Smooth's 29 gallon build!

[Krewlife]

$29.99 for each hanger with shipping it came to about $77

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Great price. You saved quite a bit, enough for a few frags at least!!

 

[Krewlife]

Great price. You saved quite a bit, enough for a few frags at least!!

ya i seen some pretty sweet looking zoas over at Oceans Above a couple days ago. I can't wait to get my tank going!

 

[SmoothSmoke]

I havent been to that store. Must make it out there soon.

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Looks like I'm ready for fish?!?! Nitrite was 1.5ppm yesterday in the morning. Yesterday afternoon it went to 0. I proceeded with a 23% water change, used red sea coral pro salt.

Specific Gravity = 1.025
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 20ppm
Calcium = 500
Phosphate = 0.25ppm
Alkalinity = 12 dKH
PH = 7.9 (taken in the morning)

 

[sponger0]

Looks pretty good.

But I will add dump that API phosphate kit. Its a trash. Get a hanna phos checker. reading from 0 to .25 to .50 is pointless. You need more accurate readings

 

[SmoothSmoke]

First coral, trumpet

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Radioactive zoa

 

[Krewlife]

sweet! what intensity do you have your photon at?

 

[SmoothSmoke]

sweet! what intensity do you have your photon at?

I have it slowly ramping up to 25 blues/20 whites. They stay at that intensity about 4 hours a day. My blue channel is messed up. Logan at RB is sending me a new driver or power supply in hopes to fix it. The blue channel lights sometimes dont come on....weird.

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Semi shy chromis caught on camera. My royal gramma is impossible to capture. Super shy!

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Battling what appears to be a mini cycle. Nitrite hovering at .25

Fortunately ammonia is 0. I added some prime to be safe. Will wait before adding any more corals or fish.

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Diatoms starting to show today. Also have some coralline. But looks like some cyano too?

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Skimmer is starting to kick butt. Pulling lots of junk. The SCA-301 is well worth the price. Took almost 2 weeks to break in.

All my parameters are optimal. So I went and picked up 3 small frags.


Ricordea

Stylophora

Bicolor Hammer

FTS

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Picked up a new mini colony zoa up yesterday, 50 polyps or so. I fragged it down into 3 separate frags. 25-30 polyps, 15 polyps, 6 polyps. Not sure of the name of it though.

Here is the bigger of the 3.

 

[Krewlife]

those are some nice looking zoas! nice find

 

[SmoothSmoke]

Thanks Krew!

Checked all my levels again today. My diatom bloom lasted all but 1 day. A few trochus snails made quick work of that I do have some diatoms on the sandbed. But these snails do not like cleaning up the sand bed. I'm surprised I haven't really gotten a case of the "uglies" just yet.

SG = 1.024
PH = 7.8
Phosphates = 0 to .25ppm (test color is in between both points, API)
Alkalinity = 9 dkh
Calcium = 480
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 5ppm

 

[sponger0]

Phosphates = 0 to .25ppm (test color is in between both points, API)

That phosphate kit is useless btw. Get a Hanna Checker. Sayin its somewhere between 0 and .25 is too wide of a range

 

[SmoothSmoke]

That phosphate kit is useless btw. Get a Hanna Checker. Sayin its somewhere between 0 and .25 is too wide of a range

I think you are right. Difficult to tell on the API. All other tests are easy to discern minus the phosphates. Will look into the Hanna.

 

[sponger0]

I love mine.

For a clean system it should be between .04-.06

.10 levels means its running a bit high

.20 and up youll probably start seeing some algae problems

This is why the kit sucks for phosphates lol