Build and Progress of my RSM Nano Tank - Page 23

LaurentSeattle · #**551** 12/08/2007, 09:29 PM

Month 6 - Week 24 - Day 163 - Saturday December 8th - Around 6pm

- Big algae removal day! Spent almost two hours this morning cutting and trimming pest algae. Followed with a 2.5 g water change and thorough cleaning of the mechanical filters.

More pictures of my mushrooms...

- Why mushroom pictures? My LFS has a 25% promotion this weekend on mushrooms and I just got two nice rocks. Pics tomorrow so that these new guys have some time to expand and get used to the new water conditions.

- Replaced one gallon of water used for dripping the new comers.

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ReefMack, pbukow: I think I will try again supplementing Mg when I will see Ca going down to natural sea water levels.

pbukow · #**552** 12/09/2007, 12:53 AM

Those new ones are really nice looking? What did they call those at the LFS? They almost look like ricordias. Very nice buy.

Also, I hope the second magnesium treatment works out for you. This tank is gonna rock once you get that pesky algae problem under control. Keep it up

LaurentSeattle · #**553** 12/09/2007, 08:16 PM

Month 6 - Week 24 - Day 164 - Sunday December 9th - Around 5pm

- Removed a bit more of pest algae...

- Cleant my K#1. I think I waited too long: Coralline and decaying algae was impeding the flow.

- Removed the Candy Cane for a while to hunt for the majano. Could not find it...

- Took a few shots of new mushrooms:

Green Striped (Actinodiscus?) Bad picture: They look much greener in reality...

Blue frilly mushrooms (Actinodiscus again?)

I got both rocks for 70+tax at the LFS.

And finally the FTS, a bit wider than usual because of the new comers placed at the corners:

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pbukow:

Pictures of the new arrivals are in this post. Previous pictures are Ricordea Yumas and Blue Stripped Mushrooms that I have since quite a while...

I will keep you posted whenever I try to supplement Mg again.

Reefmack · #**554** 12/09/2007, 09:30 PM

The new shrooms look nice Laurent. I have some of the green striped ones. I think they are both Actinodiscus - there are tons of species & color/texture varieties of that type. The majanos are very good at moving around fairly quickly, like other anemones. It may be in a different spot now or even on the other rocks.

LaurentSeattle · #**555** 12/09/2007, 09:43 PM

Also to note on the above FTS how the Xenia stalks have colonized their neighbouring rock! Amazing growth... I guess I will have soon to trim these beasts!

Reefmack: Just two hours after putting back the Candy Cane rock into the tank, the Majano is opening up at the exact same spot... Grrrr!

pbukow · #**556** 12/09/2007, 11:03 PM

Looks like your finally finding a balance nutrient wise in your tank. The spots of coralline on the bottom and the lowering amount of nuissance algae has got to be encouraging to you.

Nice shrooms again, careful though, they can grow like weeds and take over a system if not kept in check.

What kind of wrasse was that again? A yellow corris? how big do they get do you know?

LaurentSeattle · #**557** 12/10/2007, 12:41 AM

pbukow:

The yellow wrasse is a Halichoeres chrysus (or Golden Rainbowfish, Golden Wrasse, Yellow Coris, or Canary Wrasse). Max size in aquaria is 5 inch accorcing to LiveAquaria web page.

Since a few days, its bottom and tail fins are getting a red / orange shade... Very nice!

A very peaceful and lovely fish. My lovely girlfriend strongly believes it is a girl and hence has named it Lucy Lu... Lovely indeed...

pbukow · #**558** 12/10/2007, 03:52 AM

Oh yeah, in the previous pic you can kind of make that orange on the fins. Nice indeed. Ms. Lu is growing up into a fine young lady

LaurentSeattle · #**559** 12/10/2007, 11:59 PM

Month 6 - Week 24 - Day 16 - Monday December 10th - Around 9pm

- Did the usual daily maintenance (white pad, top-off,...) and tested the water:

= NO2, not tested
= NO3, PO4, both zero
= ALK: 8.6
= Ca: 460ppm
= pH, not tested

Ca is still in the high range while Alk is in the medium low. I know: Mg was supposed to fix that...

