Up and Running

[Mikilios]

My friend, do as you will..

Your lack of respect for aquatic life disturbs me.

Its okay to post in every other thread, but remember, inexperienced advice, is bad advice.

We all just need to sit down and have a :beer:

From what I have seen so far of aquaria from the world wide web, is a community of people who share in their information for the common good (and many would agree to disagree). The truth of things is that the worlds habitats are dissapearing in many areas, land and water. One day, the last remnants of great ocean reefs may only be found in the miniature replicas we are making in captivity. Look at the BP oil spill... climate change, and countries using reef sources to convert them into roads, etc. There are a growing number of species that are nearly extinct, and the larger percent of those left are captive or in preserves.
And to address the concerns over the creatures I am planning on putting in my tank (while using tap water), I did not plan to put anything in other then things that are being bred in captivity. From what I have read, there is no reason for me to be dealing with captured specimens in general, as a newbie. Leave that to those who have been at this hobby for years... and one day I may be one of those who has done it for years and I carry the torch and spread my knowledge and encourage others. I have done several months of research before jumping into this, and will continue to research everything. I appreciate all feedback and all perspectives, because we all have things to learn from one another. As a society of social creatures that we are, it is nice to have support and ideas from others. Anyhow, these are my thoughts.
On a side note... I jumped from having a cockatiel when I was 17 to owning an African Grey parrot at 25. These are considered to be a bird only owned by "experienced" only. Well in my mind, the best experience is what Athena and I learned from each other along the way (and of course all the books and web articles helped me too). The key to success is being attentative and striving for betterment when undertaking such projects. If someone is not willing for the commitment to being responsible for such life forms, those are the only ones who should not get involved in such endeavors, IMO.

 

[Mikilios]

I almost forgot....

I almost forgot....

Back to the origin and intent of this whole thread... my aquarium. I got home form work, and everything is looking good. My SG went up a notch to 1.026, and my temp was almost at 80 when I got home! (it was a hot day where I live today and no ac at home... ) but I am slowly getting it back to the 79 degree mark I am trying to maintain. Poseidon is doing well... this morning I got up to him eating like crazy (although there are still two small pockets of green bubble algae present). I am noticing greater growth from my coraline algae, and I have a baby feather duster who has almost doubled in size since I first noticed him in my tank on one of the rubble rocks. I can actually see the hair like tips now when he decides to feed (white tips with bluish/purple banding) =)

I will check other parameters before bedtime, and try to take some pics with my roomies nice dig. camera. I love the little feather duster, and am quite happy to see his obvious growth.

I also dosed the tank in the early am with some more Kent Marine calcium (as per its reccomendation of 1/4 teaspoon daily for a tank with a light bio load). I add it into the sump. I am thinking on setting up a drip dosing system, but will have to do more research to find the right kind of setup for my system.

 

[Mikilios]

Pics

Pics

In one, I tried to get a shot of the feather duster sitting on the piece of live rock that looks like a flat crater. The other was just an abstract looking shot from above.

 

[Palting]

I also dosed the tank in the early am with some more Kent Marine calcium (as per its reccomendation of 1/4 teaspoon daily for a tank with a light bio load). I add it into the sump. I am thinking on setting up a drip dosing system, but will have to do more research to find the right kind of setup for my system.

As per my reading, Calcium levels are well maintained just with good reef quality salt used in water changes and keeping the salinity at 1.025-1.026, unless there is a good population of calcium consuming livestock. I would suggest you invest in a good Calcium test kit first rather than just dosing, and keep the dosing for a later time when you have a lot of stony coral. I wasted money on bottles of Calcium additives early on, only to find out my Calcium has been at about 440 and steady with or without additives.

 

[Mikilios]

As per my reading, Calcium levels are well maintained just with good reef quality salt used in water changes and keeping the salinity at 1.025-1.026, unless there is a good population of calcium consuming livestock. I would suggest you invest in a good Calcium test kit first rather than just dosing, and keep the dosing for a later time when you have a lot of stony coral. I wasted money on bottles of Calcium additives early on, only to find out my Calcium has been at about 440 and steady with or without additives.

I did actually just read something today that pretty much said calcium this early is a waste when using a quality salt mix (and i'm using Instant Ocean). Ah well. Easy enough to hold onto it until needed.

 

[Mikilios]

Good Day

Good Day

After work today I went and purchased 15 more lbs of liverock at a different lfs then the first batch. They said everything in their tank had been cycling for over two weeks. I inspected this stuff a little better now that I've done more research on algae. So far I am only seeing pink and purple coralline in decent grow back amounts. I made sure to hand pick pieces that were 1)very porous and 2) looked like they had been cycling a bit longer.

