New Waterbox 20 Cube Build
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GATOR DAVE
Community Member
They are definitely dinos. Took a picture to the local fish store and they confirmed. I’m 2 doses of hydrogen peroxide in and the tank is already starting to look better from my sneak peek behind the bag. So by Monday night I am hoping to be good to go. I am a little worried about the coral not getting a lot of light for the next few days but I am sure they will bounce back. This one snuck up on me and I wasn’t expecting it. While it is not a great thing, the amount of research we do to try and resolve this only makes us smarter in the hobby, and that makes me smile!
GATOR DAVE
Community Member
5/19 Update
So I have been working diligently to get rid of a Dino bloom that occurred late last week. I fully encased the outside of the tank with a black trash bag (5/14) to block out all light and dosed 2x per day Hydrogen Peroxide at 1ml/10 gal. I continued this protocol until monday night when I removed the bag for the first time and really checked out the tank. To my surprise almost all of the Dino's had been eradicated. As the Dino was coming in to the water column, I made sure to clean out my filter floss daily and will continue to do this for a bit longer just to make sure I am capturing everything I can. Monday night I also added some Chaeto algae and installed a refugium light above it to help it grow. We will see how this works out in this Waterbox 20...
Tuesday 5/18, I saw just a few small pieces of Dino left that I took the opportunity to spot treat these areas with the Hydrogen Peroxide making sure I didn't go over the prescribed amount for my tank. I also turned on the lights for the first time and set up an acclimation mode to them limiting them to 40% and ramping up over the next 2 weeks since the Dino is so photosynthetic. I also added Tim's eco-balance to reintroduce any good bacteria that may have been stripped in the tank from dosing Hydrogen Peroxide. I started with a 1/2 dose and will ramp this up to the prescribed dosage in the coming weeks.
Water testing was conducted and I found all of my levels starting to look good. Saturday night I dosed both ME Coral (Nitrate) and HEX PO4. It raised my Nitrate level to 9 ppm and my Phosphate to .26 ppm. This is the first time I have even seen PO4 in the tank since I started the aquarium so that was a bonus. Now I just need the good algae and Chaeto to kick back in and lowering that level back down to where it is supposed to be.
Today 5/19, I added my first dose of Ocean Magik to the tank to start bringing these good algae (photo plankton) in to play. Like the Tim's, here is to hoping that the good algae and bacteria are enough to really start out competing the Dino Algae without giving me too much trouble on the other side. Time will see on this one!!!
So here is a question or 2, I have yet to clean the glass even though the stringy portion of the Dino's is gone, or cleaned the gravel bed, although I do not see many remnants in the gravel bed at this time. Should I wait to see some new good algae develop before cleaning the glass??? I am definitely waiting on cleaning the sand as I do not want to do a water change and introduce new nutrients that the Dino's may feed on and start this process over.
Here are some pics of the tank post Dino. I apologize for not getting good pictures of the before. I was in action mode trying to do research and come up with my game plan. The coral seems very happy to see the light again and everyone made it out of the dosing phase with the hydrogen peroxide (except 2 snails who climbed over the edge and fell)
So I have been working diligently to get rid of a Dino bloom that occurred late last week. I fully encased the outside of the tank with a black trash bag (5/14) to block out all light and dosed 2x per day Hydrogen Peroxide at 1ml/10 gal. I continued this protocol until monday night when I removed the bag for the first time and really checked out the tank. To my surprise almost all of the Dino's had been eradicated. As the Dino was coming in to the water column, I made sure to clean out my filter floss daily and will continue to do this for a bit longer just to make sure I am capturing everything I can. Monday night I also added some Chaeto algae and installed a refugium light above it to help it grow. We will see how this works out in this Waterbox 20...
Tuesday 5/18, I saw just a few small pieces of Dino left that I took the opportunity to spot treat these areas with the Hydrogen Peroxide making sure I didn't go over the prescribed amount for my tank. I also turned on the lights for the first time and set up an acclimation mode to them limiting them to 40% and ramping up over the next 2 weeks since the Dino is so photosynthetic. I also added Tim's eco-balance to reintroduce any good bacteria that may have been stripped in the tank from dosing Hydrogen Peroxide. I started with a 1/2 dose and will ramp this up to the prescribed dosage in the coming weeks.
