Iamgarrett
New member
this instead of the double front, my bad
this instead of the double front, my bad
this instead of the double front, my bad
A Newbie's Tale: 32g reef build/journal
- Thread starter Iamgarrett
- Start date
ReeferGrower
New member
Looking good! Cant wait to see the progress!
Iamgarrett
New member
Day 7: Diatoms and a slow start
Day 7: Diatoms and a slow start
Day 7: Diatoms and a Slow Start
7 days in and I've got a small diatom bloom going, nothing I'm worried about.
More bothersome is that today I finally got the proper test kits and am showing absolutely zero Ammonia, Nitrites, or Nitrates.
I was really hoping to avoid "feeding" or kickstarting the cycle, especially since that's a subject I don't see much consensus on. But...I may go ahead and add a small piece of raw shrimp to see if I can't get this thing going.
Also the dang sensor for the heater refuses to stay attached to the back wall.
As always, tips/advice/experience welcomed.
Day 7: Diatoms and a slow start
Day 7: Diatoms and a Slow Start
7 days in and I've got a small diatom bloom going, nothing I'm worried about.
More bothersome is that today I finally got the proper test kits and am showing absolutely zero Ammonia, Nitrites, or Nitrates.
I was really hoping to avoid "feeding" or kickstarting the cycle, especially since that's a subject I don't see much consensus on. But...I may go ahead and add a small piece of raw shrimp to see if I can't get this thing going.
Also the dang sensor for the heater refuses to stay attached to the back wall.
As always, tips/advice/experience welcomed.
Joshnieder216
New member
I have my heater in chamber #1 so I dropped my temp probe in chamber #3
"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude
"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude
Iamgarrett
New member
I've considered that since the heater is in #1 for me as well, but I like the idea of the probe in the DT, and if the suction cup worked properly it would stay hidden behind rock. At this point I'm considering glueing the darn thing.
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Joshnieder216
New member
Ha, I feel ya. I'm having a terrible time with suction cups too. I did superglue the 4 onto my skimmer because they pulled off every time I touched it. Of course the skimmer does still slide around a lot because I'm not getting good suction with them but at least they aren't falling off to float who knows where. I thought about adding a very tiny dab of silicone to them.
"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude
"Yea, well, that's like, your opinion man" -The Dude
Iamgarrett
New member
Just dropped in a chunk of shrimp and worms are trying so hard to get to it but they hate the light...
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Iamgarrett
New member
Now fully in the open if anyone wants to ID
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Iamgarrett
New member
That's what I figured. Of course it's a pretty generic term but they're all pretty similar from what I've read. Wonder how long it'll take them to eat the shrimp.
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Iamgarrett
New member
So many questions...
So many questions...
Day 10: Questioning Everything
Diatoms are receding, though I'm not sure you can tell from the photo:
And then there's the questions........
What color is this? Yellow? Yellow-green? Why does API suck so much?
BONUS Questions: Nearly 48 hours after adding a large chunk of shrimp, shouldn't I see a significant spike of ammonia? Nitrites are still obviously 0. My live rock came straight from the LFS's sumps for their display tanks, and were only out of water for about two hours, tops. If cycling is all about bacteria growth, and most of the bacteria lives on the rock, is it possible that my tank was essentially "pre-cycled"? No...that's crazy, right? Right?
____________________________
What is this brown algae? Is it related to the diatoms? Is it cyano? Does it even matter?
____________________________
What new algae grows here?
____________________________
Really, though, without any mechanical or chemical filtration added yet, nor livestock, should I even care about algae cropping up?
____________________________
In other news, I've seen a bunch more bristle worms. Seems the shrimp chunk has really been drawing them out. Shined a light on after dark expecting to see a bunch on it, but instead saw a couple tiny snails of some sort.
I also regret not marking the water level in chamber #3 when I first filled the tank up. I just realized I have no idea when or how much water to top-off with.
Sorry to be that guy with all the cluelessness. And please don't quote this ENTIRE thing if you reply lol.
So many questions...
Day 10: Questioning Everything
Diatoms are receding, though I'm not sure you can tell from the photo:
And then there's the questions........
What color is this? Yellow? Yellow-green? Why does API suck so much?
BONUS Questions: Nearly 48 hours after adding a large chunk of shrimp, shouldn't I see a significant spike of ammonia? Nitrites are still obviously 0. My live rock came straight from the LFS's sumps for their display tanks, and were only out of water for about two hours, tops. If cycling is all about bacteria growth, and most of the bacteria lives on the rock, is it possible that my tank was essentially "pre-cycled"? No...that's crazy, right? Right?
____________________________
What is this brown algae? Is it related to the diatoms? Is it cyano? Does it even matter?
____________________________
What new algae grows here?
____________________________
Really, though, without any mechanical or chemical filtration added yet, nor livestock, should I even care about algae cropping up?
____________________________
In other news, I've seen a bunch more bristle worms. Seems the shrimp chunk has really been drawing them out. Shined a light on after dark expecting to see a bunch on it, but instead saw a couple tiny snails of some sort.
I also regret not marking the water level in chamber #3 when I first filled the tank up. I just realized I have no idea when or how much water to top-off with.
