Cycling with TBS start to finish
- Thread starter landlord
- Start date
hdtran
New member
Kashmir,
Love the way you did your aquascaping with the table rock on the two side support rocks!
You'll see random large green ribbons attached to your rock (about 1/2" wide, maybe 1" long, almost like a squashed tube). Those are the clam attachment byssus that the clam lets go to wander someplace else! At first, I thought it was Caulerpa that had been cut off for shipping, but no, you'll find those where the clams were before they decided that they wanted to move.
Keep looking for feather dusters, it's always amazing to see another one pop up.
Love the way you did your aquascaping with the table rock on the two side support rocks!
You'll see random large green ribbons attached to your rock (about 1/2" wide, maybe 1" long, almost like a squashed tube). Those are the clam attachment byssus that the clam lets go to wander someplace else! At first, I thought it was Caulerpa that had been cut off for shipping, but no, you'll find those where the clams were before they decided that they wanted to move.
Keep looking for feather dusters, it's always amazing to see another one pop up.
hdtran,
so far just the one clam has broken loose, looking forward to seeing where it is tonight. ther is another still attached to the rock both about fist sized.
not many feather dusters, yet.
hopefully the weather will clear late this week, and the second shipment will arrive.
Fl is not as predictable as NM.
so far just the one clam has broken loose, looking forward to seeing where it is tonight. ther is another still attached to the rock both about fist sized.
not many feather dusters, yet.
hopefully the weather will clear late this week, and the second shipment will arrive.
Fl is not as predictable as NM.
landlord
New member
12/10/03 - Day 19
Results:
Date/Time: 12/10/03 8:13 PM
Temp: 81 degrees
Ph: 8.2
Salinity: 1.025
Alkalinity: Normal
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 9
Notes:
Did another water change to help bring down the Nitrates. I am kind of wishing I had the TBS critters for the tank. The algae is starting to get a bit crazy. Pray for rock!
-landlord
Results:
Date/Time: 12/10/03 8:13 PM
Temp: 81 degrees
Ph: 8.2
Salinity: 1.025
Alkalinity: Normal
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 9
Notes:
Did another water change to help bring down the Nitrates. I am kind of wishing I had the TBS critters for the tank. The algae is starting to get a bit crazy. Pray for rock!
-landlord
hdtran
New member
Patience, and a pre-warmed, pre-mixed, well-aged bucket of saltwater for a quickie water change (we change no water before its time) 
Once your critters are in & the rest of your rocks are in, you (& Surprise) should consider the following:
(1) Do you want to take the (admittedly small) risk of Ich cysts & introduce fish immediately, or wait 21 to 28 days?
(2) When introducing fish, do you have the patience to QT them (or does your LFS do quarantine or something similar)?
(3) Once you start introducing fish, how quickly (or slowly) do you do so? all the fish at once, or 1 fish/week or month until you've reached your desired population?
My personal answers (1) 21 days, (2) LFS keeps all fish in copper, so no, (3) 3 at once (current FOwLR fish), then, 1/month.
But you do have an occupation you can take up while waiting for Part 2 rocks: You can watch your pod population grow!
Once your critters are in & the rest of your rocks are in, you (& Surprise) should consider the following:
(1) Do you want to take the (admittedly small) risk of Ich cysts & introduce fish immediately, or wait 21 to 28 days?
(2) When introducing fish, do you have the patience to QT them (or does your LFS do quarantine or something similar)?
(3) Once you start introducing fish, how quickly (or slowly) do you do so? all the fish at once, or 1 fish/week or month until you've reached your desired population?
My personal answers (1) 21 days, (2) LFS keeps all fish in copper, so no, (3) 3 at once (current FOwLR fish), then, 1/month.
But you do have an occupation you can take up while waiting for Part 2 rocks: You can watch your pod population grow!
landlord
New member
Hy - Thaks for the advise. Not really sure what I want to do with the tank. I really just want to get the 2nd half of the shipment in place. It's funny because once I have it I wil need to figure out where I want to go. My Better Half already has a FO tank going so I want to try and keep the fish bioload out of my tank. I have been spending a lot of time looking a various pictures of natural reef settings. I really want to try and put together an eye pleasing aquascape. I also want to make sure that I have addressed things like flow and light. I really do like SPS so I know they will eventually make it into the tank.
Splach - I will try and get some more pictures for ya. The problem is the camera. It really sucks! Everythig gets washed out looking. It is also a loner camera which won't be around for much longer. The family is coming to FL for the season with their camera, hopefully the picture quality will be better. Glad to hear that you are making progress with your equipment. Were you ever able to get someone to send you plans for the canopy? My offer still stands if you would like to utilize my (albeit novice) design. It is quite functional.
-landlord
Splach - I will try and get some more pictures for ya. The problem is the camera. It really sucks! Everythig gets washed out looking. It is also a loner camera which won't be around for much longer. The family is coming to FL for the season with their camera, hopefully the picture quality will be better. Glad to hear that you are making progress with your equipment. Were you ever able to get someone to send you plans for the canopy? My offer still stands if you would like to utilize my (albeit novice) design. It is quite functional.