Water testing was conducted and I found all of my levels starting to look good. Saturday night I dosed both ME Coral (Nitrate) and HEX PO4. It raised my Nitrate level to 9 ppm and my Phosphate to .26 ppm. This is the first time I have even seen PO4 in the tank since I started the aquarium so that was a bonus. Now I just need the good algae and Chaeto to kick back in and lowering that level back down to where it is supposed to be.
Today 5/19, I added my first dose of Ocean Magik to the tank to start bringing these good algae (photo plankton) in to play. Like the Tim's, here is to hoping that the good algae and bacteria are enough to really start out competing the Dino Algae without giving me too much trouble on the other side. Time will see on this one!!!
So here is a question or 2, I have yet to clean the glass even though the stringy portion of the Dino's is gone, or cleaned the gravel bed, although I do not see many remnants in the gravel bed at this time. Should I wait to see some new good algae develop before cleaning the glass??? I am definitely waiting on cleaning the sand as I do not want to do a water change and introduce new nutrients that the Dino's may feed on and start this process over.
Here are some pics of the tank post Dino. I apologize for not getting good pictures of the before. I was in action mode trying to do research and come up with my game plan. The coral seems very happy to see the light again and everyone made it out of the dosing phase with the hydrogen peroxide (except 2 snails who climbed over the edge and fell)
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elorablue
Valuable Member
Brilliant! And thanks for the details on your procedure!
When you say you added chaeto, did you add it to the back compartment or straight into the tank?
I’ve been thinking about turning the middle compartment into a small fuge but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, even though I have a tunze light for that purpose. Im also concerned about my phosphate as they are hovering around zero.
When you say you added chaeto, did you add it to the back compartment or straight into the tank?
I’ve been thinking about turning the middle compartment into a small fuge but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, even though I have a tunze light for that purpose. Im also concerned about my phosphate as they are hovering around zero.
GATOR DAVE
Community Member
I added it in my first chamber right where the return is. I have the light mounted on the cover right above that chamber and run it during the day with the rest of the lights on. I am hoping to stay ahead with the nutrients and avoid the 0 phosphate issue that I was having as like I said before, I believe that is how the dinos got their start. Thanks for following!!!
Mario Bruno
New Member
Congrats for the tank.Love the golden hammer.......Did the Sicce syncra 1.5 fit in the return chamber of the WB20 ? RegardsI got cut off for adding too many pictures. Picture of new golden hammer coral and sunset montipora
GATOR DAVE
Community Member
Mario,
The 1.5 does fit with a little room to spare. The pump was a little loud at first but has quieted down over the last month. I also made sure it wasn’t touching either of the sides when I initially set it up with the tank dry. I just used a couple of popsicle sticks to center it in the return chamber and then removed them afterwards. I have it turned up ¾ full power and haven’t had any issues with it sucking any of the other chambers dry, even with a skimmer going in the center chamber. Hope this answers your question. Let me know if you have anymore!
Gator Dave
GATOR DAVE
Community Member
Wish you all the luck with your upcoming tank! I am still a newbie to this but will answer any questions you have if I can!
Mario Bruno
New Member
Thank you so much Dave, this was the info I needed, 'cause I'm going to change the return pump that came with the WB20 (after 1 year not working anymore ).
Looking forward for updates of your tank. Regards from Slovenia
Mario
GATOR DAVE
Community Member
5/28
So I think that I have overcome the major Dino bloom that I had. While I do still get a few little Dino growths on a few rocks, I have been able to blow them off daily and allow them to get sucked in to the filter floss that I am still changing very regularly. This is manageable while good algae continues to develop and out compete the Dino in the tank. I am still dosing Dr. Tims eco-balance every week for some good bacteria and also dosing Ocean Magik Photo daily to continue to promote good algae growth, feed the corals and copepods. Yes Copepods have finally been spotted in the tank at night after putting them in the tank during the first week or two of me setting up the tank. So things are starting to be on the up and up again, until the next new thing pops up in the tank.
