First time 10g Build
 

Hey guys, thanks for all the help you've given me so far...I'll definitely be needing more. I'm gonna start a build thread bc it's finally starting to come together. Just got the light today and I think it looks great. Only have one pic right now but I'll get some more (it's at my buddies house as he lives closer to school). So here it is as of today:

[IMG]http://i47.*******.com/6h6d92.jpg[/IMG]

About 15 lbs of LR
Live sand and aragonite sand underneath
AC50 filter
http://www.fishneedit.com/t5ho-24quo...quarium-l.html (this light, amazing for the money)

Have some things on order so just waiting and letting cycle. I think this is about 2 weeks in now

sweet man! you should get a back for the tank either black or blue!

I was gonna ask what color I should get haha. We're on the same page or something here jarred. I was thinking dark blue...Thoughts?

^^ and thanks!

I personally like black myself but blue is a good alternative. I wouldn't use any other color tho. Looking good, I'd add a bit more water tho.

Yeah we're planning on it. It got a little messed up putting the sand in so we're waiting to test where the salinity is to determine which water to add. I'm gonna get a dark blueish purple or black i think

black would look nice. are you going to end up modding your filter?

It works pretty well so for now no....later down the road I may. It would be nice to have a little micro fuge. I'm definitely going dark, just not sure how dark. I see all these tanks with coraline and stuff growing on the back....am I to expect this with mine?

yes but my tank has been set up for about 7months and im just now getting coralline.

oh alright, so a while from now hah

do you guys paint the back of your tanks or do you use a vinyl thing? btw, bought a timer for the light today...digital timer with two plugs for 6.99 from harbor freight tools. I'll report back on whether or not it's complete junk. Also probably gonna build the lid off you designs tomorrow jarred. Just gotta buy some egg crate.

I usually paint mine but didn't have time on this last build so it has a vinyl backing, don't really notice the difference unless you really try to figure it out. The timers from harbor freight are usually very good, I think i have only heard of one instance where the relay died and wouldn't turn on.

cool. I'll have to get a vinyl then. Hopefully the timer will work out. Seems good for 7 bucks

Timer seems to work pretty well. Stuff is popping up all over the tank. Everything looks alive hah. When is it safe to add corals?

get your self an ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kit and tell us the results

waiting for the test kit to be shipped. I may take some water to a store this week to get it tested.

Here's some additional pics. Also what is the thing in the red circle?

[IMG]http://i47.*******.com/nehm5k.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i45.*******.com/2wfn4hv.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i49.*******.com/2yv5cpc.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i46.*******.com/68dnck.jpg[/IMG]

get some more water in the tank

those are just better pics from the same day...it's filled up to the black now

whats the thing in the red circle?

is it soft or hard?

Not really sure, but it's fast. It wasn't on that rock anymore about ten minutes or so later..

so it can move?

yes it can. Also the black and orange spots near it...are those sponges?

yea the orange things are sponges. i have no idea what that other thing is though

nice tank and set up so far..... i really want to set up a smaller tank

Alright cool. And yeah, I have no idea. I can't find anything that looks like it.

Thanks man! Getting my Koralia tomorrow and some supplies next week. Getting water tested tomorrow too to see if it's safe to add a small frag or two and some CUC

It looks like a keyhole limpet. The orange is a sponge, I don't see the black.

it's a blackish grey right above and right below the circle. I suppose that could be a limpet. looks similar

did you order your koralia?

I'm actually picking up a week or two old one from a LFS employee for ten bucks tomorrow

sweet!

i figured I'll definitely try it for ten bucks!

Water test today.

Ammonia: .5ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Alkalinity: 180ppm
PH: 8.4

How is that looking? Couldn't get salinity tested today, getting it tested tomorrow. Had to go to the store, my test kit hasn't come in yet.

dont add anything yet just top the tank off with water daily

wait for the ammonia to go to zero. then nitrite will spike then wait for that to go to zero and then do a water change. and wait a few days and test again

The nitrate should be going back to zero too then? How's the alkalinity?

nitrates will never go down thats why you do water changes to get them to go down. if you have a refugium the macro algae will use the nitrates to grow. but when your nitrates spike and the other 2 are at 0 that means the cycle is done and you can start to add stuff slowly.

alk looks good

Oh, ok cool. So the nitrite already spiked? And the nitrate is good now? Ammonia just needs to go down a bit?

The only way to know whether or not your marine aquarium has cycled is to monitor the water quality. A simple test kit available at aquarium stores will allow you to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. By testing daily, you will notice an initial spike in ammonia over the first week followed by a spike in nitrite toward the end of the second week. When you have recorded these spikes in ammonia and nitrite, you need to wait until both fall to zero. When they do, your tank is cycled, and you are ready to start adding livestock.

^^ Still waiting for our order with our test kit to come in. (We got the "standard" test kit, can't think of the brand, that usually sells for 26 for like 12, just waiting on it.) We're gonna test a few more things today. If the ammonia isn't at 0 yet does it mean the nitrite hasn't spiked yet?

yes it goes in order of ammonia, nitrite, then nitrate. to get nitrate to go down you do a water change

Doing one this afternoon

no dont do a water change yet it will only make you wait longer to add stuff

when do I do a water change?

after your ammonia and nitrite are at zero, that is when your nitrates will be high and doing a water change is really the only way to lower it other than having macro algae

^^ gotcha.

+1 :bounce1:
Pretty hard to understand at first but you'll get it. I'm starting up a 20 gallon build and I just got the same light in as you did. The 24" 4 bulb. Good price. Can't wait till I start loading up the tank. Ordering everything to start cycling this weekend.
Good luck for you and your tank :wave: . It gets addicting.
Tank is looking good so far.

^^ Thanks man! It's not even established yet and it's already addicting. I'm looking at setting up a <5g tank now for on my desk hah

pizza anemone