I have had a lot of time on my hands waiting for the silicone in the sump to fully cure. I am giving it 10 days to make sure it is completely done, then I will fill the tank with water. 10 days will be this Saturday, so expect some big updates this weekend.
In the mean time, I have pretty much finished the canopy that I decided to make on a whim. It still needs a final sanding and painting, but it is otherwise complete. Also, I am still waiting for my rare-earth magnets to come in to hold the canopy door closed. Once that gets here and installed, I will post pics.
Other than that, I have been testing the water in the Brute with the rocks. It seems that my cycle is complete. I spiked Ammonia early - on approximately May 8th. I spiked Nitrite on approximately May 10th. The last two days have shown 0 for both of these measurements. I have been "ghost feeding" daily to keep adding nutrients to the system to simulate a fish in the Brute.
Since the cycle was done, I went and bought the new Red Sea Algae Control Test Kit (Nitrate & Phosphate tests) today. As expected, my current Nitrate level is starting to rise - currently at 3 ppm. Definately showing that the cycle is fully working within the Brute.
Now for the bad news. I tested the Phosphates. I know a lot of people with this rock were having high Phosphate issues - I was hoping I would not be one of them. Alas, it has been determined that I will not escape this fate. The highest that the kit will measure is 0.64 ppm. I am currently above that mark. Based on the blue that I saw, I would say that I am somwhere between 0.8 and 1.0 ppm Phosphate . . .
Just to check the kit, I went ahead and measured my other "dirty" system. I expected it to be high, but it is actually somewhere between 0.08 and 0.1 ppm - a lot better than I was expecting.
To lower the Phosphates in the Brute, I was considering using Lathium Chloride, but have decided not to use it at this time. So, I am going to do this the old fashion way. The plan is to fill up my tank on Saturday and transfer the rock into it. I will wait another week (or until the Phosphate gets rerally high again) and then do a 100% water change. I need to do this in the tank because I only have 1 Brute to mix new saltwater in. Depending on how the Phosphates rise after this, I will consider doing 1 more 100% water change. Then I will wait to make sure everything is stable and add my fish to the system. Officially, this will be a total of 2 or 3 100% water changes, which is really the same as dosing Lanthium Chloride 2 or three time since the Phosphates will be reduced to 0 ppm during each water change. In the end, this is like dosing Lanthium Chloride a total of 5 times - 1 time for the RO/DI soak, 1 time for the saltwater it is in now, and 2 or 3 more times for the 100% water changes. I will keep everyone posted on how much this method reduces Phosphates that are leeching from the rock.
Now some good news. I also took apart my current light and found that it will be relatively easy to retrofit it into my canopy. The inerds :rollface: of the tight fixture come totally out of the fixture in one piece. Furthermore, it comes out in 1 single piece that can be easily mounted. In fact, I had it out on the table on just to make sure. Should be an easy retrofit.
Till next time . . .
In the mean time, I have pretty much finished the canopy that I decided to make on a whim. It still needs a final sanding and painting, but it is otherwise complete. Also, I am still waiting for my rare-earth magnets to come in to hold the canopy door closed. Once that gets here and installed, I will post pics.
Other than that, I have been testing the water in the Brute with the rocks. It seems that my cycle is complete. I spiked Ammonia early - on approximately May 8th. I spiked Nitrite on approximately May 10th. The last two days have shown 0 for both of these measurements. I have been "ghost feeding" daily to keep adding nutrients to the system to simulate a fish in the Brute.
Since the cycle was done, I went and bought the new Red Sea Algae Control Test Kit (Nitrate & Phosphate tests) today. As expected, my current Nitrate level is starting to rise - currently at 3 ppm. Definately showing that the cycle is fully working within the Brute.
Now for the bad news. I tested the Phosphates. I know a lot of people with this rock were having high Phosphate issues - I was hoping I would not be one of them. Alas, it has been determined that I will not escape this fate. The highest that the kit will measure is 0.64 ppm. I am currently above that mark. Based on the blue that I saw, I would say that I am somwhere between 0.8 and 1.0 ppm Phosphate . . .
Just to check the kit, I went ahead and measured my other "dirty" system. I expected it to be high, but it is actually somewhere between 0.08 and 0.1 ppm - a lot better than I was expecting.To lower the Phosphates in the Brute, I was considering using Lathium Chloride, but have decided not to use it at this time. So, I am going to do this the old fashion way. The plan is to fill up my tank on Saturday and transfer the rock into it. I will wait another week (or until the Phosphate gets rerally high again) and then do a 100% water change. I need to do this in the tank because I only have 1 Brute to mix new saltwater in. Depending on how the Phosphates rise after this, I will consider doing 1 more 100% water change. Then I will wait to make sure everything is stable and add my fish to the system. Officially, this will be a total of 2 or 3 100% water changes, which is really the same as dosing Lanthium Chloride 2 or three time since the Phosphates will be reduced to 0 ppm during each water change. In the end, this is like dosing Lanthium Chloride a total of 5 times - 1 time for the RO/DI soak, 1 time for the saltwater it is in now, and 2 or 3 more times for the 100% water changes. I will keep everyone posted on how much this method reduces Phosphates that are leeching from the rock.
Now some good news. I also took apart my current light and found that it will be relatively easy to retrofit it into my canopy. The inerds :rollface: of the tight fixture come totally out of the fixture in one piece. Furthermore, it comes out in 1 single piece that can be easily mounted. In fact, I had it out on the table on just to make sure. Should be an easy retrofit.
Till next time . . .
