New adventures

[Kyle461]

I figured I would create somewhat of a blog type thread to document my adventures with this new hobby!

Through this I hope to seek advice and possibly present issues and answers for other newbies in the process of posting/responding with others.

I started my 40 gallon tank two weeks ago to this day. Through reading all the wonderful posts here and some extra research I was able to piece together a decent setup (I have pictures of the original set up in my profile). I already had live rock and sand from a tank where I work and that helped with the cycling process. I was cycled about three days ago showing 0 monia and 0 trites. I tested a few more times to make sure and the levels dropped within a day :dance:

A couple of days ago I decided to pick up a CUC comprised of margarita snails, nassuirus snails and blue legged hermits. 15 of these guys were introduced to my tank yesterday. I attached some pictures. The brown crud started to show when I got them and they are fat and happy! You can see that one of the snails went to town right away and started to clear a rock.

Looking forward to an awesome experience for years to come!!

[lllesley]

HI, good luck with your adventure. Its very exciting indeed.
I see you say your Diatoms appeared yesterday, are you 100% positive your cycle is over, I know you said you used seeded rock and substrate but I would be a little suspicious that the cycle is already over with the diatoms appearing only the day before these photos ? What are your nitrate levels at ?
Keep a close eye on things, keep doing tests.
Good luck with your tank, and look forward to following along.

[Kyle461]

As of right now here are my parameters:

Ammonia: .10 ppm (Estimated number due to it not being completely at 0 with the kit)
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm (10 down from yesterday, I added Chaeto)
Phosphates: 0 ppm
Salinity: 1.025
pH: 8.2

The ammonia has been consistent with 0 ppm for the past few days after the dosing for cycling. I'm not sure if the introduction of CUC is sparking a trace amount. The diatoms seem to be the worst after running the lights throughout the day. In the morning they seem non-existent on the sand bed. I may have the lights running too long?

[FraggledRock]

Good luck!

[lllesley]

As of right now here are my parameters:

Ammonia: .10 ppm (Estimated number due to it not being completely at 0 with the kit)
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm (10 down from yesterday, I added Chaeto)
Phosphates: 0 ppm
Salinity: 1.025
pH: 8.2

The ammonia has been consistent with 0 ppm for the past few days after the dosing for cycling. I'm not sure if the introduction of CUC is sparking a trace amount. The diatoms seem to be the worst after running the lights throughout the day. In the morning they seem non-existent on the sand bed. I may have the lights running too long?
How high did the ammonia & nitrites get in that first fortnight ?

I still feel that you are still not fully Cycled yet, because you used seeded rock and sand it may just go through a mini cycle, but just keep close eye on ammonia and nitrites. The fact they are up slightly is also telling you that your not finished yet, the addition of cuc (24hrs in ) shouldn't increase ammonia if your bacteria has fully developed.
The 10ppm nitrates your seeing could well be coming from the substrate, not from your new cycled bacteria breaking things down.
Those numbers aren't major but can become a problem very quickly, so just keep testing......Diatoms are just part of the cycle process (other reason i think) they always look worse when lights are on but everyone gets them and it will disappear as quickly as the appeared.

[Kyle461]

I dosed pure ammonia up to 2 ppm. After about 3 days the nitrites went up to around .25 ppm and then dropped the next few days along with the ammonia. I dosed ammonia again to 2 ppm. This time the nitrites went up to .25 ppm but right back down to 0 along with ammonia within 24 hours. I did the same procedure with the same results once more.

[Kyle461]

The CUC was added two weeks after I started btw. Maybe I wasn't too clear on my timeline.

[Kyle461]

Good luck!


Thank you!

[LeRenard]

Ammonia: .10 ppm (Estimated number due to it not being completely at 0 with the kit)

Lemme guess, API? I thought I had .10 to .25 ppm too until I tested some RO/DI and it was the same color (slightly greener than the card's 0ppm, not quite .25ppm)

[Kyle461]

Yes. So I'm not going crazy?

[LeRenard]

Nope. Get another test kit or have your LFS test it for you, I bet it's 0. Try it on some RO water and see for yourself :)

[Kyle461]

Thanks! Will do that tomorrow when I normally test and report back.

[Kyle461]

Gotta love API test kits! Must have been the lighting or something but all seems well now. Thanks for the tip LeRenard.

Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 20 ppm (up from yesterday, time for a water change)
Phosphates: 0
Calcium: 440
Salinity: 1.025
pH: 8.2

Diatoms are dying down. Not sure if it's all CUC but they have been putting work in! Still going to be cautious and not throw fish in yet. It shows that it's cycled but then again, who knows...

[Kyle461]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_ZAqYekQXGSNG1lTWgtOWg0bG8/view?usp=sharing

Anyone see anything I should be worried about at the moment? My parameters from yesterday are in the previous post. I will test again later today. CUC seems happy and they are trucking along as you can see.

