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07/08/2010, 12:52 AM | #26 |
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Good Day
After work today I went and purchased 15 more lbs of liverock at a different lfs then the first batch. They said everything in their tank had been cycling for over two weeks. I inspected this stuff a little better now that I've done more research on algae. So far I am only seeing pink and purple coralline in decent grow back amounts. I made sure to hand pick pieces that were 1)very porous and 2) looked like they had been cycling a bit longer.
Tested the water params today. Ammonia 0/Nitrite 0/Nitrate 2ppm/Phosphate 0/pH 8.3/temp 79.5-80 degrees over the course of the afternoon/evening. sg @ 1.025. Found out my cheap hydrometer is already reading slightly off. It read 1.026, but i checked twice with the refractometer and it read 1.025. No wonder they (hydrometers) are so frowned upon. 1 week of use and its already an erronous tool. Ya get what ya pay for. dKH was 8 The emerald crab Poseidon is grazing like a crab possessed. I also found 2 collonista snails in my tank just a bit ago, grazing in a cavernous portion of the rock. (Makes sense I found them late and on the underside since they are nocturnal). I wont bother trying to take any pictures of the collonista's... they are teeny tiny. If not for having hawk eyes like I do, I would have never noticed. All in all, my tank appears well. I think I may have lucked out with all the cured live rock from the lfs's. Very porous, very close to home (I have 5 sources for live rock within 15 mins of home ) I am starting to wonder if I am going to see any noticeable amount of die off. Time will tell. But so far so good. So much fun to watch the little critters coming alive in the tank from the nearby couch.
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/08/2010, 06:33 AM | #27 |
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Looking good!
Like any aquarium equipment, the cheap hydrometer needs maintenance. It needs to cure for 24 H in salt water before the first use, then needs to be rinsed in fresh water after each subsequent use otherwise it develops deposits. My hydrometer has been spot on when I test the same water with it and the LFS refractometer. OTOH, it's not as cool as a refractometer, so I may get a refractometer anyway .
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Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam |
07/09/2010, 12:01 AM | #28 |
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So, a little cycle today
I am starting to see some diatom action going on now. Its amazing the difference a day can make. It is pretty sweet to see the change going on. Funnier yet, I can see where Poseidon has been scraping away food off some of the rocks. He must have found some pockets of deliciousness. The water params were good today, ammonia 0, Nitrate < 2ppm, nitrite 0. calcium around 380ppm. pH looks to be 8.4 today, and phosphate reading trace-0. The temp in the tank also climbed to 81. =( It was an unusually hot day though for around here.
My feather duster is still growing. Oddly, it is my favorite thing in the tank. I found I can take a long straw and "coax" him out of his tube by swishing it back and forth above him. The change of current triggers his feeding response. Very amusing. I do wonder how big he will get....... can hitchhiker feather dusters grow to be fairly large?
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/09/2010, 09:30 AM | #29 |
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Just curious if you are expecting your tank to cycle? I have a new 38gal w/21lbs LR that has been running for a week and nothing is happening; My perams have stayed the same; 79degrees, Ammonia 0, pH 8.4, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, 1.023. Thanks
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07/09/2010, 05:10 PM | #30 | |
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Quote:
Second, I believe all live rock will cycle (based on all my reading) when put in a new tank. It may be hardly noticeable in our water params, but physically picking up the rock, driving it any distance, and putting it into brand new water sources.... surely some small amount of die off would happen. That die off creates something of a cycle. Also, beneficial bacteria have to spread and grow. I by no means am any expert on all of this, but I have been doing HOURS of reading about live rock in new systems, and the general consensus is the live rock most definitely cycles, to some degree, whether great or small. And the common opinion is, getting well cured live rock from the LFS and getting it home quickly helps to make a "lesser" amount of die off (in a sense of the law of averages anyhow). That is most of what I have been reading, and visually seeing in my tank. Have you noticed algae growth (coralline's, browns, greens, reds)? Or have you noticed any black or white patches appearing/growing?
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
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07/09/2010, 05:33 PM | #31 |
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The tank...
Looks good today. Poseidon continues to ravage the rocks in his eternal search of food algae (emerald crabs... amazing creatures). The water temp averages to 79.5. I moved the two koralia 750's late last night before bed time, placing them lower in the tank so they blow more directly across the rock surface. I am liking this pattern better, although after insight from others and some reading, I may go and get one powerhead with a little more strength to it, leave one koralia 750 in-tank, and use the other as a backup/salt mixer. Algae growth is flourishing today. I see great patches of lime green coraline algae starting to grow, as well as increased pink and purple area (and a good stretch of red coraline growing on the underside of one rock). There are also hair algaes starting to become more noticeable, but from all I have read, this happens to some degree or another, no matter what you do.