My anemone has been on the move lately and to my surprise he has moved from the rocks, and has found himself on the glass next to my powerhead. I had to get the cover for the powerhead as I saw the nem was getting very close to chopping off his arms. This is very interesting to me and he never seems to disappoint me with trying a new place. I will keep everyone posted where he ends up after all of this. As for now I know my tiger pistol shrimp is happy to have the nem's foot out of his front door!
I also just got a few new toys for the tank to make doing water sampling a little faster and more accurate. I got my first Hanna Instruments today and can't wait to start using them. I will give a run down on them at a later post when I have used them a few times. Other than that, the tank is quiet and pretty stable at the moment.
New tank mates to come soon!!! We are thinking a second clown, and maybe a dwarf coral beauty angel fish. Still up in the air about the angel fish in the Waterbox 20???
So I think that I have overcome the major Dino bloom that I had. While I do still get a few little Dino growths on a few rocks, I have been able to blow them off daily and allow them to get sucked in to the filter floss that I am still changing very regularly. This is manageable while good algae continues to develop and out compete the Dino in the tank. I am still dosing Dr. Tims eco-balance every week for some good bacteria and also dosing Ocean Magik Photo daily to continue to promote good algae growth, feed the corals and copepods. Yes Copepods have finally been spotted in the tank at night after putting them in the tank during the first week or two of me setting up the tank. So things are starting to be on the up and up again, until the next new thing pops up in the tank.
My anemone has been on the move lately and to my surprise he has moved from the rocks, and has found himself on the glass next to my powerhead. I had to get the cover for the powerhead as I saw the nem was getting very close to chopping off his arms. This is very interesting to me and he never seems to disappoint me with trying a new place. I will keep everyone posted where he ends up after all of this. As for now I know my tiger pistol shrimp is happy to have the nem's foot out of his front door!
I also just got a few new toys for the tank to make doing water sampling a little faster and more accurate. I got my first Hanna Instruments today and can't wait to start using them. I will give a run down on them at a later post when I have used them a few times. Other than that, the tank is quiet and pretty stable at the moment.
New tank mates to come soon!!! We are thinking a second clown, and maybe a dwarf coral beauty angel fish. Still up in the air about the angel fish in the Waterbox 20???
GATOR DAVE
Community Member
6/14
So it has been a little over 2 weeks since my last update and there have been a few developments!!!
So I was on the road to defeating my Dino bloom and the tank was really starting to look great again. But like always there is a "but" with these tanks, it was time to conduct my second water change in the tank. The monthly water change was fuel for the little bit of Dino that I had in the tank and it was trying its best to take off again. So after fighting this for a month, I decided that it was time to take some aggressive action and went the UV light route. I installed it (See below), stirred up the sand and cleaned the glass every night to release as much into the water column as possible, and after 3 days, Dino's are gone!!!! Haven't seen a trace of them. So knock on wood, this is the last time I will see of them.
AQUA UV 8 Watt Inline: So for the size of my tank, I opted for the 8 watt inline Aqua UV. The installation was pretty straight forward but there were a few changes that needed to be made. The Aqua UV inline version only had 3/4" barbs on it for the tubing so I had to do a few changes to my plumbing. Luckily, the Sicce 1.5 I had in my return chamber had both a 1/2" and 3/4" tubing adapter so that was straight forward as far as routing that tubing. I had to get an adapter to change the 3/4" outlet from the Aqua UV back to 1/2" for the return into the tank. While I had the Sicce 1.5 out, I turned it up fully just to make sure it could overcome all head loss of the installed UV. Started the pump, checked for leaks (NONE) and then plugged the UV light in. Overall it installed with little effort. I have it temporarily hanging on the back of the tank while I look for a more permanent bracket setup for it, as it is not as clean of an install as I prefer with my tank setup. But again, 3 days of running the UV light and no signs of Dino.
