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gigs
12/05/2007, 12:46 AM
Hi Fellow Reefers,

This is my fist post here I would like to say what a wonderful community you have. I have read every word in most of your threads, even LaurentSeattle's epic RSM thread! and I have been inspired by all of you.

I am a bit of a nub at this so I was hoping on some of the vast experience here to help me through the setup of my RSM. I have already taken on board much of what has been posted here and am always very keen to learn. So here goes...

here is the first picture on...

Day 3 some green algae starting against the glass.
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7176/day3somealgaery7.jpg

A shot of the live rock - I put 2 boxes in.
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6866/day3liverockno1.jpg

Thanks in advance for all your help and tips guys. :bow:

gigs
12/05/2007, 12:48 AM
Well it is Day 6 now here are some shots of the algae growth.

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/8792/day6liverocklz8.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/5277/day6liverockbluealgaepn7.jpg
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/2286/day6somebluealgaezz8.jpg

gigs
12/05/2007, 12:49 AM
Day 10

Well nothing much has happend. I have ordered 2 x Hydor FLO and a Hydor Koralia Nano.

Can someone ID this? fan worms?
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3712/day10fetherduster1hd6.jpg

The skimmer is working quite well, this shot is after 12 hours:
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1986/day10skimmerfx6.jpg

The zoas have stopped opening up. Is there any chance of saving them through the cycle process?
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2398/day10zoasxp6.jpg

gigs
12/05/2007, 12:50 AM
Day 11 - did some more water tests...

Here is a comparison from Day 1 to day 11. I need some help with Ammonia and Nitrite, also what should I do about the high Alkalinity and the low pH? Should i worry or just wait for the cycling process to finish?

Day 1 Temp = 26deg (good - but have to leave the front part of the lid open)
Day 11 Temp = 25deg (good - but have to leave the front part of the lid open)

Day 1 Salinity = 1.023 (perfect)
Day 11 Salinity = 1.023 (perfect)

Day 1 pH = 8.2 (good - what I would expect)
Day 11 pH = 7.8 (bad - significant drop in ph)

Day 1 Alkalinity = "Normal" 1.7 - 2.8 (good - what I would expect)
Day 11 Alkalinity = "High" 2.9 - 3.6 (bad - on the highest end of the scale probably about 3.5)

Day 1 Calcium = 450 (good - what I would expect)
Day 11 Calcium = 460 (good - what I would expect)

Day 1 Ammonia = 0 (good - what I would expect)
Day 11 Ammonia = ? (see picture blue liquid)

Day 1 Nitrite = N/A
Day 11 Nitrite = 0.5 - 1 (bad but to be expected)

Day 1 Nitrate = N/A
Day 11 Nitrate = ? (see picture clear liquid)

Ammonia pic:
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6274/day11ammoniadm6.jpg

Nitrate pic:
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/725/day11nitrateff6.jpg

Nitrite pic:
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1161/day11nitritemg3.jpg

Hodge
12/05/2007, 12:59 PM
Wow, looks like your cycle will be easy to see. I never had much rise in any levels, making it difficult to determine when mine was over. You should quite easily see your cycle progress.
It looks as though the LR was really fresh based on the amount of life and may have to endure quite a bit of die off and elevated levels for awhile.
Keeping your lights down to a minimum should help with algae growth.

Drop by and say hello in the RSM owners thread.

mjoener
12/06/2007, 12:23 AM
You have inspired me to make my own thread about my progress(along with Laurents!!!) with my RSM.
Mine is mostly going to be my before and after stuff.
It seems as though you will have a lot of die off!
In your pics it looks like on the top its almost one entire rock!
How many is it?
Check out my thread it should be up in a day or two.

gigs
12/06/2007, 01:33 AM
Hi Hodge and kmjoen230
Thanks for posting.

Hodge, yes the live rock was certainly that. It came straight from the reef in Queensland to my door in 2 days. It is covered in life and unfortunately it looks like I am going to have a very big cycle. Thanks for the tip on lights, I am currently running at about 8 hours, should I drop to about 4? Looking foward to introducing myself on the RSM thread Hodge, I have done much lurking there I guess its time to come out. ;)

kmjoen230, There are about 8 peices of live rock (35kg), as you picked up 2 of them are very big, they cover about the width of the tank and are about 5 inces high and about 10 inches deep. It has made it quite hard to aquascape, I am not that happy with how it is setup atm. Expect some changes as time progress. I look foward to watching progress in your thread.

gigs
12/06/2007, 01:49 AM
Hi Guys it is now Day 15 Dec 6

Not much to report, did a small water change and have cleaned the mechanical filtration. Will replace the "white" pad soon as it is starting to break down. Still getting heaps of skimate out of the skimmer, clean it once a day.

