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CJ's BC14


cniemira

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12/28/09 - Yup, it's a lousy picture of an empty tank.

Contents:

  • 9.5 g distilled water + IO salt
  • 17.5 lbs live rock, 14.5 from LiveAquaria, 3 from LFS
  • 8 lbs CaribSea Ocean Direct original grade "live" sand

Equipment:

  • Stock lights
  • Marineland Visi-Therm 75W heater, C1
  • inTank media basket (floss/empty/empty), C2
  • Maxi-Jet 900 utility, C3
  • Koralia Nano
  • Mag-Float Nano
  • Generic digital thermometer
  • Extech RF 20 refractometer
  • Red Sea Marine Lab (hate it)
  • API Saltwater and Reef Master kits (better)
  • Elos PH kit (love it)
  • 10mL pipette and pipettor for precision measurement

History

  • 12/26/09 - Purchased and leak tested.
  • 12/27/09 - Filled, added salt and thermometer.
  • 12/31/09 - Added live rock.
  • 1/1/10 - Added sand.
  • 1/2/10 - Added Koralia Nano.
  • 1/3/10 - Added another 3lbs of live rock.
  • 1/5/10 - Added inTank media rack.
  • 1/6/10 - Replaced stock pump w/ Maxi-Jet 900 utility pump.
  • 1/11/10 - Began treatment for dinoflagellates - lights out!
  • 1/31/10 - Lights back to an 8 hour schedule
  • 2/1/10 - Removed LR that was previously dino-infested. Boiled 30 min, air cooled, replaced. Added Purigen and Chemipure Elite to media rack (to reduce phosphates).

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I was planning on picking up some rock this week, but after futzing around with the cheap-o plastic hydrometer I bought (as a stop gap) and getting different readings every time I try to use it, I think I'll wait for the refractometer I ordered to arrive before I do anything else. I'm an avid homebrewer and I own both a hydrometer and refractometer which are calibrated for sucrose. I've never had anywhere near as much trouble getting an accurate reading from them as I have from this floating needle contraption.

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12/31/09 - Another lousy picture of a murky tank.

 

Added my LR today. 16 lbs from LiveAquaria since the LFSes haven't had anything that stuck my fancy. Truth be told, I wasn't that overwhelmed by what arrived on my doorstep this morning, but it wasn't terribly expensive and I made a nice enough little grotto out of it. If I still like the scape after I sleep on it, I'll add sand tomorrow. I do find it neat, however, that the total liquid displacement of the rock is only about 1g.

 

I'm a little worried about die off during transit, though. It was pretty chilly out there this morning, and the rock was well packed, but cool to the touch when I opened it up. Didn't smell funky, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of any kind of hitchhiker at all since I set it up.

 

Current Params:

  • Temp: 79F
  • Salinity: 1.022 (correct reading: 1.024)
  • pH: 7.8
  • Alk: H
  • Ammonia: 0.5ppm
  • Nitrate: 2.5ppm
  • Nitrite: 0.5ppm

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Thanks, I was going for a cave-look. I've decided I want to keep this look, so I'll add the sand today after vacuuming up the stuff that settled off the LR.

 

As for stocking... I haven't totally decided. There's an LED lighting upgrade in the near future (something to do while it cycles), because I'd eventually like to keep a clam. For starters, I'll probably just stock whatever corals I happen to see and like when I go looking. As for fish, probably not more than a pair of gobies or clowns. I realize stability is key, so it'll be a long while before I do anything, and I'll go really slowly when I do.

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Added sand yesterday. Approx 8 lbs of CaribSea Ocean Direct original went in, and about 18 hours later the cloud had settled to the point where I could see my rocks again. So naturally, I stirred things up to level out the bed and dust off the LR, an we're all cloudy again. Oh well.

 

When the dust settles back down, I was planning to stick the stock filter in and use it to help clean up the water. I won't be using the Oceanic brand filters in the future, but I figure I might as well use the one it came with. For now, the pump is off and I'm just waiting.

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Refractometer arrived today. Yay. It tells me my salinity is actually 1.024, instead of 1.022. I'm not even bothering with the floating needle thing again. I'll keep the floating model around because it's a half-way decent backup.

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1/2/10 - Not a great picture, but at least there's something to look at.

 

Sand went in the other day, settled, stirred up, settled again. I ran the pump with the stock BC filter, plus some floss in C2. Tossed the filter and cleaned the floss this morning (they were both pretty nasty), but the thank had cleared up nicely. I tweaked the 'scape a little this afternoon, mostly up top, adding a little more LR from the LFS. So, I'm plus 3.5lbs and minus about .5lb from a piece I tossed, so I'm guessing I've got 19lbs in there now.

