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Whats in the back of your NANO?

F

fantom555

Yea thanks Im gonna try to get that done in the next few days....why is chaeto so highly respected as use in a nano, will the things I said I am using work just fine, or will the difference between the two types be huge?
 
N

needreefunds

fantom555 said:
Yea thanks Im gonna try to get that done in the next few days....why is chaeto so highly respected as use in a nano, will the things I said I am using work just fine, or will the difference between the two types be huge?
Click to expand...
Opinions differ here. Many would say you would be just fine with water changes alone in a nano. I agree to a point.

While I am a fan of using some mechanical filtration ( sponges and floss ) too much without servicing can lead to a build up of detritus and nitrates. Too many sponges can also lead to poor flow through the chambers as well. Should you choose to stand pat Stay on top of maintaining the sponges and you should be fine.

Chaeto is used for removal of excess nutrients in the hopes that they keep nuisance algae from getting a foothold in the display.
Its easy to obtain, maintain,grow,ship and its pretty cheep if not free from a fellow reefer.

Will the difference be huge? The cool thing for you is you have room to run both. Danced around the question you say? lol

They really serve two different purposes IMO - Sponges to collect detritus while we run chaeto to gobble up unwanted nasties before other nuisance algae sprout and take off in our display.
So really running both would be ideal IMO.


But again, neither of these should be used to replace or prolong water change intervals, but along with your routine husbandry.
 
F

fantom555

With My supplies what would be your ideal setup, without the cheato for the time being.

Have 3 sponges, each one fills about half the chamber up
Chemi pure
Filter floss
Carbon bags

Ill look into the cheato and the lighting for the back etc as well. Again, thanks in advance.
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
I very luckily had a red macro algae as a hitch hiker on some live rock. This way I do not have to worry about lighting a back chamber and adding chaeto. The algae looks cool and actually glows under the led moon lights. If anybody wants some let me know, it is about to be trimmed.

In the spirit of this thread, my 12g has live rock in the first chamber, carbon and chemipure elite in the second chamber and just the pump in the third. I pulled out the bioballs and the ceramic plugs bag. They trapped a HUGE amount of stuff that kept my nitrates up and hair algae growing. Now that they are cleared out NO hair algae.
 
F

fantom555

Mnat, where are you located and how would i go about attaching the red macro algae to my live rocks. Also, with the live rock rubble in your chamber did you cut off the black back and have a light on the back or just rubble sitting in the dark?
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Just left the back chamber in the dark. Threw cured live rock in there and I am glad I kept it separate as it has aipsatia and mojamo. Need to pull that out tomorrow. I live in Brielle NJ (08730). We threw some in our 20g and in the 20g refugium and now a nice little colony took form on the live rock. I have no idea how this happened, I am sure you can attach it with something.

Here is a pic, just turn your head

algae.jpg
 
F

fantom555

Alright thanks, Im going to wait until my tank matures more and see how my parameters are with what Ive got, but if I feel I can upgrade, I will def look you up for some clippings or whatnot. Will the live rock even do anythign being dark? I have cured live rock in an old tank but the lighting is so crappy I doubt there is anything living on it. Its like a 4 year old low watt PC on a 20 gallon. Think that would work for some live rock rubble or do you need more "live" rock. Do i just throw it in there or put it in a mesh metal bag?
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Don't put it in a mesh metal bag, it will just collect junk. I just have in in there, it is more like branch than rubble to there is plenty of room back there for things to flow through. I just vacuum them out every few months to make sure nothing collects back there.
 
F

fantom555

How small live rock pieces are we talking about? And they will be fine with no light for sure? Or lat least I have the time to make it clear in the back and add a light. How much live rock? What exactly does the live rock do different than say...carbon or something of that sort? Sorry for all the questions but I dont want to mess anything up when making this tank, I want it to be healthy so my fish and corals will thrive. Thanks in advance again
 
N

needreefunds

fantom555 said:
With My supplies what would be your ideal setup, without the cheato for the time being.

Have 3 sponges, each one fills about half the chamber up
Chemi pure
Filter floss
Carbon bags

Ill look into the cheato and the lighting for the back etc as well. Again, thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I would run a sponge topped with floss just under the intake in one. Chemi-pure / carbon and the like in two < these do better when situated so water flows through them, not just sitting on the bottom.... but even sitting there is better than not having at all. I am not a fan of extra live rock in the rear chambers for the same reason we remove bio balls/rings etc. they just trap detritus and cause more problems then benefits. Although a branch of tonga or two like mnat has shouldn't cause him any trouble and he is regularly servicing the chambers anyway ;).
 
R

RFD4

Am I missing something? I have a 14 gal Biocube I used nothing but Live Rock and the stock sponge. Oh the tank is three months old. I have a red algae growing on the sand- LFS told me it was Blue green algae and to just siphon it out. Is this correct? Should I be using something in my filtration?

Thanks
 
T

thylacine

I usoe an aquaclear110 on my 40 breeder. it is filled w mud and cheato. nothing else.I rely on water changes which are done w nutri sea water. the beauty of a small tank is the simplicity. you can check pictures under tale of the tank. My 40 breeder.
 
E

evoIX

RFD4 said:
Am I missing something? I have a 14 gal Biocube I used nothing but Live Rock and the stock sponge. Oh the tank is three months old. I have a red algae growing on the sand- LFS told me it was Blue green algae and to just siphon it out. Is this correct? Should I be using something in my filtration?

Thanks
Click to expand...

rfd4 i believe it's called diatom. red slime. i siphoned it out. make sure you get as much as possible. siphon it out again a few days later. if you see it come back siphon as good as possible again but end result after 2/3 times it was gone. i got it early on though.
 
V

vangvace

RFD4 said:
Am I missing something? I have a 14 gal Biocube I used nothing but Live Rock and the stock sponge. Oh the tank is three months old. I have a red algae growing on the sand- LFS told me it was Blue green algae and to just siphon it out. Is this correct? Should I be using something in my filtration?

Thanks
Click to expand...
The live rock and stock sponge in the back chambers will trap detritus and can lead to increased nitrate levels. Using pillow stuffing from walmart is a good alternative to the sponge and is cost effective enough to throw out weekly.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

You can certainly keep live rock in the back chamber...but ditch the sponge as it is going to create high levels of nitrates. As vangvance said use a disposable floss(I used filter floss with a divided chamber in the back). I split my chamber into two top sections, front by overflow with floss for easy cleaning, back cheato with a light, and underneath I had rock with a hole cut out of the eggcrate that I used for the dividers to get a syphon down to get rid of the detritus.
 
F

fantom555

Ok so I removed a square today of the black backing. What light can I use to mount on the back, something small that doesnt produce a whole lot of heat I am hoping. Please let me know if anyone has a suggestion on what kind of light to get. I would like to get this done asap.
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
If you are worried about heat, look for a LED light. They are on mariendepot.com
 
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