Tested the water params today. Ammonia 0/Nitrite 0/Nitrate 2ppm/Phosphate 0/pH 8.3/temp 79.5-80 degrees over the course of the afternoon/evening. sg @ 1.025. Found out my cheap hydrometer is already reading slightly off. It read 1.026, but i checked twice with the refractometer and it read 1.025. No wonder they (hydrometers) are so frowned upon. 1 week of use and its already an erronous tool. Ya get what ya pay for. dKH was 8

The emerald crab Poseidon is grazing like a crab possessed. I also found 2 collonista snails in my tank just a bit ago, grazing in a cavernous portion of the rock. (Makes sense I found them late and on the underside since they are nocturnal). I wont bother trying to take any pictures of the collonista's... they are teeny tiny. If not for having hawk eyes like I do, I would have never noticed.

All in all, my tank appears well. I think I may have lucked out with all the cured live rock from the lfs's. Very porous, very close to home (I have 5 sources for live rock within 15 mins of home :spin3 I am starting to wonder if I am going to see any noticeable amount of die off. Time will tell. But so far so good. So much fun to watch the little critters coming alive in the tank from the nearby couch.

 

[Palting]

Looking good!

Like any aquarium equipment, the cheap hydrometer needs maintenance. It needs to cure for 24 H in salt water before the first use, then needs to be rinsed in fresh water after each subsequent use otherwise it develops deposits. My hydrometer has been spot on when I test the same water with it and the LFS refractometer. OTOH, it's not as cool as a refractometer, so I may get a refractometer anyway .

 

[Mikilios]

So, a little cycle today

So, a little cycle today

I am starting to see some diatom action going on now. Its amazing the difference a day can make. It is pretty sweet to see the change going on. Funnier yet, I can see where Poseidon has been scraping away food off some of the rocks. He must have found some pockets of deliciousness. The water params were good today, ammonia 0, Nitrate < 2ppm, nitrite 0. calcium around 380ppm. pH looks to be 8.4 today, and phosphate reading trace-0. The temp in the tank also climbed to 81. =( It was an unusually hot day though for around here.

My feather duster is still growing. Oddly, it is my favorite thing in the tank. I found I can take a long straw and "coax" him out of his tube by swishing it back and forth above him. The change of current triggers his feeding response. Very amusing. I do wonder how big he will get....... can hitchhiker feather dusters grow to be fairly large?

 

[serenitynow2010]

Just curious if you are expecting your tank to cycle? I have a new 38gal w/21lbs LR that has been running for a week and nothing is happening; My perams have stayed the same; 79degrees, Ammonia 0, pH 8.4, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, 1.023. Thanks

 

[Mikilios]

Just curious if you are expecting your tank to cycle? I have a new 38gal w/21lbs LR that has been running for a week and nothing is happening; My perams have stayed the same; 79degrees, Ammonia 0, pH 8.4, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, 1.023. Thanks

Well, one aspect is what condition your live rock was in when you purchased it? Was it shipped to you, or purchased from a local fish store? If it was a LFS, did you inquire how long it was in their tanks?

Second, I believe all live rock will cycle (based on all my reading) when put in a new tank. It may be hardly noticeable in our water params, but physically picking up the rock, driving it any distance, and putting it into brand new water sources.... surely some small amount of die off would happen. That die off creates something of a cycle. Also, beneficial bacteria have to spread and grow. I by no means am any expert on all of this, but I have been doing HOURS of reading about live rock in new systems, and the general consensus is the live rock most definitely cycles, to some degree, whether great or small. And the common opinion is, getting well cured live rock from the LFS and getting it home quickly helps to make a "lesser" amount of die off (in a sense of the law of averages anyhow).

That is most of what I have been reading, and visually seeing in my tank. Have you noticed algae growth (coralline's, browns, greens, reds)? Or have you noticed any black or white patches appearing/growing?

 

[Mikilios]

The tank...

The tank...

Looks good today. Poseidon continues to ravage the rocks in his eternal search of food algae (emerald crabs... amazing creatures). The water temp averages to 79.5. I moved the two koralia 750's late last night before bed time, placing them lower in the tank so they blow more directly across the rock surface. I am liking this pattern better, although after insight from others and some reading, I may go and get one powerhead with a little more strength to it, leave one koralia 750 in-tank, and use the other as a backup/salt mixer. Algae growth is flourishing today. I see great patches of lime green coraline algae starting to grow, as well as increased pink and purple area (and a good stretch of red coraline growing on the underside of one rock). There are also hair algaes starting to become more noticeable, but from all I have read, this happens to some degree or another, no matter what you do.
Also, I did not turn on the lights until 2pm today. The heat lately (and lack of ac in the house) has me disturbed about the water getting too warm while I'm away. I love having the power strip with timer outlets... nifty device for marine tanks. :rollface:

 

[Mikilios]

New Pics Taken Today

New Pics Taken Today

 

[Mikilios]

More Pics

More Pics

Two more of the tank, and one of Nine (French Bulldog) and one of Athena (african grey parrot).