Have installed a Hydor Koralia Nano powerhead and 2 x Hydor FLO on the stock circ pumps. Still has not helped with the micro bubble issue. The only way I can stop it is to turn off one of the stock circ pumps. :(

I am not happy with the flow from the nano powerhead maybe a number #1 or #2 would have been better so I have ordered a Resun wave maker details below:

Advanced control system
Produces 3 different waves or whirlpools, automatically change, and adjustable timer control.
The small-medium-large waves change automatically in turn to recreate natural wave seen in ocean.
The low voltage DC pump makes it safe for users
Unique design on the control system,for users to adjust the time on different waves so that best condition for fishes is produced.
you can watch the video of this pump working:

http://www.fish-street.com/aquarium/flash/resunwaver.swf

Has anyone had experience with these pumps?

Reefmack
12/06/2007, 06:29 AM
Hi gigs. Looks like you're off & running with the new RSM. Nice rock too, and a lot of life on it. I guess time will tell if the zoas make it through the cycle OK. I was lucky and never had a measurable amount of ammonia or nitrite - fully cured live rock I guess. I can't explain no color at all in that nitrate test - strange - are you sure you added the right solutions to the tube? I'd cut back to 4-6 hours max. on the lights to help with the algae blooms that may be coming soon. I got a Koralia Nano when they first were released and I wasn't impressed with the flow - I use mine in my salt mix bucket. I have a #1 in the tank, some run a #2. I'm not familiar with the Resun wave maker so you'll have to let us know how it works out for you - looks pretty good in the video! On the microbubbles, have you got the back gate down all the way? If shutting off one powerhead gets rid of them it usually means there's not enough water level in back - the gate being up too high or clogged filters is usually the cause. Or, running carbon or chemical media on either side of the skimmer can do that. Nice to see a RSM skimmer working well!

martinphillip03
12/06/2007, 07:57 AM
Do you really need to have the lights on when curing the live rock? Also you may want to take a turkey baster and blast the rocks to get the crud off.

Marty

mbdave
12/06/2007, 08:00 AM
Nice thread, zoanthids are pretty durable, "don't give up on them" they might surprise you:)

Reefmack
12/06/2007, 08:45 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11326041#post11326041 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by martinphillip03
Do you really need to have the lights on when curing the live rock? Also you may want to take a turkey baster and blast the rocks to get the crud off.

Marty

Probably not, but I'm not sure how much light zoas need as most/all are photosynthetic. Maybe they'd get enough ambient lighting if the room has light from windows. Good question - I'm not 100% sure but maybe we'll get a few responses. I agree with mbdave - most zoas are pretty hardy.

Bmgrocks
12/06/2007, 10:03 AM
keep your lighting schedual, Algae blooms are normal, especially i n a new tank, and are actually important if you skip and lessen your lighting period during the cycle, ur' going to hate it even more once you get livestock and corals in, Get the algae over with while ur tank is in its ugly stage..its necessary

your LR is amazing, and your Zoa's will most likely survive the cycle, your tank looks good, give it time and it will progress nicely

mjoener
12/06/2007, 11:10 AM
Yea I think the light cycle maybe should be regular.
I think that implementing a good CUC is a very impotant step in the cycle, it makes you aware of what could potentially happen before there is anything too important in there, you don't want to extend the light time in a a month when u have added corals only to find out that there is a mass reproduction of algae that you can't control!

Rosseau
12/06/2007, 11:39 AM
When a colour reading is not on your chart you can usually at least determine the direction (is it too high or too low for the chart?) by using the visible spectrum of light (colours)...


http://wfc3.gsfc.nasa.gov/MARCONI/images-basic/spectrum.jpg

Your ammonia reading is blue. I assume that this means it is very high and either is out of the calibrated range of the test or is simply so high it isn't worth putting onto the test card.



---this isn't always a safe assumption---

gigs
12/06/2007, 05:28 PM
Wow , thanks so much for the feedback, I was asleep while you were posting here so sorry I haven’t got back to you sooner to answer/comment on some of your recommendations:

Reefmack: I re-ran all tests last night and the colours are now getting into the readable range. As you thought the ammonia test I must have done something wrong as the test I ran last night worked correctly showing a yellow-green colour about 0.1 on the chart. As for the resun pump, I will write a detailed review for us when I get it. Micro bubbles - I am running stock RSM with black foam cut in half (as recommended here), "black gate" fully open. Have cleaned the pad and black foam many times, have not cleaned carbon or ceramic beads, should I?

martinphillip03, Reefmack, Bmgrocks, kmjoen230: Thanks for the feedback on lighting, I am thinking about keeping the light cycle at about 6 hours a day to balance algae growth and trying to keep some life especially the zoas. I am doing the turkey baster trick about every two days at the moment.

mbdave: got my fingers crossed mate, have noticed a few of them have started to go darker :(

Rosseau: Thanks for the chart I will make use of it, hope the readings are more stable from now on as it seems I have hit the spike and am on my way down to normal readings....