**Edit: Ok my picture may have not worked. I'm trying to share from Google Drive.

[Kyle461]

Here is what my previous post was referring to.

[Kyle461]

Wanted to start this thread back up just to keep me sane. It's been about a month since my last update. This is partly due to waiting for the tank to mature and stabilize a bit more.

Coming off the back end of a hair algae bloom. Added some astraea snails and an emerald crab to help with it. I know in the end I need to focus on nutrient export so I decided to build a larger sump and add a larger refugium.

I just finished putting together a 20L (thanks to Petco for their dollar per gallon sale!!) with baffles. Had to break it down once because I used the wrong silicone but I got it right this time!! Attached is a photo of the finished sump.

I will have more pictures up soon. I am waiting on this wave of algae to pass! My next plans are to purchase an ATO system and a media reactor.

[gone fishin]

For an ATO I would suggest looking into the Tunze osmolator.

[Kyle461]

For an ATO I would suggest looking into the Tunze osmolator.

I am looking in that direction. Would the nano work for my set up? It's rated for 55 gallons and below.

[gone fishin]

I would think so. You can always post in the tunze vendor forum. they seem to respond fairly quick.

[Kyle461]

Will be installing the new sump today. Up until now I turned the Eshopps W/D box into a makeshift sump which didn't function the way I would like. I converted a 20L (Thanks PetCo dollar per gallon sale!!) into a three chamber sump and it has cured for about a week now. Picture attached. Any advice when switching out the W/D with the sump??

[KabayanReef]

Welcome to the trap , I mean hobby :D

Want to watch a cool snail? Get one cerith snail. Happy reefing!

[Kyle461]

Wasn't too bad of a switch. Got to clean the equipment up a bit and rearrange. I think the sump is my new favorite place to hang.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/14/5b94a2cc463ddb81ac4b61bf0fbe66d1.jpg

[Kyle461]

Just dropped some mula on a GFO/Carbon reactor, Tunze nano ATO and RODI system all from BRS. Weird feeling of regret and happiness all at the same time. Tank is doing ok but definitely needs the upgrades. Here's a pic. Please ignore the hair algae issue....hence the reactor ordered above. http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/17/7b9bc0cf9bf01405317bfe5514d621e3.jpg

[gone fishin]

Looking good, The equipment will help and also make life a bit easier IMO.

[Kyle461]

Ya I got tired of trucking back and forth to the LFS for fresh and salt water. Pretty sure they got tired of seeing me just for water and nothing else. I'm hoping the reactor will make the CUC's life a bit easier as well!!

[Kyle461]

Oh man! Just checked tracking and my BRS order comes in a day early today!! RODI unit, ATO, and GFO reactor will be on my "to-do" list after work.

One question. I saw a video where you have to run the GFO a bit to get the "dust" out. I plan on doing a combo of GFO and carbon. Is there an easy way to do this outside the tank? I'm assuming I should use RODI water, so that may be the first thing I tackle.

[Kyle461]

Toys!http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/22/92bcd37f16e78f0c9ba29762c8482842.jpg

[Kyle461]

Was able to get the RODI unit in and priming as well as the ATO hooked up.

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/22/e026a06c444ab0c36b06b622c31e2760.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/22/cbd6b6cd62c3776e4b881caa3f600c80.jpg

[mmittlesteadt]

I got the same BRS RO/DI unit. Have yet to get it set up over my utility sink. I'm going to add two home filter cartridges prior to the RO/DI unit. First will be a 10 micron (with carbon) and the second will be a 5 micron (with carbon), before hitting the 1 micron unit of the RO/DI. Trying to maximize the RO membrane life. I read a lot about it from someone on this forum who works for a company that makes RO units...can't recall who or which thread it was and he recommended the two cartridges ahead of the RO unit.

Jealous of the ATO. Mine will be ghetto style...5 gallon bucket above the sump (which is in the basement) with a high end toilet fill valve (which I get super cheap at work so I can also have a backup if it fails on me). About a $12 gravity fed ATO.

Also jealous yours is up and running. :D Aquascaping looks cool. The black substrate is a different look...lots of contrast. What kind of sand is that?

Gotta love the new toys. ;)

[Reefbuoy]

When I added the reactor to my tank (2 weeks ago), it was online when I did the flush. It didn't use much before it turn clear, a pint or 2 of water. Simply put the return line from the reactor in a bucket and used the valve to shut off the flow and put the return back in the sump.


Oh man! Just checked tracking and my BRS order comes in a day early today!! RODI unit, ATO, and GFO reactor will be on my "to-do" list after work.

One question. I saw a video where you have to run the GFO a bit to get the "dust" out. I plan on doing a combo of GFO and carbon. Is there an easy way to do this outside the tank? I'm assuming I should use RODI water, so that may be the first thing I tackle.

