New build... Purple Tech??? - Page 2

Dan90 · 12/31/2013, 04:20 PM

Toss in a shrimp. Frozen shrimp not a live one. Doesn't matter if you use our food type shrimp or fish food just something to decompose in there. When buying live rock be careful to check price's. My LFS wants ridiculous prices for it. The first little batch I bought was 15 pounds. It was $100.00. Crazy to pay almost $7.00 a pound for rock. This was their cheap rock. The premium stuff was 13.00 a pound. Online you can get 45 pounds for 80 bucks.

reefgeezer · 12/31/2013, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_braz

Don't have a way of dimming. Would just the blues on a couple of hours at night only work???

Just the blues could be ran for several hours a day if you want. A couple of hours of the whites would be okay every once in a while also.

b_braz · 01/01/2014, 10:12 AM

ok gonna try and wrap a few questions into one post here.
1st... Test Kits. I see cheap ones and pricey ones. What am I looking for in a test kit?
2nd... Live Rock. Again all kinds of prices many types. I have herd of bad and good critters being in or on the live rock. How do you know what Live Rock is good vs the bad?
3rd... UV Light. Should I be using it during the cycle? What are the pros and cons of the UV?
4th... Iron. I hear and read 2 different sides on this. Is it good or bad for a REEF?

Sorry for all the questions but they all come to me at once haha. I have been reading a lot of info but its hard to tell what is real and whats bull.

And Happy New Years!!!!

bcfd144 · 01/01/2014, 10:24 AM

you wont need it.
I learned when I first set up my tank, if you have rock that already has coralline algae on it, over time, it will spread. Esp if your water is right.

b_braz · 01/02/2014, 06:12 PM

Ok so I just dropped in some live rock. I have also dropped in some sand from another tank thanks to my LFS.

disc1 · 01/02/2014, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_braz

ok gonna try and wrap a few questions into one post here.
1st... Test Kits. I see cheap ones and pricey ones. What am I looking for in a test kit?
2nd... Live Rock. Again all kinds of prices many types. I have herd of bad and good critters being in or on the live rock. How do you know what Live Rock is good vs the bad?
3rd... UV Light. Should I be using it during the cycle? What are the pros and cons of the UV?
4th... Iron. I hear and read 2 different sides on this. Is it good or bad for a REEF?

Sorry for all the questions but they all come to me at once haha. I have been reading a lot of info but its hard to tell what is real and whats bull.

And Happy New Years!!!!

1. For a reef, don't go cheap. I like Salifert or the Red Sea Pro line but that's just me.

2. You don't. The good generally outweighs the bad by far. It gives you something to do for the several weeks while your tank looks like a moon scape. You can look for all the little critters that came on the rock and post pics here for the ones you don't know. There's very little that's bad that doesn't have a fairly simple fix.

3. I wouldn't use it during the cycle. UV is for killing things like plankton that is floating in your water. I don't use them myself. It's definitely not a must have piece. If you want to use it, I'd wait at least until the cycle is over though. Right now you don't want to be killing anything. You want things to get good and dirty.

4. Iron is required for certain macroalgaes. In a new tank you won't need it. In an established tank you shouldn't need any extra as long as you're doing regular water changes. The time to dose iron is when you actually see a problem that is iron related. Or at least when a test kit tells you you're low.

Never dose anything you don't test for.

cakemanPA · 01/02/2014, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_braz

cakemanPA · 01/02/2014, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_braz

Get a good refractometer... These tend to be very inaccurate

cakemanPA · 01/02/2014, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b_braz

b_braz · 01/04/2014, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disc1

1. For a reef, don't go cheap. I like Salifert or the Red Sea Pro line but that's just me.

2. You don't. The good generally outweighs the bad by far. It gives you something to do for the several weeks while your tank looks like a moon scape. You can look for all the little critters that came on the rock and post pics here for the ones you don't know. There's very little that's bad that doesn't have a fairly simple fix.

3. I wouldn't use it during the cycle. UV is for killing things like plankton that is floating in your water. I don't use them myself. It's definitely not a must have piece. If you want to use it, I'd wait at least until the cycle is over though. Right now you don't want to be killing anything. You want things to get good and dirty.

