Phischy's Project-3days to start
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Phischy
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I'll try to post pics this week, just tough getting two spare seconds to do anything lately. Pics of the rock outside the tank and in, looks kinda crowded so I may remove some of the smaller origional pieces. Maybe in a week or so.
I'd love ot leave some windows open but it's not possible with my apt setup.
I'd love ot leave some windows open but it's not possible with my apt setup.
Phischy
New Member
Ok, had some time now for some pics:
Box of rock:
It's hard to tell in this pic but the rock has many caves and cubbies and arches, so here's the first two new pieces:
These are the 2nd set of two pieces Nate dropped off. I tell you, it sure is nice having a friend in the industry who can cherry pick from the wholesaler for you! This rock came in two days before to LAX and was at my house shorty thereafter. It's pretty, but it be stanky!
Here is the tank loaded after 2hrs of fartin' around with it and making a big old mess.
I had 5 pieces of smaller rock in there from a previous purchase. I was debating of what to do with it until I realized I do plan on doing a 15 gal fuge by removing my sump and using it later. So I'll keep the smaller pieces around for it and it'll work out in the end. Or I'll get a 12 gal JBJ Delux Cube that I've seen around and still throw the live rock in there. Either way, I'm glad I have it. I'll probably re-arrange a few things in a week or so while it's still curing.
Box of rock:
It's hard to tell in this pic but the rock has many caves and cubbies and arches, so here's the first two new pieces:
These are the 2nd set of two pieces Nate dropped off. I tell you, it sure is nice having a friend in the industry who can cherry pick from the wholesaler for you! This rock came in two days before to LAX and was at my house shorty thereafter. It's pretty, but it be stanky!
Here is the tank loaded after 2hrs of fartin' around with it and making a big old mess.
I had 5 pieces of smaller rock in there from a previous purchase. I was debating of what to do with it until I realized I do plan on doing a 15 gal fuge by removing my sump and using it later. So I'll keep the smaller pieces around for it and it'll work out in the end. Or I'll get a 12 gal JBJ Delux Cube that I've seen around and still throw the live rock in there. Either way, I'm glad I have it. I'll probably re-arrange a few things in a week or so while it's still curing.
I really like the two pieces of rock in the 2nd picture. Very cool shapes there. The tank is starting to look really good. I was in the kitchen last night and realized that the cheap, thin flexible cutting boards would work really well as protection against scratches for the tank walls while you're arranging rock. They're tough, cheap, (we either buy them at the dollar store, or at ikea in a pack of 3 for $3-$5. You'd probably have to tape a few together, and then cut it to fit but I think it would be easier to get back out when you're done arranging than pieces of plexi which isn't as flexible.
Brian
Brian
Flame Angel
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That's some purty rock you gots there 
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Phischy
New Member
I'm never really home, which is ok b/c my place stinks to high heaven right now. I realized I may have put the tank too close to the wall as I've got brown algea on it right above where the skimmer catch cup is. Shit, so now I've got to put some sort of backing there to keep the wall from rotting out.
Right now it's just curing, I'm realizing I'm getting alot of evaporation so I'm going to have to figure this out somehow to keep my salinity stable. My major problem is that I just don't have any room in my cabinet for anything else...
I haven't seen any hitchhikers but right now I've got some loverly brown algea growing over everything. Can I enter that in the contest?!?!
Right now it's just curing, I'm realizing I'm getting alot of evaporation so I'm going to have to figure this out somehow to keep my salinity stable. My major problem is that I just don't have any room in my cabinet for anything else...
I haven't seen any hitchhikers but right now I've got some loverly brown algea growing over everything. Can I enter that in the contest?!?!
Phischy
New Member
Not a whole lot new to report. Have left the lights off for the last 6 days to keep algea blooms down. Right now it's a tank full of water and smelly rock! Haven't noticed much in the way of hitch hikers but I haven't spent much time checking it out either. The stench has actually dissapated pretty quickly and the skimmer is still going full tilt and I have to empty it once every 8hrs or if I let it go for 24 it's very close to over flowing.
This weekend I plan to drop in 15lbs of livesand and re-examine my rock setup. I'll also have to figure out my plan for what I'm goign to do with the sump. I realize though that if I eliminate the sump then I'm going to have a more difficult time doing the water top off I had invisioned. Thankfully I do have time.
I should probably start testing my water parameteres to get a feel for where things are at as well.
This weekend I plan to drop in 15lbs of livesand and re-examine my rock setup. I'll also have to figure out my plan for what I'm goign to do with the sump. I realize though that if I eliminate the sump then I'm going to have a more difficult time doing the water top off I had invisioned. Thankfully I do have time.