[Kyle461]

I picked it up from Petco as "live sand" but not for that purpose. I help run a saltwater tank at school with the aquatic science kiddos and they wanted black. I like the look and contrast so I went with it.

http://www.petco.com/product/121752/CaribSea-Arag-Alive-Hawaiian-Black-Aquarium-Gravel.aspx

I was thinking of a gravity fed ATO but was to scared of the uncertainty's. Even though I'm quite familiar with physics it still scared me so I just went with the Tunze nano. Seems to be working fine. I had a small hiccup this morning when I found that it siphon drained more than planned into the sump because I didn't place the return line higher than the reservoir water level. I hung it from the top of the cabinet for now. Thinking about running it to my overflow to make sure.

[Kyle461]

When I added the reactor to my tank (2 weeks ago), it was online when I did the flush. It didn't use much before it turn clear, a pint or 2 of water. Simply put the return line from the reactor in a bucket and used the valve to shut off the flow and put the return back in the sump.

Thanks! I was worried about losing water in the DT/sump when flushing and having to replace it with proper salinity. I'm probably going to put the whole thing in a bucket of water and flush before placing in the sump.

[mmittlesteadt]

I picked it up from Petco as "live sand" but not for that purpose. I help run a saltwater tank at school with the aquatic science kiddos and they wanted black. I like the look and contrast so I went with it.

http://www.petco.com/product/121752/CaribSea-Arag-Alive-Hawaiian-Black-Aquarium-Gravel.aspx

I was thinking of a gravity fed ATO but was to scared of the uncertainty's. Even though I'm quite familiar with physics it still scared me so I just went with the Tunze nano. Seems to be working fine. I had a small hiccup this morning when I found that it siphon drained more than planned into the sump because I didn't place the return line higher than the reservoir water level. I hung it from the top of the cabinet for now. Thinking about running it to my overflow to make sure.

I have some built in failsafe's...mainly a 65 gallon sump in my basement that could easily handle half of my display tank emptying into it (which can't happen anyway because of the drain and return placements in the display). Since my ghetto ATO will only be 5 gallons and my overall water volume (sump and display) is about 70 gallons, even if my ATO emptied completely into my return chamber it would only add 5 gallons of pure RO/DI to that 70. Granted it would shift my SG, but that could only happen if the float stuck open. If it stuck closed my return chamber still has 5 gallons of evaporation before the water level even reaches the top of my pump, so the pump would still be under water.

Nothing is ever going to be 100% failsafe as things, well...fail sometimes. But I do have some things built-in that make me less worried. I'm more worried about devices failing than anything else.

[Kyle461]

Got to add this little fella over the weekend after some QT and observation. Still a bit shy. Can you find him??

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/27/9d50de9d8aeac8e5bbf5d2dd99ee9f7f.jpg

[Kyle461]

GFO media comes in tomorrow! Hopefully I can get ahead of this HA outbreak. My Lawnmower Blenny has done a great job so far and has definitely found his favorite rock. I noticed he started moving around rocks yesterday so maybe we can get this under control together!

I'm starting to look at some beginner corals. I want to add some zoas for color and variety. Any suggestions?

[Kyle461]

Lawn Mower Blenny is doing what they do best!! Working his way up from the bottom. GFO reactor running and not allowing the algae to grow back. Getting there!!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/01/adb832be97121af52a5618875bc60954.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/01/8d2ca1f3cfc74848931720c335af8a33.jpg

[GilliganReef]

When I added the reactor to my tank (2 weeks ago), it was online when I did the flush. It didn't use much before it turn clear, a pint or 2 of water. Simply put the return line from the reactor in a bucket and used the valve to shut off the flow and put the return back in the sump.

Ha never thought of turning the valve off. I always unpluged it and re turned it on haha.

[GilliganReef]

Make sure you feed your Lawnmower brine shrimp also. They need meaty foods also.

[woodnaquanut]

Thanks! I was worried about losing water in the DT/sump when flushing and having to replace it with proper salinity. I'm probably going to put the whole thing in a bucket of water and flush before placing in the sump.

After it's in the cartridge, I give the dry GFO a rinse with RO/DI. Cleans lots of the dust out and gets it wet.

Just do it as part of a water change. Pump old water thru it by putting the reactor's output in a bucket. When it is clear just use the grey shutoff to switch the output back to the sump. You can then refill with new water.

You have one reactor? GFO only or are you using a mix with carbon?

Looks like your Blenny is going good. When my tank was real fuzzy I just let the grazers take care of it. The GFO will help keep it from coming back.

[mmittlesteadt]

Looking good. I'm still debating whether or not to get a blenny or try and attempt to utilize the display tank and my 20 gallon refugium with a lot of rock and see if I can't keep a mandarin thriving or some other small colorful dragonet. Of course if I went that route I can't keep anything else that competes with it.

