Brittany's teeny tiny reef!

Every night I come home from work Oliver has himself halfway buried in the sand sleeping. Seems like normal behaviour I guess. Kinda cute actually. And the cloudy water still continues. No better, not too much worse. I think in going to start doing a couple water changes a week until its clear. See if more frequent water changes help at all. I want to get a nano protein skimmer and I want to convert my ac filter into a fuge but I'm on a budget so which do you guys think I should do first and do you think either would help with the cloudy water?
IMAG1903.jpg
 
It's hard to see in the photos but what color is the cloudy water? If it is yellowish than it is probably caused by dissolved organics in the water and a protein skimmer would probably clear it up. If it is more brownish or greenish that could be an algae bloom. If it is just plain white it could be suspended substrate particles but in your case I doubt that unless your powerhead is kicking it up non stop. When you check your carbon does it have any sand particles in it? What type of readings for nitrates and phosphates do you have? If they are on the high end a refugium would be your best bet but if your nitrates and phosphates are low a skimmer would be more beneficial. But that is just what I've gathered in research and dealing with cloudy water lol. I really hope you can clear it up soon.
 
When I do a water change. The water in the bucket looks yellowish green. No sand in the carbon. Nitrates are below five and phosphates I'm not sure. I don't have a test kit for that :( I did test the nitrates on my freshly made saltwater that's made from tap and it tested zero. I'm thinking of adding the protein skimmer next. It wouldn't hurt anything. So that brings me to my next question...where can I find a submersible nano skimmer. I don't have enough room under the cabinets for a HOB. I'm thinking the oceanic biocube nano one or the aquatic life mini skimmer. Is either one decent?
 
im using the oceanic biocube nano skimmer rated for a 29.
doesnt take up too much space.
pretty simple design
works very well on a 10
 
Cheeser said:
im using the oceanic biocube nano skimmer rated for a 29.
doesnt take up too much space.
pretty simple design
works very well on a 10
Click to expand...

Would it take up a lot of room in a 10g? How high does it stick out of the tank. I have about three or four inches between the cabinets and the tank. And last question...how often do you replace the wooden airstone?
 
I've used both the biocube nano skimmer and the aquaticlife 115. I did not care too much for the biocube skimmer. It uses older technology because it uses an airstone to drive it that needs to be replaced at least every month. The air pump that drives it is a little weak and also hums a little to loudly for me. The adjustment is also very finicky. I traded it in for the aquaticlife 115 and I love it! I get very good skimmate with it and it is pretty quiet. Mine only sticks out of my tank maybe 2 inches. There is also a mod that you can do to it to allow you to submerse it even further down. Its a little bigger than the biocube skimmer but I think you could still get it into your 10 gal okay.
 
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Thanks so much Justin! I was online for a couple hrs last night deciding which one to get and everything is pointing to the aquatic life 115. I haven't really seen anything bad about it and I really do not want to replace that biocube air stone every month. seems like a hassle. Now I just have to save the money. It really sucks only having $25 a week to spend. :( credit card! Hahaha

I did a 4 gallon water change today. Tank is a bit more clear. When I drained the water into the bucket it wasn't as dark this time. So I'm hoping with a few more water changes and adding a protein skimmer and fuge will make my water crystal clear!

Trigger (red banded goby) and Oliver (mandarin) are doing great! Trigger comes out of his little hiding spot everyday to eat and Oliver is out all the time. Cruising around for whatever food he can find. He is eating frozen readily. I've noticed he likes to stare at the glass in the back of the tank. I put a black background on so in thinking he sees his own reflection? He's a weirdo. Everthing is going great minus cloudiness but hopfully that will be gone soon. I'm going to up the water changes to two or three times a week and see if that clears up the water any faster.
 
Im going strictly on what I see in your last pic, so if this has been addressed already I apologize. It looks like you may have a dead spot where what appears to be waste collecting. If you can find a way to get some flow back there it will help your (soon to be added) skimmer work a little better. As far as cloudy/discolored water, have you tried running carbon ? Carbon is cheap and will do wonders for water clarity. Just a few thoughts that may help you out.

Good Luck
 
No problem! :) I really hope it works for you. It sounds like everything else is going good for you and the tank though! I hear ya on the money thing it's hard not to keep buying and buying stuff for the tank it is such an addiction. I think that protein skimmer will be money well spent for you. Don't worry if it kicks out a bunch of micro bubbles at first it will do that for about a week and a half until it breaks in. Be sure to post some pictures of filter once you start converting it to a fuge. I love DIY stuff like that.
 
Second the motion for the aquatic life 115 skimmer Brittany, i love it, fits in a corner nicely and does the trick! I think youll like it. ;) You may need to mod it for the air intake. Simple to do.
 
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Brian. Yea I was that little pile of turbo poop too. I was looking at the tank today and it was gone. Idk where it went but ik glad its gone. I think what happens is the turbo likes to sleep in that corner and he poops over there a lot. No need to apologize, I'm here for help. I am running carbon hoping that it will clear things up but I think I'm running it to no avail. It's been a week and no change really. But thanks for the input, I appreciate the help.

Thanks guys for all the input. I did see someone's comment on another site about the micro bubbles. So I won't let that worry me. Now its time to seat h for it online for the cheapest price!
 
Also you may give this a try : PURA Filtration Pad

It can be cut to fit any filtration system, and it worked great in my 5.5g . The water was always super clear and I didnt have to clean my glass very often. I chose this option along with seachems purigen in my AC110 . I didnt have room to add a reactor for carbon and another for GFO so this worked better than a bag sitting in my filter because water had to flow through it rather than being able to flow around it.
 
Did a 4 gallon water change yesterday and here is how the tank looks this morning. A lot better. I'm thinking ill do another 4 gallon water change tomorrow and see if that improves it more. We're getting there!

IMAG1913.jpg
 

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