4. Iron is required for certain macroalgaes. In a new tank you won't need it. In an established tank you shouldn't need any extra as long as you're doing regular water changes. The time to dose iron is when you actually see a problem that is iron related. Or at least when a test kit tells you you're low.

Never dose anything you don't test for.

Thanks for the info. I picked up a test kit. here is day 4 results.

DATE: 01/04/2014
RESULTS
TEMPERATURE 78°F
SALINITY 1.023
AMMONIA 0.50 PPM
NITRITE 0 PPM
NITRATE 0 PPM
PH 7.9

So this is just 4 days into the cycle. How am I looking so far???

b_braz · 01/08/2014, 06:39 AM

So my ammonia has climbed to 1.00! How high can expect it to go during the cycle???

b_braz · 01/12/2014, 06:15 PM

Hair algae now what????

Coral Dilema · 01/12/2014, 09:05 PM

Now you wait. Your ammonia will go through the roof, then as the bacteria that eats it grows it will start to decrease. At the same time your Nitrite will go through the roof, then the bacteria that eats it will grow and it will decrease. . . then your Nitrate will start going up. There are several methods to deal with Nitrate but I prefer water changes and algae scrubbers.

Hair algae happens. Give it time for your cycle to complete and get your water parameters in check. Thats the best way to deal with nuisence algae, starve it to death.

Hair algae likes 3 things. Lots of light, lots of nitrate, and lots of phosphate. Get those 3 in check and it should limit the hair algae. There are critters you can get that will eat it but don't add anything until your cycle has completed, it will just die and cause even more pollution to your water.

The key word is Wait. As said before, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank.

Coral Dilema · 01/12/2014, 09:09 PM

Also, just so you know, it usually takes around 1 full year for a tank to mature properly and settle down. Your mileage may vary but the 1 year mark is generally where things start to settle down a bit.

Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. We were all beginners at one time.

There are no stupid questions but there has been a lot of money wasted because people thought their question was stupid and didn't ask it.

b_braz · 01/19/2014, 03:56 PM

ok think I'm about ready to rock and roll here.
Ammonia is 0
Nitrite is 0
Nitrate is 5.0ppm

and I now added a protein skimmer

AndysReef · 01/19/2014, 04:42 PM

Looks like you're good to go.

bradleybradley · 01/20/2014, 12:28 PM

FYI, I'm starting to see Coraline growth in my tank. I set it up new in December and have done nothing special, really. I'm using Instant Ocean salt, and have done two 10% water changes.

I expected this to take 6-8 months, so I'm happily surprised at this point.

phillrodrigo · 01/20/2014, 12:41 PM

Start with a clean up crew. Go for some snails and hermits if you want them. I would give them 2 weeks. Check levels if they stay the same your fine. I added a dwarf lion in my 75 after my cycle and it caused another mini cycle. Go sloooooowww. The faster you go the worse things will go. If you go to fast you wont have anything else to buy amd want a bigger tank in 6 months.

01/01/2014, 10:24 AM	#29
bcfd144 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Springfield MO Posts: 55	you wont need it. I learned when I first set up my tank, if you have rock that already has coralline algae on it, over time, it will spread. Esp if your water is right. __________________ Mark Current Tank Info: which one :)

01/02/2014, 06:12 PM	#30
b_braz Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Northeast Iowa Posts: 62	Ok so I just dropped in some live rock. I have also dropped in some sand from another tank thanks to my LFS. __________________ 75 Gallon Corner Reef Build. And I'm Lost. Current Tank Info: 75Gal. Corner Tank. Clarity Plus

01/08/2014, 06:39 AM	#36
b_braz Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Northeast Iowa Posts: 62	So my ammonia has climbed to 1.00! How high can expect it to go during the cycle??? __________________ 75 Gallon Corner Reef Build. And I'm Lost. Current Tank Info: 75Gal. Corner Tank. Clarity Plus

01/12/2014, 06:15 PM	#37
b_braz Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Northeast Iowa Posts: 62	Hair algae now what???? __________________ 75 Gallon Corner Reef Build. And I'm Lost. Current Tank Info: 75Gal. Corner Tank. Clarity Plus

