New Build Red Sea Reefer Nano 21

[IslandLifeReef]

I would slow down a bit and let the tank mature and go through some 'ugly' phases. The urchins will not survive without sufficient algae (coraline, film, GHA). Leopard wrasses need a lot of microfauna to graze on. After my tank cycles, I usually put in a pair of clowns and try to add diverse microfauna and let the tank settle an mature for months before I add corals or other fish. I add snails and crabs as I go, but starfish and urchins need lots biodiversity of microfauna to live.

+1. A 21 gal tank with 4 fish, two of which should be in a tank of 50 gal or more, plus all of the other livestock is moving really fast. I would fix your white slime issue and get your skimmer settled in for a couple of months before adding anything else to the tank. Continuing to chase problems will only lead to more losses.;Nurse

 

[Tiger-Paws]

Well the White Slime is slowly being dealt with mostly because of the 3X Coralife UV Sterilizer and daily 100 micron filter sock changes. This has resulted in some unintended consequences, mainly there is no algae growth what-so-ever which means I need to physically feed the Urchin's Seaweed.

The IceCap K2-50 Slimmer is an issue I have decided to deal with and to that end I am considering an AquaMaxx WS-1 In-Sump Protein Skimmer as the
Reef Octopus BH-50 Multi-Mount Protein Skimmer I tried was a complete failure.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Tiger-Paws]

If anyone is interested I have posted my Skimmer on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IceCap-K2-50-Skimmer-/152712734004?hash=item238e636534:g:MoEAAOSwSZFZxEKv

 

[Tiger-Paws]

Major update.......

I fought the Slime but the Slime won.

After months of trying and trying and trying. Having read anything and everything I could find on this stuff I have finally given up.

I am tearing the tank down and I will totally sterilize, disinfect, clean, cleanse, purify, and decontaminate the tank and all of its components.

While removing the rock the smell was unbelievably foul, even inside of a mylar bag the stink is so strong I moved the trash can outside until the garbage company pickes it up tomorrow.

The slime clung to everything like long thick strings and has proven difficult to remove from pumps and powerheads. It took a very strong mixture of bleach and 160F water to remove it.

I am trying to save the fish, crabs and corals by giving them a 4 step wash in fresh Red Sea Coral Pro and introducing them into a 20 gallon bare bottom tank. My hope is that I will be able to eliminate as much of the slime as possible thus giving the creatures in my care a chance at survival (note I have already lost the Yellowtail Damsel when I removed the main piece of rock) but I will do my best to save as many as possibel.

Below are some images I took today of the slime. The slime is almost gel like and I say slime because it is very slimy to the touch and difficult to wash off with soap and hot water.

 

[Tiger-Paws]

Well the Main Tank is C L E A N! ;Hurting That was a LOT of work ;Inpain which took me most of the day. The amount of slime that came off of the inside was GROSS maybe a cups worth after the tank was drained and the sand had an unbelievably foul smell ;Vomit.

Now that this is behine me, I will begin to restart the tank. I am going to stay with live sand, maybe something a bit finer and I will be purchasing my Live Rock from a LFS I found on Monday (very clean, good looking corals, healthy fish and inverts).

My new Skimmer should arrive tomorrow, this time I went with a Reef Octopus Classic 110SSS 5" Internal Space Saving Protein Skimmer because I found several other reefers with same Red Sea Nano as mine who were having good success.

As before I will post this second build as I progress.

 

[Tiger-Paws]

Friday 10/13/2017 7:35pm CDT.

Just made the first filter change for the HOB Filter. It was brown and I felt a bit of slime, not much mind you but it was noticeable. I believe some came in on the Coral frags even though I rinsed and dipped everything 4 times it seems that some of the slime made it into the new tank.

I did install the UV Sterilizer (after scrubbing it clean and washing it with 165F water) so maybe it is helping to keep the sline under control. Only time will tell.

Sad note: I lost the Quarter size Auriga Butterflyfish, too bad it was eating well. Everyone else seems to be doing ok, but only time will tell. I do expect more losses.

Reality check: If the slime dose return and I cannot get ride of it then I will sadly and with great regret kill all of the livestock. Giving any away would be irresponsible.

 

[Tiger-Paws]

Sunday 10/15/2017 2:30pm CDT

My 20 gallon temp tank was covered in the slime as was everything in the tank. It took me 3 hours to clean everything and perform a 5 gallon water change after only 3 days.

This stuff grows quickly.

Unfortunately I had to euthanize all of the corals as they were covered in the slime and nothing I was able to do whould clean them.

I am baffeled as to what the bacteria is feeding on, I am very careful about my feeding of the remaining 4 fish.

