Harry H

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I have started this amazing hobby about 4 years ago and I have gotten many good advice from reefing seniors here. Started with a simple 2-3 feet tank (set up by some startup/hobbyist company), then upgraded to Fluval Edge (12 gallon) which was a mistake because the opening was too small, then to the Innovative Marine 10g (nice), next was a bigger acrylic tank maybe 15-16g including the canister filter (acrylic - bad idea due to scratches!) One of my favorite long-living Nemo died and I got tired of the hobby suddenly -all the water spillage, the water change, the RODI preparation, the expense etc. And I decided to donate the tank to my university researchers working on visible spectrum that can inhibit algae and bacteria growth. Unfortunately they realized they were too busy to deal with the maintenance and rightly so. And I was beginning to hate the mess of wires and tubes and it clashed with my home office minimalist look. Then the idea hit me - why don't I downsize to a smaller tank! So tada here is Tank no. #5 - I got the Fluval Spec V as the Fluval Evo V (for marine) was not available (Covid19 period). And I got a simple IKEA Besta Cabinet, flipped it around and managed to hide all the cables, tubes and power socket. Here is my set up: 1. No space for a sump. So the Ehiem Canister serves as a reactor. No filter floss. Just two baskets of bio-media. Overkill for a pico tank but it is linked to the chiller. And it is not a nitrate factory as I clean it weekly. Trick: have the canister next to the balcony. So weekly maintenance is easy. And the waste is trapped at the bottom due to gravity so it turns out to be a blessing to clean. 2. Total water volume is around 6 gallon (including the Ehiem canister). So weekly water change is 3 PET Bottles (3* 1.5 liters). I will retire the RODI set which is aging and the TDS is rising anyway. Just buy 3 bottles of distilled water PURE from NTUC. I tested it with a TDS pen. Near zero TDS. Not bad. 3. Just one fish and one hermit crab (survivors from previous tank). With the canister "reactor", I think I can get another clown fish and a cleaner shrimp. Unfortunately it is Circuit Breaker time so these additions have to wait. 4. AI Lamp controlled by iphone, powerbrick is controlled by Google Home/Alexa, Nero 5 wavemaker also controlled by iphone - so my tank is voice controlled. I have shifted the NEST camera behind (photo is outdated). Geek factor. 5. Additives - all Red Sea Recipe. I have to use a syringe as the tank volume is so small. Will try the All for Reef and maybe add a wifi single doser to replace all the bottles. The less job you do, the chances of giving up is lower. Just got Vibrant to make the tank even cleaner. 6. Last week ordered Chaeto and added a Innovative Marine MagnaFuge to the back chamber. The AIO of Fluval Tank is light-passable. Google it and you will get it. This is controlled by smart timer connected to Google Home. Future Enhancements: 1. An auto water change system but that means I cant close the balcony glass door fully. 2. Doser for All for Reef if it works. Ideal future: Almost fully automated. Just prepare saltwater. Very light feeding. I dont think the Ehiem auto feeder can just drop 5-6 pellets. I skip two days after every feed. And of course algae scrapping. Wish me luck and Stay SAFE everyone. And thanks for the good advice all these years.

Thanks bros for the pulse setting. The 0.25 Sec works. The increment is 0.25. Thanks so much!!! Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Thanks for all the advice. It is almost safe to say it is not a replacement of the MP10 but if you want smartphone connect without apex or the ecotech hub this is a good buy. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Thanks for the maths! Mine is a 40cm by 40cm nanotank. Lol. Some minor edits to the above review. I think the connection is via Bluetooth only and not WiFi. Unlike the AI Prime light. When I turned off the Bluetooth on my phone it alerted me to turn it on. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