I do like lawnmower blennies though. They are on my wish list of fish to keep. Post more pics of the guy!

[Kyle461]

After it's in the cartridge, I give the dry GFO a rinse with RO/DI. Cleans lots of the dust out and gets it wet.

Just do it as part of a water change. Pump old water thru it by putting the reactor's output in a bucket. When it is clear just use the grey shutoff to switch the output back to the sump. You can then refill with new water.

You have one reactor? GFO only or are you using a mix with carbon?

Looks like your Blenny is going good. When my tank was real fuzzy I just let the grazers take care of it. The GFO will help keep it from coming back.

One reactor. I'm running GFO only at the moment. I'm considering either running a mix or alternating GFO and Carbon bi-weekly or rotating monthly.

Looking good. I'm still debating whether or not to get a blenny or try and attempt to utilize the display tank and my 20 gallon refugium with a lot of rock and see if I can't keep a mandarin thriving or some other small colorful dragonet. Of course if I went that route I can't keep anything else that competes with it.

I do like lawnmower blennies though. They are on my wish list of fish to keep. Post more pics of the guy!

He's starting to come out more so I can get some decent pics. Was gone all weekend so him and the clown had some alone time to hang out. I came back and they were both "sleeping" in the same spot together. Kind of weird....

[Kyle461]

Edit: My response was to a spam post. Obviously it has been taken off this thread.

[Kyle461]

I do like lawnmower blennies though. They are on my wish list of fish to keep. Post more pics of the guy!


Here ya go!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/05/b1ab7c8e20043c706c2e4a791490ebd7.jpg

[mmittlesteadt]

Here ya go!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/05/b1ab7c8e20043c706c2e4a791490ebd7.jpg

Thanks for the pic! I do really like those guys. I'm still debating the mandarin/blenny decision. One day I want one, the next I want the other. I like that the blenny is quite a bit less demanding than the mandarin (not that the mandarin doesn't deserve the extra care). I just want to do what's right and I'm really on the far lower end of ability (tank/fuge-wise) to care for a mandarin properly.

By the way, I should have water in my tank this weekend. Just tying up loose ends and trying to free some time up to do it. Almost there. My build thread (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2486801&page=4) shows my latest finishing touches to my sump.

[Kyle461]

Updated pictures! Powers combined, the lawnmower blenny, reactor with GFO and a little manual removal have taken care of the GHA outbreak. There's a little in the back but I'm going to leave it there for the blenny to feed if necessary plus a little extra phosphate removal. Time to start considering corals!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/12/0424b66e6db44994e72c13eab96346b4.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/12/aef169b9d65eb066a4ef5c107136ecfa.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/12/e64fbb303fdb90e8603aad6b09d3cef5.jpg

[mmittlesteadt]

Cool. Nice to see the rocks taking on some color. I just got mine filled with water and mixed with reef crystals this Sunday and only now beginning the cycling process. Always good to see progress on others tanks. Gives me hope. LOL.

[Kyle461]

Thanks. I'm still not out of danger yet. I hear these blooms are in and out. Just hoping that rotating the GFO out monthly will keep a handle on whatever phosphate I have leeching out of those rocks, at least I'm assuming that's where they are coming from. I'm a light feeder due to fear of phosphates.

I'm looking at adding some Green Star Polyps and Zoas as my first corals. Starting to research more on those presently.

[smittysmith2]

HI, good luck with your adventure. Its very exciting indeed.
I see you say your Diatoms appeared yesterday, are you 100% positive your cycle is over, I know you said you used seeded rock and substrate but I would be a little suspicious that the cycle is already over with the diatoms appearing only the day before these photos ? What are your nitrate levels at ?
Keep a close eye on things, keep doing tests.
Good luck with your tank, and look forward to following along.

What are diatoms?

[Kyle461]

What are diatoms?

Organisms more lovingly referred to as "brown algae" that usually show up at the end of a cycle. It's the nice brown coating you get on your rocks and sand periodically that goes away on its own.

[Kyle461]

Alright! Summer time means no students, and I get to sit and stare at my tank all day. I ran the full spectrum of tests today for the heck of it (minus the phosphate, I use algae as an indicator now since I run a reactor).

NH3: 0 ppm (API)
NO2: 0 ppm (API)
NO3: 2.5 ppm (Salifert)
Ca: 360 ppm (API)
Alk: 11 dKH (API)
Mg: 1170 ppm (Salifert)
pH: 8.0 (API)
Salinity: 1.024 d SG (refractometer)

I'm looking to get my parameters to those preferred ranges Sk8er promotes. Looks like my Ca and Mg (mainly Mg) need some work. Will this come in time with water changes?