The red sea max nano peninsula reef tank has been up and running for 15 months and this tank has been more challenging than any other tank I have kept during the past 9 years.
The last 7 to 10 days has been one of the most challenging as i have had a number of deaths which, for me. to have in a short period of time is unusual. You have to take the rough with the smooth and at the moment it is rough but amongst all of this some things are going well.
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I'm having the same issues. Changed my attitude and just giving loving attention to my tank, it's getting better LOL.
Have you been testing parameters and would you think a bigger water change should have been better
I'd add another wave maker mate for more Flow. Definitely add some sand and more live rock. I also dose modern reef bio diversity weekly the stuff is amazing
Reset it Paul new sand gut the sump
Try special grade what I'm running in mine
Echo balance once a month waste away once a week. Waste away is part 2 1 and only
Iv just ordered a roll mat for mine from lad
I will buy the tank off you Paul…lol lol
I’d start again Paul with live sand as you’ve got the luxury of putting your livestock in your other tanks. One of these days there will be a bacteria test so we can test to ensure our tanks have the right amount and type of bacteria as this is the backbone of the nitrogen cycle.
I'm new to the hobby but watch this tank with interest as I have the same one. Gutted to see the tank struggling.
Do you run a clean up crew? I didn't see any trochus, hermits, ceriths etc?
Do you introduce pods? When my lights go out I see pods all along the bottom of my glass? They seems to come from my sand bed.
Have you an ICP? Could you have a build up of an unwanted nasty such as a metal?
Looks like you need a scooter blenny or a sand starfish to move around your sand.
Stop dosing immediately, and stop water changes wait to see the outcome, diminish your lights and get sand clean up crew
when dosing microbacteria, it’s best to turn off all the pumps & let it settle for a few minutes
Paul it's a unpredictable hobby to be in it test's everyone to their limits hang on in there all will work out well 👍
that bottle of dr tims had a best use date of 2021. Also just because you have a cave or a place for the nem to hide is not the reason you are losing them. Anemones are inverts and will move around and hide and die if their environment is not stable and suitable for them. Thats probably the real reason you are losing them
Thanks for sharing Paul. I’ve found with my nano less is more, I had similar to yourself where I lost the clean up crew and some corals and had diatoms..couldn’t work out why. Went down the bacteria route with little success, in the end I let the tank be, cut back weekly water changes to fortnightly and it resolved itself. Good luck and Happy New Year.
I'm sure you'll sort those problems out, makes a nice change to see a video showing the problems we've all had rather than manicured Instagram tanks.
Sand, flow, copepods and clean up crew.
I personally wouldnt put a live sand in there now, just go with a dry sand.I would actually get rid of what was in there because if you just put the new sand on top of the old all that detritus/algea will be trapped and cause more problems. I would add a sand sifting goby and some nassa snails aswell.
I would try moving that wavemaker more central on the back glass about 1/3 of the way down and then play around with the settings.
Adding more copepods will make a massive difference in keeping the tank clean.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do 👍
I battled hair algae for over a year in a 75G due to low nutrients showing on tests but were fueling the algae, I was pulling my hair out! excuse the pun.
In the end I started doing water changes and taking a bit of rock out at a time and cleaned the rock off in the water i changed out with a toothbrush.
Once I got the lot out of tank which took a few weeks I then kept a close eye on nitrates and phosphates and making sure I kept the right balance – 5-10 nitrates, 0.03-0.06 phosphates.
Then loads of clean up crew, touch wood no algae has returned.
I also made sure there was plenty of flow at the back of rock work and overall good flow/surface movement in tank.
Keeping a good check on trace elements is important, I send off for an icp every 1-2 months to keep things in balance.
Its so hard sometimes even with years of experience! I tend to find the bottled chemicals can make things worse, i'd much rather go down the natural route but when things don't happen it makes you dose!
Any update on the urchin? Did he die?
Could it be dino's rather than cyno that you have? Some dino's are toxic which could explain the coral and fish loss.
Sorry to hear about your Cherub angel fish mate. Have you tried to run a little active carbon in the back? It always helps to revive the corals with colour in my nano. You will definitely turn the corner very soon with this tank. Thank you for sharing the lows along with the highs of the hobby.
Did you start with dry rock.The worse tank i had was with dry rock.Ill never do it again. i hope things improve for you .
Great update Paul, nice to see honest videos showing both the good and the bad. Can be such a frustrating yet rewarding hobby. My reefer upgrade should be here soon, which is exciting, but im also dreading starting the tank all over again as my reefer170 is so stable and where i want it to be. Keep up the great content mate
Great update mate as you say very challenging and frustrating this hobby that's for sure , it's crazy how some corals do well and others don't more bacteria in the tank will sort this im sure, gutted about the angelfish, its always sad 😢, you'll get there mate
Really well rounded update on the tank Paul! Really interesting to see one Goni in your tank thrive at the same time another melts away. I think you’re right about some bacterial infection (vibrio?) that was probably fuelled by the Angel dying. Have you run an ICP on your tank recently to check for any trace metals?
I would buy a UV Steralizer. That will wipe out alot of that algae over time. Helped my all in one tank balance itself out