The Anemone: So the Nem has been driving me crazy as he has been on the move, walking, floating around the tank, hiding in corners, trying to get his arms chopped off, trying to kill my coral, for the last 2 weeks. So I decided to try something out with him to see if he will settle. I had set up all kinds of flow variations with the MP10 powerhead initially to try and mimic as many different ocean environements that the Mobius controller would allow me. Friday (6/11) I picked just the tidal swell enviroment to see if the Nem would settle in to a spot and get used to that one current in the tank, and low and behold he did. (SO FAR) We are only a few days into doing this and if it works I am guessing this will be the environment that will have to stick around for a while so he remains happy and locked in to his current spot. Oh and we did get him a second clown fish. They are both hosting him and were the main reason for grouding him when he was floating around the tank. Together they make quite a team together. So we now have a snowflake and a picasso together.
My Goby has also started swimming around the tank recently. I thought it was super neat at first and then I started reading about them wanting to jump out of the tank when they are swimming around. He almost always goes back down to where his shrimp lives, but I fear he is doing research on his suicide attempt.... In the mean time I am spot feeding him just incase he hasn't been getting enough from the clown fish and his swimming is just him looking for food. I will keep everyone posted on this one!!
Overall, its been another busy two weeks in the tank. I will post pictures later today of the Aqua UV installed, a hopefully still settled Anemone, and a Goby that hasn't committed suicide. Life in the small tank world is crazy!!!
So it has been a little over 2 weeks since my last update and there have been a few developments!!!
So I was on the road to defeating my Dino bloom and the tank was really starting to look great again. But like always there is a "but" with these tanks, it was time to conduct my second water change in the tank. The monthly water change was fuel for the little bit of Dino that I had in the tank and it was trying its best to take off again. So after fighting this for a month, I decided that it was time to take some aggressive action and went the UV light route. I installed it (See below), stirred up the sand and cleaned the glass every night to release as much into the water column as possible, and after 3 days, Dino's are gone!!!! Haven't seen a trace of them. So knock on wood, this is the last time I will see of them.
AQUA UV 8 Watt Inline: So for the size of my tank, I opted for the 8 watt inline Aqua UV. The installation was pretty straight forward but there were a few changes that needed to be made. The Aqua UV inline version only had 3/4" barbs on it for the tubing so I had to do a few changes to my plumbing. Luckily, the Sicce 1.5 I had in my return chamber had both a 1/2" and 3/4" tubing adapter so that was straight forward as far as routing that tubing. I had to get an adapter to change the 3/4" outlet from the Aqua UV back to 1/2" for the return into the tank. While I had the Sicce 1.5 out, I turned it up fully just to make sure it could overcome all head loss of the installed UV. Started the pump, checked for leaks (NONE) and then plugged the UV light in. Overall it installed with little effort. I have it temporarily hanging on the back of the tank while I look for a more permanent bracket setup for it, as it is not as clean of an install as I prefer with my tank setup. But again, 3 days of running the UV light and no signs of Dino.
The Anemone: So the Nem has been driving me crazy as he has been on the move, walking, floating around the tank, hiding in corners, trying to get his arms chopped off, trying to kill my coral, for the last 2 weeks. So I decided to try something out with him to see if he will settle. I had set up all kinds of flow variations with the MP10 powerhead initially to try and mimic as many different ocean environements that the Mobius controller would allow me. Friday (6/11) I picked just the tidal swell enviroment to see if the Nem would settle in to a spot and get used to that one current in the tank, and low and behold he did. (SO FAR) We are only a few days into doing this and if it works I am guessing this will be the environment that will have to stick around for a while so he remains happy and locked in to his current spot. Oh and we did get him a second clown fish. They are both hosting him and were the main reason for grouding him when he was floating around the tank. Together they make quite a team together. So we now have a snowflake and a picasso together.
My Goby has also started swimming around the tank recently. I thought it was super neat at first and then I started reading about them wanting to jump out of the tank when they are swimming around. He almost always goes back down to where his shrimp lives, but I fear he is doing research on his suicide attempt.... In the mean time I am spot feeding him just incase he hasn't been getting enough from the clown fish and his swimming is just him looking for food. I will keep everyone posted on this one!!
Overall, its been another busy two weeks in the tank. I will post pictures later today of the Aqua UV installed, a hopefully still settled Anemone, and a Goby that hasn't committed suicide. Life in the small tank world is crazy!!!
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