-landlord
landlord
New member
12/11/03 - Day 20
Results:
Date/Time: 12/11/03 7:24 PM
Temp: 79 degrees
Ph: 8.2
Salinity: 1.025
Alkalinity: Normal
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 7 or 8 hard to tell
Notes:
Caught one of two gorilla crabs that I have seen munching on bits of things. I used the old "flick him off the rock with a bamboo skewer method" He is now roaming the FO tank wishing he had TBS rock to munch on. Tank looks well except for hairy algae and the like which is getting kind of heavy in spots. I will be keeping an eye on it.
Ordered another 7 inch fan to help with cooling. I am slowly bringing up the amount of time that the halides are on. The 7 inch clip fan by Holmes(R) is a godsend.
-landlord
Results:
Date/Time: 12/11/03 7:24 PM
Temp: 79 degrees
Ph: 8.2
Salinity: 1.025
Alkalinity: Normal
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 7 or 8 hard to tell
Notes:
Caught one of two gorilla crabs that I have seen munching on bits of things. I used the old "flick him off the rock with a bamboo skewer method" He is now roaming the FO tank wishing he had TBS rock to munch on. Tank looks well except for hairy algae and the like which is getting kind of heavy in spots. I will be keeping an eye on it.
Ordered another 7 inch fan to help with cooling. I am slowly bringing up the amount of time that the halides are on. The 7 inch clip fan by Holmes(R) is a godsend.
-landlord
landlord
New member
Splach - If I knew what CFM and DB were, I'd be more than happy to give the info. What do those terms stand for??? What I can tell you is that I spent 66.00 plus shipping on two Custom SeaLife 3.5 inch fans. They do nothing to keep down the heat. They simply do not draw enough heat from within the canopy. Granted, the canopy design was kind of "home-baked" by myself and may not be condusive to the fans. The 7 inch clip on desk fans pointed at the water surface cost me 30 bucks for the both of them. The are just as quiet, fully adjustable and they definitely move the air. I lose about 1/2 gallon to evaporation per day but it is not enought to alter salinity to much. If I can find the time I would like to install a top off device so I never have to worry.
delta - I am constantly cleaning the skimmer. I am pretty sure that mine is a piece of S*&@. Red Sea Pism Skimmer = Lame and noisy. For the second part of your question. What are phoshpates, what do they do, and what kind of test kit do I need to check on them? I feel so novice
lemme know guys
...and thanks for watching out for me.
-landlord
delta - I am constantly cleaning the skimmer. I am pretty sure that mine is a piece of S*&@. Red Sea Pism Skimmer = Lame and noisy. For the second part of your question. What are phoshpates, what do they do, and what kind of test kit do I need to check on them? I feel so novice
lemme know guys
...and thanks for watching out for me.
-landlord
hdtran
New member
CFM: Cubic Feet per Minute (A really horrible bastardized unit with which we should not put up, but hey...)
DB: He means dB, as in decibel of sound (sound pressure level), as opposed to dB watt in audio or power electronics or ... 0 dB is as quiet as it gets; 100 dB is your kids' room... 30 or 40 dB for a fan is very quiet; the muffin fans used to cool computers tend to run 60 dB and about 100 cfm.
If you're a DIY, you get the computer muffin fans surplus (less than $10/ea; moves a goodly amount of air), and build your own holder for the fans.
Consumer fans (e.g. Walmart) tend not to have CFM or dB listed. Electronic cooling fans will list CFM, because you need to figure out if that's enough air flow to cool your Powerium chip. (More than you wanted to know, I'm sure...)
DB: He means dB, as in decibel of sound (sound pressure level), as opposed to dB watt in audio or power electronics or ... 0 dB is as quiet as it gets; 100 dB is your kids' room... 30 or 40 dB for a fan is very quiet; the muffin fans used to cool computers tend to run 60 dB and about 100 cfm.
If you're a DIY, you get the computer muffin fans surplus (less than $10/ea; moves a goodly amount of air), and build your own holder for the fans.
Consumer fans (e.g. Walmart) tend not to have CFM or dB listed. Electronic cooling fans will list CFM, because you need to figure out if that's enough air flow to cool your Powerium chip. (More than you wanted to know, I'm sure...)
delta
Premium Member
Phosphates are one of the chemicals that build up in a tank and are also put there by product used, you may have noticed alot of reef product say "no phosphates"
basically phosphates will feed algea, but you can test for them with a phosphate test kit and if they are present you can use a phosphate sponge or media to absorb them.
i prefer to use the media in a mess bag but you can go either way.
hope this helps
basically phosphates will feed algea, but you can test for them with a phosphate test kit and if they are present you can use a phosphate sponge or media to absorb them.
i prefer to use the media in a mess bag but you can go either way.
hope this helps
