Rebirth of my 30g hex

curreyr · 07/13/2008, 12:03 PM

In Decemebr '06 we had a 6 day power outage. I used our generator to keep the tank alive for 3 days, but we started running low on gasoline (and it was a 4hr wait at the only gas station in 40 miles), so eventually I had to pull the plug. It was a complete die off.

I finally decided a few weeks ago to clean up the remnants, and rebuild it ...

The plan is:
A pair of clowns (probably ocellaris)
A royal gamma
A blennie (not sure of species yet)
Additional cleanup crew (blue/red hermits, astrea, perhpas a serpent star?)

When established ... mix in some softies and SPS corals. Wishlist includes:
A Bubble coral (not sure of species yet)
A "Brain" coral (not sure of species yet)
Perhaps an Elegance coral

So ...
After a good cleansing of the tank, rock (about 25lbs), and CPR bakpak ...

07/28/08:
Put a new pump on the backpack, and arranged 20lbs of the (now) base rock.
Mixed up some water (sadly used my well water which is very clean except for the silicate).
Ran the backpack for 3 days to settle in the water+rock.

08/01/08:
Added 10 lbs of cured live rock (nice pieces with good coralline) from the LFS.
Added 5lbs of course aragonite.
Added a 150w MH "SunPod".

08/05/08:
Water was tests looked fine. (obviously no cycle yet tho).
Added a "cleanup crew" or 6 astrea and 14 blue+red hermits. (probably too early, but ...).

08/09/08:
The diatom bloom happened. (kinda wished I'd not used my well water, but ...)
Did a 20% water change (this time with RO water!)
Stirred the bloom and ran skimmer "wet" to remove as much of the disturbed bloom as possible.

08/11/08:
Diatom's still blooming, so rinsed rock, stirred sand.
Added another 5lbs of live rock.
Removed the course aragonite and replaced with 20lbs of sugar aragonite.
Ran skimmer "wet" for 6 hours.

Today:
Added a cube of mysis to hopefully kick start the rock to cycle.
Diatom bloom appears to almost be over.

Current testing
Sg: 1.022
Temp: 80 degrees
Ammonia (NH3/NH4): 0.00 mg/L
Nitrite (NO2): 0.50 mg/L
Nitrate (NO3): 10 mg/L
Phosphate (PO4): 0.2 mg/L
Calcium (CA): 450 ppm

pics of the rock layout coming in a bit ...

curreyr · 07/13/2008, 01:49 PM

sry it isn't as clean as I'd like

left

center

right

(and taking pics of a hex tank is a PITA)

CichlidaeNReefs · 07/13/2008, 10:17 PM

looks as if it is coming along nicely

curreyr · 07/16/2008, 04:07 PM

Current testing
Sg: 1.021
PH: 8.4
Temp: 80 degrees
Ammonia (NH3/NH4): 0.00 mg/L
Nitrite (NO2): 0.25 mg/L
Nitrate (NO3): 40 mg/L

I'm gunna do a water change to help drop the Nitrate and also up the Sg.

My bak-pak was running a bag of carbon, and that possibly could have been contributing to the nitrates?

Temp is still a bit high, but only 80 at the hottest part of the day (with the MH running for 8 hours) ...

Diatom bloom is definately over ... and I'm seeing just a bit of green hair algae in spots ...

I think by friday I can add some fishes!

Nano Chris · 07/16/2008, 05:07 PM

Nice setup!
Welcome!

To Reef Central

ag237 · 08/12/2008, 10:32 AM

Looks good! Care to take a pic from farther away, with the whole tank in the shot? I'm planning on doing a reef with a 30G hex as well and would like to see how yours is setup.

Keep us posted!

IFbettas · 08/12/2008, 11:35 AM

Lets see a FTS! What kind of fish are you looking into?

