custom refuge for 28gal nano. pictures

[mos90]

after about 3 months having my 28g jbj nano. ive decided i dont like the refuge area that comes with the tank. it is rather small and doesnt hold much macro algae. unfortunately the cabinet is rather small for a sump. i think its 16x9. i have a bookcase right next to the tank that would make a nice area for a sump. it can hold a 20x16 sump.

i called lifereef to make me a custom setup. the dimenions are 19x15x14 high. the fuge area in the center is 9x15 with a 18w 7000k light. the compartment in the left front of the intake side is either for a phosban reactor or small skimmer. im using it for a phosban reactor, my aqua c skimmer hangs on the back of the tank. he made a custom overflow to fit in the center section of the filter area, so no cutting. it flows 400gph. i will be using a mag 5 return pump with an adjustable flow control.

in the fuge i plan to do a shallow sand bed about 1" with a refugium starter pack from indo-pacific sea farms.

i will take some more pictures after i install it.

 

[PEVINE11]

i see you went with the lifereef overflow also. i love it so easy to use and always starts back up when power is out! ( havent lost power but have tested a million times)

cant wait to see it set up!



its funny after 3 months you decided you didnt like the fuge in the tank.

i did the exact same thing with my biocube 29 hqi. after 3 months i emailed him and we set mine up. He makes great systems!

 

[mos90]

the refugium that come with the tank is ok at best. i dont think it get enough flow for cheato algae. when u use the wavemaker and alternate powerheads u lose 1/2 your flow threw the fuge area.

i also like the idea of adding 10 more gallons to the system. i hope the small bit of cheato ihave left makes it another week.

 

[mos90]

hey pevine,

do you have a lot of corals?

i have a 6 good sized corals and 4 small fish. i keep my sg at 1.026. ive notice i have to dose for alk almost every day. i use twofishie c balance. i havent even noticed any need to dose calcium as it stays at 450. my mag is around 1300ppm. if i let the alk fall below 8dkh then i start to see a ph drop. i dont use any ph buffers.

if i dont dose for 2 days the dkh will drop by 1. i am using ro/di water and instant ocean reef crystals.

what could be cause such a rapid drop in dkh? or is this normal.

 

[PEVINE11]

currenty i only have 2 corals, 2 semi picasso clowns, and a purple firefish (and clean up crew)

i dont plan to add alot of corals untill i finish this cyano battle

 

[mos90]

im going to keep raising the alk every day until dkh is 12. that should balance everything out. then see if calcium starts to fall some.

what cyano battle? slime algea?

 

[Heathd]

currenty i only have 2 corals, 2 semi picasso clowns, and a purple firefish (and clean up crew)

i dont plan to add alot of corals untill i finish this cyano battle

If you get some macros going and suck out all the cyano, it likely wont come back. When I had a bad outbreak of the stuff, I sucked out all that I could, and then pulled the peices of LR that originally had it and scrubbed the LR with a tooth brush in some old tank water.

It can be any brush, so long as its new or has only been used for saltwater.

You can also use the red slime remover by blue line aqauctics, but I have heard that stuff drops the disolved oxygen and can cause a tank crash.

You can also reduce your light period in the tank for a week or so.

Or you can do all of the above.

 

[PEVINE11]

If you get some macros going and suck out all the cyano, it likely wont come back. When I had a bad outbreak of the stuff, I sucked out all that I could, and then pulled the peices of LR that originally had it and scrubbed the LR with a tooth brush in some old tank water.

It can be any brush, so long as its new or has only been used for saltwater.

You can also use the red slime remover by blue line aqauctics, but I have heard that stuff drops the disolved oxygen and can cause a tank crash.

You can also reduce your light period in the tank for a week or so.

Or you can do all of the above.

this is what im doing. i dont want to use any chemicals

i use airline to suck it out every day and replace with new 0 TDS water

i ordered 2 koralia nano 425 gph's for extra flow (will still be using my vortech MP10)

i ordered a phenoix 14k 150w DE metal halide bulb

clean filter floss every day (and the foam on my vortech powerheads)

 

[mos90]

my tank is actually looking real good. i did have an outbreak of slime towards the beginning. all i did was blow a powerhead on it and it was gone in a week.

i can wait to see the improvment with the new sump.

 

[FLESHY]

this is what im doing. i dont want to use any chemicals

i use airline to suck it out every day and replace with new 0 TDS water

i ordered 2 koralia nano 425 gph's for extra flow (will still be using my vortech MP10)

i ordered a phenoix 14k 150w DE metal halide bulb

clean filter floss every day (and the foam on my vortech powerheads)

Flow will help...but in the end cyano is, and always will be a water quality issue.