 

[canlax]

I have been watching from the sidelines on many, many build threads and it is nice to find a relatively new build to tag along with someone who has obviously put in some serious research. Looking forward to seeing your progress thanks for posting.

I have a couple more months to go before I can start a build myself so living vicariously through the likes of you while I soak up what I can.

 

[Mikilios]

I have been watching from the sidelines on many, many build threads and it is nice to find a relatively new build to tag along with someone who has obviously put in some serious research. Looking forward to seeing your progress thanks for posting.

I have a couple more months to go before I can start a build myself so living vicariously through the likes of you while I soak up what I can.

I love it! I am glad that I can entertain/help others with my thread and I thank you for the kind words. Once you do get yours up and running, I hope you can share with me. This is an amazingly fascinating hobby. I live with two roomates who enjoy what I am doing and allowed me to have the setup in the living room where we can all share in the fun.

 

[Mikilios]

Tank info

Tank info

Poseidon the emerald crab... still doing great. He has very pointedly made one particular 13 lb chunk of rock "his." I dont see him anywhere else in the tank, which makes it clear to me that he is finding plenty of food on this rock alone. It really is fun to watch him weild those pincers across the rock face. He leaves marks on the live rock that tell of his recent meal spots.

I went out and made some more purchases for the tank. I bought a handy dandy 7 dollar clip on light (rated for up to 150watt bulbs) at Home Depot for the sump. I found a 6500 K daylight (& energy efficient) light bulb at Walmart (2 for 2.50). I bought 5 cheap white towels and a jug of bleach for washing my "aquarium towels" with (one should never wash any aquarium materials with regular laundry detergents/soaps I've read). On top of that, I bought a can of Krylon fusion black spray paint and have made a second pvc assembly that I will put into the tank for the overflow return. I also made a sleeve out of an 8" piece of 1.25" pvc with holes drilled in it. The cool thing about this... it floats, and will catch on the rim of the tank to hold it suspended over the overflow. I drilled several holes in it near the top. I "believe" this will act as a perfectly efficient drain cover (because it allows 1/8" water to come in around the inside diameter, and the 1/4" x 5 holes around the top allow water in as well). Not only that, it is all black and matching, and no extra pvc will protrude from the tank. In a few days I will give it a whirl (after allowing the paint to seal on nicely). I tried this concept early on just after setting up my return line, and it didn't work quite right because I didn't have holes drilled in it. It restricted the flow just a little bit too much to be effective. With the addition of the holes, I have high hopes.

Lastly, I bought a 3/4" t for my return line that I will attach so that I dont have to have my return pump throttled back so much. Now I will have one section returning to the main tank, and the other going into the refugium.

 

[Mikilios]

The double surprise this morning

The double surprise this morning

So I was checking over the tank when I woke up, and found two litle critters living on the rubble rock in the fuge.... one good and one bad. The first I noticed was a little baby feather duster. The second was a little glass anemone growing on a seperate piece of live rock. I figured this was a good time to try out the Joe's Juice I had purchased last week in case of such a scenario playing out.

So far, the Joe's Juice looks to have killed it. Just a couple drops directly over the anemone. I will be inspecting closely for any more of these pests.

 

[Mikilios]

More shopping

More shopping

So today I went to the LFS and purchased a good sized handful of cheato. Tossed it in the sump under the new 6500 k daylight clip on lamp. From all I have read, these are great biological filters for the system, and they help hold/break up nitrates.

I also got one more emerald crab, and 1 fire shrimp. The emerald crab is to help ensure my nuisance algae's are not going to become a problem later. Poseidon is only staying on one third of the tanks rock and finding more then enough food there. So I hope by adding one more, the new addition will lay claim to another portion of the rock and help keep it clean. I definitely am seeing decent growth of algae in the system.

The fire shrimp is more for viewing pleasure, and I have a hunch he is going to do just fine. My plan is to add small amounts of inverts at a time, and monitor them vs. their environs. By doing this slowly, I am hoping to avoid the whole "cleaner crew" purchase of 20-100 critters all at once. I just dont know that the cleaner crew at once method is a good one. So I'm going to pace mine, monitor, check levels, and see how it goes. The fire shrimp sure is a colorful addition to the system. =) Also, the nice handful of cheato in the sump is one more piece of awesome biological filtration for the system. Can't wait to see some pods growing happy down in the refugium. :rollface:

 

[Mikilios]

Todays Pics

Todays Pics

 

[Mikilios]

Baby snails!

Baby snails!

I went out to the movies, and come home to discover that "gary" my colonista snail has been busy doing more then just eating algae at night. There are incredibly tiny snails roaming the live rock tonight! I will take this as a good sign. Besides, I do have a crop of algae growing in for them to devour. =)

The fire shrimp seems to be doing well. I drip acclimated for 3 hours, and he has been hanging out in the cave like structures. He is extremely shy, but fun to watch.