07/13/2008, 12:03 PM	#1
curreyr Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 4	Rebirth of my 30g hex In Decemebr '06 we had a 6 day power outage. I used our generator to keep the tank alive for 3 days, but we started running low on gasoline (and it was a 4hr wait at the only gas station in 40 miles), so eventually I had to pull the plug. It was a complete die off. I finally decided a few weeks ago to clean up the remnants, and rebuild it ... The plan is: A pair of clowns (probably ocellaris) A royal gamma A blennie (not sure of species yet) Additional cleanup crew (blue/red hermits, astrea, perhpas a serpent star?) When established ... mix in some softies and SPS corals. Wishlist includes: A Bubble coral (not sure of species yet) A "Brain" coral (not sure of species yet) Perhaps an Elegance coral So ... After a good cleansing of the tank, rock (about 25lbs), and CPR bakpak ... 07/28/08: Put a new pump on the backpack, and arranged 20lbs of the (now) base rock. Mixed up some water (sadly used my well water which is very clean except for the silicate). Ran the backpack for 3 days to settle in the water+rock. 08/01/08: Added 10 lbs of cured live rock (nice pieces with good coralline) from the LFS. Added 5lbs of course aragonite. Added a 150w MH "SunPod". 08/05/08: Water was tests looked fine. (obviously no cycle yet tho). Added a "cleanup crew" or 6 astrea and 14 blue+red hermits. (probably too early, but ...). 08/09/08: The diatom bloom happened. (kinda wished I'd not used my well water, but ...) Did a 20% water change (this time with RO water!) Stirred the bloom and ran skimmer "wet" to remove as much of the disturbed bloom as possible. 08/11/08: Diatom's still blooming, so rinsed rock, stirred sand. Added another 5lbs of live rock. Removed the course aragonite and replaced with 20lbs of sugar aragonite. Ran skimmer "wet" for 6 hours. Today: Added a cube of mysis to hopefully kick start the rock to cycle. Diatom bloom appears to almost be over. Current testing Sg: 1.022 Temp: 80 degrees Ammonia (NH3/NH4): 0.00 mg/L Nitrite (NO2): 0.50 mg/L Nitrate (NO3): 10 mg/L Phosphate (PO4): 0.2 mg/L Calcium (CA): 450 ppm pics of the rock layout coming in a bit ...

07/16/2008, 05:07 PM	#5
Nano Chris Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 2,758	Nice setup! *Welcome!* *To Reef Central* __________________ Chris ------- 34 Gallon Red Sea Max 130! Setup (Just got back into the hobby) Current Tank Info: 34 Gallon RedSeaMax!

08/12/2008, 11:35 AM	#7
IFbettas Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Woodridge, IL Posts: 1,953	Lets see a FTS! What kind of fish are you looking into? __________________ Current Tank Info: 180G SPS Dominant, 75 Gallon Sump/Fuge, 3x250w Reeflux 12k in Lumenbrights, Octo Extreme 250 Skimmer, Lots of flow

07/13/2008, 01:49 PM	#2
curreyr Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 4	sry it isn't as clean as I'd like left center right (and taking pics of a hex tank is a PITA)

07/13/2008, 10:17 PM	#3
CichlidaeNReefs Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: MI Posts: 60	looks as if it is coming along nicely

07/16/2008, 04:07 PM	#4
curreyr Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 4	Current testing Sg: 1.021 PH: 8.4 Temp: 80 degrees Ammonia (NH3/NH4): 0.00 mg/L Nitrite (NO2): 0.25 mg/L Nitrate (NO3): 40 mg/L I'm gunna do a water change to help drop the Nitrate and also up the Sg. My bak-pak was running a bag of carbon, and that possibly could have been contributing to the nitrates? Temp is still a bit high, but only 80 at the hottest part of the day (with the MH running for 8 hours) ... Diatom bloom is definately over ... and I'm seeing just a bit of green hair algae in spots ... I think by friday I can add some fishes!

08/12/2008, 10:32 AM	#6
ag237 Moved On Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 6	Looks good! Care to take a pic from farther away, with the whole tank in the shot? I'm planning on doing a reef with a 30G hex as well and would like to see how yours is setup. Keep us posted!