New reef JBJ CF nano

[AquaTricia]

Yeah, I already have two sand sifters, three three banded trochus which I never see. I also have two peppermint shrimp. Could use more. Should have gotten them yesterday, but wasn't thinking. Don't like crabs.

 

[Grizz]

Trochus are good snails to have as they eat cyano algae and diatoms i'd have 6-8 in a tank that size. Looks like we just need to sit back and let the tank settle. What kind of fish/coral are you looking at?

 

[AquaTricia]

All softies in corals. Already have reddish orange mushrooms, red and green zoanthid, and a green star polyp. All are vey small specimens, but they are doing well, I guess the green star is, can't see it. Fish will be a couple of clownfish, a Bangaai Cardinal, a royal gramma, and a purple fire fish. Does that sound ok to you?
Another new problem has reared it's ugly head; green water. Can't see a thing. I did a 30% water change. Tested ph, nitrites, and ammonia. Ph is about 8.1,nitrites and ammonia at 0. Didn't realize I don't have a saltwater nitrate test. One of my bulbs blew on one of my cichlids tanks, so I will go get a new one on the morning and a test for nitrates. It was looking better before lights out. Can't wait to see it in the morning. Should I do a change every day? Nothing in the skimmer. Cleaned the filter. Passed out in a chair.

 

[Readingexcalibur]

Sounds like a pretty bad algae bloom. You may have an issue because you may have to do a black out period. Water changes may not help. Because as you dilute with new water, the algae is quickly reproducing into the fresh water column. Have a picture of this green water?

Cardinal's really should be in groups of three or more. By not supplying this, you are taking away from its natural schooling tendencies. This has potential to prematurely stress and kill the fish. Yes it is possible, that doesn't make it ok.

Good luck.

 

[Grizz]

Are you using tap water? It could be loaded with phosphates, mine is, 1st time i tried it What a mess lol (didn't want to hook up RO/DI) Cardinal's need a school for sure, and imo are the most boring fish all they do is hang in the water

 

[AquaTricia]

thank you guys. i get mmy saltwater from the lfs, so i don't know anything about it. i will, however, find out today when i go over there. for top off, i use ro/di. yeah, i figured it was an algae bloom. nice, huh? well, it looks a little better today, even some of the green is gone. critters are doing ok. i don't have a way to get a pic. i'm a real dummy about computers and everytime my husband tells me he will teach me, he forgets (amazing, huh?)
i didn't know that info on cardinals. what i have read is that they do better on their own because they fight with each other. the tank is too small to add much of a school. what else would you suggest? i'm looking for very pretty and maybe a bit unusual.

 

[AquaTricia]

Went to the Lfs. They use instant ocean salt in ro/di water. They tested my water and the results were ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5.0, and phosphates 0, which surprised me. Nitrates need to come Dow. Because of evidence os hair algae, they reccomended small hermit crabs. I didn't want crabs initially, but if I need them...

 

[AquaTricia]

Just a little notation: on an iPad, it changes spelling whenever it wants, so some words don't make any sence. Sorry you have to translate. I usually spell correctly.

 

[Readingexcalibur]

Crabs can be a good cleanup crew. Green emeralds eat hairline. But water quality is key.

Cardinals don't fight with cardinals. FYI.

 

[Grizz]

It's not uncommon to test for 0 phosphates because there locked up in the algae Have you looked at the halloween hermit kinda cool just be sure to add some extra shells or they'll kill the snails for there's
Saltwater Aquarium Crabs for Marine Aquariums: Halloween Hermit Crab

PS better to make your own salt water as the LFS RO/DI unit may need it's filters changed

 

[AquaTricia]

Ok. Don't think my 28 gallon will be able to take more than one Bangaai. Don't know what else that is pretty and displays interesting behavior I could get to replace that idea. I put the new hermits in my tank and left for a birthday party. Got home a few minutes ago and the tank was green as ever. Maybe the 8 hour light shift will help. And I'm not feeding the tank. I haven't found anyone locally with Halloween Hermits. I don't know what these are called. They are in a black, striped, small spiral shell. Guess I'd better get some bigger shells to lay around now.

 

[AquaTricia]

3 days later and 5 weeks since initial start up and the tank is green. can't see the back. have done 2 30% water changes washed out the sponge from the trickle filter 3 times, and yesterday, the lfs sold me a thick pad that can be cut to fit and told me to place it above the sponge in the filter compartment of the sump. he said change it every few hours and it should be really green. i have changed it 4 times since 5:00 yesterday, and it's never more than slightly green, honestly don't know what to do next, except let it run it's course. what i can see of the livestock appear ok, but there is a green star polyp on the back wall i can't see. all i can do is wait until this clears up and hope it's ok. any suggestions?

 

[Qube]

Does the pad look similar to this?




If so, ditch the stock sponge and just run the filter pad. Use it going forward, just cut it to size and replace it every 2 days or so. You may need to do it every day until you get the water cleared up. This stuff is not meant to be reusable and it's cheap for a reason, so you can just throw it out once it's done. Sounds like your LFS is just trying to get your money by telling you to replace it so quickly, so stay away from them.

Have you gone lights out yet for an extended period? If not, I think it's time. Try turning your lights off for about 72 hours. By lights out, I mean no light at all! Pull the drapes in the house if necessary! This isn't going to hurt your corals at all, they can go even longer if need be, but start with 72 hours. Once complete, due about a 10 gallon water change. The corals you have listed are hardy and should be fine with that amount.

