Build and Progress of my RSM Nano Tank

[Reefmack]

Laurent - you and I failed Rue's nitpicking test a few times above! Shamey on us! Rue - please forgive us imperfect H. sapiens .

I was already familiar with the sunfish scientific name, so you didn't have me doing a search on that one. I've seen them several times on TV and they are definitely a strange fish!

[Reefmack]

Laurent. I was just looking through my favorites for something and noticed I had saved a link to GDESQUIRE's gallery:

http://homepage.mac.com/gdesquire/PhotoAlbum5.html

Nice tank and corals!

[Rue]

LOL...I had that drilled into my head by one of my favourite professors...

...I feel obligated to pass it on...

[LaurentSeattle]

Week 9 - Day 57 - Wednesday August 23rd - Around 7pm

I recieved today my second Hydor Flo flow diverter and I immediately installed it. Yes, I have now two of them, each one on the output of the stock circulation pumps. Note that I also added a Koralia #2 to the setup a few days ago.

The result is simply amazing!!! This is almost RSM Nirvana!

- Almost no more bubbles! I cannot see any bubbles when standing 75cm or so (2.5 feet) from the tank. I have to look for them, count them, nose on the glass...

- Skimming is much improved!

- Absolutely no more oily surface film at all!

- This is finally the end of the neck-breaking current on the left side of the tank. Water movement is peaceful, natural and beautiful. Add on top of that much better clarity because bubbles are gone...

The whole point of all of this goodnes is that the flow diverters significantly reduce the flow through the filtration chambers.

First, the drop of water level from the tank level to the skimmer chamber is reduced by about 1cm, maybe a bit less. (Or, in other words, the water level in the skimmer chamber has increased about 1cm) That's enough to improve the skimmer performance: The foam floats and therefore climbs higher (1cm higher) in the skimmer and evacuates more gunk. I have also been able to reduce a bit the air intake without losing any performance at all. Less air intake: less bubbles! (1cm is 0.4 inch)

Second, the water level in the filtration chamber is also much higher, a bit more than 1cm higher. And that's enough to put a complete end to these extremely annoying bursts of bubbles coming from the pumps.

Third, the diverters send water upwards at each turn and that breaks the surface film very efficiently.

Finally, water movement has become so beautiful. These ugly jets of water are forever gone...

I am extremely happy with this "mod" so far... If any other people do try this, please post here to share results.

One Last Thing:

Do not try to install the two flow diverters without an extra powerhead. Doing so significantly reduces water circulation. And I do not want to be blamed for your cyano bloom. (Remember: I added a Koralia #2!)

In other news:

- Mushrooms not completely acclimated yet.
- More newly arrived zoanthids now opening nicely.
- Yumas opening beautifully!
- First arrived zoanthids seem to start colonizing the bigger rock supporting their little rock!
- Zero NO2, Near Zero NO3, pH=8.3.
- Cleaned white pad and black sponge.
- Another shrimp has molted.

And NO MORE BUBBLES... YAY!!!

[Reefmack]

Very interesting news on the 2nd Hydor Flo! Thanks for letting us know. I'd try it to get some efficiency out of my RSM skimmer, but since I'll be trying out the Tunze skimmer tomorrow I'll see what that does first. It does make sense that the additional resistance from the 2 Hydor Flo would increase the water level in back and give the skimmer that extra bit of water level to push foam into the cup. And less microbubbles would help a lot of RSM owners.

[LaurentSeattle]

Week 9 - Day 58 - Friday August 24th - Around 5pm

- Tested Water:

Nitrites: Perfect Zero,
Nitrates: Perfect Zero,
pH: 8.3

- Changed the carbon bag with new media, a bit less.

- Briefly rinsed under warm tap water the ceramic balls.

- Cleant completely the balls bag under hot water, very dirty.

- Put carbon and balls back into place, removed two balls and put a bit less carbon to make sure that bags would not again block the pumps.

- Let everything settle for two hours and tested nitrites again: Perfect Zero.

- Still no bubbles and good skimming.

- Tested Alk while at it: Normal at 2.3 mEq/L

- Swapped placement of Yumas and Striped Mushrooms.

I wanted to move the striped mushrooms in a quieter spot with less current and less light. So far, no good... They are still very retracted and still not willing to expand much.