Reefmack
12/06/2007, 05:51 PM
gigs - Usually the carbon & biomedia won't need cleaning this early, but if they've been clogged up with a lot of sediment from setting up the tank, blasting grit off the rock, etc. it might be something to try. It's just such a royal pain to remove those pumps. By the way, further cutting the black pad to 1 inch (2.5cm) may help, as well as getting some replacement filter pad material that is similar to the type that came with the RSM, from your lfs. I get a large sheet of similar stuff and cut pieces out of that. The pad will start to break down after a while, and will compact down and not allow as much flow through it. Do the bubbles stop when you turn the skimmer off? Or only when you turn one of the 2 pumps off? How much of the pumps are exposed above the water line with both on?

LaurentSeattle
12/06/2007, 08:04 PM
Hi Gigs!

Congrats on the new RSM and the new thread!

Amonia can go away quite quickly, even in one day. Nitrites take longer and Nitrates much longer.

My advices:

If you have the Ca test and the Ca additive from the Starter Kit, I would push Ca around 420-430. This will boost growth of your halimeda and coloralline, and hopefully you will get less green pest algae because the good ones will compete for the nutrients. Chaeto is very good at that too. Try to get a ball of it at your LFS or from a fellow reefer.

During the first week or maybe the next one: Put a ball of floss before the skimmer and turkey-blast the rocks, then discard the floss when the "crapstorm" is over. Do that every day if needed.

After two weeks, do a massive water change: 30 to 50%.

After that, run some GFO: PhosBan or ChemiPure Elite to reduce phosphates to zero.

Hopefully, others will comment on this...

Reefmack
12/06/2007, 08:38 PM
Gigs - what are you using for water, salt water makeup? Are you using RO\DI water or ? Those zoas darkening may actually be a good sign - the ones in the picture looked a lot lighter in color than any I have.

gigs
12/07/2007, 12:29 AM
Reefmack: I will take your advice and cut the foam down to about an inch, it is currently about 3 inches long. The circ pumps are about an inch above the water line (this seems high) maybe the carbon filter and bioballs are crudded up? If I turn one of the circ pumps off the MB stops completely.

Laurent: Thanks for having a look and posting. :) My Ca seems to be around the 450 mark already (if the RSM test kit can be trusted). I have about .01 of a ml left in the syringe when the water changes from pink to blue. As for the coloralline I have ordered some purpleup to help kick it off. Have read your post and have taken much aboard that you have posted, I am currently using your Turky-Blasting method! I will order some PhosBan or ChemiPure Elite, which is best?

gigs
12/07/2007, 12:35 AM
Reefmack: hate to admit it but I have used rainwater to mix the initial water and have topped off with rainwater. I realise this is a big NO NO so I have ordered a 5 stage RO filter, should be here this week. I also am lucky to live in a very pristine part of the world (Tasmanina) and am able to get high quality salt water directly from the sea but am unsure if this is acceptable practice, any thoughts? I was thinking of using this for water changes instead of mixing?

Reefmack
12/07/2007, 06:09 AM
gigs - if your pumps are about an inch (2.5cm) out of the water it may mean you do need to pull out the pumps and rinse the media & carbon out in some siphoned or fresh saltwater - don't rinse then in tap or rainwater or you'll kill off any beneficial bacteria growth in the media. Try cutting the black sponge first though (a lot easier) and see if the water level comes up. The top of my pumps are usually about a cm above the water line - if they drop to 2.5 cm I'm sure I'd start getting microbubbles or a "white-out" of them in the tank if it drops that much or lower. The RO/DI should help - I'm not sure how pure rainwater is as it grabs a lot of stuff out of the air on it's way down from the clouds, plus whatever gunk may be in/on whatever collects the rain - house gutters? There's at least one Australian RSM owner (Josh&Jana) that uses natural sea water with no problem. He recently put in a big wall tank and has the sea water delivered by truck to fill a big vat of water he uses for the RSM and big tank. But, I doubt that would be worth it for the RSM alone (if it's even an option where you are). I've read others use natural sea water, and it probably OK if it's gathered offshore or in some coastal place that won't have any pollution in the water. Just my opinion, but if you have high quality sea water available, I'd go with it.

LaurentSeattle
12/08/2007, 12:44 PM
PhosBan and ChemiPure Elite cannot be compared...

PhosBan is GFO only and I would recommend it to get rid of massive amounts of PO4 in case you get a big algae bloom due to die off from the live rocks.

Once your PO4 levels are back to normal (actually zero), ChemiPure Elite is very good and very convenient. It is a mix of high quality active carbon and GFO. Therefore you have only of bag to care about. Note: The non-elite product has no GFO and therefore less useful.

About the zoas: I would not worry too much about the water quality during the cycle. However, if you get an algae bloom ( this seems to happen in almost all new tanks), the zoas might be overwhelmed by the pest algae...

gigs
12/08/2007, 06:39 PM
Day 18 Dec 9

Not much to report but will be doing water tests tonight and will post later after the crap storm has died off from this morning...

