J’s 20G Peninsula Reef

[thebookshark]

Looking good! How are you maintaining your parameters?

Thank you!! My nitrate and phosphate are so low because of the huge mass of chaeto I have in the center back chamber. I have a little clip on LED fuge light I got off eBay over it that I leave on 24/7 mostly because I don’t have room for a timer on my power strip . I feed heavily every day and don’t run a skimmer plus I removed all my filter media so I am assuming it’s the chaeto sucking up all the nutrients. There is a lot of rock in the system too though and it was all wet and established when I set up/transferred the tank in January so I should have a lot of nitrifying bacteria in the system.

I dose KH daily, usually twice a day if I can, by hand and I top off with fresh RODI daily (twice daily if needed) manually as well. I’ve had bad experiences with ATOs and dosing pumps and am just generally wary of over-complicating things with technology so I do everything myself as needed. It’s not too difficult in a small system like this. I have a couple local friends that live-in house-sit for me when I’m out of town and they are good about taking care of the tank.

I test all my parameters at least once a week. So far I’ve only had to dose Ca and Mg a few times.

 

[Hunna]

Try one of THESE if you are wary of the electronic ones. The pump for the ATO in my bedroom died on me, so I bought a second one of these for it until I can replace the pump/buy a new one. I also have one on my daughter’s 4.8g. They work great for smaller tanks. I’ve found Smart Water bottles work the best for me.

 

[civics14]

Thank you!! My nitrate and phosphate are so low because of the huge mass of chaeto I have in the center back chamber. I have a little clip on LED fuge light I got off eBay over it that I leave on 24/7 mostly because I don’t have room for a timer on my power strip . I feed heavily every day and don’t run a skimmer plus I removed all my filter media so I am assuming it’s the chaeto sucking up all the nutrients. There is a lot of rock in the system too though and it was all wet and established when I set up/transferred the tank in January so I should have a lot of nitrifying bacteria in the system.

I dose KH daily, usually twice a day if I can, by hand and I top off with fresh RODI daily (twice daily if needed) manually as well. I’ve had bad experiences with ATOs and dosing pumps and am just generally wary of over-complicating things with technology so I do everything myself as needed. It’s not too difficult in a small system like this. I have a couple local friends that live-in house-sit for me when I’m out of town and they are good about taking care of the tank.

I test all my parameters at least once a week. So far I’ve only had to dose Ca and Mg a few times.

That's pretty impressive doing all that manually. Kudos to you doing all that.

 

[siege]

Updates!

My clown (mercifully) seems to have beaten the brook or ich outbreak with the help of the daily formalin-blue baths and a lot of garlic added to the food. I also haven’t seen (knock on wood) any monti-eating nudis for a bit. I’m sure they’re not fully eradicated but they aren’t doing any damage at least.

My little crocea clam has definitely grown in the month I’ve had it and I’m really happy about that as I know they are challenging and I was cautiously optimistic about adding such a small one but it’s doing great!

Still fighting low nitrates but after several weeks with no filtration media my phosphates are up to 0.11. Nitrates are reading basically zero so I’ve started dosing NeoNitro. Considering removing the chaeto in my fuge if I can’t get them up, but I really like having the pod shelter back there. Please weigh in with suggestions!

Got some fantastic frags and a great piece of atomic broccoli macroalgae at the meeting this weekend! Maybe I remove the chaeto and see if the macroalgae in the display is sufficient for pods and a bit of nutrient export? Anyway, fresh round of pics!View attachment 110858

Dug up a set of yellow filters, I see Looking great - way better than my tank!

Try one of THESE if you are wary of the electronic ones. The pump for the ATO in my bedroom died on me, so I bought a second one of these for it until I can replace the pump/buy a new one. I also have one on my daughter’s 4.8g. They work great for smaller tanks. I’ve found Smart Water bottles work the best for me.

Hrm. I should print some of these for my freshwater tanks.