Nano pump?

[nanome]

Hi all, some more questions for you gurus:

1- Where can i find a pump the same size of the one shipped with the Nanocube system?

2- When i feed Kent's phytoplankton to my dusters, do i need to shut off the pump? Otherwise, wouldn't the pump pull these food out of the tank and into the filter media? But shutting off the pump stops the circulation which feeders depend. Assume this is correct, that's why I want to get another small pump to circulate the tank, but not pulling the phytoplankton out. Yet I could not find any pump that small. Or just double the amount of food to compensate for the loss (assume 1/2 loss rate) since the cost is so small?

3- How do you know when the dusters or any other filter-feeders are full? They all open up at night, begging for food, I guess.

Thanks

 

[Shoreliner11]

First off you might want to try switching to a live phyto, such as Bioplankton, or DT's. I used kents phytoplankton and IMO it really doesn't help a whole lot. With bioplankton I notice a difference in polyp extension even from my sps, with kents all I think it did was add nitrates to the system. Your filter media will remove a little but the protein skimmer is usually what pulls the phyto out the best. If you have a skimmer running turn it off but the regular filter media won't make a big difference because of the size of the phyto. Be sure not to add to much to often, especially with a nano. The excess can cause nitrates to rise pretty easily over a couple weeks. Regarding whether you know if their full or not, most feather dusters will have their feather out all the time regardless. What kind of feather is it? This has an effect on the quantity of food and the method introducing the phyto into the tank.

 

[Shoreliner11]

After reading your other post, you shouldn't really worry about feedin the small feather dusters. They will sustain themselves and propogate very quickly in your tank without the addition of any phyto. If you feel its necassary I would maybe add phyto once a week...if that. If you have nothing else to consume the phyto its kind of overkill. Good luck

 

[nanome]

I really don't know the types of my dusters since they are so small. Most are light green, purple, orange, with one or two dots on each branch.
Thanks, that's really helpful.

 

[nanome]

Is it a good idea to add a buble stone in a nanocube? I thought that would look nice and add more air to the system? I guess keeping the water level near the pump's output hole would create more air bubbles, but my water level is usually higher than that, so all i see are water movements but very little bubles. Do these animals (dusters, other corals, ... ) need these extra bubbles in a mature reef tank in the first place?
Thanks

 

[Shoreliner11]

Generally you do not need airstones into a nano or any sw tank. There should be ample gas exchange at the surface without the need of the bubblestone. Feather dusters for sure do not need any extra oxygen than what your system is providing. These creatures are known for their resiliance and usually can propogate well without any supplemental feeding. I hope this answers your question.

 

[nanome]

Thanks, it really helps. Great reply!