Also, I did not turn on the lights until 2pm today. The heat lately (and lack of ac in the house) has me disturbed about the water getting too warm while I'm away. I love having the power strip with timer outlets... nifty device for marine tanks.
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/09/2010, 06:04 PM | #32 |
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New Pics Taken Today
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/09/2010, 06:56 PM | #33 |
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More Pics
Two more of the tank, and one of Nine (French Bulldog) and one of Athena (african grey parrot).
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/09/2010, 10:26 PM | #34 |
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I have been watching from the sidelines on many, many build threads and it is nice to find a relatively new build to tag along with someone who has obviously put in some serious research. Looking forward to seeing your progress thanks for posting.
I have a couple more months to go before I can start a build myself so living vicariously through the likes of you while I soak up what I can.
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Kyle |
07/10/2010, 02:09 AM | #35 | |
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Quote:
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
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07/10/2010, 02:27 AM | #36 |
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Tank info
Poseidon the emerald crab... still doing great. He has very pointedly made one particular 13 lb chunk of rock "his." I dont see him anywhere else in the tank, which makes it clear to me that he is finding plenty of food on this rock alone. It really is fun to watch him weild those pincers across the rock face. He leaves marks on the live rock that tell of his recent meal spots.
I went out and made some more purchases for the tank. I bought a handy dandy 7 dollar clip on light (rated for up to 150watt bulbs) at Home Depot for the sump. I found a 6500 K daylight (& energy efficient) light bulb at Walmart (2 for 2.50). I bought 5 cheap white towels and a jug of bleach for washing my "aquarium towels" with (one should never wash any aquarium materials with regular laundry detergents/soaps I've read). On top of that, I bought a can of Krylon fusion black spray paint and have made a second pvc assembly that I will put into the tank for the overflow return. I also made a sleeve out of an 8" piece of 1.25" pvc with holes drilled in it. The cool thing about this... it floats, and will catch on the rim of the tank to hold it suspended over the overflow. I drilled several holes in it near the top. I "believe" this will act as a perfectly efficient drain cover (because it allows 1/8" water to come in around the inside diameter, and the 1/4" x 5 holes around the top allow water in as well). Not only that, it is all black and matching, and no extra pvc will protrude from the tank. In a few days I will give it a whirl (after allowing the paint to seal on nicely). I tried this concept early on just after setting up my return line, and it didn't work quite right because I didn't have holes drilled in it. It restricted the flow just a little bit too much to be effective. With the addition of the holes, I have high hopes. Lastly, I bought a 3/4" t for my return line that I will attach so that I dont have to have my return pump throttled back so much. Now I will have one section returning to the main tank, and the other going into the refugium.
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/10/2010, 02:02 PM | #37 |
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The double surprise this morning
So I was checking over the tank when I woke up, and found two litle critters living on the rubble rock in the fuge.... one good and one bad. The first I noticed was a little baby feather duster. The second was a little glass anemone growing on a seperate piece of live rock. I figured this was a good time to try out the Joe's Juice I had purchased last week in case of such a scenario playing out.
So far, the Joe's Juice looks to have killed it. Just a couple drops directly over the anemone. I will be inspecting closely for any more of these pests.
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/10/2010, 05:03 PM | #38 |
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More shopping
So today I went to the LFS and purchased a good sized handful of cheato. Tossed it in the sump under the new 6500 k daylight clip on lamp. From all I have read, these are great biological filters for the system, and they help hold/break up nitrates.
I also got one more emerald crab, and 1 fire shrimp. The emerald crab is to help ensure my nuisance algae's are not going to become a problem later. Poseidon is only staying on one third of the tanks rock and finding more then enough food there. So I hope by adding one more, the new addition will lay claim to another portion of the rock and help keep it clean. I definitely am seeing decent growth of algae in the system. The fire shrimp is more for viewing pleasure, and I have a hunch he is going to do just fine. My plan is to add small amounts of inverts at a time, and monitor them vs. their environs. By doing this slowly, I am hoping to avoid the whole "cleaner crew" purchase of 20-100 critters all at once. I just dont know that the cleaner crew at once method is a good one. So I'm going to pace mine, monitor, check levels, and see how it goes. The fire shrimp sure is a colorful addition to the system. =) Also, the nice handful of cheato in the sump is one more piece of awesome biological filtration for the system. Can't wait to see some pods growing happy down in the refugium.
