My 2ft Nano Reef Tank

[John Deroe Kenedy]

no wonder ur thread been quite.. hows ur ich problem going?

[slapper]

The ich problem is still there, as I recently bought another blue tang and noticed ich forming on the 3rd day. Strange though, the other livestocks in the tank are immune to it. Only the tangs are susceptible. I have 2 cleaner shrimps in there working on the tang.

[John Deroe Kenedy]

blue tangs are prone to ich especially with a small tank like urs n mine (stress for not having space)... i use octozin, does nothing to it, therefore i feed my fishes with food that has garlic in it as it boost its immunity.. i dare not try another freshwater dip, the last i tried, 2 of my banner died..

[reckless]

is it a white itch? if it is, then i would say the whole tank needs to be treated. Had my fair share of this itch before. read somewhere before that those white spots are actually "eggs" for these parasites. so when u notice that the white spots suddenly disappear, what actually happen is that the parasites have successfully hatch and is now in the water column and will start its infestation cycle again until a they start multiplying and hosting on your fishes again. well, that is if i got it correctly... and if you guys are talking about the same itch.

best to always quarantine your new fish before releasing into the main tank.

[reckless]

oh and as for ADA like tank.... i went C328 recently too... dun have... they use to have though. you can try east side tampines st 21 if i'm not wrong. theres a fresh water fish shop there. saw some very nice ADA like tanks for about $60 plus.

[John Deroe Kenedy]

is it a white itch? if it is, then i would say the whole tank needs to be treated. Had my fair share of this itch before. read somewhere before that those white spots are actually "eggs" for these parasites. so when u notice that the white spots suddenly disappear, what actually happen is that the parasites have successfully hatch and is now in the water column and will start its infestation cycle again until a they start multiplying and hosting on your fishes again. well, that is if i got it correctly... and if you guys are talking about the same itch.

best to always quarantine your new fish before releasing into the main tank.

i thought that those white stuff on the fish are the parasite itself feeding on the fish, it white becoz its getting bigger n carrying eggs. When it detached itself, the parasite dies and the egg hatch in the substrate. so the cycle goes on... removing the fishes from display tank will eventually coz the parasite not having host. therefore they cant feed and reproduce..

[reckless]

i thought that those white stuff on the fish are the parasite itself feeding on the fish, it white becoz its getting bigger n carrying eggs. When it detached itself, the parasite dies and the egg hatch in the substrate. so the cycle goes on... removing the fishes from display tank will eventually coz the parasite not having host. therefore they cant feed and reproduce..

ahh. something like that. can't remember liao coz it was quite some time back since i came across this problem. dose the tank with Kent Marine's Rx something2 for about a week and do AT LEAST 50% water change....was a very busy week for me having to deal with these itch. but after that, all is fine and all my fishes recovered

On the bright side, its good to encounter all these problems so we will know how to handle and treat them when they arises next time

[slapper]

Somehow the blue tang recovered. Sometimes the immune system of the fish plays a part too. I don't think any tank is ich free. It's jus so difficult to ensure that. And I defied convention too. Bought another anemone despite the possible tank melt-down when an anemone dies. But seeing how the clown makes the anemone its new home, all the reservations just vanished.

I also got myself an anemone crab. Another symbiotic pair!

[Evolutionz]

woah very nice tank bro! amazing how u can keep so many fishes and coral with simple equipments. ur T5 is normal T5 or T5HO?

[slapper]

More photos of my tank to share:

Rose tip Anemone

True Octopus Coral

[Admiraltian]

Nice close up shots of your corals and fishes.

[slapper]

Nice close up shots of your corals and fishes.

Thank you. I am using iPhone 4.

[slapper]

So far i've been quite satisfied with the Rio Protein Skimmer. For a mere $36, i get a decent sized HOB skimmer that is so suited for small tanks. It also doubles up as an additional filter. The collection cup is huge and the skimate is tea-colored. Still running in the device.

[vcysteo]

Hi, would you mind sharing where did you buy the protein skimmer?...thanks

[slapper]

C328. I only saw one there.

[John Deroe Kenedy]

Bro, dun mind if i ask, how many time do u dose Iodine and strontium?

I have both the additives but without test kits, i rarely dose it.. maybe about 1 month once.. 1 drop of iodine and 2.5ml strontium..

[mw1611]

Bro, dun mind if i ask, how many time do u dose Iodine and strontium?

I have both the additives but without test kits, i rarely dose it.. maybe about 1 month once.. 1 drop of iodine and 2.5ml strontium..

