nanostripe Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Hello! I've been lurking and reading here for a few months. Thanks for sharing so much great info! I've assembled a new RSM to sit alongside my 32g freshwater planted tropical tank. Ingredients: RSM 34g Tunze 9002 Skimmer StevieT Skimmer Cup StevieT Media Rack Koralia Deflector Koralia 2 33lbs Tonga Live Rock Stealth Heater Prime Chiller 1/10th HP Reef Crystals API Salt Water and Reef Master Test Kits Refractometer The rock was previously in a display tank at the LFS. It's covered in purple. I soaked and washed the pieces in a bucket of fresh, slightly over-salty water. I'm using Reef Crystals salt mix. It was setup last night, & I've tested the water for a few days: 1/5/09: Temp: 78.4F SG: 1.025 PH: 8.2 Nitrite: 0.00 Nitrate: 0.00 Ammonia: 0.25 Phosphate: 0.25 1/6/09: Temp: 78.3F SG: 1.026 PH: 8.2 Nitrite: 0.00 Nitrate: 0.00 Ammonia: 0.00 Phosphate: 0.25 - 0.5 1/7/09: Temp: 78.3F SSG: 1.025 PH: 8.2 Nitrite: 0.00 Nitrate: 0.00 Ammonia: 0.25 Phosphate: 0.25 Calcium: 360 I'm not really seeing much of a cycle yet. I might be seeing some diatoms on the sand in the middle of the rocks, but not positive. I've seen a 3/4" starfish once, and some sort of snail/slug last night as well. There are 10-15 Zoo's attached to the rocks, most of which open nicely w/ the lights. I'm running the lights in a restricted timeframe for now, 4 hours the first day, 5.5 hours yesterday, 6 or so today. I don't want the algae going crazygonuts on me too soon. I'll to be ordering replacement hood fans and the new chiller accessory kit from RSM when it's available - hopfully Friday or Monday. Chiller and Skimmer are not integrated into the tank yet. I have a RIO+ 1400 for the chiller pump, but considering that the chiller is immediately below the tank, I'm thinking that might be overkill. It was handy to mix the water though. What should I do if I don't see some meaningful signs of a cycle by this weekend? Crank up the lights and add some snails? Add a piece of frozen food and let it rot? Here are some pics: Live Rock #1 Live Rock #2 Aquascaping: FTS: Left Side: Right Side - Hard to see, but there is a path into the center, almost the entire height of this side of the rock. Local Wildlife #1 Local Wildlife #2 Local Wildlife #3 - Any ideas what this is? It moves like a slug or a snail. Thanks again for any advice! Stripe Link to comment
StevieT Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Wow! Great aquascape and rock! Just let the tank set for a few weeks and test every now and then. If you do not see any ammonia it is from the rock being fully curred. I wouldn't throw in any dead matter to test the water. If you see none, check for nitrates, you may have some from the setup. Do a water change after two weeks and test again. If all is in the clear start to add your CUC. Link to comment
mrnugget Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Great looking rock! From the weight you mentioned, I wasn't expecting to see quite so much volume, must be nice and porous. I agree with Stevie on leaving it alone for a few weeks and see how it tests. On the wildlife, I'm not sure number 1 and 2 are good ones...but I'll leave it to far smarter folks than me to comment. Good luck! Link to comment
coralcor Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 WOW THAT ROCK LOOKS GREAT Whered you get it its a great collor and im linking your rock work to Link to comment
nanostripe Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Ok, I'll just hang tight for a couple weeks. My girlfriend is more antsy than I to see live things crawling around on the rocks. The rock came from Vivid Aquariums in Canoga Park CA: http://www.vividaquariums.com/ They were very helpful in helping me select the right rocks - we went through 3 of their big vats for 30m. They have a lot more of this same stuff in the shop. Their 800g display tank is amazing and they have several large frag tanks too. Thanks! Link to comment
rockerpeller Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Local Wildlife #3 - Any ideas what this is? It moves like a slug or a snail. that looks like a stomatella. used to have a few in my old tank Link to comment
nanostripe Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Pretty sure it's a stomotella, caught a decent pic of it today: Also found a couple open ?pallys?. They have green edges and orange centers: Stripe Link to comment
nanostripe Posted January 16, 2009 Author Share Posted January 16, 2009 Well, it's been almost 2 weeks! I have brown and green algae on the rocks and sand, as well as on the glass. I did a 4g water change last weekend, and will do another one this weekend. Water params have been relatively stable over time, with only the smallest hints of Ammonia and nitrates the 1-2 days after I killed a bunch of Aptasia on the rocks. I've seen at least one tiny crab (not wonderful, I know) and have lots of pods running around. There ended up being like 15 Zoa's that are opening nicely in the lights now. Bonus w/ the rocks. I feel pretty safe adding a CUC this weekend, maybe ~20 critters? I need an emerald crab too, at least for a while, to get some bubble algae under control too. General consensus seems to be that they are safe for at least a while. Nothing really loose for it to play w/ either. Water Params, as of this evening: 1/15/09: Temp: 79.3F SSG: 1.025 PH: 8.4 Nitrite: 0.00 Nitrate: 0.00 Ammonia: 0.00 Phosphate: 0.50 Calcium: 400 ALK: 9 dkh Thoughts? Thanks! --Stripe Link to comment
monosyth Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 what's been going on with your tank? I just ordered my RSM today. Link to comment
StevieT Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I have added you to the RSM index thread Link to comment
bonsai reefer Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 wildlife 1 and 2 are aptasia kill them b4 they spread . Other than that looks to be a good start Link to comment
Kamikaze Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Awesome 'Scape....Welcome to NR and the RSM Club! Link to comment
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