29gal reef startup (Pic Intense)

[dodo99]

Day 1 of my 29g reef
So it begins. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve just been able to hook up my RO/DI under the sink in the kitchen. Thereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s still a minor leak, but a bucket under the leak works nicely for now. It took 2 trips to Rona and 2 to Home Depot.

So now, maybe 25 gals on fresh water in the tank. I added about 2 pounds of IO salt that I had left my last setup. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll go to the LFS later today to get some sand and salt. I think all they have is Kent stuff, if I remember correctly. Weââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll see.

The pic above is from my previous setup. My ocellaris clowns loved their open brain. Silly clowns...

Day 2 : Salt & Sand
Ok. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve just added my IO Reef salt and dumped in some fine grain aragonite sand. The water is realllly cloudy!

I threw in my 150w heater and an MJ600 & MJ900 for some
flow. I also setup my Coralife Super Skimmer, 65 gal version. I really wasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t getting much foam at first, but it was pulling out sand dust quite nicely a few hours later. On my last setup, I wasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t using the bubble trap (once dialed-in, thereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s very little bubbles that escape), but I installed it to help clear the water somewhat.

Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m a little weary of having water so close to my Mac, but weââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll try. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m a bit sloppy when fiddling with the tank. ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œIââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll be careful, I promise....ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚

 

[dodo99]

Day 9: Live Rock
Thursday, February 9, 2006
Okay. The first two pics are from Monday 02/06/06. I added a HOB filter to help clear up the water. It took some time, but the water cleared up nicely.

The next ones are from Tuesday 02/07/06. After work, I stopped at the LFS, which is quite impressive. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s called Aquarium Illusions. They have a full selection of Softies, LPS, SPS, and Frag tanks too. They do custom tanks/hoods as well. They know their stuff too. Very helpful staff.

They had three types of LR in stock. Some from Haiti, Tonga & Fiji. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve never seen the Haiti variety so I picked up two rocks totaling about 6 lbs. It was a pretty fresh shipment as it was still curing. A bit of hair algae here and there. It looks very porous, some beginnings of purple and pink corraline.

Day 11: Cleaning up the water
Saturday, February 11, 2006
The live rock has been in there a few days. Tested the water, nothing but a trace of ammonia. I doubt Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll get much of a cycle. The LR looked pretty cured already.

I might get a smaller ammonia spike because I pulled the bio-balls from the HOB filter. I replaced it with a Purigen filter pad. Wonderful product. Sucks up DOC similar to carbon. The neat thing is that itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s rechargeable. Just soak it in bleach for 24 hrs and voila, brand new pad. On my previous setup, I needed to recharge it every 5 weeks or so. When exhausted, the beads are a tan color, rather than bright white.

I havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t yet installed my ceiling hooks for my MH hood. In the mean time, Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m using an old 2x20 watt NO lamps. I have a 10K and an actinic in there.

I might install the hooks later today. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll have to hunt down my chains. There are still some boxes to go through left from my move from Ottawa, to Edmonton. Hopefully theyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re in one of those boxes.

I noticed some pods scurrying over the live rock. Other than those, I havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t noticed much life from the LR. No interesting hitchhiker...

 

[dodo99]

Day 12: Evil Bacteria
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Well Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve moved the pumps a bit to increase flow over the sand bed. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s sorta kicking up dust, but thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll end soon. You can clearly see some brown diatoms on the sand. I see a few patches of reddish cyanno.

Day 23: New critters
Thursday, February 23, 2006
So whatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s new. I havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t had much time to update the blog. I havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t added more live rock. Probably wonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t for a couple of weeks at least. In the mean time, things are progressing well. Thereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s tons of pods and amphipods now, and a few days ago I noticed an explosion of tiny (1mm long) snails. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m not sure if theyââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re good or not, but for now Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll leave them be. Thereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s also some star-shaped critters on the glass. Again, not sure what they are. Time to google I guess.

Thereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s still some cyanno here and there. Nothing scary, just a few patches. I went through about 3-4 weeks of bad cyanno on my first setup last year. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m not worried. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll probably get some Phosban soon though.

I also had to clean the air inlet/venturi for the skimmer. It was caked with salt. I have the day off tomorrow, so Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll go to the LFS to browse. Maybe I -will- get some LR... Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll look for some base rock, I think.

 

[dodo99]

Day 25: Let there be LIGHT!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Today, I installed my hanging light hood. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a DIY, not the best looking thing in the world, but itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll do for now. Now that Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m so far away from my parentââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s place in Ottawa, itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s difficult to do my projects without my dadââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s workshop. (Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m 4000 Kms away now.)