Have followed Reefmacks advice and cut the grey foam down to 1 inch. Wohoo MB have reduced significantly, to the point of almost gone by the time I went to bed. Woke up at about 3am to the sound of my circ pumps cavatating - "white out". Turned off one of the circ pumps and went back to bed. Got up in the morning and dismantled the tank and sent back to LFS, only kidding, followed Reefmacks second option and removed circ pumps and cleaned carbon bag and bio bag. Carbon bag was not too dirty but the ceramic ball bag was very clogged with crud, cleaned in some syphoned SW and replaced. This has increased the water level at the back of the pumps to be only 1cm out of the water. I think I am getting there with the MB... Thanks for all the help guys, I think I would have spat it by now if it wasn’t for this forum.

Laurent: I will order some PhosBan and ChemiPure Elite. Thanks for the advice.

Reefmack
12/08/2007, 06:45 PM
At least you have the benefit of a lot of experienced RSM owners. I wish I knew half of what I now know about the tank when I first got it - it would have saved me a lot of time & aggravation. I'm glad the info. helped you! Those white outs are no fun!

martinphillip03
12/08/2007, 06:56 PM
How many people have gotton rid of the ceramic ball bag and replaced it with live rock rubble. I have read the LR rubble is better. If you did replace it, did you put it in a bag or just dropped it in

Marty


Carbon bag was not too dirty but the ceramic ball bag was very clogged with crud, cleaned in some syphoned SW and replaced.

Reefmack
12/08/2007, 07:05 PM
Hi Marty. I put mine in a filter bag to make it easier to pull out in case I wanted to rinse it. I had the media in a couple months, and was afraid I'd get an ammonia spike removing it. I didn't. It may be coincidence but since replacing the media with rubble my nitrates finally went to zero after a while. That may have happened anyway, but I just went with the popular opinion. By the way, when I pulled out the media it as about as white & clean looking as the day I put it in, which led me to think it was doing nothing anyway. Just my own experience with the media vs. rubble subject. I tend to think that the rock in my tank is what's really now taking care of the nitrates & not the bit of rubble in back.

martinphillip03
12/08/2007, 08:18 PM
In your case I would agree. The little bit of rubble is doing a little. More than the ceramic media. Many people that run sump systems put in LR. Not bio balls nor ceramic media. The Lr helps the filtration. I believe this method is the Berlin method, but I may be wrong.

Marty


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11344091#post11344091 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefmack
Hi Marty. I put mine in a filter bag to make it easier to pull out in case I wanted to rinse it. I had the media in a couple months, and was afraid I'd get an ammonia spike removing it. I didn't. It may be coincidence but since replacing the media with rubble my nitrates finally went to zero after a while. That may have happened anyway, but I just went with the popular opinion. By the way, when I pulled out the media it as about as white & clean looking as the day I put it in, which led me to think it was doing nothing anyway. Just my own experience with the media vs. rubble subject. I tend to think that the rock in my tank is what's really now taking care of the nitrates & not the bit of rubble in back.

Reefmack
12/08/2007, 08:39 PM
Hi Marty - some will argue that the biomedia is more porous with more sites for the anaerobic bacteria that break down nitrates, but in my opinion the rock is more porous no matter what the biomedia suppliers say. The rubble I broke up into small pieces was multilayered much more than I had imagined and seemed to have a ton of nooks & crannies, and appeared much more porous than the media.

gigs
12/10/2007, 04:44 AM
Day 19 Dec 10

My Resun Wave maker Pump has arrived so here is the review...

Build quality - Well not much to say here but impressions were that this is NOT a tacky Chinese Pump (it is made in China tho). The plastic moldings were of good quality with no sharp edges etc. The Wave Maker Control box and transformer are of good quality and the control knobs (pot) had a good feel to them. Time will tell of course.

Instructions - There were none, just some text on the box. This isnt rocket science but it would have been nice to keep paper instructions as reference after the box is thrown away for pump disassembly and so on.

Control - There are three settings that cycle, small, medium and BIG. The only option that you have is to control the time that the pump is running at each of the three settings. You cannot only choose small and medium and not big. The minimum time that it will cycle on one of the settings is about 3 seconds and the maximum is about 20 seconds.

Performance - Man this baby can move some water. I had an instant crap storm when I turned it on. BIG is definitely too big for the RSM, Medium and Small are fine. There is some vibration noise when it runs on BIG that can be heard over the skimmer. I have it set on maximum time for small and medium and the minimum time for BIG.

Recommendations - Would I recommend this to you - Yes if you want allot of water movement to simulate shallow reef conditions or if you have a tank over 200 litres. For the average RSM punter I think the RESUN Wave Maker will be a bit too much. Also the pump is big and detracts from the RSM's fine lines. Here are some pics.

Compared to the nano (I have gone from not enough to too much lol)

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8856/day19nanovresunmt6.jpg

The prop do not put your finger in here.

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/9237/day19propiu0.jpg

Control Box

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/2576/day19wavemakerboxhz3.jpg

Day 19 FTS Did I mention this pump is BIG!

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5944/day19ftstg5.jpg

A little hitchiker hermit who has survived the massive RSM cycle that I have had.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/2353/day19hermitzd0.jpg

Reefmack
12/10/2007, 06:15 AM
Definitely a big unit, but it sounds like it does what it was supposed to so that's great. Don't you just love it when things come with little or no instructions? I guess even ones in broken English would have been better than none at all LOL! Thanks for the review. Is that a sponge behind the impeller? Hard to tell, but it almost looks like it.

LaurentSeattle
12/10/2007, 11:16 PM
Wow Gigs! You got the T-Rex of circulation pumps!

What about a cheapo MicroJet with yet another Hydor Flo on its output? You should be able to hide it behing the rock work.

donna53w
12/11/2007, 01:15 AM
Hi gigs, I followed your thread from the RSM owners site. I cannot say enough good things about the wealth & generosity of information shared by our fellow-hobbyists. Great job on your new RSM. Your liverock really is Live Rock! It will be fun to see what all emerges from it. I agree about the saltwater ... if you can get it naturally, from a fairly clean resource, I'd jump at the chance. Good luck, I'm really enjoying your RSM experience, & am still learning, too. .... always will be.
Donna

gigs
12/11/2007, 03:28 AM
Hi guys, have ordered CUC 5x Astrea 5x Turbo and 5x Blue leg Hermit crabs. They should be here later this week.

Reefmack: Yeah it is big! Might have try try and swap it for a Koralia #1 or #2. There is no sponge behind the impeller.

Laurent: I have not looked at the MicroJet pumps, I will have a look now though :) You are right about hiding the pump. This is why I bought the RSM tank in the first place, sleek lines and nothing to clutter the tank, just those god danm MB's.

donna53w: Thanks for your kind words and I completely agree with what you have to say about this community. I am seeing all kinds of hitchhikers coming out of the live rock now that the cycle is almost over. I have been trying to take pictures to try and identify them but they are a bit small at the moment. I did see one the other night, it was a black flat slug about 2cm long with 2 eye stalks at the front, he was crusing around the glass afetr dark any ideas?

lhoy
12/11/2007, 11:55 AM
Just curious, what kind of substrate do you have? I read the thread and don't remember seeing. The round particles look unusual to me.

Lee

gigs
12/11/2007, 03:06 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11361709#post11361709 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lhoy
Just curious, what kind of substrate do you have? I read the thread and don't remember seeing. The round particles look unusual to me.

Lee

Hi Lee, This is the standard substrate that came with the RSM starter kit. It looked quite brown and ugly in the bag but in the tank it looks ok. It is hard to vacume because it is quite light and likes to get sucked down the pipe when I do water changes / cleaning.

gigs
12/12/2007, 12:41 AM
Some gear arrived today for the RSM (as recommended by you guys)
http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/4756/day21filtersetcln2.jpg

1 ea. Red Sea Phosphate AU$20.35
1 ea. API Phos-Zorb AU$20.90
1 ea. Fluval Carbon 3 x 100g Bag AU$16.50
2 ea. Seachem Purigen 100ml W/ Bag AU$39.60
1 ea. Marina Glass Thermometer AU$5.00
1 ea. API Saltwater Master Test Kit AU$48.40
1 ea. Kent Marine Zooplex 236 ml AU$20.00
1 ea. Red Sea Magnesium 30 tests AU$29.92
1 ea. Kent Marine Phytoplex 236 ml AU$20.00
1 ea. 800 micron Filter Media Bag 1000ml AU$8.80
1 ea. Cyclop Eeze Freeze Dried 30g AU$28.60

I will be doing full water tests tonight and will post the results later.

martinphillip03
12/12/2007, 12:58 AM
What does the Purigen do?

Marty


2 ea. Seachem Purigen 100ml W/ Bag AU$39.60

gigs
12/12/2007, 03:18 AM
Here is the day 21 results....

Day 21 Temp = 25deg

Day 21 Salinity = 1.024

Day 21 pH = 8.0

Day 21 Alkalinity = "Normal" 1.7 - 2.8

Day 21 Calcium = 430

Day 21 Ammonia = 0

Day 21 Nitrite = 0.15

Day 21 Nitrate = 5

Day 21 Phosphate = Clear 0 (did the test twice and it should be an off yellow for 0 but is clear???)

Day 21 Magnesium = 1160

gigs
12/12/2007, 03:23 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11367420#post11367420 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by martinphillip03
What does the Purigen do?

