Filtration On A 24 Gal Nano

carfac · 07/12/2006, 08:26 AM

Hi:

I have a pretty stock 24 gal nano. For thoise that do not know, it has a spill over into the first chamber, which has a sponge in it. The second chamber has Bio_Balls (NOW REMOVED!) at the bottom, Ceramic cylinders (STill there), Carbon and another spongs, and this spills over into the third, with my heater and thre pump.

I am thinking there is probably something better- how do you guys mod out your nano? I am also concerned because there is a LOT of particulate matter in my water. Tank in 6 weeks, only has 6 snails, 6 crabs, and a ton of poop!

I do see a LOT of 'pods- little white boogers all over my glass. But the water seems a bit milky, and, like I said, more crud floating in the water than I would like. What can I do to get clearer water?????

Dave

ZoeReef · 07/12/2006, 09:28 AM

Check my gallery for pics of my mod to a 24g nano

coker98 · 07/12/2006, 09:29 AM

take the sponge out, its just a nitrate trap. take the ceramic rings out too. get an egglite that is submersible. you should be able to find them on ebay for pretty cheap. put the egglite in the second chamber with some chaeto and in the first chamber put some lr rubble. the rubble does not need to be lit. you also put the heater in a chamber with less fluctuation as it might crak if the water level gets low and it just keeps heating. you could also throw a sack of carbon in there also. and this is how you make the back into a refugium. have fun.

carfac · 07/12/2006, 09:54 AM

Thanks- a couple questions:

What is Cheato?
What does Charcoal do? How often to replace, and how much to use? (I replaced mine a week ago, I was going to go with replacing it every 4 weeks. I bought a bag for a 30 gal tank)

Also, I saw the Fission Nano Skimmer at Dr Foster (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...1&N=2004&Nty=1) Is this a good idea? Could I fit this in the back, or must it go in the cube itself?

Dave

carfac · 07/12/2006, 10:01 AM

I also see the Visi-Jet Protein Skimmer (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4427)- this looks small enough to fit in the back of a Nano- any thoughts?

My aquarium is too close to the back wall to HOT skimmers...

dave

carfac · 07/12/2006, 05:26 PM

I just went to my LPS, they were no help- all their stuff was too big. They had no suggestions...

dave

funman1 · 07/12/2006, 06:00 PM

Cheato is a macro alage.
It eats nutrients in you water so mico-alage (hair alage and such) can't grow as well.

You need carbon not charcol.
You can get it at a normal LFS I change mine once a month.
Risne it off in the sink before you add it to your tank to keep the carbon dust out of the water.

Can't help you on the skimmer I don't run one in my nano.

dastratt · 07/12/2006, 06:11 PM

carfac,
The issue of skimmmer (or not) is a contested issue and you will get opinions both ways. Are you planning on keeping SPS corals, if so make sure you know how much flow, lighting and filtration they need. With only softies and maybe LPS there's less controversy about going skimmerless, though there are skimmerless SPS tanks.

There are some tricked out nanos out there, you might want to look in the nano forum here. I can't help you there though.

funman1 · 07/12/2006, 09:37 PM

I have two SPS in my tank currently and they are doing great at the moment.
They have been in there two months and are growing like weeds.

I only have two as a test.
So far so good.

ReefWreak · 07/13/2006, 12:07 AM

Toss the ceramic rings and sponge, and empty the back chambers of everything but the pump and heater. Then maybe add a refugium back there by stripping the black vinyl layer from the glass, for only the chamber that you want to light, then you can easily add an external light in back.

I've got cheato growing in my main display part of my tank, and I've got some beautiful trumpet/candycane, red sea xenia, motipora caps, montipora digitatas, 'shrooms, rics, and even a pipeorgan coral, all under stock 2x36w PC lighting. Everything grows great, and I don't skim, filter, or do waterchanges. I feed every 2 days or so, and I've got a small clownfish and a small firefish. My cleanup crew is a bunch of astreas, 2 nessarius snails, a queen conch, and a giant (5" diameter) brown serpent star that was given to me.

I only listed that stuff to give you an idea of what some other people's experiences are. 8 months and going strong (even though that's relativly short period of time for a tank) and I've moved it 4 times in that 8 months, bringing it up to college with me and back down home for breaks. All my corals grow like weeds in my tank, it's insane.

