Nat's 29 Gallon Build Thread

Last night I observed what I believe to be diatoms forming on the substrate and rock work. Light brown to golden dusty looking patches. I've been running the lights, probably unnecessarily, since I added the rock, so that could explain the growth.

From what I've read since, it seems that the emergence of diatoms can be indicative of the cycle beginning to complete, so tonight I plan on checking the parameters. As of this past weekend, ammonia and nitrites were still quite high.

I'm also going to break out the microscope and see if I can't get a good look at these little silicate munchers. The Wiki article says they are quite interesting looking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatoms
 
Also I've started keeping a blog/journal about my aquariums here: <a href="http://aquariums.nattarbox.com/">http://aquariums.nattarbox.com/</a>

Mostly it will deal with the reef tank, just because I've already put three years into the planted setup so it is very stable and not a lot happens there. I'm going to use the blog to keep track of interesting links and articles I find, tank parameters, new inhabitants and the like. Mostly stuff that I will also post in this thread, but likely with a lot more detail.
 
Looks good. I like all those colors in that big rock. I use a T5 on my 55 gallon and love it. I'm not sure what I'm going to use with the 30 gallon. Right now, just the standard light.
 
My ammonia dropped to zero on Wednesday, and Thursday morning I woke up to a good collection of diatoms growing on the substrate. Saturday morning the ammonia was still at zero, so I decided to pick up some snails and hermits. 12 nerite snails, and 10 hermit crabs, a variety pack of Clibanarius.

Still don't have the white balance quite dialed in for these lights, so please excuse the yellow tone of some of these pictures. Shooting RAW would make this a lot easier!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nattarbox/2305451494/" title="Clibanarius by nttrbx, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2231/2305451494_e89baaa141_b.jpg" width="1024" height="682" alt="Clibanarius" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nattarbox/2304652953/" title="Clibanarius tricolor by nttrbx, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2132/2304652953_7b6472fb45_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="Clibanarius tricolor" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nattarbox/2305450782/" title="Nerite Snail by nttrbx, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2305450782_115b80f8ea_b.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="Nerite Snail" /></a>

Check out the barnacles on the snails shell, you can see their feeders extended!
 
Well so far it looks like everyone I added this past weekend is still alive and doing well. Both snails and hermits have been working on the diatoms. I've been leaving the lights on at extended hours just to make sure that they have enough to eat. I've also been dusting the rocks with a turkey baster to keep things suspended in the water. The skimmer has settled down and is running quite well. Tonight I should get some test kits and additives, along with a few other gadgets. This weekend I'm going to do a 20% water change and see where we are in terms of nitrite and nitrates.

I'm still confident I want to go with the 150 watt Sunpod. I found a great price on it at an online store, so I will probably order that this weekend. As far as continued stocking plans, I've been thinking about it some more and decided that I want to go with primarily, if not entirely, SPS species. I was leaning towards some of the aquacultured frags availablee online, specifically because I've heard they are more forgiving in terms of aquarium conditions, and a better bet for the beginning reef keeper. I also like the idea of successful aquaculture providing the hobby with its stock.
 
I got another test kit tonight and did a full battery of tests. Here are the results!

Temp: 81F
pH: 8.0
Specific Gravity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm
Phosphate: 0ppm
Calcium: 480ppm
KH: 179ppm

So everything seems pretty solid. Worth noting, I haven't done anything yet to increase calcium or KH. I received a 2 part solution today specifically for that, but apparently I won't need to worry about it for the meantime. I'm going to try and slowly bring the pH up to 8.2 - 8.3 this weekend with a 20% water change.

Also I made a graph showing the cycle of my tank so far. Seems like what you'd want to be seeing, unless I'm mistaken. I'm hoping Nitrates continue to drop off.

<img src="http://www.nattarbox.com/images/aquarium/nitrogen_cycle_3.5.08.png">
 
150 watt Sunpod is ordered! Marine Depot had a great deal, and good shipping rates. Not sure when it will be getting here, but I would imagine sometime around the end of next week.
 
thought maybe you would be intrested in an example with t-5

thought maybe you would be intrested in an example with t-5

I've got another t-5 on order though
010.jpg
 
Jason where did you find those legs? Looks like a good solution for the unusual 30" tank width. There were lots of 24" fixtures I found that were interesting possibilities, but I think in the end the 150 watt Sunpod should work well for me.