This is a short review as further extensive tests are required. I got this as a replacement for the Nanostream Tunze 6040 (which is working fine). Before that, I have the iconic EcoTech MP10 which broke down 2 years ago and was beyond repair. Retail price for Nero 5 is SGD390. The Good It is small like a pluck. The waves are powerful (google for the specs) The control unit looks elegant. It just works It is silent. Setting up various modes (random, constant, feed time) is a breeze. It looks amazingly high tech in a tank. Setup using Bluetooth is a walk in the park. iPhone and Android controllable. The Not So Good Unlike the AI Prime light interface on your phone which is near perfection, there is room for improvement. For example I can’t manually dial the speed and I have written to AI for advice. Unlike the Tunze 6040, i have no success in creating standing waves (yet). Unlike the Vortex and Tunze, you can’t see the wavemaker doing pulse mode. As in- it comes to a near stop and then speeds up again to create waves. Perhaps it is the design of the Nero 5’s rotating fins and you can’t see it in action but it is actually doing it. Although the physical control unit is beautiful, if Steve Jobs designs a wave maker and control unit, it will look like this (we all miss him), but the control using one button is a tad too minimalist. Press once for this , press a few seconds and hold and then see blinking light, red light, blue light and white light..., after a while you have no idea which is which. The instructions in the box is too minimalist and i think trying too hard to be Apple-ish. I think the software is still early and overtime it will improve. I like the flow as the corals are doing extremely well and to be fair, they were doing fine when I was using the Tunze. One more thing. If they can have tiny grills at the back of the wave maker to prevent sucking in anemone, it would be great. Summary It definitely passes the feature tests (fantastic flow, WiFi connected, Bluetooth connected) and it looks like a piece of space tech equipment in your tank. However, further improvement is required in terms of the software. If I recall, EchoTech has acquired Aqua Illumination or they have a joint collaboration so they know how to make a great wavemaker. The reason why I did not get the MP10 is that it juts out of the tank (I know -no heat inside the tank) and not easily controlled by smartphone unless you buy another expensive controller (I think). The Nero 5 is controllable by smartphone the moment you unbox. Anyone who has similar experiences or differing views, please post and compare useability notes. I also need help creating standing waves (for visual only, I think the fishes and corals don’t care lol). Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Zeovit is a famous brand which propagate a low nutrient system. Google it. Zeolites is a kind of porous stones. You are right. But you can get Seachem Zeolites which I think is cheaper Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Hi I just upgraded my tank from 10g to 14g. I lost two creatures due to overconfidence as I threw away the old sand as it was dirty. I think the trick is to transfer everything and have zeolites ready. Zeolites turns out to be the best emergency ammonia absorber. So even if the new tank is not fully recycled the zeolites will kick in. And stock up some good activated carbon and Prime. The lesson i learned is that somehow the bacteria level is based on the occupants. Say you have lots of marine pure in a tank which far exceeds the tank size. The amount of good bacteria (there is a science term which I forgot) will not be more than the existing bioload. In other words the bacteria in all your existing rock, sand, floss and marine pure is about the same even if you have a few more blocks of marine pure. When you change the tank some bacteria will die off and hence the new tank syndrome. So have the zeolites, Prime, spare water change ready. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

The anemone just grew as big as the plate coral next to it. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Thanks Johnson. It grew so big I have to change to a larger tank. Lol Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