Marty


2 ea. Seachem Purigen 100ml W/ Bag AU$39.60

Hey Marty,

Here is what the book says:

Purigen is a premium synthetic adsorbent that is unlike any other filtration product. It is not a mixture of ion exchangers or adsorbents, but a unique macro-porous synthetic polymer that removes soluble and insoluble impurities from water at a rate and capacity that exceeds all others by over 500%. Purigen controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds. Purigen’s impact on trace elements is minimal. It significantly raises redox. It polishes water to unparalleled clarity. Purigen darkens progressively as it exhausts, and is easily renewed by treating with bleach. Purigen is designed for both marine and freshwater use. This product is sold by volume. Cited weight is minimal weight.

I am running 1 bag between the "white pad" and the grey foam on the inlet side of the skimmer.

gigs
12/17/2007, 02:12 AM
Hi everyone,

Day 26 and lots of stuff happening :)

The tank has finished its cycle and I have been busy. here is the FTS and some new additions....also I have been given two corals from a friend, can you please ID them for me?

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/7379/day26ftslw5.jpg

Please help me ID this:
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/1559/day26coralnw2.jpg

Please help me ID this:
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9784/day26coral2po5.jpg

Some Morps / Mushrooms?
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/7065/day26morphszk5.jpg

One of my hermits checking out the new Sun Coral just put him in the tank so he isnt out yet, cant wait to see him in his full glory:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/795/day26suncoralhermitoz4.jpg

Reefmack
12/17/2007, 07:09 AM
gigs - pic #1 may be duncan corals? pic #2 blastomussa? pic #3 - just one of many Actinodiscus sp mushroom varieties. Just semi-educated guesses on the first two.

StunnaShadez
12/17/2007, 10:10 AM
sun corals are non-photosynthetic. you will mostly see them open up at night when the lights are off. thats a nice colony of duncans! they are a bit pricey for each head, and you got a bunch.

Devtech
12/17/2007, 10:31 AM
gigs did u remove that wavemaker u had? i didnt see it in the latest picture

Hodge
12/17/2007, 12:33 PM
Wow, nice friend. Duncans go for $15 a polyp where I am.

Getting rid of the black sponge and stock filter pad should help with MB. Just run some filter floss if you're concerned with trapping bigger particles...it's cheap and disposable.

Are you feeding your sun coral, if so how much work is it. I'd like to get some but not sure I want to, if it's too much work??

gigs
12/17/2007, 03:48 PM
Reefmack: Thank you for your wonderful ID skills. I’m trying to get my head around all the new terms and names...

m1enbo1: Last night was the first night that the sun coral was in the tank, I hope to get a shot in its full glory tonight (if it is happy) and I will post here.

Devtech: Yes, I should have done my research better, but I couldn’t find too much info about the pump, just a youtube video and it didn’t look too bad there. But it does move far too much water for the RSM, it is ok on low and medium but there is no way of only running it at those speeds. It still wants to cycle the Big setting which is just too much. I am thinking about modding it...

Hodge: Thanks for the advice, I have bought some filter floss and am thinking about redesign of the inlet side of the RSM. I haven’t had a chance to check yet but I am a bit worried about the filter floss getting drawn into the skimmer. How did you get around it? Are you still using the grey sponge (cut down)?

Thank you all for your kind words and help, I cant tell you how much I appreciate it.

To give you an idea of coral prices in Australia the sun coral was $60AU which is about $66US. I asked my friend about the Duncan coral and he said it was about $50AU and about the same for the blastomussa. I wish I could frag some for you guys but I don’t think it will make the journey.

Reefmack
12/17/2007, 03:57 PM
Awesome prices for awesome corals - wish I could find them at that low cost over here!

gigs
12/17/2007, 06:41 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11403351#post11403351 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hodge

Are you feeding your sun coral, if so how much work is it. I'd like to get some but not sure I want to, if it's too much work?? [/B]

Hey Hodge, I am going to use brine shrimp in a syringe and try and feed each polyp. I hope it comes out more during the day as this will be a pain at 11 or 12 at night. I might have to change the lighting schedule a bit so the lights go out earlier. Have you got any ideas?

Reefmack
12/17/2007, 06:50 PM
gigs - my lights go off (except for moonlights) between 8:30-9pm. you might try a different light schedule, starting & ending earlier. My brain coral swells up 7 puts out it's feeders very soon after lights out, even with some room lights on. No experience with the Suns or Duncans, but it may be the same with them. There's also a gizmo called a Sea Squirt that is a lot easier to use than a baster type.

reefsr4me
12/17/2007, 08:45 PM
I have a sun coral, I put it in a container by itself two nights in a row, feeding it brine shrimp, at about 8:00 pm. Then I put it in the tank, under an outcropping, and it comes out now every night about 7:00- 8:30, It looks it's best about 11:00, but it feeds as soon as it is open every other to every third night. I mean this is when I feed it, it is open every night. I love it, it was a a pet store where they didn't even know what it was. It took it the first week to really come out. Now I have a 60 cc syringe, with about 18 inches of airline tubing atttached where the needle goes. I pop off the plunger, put the cube in, replace the plunger, draw up SW, and then keeep plunging in and out until it id totally gone, giving each head 2-5 shrimp depending on size.

gigs
12/17/2007, 09:09 PM
Reefmack: I have my lights turning off at about 10pm, I will move the schedule back an hour or 2. The Duncans are out all the time in their full glory during the daylight period and close after the lights go off. So they are easy to feed. The blastomussa I have never feed, just phytoplex and zooplex additives. Thanks for the tip on the Sea Squirt I will have a look.

reefsr4me: Great advice! You have saved me much research. So are you saying that you can train the sun coral to come out at a certain time? Good idea about the airline tube, I will try it tonight. Do you have a pic of your sun coral fully open? I would love to see it.

