nbgen12's 75 mixed reef

[nbgen12]

Got home from a trip this weekend and noticed my ammonia alert was nearly at 0. I am pretty shocked at the speed at which the ammonia is dropping already.

Tested ammonia with the salifert test.

Ammonia: 0.5

Time to wait a couple more days for it to hit 0, then time for the nitrite and nitrate tests to see where I'm at. Once nitrite reads 0, I will put another 16ml of ammonia in and see how long it takes to drop to 0 again. From what I've read, once I get ammonia to hit 0 in less than 24 hours after my 16ml dose of ammonia I should be in the clear for getting the CUC in there to chomp on some algae, which I am already beginning to see in numerous spots on the sand and glass.

 

[Noobtosalty]

I am gonna be doing the same thing a 75 gallon tank with a 29 gallon sump... lets see some updated pics

 

[nbgen12]

update: After having a miserable time getting the Apex functional, it is accessible from outside the home network and is programmed and ready for action.

As for the cycle process, ammonia hit 0, nitrites at >1. I don't know what happened to my color card which comes with the salifert nitrite test, but I know the deep pink color is a high reading, so things are going well. Last night I added another 16ml of ammonia.

Noobtosalty -- not much in the way of updated pics at the moment except for the start of algae growth at the moment. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like me to take a close up picture of if you need any ideas.

By the 3 week mark I'm thinking the nitrite reading should be 0, so hopefully I can get a clean up crew in the tank before I spend a week in colorado starting august 12th. A week after I get back we have a local fragfest so there should be some nice pics coming soon as long as I can get the Alk, Ca, Mg at the right levels prior to that meeting.

Trying to stay patient....I find myself constantly staring at the tank lol

 

[Noobtosalty]

I would like to see some pics of the baffles in your sump. what pump did you use in the sump? What are you using for power heads??

 

[nbgen12]

I would like to see some pics of the baffles in your sump. what pump did you use in the sump? What are you using for power heads??

Ill take a couple pictures when i get off work later and post the return pump/powerhead flow info for ya

Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Noobtosalty]

I have a koralina 750 and i am thinking i should get one more for this tank. I also have a Eheim pump in my sump now that was used on my 150 that i bought used so i was thinking of just using that. I Think the biggest equipment upgrade i am going to need is a new skimmer because my little guy isnt going to be able to handle that much water. so that being said i will have to get one of them. I have enough sand for the 75 But will need more live rock.. Going over this in my head that is what i can come up with but i am sure there will be more i need to buy

 

[nbgen12]

I would like to see some pics of the baffles in your sump. what pump did you use in the sump? What are you using for power heads??

Here's the best pic I got for you at the moment.

The left side of the sump is were the water enters the sump and that first baffle is 12" tall. I use an Aqua C Remora Pro skimmer so I don't need hardly any space in the first compartment other than for the skimmer pump. The baffle is 6" from the left side and sits flush to the bottom of the sump. The second chamber is 15" long. Separating the 2nd chamber and the 3rd(return chamber) is a bubble trap which is 3 separate pieces of glass. The first on on the left side is 12" tall just like the first baffle, sitting flush to the bottom of the sump. The second one is 16" tall and sits about an 1-1.5" off the bottom of the sump and is 1" from the first and third baffle of the bubble trap. The last baffle is 8" tall sitting flush to the bottom. My return chamber is about 6" long like the first chamber to fit the return pump.

IMG_2671 by nbgen12, on Flickr

For the return pump I am using a mag 7 which is rated around 700 gph which is actually quite a lot. My return line is about 3' long so it ends up being around 500gph. I'm also running 2 tunze 6045 powerheads(not controllable). These are tiny powerheads compared to others and have a nice wide flow.

A little update:
Ammonia is at 0 again. Added another 16ml of ammonia this morning and and 2 hours after it was 2 ppm. 6 hours after the morning dose it was at .5ppm. Nitrites are getting low. Nitrates are close to 100ppm. Almost time for a big water change and a clean up crew.

Placed an order with reefcleaners so the CUC should be in before wednesday.:lol2:

 

[nbgen12]

btw sorry for the delayed response to you noobtosalty...a few things came up then got too glued to the couch to get anything done lol