I will continue to post my findings, actions and thoughts as I try to get rid of this stuff.

 

[easily_fishstracted]

this has been a fascinating and illuminating read.

i am totally new to the whole aquarium thing and have also decided on a reef tank (and specifically the reefer nano). because the whole thing will cost about 4-5 times what i expected when i first got this idea, i'm staggering the purchases out over a few months, during which i'm reading up and getting acclimated. thus far i've purchased the following:

vortech mp10 qd powerhead
sicce syncra silent return pump
bubble magus c3.5 skimmer

to be procured:

RS reefer nano tank
kessil a160
computer (probably profilux 3.1 if i can find a used one, 4 if not)
heater (no idea)
... fish?

i was interested in why you didn't go for live rock and sand immediately, as this seems to provide considerable benefits?

Also does anyone know whether the basic (tap) water quality makes any difference in tank volatility, wrt. bacterial/algae blooms and general upkeep, or is this basically immaterial after it's cycled?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

this has been a fascinating and illuminating read.

i am totally new to the whole aquarium thing and have also decided on a reef tank (and specifically the reefer nano). because the whole thing will cost about 4-5 times what i expected when i first got this idea, i'm staggering the purchases out over a few months, during which i'm reading up and getting acclimated. thus far i've purchased the following:

vortech mp10 qd powerhead
sicce syncra silent return pump
bubble magus c3.5 skimmer

to be procured:

RS reefer nano tank
kessil a160
computer (probably profilux 3.1 if i can find a used one, 4 if not)
heater (no idea)
... fish?

i was interested in why you didn't go for live rock and sand immediately, as this seems to provide considerable benefits?

Also does anyone know whether the basic (tap) water quality makes any difference in tank volatility, wrt. bacterial/algae blooms and general upkeep, or is this basically immaterial after it's cycled?

I would never use basic tap water at all. It has nitrates, phosphate, and chlorine as well as other solids that will only cause problems with your tank. If you don't want to purchase an RO/DI filter for your tap water, I would suggest buying premixed water from a trusted LFS. As far as using live rock and live sand are concerned, it isn't necessary. Many people run bare bottom tanks and many people use dry rock with great success, myself included. The main thing you need to do is be patient, and use quality materials. Trying to get fish in the tank quickly will result in more problems later. I would recommend a fishless cycle using Dr. Tims ammonia. If you want to add bacteria to help start the cycle, it won't hurt. Or, you can let nature take its course and just add the ammonia, the bacteria will get into the tank by itself.

 

[easily_fishstracted]

so one of the advantages of my town (vienna) is that the drinking water is pretty good quality. I know off-hand that nitrates e.g. are under 5ppm in the drinking water, and this improves during fall and winter (which is now). i was planning on getting at least a bit of water from the LFS across the street from me, but not all 21 gallons, or was this what you were suggesting?

I have no interest in getting fish in the tank quickly, and figured i needed to have it livestock free for a couple months to let it cycle even with live rock/sand?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

so one of the advantages of my town (vienna) is that the drinking water is pretty good quality. I know off-hand that nitrates e.g. are under 5ppm in the drinking water, and this improves during fall and winter (which is now). i was planning on getting at least a bit of water from the LFS across the street from me, but not all 21 gallons, or was this what you were suggesting?

I have no interest in getting fish in the tank quickly, and figured i needed to have it livestock free for a couple months to let it cycle even with live rock/sand?

I would buy an RO/DI filter or buy RO/DI water from your LFS. Yes, all 21 gallons. One of the purposes of water changes is to reduce nitrates and phosphates as well as any othercontaminants that may have built up in the water. If you use water with contaminants already in it, you are starting out behind the curve.

 

[Tiger-Paws]

easily_fishstracted consider purchasing a https://www.marinedepot.com/Aquatic..._Systems-AquaticLife-AK01016-FIROROTS-vi.html they work pretty well.

 

[Tiger-Paws]

Tuesday 10/17/2017 10:30 am CDT

Update, cleaned the 20 gallon tank completly (well as comletly as possible with the water in it. Still some slime growing on the walls and well everything that is wet, I have NO idea how to kill this stuff.

Side note: I wrote Reef Savy regarding a custom tank build, 24' x 24" and 26' tall, the price for the tank only with their Ghost overflow is $1925.00 and a 6 month wait. I am considering selling my Red Sea Nano system and upgrading to something a bit bigger.