LaurentSeattle
12/17/2007, 11:29 PM
Hi Gigs...

Great Corals and Great Price! Congratulations!

It seems like you have avoided so far the dreaded massive algae blooms afflicting many newly started tanks.

But still... If I were you, I would remove the green ones growing on the back wall just before the next water change. In newly setup tanks, algae grows in waves, the dying one feeding the next. Furthermore, that would provide room for some coralline..

That said, everything looks very clean in your RSM compared to mine after 3 or 4 weeks...

gigs
12/18/2007, 12:21 AM
Laurent: I have got my fingers crossed about the algae bloom. I saw some of the pain that you went through in your thread and I think with your advice and everyone else here I may be spared from the dreaded outbreak.
That is a very good point you make about the algae on the back of my tank. So far I have not bothered to clean it off, but will be doing it this weekend - on top of my list. Thanks again for the advice.
The PurpleUp that I ordered from your country will be here this week (currently clearing customs) so I have extra incentive to get rid of the pest hair algae.

gigs
12/18/2007, 12:26 AM
reefsr4me: I just tried your trick with the syringe and feed the Duncans - it worked a treat. Cheers.

racksteris
12/18/2007, 05:05 AM
Kool tank.

reefsr4me
12/18/2007, 01:32 PM
I actually feed everything with the syringe and tube, my candycanes(don't feed too well), sun coral, BTA, long tentacle plate coral, I just turn all of the pumps off for a minute, feed them, and then wait about 5 minutes for them to pull all of the shrimp in, then I turn them on and my fish gobble up the flying brine shrimp the corals don't eat. I usually put 2 cubes in, and then don't specifically feed the fish on those nights, they just get the leftovers!

scottydo
12/18/2007, 02:08 PM
It looks like it is off to a good start.

reefsr4me
12/19/2007, 04:33 PM
Here is a pic open
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj121/jwillman2nd/100_3201.jpg

gigs
12/19/2007, 05:01 PM
racksteris and scottydo: thanks guys, do you have a tank journal up maybe I could visit and have a look?

reefsr4me: WOW that is stunning! I feed mine last night at about 11pm and it came out a little bit after it smelt / tasted the brine shrimp. So I feed it again when the polyps were open a bit. I hope it starts to come out a bit more over the next few days. Hopefully one day like yours...

reefsr4me
12/24/2007, 01:23 PM
How has that sun coral been for you?

gigs
12/25/2007, 12:01 AM
Hi everyone,

Day 34

Sorry I have been slack and have not posted for a while here. I have made heaps of changes since the last post. Have performed several mods on the skimmer, changed air valve, drilled air inlet pipe into the skimmer cup. This has made for a much quieter skimmer and about 20% less MB. Thanks to everyone that posted their mods for us to copy.

- Have finished the install of 5 stage RO unit
- added 1 x banded shrimp
- added 1 x frag of zebra mushroom
- added 2 x black and white occy clowns (paired)
- added 1 x bubble tip anenome (hosted the clowns)
- added 2 x brain coral frags (dont know the correct terms maybe you guys could help ID them the LFS has no idea?)

I have received my order of addetives for the coral. I have been adding about 5ml of each per week at 10% water change. They are all Kent Marine:

- Phytoplex
- Zooplex
- Coral Accel
- Liquid Reactor
- Strontium & Molybdenum
- Essential Elements
- Purpleup

reefsr4me - the sun coral is doing well starting to come out more and display its beauty. I have been feeding it at about 11pm every second night, trying to get it back to about 10pm. I have not got a good shot yet as my night photography sux and it is not coming out totaly yet...

Here is the latest shots:

FTS
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/2324/day34ftsjy9.jpg

The new clowns
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7553/day34clownsjs3.jpg

The "brain" coral, please help me ID them
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9127/day34brainyv6.jpg

5 Stage RO unit
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6295/day34rotu4.jpg

The mushrooms are going mad at least 5 new 'shrooms so far...
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/5013/day34mushroomsfm3.jpg

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful christmas break

stephensturman
12/25/2007, 07:50 AM
brak the rock into smaller pieces and arange them differently it will give u so much more room! but looks great.

Reefmack
12/25/2007, 08:56 AM
gigs - looking good! I'm not sure one the corals - the left one may be a Favia type, and the right a type of blastomussa? Total guesses and I'm probably wrong.

