12G Nano Help

[Cave Dweller]

Ok so I'm not gonna lie. I'm not the best at maintenance and am looking for a little help. I have a 12g biocube that I "inherited" and has a bit of an algae problem. It's on a stock stand and no real room for an exterior sump to try and help out. Only thing in it is 2 clowns and a bunch of rock with about a 2" sand bed.

If I was to cut a few holes through the hood and dropped in a small canister filter with a low watt UV in it (eBay), would that help in regards to having good filtration and reduce some of the maintenance?

Also, if the only thing I plan on keeping in there is the 2 clowns, maybe a small goby tops, do I really need X amount of rock in it if part of the filtration would be done by the canister? Of course would still leave rock and some hiding places in the tank for the fish.

Feedback would be awesome as I still kick myself with not being able to maintain it to the fullest with my job and kids (and yes I know I could just get rid of it and call it a day but watching them swim still is relaxing).

 

[rich]

I have a 13.5 fuval besides a protein skimmer I just do weekly water changes (20%) and my water is pretty crystal clear. I do have phosgard and some carbon in a bag in the sump area. Pretty easy maintenance for me.

 

[theMeat]

The bigger the canister, the more it will help. Marinepure in the canister is prolly the best choice for media

 

[Cave Dweller]

With such a small tank, would something like this suffice? And do I really need the UV although it would keep the water a bit clearer (might not be the best if putting zoa's etc at a later date tho).

https://www.amazon.com/Pingkay-External-Canister-Sterilizer-Aquarium/dp/B00SIQXYU6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1488374556&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=uv%2Bcanister%2Bfilter&th=1

 

[Odysi]

Id imagine that would be fine. i dont think the UV is needed. Like theMeat said Marinepure in the canister to help with more surface area. I would go with a bag of chemi pure elite and purigen in there too. Maybe take out the algae covered rocks and give them a good scrub and just keep up with a 1-2g WC weekly and im sure the tank will turn around in a few weeks.

 

[theMeat]

The bigger the canister, the more you increase the water volume. The smaller the tank, the more that matters

What's your parameters?
Lights?

 

[Cave Dweller]

To be honest they haven't been tested in a while and testers are at a diff house still. I'm sure they aren't the greatest as WCs haven't been done consistently and occasional tap water used as top off.

Lights are 6W/6RB from a RapidLED kit, currently running both on for 6 hrs due to a timer crapping out.

 

[Rookie2reef]

Stop using Tap water

 

[Sanchez2896]

RO water , snails , crabs , weekly water changes , drop a chemioure elite bag and purigen bag innthe back chambers. Also us filter floss in the section the water goes back in to trap all debree and change it every few days I've always had allnin one tanks and this has made them nice ...

 

[Reef Trends]

I don't know that a canister filter will reduce maintenance because it will require regular cleaning as detritus will settle in it. So you will have to rinse it out periodically. Easiest and best thing you can do is as mentioned so cermedia (ceramic/porous rock) for increased bio load. Regular decent water changes with RODI water my guess is the water you were using was not very good.

 

[Cave Dweller]

I have a RODI filter, but as stated sometimes the tap water gets used for a quick fix but not all the time. Have the the TDS tester which indicates 0 on the output so I know its still functional.

Will try to tear down the tank this weekend, scrub the rock/backwall down and def need an overhaul of the cleanup crew as it was small to start with and needs an upgrade. Had filter floss stuffed in the 1st chamber right after the surface skimmer to catch any leftover food etc (flake food every other day and not large amounts) but will start to chage that out more often.

 

[theMeat]

If you don't clean the filter floss every 3-4 days, then whatever it catches starts to break down and enter the water column anyway. So if you don't commit to regularly cleaning it you might as well run the tank without it.

Marinepur is more porous than live rock, and will offer more bio room (bank). Once the bank is full it starts to leach out, regardless of it's capacity. Rinsing a portion of your media regularly will keep room in your bank. Rinsing only a portion will avoid a damaging cycle in your tank.

While I agree with reef trends that a canister would be bad if it's not regularly cleaned, it will offer you more water volume, more bank, and gives dibris a place to settle, other than the bottom of your tank. Which is a good thing, but like reef trends mentioned, if not maintained bad. Imo in the end you'll save more time and effort, and have more stable parameters by adding a canisters to a tank that size

 

[johnsonpics]

After reading everyone's responses, I feel we should ask another question.
How much are you feeding them? It could simply be to much food adding to the high nutrients. I always get an algae break when I go out of town and use my auto feeder, which always feeds to much.

 

[Cave Dweller]

Quick update. Saturday i stripped/scrubbed all the algae I could from rocks, replaced the filter floss in the back, added some snails and hermit crabs to clean up a bit. Got my RODI to the house so will try to make a batch of water and give it a well needed good water change and will stock up on the top off water.

Gotta see how it goes and will change the floss in a day or 2 as it was put in on Saturday. Will see if I can grab a bag of chemipure to stick in the back chamber right where it passes through so I know flow is reaching it.

As for the feeding, I only give them a small pinch of flakes every other day. Occassionaly my girls will ask to feed them on an off day and I will let them do it but it is far from often and they are supervised on how much they put in. No auto feeder hooked up to the tank unless the entire house goes on vacation and I've had it tested for a few days prior to make sure it's not going overboard and can adjust if needed.