It looks like that now. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

For the record, no fish is harmed. More importantly this is a controlled experiment -DO NOT EVER set up a marine tank without proper cycling. Thirdly, I use some experimental enzyme that consumes ammonia and nitrate. The purpose of this experiment is, at least to me, learn about nitrogen cycle and how far we can use the latest "bacteria in a bottle": method to cycle the tank. But this is not a "pure" test as I have transferred some porous medium full of bacteria from my lab tank. Call me a wimp I just cant let the fish suffer ammonia poisoning. Here goes: Lots of chaetos I bought from a reefer bro Whole bottle of API Quick Start Small packet of Chemipure Marine 2 small pieces of floss with bacteria from main tank 10 small round pieces of porous bio filter My experimental enzyme 0.1 ml One Chromis codenamed Laika. In honor of the Russian space dog, perhaps the first space traveling creature (space nerds will get it) Results: I managed to get zero ammonia the next day and Laika is very much alive. Observation: So ALL the senior reefers who tell us newbies TO HAVE PATIENCE and not bio-overload the tank is true. Think about it. With all the bacteria tech and just one fish, we can "theoretically" skip the cycling and keep one fish alive. In other words, if we dont add the fishes in haste, some "carry over" bacteria can effectively or perhaps temporarily nullify ammonia poisoning (with lots of caveats.) Again I did not do a "pure" test. Future testing parameters: A) use the API Quick Start alone without bringing over the bacteria from the main tank. Just use the old bacteria without enzyme and without QuickStart. C) just use the enzyme. So further tests can be done. And a single small Chromis bio load is very little and Chromis is hardy by nature, so the experiment is a mild "success". In a marine tank, you still need to cycle the live rocks, sand and other medium like Marine Pure blocks. No running away from proper cycling. For reefers who laugh that this is a futile experiment and of course, it will work, yeah, but that is the joy of reefing, we test for possibilities. Laika is well and is back in the main tank. [emoji1] Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Thanks for all the great ideas! And I have Seachem Prime on standby. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Dear Reefers, We all have experienced the following situations before (this is written in a jest manner so take this with a pinch of ..salt*): While tampering with the filter medium, you saw some unsightly dirty filter floss or sponge, and you think to yourself, "hmmmm I can just clean it to reduce Nitrate build up, I know there is good bacteria inside but hey, I have plenty of ammonia-converting bacteria in the live rock, sand, Marine Pure, floss, so cleaning THIS PIECE wont make any difference". You washed the floss and replaced it back in the tank and the next morning, the corals were not opening up and OMG you have a sudden Ammonia Spike. Step 1. Water Change. Yeah thats what everyone tells you. And you look at the RODI Container and realize you did not top up the RODI water tank! Or WHEW! you got enough RODI water and you looked at the watch and you need to go back to the office.. like NOW. Step. 2. Hey I got Anti-Ammonia additive or water conditioner or some leftover additives that looks promising. And you poured it inside the tank hoping for some miracle. And at the back of your mind, you were told that adding anti-chlorine may give false-positive when you do the Ammonia test later but this is an EMERGENCY, never mind that. This may work. Step 3. Go to office. But worried the whole day. Step 4. You come back home and see your favorite fish lying on its side, the shrimps are all dead (they are more sensitive to ammonia poisoning), the corals are closed up and your beloved tank has a mini-crash! Over the years, I have like countless bottles of Anti-Chlorine, ATM Outbreak, emergency activated carbon, Poly membrane etc, Prime but what REALLY WORKS TO BUY TIME? I found out that Zeolites is the reliable FIRST AIDER. Put it in a bag and dump it in the sump/Canister/ back chamber/reactor. It just works. Yes you still have to change water later, you still have to slap yourself for taking that piece of "dirt" out but on several occasions, it has saved my tank. So my 2 cents lesson is stock up on a S$10 bottle of Zeolites. You dont need Zeovit high end stuff. Just some Zeolites - it is a break glass during emergency thing to have at home. Wish I had known this earlier! Please share your Tank Crash Experiences and your Recovery Methods. (*I do not make light of the tank crash scenario - it is stressful and sad due to the death of your beloved pets.)

My readings are 0 nitrate (even on high resolution kit red sea), 0 phosphate, alkalinity is 7, calcium is way too high at 600 but it could be an old test kit. So it is a low nutrient tank. I dosed redsea Nopox 2 ml daily now reducing to 1 ml daily. Has a micro refugium powered by chaetomax led, the chaeto is alive but not growing due to the low nutrients, and the minimax reactor is 80% zeolites and 20% biopellet. I pump the minimax reactor daily like the zeovit method. Weekly I dosed ATM Outbreak which is a bacterial source. In the canister I have 3 packets of activated carbon, deNitrate and Phosguard or phosban (can't remember). Plus my every 3 days dosing of 0.5ml proprietary enzyme. Yesterday added Redsea Reef Energy A+B. Water change 15-20% per week. Result is a low nutrient tank. Despite that a few micro thin strands of algae in my super thin sand bed which can be siphoned off easily. The next thing is how to do a low maintenance low nutrient tank. Auto water change. The challenge is not getting too many pipes and tanks and accessories as this is a Soho tank. I have a Rodi pump and using the thin hoses I can set up an auto change gig. Just have to unplug and change the direction of the hoses. Let's see if it is worth the effort. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app