LaurentSeattle
12/25/2007, 07:48 PM
Hi Gigs,

You have Caulerpa growing on your rocks. It can be good because this algae grows very fast and regularly removing is an efficient nutrient export method. However the stolons can grow through the corals and this can be very bad.

Laurent

Rue
12/25/2007, 08:29 PM
Very nice...:rollface:

Funny though...your Duncans don't look like my Duncans - wonder if there are different subspecies?

Your sun coral looks much nicer than mine...mine still hasn't recovered from neglect...it needs to grow back the covering over the skeleton, if that's at all possible...in the meantime, I need to get the algae off of it...

Are you sure you should be getting so many coral without first knowing what they are?

reefsr4me
12/25/2007, 09:14 PM
What type of RO system, and where did you get it? Those filters don't look fun to change in the location.

Nice new fish too!

gigs
12/27/2007, 07:04 PM
Hi Guys,

Thanks for your feedback:

stephensturman - I’m not sure what to do about the LR. 1) I don’t want to change too much atm because I'm worried about a nitrate spike, but will do in another few weeks. 2) there is just too much LR in the tank I put in 2 boxes (about 40KG) by recommendation of LFS.

Reefmack - thanks again, I really need to get my head around the new terms and names. It doesn’t help much when my LFS has No Idea, this forum is the best resource I have as there are no clubs etc where I live (island state south of Australia). I have researched Favia and you are spot on.

LaurentSeattle - I think have really scored with my LR, so far I have identified three types of micro algae:

Caulerpa peltata
Caulerpa racemosa and
Cladophoropsis sp

You are right I have to regularly trim the peltata (am very happy about this). I will keep a close eye on them and the coral placement so that I don’t have the issues you mentioned. Cheers.

Rue - Um I’m not sure about the Duncan’s, I will get a better shot and post here, maybe you could let me know. The sun coral has taken its time to settle in. I am still feeding it at about 11pm and slowly it is coming out more and more, just stunning when it does. The only problem I have is the clowns have taken a liking to it and snuggle up to it quite a bit causing to not come out properly.

Good luck with your sun coral Rue, I have found a good way to get it to extend it polyps is to feed a little bit near by and in about 2 or 3 mins it comes right out and I can then give it a good feed.

As for buying coral without full knowledge of species etc you are spot on, I will make a greater effort to try and ID them correctly and research before impulse buying!

reefr4me - this is the RO system that I bought:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170174063567&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=007

I already had 1 stage installed so I added the 4 stage. The picture is deceptive, there is plenty of space in the cupboard to change the filters. the top two filters clip off and are easy to access.

Thanks for the complements and criticism. Taken on board guys!

The clowns are just awesome, they spend their whole day watching anyone that walks in the room and you can see them get excited when you go close to the tank and swim up and down the glass as close as the can to where you are standing. They are sooooo cute, When I feed the sun coral they just wont leave me or the coral alone. I think if I left my hand in the tank long enough they would take to me as their host.

gigs
01/02/2008, 12:24 AM
I did a full batch of water readings, here are the readings for Day 39.

Day 39 Temp = 26deg

Day 39 Salinity = 1.023

Day 39 pH = 8.2

Day 39 Alkalinity = "Normal" 1.7 - 2.8

Day 39 Calcium = 410

Day 39 Ammonia = 0

Day 39 Nitrite = 0

Day 39 Nitrate = 5

Day 39 Phosphate = 0.02

Day 39 Magnesium = 1200

Reef Central recomends these Parameters critical to control in reef aquaria. So it seems I am doing OK so far. I was very happy to have Phosphate below 0.03 I will have to try and bring up the Magnesium a bit though.

Calcium 380-450 ppm
Alkalinity 2.5-4 meq/L
Salinity sg = 1.026
Temperature 25-28°
pH 8.1-8.3
Magnesium 1250-1350
Phosphate < 0.03 ppm
Ammonia <0.1 ppm

LaurentSeattle
01/02/2008, 08:19 PM
Gigs:

Are you using the Red Sea test for ALK? If you have figured out the units they are using, please let us know...

Also: You should target zero for NO3 and PO4 but your numbers are not bad at all for a newly started tank.

gigs
09/21/2008, 06:10 AM
Hey Guys, Havent been about here for a while. Here are some pics:

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/4820/img9724wf8.jpg

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/8271/img9733or1.jpg

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7580/img9738oq6.jpg

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/2808/img9739yt0.jpg

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/8165/img9743ia8.jpg

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/4065/img9747vu2.jpg

gigs
09/21/2008, 06:12 AM
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7473/img9749tl8.jpg

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3186/img9750kc6.jpg

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9785/img9751xd4.jpg

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/7638/img9752gu8.jpg

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/3846/img9753vs2.jpg

Iostream
09/21/2008, 07:04 AM
Looking good!