Detto's 10g Nano Reef Build

[555combo]

Looking great - glad to see it coming along still.

[fer1805]

This looks awesome, great job! Very inspiring for beginners (I know it is not an easy one to put together an maintain as a beginner).

[nada]

Did a water change. The Phosguard did a good job at bringing down the phosphates but I noticed my torch coral and fungia suffering perhaps from aluminium leeching? I immediately stopped using and now have gone back to AIO bio pellets. One colony of zoas don't seem to be doing well.. Can't quite figure it out, tried a freshwater dip and will just give them time now. My birds nest coral is doing extremely well and has heaps of growth compared to when I first bought it! And the green montipora is doing good. Still the same story with acropora, I fail. They've matted out on my plugs but that's about it. Clams are doing well, finally found their happy spot. I really want to try a ricordea but the prices scare me away! Will just have to be content and see how things grow out. Not much room left really. Thanks all for reading my random ramblings!

Also for anyone in WA I have 3 frags for sale. 2 alien eye zoas and one pink birdsnest can send photos and price on request.

[nada]

Time for an update:
274 days the tank has been running for.

Current parameters are -
Monday 16/07 10:07 am
Temperature: 23.9 °C
pH: 8.4
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Salinity: 1.026 SG
Alkalinity: 8 dKH
Calcium: 390 ppm
Magnesium: 1170 ppm

Notable happenings:
Mushrooms have spilt again
Crocea clam died due to unknown reason
Maxima alive and doing well
Since switching to the asw I'm back to better growth all round
Kh swing caused tip burn on some sps mainly birdsnest
Coraline algae is taking off again
Experimental acropora pieces are regrowing after bad TN
Green Monti spreading well
Frags are spreading well mainly zoa plugs
Still running aio bio pellets, have not noticed anything too different besides less dino on sand
Macro algae growing on live rock
Need to lower phosphates further

Enough talk here's some piccys, I really need to invest in a good cam and gel filter. These phone pics do no justice

[nada]

Some ramblings for anyone interested in reading and perhaps even helping with some advice!

So I have made the decision I do want to indeed grow sps and have been brainstorming which route I want to take mainly being:

Automatic water changer VS Doser Balling method

I figured with an AWC it'll keep all my nutrient levels stable and replenish all my trace elements at a consistent rate. I found one which is compatible with my auto top up and I can pretty much set and forget giving me something truly automated and stress free while I'm away at work. I'd set up two extra 44l tubs underneath my bed and it'll all be out of sight. Cons are though I can only change say 10-15% water each time because of my powerhead and pumps running dry and it is less effective removing nutrients rather then a large water change. Also eventually once I am more stocked and demand grows I'll be playing catch up.

The doser on the other hand has me worrying that it is overkill for such a small volume of water and I run the risk of overdosing while I'm away. I'll also have to invest more monies in better testing equipment and all the necessary supplements. I have narrowed down my dosing choice to the Aquaforest Component +1+2+3. If anyone has ANY experience with this or even dosing a nano please do let me know.

Other concerns I have are once I start getting into full swing with the sps I don't want to run the risk of a tank crash. It will be vital I get a chiller and temp controller to prevent temp swings. Maybe I should just suck it up and get an aquarium controller, experience and suggestions anyone?

Next is my nutrient levels.. I am not happy with bio pellets in regards to phosphate removal, they have done thier advertised job in removing nitrates but I'm not so sure of phosphates. I am now thinking of going down the GFO road but then I'll have to sacrifice nitrates. Does anyone have any experience in an Algae Reactor and is it really effective? Or should I just scrap it all and do carbon dosing?

So many questions on my mind and options! Please do chime in if you're reading this!! Any suggestions and input are very welcomed!

Tl;dr
AWC vs Doser?

[lionfish666]

IMO go the doser plus algae reactor. Doser will help prevent swings and ensure carbon dosing is consistant.
I have a Jeabo doser on a 100 litre, best thing i have bought reef related since my ato. Dose Aquaforest 1,2 3 and vinegar on the 4th channel. Only 7mls 1,2,3 a day for my 100 litre tank needed so the 5 litre containers gonna last ages.
Problem with AWC is that dosing is based on evaporation is based on humity and external temperatures, varies when it shouldnt and will cause swings = rtn/stn/browning/death on Sps. I found moving to Sps its the swings that kill u, ph and alk especially. I did the AWC method previously and it was great for lps but I couldnt keep sps long term, kept trying to fix what i thought was wrong, would add coral food or change flow etc and often just made things worse. Stability is boring and hard with nanos but key for Sps.
Phosguard can causes alk swings, esp when u cha ge it out and replace. Gfo is better imo. For me now i just carbon dose and algea reactor with cheato, no swings. No expensive chemicals. The vinegar dosing (3 x 4ml) spread out over the day lowers ph spikes and the algae reactor on at night helps with ph dips. Let me know if you want to see pics if how i got it to work.

[lionfish666]

O and no need for chiller on nano. Save your money and prevent heating th room by using fans ($5) on a temp controller ($50). Cools your room too! Does raise ato water usage though only negative. Quiet pc fan good for your noise situation.

[nada]

Hey Mate,

Thanks for your input. Very much appreciated and lots of food for thought. I'm quite excited now to go down the dosing route. I think I'll run gfo as I already have the equipment. Going to pass on carbon dosing as I think the gfo will do fine keeping phosphates at bay being in such a small tank and I'll go down the algae reactor path if my nitrates creep. Also I just ordered a temp controllers , will test it out once it arrives with my diy PC fan.

[nada]

Time for a sob story...

I was trialling a new filter pad to see if it would help with water clarity. For 3 days I monitored it and it did a damn good job! Decided to leave it in.

Fast forward to a week later, got home today and noticed my return pump virtually running dry, blowing bubbles and my salinity through the roof.

Pretty much it clogged with detritus and kept the water level in the ato sensor chamber high so it didn't top off whilst letting my water evaporate.

I'm spewing because I think I've lost my birdsnest coral. The skin is peeling away. So annoyed, especially when it was doing so good!

Here's some growth pics



Current photo is not worth posting up Pretty devastated but lesson learnt. Sad to see such a nice peice go but it is what it is.

Definitely making me more determined to fine tune my tank for long term stability so I can keep and grow sps. The battle is not over yet!

[nada]

So this just happened...





Going to dial in my tank now.

Stay tuned