All inhabitants seems to be happy and healthy. New mushrooms expanding a bit more...

LaurentSeattle · #**560** 12/11/2007, 11:20 PM

Month 6 - Week 24 - Day 166 - Tuesday December 10th - Around 8pm

Tonight, I tried a sample a Seachem Clarity that I got from a LFS quite a while ago. The product is supposed to help with cloudy waters and excessive particulate matter in the water. I used the recommended dose. Immediately, the water became extremely cloudy and started to clarify after an hour. After two hours, I changed the white pad with a new one: it was clogged.

The mushrooms retracted a bit during the process but showed no signs of distress. The feather duster has retracted in its tube since quite a while. All other corals and animals have continued their little businesses as usual...

After three hours, the water is just like before... Although a lot of stuff ended up in the white pad, no visible improvement of any kind on water clarity. The usual amount of floating stuff and still as many micro-bubbles as before...

Conclusion

Seachem Clarity: Not recommended.

Reefmack · #**561** 12/12/2007, 08:21 AM

Hi Laurent - any idea of the mechanism by which the clarity is supposed to work? I have a friend that once added a water clarifying polymer to clarify a small koi pond - the water became clear but the fish all died - their gills became coated by the polymer and they could no longer breathe. I'm sure the Seachem product must work a different way (I sure hope so!). It sounds like it did something, based on the white pad picking up a lot of stuff, but I agree that the side effects would seem to rule out using the product. Thanks for the review.

LaurentSeattle · #**562** 12/12/2007, 11:00 AM

ReefMack: Here is below Seachem description: Advanced polymeric flocculation is how the thing works... Talk to the hand...(Parle a mon cul, ma tete est malade!)

Clarityâ„¢ is the ultimate clarifier for both fresh and saltwater. It employs an advanced polymeric flocculating agent that is both reef and plant safe. Clarityâ„¢ is the only clarifier on the market that does it all! Clarityâ„¢ will clear all types of clouding: bacterial and other biological type blooms, chemical clouding, and particulate clouding (i.e. stirred up gravel bed). When Clarityâ„¢ clears up bacterial clouding it helps to accelerate and enhance the colonization of the biological filter by efficiently relocating these natural biofilms to the biosupport media in the filter. Freshwater and Marine. Plant and reef safe.

Devtech · #**563** 12/12/2007, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LaurentSeattle

And finally the FTS, a bit wider than usual because of the new comers placed at the corners:

---

pbukow:

Pictures of the new arrivals are in this post. Previous pictures are Ricordea Yumas and Blue Stripped Mushrooms that I have since quite a while...

I will keep you posted whenever I try to supplement Mg again.

Looking Great Lauren!

Reefmack · #**564** 12/12/2007, 12:42 PM

So the Clarity is a polymer. Interesting. I'm guessing it must not be a free polymer, but maybe a polymeric compound of some type. I'd definitely avoid anything I knew was a free water soluble polymer as that type can coat a fish's gills as well as flocculate particles into removable clumps. I have to assume Seachem has tested these things, but the effect on the featherduster concerns me. Maybe the Clarity caused enough stuff to deposit on it's feather that it pulled it in to eat a big dinner!

LaurentSeattle · #**565** 12/12/2007, 08:55 PM

Reefmack: I have to admit that your comments about polymers are a bit above my head...

But tonight the water is again just like before and everyone inside the tank seems to be happy...