For a lot more specialized experience, I would visit nano-reef.com

(IDK if you're allowed to advertise or link to any other reefing website here, but that's definatly your best bet for finding great help, helpers, experiences, and advise on nanos, especially the 24g nanocubes)

07/12/2006, 08:26 AM	#1
carfac Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 362	Filtration On A 24 Gal Nano Hi: I have a pretty stock 24 gal nano. For thoise that do not know, it has a spill over into the first chamber, which has a sponge in it. The second chamber has Bio_Balls (NOW REMOVED!) at the bottom, Ceramic cylinders (STill there), Carbon and another spongs, and this spills over into the third, with my heater and thre pump. I am thinking there is probably something better- how do you guys mod out your nano? I am also concerned because there is a LOT of particulate matter in my water. Tank in 6 weeks, only has 6 snails, 6 crabs, and a ton of poop! I do see a LOT of 'pods- little white boogers all over my glass. But the water seems a bit milky, and, like I said, more crud floating in the water than I would like. What can I do to get clearer water????? Dave

07/12/2006, 06:00 PM	#7
funman1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseville, CA Posts: 4,898	Cheato is a macro alage. It eats nutrients in you water so mico-alage (hair alage and such) can't grow as well. You need carbon not charcol. You can get it at a normal LFS I change mine once a month. Risne it off in the sink before you add it to your tank to keep the carbon dust out of the water. Can't help you on the skimmer I don't run one in my nano. __________________ Professional Pyro: NO REALLY; I get PAID to blow stuff up!! ~Steve~ Current Tank Info: 12G NANO

07/12/2006, 06:11 PM	#8
dastratt Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Cedar Rapids, IA Posts: 665	carfac, The issue of skimmmer (or not) is a contested issue and you will get opinions both ways. Are you planning on keeping SPS corals, if so make sure you know how much flow, lighting and filtration they need. With only softies and maybe LPS there's less controversy about going skimmerless, though there are skimmerless SPS tanks. There are some tricked out nanos out there, you might want to look in the nano forum here. I can't help you there though. __________________ Alex Current Tank Info: 200g Deep Dimension 48"x36"x27", 10x36" ATI PM, Orca Pro II, Geo610, 60g frag, 80 g MRC sump

07/12/2006, 09:37 PM	#9
funman1 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseville, CA Posts: 4,898	I have two SPS in my tank currently and they are doing great at the moment. They have been in there two months and are growing like weeds. I only have two as a test. So far so good. __________________ Professional Pyro: NO REALLY; I get PAID to blow stuff up!! ~Steve~ Current Tank Info: 12G NANO

07/12/2006, 09:28 AM	#2
ZoeReef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chandler, AZ Posts: 1,066	Check my gallery for pics of my mod to a 24g nano

07/12/2006, 09:29 AM	#3
coker98 Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 594	take the sponge out, its just a nitrate trap. take the ceramic rings out too. get an egglite that is submersible. you should be able to find them on ebay for pretty cheap. put the egglite in the second chamber with some chaeto and in the first chamber put some lr rubble. the rubble does not need to be lit. you also put the heater in a chamber with less fluctuation as it might crak if the water level gets low and it just keeps heating. you could also throw a sack of carbon in there also. and this is how you make the back into a refugium. have fun.

07/12/2006, 09:54 AM	#4
carfac Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 362	Thanks- a couple questions: What is Cheato? What does Charcoal do? How often to replace, and how much to use? (I replaced mine a week ago, I was going to go with replacing it every 4 weeks. I bought a bag for a 30 gal tank) Also, I saw the Fission Nano Skimmer at Dr Foster (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...1&N=2004&Nty=1) Is this a good idea? Could I fit this in the back, or must it go in the cube itself? Dave

07/12/2006, 10:01 AM	#5
carfac Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 362	I also see the Visi-Jet Protein Skimmer (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4427)- this looks small enough to fit in the back of a Nano- any thoughts? My aquarium is too close to the back wall to HOT skimmers... dave

07/12/2006, 05:26 PM	#6
carfac Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 362	I just went to my LPS, they were no help- all their stuff was too big. They had no suggestions... dave

07/13/2006, 12:07 AM	#10
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	Toss the ceramic rings and sponge, and empty the back chambers of everything but the pump and heater. Then maybe add a refugium back there by stripping the black vinyl layer from the glass, for only the chamber that you want to light, then you can easily add an external light in back. I've got cheato growing in my main display part of my tank, and I've got some beautiful trumpet/candycane, red sea xenia, motipora caps, montipora digitatas, 'shrooms, rics, and even a pipeorgan coral, all under stock 2x36w PC lighting. Everything grows great, and I don't skim, filter, or do waterchanges. I feed every 2 days or so, and I've got a small clownfish and a small firefish. My cleanup crew is a bunch of astreas, 2 nessarius snails, a queen conch, and a giant (5" diameter) brown serpent star that was given to me. I only listed that stuff to give you an idea of what some other people's experiences are. 8 months and going strong (even though that's relativly short period of time for a tank) and I've moved it 4 times in that 8 months, bringing it up to college with me and back down home for breaks. All my corals grow like weeds in my tank, it's insane. For a lot more specialized experience, I would visit nano-reef.com (IDK if you're allowed to advertise or link to any other reefing website here, but that's definatly your best bet for finding great help, helpers, experiences, and advise on nanos, especially the 24g nanocubes)