I'm not sure about bro slapper.. But for me, I dose 1 drop iodine per day, gonna increase to two drops per day when I've more corals.. And 15ml of strontium alternate days.. I assume you're using brightwell for both eh? For brightwell, Strontium dosage is 5ml per 12gal if I'm not wrong..

[John Deroe Kenedy]

i'm using 2x1x1... so i'm really not sure... bcoz overdosing is dangerous and since if iodine is not depleted much, adding iodine more will accumulate a higher reading..

[mw1611]

Hmm.. Mine's a 2 FT Cube with 6" IOS at the back.. So its about 59Gal..? Currently I have a rock of Zoas, Hammer, a small Monti frag and an anemone in my tank.. I'm dosing at 1 drop a day.. Will be increasing once my tank starts to fill up with more corals..

[slapper]

Bro, dun mind if i ask, how many time do u dose Iodine and strontium?

I have both the additives but without test kits, i rarely dose it.. maybe about 1 month once.. 1 drop of iodine and 2.5ml strontium..

For iodine, i'll put about 1-2 drops. But not daily. Prob just once per week. I'm concerned of overdosing iodine.

For strontium, i'm more liberal, about 3-4 drops. Prob once per week too.

I add trace elements and magnesium more regularly. And Henry's "It's Clear" seems to purify the water well too.

[slapper]

Updates of my tank.

[Admiraltian]

Filling up nicely. Gonna run out if space soon, lol.

[Polypterus]

I didn't read the whole thread, so pardon me if I do make any mistakes...

This is a beautiful tank, especially for a nano, but I feel it is overstocked and the selection of fishes may not be suitable.

I am somewhat certain that a 20 gallon tank is expected to only hold up to 3-4 fishes, plus some invertebrates. Am I right about this?

Nudibranches, or what you call, slugs, should not be purchased. As high specialised feeders, they do not feed well, and end up dying eventually. This presents some measure of threat to their wild populations.

Seahorses will have some difficulty having access to sufficient pods and food. They have a short digestive tract and need constant feeding. Have you been able to supply them with an ample diet?

The yellow and hippo tang will split the tank open as they grow older. This is bad idea unless you have a larger tank to support it.

However, if this tank does work more or less well, I am keen to make one on the same basis. It is a truly attractive proposition.

[Raymond Tan]

Bro slapper

I am I was looking for a canister for my 2ft ADA tank, spoke to a staff from QianHu.

He shared that for freshwater the flow rate is about 4-5 times the litres in the tank and saltwater should be 8-10times. Ista canister flow rate is max at 360I/H.

How is it doing for you so far?

Must say the price of ISTA canister is good as eheim ones are at $280 however is only consume 5W.

Btw how do you handle maintenance for your canister?

Thanks

Lastly you truly runs one of the most respectable tank!

[slapper]

Bro slapper

I am I was looking for a canister for my 2ft ADA tank, spoke to a staff from QianHu.

He shared that for freshwater the flow rate is about 4-5 times the litres in the tank and saltwater should be 8-10times. Ista canister flow rate is max at 360I/H.

How is it doing for you so far?

Must say the price of ISTA canister is good as eheim ones are at $280 however is only consume 5W.

Btw how do you handle maintenance for your canister?

Thanks

Lastly you truly runs one of the most respectable tank!

Thank you Bro Raymond.

I have decom the ISTA canister and opted for a bigger eheim canister. Not so big that it can't fit on my table-top. Yes, everything is on my table-top, nothing on the floor. I'm using dual filtration as my protein skimmer by RIO also comes with a filter.

I don't clean my canister so regularly, probably once a month if I remember! More importantly, make sure you do 20-25% water change weekly. As for flow rate, since there is a wavemaker, I don't think it matters much.

You will know that the livestocks are doing well if they are feeding well. Even though I have about 20 different species of fish and shrimps in there, the NH and NO levels are kept in control by regular dosing of good bacteria. So far, i've managed to keep purple gobiy, hawaiin yellow tang, blue tang and lyratail anthias in this tank alive (fingers crossed). These are the more challenging fishes IMO.

I do experience red slime problem. It's kept in control through using Ultra Life Red Slime Removal. Used to have algae bloom as well until I started using distilled water. Our tap water is terrible.

You are only half correct that I 'run one of the most respectable tank'. More accurately, mine is a respectable tank for one that is 2ft without IOS or normal sump tank. Thanks again for the kind words!