Sorry to be that guy with all the cluelessness. And please don't quote this ENTIRE thing if you reply lol.
ReeferGrower
New member
I make sure to keep mine just to the top of the return hose.
rockhead51
New member
FWIW, I've had the sponge in for a couple months. Every time I take it out to rinse, it has a couple small worms, but no other issues. I have a couple pieces of LR in chamber 2, so I figured it would help keep nastiness out of the pump. No problems so far.
Check out the Auto Aqua Smart ATO Micro. I love mine and it has been flawless so far.
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Check out the Auto Aqua Smart ATO Micro. I love mine and it has been flawless so far.
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Iamgarrett
New member
Of course you still need to know at what water level to set it haha. My problem is my genius self didn't mark off where the normal water level is in chamber #3. May use the "above the return pipe" measure mentioned above and hope salinity is normal enough if maintained there from here on out.
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rockhead51
New member
My rationale is this:. Small tank, so I keep the back chambers as high as possible to add total water volume to the system.
Once there, check and adjust salinity. Once you have that, set the sensor at that level.
If you don't have a refractometer, recommend you get one.
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Once there, check and adjust salinity. Once you have that, set the sensor at that level.
If you don't have a refractometer, recommend you get one.
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Iamgarrett
New member
Day 15
Day 15
Day 15: CUC Joys and Skimmer Woes
Temp: 76F | Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates all at 0ppm
Clean Up Crew Joys
On Day 11 I went to the LFS and got the clean up crew:
3x astrea turbo snails
2x Mexican turbo snails
5x blue legged hermit crabs
1x Tiger Sand Conch
The Conch is definitely the most interesting, but all have been doing a stellar job. I went from a daily increase in algae to a significant daily reduction. Well done, lads!
Other Good News
InTank FINALLY finished the design on the 32BC Fuge Basket! I've ordered the InTank Media Basket and Fuge Basket, and once those arrive I'll add filter floss, Chemipure Blue, and Chaeto. Then I'll start adding some more significant livestock.
Protein Skimmer Woes
I have the Coralife protein skimmer, included as part of my Christmas gift that started this whole adventure. I've set it up but I swear I can only seem to find two settings:
* No bubbles
* So many bubbles it overflows and fills the collection cup with plain water within a few hours
I'm obviously doing something wrong I just don't know what.
BONUS: Hitch hiker ID Challenge!
Can you ID this thingy-ma-bob:
It's translucent, small, located in a dark nestle of rock. My first thought was Aipstasia, except...it doesn't really look like Aipstasia. It has rounded bits at the end of its tentacles, which all come from a central stalk. It doesn't seem to be growing or moving from its spot. Any ideas?
Day 15
Day 15: CUC Joys and Skimmer Woes
Temp: 76F | Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates all at 0ppm
Clean Up Crew Joys
On Day 11 I went to the LFS and got the clean up crew:
3x astrea turbo snails
2x Mexican turbo snails
5x blue legged hermit crabs
1x Tiger Sand Conch
The Conch is definitely the most interesting, but all have been doing a stellar job. I went from a daily increase in algae to a significant daily reduction. Well done, lads!
Other Good News
InTank FINALLY finished the design on the 32BC Fuge Basket! I've ordered the InTank Media Basket and Fuge Basket, and once those arrive I'll add filter floss, Chemipure Blue, and Chaeto. Then I'll start adding some more significant livestock.
Protein Skimmer Woes
I have the Coralife protein skimmer, included as part of my Christmas gift that started this whole adventure. I've set it up but I swear I can only seem to find two settings:
* No bubbles
* So many bubbles it overflows and fills the collection cup with plain water within a few hours
I'm obviously doing something wrong I just don't know what.
BONUS: Hitch hiker ID Challenge!
Can you ID this thingy-ma-bob:
It's translucent, small, located in a dark nestle of rock. My first thought was Aipstasia, except...it doesn't really look like Aipstasia. It has rounded bits at the end of its tentacles, which all come from a central stalk. It doesn't seem to be growing or moving from its spot. Any ideas?
davered00ss
New member
does the Coralife protein skimmer use an external air pump or is it self contained?
I also added a conch today. He is really cleaning the brown algae off the sand.
I also added a conch today. He is really cleaning the brown algae off the sand.
Scurvy Dawg
New member
External air pump
Iamgarrett
New member
So this happened...
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Iamgarrett
New member
I'm over due for a proper update. Short story:
Everything's good so far. Added a Yellow Watchman Gobie and Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp last week. They've settled in opposite corners of the tank but are doing well.
Today I added my first corals - a trumpet, a hammer, and a Duncan. Tweaked the power head positioning so the hammer wasn't getting so pounded. Now I'm just anxiously hoping I didn't mess anything up.
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Everything's good so far. Added a Yellow Watchman Gobie and Candy Stripe Pistol Shrimp last week. They've settled in opposite corners of the tank but are doing well.
Today I added my first corals - a trumpet, a hammer, and a Duncan. Tweaked the power head positioning so the hammer wasn't getting so pounded. Now I'm just anxiously hoping I didn't mess anything up.
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