OK! Enough chat...Starting a 1000g+ Reef

[jnarowe]

Dale, I understand what you mean. My biggest concern and a subject of much mental debate is whether having a neck that is tall would increase the probability of the foam head collapsing before spilling over the edge and into the collection cup. If the head weighs a lot and collapses, then I would not be getting as efficient skimming as possible. Does that make sense?

You have GOT to come by and see the rock. It is totally sweeeeet!

 

[Roland Jacques]

jnarowe

thats kinda why i asked. what type of skimmer is this a NW or a bekect.

you can start with the 13" and shorten it if you think you need to. if it a NW you wont need a taller one.

Roland

 

[tinygiants]

I have not seen the BK, so I can not say. In my skimmer, my riser neck was 3", and it performed poorly. I switched to a 2" riser and it worked great.

 

[melev]

Pics please!

 

[jnarowe]

I have not decided on whether it will be NW or not. I had originally planned just to use a powerful air pump but I have determined that it would take a rediculous amount of air and so I will probably switch to NW. I am watching Spazz's progress intently.

Pics are coming Marc, for God's sake, I nearly broke my back today with all the damn rock. There's nothing like kneeling on top of a tank with low overhead and trying to place 5 to 30 lb. rocks without dropping them or falling in. And the sorting was not easy either. Looks like the water is slowly clearing up. Moon lights aren't on yet but I do see a couple worms here and there. My grabber works great though so I can get to them fairly easily when they are out in the open.

 

[melev]

:lol: Why didn't you put on your swim suit and some rubber shoes to step in and out of the tank as you moved your magnificient boulders?

Listen, you're bragging about the rock. I just asked for a little proof.

 

[jnarowe]

LOL...well I had thought I would be "in" the tank but it just didn't turn out to be practical. Besides, who needs the shrinkage anyway?!?

Tank is still cloudy and ammonia is again 1.0 ppm this morning. I am getting about 100g/day out of my RO/DI so I can change out that much. I haven't checked phosphates yet (because I loaned the test to a friend) but I guess it doesn't matter as much as the ammonia anyway.

I see I had a little rock movement last night too. I figured that would happen. Have to pick up my special order bag of white cement from Lowes so I can experiment with making some rocks, but I have to admit that even with the haphazard way I put it in the tank, the result is several caves and the general shape of the aquascape is how I want it. I may not need any man-made structures.

 

[jnarowe]

some photos...

some photos...

These are a few of the rock. The water is still cloudy but I can still see the rock near the glass fairly well.

A little authentication?

 

[jnarowe]

other pics...

other pics...

A little red algae

Porcelain Crab

Who needs a skimmer when your socks foam up like this???

Warning: Not for the squeamish--a FW pic!! This is my pleco waiting for a belly rub. My wife is calling me the "Fish Whisperer".

 

[jnarowe]

also a couple of frags I found in the bottom of a box...

I am not sure if these will survive since the tank is cycling hard right now. Right now they are in the overflow, but does anyone know of a better place to put them? I didn't want to shock them with too much light.

 

[Bax]

Oh yea! That's gona be sweet!

 

[skatezen]

Who needs a skimmer when your socks foam up like this???

Yeah...Lucky you don't have your skimmer on....they do that! I didn't rinse mine first like I guess you are supposed to and my skimmer went bizerk!

 

[melev]

Nice rocks, buddy. Those corals won't be shocked by light. They are pocillopora. You could set them up in a quarantine tank with good lighting so they don't have to suffer through the cycle.

 

[Roland Jacques]

you know, id be bragging about that rock also. that rocks looks sweet.

 

[jnarowe]

Thanks guys!

Marc, I am not sure my QT has enough light. I just have compact 10K and actinic on it, plus the only filtration is a small skimmer with a sponge in it.

I supose I could place them on a rack near the surface.

 

[melev]

Yes, that would work fine.

 

[Roland Jacques]

jnarowe
do you really rub that pleco belly?

 

[NexDog]

Those rocks look like they need a good scrub. All that algae die-off is going to stink to high heaven.

 

[jnarowe]

yup. he has suddenly changed personalities. He used to be very shy and would hide in the cave when you approached the tank. In fact I was always saying stuff like, "and there's a really big fish in there too, but you can't see him". You know the routine!

Anyway, about 3 weeks ago he decided he wanted to eat what the other fish were eating and started taking food with them. I am talking about typical flake food, frozen brine shrimp, etc. I talked to him about the fact that he is supposed to be a vegetarian but it didn't seem to phase him at all.

Anyway, he was so docile as I was feeding him, literally dropping flakes into his mouth that I put my finger in the water and he sucked on it. I thought my wife would pass out. Since then he has let me gently rub his belly and stroke his fins. If I am at all agressive or make a sudden movement he will glide away, but not in a scared or furtive manner like before.

Now when someone comes into the room, he glides around trying to get attention, and I suppose that is to get food. It's not like there isn't any algae or plants for him to eat...I mean look at the picture. He's practically laying on a bed of plants!!

 

[jnarowe]

nexdog you are absolutely correct. The algae die-off does smell bad, but I am OK with it. I am really happy to see that after one day some of that is coming back to life, which is my primary goal. I tested the water an hour ago and again had 1.0 ppm ammonia but strangely zero ppm of nitrate. I didn't believe it and tested again with the same result. That just seems bizarre to me.

BTW, I found the "cure" for high pH...just add rock! The pH has plummeted to currently 8.05. I went to PetSmart to get some stuff and dosed an entire bottle of Kent Buffer and the pH went up for a while and is back down now. So now I have the reverse problem...the pH is too low. I expect these swings during cycling though so I am not too worried. The turbos are making quick work of the diatoms too.

I see a lot of color and various things perking up, while other things are dying off. There are a lot of dead worms which I am sure is a major contributor to the ammonia numbers. All-in-all I am happy with how it's going.