No need to feed the tank right now, as it sounds like you have plenty of food for what you have in there given the current situation. This is going to take a little bit of time to get rid of, so when you turn your lights back on, go with 4-5 hours to start with (I'm leaning towards 4). Let the tank adjust for a week or so. Then make the decision to up it from there in minimal increments.

Algae needs a nutrient source (nitrate and phosphate) and a light source to survive. It has it all right now. The reason you have no nitrate or phosphate reading is due to the algae literally taking it all in. In larger reef tanks, many aquarists employ a refugium, where water from the display tank passes through a section containing some sort of macro algae to absorb nutrients, thus keeping their display tanks clear of nuisance algae (in theory)

All that being said, this is just my opinion. This is an advice forum, and it is just that, my advice. Hopefully it works, should you choose to try it. I'm sure you will work regardless and I'm looking forward to seeing your tank as it matures!! I love my Nano Cube and I love getting ideas from others!! Consider me subscribed!

 

[AquaTricia]

Thank you, Qube, for the help. The pad the LFS sold me is much, much denser than the one you showed. The sponge the JBJ came with is very porous, so he said to place the pad on top of it. Honestly, the only thing I see it doing is backing up the filter. I thought about moving it down to the next level of the trickle filter, the one I currently have 2 carbon pads and one phosphate pad. I also have some nitrate pads, but I was afraid to put so many in one compartment. The skimmer is not picking up enough to get to the cup.
Not a problem to go lights out if it won't hurt my inverts. I was really concerned about that as I have read about running the tank dark, but no one mentioned what it would do to my animals.
I love my tank, and not at all frustrated (yet), just would like to start seeing the amazing sights that I will when I have a happy tank.

 

[Qube]

In my cube, I only run a filter floss piece cut to size on the top (the pad in the pic) and a small bag of Chemipure Elite. The Chemipure Elite is essentially a mixture of carbon and granulated ferric oxide (GFO) with some other things from what I gather. Most LFSs carry this and it did wonders for my water quality. I feel between the Chemipure Elite and the filter pads getting changed daily, your problem should go away (going lights out as well).

 

[AquaTricia]

Thank you again Qube. I will get the ChemiPure Elite and use it right after lights out.
My skimmer, a JBL Nano skimmer, the one they sell with the tank, has not worked since I got it. Last night we turned the pump on high (and later found out that it's vibration would turn itself down) and raised it above the skimmer and it went crazy. The problem is that they were big bubbles, like in a bubble bath. The tiny bubbles were in the column but when it came to the cup, it deposited large bubbles and green water. It filled the cup with green water in less than 5 minutes. We turned the pressure down on the air pump (which came with the skimmer) and it still produced large bubbles and water, just not so fast. My husband finally turned it way down and taped the pump's button in that position so we could go to bed and not worry about a flood. Any idea what might be going on with the skimmer? We did move it up and down in the sump, but that didn't change it. Suggestions?

 

[Newfiereefer]

Thank you again Qube. I will get the ChemiPure Elite and use it right after lights out.
My skimmer, a JBL Nano skimmer, the one they sell with the tank, has not worked since I got it. Last night we turned the pump on high (and later found out that it's vibration would turn itself down) and raised it above the skimmer and it went crazy. The problem is that they were big bubbles, like in a bubble bath. The tiny bubbles were in the column but when it came to the cup, it deposited large bubbles and green water. It filled the cup with green water in less than 5 minutes. We turned the pressure down on the air pump (which came with the skimmer) and it still produced large bubbles and water, just not so fast. My husband finally turned it way down and taped the pump's button in that position so we could go to bed and not worry about a flood. Any idea what might be going on with the skimmer? We did move it up and down in the sump, but that didn't change it. Suggestions?

Any chemicals or anything you put in you slimmer will make it co crazy and fill up quickly as I will do this until it pulls all the chemical out , I think I read you used a conditioner , that will drive ur skimmer crazy . Also if then slimmer is brand new it will take a few days to get rid of all the micro bubbles in the DT my skimmer to about 3 days to fine tune in :-/ , also there is a " intake l value just above the power head this controls the bubble flow rate , in my skimmer when it is vertical 100% on the horizontal 0% I have mine on about a 60deg angle. Do you see anything like that ?

 

[AquaTricia]

I don't use any chemicals in the tank, unless you count the phosphate pad in with the carbon pad. The skimmer we have is very simple and has a simple knob to control the pressure, about 2-3 feet of airline tubing and a clear tube with collection cup in the sump. It sits fairly straight and upright, the little bubbles are in the tube and when we turn the air pressure up, large bubbles flow into the cup, pop leaving green water. No grunge, just green water. Is this what you were asking?

 

[Newfiereefer]

It was mostly likely just fine tuning itself then , if it has gotten under control , I usually do a " dry skim " where my bubbles barley make it over the top and collect most of the junk on the sides , the stuff that is in the cup is thick an dark :-( yuck

 

[AquaTricia]

What I'm getting is amber colored water. I'm just playing with it to see what I can do to fix it. Like you said, it should be producing gunk, not water. The skimmer has been in the sump and on for well over two weeks, but it has produced nothing until yesterday, and every time we let it go, it fills the cup with water. I'm still playing with it. Something I'm doing has to work. I need to put the tank in lights out mode to get rid of my green water, but I can't do it until I can get the skimmer to act responsively. I left the lights off on the tank all day and no lights on in the house, but I had to turn the lights on for three hours while I checked everything out and worked on the skimmer. Lights are off now.