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/10/2010, 05:58 PM | #39 |
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Todays Pics
New drain pvc.jpg
Refug Light.jpg Emerald Crab acclimation.jpg IMG_0181.jpg Fireshrimp acclimation.jpg
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/11/2010, 01:03 AM | #40 |
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Baby snails!
I went out to the movies, and come home to discover that "gary" my colonista snail has been busy doing more then just eating algae at night. There are incredibly tiny snails roaming the live rock tonight! I will take this as a good sign. Besides, I do have a crop of algae growing in for them to devour. =)
The fire shrimp seems to be doing well. I drip acclimated for 3 hours, and he has been hanging out in the cave like structures. He is extremely shy, but fun to watch.
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/12/2010, 09:29 PM | #41 |
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I think I see pods....
In the refugium, now that there is cheato in it, I am seeing tiny little white shapes floating lazily in the water and then they go back into the green ball of cheato... not sure If they are pods... but maybe. =) Also, the cheato is growing. After it got torn from the main clump at the lfs, there were white ends of it where it had snapped off from the main mass and been temporarily damaged. Now all those whitish looking ends are turnig brownish green. I'm assuming this means they are growing back quickly.
Update on the crabs. They continue to feast off the live rock. Oddly enough they each have almost "claimed" there own third of the tank. The middle third I never see either one present. Must mean the food source is plenty. The middle third of my tank has the most algae growing for obvious reasons.... Some of it looks like a picture of a miniature mountain hillside with the "grass" waving in the breeze. LOL. Algae continuing to grow all over, and the coralline as much as any. The tank is getting so very colorful. Getting more frequent that I am needed to scrub the tank glass of algae film.....
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/13/2010, 01:45 AM | #42 |
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Two emerald crabs...two distinct personalities
So I am amused with the differnece in the introduction of the new emerald crab (who my roomate named Percy). Percy seems not to care about the giant face looking in on him and watching him eat. It is as though I am just another reef inhabitant dropping by.
Poseidon on the other hand, is a shy guy. If I come up to the tank while he is "out in the open" he will be sure to "high tail it" for a crevice. I guess the one nice thing about this is that as they grow, if they continue to show this kind of behavior, I will always be able to tell them apart (and Poseidon is ever so slightly larger then Percy). I just find it amusing that they are virtually night and day. Percy has no problems being out on the substrate in the "middle of day," but not once has Poseidon been out in the open that I have ever witnessed. If he was, I'm sure it was short lived. Just thought I'd share this comical distinction with anyone reading.
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/13/2010, 09:49 PM | #43 |
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Todays Pics
Taken a few minutes ago
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/13/2010, 09:59 PM | #44 |
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A few more
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/14/2010, 02:00 AM | #45 |
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Tank Stats
pH 8.3
kH 8 Phos 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Temp 78.8 SG @ 1.026 Looking good. I've also noticed an increase in the worm population. I've even seen a couple of the bigger bristleworms so bold as to hang out in broad daylight on top of a rock a couple of times. The feather dusters are continuing to grow, and I think my button polyp is about to turn into two. It is starting to get this slight crease in the middle? I'm not sure, but purely speculating based on what I've read.
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/14/2010, 04:33 PM | #46 |
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A few more cleaners
Well, now that I have "meadows" of algae growing in my tank, I think its time to up my cleaner crew some. Several chunks of rock look like they are grassy mountain hills on a windy day. The emerald crabs cannot keep up with this, lol. Not to mention the back glass of the tank/the sand/the heater... all are growing hair algae. There is very little diatom bloom anymore... it has pretty much changed over to hair algae and coralline colorations. So I'm thinking 11 days after the live rock, good time to up my cleaners a notch (based on my algae growing so abundant). At this phase... I'm thinking a couple cleaner shrimp, and a couple of snails? That should compliment the emeralds and the fire shrimp. I have also placed an order with one lfs for a couple electric blue hermits. Hope they come in soon. =)
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
07/14/2010, 05:38 PM | #47 | |
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07/14/2010, 08:37 PM | #48 | |
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Thank you again tylt
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
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07/14/2010, 08:48 PM | #49 | |
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07/14/2010, 08:52 PM | #50 |
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New Pics
Hope you guys like them
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50 gallon w/20 gallon sump under construction ~Mikilios~ Current Tank Info: 50 g breeder/20 g sump+refugium Bubble Magus NAC6, 45lbs live rock, 1-1.5" sand bed |
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50 gallon, beginners, diy, live rock, reef aquarium |
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