Right Now NanoCube

[Anonymous]

My experience is similar to Charles's. In a tank with uncured live rock it can't keep up with the decay. In a tank with just sand and water it worked fine. I even used something similar to "cycle" a 30 gallon with a couple of pairs of German Rams a few years ago and it worked flawlessly. My opinion was these kind of products simply let you avoid starting your tank with "sacrificial" fish you don't like (ie. zebra danios, comets, or damsels).

And FWIW, you may want to discuss your idea of "leasing" a yellow tang until it gets to big with your LFS. I don't know anyone in their right mind who would take in a yellow tang that had been kept in those kind of conditions for any kind of trade in value. Why would they when they can get a new for $5 wholesale?

 

[bfessler]

OK its been 2 weeks now and the system is still running well. Todays tests are
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate: all 0
Salinity 1.024
Calcium 550
ALK 9.5 dKH
Magnesium 1230
The fish all look fine and are very energetic. I have been on 2 business trips and the automation is keeping things running smoothly. I just got back from Idaho (visiting My grandkids) and noticed that I am having a brown algae bloom. Cleaned the tank and vacuumed the gravel and did a water change. I think the autofeeder is feeding a little too heavy. There were a lot of debries in the bottom of the tank. I cut down the feedings to daily instead of twice daily. Overall I am very happy with the performance of the system.

No more fish are planned in the near future but I hope to start adding corals to beautify the tank. I plan to dip my corals and place in QT for 2 weeks prior to adding to the display tank.

 

[Anonymous]

What is your PO4?

That may be your reason for the brown algae/diatoms. Feeding once a day is okay as long as you are feeding less overall. I would feed twice a day by splitting one feeding into two.

 

[bfessler]

I am not sure what the PO4 is as I don't have a test kit for that. I'll pick one up on my next visit to the LFS. I like your idea to feed less twice a day and that is a possibility when I am home. I travel for business frequently and use an ehiem autofeeder. I have the feeder adjusted for the smallest feedings possible without the opening clogging up so hopefully once daily feedings while I am away will be sufficient.

 

[bfessler]

Hi everyone,

I just returned from a business trip of about 8 Days. The tank continues to mature. Brown algea is almost completely gone and my ceramic reef rock is nowstarting to trun a greenish yellow color in places. I have also noticed small white spots forming on the glass. They are hard to remove with the mag glass cleaner. Also the water seems a little cloudy. Could this be Diatoms? Should the water clear as the tank continues to mature or should I be doing something more for filtration? I haven't been using a skimmer so I ordered one to see if that will help clear the water.

The fish are fine and the Hammer Coral is growing quickly. I would say it has grown between 1/4 and 1/3 bigger in the last 2 weeks. A friend just gave me some frags for the tank and I have them in the QT right now. Looking forward to adding them to the display in a week or so. I noticed very tiny white buggs on the glass of my QT after putting the new frags into it. Are these something to be concerned about? They are smaller than the head of a pin but I can see them walking across the glass.

Anyway water tests are still good. Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate all undetectable. Calcium is at 550 and Magnesium is 1200. PH is stable at 8.4 but alkalinity has dropped a little to 8.9dKH. I just ordered a phosphate test but it hasn't arrived yet.

 

[Anonymous]

The bugs could be bad. Dip the corals in Lugol's solution(potassium iodide) to get them off.

Look here to see if you can ID the critters:

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

 

[Anonymous]

On the other hand, they could simply be copepods, so don't rush into dipping things until you've checked out Anemonebuff's link.

 

[bfessler]

I think they are copepods. They are so small that its hard to tell but they are white and resemble a flea or lice. I will continue to monitor them in the QT for another week or so before deciding what to do. I am glad I took the time to set up the QT as it does give me a chance to observe new acquisitions prior to introducing them into the Display.

I have found that my local reef club is a great source of corals and help. By posting on their message board what I am looking for I get several sources willing to share or sell coral with me. I like that these corals are propagated locally and that I am not having an impact on wild reefs by stocking my tank and there is a side benefit of making new friends and seeing how their reef's. As a new reefkeeper I was able to benefit first hand from an experienced club member when he fragged his 210G Reef for me. He showed me how to frag the corals and glue them to plugs or rocks. I got about 15 frags and a lesson in fragging for $50.00. I would have paid well over $100.00 for the same frags at the LFS.

 

[Anonymous]

I think they are copepods. They are so small that its hard to tell but they are white and resemble a flea or lice. I will continue to monitor them in the QT for another week or so before deciding what to do. I am glad I took the time to set up the QT as it does give me a chance to observe new acquisitions prior to introducing them into the Display.

I have found that my local reef club is a great source of corals and help. By posting on their message board what I am looking for I get several sources willing to share or sell coral with me. I like that these corals are propagated locally and that I am not having an impact on wild reefs by stocking my tank and there is a side benefit of making new friends and seeing how their reef's. As a new reefkeeper I was able to benefit first hand from an experienced club member when he fragged his 210G Reef for me. He showed me how to frag the corals and glue them to plugs or rocks. I got about 15 frags and a lesson in fragging for $50.00. I would have paid well over $100.00 for the same frags at the LFS.

