Jenyphur's BioCube 32 LED Blog

Jenyphur said:
So I am doing a bit more research on the QT thing and have a few questions...

Would a 5 gl be too small? I love the looks one I found on Amazon but it's 5 gallon and more vertical than horizontal.

https://www.amazon.com/Marineland-ML90609-Portrait-Aquarium-5-Gallon/dp/B00O8SZTKQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

If I have to get a boring old 10 gl one I will but I don't want to hahahahah.
Click to expand...

Ik what you mean on boring 10gl Lol. tbh, my definition of a QT tank is "anything that can hold water." I don't care for the looks. I setup my 10gl qt tank on my dryer, I believe everything cost me 35.00. Tank from the 1.00per gallon special@Petco and a used AquaClear 70, used jebao r8 wave maker and some liverock. The main purpose is to watch for any hitchhikers, worms, pest corals, bugs etc... Id rather have to qt 10gls of water with minimal corals/fish, than my main that has had all my effort in it.

If you have it, invest in a light that matches the display tank so the transition from qt to display is minimal (Since light plays a huge role in corals). My BC29 has a Nanobox Large retro kit and 10gl qt has a nanobox mini (200.00 light) but its not needed, just ideal.
 
These are great replies and I have decided that 5 gallon is too small and it would be better to have a longer, shallow tank. I'll be on the look out for one that looks 'pretty' at the same time. :)
 
Day 6: 3/17/2017

Numbers are the same so I decided to dose the ammonia to 2 using pure ammonia from ACE Hardware. Besides the funny side story of me thinking it would be a good idea to sniff the bottle when I opened it because I wasn't sure if ammonia actually smelled or not and nearly passing out...nothing too exciting to report on.

Day 7: 3/18/2017

Temp: 78
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 5.0
Nitrate: didn't test today
Salinity: 1.026 (35)

So the good news is the ammonia was clear within the 24 hours but still have high Nitrites. Of course I was second guessing myself and was making a trip to the LFS anyways so I brought in some water for them to test and they verified the test results and said everything looks good..nitrites at 5.0 and just be patient and any day it could be down to 0. Getting closer....yeah!

I then had my little list of questions regarding ATO, acclimation kits, etc. He was super nice and spent quite a bit of town showing me the clowns I should eventually get (they are sooooo cute!!!) as well other going over some corals that would be good starter corals. I fell in love with the frogspan...and I am pretty sure it will be one of my first purchases. There was also another customer in there that was so nice and also helped to answer any questions. I thought he worked there but he said he didn't, just likes to hang out there lol. Awesome! Love the team spirit.

I also watched a guy bring in his fish and get cash because he was moving out of state...I thought that was very cool. Bought the fish back at 1/2 price and even the live rock. What a great idea, I'm sure other FS do this but it's just a great idea. He also had some great advice. People have been so friendly.

So all in all, I walked away with 10 gallons of RODI water, cleaning supplies, acclimation drip hose kit thingy and a lot more confidence.

I did order the ATO online, I went with the AutoAqua SmartATO micro because I found it at a REALLY good price ($101). The LFS had it for $169. :( So sadly I couldn't justify buying it at the LFS but I figure thats $70 worth more coral and fish I can buy in a few weeks.
 
It sucks to make the decision of lfs or online. Can't beat the online price but sometimes you can't beat the knowledge those lfs's have. Then you think about the cost of everything and it kinda helps make the decision for you;)


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e6461c4f61953a14feebaca6e46de711.jpg
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Here is a pic today of the rock...I noticed there are these little red/purple dots in some places...is this the beginning of algae ??

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So does that mean there is a dead crab in there somewhere ? Before I put the rocks in...I went through them pretty good...or so I thought. :(

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It might be a dead crab in,this case would be good. If it's part of a molt you might want to set up a trap to catch it. Pretty sure black claws are evil in a reef tank


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Day 8, 9, 10: 3/16 - 3/21


Temp: 79
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 5.0
Nitrate: didn't test today
Salinity: 1.026 (35)

Pretty much nothing is happening....no movement other than my temp because it is bloody hot here in Phoenix (94 yesterday).

I need to be patient...I need to be patient, I need to be pati.....ugh. Hurry up already. :)
 
Day 11, 12: 3/22, 3/23


UGH...just waiting. Nothing happening. Nitrites not moving. Is this NORMAL???


Temp: 78.5
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 5.0
Nitrate: didn't test today
Salinity: 1.026 (35)

Another question...I bought a wavemaker and was wondering if I should install it now or wait until I have something in the tank...does it matter either way?
 
What are you adding to tank to feed the bacteria?
I'd add the wave maker now so you can tune it and then setup your corals accordingly to flow needs.


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Well I went ahead and put in the wavemaker and glad I did, I had a LOT of yucky stuff just sitting around in the rocks and such...it's all being kicked up now which is good. I plan on leaving it where it is for today but will reposition it over the next few days to make sure to find any other dead spots.
 
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