zoo tank updates
- Thread starter drbronx
- Start date
I stopped by this am (friday at 9:30 on the way out of town. I added a few more corals contributed by Jackson PT. I cleaned the glass since we now have a magfloat. I cleaned the skimmer cup. The dkh was back down to 6. Whoever goes, please add some alkalinity component and an alk test kit. Starting to get some cyano which is a natural part of the cycling process. temp was 81.7 with the fan on full.
Dave VG
New member
Stopped this morning to work on the trim. Finished the bottom and sides including the gap between the tank. The front trim is all that is left. I also filled the holes from the old hinges. Ran out of time and did not get a chance to prime the wood tho. Alk was still low so I added alkalinity component Temp was still 81 and very humid in there. I doubt there is much evaporation going on IMO. Rockwork and Corals look good Jerry. Nate and vince nice job on sump. Fist I have seen it sense it was completed. I will stop later and check alk again. I may go back tomorrow morning to prime and check parameters again. The earliest I can get in is 8:30 am according to a worker. I left the rope, S hooks and clip for the pulley system. I still need to buy pulleys and some eyes for the S hooks and pulleys.
I checked the tank tonight. I observed a fair amount of cyano which is to be expected at this point. Alk was still quite low especially in relation to very high Ca+ levels. I added a substantial amount of Randy's 2=part and brought alk from 6 to 11 dkh. The corals, all except the red sea xenia looked fine. I even glued in a couple of test sps corals. I hope to add the clowns this Friday. I'll have to arrange to meet witht the caretakers to teach them some basic daily maintenance. For now, feeding the fish, cleaning the glass, cleaning the skimmer cup and adjusting the skimmer, and monitoring/adjusting temp should suffice for now.
DaveVG did a terrific job mounting the sill and the sides with 1/4 round borders. Looks great!
Is there any night folks can meet this week to discuss maintenance, educational materials, finishing loose ends on the tank e.g. pulley system, aqualiftyers for the 2-part additives, etc. also if anyone has any corals to contribute, this might be a good time.
DaveVG did a terrific job mounting the sill and the sides with 1/4 round borders. Looks great!
Is there any night folks can meet this week to discuss maintenance, educational materials, finishing loose ends on the tank e.g. pulley system, aqualiftyers for the 2-part additives, etc. also if anyone has any corals to contribute, this might be a good time.
Paul, Nate, Vince, Dave and I met tonight. Dave painted the moldings, Nate and Vince set up the alk component aqualifter system and explored solutions for microbubbles. Alkalinity continues again to read low and had to be corrected by adding baking soda solution. I added some more live rock to increase corraline colonization. More snails and crabs added. Tank still contains a lot of diatoms but appear to be slightly receding. I added phosphate remover and chemi-pure to the ,media tray. Corals lokked OK but we decided to replace actinic white bulbs with additiona;l superactinics to bring out more coral coloration. One super actinic appeared defective thus I will need to replace 3 bulbs. If any one needs t-5 lamps, you can piggy back the order, since shipping is $15 for 1-6 bulbs.
I added some corals tonight: pink birdsnest, monti spongodes, grape monti capricornis, devil's hand sinularia, pulsing sinularia. Calcium levels are starting to drop (480 ppm). I continue to have to add alk component to hold alkalinity above 10 dkh despite the aqualifters twice daily dosing. As the calcium levels drop this should stabilize. Hopefully at that point the diatoms should recede. Ammonia tests showed very little ammonia but nitrates are up to about 20 indicating a small cycle is occuring.
Saturday morning i will introduce the clowns from Jarek and then at noon i will introduce the caretakers to the basics of the reef and its daily care, feeding and maintenance. If anybody wants to come along, feel free.
Finally, i will soon be ordering some fish from Fosters Smith so let me know if you want to piggyback orders. I'll probably place the order by Sunday. Also, I have to order three t-5 lamps from premium or hello lights. The boxes hold up to 6 bulbs if anyone needs lamps.
Saturday morning i will introduce the clowns from Jarek and then at noon i will introduce the caretakers to the basics of the reef and its daily care, feeding and maintenance. If anybody wants to come along, feel free.
Finally, i will soon be ordering some fish from Fosters Smith so let me know if you want to piggyback orders. I'll probably place the order by Sunday. Also, I have to order three t-5 lamps from premium or hello lights. The boxes hold up to 6 bulbs if anyone needs lamps.
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