The Yumas like their new spot very much and are back to their full extent. I actually discovered that there was a small one on the bacl of the rock. This guy is now visible from the side of the tank. Cheaper than going to the LFS. One Yuma is now extenting (climbling?) onto the neighbouring rock.

- Zoanthids seem to be willing to colonize their neighbouring rock. I took that picture for future reference.



- And let's finish with happy yumas...



Thanks all for visiting...

[Reefmack]

Awesome pics Laurent! The corals are looking great! Keep an eye on your readings - rinsing the ceramic media under tap water may have killed off any good bacteria on them. On the other hand I have a feeling that most of us have enough live rock doing the filtering that the ceramic media & even rubble in that back chamber aren't even needed. I came to that conclusion when I removed my ceramic & replaced with rubble - never saw any ammonia or nitrite. My ceramic was about as white as the day I put it in, and the only sign of any growth or dirt was on the bag itself. To be safe, the next time you clean the media rinse it in SW from a water change, or even fresh SW, so you have no chance of killing good bacteria by exposure to chlorine, etc. JMO.

[LaurentSeattle]

ReefMack: Yes... I started to rinse the ceramic balls, then I thought "Dang, this is NOT freshwater"... That is why I tested for nitrites and I will do it again later tonight.

I am planning to feed the tank for the very first time tomorrow with some phytoplankton. On the Zoanthids forums, the experts often say that it can promote growth...

[Reefmack]

I had a feeling you forgot you were saltwater :-)

[LaurentSeattle]

Last minute update:

- The second Nitrites test resulted in Perfect Zero Absolute Green reading. Good...

- I spotted a bristleworm that problably shipped along with the zoanthids and mushrooms last Tuesday. Small, about 3 cms long (1.2 inch), at that size they are good I have read.

- The Striped Mushrooms (Actinodiscus sp.) are still not happy. I will try something else on Sunday if no improvement during the weekend.

- I am now considering getting a small school of FIVE blue-green damsels. ( Chromis viridis ) My RSM would become a species specialized tank, maybe the first RSM worldwide without a clownfish

1- Would it be too much for the RSM?
2- Would they grow too big in the RSM?
3- Will they eat my Zoanthids?
4- What about six?
5- Or seven?

Research I have done so far anwser the above questions with:

- Maybe
- Not Sure
- Probably Not
- Maybe
- No

Therefore your input would be much appreciated.

[MAXreefer]

Hi Laurent,

this is what I found online so far:

A school of Blue Green Chromis is sure to add sparkle and motion to your aquarium. This is a very hardy fish that seeks safety in large groups. In the wild, schools of thousands of chromis cruise across the reef together looking for food and looking out for each other. In the aquarium, they seem to do much better when surrounded by a few good friends. Try groups of three to seven in smaller aquariums, between 30 to 90 gallons, and larger groups of 15 or more chromis in larger display aquariums.

The Blue Green Chromisis not a threat to corals, clams, or invertebrates.

Feed a varied diet of both herbivore and carnivore preparations, including mysid shrimp, brine shrimp, and marine algae.

Maximum Size: ca. 3 in.

Michael
MAXreefer

[LaurentSeattle]

Week 9 - Day 60 - Sunday August 26th - Around 7pm

Just a little update after a long busy weekend...

- Cleaning of mechanical filtration (A bit overdue..)

- Cleaning of the glass: Some coralline is showing! However, I removed it: I have read that I can get difficult to remove it once it is encrusted.

- Syphoned out and removed cyano on three spots, including two new spots... Removed some snail poop and other detritus and finally ended up with a 2 gallons water change!

- Stripped Mushrooms are doing a bit better in their new location, I mean that it seems they extend a bit more...

- Tested again for Nitrites: Perfect Zero. Rinsing the ceramic balls for a few seconds under tap water apparently had no negative impact on the aquarium tank bio-filtration capacity. I have about 25 kg (55lbs) of LR in the tank and I assume this is where most of the bio-filtration actually happens.

---

MAXreefer: Thanks for the info!

[Reefmack]

Originally posted by LaurentSeattle
- Tested again for Nitrites: Perfect Zero. Rinsing the ceramic balls for a few seconds under tap water apparently had no negative impact on the aquarium tank bio-filtration capacity. I have about 25 kg (55lbs) of LR in the tank and I assume this is where most of the bio-filtration actually happens.