 

Current Params:

  • Temp: 80F
  • Salinity: 1.024
  • pH: 7.9
  • Alk: H
  • Ammonia: 1.0ppm
  • Nitrate: 20ppm
  • Nitrite: >1ppm

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Got tired of my RSM test kit, and have replaced it with an API (except for alk, which doesn't come in the API kit). Nitrates are still high, and a brown algae bloom is well under way, but I think it's looking good.

 

Current Params:

  • Temp: 80F
  • Salinity: 1.024
  • pH: 8.1
  • Alk: H
  • Ammonia: 0ppm
  • Nitrate: 10ppm
  • Nitrite: 0ppm

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I like the rock-work. I have a clown and goby/pistol shrimp pair in my 29 right now. The pistol shrimp is really entertaining to watch, constantly improving his burrow while the goby stands guard. If your rock-work is stable, a goby/shrimp pair might be something to consider. Looks good and keep us posted.

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Thanks.

 

A goby/shimp pair is something I've been considering... good to know the pistol can be entertaining. I've also seen some really nice looking gobies (gobys?) too, so that's a definite on my list.

 

On the down side, I think I'm about to start battling my first problem.

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1/13/10 - Boy, does that look flat and not dynamic!.

 

I'm treating for dinoflagellates, so I've kept the lights off for the last few days. It seems to be making a difference. The colonies have shriveled up. Now I just need to keep the sucker dark for a couple more weeks to make sure they're dead and gone. :-)

 

I've also tweaked the 'scape a little bit. It's more open and less bulky looking now. Took out about 1-2lb of rock.

 

Current Params:

  • Temp: 79F
  • Salinity: 1.024
  • pH: 7.8
  • Alk: H
  • Ammonia: 0ppm
  • Calcium: 400ppm
  • Carbonate: 13dKH
  • Nitrate: 5ppm
  • Nitrite: 0ppm
  • Phosphate: 0.5ppm

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I'm not sure my pH is really bouncing up and down... these test kits are confusing me. When comparing the API result to the Elos result, I notice that the liquid is basically the same color. However, the API has you read through the side of tube and the Elos indicates you should look down through the top. Measured that way, the API kit gives me a result of 7.8, and the Elos gives me 8.2.

 

Now I'm wondering if I'm just color blind.

 

Current Params:

  • Temp: 78.5F
  • Salinity: 1.024
  • pH: 8.2
  • Alk: H
  • Ammonia: 0ppm
  • Calcium: 360ppm
  • Carbonate: 15dKH
  • Nitrate: 5ppm
  • Nitrite: 0ppm
  • Phosphate: 0.5ppm

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  • 3 weeks later...

My battle with dinos continues with phase 2. I'll be returning my tank to a semi-normal lighting cycle now. It sat dark for 20 days, and then got about half a day of light yesterday. As of today, I'll be going to an 8 hour cycle.

 

I was out of town last week and pretty much just left the tank to sit quietly in the dark. When I returned and unwrapped it, I discovered my first hitchhiker; an acoel flatworm crawling along the glass. Looked exactly like the first photo here, so I'm pretty sure it's harmless. Can't find it now anyway.

 

Yesterday evening, as I was doing my water testing, I noticed some possible evidence that the dinos were still present. On the underside of one of my "infected" rocks, were some bubbles sitting on a brown patch. So, I decided to invoke phase two of operation dino-death.

 

This morning, I removed the two rocks I believe to be responsible for the infestation and boiled the heck of out of them. I gave them 30 minutes submerged in a rolling boil in a lidded pot. After that, they were air dried and replaced in the tank.

 

The second part of phase two was finally adding my Purigen and Chemipure Elite packs to the tank's media rack. My phosphates and nitrates are still high, so I'm hoping to remove them and starve out any remaining dinos.

 

I'm also hitting them with one more punch: the classic pH elevation. I don't like the idea of doing to many things to the tank at one time, so I'll probably wait until tomorrow, but I plan to jack the pH up to 8.5 or so for the rest of the week.

 

If this combo doesn't kill them off, I may do something drastic.

 

Current Params:

  • Temp: 78.5F
  • Salinity: 1.024
  • pH: 8.1
  • Ammonia: 0ppm
  • Calcium: 380ppm
  • Carbonate: 13.5dKH
  • Nitrate: 3ppm
  • Nitrite: 0ppm
  • Phosphate: 0.75ppm

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