I'm interested to see how bright the white LEDs it comes with are, and how much of a dawn/dusk effect I can get by timing them a half hour before and after the halide fires up. My current Coralife light has two blue LEDs for night, and those are pretty bright. Having six blue and six white should be pretty awesome.

Looks like my skimmer is working. This was about half the volume and the color of espresso after running it all week, then I ran it wetter for the afternoon before changing it out.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nattarbox/2321659712/" title="Skimmate by nttrbx, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2389/2321659712_8c03bd75d1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Skimmate" /></a>

On the parameter side, I slowly adjusted my pH up to 8.3 over the course of the week, and the salinity down to 1.024. I also did the first water change yesterday, roughly 20%. One thing I learned is that with a tank of this size its going to be important to pre-heat the new water before adding it to the tank. I dropped the temp from 81 to 78 with a 20% change, even after letting the new water sit for a few hours. I guess it just comes out of the tap really cold. I might pick up a cheap heater for this purpose, wouldn't hurt to have a spare around anyway.
 
I was considering getting the <a href="http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2615">Live Aquaria aquacultured beginner SPS pack</a> for my first corals. Does anyone have an opinion on that? I don't want to discourage myself by starting off a new tank with some hard to keep specimens, but on the other hand I do want to eventually have this be an SPS dominant tank and I'd rather not have my first coral be something I might eventually not want.

I've heard that aquacultured corals are more hardy and adaptable to tank conditions, but I also realize that my tank is very new and may not be ready to support more difficult species. I'm also considering taking on the Koralia nano on the right side and replacing it with another Koralia 3, and possible putting both of them on a wave maker. Right now my flow is strong, but very consistently circular around the length of the tank. Getting it to be slightly more random might be useful.
 
The tank looks great good start, and the bigger rock has some really nice color reminds me of my rocks nice deep purple. Good job Trev.
 
So, any thoughts on the SPS beginner's pack idea? Since my light is coming tomorrow I could conceivably put in an order tonight and have the corals delivered on Friday. Then I'd have all weekend to sit in front of the tank and observe. Also open to suggestions on other coral species that it might be worthwhile to start with. I'd like to eventually keep some Zoanthus at the bottom of the tank, and I also like a lot of Montiporas.

I am going to test parameters again tonight and make sure everything has been stable since the weekend.
 
Thanks!

I ordered the SPS pack this morning! Should be here tomorrow I believe. Its funny how you spend so much time planning every detail around how a tank will work, and then this huge variable in the form of animal life shows up. I've half convinced myself that they're going to melt away or explode the second they go in my tank. :rollface:

Here are my parameters from last night:

Temp: 80F
SG: 1.025
pH: 8.3
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20ppm
dKH: 9
Calcium: 400ppm
Phosphate: 0
 
Alrighty, here is the new fixture up and operational! Man there is nothing more fun than getting new reef toys in the mail. This is the 150 watt Sunpod fixture, which I ordered from Marine Depot. They did a fantastic job packing it, and the price could not be beat. I will definitely be ordering from them in the future.

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2332423180_9e2319d84d.jpg">

I'd like to know how Current's marketing department supports the claim about being as bright as a 250 watt light.

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/2331595005_acd4ecaceb.jpg">

Here is how I currently have the lights configured:
Blue LEDs (night): 12:00am to 5:00pm
White LEDs: 4:30pm to 12:30am
Metal Halide: 5:00pm to 12:00am

This give me a seven hour photo period, with a half hour LED 'sunrise' and 'sunset' to buffer around it, with blue moonlighting at night. I think that is a good starting point, and will increase if necessary from there. I will also probably set it to a longer daylight period on Saturday and Sunday when I am at home and want to enjoy the tank. I'll have to stay up tonight and check out what the white/blue LED combo looks like.

This is with the compact fluorescent bulbs (10k and actinic) I was running temporarily:

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2188/2282382542_ddc2f758e9.jpg">

And here is the new fixture:

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2332423484_e19d3a82f8.jpg">

Note that the white balance isn't correct on either of those photos, but the difference is obvious. One thing I've noticed is that the lime green coraline algae is much less vibrant under the halide than it was with the CF. I'm not sure if this is the bulb or the lack of actinic lighting.

Here is a full tank shot:

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3169/2331595423_dff6c9bc94.jpg">
 
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