Hi Laurent - you've kind of confirmed my thoughts on the bio-media - it's probably not even needed. The live rock is doing the job on it's own.

[Rue]

I'd agree with you...it's probably not needed...but I figure it can't hurt...

[Reefmack]

Agreed - if you've got no nitrates with it in there, you may as well leave it as is.

[LaurentSeattle]

Well, if the creamic balls are pretty much useless, maybe it is a good idea to replace them with something useful: What about placing more active carbon in this chamber?

[NanoGurl]

IMO I would remove them completely. Extra LR would be more beneficial in the long run.

[Reefmack]

I agree - I'd replace them with LR rubble, but I'd put it in a bag in case you ever want to remove it. A bag also makes it easier to retrieve things that you may drop in there - like the plastic piece that easily falls off the RSM pumps (from experience). Or just try the extra carbon in it's place.

[LaurentSeattle]

Thanks NanoGurl and ReefMack!

I cannot add more LR in the tank itself. I already have about 25kg (55lbs) and it is pretty much full. Actually probably more than that, because my latest zoanthids and mushroom additions came attached with a piece of live rock. If I want to add some corals at the top of the tank, I will have to remove some pieces. I wanted the fishes (not there yet) to have plenty of places to hide and swim around.

But... If I add small pieces of LR in the filtration chamber, they will be placed in a very strong current of highly oxygenated water, since it is just after the skimmer.

Will anaerobic nitrates reduction happen in these conditions? Will these LR "balls" just behave as their ceramic counterparts?

[Reefmack]

I've read that the nitrate reduction can still occur with the rubble in the filter - supposedly as all of the little nooks & crannies & holes in the rubble provide a place for the anareobic bacteria to grow & function, while ceramic media doesn't behave that way. True? I don't really know. It may be just as well to pull the media & replace it with nothing & watch the readings. I put the rubble in just based on what I read - to be safe.

[LaurentSeattle]

Week 9 - Day 62 - Tuesday August 28th - Around 9pm

I am not very happy with the evolution of the tank since Sunday. A lot of algae (green and brown) is growing again quite fast and the substrate looked a bit like rusty turf. A few more cyano spots have appeared. The white pad gets dark very fast and it seems like cleaning it every day is not enough! Similarly, the aquarium glass gets blurry of brown and green algae and could be cleant twice a day!

I have not seen my two shrimps since Friday. Only one. I am a bit worried: Is the second one just hiding? I have not provided any food to them yet. They seem to be happy so far with the pods and the like. Should I try to feed them?

Today, I removed as much as cyano as I could, a good deal of algae turf removing some sand along the way.

Algae is invading some of my zoanthids little frags and I would apreciate any suggestion. Should I remove the frag and try to clean the little piece of rock?



I am going to reduce the light a bit.

The ID question of the day: What are these white things??? Snail eggs again?



Finally, I took that picture for future reference about the growth of the zoanthids:



Thanks all for visiting and continuous support!

[Reefmack]

Hi Laurent. Are you adding any coral food? That extra nutrient may be what's causing the algae and cyano to come back. I don't think you have any corals that require feeding - I think they're all photosynthetic. I very rarely feed mine (a little Coral Vite on occasion), started rinsing my frozen food by pouring it in a net to let the excess junk be removed, and replaced my Carbon/DI cartridge, and the diatom outbreak I started to get went away.

I added 2 new peppermints a couple weeks ago and only ever see the one in his hideout. No bodies - not sure if they just hide or expired.

[LaurentSeattle]

ReefMack:

So far, I have not provided any kind of food to the tank. And that's why I am a bit worried about my shrimps that are indeed very discreet.

Nitrates are now at perfect Zero... And really I am wondering why these pest algae keep coming back. Too many water changes??? That can't be...

All: Please advise on the algae invasion on the zoanthids frags!

[MAXreefer]

Another factor might be the lights?
How long do you keep them on during the day?

Michael
MAXreefer

[LaurentSeattle]

Thanks MaxReefer.

The current "ligths on" period is a bit less than 10 hours. Since the last few days, I use a plastic dark trash bag to prevent the tank to receive early morning light.

I am a bit afraid to drastically reduce the photoperiod because my zoanthids and mushrooms do need light.. That's their food. Right?