Reefmack · #**566** 12/12/2007, 09:21 PM

Sorry Laurent. Polymers are hard to simplify - think of a long chain molecule that has sticky areas along the chain, and the sticky parts grab things like tiny particles out of the water, forming bigger clumps that are then easily removed by filtration. Maybe that will make more sense? I've had to work with them, so I've had no choice but to understand them better.

martinphillip03 · #**567** 12/16/2007, 05:24 PM

I decided what reef books I am going to read
1) The Nano-Reef Handbook by Chris R. Brightwell
2) Aquarium Corals : Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History
by Eric H. Borneman
3) The Reef Aquarium: Science, Art, and Technology, Vol. 3
by Julian Sprung , J. Charles Delbeek

Marty

LaurentSeattle · #**568** 12/16/2007, 08:21 PM

Hi Marty

I do recommend 1)

The two other authors are well known and almost celebrities in the Aquarium microcosm... Let us know what you think about their talent as book writers!

Reefmack · #**569** 12/16/2007, 09:39 PM

Laurent - what's the copyright date on the Nano-Reef Handbook? I read The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, but while excellent I thought it was not totally up to date technically on some subjects.

LaurentSeattle · #**570** 12/16/2007, 10:01 PM

Reefmack: The copyright date on the Nano-Reef Handbook is 2006. The last chapter "Epilogue" concludes with "July 2005". The book focuses on small nanos, up to 15 gallons, but I think almost everything can apply to our bigger nano.

martinphillip03 · #**571** 12/16/2007, 10:15 PM

Laurent Thats exactly why I bought that book. The coral book got excellent reviews. The other reef book seems to be the most current. Thanks for the advice

Marty

Hi Marty

I do recommend 1)

The two other authors are well known and almost celebrities in the Aquarium microcosm... Let us know what you think about their talent as book writers! [/B][/QUOTE]

martinphillip03 · #**572** 12/16/2007, 10:18 PM

Laurent, How much sand do you keep in your RSM? Did you ever consider going bare bottom. (Please no jokes)

Marty

LaurentSeattle · #**573** 12/16/2007, 10:40 PM

I have placed in the RSM the totality of the Aragonite sand that comes with the Red Sea starter kit. And on top of that I have added about one inch of white "live sand". That's, I guess, a deep sand bed.

Bare bottom... I never really considered it: Not very nice, it needs months before coralline covers the bottom and benefits, according to my LFS, is mainly longevity of the tank, after 4 or 5 years. A big issue for large tanks, but not a real one for nanos. Since I will likely rebuild the RSM within the next five years, I choosed to do some immediate "profit taking" on the Deep Sand Bed...

LaurentSeattle · #**574** 12/16/2007, 11:10 PM

Month 6 - Week 25 - Day 171 - Sunday December 16th - Around 8pm

A quiet week...

- Tested water yesterday:

NO3, PO4: Both zero
ALK: 8.6
Ca: 460ppm
pH: 8.2

I still have this unbalance of high Ca and low Alk. Not extremely unbalanced, but a bit weird...

But... The tank has been running well lastly so I guess it is better to be happy with it for now.

- Cut quite a lot of bryopsis yesterday but each time, it seems like there is a bit less... Is this finally the light at the end of the tunnel?

- Did my weekly 3g water change yesterday.

- Zoas have started to grow again and look quite happy.

- All mushrooms look happy. For the very first time, I am going to get a Yuma baby 'shroom...

- I am considering adding two more zoanthid frags... Maybe this week, if everything continues to go well... After that I will consider the tank fully stocked. I know I could probably add more corals, but since the beginning I wanted a low maintenance tank...

LaurentSeattle · #**575** 12/18/2007, 10:57 PM

Month 6 - Week 25 - Day 173 - Tuesday December 18th - Around 8pm

- Did the usual maintenance: Top off, cleaning white pad, cleaning the glass...

- The skimmer foam production is reduced to almost nothing since a few days.

- Bryopsis is somewhat receding. At least, the growth rate has significantly slowed down since the last cleanup last Saturday. I am starting to believe this could be finally the light at the end of the tunnel...

- I changed my plans for the XMas weekend and I will be travelling: Therefore, no new additions this week but most likely an extra water change instead. This cost little and, AFAIK, it never hurts