01/12/2014, 09:05 PM	#38
Coral Dilema Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Central NC Posts: 953	Now you wait. Your ammonia will go through the roof, then as the bacteria that eats it grows it will start to decrease. At the same time your Nitrite will go through the roof, then the bacteria that eats it will grow and it will decrease. . . then your Nitrate will start going up. There are several methods to deal with Nitrate but I prefer water changes and algae scrubbers. Hair algae happens. Give it time for your cycle to complete and get your water parameters in check. Thats the best way to deal with nuisence algae, starve it to death. Hair algae likes 3 things. Lots of light, lots of nitrate, and lots of phosphate. Get those 3 in check and it should limit the hair algae. There are critters you can get that will eat it but don't add anything until your cycle has completed, it will just die and cause even more pollution to your water. The key word is Wait. As said before, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank. __________________ Build a man a fire and he is warm for a night. Set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life. Current Tank Info: 20 inch cube running, Looking for a good place to get a 36 X 20-24 X 18-24 tank.

12/31/2013, 04:20 PM	#26
Dan90 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Concord,Ca Posts: 101	Toss in a shrimp. Frozen shrimp not a live one. Doesn't matter if you use our food type shrimp or fish food just something to decompose in there. When buying live rock be careful to check price's. My LFS wants ridiculous prices for it. The first little batch I bought was 15 pounds. It was $100.00. Crazy to pay almost $7.00 a pound for rock. This was their cheap rock. The premium stuff was 13.00 a pound. Online you can get 45 pounds for 80 bucks.

01/01/2014, 10:12 AM	#28
b_braz Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Northeast Iowa Posts: 62	ok gonna try and wrap a few questions into one post here. 1st... Test Kits. I see cheap ones and pricey ones. What am I looking for in a test kit? 2nd... Live Rock. Again all kinds of prices many types. I have herd of bad and good critters being in or on the live rock. How do you know what Live Rock is good vs the bad? 3rd... UV Light. Should I be using it during the cycle? What are the pros and cons of the UV? 4th... Iron. I hear and read 2 different sides on this. Is it good or bad for a REEF? Sorry for all the questions but they all come to me at once haha. I have been reading a lot of info but its hard to tell what is real and whats bull. And Happy New Years!!!!

01/12/2014, 09:09 PM	#39
Coral Dilema Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Central NC Posts: 953	Also, just so you know, it usually takes around 1 full year for a tank to mature properly and settle down. Your mileage may vary but the 1 year mark is generally where things start to settle down a bit. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. We were all beginners at one time. There are no stupid questions but there has been a lot of money wasted because people thought their question was stupid and didn't ask it. __________________ Build a man a fire and he is warm for a night. Set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life. Current Tank Info: 20 inch cube running, Looking for a good place to get a 36 X 20-24 X 18-24 tank.

01/19/2014, 03:56 PM	#40
b_braz Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Northeast Iowa Posts: 62	ok think I'm about ready to rock and roll here. Ammonia is 0 Nitrite is 0 Nitrate is 5.0ppm and I now added a protein skimmer __________________ 75 Gallon Corner Reef Build. And I'm Lost. Current Tank Info: 75Gal. Corner Tank. Clarity Plus

01/19/2014, 04:42 PM	#41
AndysReef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Sylvan Lake, MI Posts: 260	Looks like you're good to go. __________________ Reefing... Current Tank Info: 55g reef with 30g sump and refugium.

01/20/2014, 12:28 PM	#42
bradleybradley Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Pacifica, CA Posts: 43	FYI, I'm starting to see Coraline growth in my tank. I set it up new in December and have done nothing special, really. I'm using Instant Ocean salt, and have done two 10% water changes. I expected this to take 6-8 months, so I'm happily surprised at this point.

01/20/2014, 12:41 PM	#43
phillrodrigo Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: quaker hill ct Posts: 2,433	Start with a clean up crew. Go for some snails and hermits if you want them. I would give them 2 weeks. Check levels if they stay the same your fine. I added a dwarf lion in my 75 after my cycle and it caused another mini cycle. Go sloooooowww. The faster you go the worse things will go. If you go to fast you wont have anything else to buy amd want a bigger tank in 6 months.