

I think I would rather have a shallow tank and more length (or a cube) than length and height.

 

[LRT]

What exactly is a “lagoon” style tank? I know @LRT’s tank is a lagoon, but what all does that entail?

I think I would rather have a shallow tank and more length (or a cube) than length and height.

Lagoon is just the way you set it up ive seen peeps calling nanos lagoons.
Agree with @F i s h y
The 40 breeders really are awesome in fact my very first tank was a 40 breeder. They are a little more shallow but still deep enough to run higher par corals up top with a good foot print.
Kinda hard to find as they are super popular but you can sometimes find them fully customized and drilled for sump on eBay or Amazon.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

you should get a 30 breeder or a 33 long.