I should probably start testing my water parameteres to get a feel for where things are at as well.
Phischy
New Member
test results
Using a tetra test kit that is several years old I got the following results:
Ammonia: yellow green color, on the color chart it shows acceptable levels
Nitrate: ~ 10ppm
PH: ~ 8.1
I did not test for Nitrite, but come to think of it that's the 2nd spike after NH3. Hmmm....BRB...
Well I'll be dammed..that was kinda cool and I'm glad I tested. My nitrite is through da roof. So I checked my guide and sure enough I'm in the 2nd spike at the moment. I guess I've probably got 3 more weeks until I'm in the clear for the cycling process.
This brought me back to high school chemistry, I just needed some cheesy ill fitting goggles and a white lab coat. Anyway, I'll keep testing from here on out.
Quick question, the test kit also had vials for GH and KH but I don't know what they are really testing for. Any ideas?
Using a tetra test kit that is several years old I got the following results:
Ammonia: yellow green color, on the color chart it shows acceptable levels
Nitrate: ~ 10ppm
PH: ~ 8.1
I did not test for Nitrite, but come to think of it that's the 2nd spike after NH3. Hmmm....BRB...
Well I'll be dammed..that was kinda cool and I'm glad I tested. My nitrite is through da roof. So I checked my guide and sure enough I'm in the 2nd spike at the moment. I guess I've probably got 3 more weeks until I'm in the clear for the cycling process.
This brought me back to high school chemistry, I just needed some cheesy ill fitting goggles and a white lab coat. Anyway, I'll keep testing from here on out.
Quick question, the test kit also had vials for GH and KH but I don't know what they are really testing for. Any ideas?
Phischy
New Member
Hmm...well I got an algea scrubber today, one of those magnetic glass/acrylic cleaners and I went ahead and 'wiped the windows' to my little tank. Looks alot better and I think I'll start turning the lights on now. One thing I did notice is that my water has a greenish tint to it. I think this may be b/c I don't have any biological filtration on it. Just a micron polybag and the skimmer (which is still pulling tons of crap out of the water)
But the tank doesn't stink anymore and I'm monitoring my levels. About to start adjusting the CA levels and dosing with nutrients to keep everything happy. Ok, so I've just got live rock but ya know.
Anyway, any ideas about the greenish tint to the H2O?
But the tank doesn't stink anymore and I'm monitoring my levels. About to start adjusting the CA levels and dosing with nutrients to keep everything happy. Ok, so I've just got live rock but ya know.
Anyway, any ideas about the greenish tint to the H2O?
FishinInTheDark
New Member
Green water can be a tough battle. I'd suggest not putting the lights on yet. This is a very long thread, and instead of delving through it, I'll just ask you: Are you using RO water? Are you running a skimmer? Are you running carbon? Does the tank get any direct sunlight? All of these things will contribute to that free floating algae. What you need to do is starve it: do water changes two or three times a week. Don't add anything to the tank that it could feed on. Don't run lights. Skim aggressively. Run carbon to pull more nutrients from the water. Don't use tap water because it has plenty of nitrates and phosphates to feed the algae. If you don't have much for circulation, I'd suggest bumping that up a bit. Stagnant water is low in oxygen and high in CO2 which algae loves. I know that's a lot of suggestions. Do what you can and see if it helps. It sounds like you're catching it early, so hopefully you won't end up with pea soup!
Good luck!
Conni
Good luck!
Conni
Phischy
New Member
Conni,
I'm currently cycling the tank for the first time. I haven't done much to it other than run the pump and skim very aggressively. My nitrites are very high at the moment just b/c I"m going through the first cycle. I turned my lights on for the first time in over a week as I scrubbed the aglea off the acrylic. That's when I noticed the water wasn't up to par.
I'm not using any biological filtration at the moment. I should have water movement equal to 1.5x my water capacity. Maybe I should pick up a powerfilter just to be safe. There are no organisms in my tank that I feed. In fact, I haven't put anything into the tank lately. Maybe a few water changes will be good.
I'm currently cycling the tank for the first time. I haven't done much to it other than run the pump and skim very aggressively. My nitrites are very high at the moment just b/c I"m going through the first cycle. I turned my lights on for the first time in over a week as I scrubbed the aglea off the acrylic. That's when I noticed the water wasn't up to par.
I'm not using any biological filtration at the moment. I should have water movement equal to 1.5x my water capacity. Maybe I should pick up a powerfilter just to be safe. There are no organisms in my tank that I feed. In fact, I haven't put anything into the tank lately. Maybe a few water changes will be good.