You would have paid $100 and left without the knowledge as well. I'm glad the link helped. Save it to your favorites, I find myself going there very often.

 

[bfessler]

Time for an update.

The Hiatt system is still working like a champ. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels still at 0. The PH has been stable since startup at 8.4, calcium levels have leveled out at about 550 and Magnesium is at 1320. The tank went through an algae bloom last week but has cleared up nicely today.

I have added a bunch of coral frags I picked up from members of my local reef club. The Vida Rock is maturing and is now taking on some brown and green coloration. I am looking forward to coralline starting to grow. I have seeded the tank with coralline covered shells and rubble from several sources but it hasn’t started growing on the Vida Rock yet.

Here are some recent pics of the tank.

 

[Ben1]

I am surprised your marroon and perc are getting along. I would have expected the marroon to destroy the perc. Sounds like the tank is going through normal algae stages. You should see the coralline coming up first on the plastic in the tank like the back wall and maxijet. Coralline loves plastic.

 

[Ben1]

BTW if that is byropsis on the powerhead get rid of it ASAP you don't want that stuff spreading to your rocks. It can be a PIA to get rid of once it is wide spread.

 

[Anonymous]

BTW if that is byropsis on the powerhead get rid of it ASAP you don't want that stuff spreading to your rocks. It can be a PIA to get rid of once it is wide spread.

Sure looks like bryopis. Agreed, get rid of it before it spreads.

 

[bfessler]

Removed the power head and cleaned it of with hot water and a scrubbing pad.

Thanks for the advice.

Yes the clowns are a bit of an odd couple. They were paired before I purchased them.

 

[bfessler]

Its been 12 weeks since setting up my system using the Hiatt - Right Now Bacteria System. The tank has been stable since day 1 with only a few minor learning experiences. Last week I returned from a 10 day business trip to find that my lights had quit working. I guess it was a bad ballast but fortunately it's covered under the warranty. I went out and purchased a T5 HO Light strip to put over the tank until the new ballast arrives. Everything is back to normal now.

Water conditions are still good but I have had to start adding buffer for Alk which started dropping slightly a couple weeks ago. I am also supplementing Iodide with aquavitro Vibrance and vitamins with aquavitro fuel. Most of my corals are still small but are growing nicely. Heres a few pics of the tank this morning.

 

[Anonymous]

Tank looks great. Personally, I like the new lights better, The corals and fish are getting that color "pop" under the new lights.

 

[bfessler]

Thanks Dan,

Looking at the pictures of the tank with both lights the new lights do make a difference. I am wondering if its the lights or the new camera. I'll have to take some pics with the new camera under the old lights. Anyway the new lights are 24" long and my tank is only 18" so I will be going back to the old lights when the new ballast arrives. If there is really that much difference I may get a glass top for the tank and put a clip on halide fixture on my display.

I swapped my 10G QT for a 20 so I can use the new lights on the QT.

 

[bfessler]

6 Month Update

Well it's been 6 months now since setting up my Nano. I am very pleased with the progress of the tank. Everything is very healthy and flourishing. The Vida Rock has patches of Coraline algae all over it now and I have started adding a few pieces of SPS to the tank which is doing well under the PC lighting.

Water parameters are all within norms. I have had to start adding buffer for alkalinity to the make up water but other than that I don't have to dose for anything. I change 4 gallons of water every 2 weeks which seems to replenish anything the system is using.

I have set up 4 tanks using the Hiatt System and while it's not for everyone it has worked as promised for me. I wanted to keep this thread alive because I had a hard time finding information from anyone using the system long term and will post periodic updates on my progress. to Date I have set up a 10 G Clown Specific Tank, 55G Frag Tank, and 20G reef in addition to my nano and have had similar results each time.

Here are some pictures of the tank today.

 

[Anonymous]

Very pretty collection of corals!

 

[bfessler]

8 Month Update

The tank continues to mature. Everything has been running smooth and stable the last 2 months. I have made a few changes to the tank. I removed the Anthelia and Xenia to my clown tank to make room for more SPS. I have stocked the tank with Monticap, Green and Blue Millipora, a Green Slimer, Pink Bird Nest and my latest acquisition a Blue Tort Acrapora. Since adding the SPS Alk and Calcium levels started to fall so I am topping off with kalk in the RO water now.

The controversial Hiatt System is working great for me. I now have 3 tanks all using the Hiatt System and AIO filtration, in addition to the Nano I have a 10G Clown tank (Running about 4 months), and a 55G frag tank (Running about 3 months). All 3 tanks use only the Hiatt system, live rock and DSB, No Skimmer, Sump or Refugium. I have learned that with the Hiatt System you can safely add fish immediately after setting up the tank but Corals do better after waiting for Two to 3 weeks. Once Pods start showing up the tank is ready for Coral. I haven't done any side by side comparisons of the Hiatt System and a traditional setup but have had similar success with 3 tanks of various sizes using the system. I do try to do a 10% water change monthly but don't always get around to it.

Here are some pictures of the Nano and the other tanks taken recently.
Nano

Frag Tank

Clown Tank