 

[Tiger-Paws]

this has been a fascinating and illuminating read.

i am totally new to the whole aquarium thing and have also decided on a reef tank (and specifically the reefer nano). because the whole thing will cost about 4-5 times what i expected when i first got this idea, i'm staggering the purchases out over a few months, during which i'm reading up and getting acclimated. thus far i've purchased the following:

vortech mp10 qd powerhead
sicce syncra silent return pump
bubble magus c3.5 skimmer

to be procured:

RS reefer nano tank
kessil a160
computer (probably profilux 3.1 if i can find a used one, 4 if not)
heater (no idea)
... fish?

i was interested in why you didn't go for live rock and sand immediately, as this seems to provide considerable benefits?

Also does anyone know whether the basic (tap) water quality makes any difference in tank volatility, wrt. bacterial/algae blooms and general upkeep, or is this basically immaterial after it's cycled?

easily_fishstracted thank you for following along on my second adventure into Reefing. This hobby is without doubt expensive, far more than most are willing to admit, mistakes are often fatal to the creatures in our care.

To answer your qestions directly, I did start with 20 lbs of Live Sand, I used "Florida Mined Rock" rather than standard Live Rock because I wanted to avoid the hitchhiker's, some of which can be rather nasty. To this mix I added 7 lbs of Live Rock from a local LFS in an effort to help "Kickstart" the process. While I maybe wrong I believe I made two mistakes, the mined rock was not as dead as I was led to believe and the live rock likely introduced the bacteria to my tank. While I can only speculate I believe the bacteria (aka. Slime) was feeding off of something leeching from the mined rock. Something I was unable to detect with the standard testing kits.

As I reported the UV system initially solved the bacterial bloom problem but when I cleaned the leftover slime from as much of the system as I could reach the problem came back with a vengence. The UV system kept the bacterial bloom at bay but the resulting slime grew and grew and grew. Until it took over the tank and as I reported the smell was putrid beyond belief.

Which leaves me where I am now, my Red Sea Nano is torn down, scrubbed and disinfected to the best of my ability. The 20 gallon temp tank is my issue now, I am cleaning it every other day and still some slime is growing. I am trying to save the fish but that will be dependent on getting rid of the slime completly.

I have read everything I can find regarding this issue, what I have learned is that all of the discussions seem to end quietly without a resolution to the issue or with the tank being torn down, cleaned and restarted.

Which is where I am at today. I am not is a hurry to restart the tank, in fact I may sell the tank and everything that goes with it and start again with a larger system. I am considering that option now.

 

[Midrats]

Just saw this, bummer! I had no issues at all with the commissioning of my tank. I attribute that to using 100% live Pukani from Tampa Bay Saltwater. I have experienced similar woes with tanks in the past, but only ones I set up using dry rock. I'll never use dry rock again. Save yourself the head and heartache and get some quality live rock and give the little REEFER a second chance.

 

[Tiger-Paws]

Just saw this, bummer! I had no issues at all with the commissioning of my tank. I attribute that to using 100% live Pukani from Tampa Bay Saltwater. I have experienced similar woes with tanks in the past, but only ones I set up using dry rock. I'll never use dry rock again. Save yourself the head and heartache and get some quality live rock and give the little REEFER a second chance.

Thank you, I have considered the rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater, I was also considering Real Reef Live Rock from Pacificeast Aquaculture https://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com/Real-Reef-Live-Rock-Shipping-Included-Prodview.html

As for keeping the Nano???? Still thinking about going bigger. While money is not an issue, space is, which is why I initially went with the 18"x18"x18" Red Sea Reefer Nano. After having that tank in position for a while I have discovered that I would be able to go a bit larger, 24"x 24" and 26" tall and still fit into the space I have allocated for the tank.

As Isaid I am not in any hurry to make a decision.

 

[Midrats]

I have considered the Aquamaxx 57g 24"x24" sans a sump using Tunze Comline equipment I have on hand. Just 9004 skimmer in the corner, a heater, and two 6040s for flow. All that takes up less room than an overflow, and no need for a sump. I still like the Nano though, we'll see

 

[Tiger-Paws]

I have considered the Aquamaxx 57g 24"x24" sans a sump using Tunze Comline equipment I have on hand. Just 9004 skimmer in the corner, a heater, and two 6040s for flow. All that takes up less room than an overflow, and no need for a sump. I still like the Nano though, we'll see

Thank you but I was looking for something a bit more refined and up-scale such as Reef Savy or something similar with a stand and a sump. I need a more complete system as I am no longer able to do much DYI.

 

[Tiger-Paws]

 

[Midrats]

Reef Savvy tanks are nice but wow, he thinks his tanks are pretty special. I got a quote from them once and was floored, and the wait, no thanks. Whatever you decide to do, good luck.