FishinInTheDark
New Member
You're in sort of a tough spot: you don't want to change your water and disrupt the cycle, but you want to change water to lessen the algae's nutrients! You seem like a patient person who wants to do things the right way, even if it's the hard way. If I were you, I'd do the water changes and just know it'll be a little longer before the cycle is done. I'd bet that if some of that rock was really stinky, it was full of biological material that really kicked in your cycle, but also was full of algae food.
As a side note, you said you're circulating 1.5 times your water volume? The standard goal is 5 to 10 times your water volume per hour for the standard reef tank and much, much higher for SPS tanks. You may want to drop another powerhead in there and really blow things around some more!
I wish you the best!
Conni
As a side note, you said you're circulating 1.5 times your water volume? The standard goal is 5 to 10 times your water volume per hour for the standard reef tank and much, much higher for SPS tanks. You may want to drop another powerhead in there and really blow things around some more!
I wish you the best!
Conni
Phischy
New Member
Conni,
Yes this tank is being setup for the first time and I just dropped in 45lbs of very stinky very fresh live rock. It litterally came off the plane and was in my tank two days later. I realize my cycle will be longer just b/c everything is very fresh.
The tank does not get much natural sunlight andmy lights have been off for awhile and are still off. I also was running short on water one night and I declorninated 5gals of tap water and added it to my tank, this was probably a very bad idea. I know better but I figured I was still cycling so whatever. Well, won't be doing that again.
I was also wrong, I'm running 15x my total capacity, not 1.5 times. Opps. So in the mean time I'll just let it run and keep an eye on it. I am very patient, I figure at this point I had better enjoy the ability to not buying anything b/c once this thing is done then it'll be going like mad.
Yes this tank is being setup for the first time and I just dropped in 45lbs of very stinky very fresh live rock. It litterally came off the plane and was in my tank two days later. I realize my cycle will be longer just b/c everything is very fresh.
The tank does not get much natural sunlight andmy lights have been off for awhile and are still off. I also was running short on water one night and I declorninated 5gals of tap water and added it to my tank, this was probably a very bad idea. I know better but I figured I was still cycling so whatever. Well, won't be doing that again.
I was also wrong, I'm running 15x my total capacity, not 1.5 times. Opps. So in the mean time I'll just let it run and keep an eye on it. I am very patient, I figure at this point I had better enjoy the ability to not buying anything b/c once this thing is done then it'll be going like mad.
FishinInTheDark
New Member
Sounds like you've got the whole thing under control! That's going to be an amazing tank once it gets going!
Conni
Conni
Sugar Magnolia
New Member
It does sound like you're doing fine. Are you planning on any water changes during the cycle or are you jst going to let it cook? Heh, I've cycled with fresh LR before and it can get mighty ripe in the room that the tank is in. I caved in and did a couple of water changes over the course of the two months of cycling. Couldn't take the smell,, and this was a 7.5 gallon tank. Unreal how bad it smelled!
Phischy
New Member
Ha ha, Phischy rules!!! No real news to report other than it finally stopped stinking up my small apartment and I'm past the ammonia phase of the cycling. Kinda boring right now, it just sits with the lights off and cycles away. I think this weekend I may get a random orbital sander and fix my canopy's tendency to *stick* to itself. It's rubbing in a few places and when the lights have been on the canopy swells and it's impossible to open. I've been meaning to fix this but just have been uber busy. That and I want to redo the lights in my hood and add a moonlight. Those are the projects for the next few weeks. not in any real rush, this rock is taking it's sweet time curing so what are ya goona do?!?!?!
I haven't seen any hitch hikers, kinda bummed about that. I still also need to ad 15lbs of live sand, I may do that tomorrow. I also want to get a few cups of the mud from my LFS' liverock holding tank. I'm sure there's tons of good stuff in the goop. But, I'm also a bit worried my nirites will just kill anything since it's spiking now. Last thing I want to do is to add more stuff that'll just die and rot.
Oh, and does anyone think adding a power filter w/ carbon will do any good?
I haven't seen any hitch hikers, kinda bummed about that. I still also need to ad 15lbs of live sand, I may do that tomorrow. I also want to get a few cups of the mud from my LFS' liverock holding tank. I'm sure there's tons of good stuff in the goop. But, I'm also a bit worried my nirites will just kill anything since it's spiking now. Last thing I want to do is to add more stuff that'll just die and rot.
Oh, and does anyone think adding a power filter w/ carbon will do any good?
FishinInTheDark
New Member
I think running carbon while you're cycling and while facing an algae bloom is a good idea. If you get a great big HOB, you can mod it into a 'fuge later!
Conni
Conni
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