The light is a basic aluminum batwing reflector, mogul base connected to a PFO 400w metal halide ballast. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve got a few different bulbs: a PlusRite 10K, which I found a bit too yellow, even with 65w PC Actinic thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s also mounted in the hood; an ARC (LFSââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s own brand) 20K, which is obviously quite blue, but I got Zero growth from it; the last one is a Venture/PFO 10K lamp, but looks more like 13K. The Venture lamp was over $150 CND, and I was quite pleased with the color and growth.

Even though the tank is an open top and the lamp is over 12ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ from the water, the halide puts out quite a bit of heat. I added a 12ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ fan behind the tank, blowing through the hood. It keeps the tank about a degree cooler than when the fan/lights are off. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s quite dry here is Edmonton, so I get about 1/4 to 1/2 gal of water evaporation per day. I tried to find a smaller clip-on fan at a couple of stores yesterday, but the fan selection in winter is quite limited. I can also put a couple of 4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ computer fans on the hood, but Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m not sure if that will be enough...

I also made a trip to the LFS and purchased about 4lbs of Fiji/Tonga LR. One of the smaller pieces has quite a bit of macro-algae.

I noticed I have some flatworms here and there, quite small, about 1.5mm across. Thereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s still hundreds of tiny snails on the sand bed.

I also bought some Phosban at the LFS. I added about two tbsp and some fresh carbon to my HOB filter. Hopefully thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll minimize the time it takes for the cyanno to die off. I was going to add a small clean-up crew, but I think Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll wait another week or two.

 

[dodo99]

...oh, and levels are Zero for amonia/nitrite, nitrate is below detectable limits. (~10)

 

[HartfordWhalers]

Nice tank. Its looking good

 

[dodo99]

Thanks. I'm still deciding what kind of livestock to add. It'll probably be an Anemone/SPS tank. On my last setup, it was difficult to place softies out of the direct light, since the tank is so small. The LFS has several green & blue carpets, but I don't think the tank would be large enough. I'll probably end up going for an RBTA or LTA at the 6-mth mark. The LFS has several types of clowns: Ocellaris, Tomatoes, Skunks, Maroon & saddlebacks.

 

[mr.bear]

looks like its comeing along nicely

 

[vanmo92]

comming along great

 

[HartfordWhalers]

way cool

 

[aural]

looks excellent so far. are you going to put more rock in it? what are you planning to keep in it?

 

[dodo99]

I'm getting more LR as cash permits. My cross country move tapped me out... I'll probably go for an anemone (I'd love a blue carpet, but they get too big for a 29g i think), SPS and a couple blue clams. My LFS has alot of selection, so it's hard to decide. He's got tons of frags. For now though, I want to concentrate on LR. I might switch my maxijets for Seio's and maybe a simple wave-timer. I thought about a sump, but being in an apartment building, I'm skittish about floods etc.

I learned the hard way with my last (and first) setup that it pays to be patient and go slowly.

I'm open to suggestions, of course.

 

[kabal2]

first, its comming away really nice, anemones move so careful with it because some of them will sting your sps really bad, and for seios in a wavemaker is hard because seios dont do good in a wavemaker, i have a 29g myself and i working in a maxijet mod that put a lot of flow and the people who did it said that they will do ok in a wavemaker
just my .02c

Gabriel

 

[dodo99]

That's why I'm thinking maybe another LTA. It moved around, but didn't really go up on the LR.

 

[alien9168]

BEUTIFUL!

-alien

 

[jman77]

Dude be verrrryyyy careful with that Coralife Super Skimmer. I've had mine overflow on me 4 times. It seems to be a pretty common problems with these slimmers.

 

[mr pink floyd]

is the coralife superskimmer 65 gall good? i was looking into getting one for my 29 gallon

 

[dodo99]

It's alrght. Not spectacular. It's better than my old Prizm skimmer. Yes I've had it overflow a few times. I set my bubble level about 3/4" from the red ring. It doesn't seem to overflow if you set it at that height or below. I should have went for the 125 version...

 

[dodo99]

Week 7:

Just finished a 30% water change. All levels of ammonia nitrite/trate are undetectable. CA is around 390, and SG is 1.026. I added another 13 lb. of Kaelini LR last week. One huge piece. I also replaced my MJ600 and MJ900 with a Seio 1100 gph pump. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m not fond of where itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s placed, but Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m trying to keep all my equipment to the side of the tank thatââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s against the wall. This way I can view the tank from the back when Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m on the computer as well as the right side and the front. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve got more cyanno growing on the small rock that is covered in macro algae.

Today I went to the LFS to buy a small cleanup crew. About 4 snails and 10 small hermits. As you can see most of them are huddled on the small rock covered in cyanno.

The Coralife skimmer is really pulling out some nasty skimmate...

 

[dodo99]

More pics: