fcruz420 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Whats up NR? I have officially jumped into this addictive hobby . I was fortunate as this tank was given to me (thx Shawn). With that being said - here is my pico reef. I will be posting up pictures and comments on this journey!!! My Fluval Edge Equipment today: - Fluval edge tank, stock halogen lights - Aquaclear 20 filter w/poly fill - 18" Nova Extreme T5HO - 2x18watt slimpaq 460nm actinic and 10K - Now 1" of CaribSea LS - 9 lbs of Fuji live rock - Marineland 50w heater - Instant Ocean salt mix - Koralia nano Current Stock: - Mini Zoo colony - 10-14 Cerith snails - A few bristle worms - 2 peppermint shrimp - 2 nerite snails - 2 nass snails Equipment in thought: - 8 LED custom kit. 4 cree Q5, 4 cree royal blue, buckpucks dim drivers, etc. Thx Evil for the suggestions Stocking Plans: (need suggestions here ) - 1 goby - Polyps, ricordea, mushrooms, hammer and xenia. Pretty much any great color softies Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 Day 1 - Stock tank - FTS halogen lights - FTS halogen lights top view Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 Looking good so far! - Thx MikeW, im trying extremely hard to stay patient so im researching lighting now Link to comment
sherndon1 Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Looking good. You will get there soon enough. Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 Looking good. You will get there soon enough. lOOKS GREAT! Thx guys. My neighbor stopped by and happened to have a Red sea PH, ALK and Nitrite test in his house. Im still waiting for my API kit, so I tested the water for fun. PH 8/8.1, ALK1.6/1.7 and Nitrite 0.1 Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Today I saw a mysterious slug/snail without shell crawl out from LR. When I went for the camera, it was gone . Water is still clear, salt levels are good and temp is awesome! Link to comment
pimp4cheddar Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I actually really like the live rock. Those twigy pieces are the best! What are you looking to go with for fish? Also...I brougt my LED lights from a site called LEDWAVES.COM...and also did a side by side comparasion. The upgrade is a must! Nice tank!!! Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 I actually really like the live rock. Those twigy pieces are the best! What are you looking to go with for fish? Also...I brougt my LED lights from a site called LEDWAVES.COM...and also did a side by side comparasion. The upgrade is a must! Nice tank!!! Good looks Carlos! Im going to do something with the lighting soon! Ohhh BTW I took out the sponge from the media tray and im only running poly fil now. The tank is crystal clear Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share Posted February 3, 2010 Ok... so a few days in and I made some minor changes in the tank. - Re-positioned the heater. - Picked up a couple more pieces of LR. Crazy purple coraline I will post up pics shortly Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share Posted February 3, 2010 New LR FTS no flash New LR FTS w/flash Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 Quick Update - Some extra Ultra Fuji LR I picked up from Reef encounter last night came with these hitch hikers..... Can anyone ID the white sponges? Anyone know what that is? Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 A little water test update: ALK 3.4 PH 7.4 Nitrite 0.1 Salt 1.023 Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 I discovered a new Red Starfish and 2 worms. Im going to post them up in the ID section as well so i can confirm what these babies are lol Red Starfish hitch hiker Worms - Any know which type? Good/Bad? I had to take these with the iphone as my digital camera(canon 4mp) didnt focus in too well. Any cool camera suggestions? Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 I love crushed coral, but due to the small opening on this tank I probably wont be able to maintain the waste trapped correctly My foster&smith package came in today so new live sand and epoxy to create aquascape ...... I will post pics of course sometime this weekend. Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 Boy ohhh boy I didnt know what I had lined up today! I finally removed the crushed coral and added 5lbs of Caribsea LS. I also took it upon myself to complete my aquascape and not just have the LR laying there anymore . I went on an epoxy frenzy and I think the aquascape is ok for now. What do ya'll think? Half done CC Removal!! New Aquascape: What ya'll think? Link to comment
yeast Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Will be interesting to see what it looks like with coral. Link to comment
latteslave Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 it looks very interesting... With the scape I would say to choose your corals carefully to keep the proportions good. I think you can really do some nice things with this scape. Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 Will be interesting to see what it looks like with coral. - Im with ya. Im leaning toward t5's or custom LED so im excited and curious to see myself. it looks very interesting... With the scape I would say to choose your corals carefully to keep the proportions good. I think you can really do some nice things with this scape. - Thx Latteslave. I was thinking mainly Zoos, polyps, rics and mushrooms. If any other can be done please let me know so I can being the research. Day 1 w/ LS Ammonia 0.50, PH 8.0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5.0 or 10 Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 Something just came to mind. Even though I just switched from crushed coral to LS, will it "reset" the new tank cycle? To begin please note majority of my LR is already "mature" as it came from an establish system. I guess testing the water levels will tell huh? Should I jump start by maybe placing some food in my tank to create the ammonia spike or like it work itself out? Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 2/6/2010 Day 1 w/ LS Ammonia 0.50, PH 8.0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5.0 or 10, Salt 1.025, Temp 75 Day 2 Ammonia 0.25, PH 7.8, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20, Salt 1.025, temp 77 Day 3 Ammonia 0.25, PH 7.8, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, Salt 1.025, Temp 76.5 Day 4 Ammonia 0.25, PH 8.8, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, Broke my hydormeter today, Temp 77.5 Day 5 Ammonia 0.25, PH 8.8, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, Temp 78 Day 6 Ammonia 0.25, PH 7.8, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, temp 77 Day 7 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate between 5 and 10 color range, Salt about 1.022 - 1.025, Temp 78.6 Day 8 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt about 1.022-1.025, Temp 78.3 Day 9 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate between 0 and 5.0 color range, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 78 Coralife deep 6 is pretty accurate. Day 10 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 78.5 11pm added some biozyme to tank. Day 11 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 79.1 Day 12 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 79.3 Day 13 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 80.1 Day 14 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 80.3 Day 15 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.8, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 79.7 Day 16 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 79.9 Day 17 Ammonia in between 0 and 0.25 color range, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.022-1.023, Temp 80.4 Day 18 Ammonia 0, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.023-1.024, Temp 79.9 Day 19 Ammonia 0, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.023-1.024, Temp 80.3 Day 20 Ammonia 0, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.023-1.024, Temp 80.0 Day 21 Ammonia 0, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.024-1.025, Temp 80.3 Day 22 Ammonia 0, PH 7.9, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Salt is 1.024-1.025, Temp 79.6 I still test at least every other day. I have raised PH to 8.2 with Seachem marine buffer and salt is now 1.025/1.026. Temp is also constant 79/80 Link to comment
Arkayology Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Good idea getting rid of the crushed coral. Looks like a good setup so far. What are your stocking plans? Link to comment
coolwaters Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 did u change the stand? it looks flimsy. also a good time to upgrade to a refractometer. ur ph moves form 7.8 to 8.8 in a day? O.o Link to comment
fcruz420 Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 Good idea getting rid of the crushed coral. Looks like a good setup so far. What are your stocking plans? Thx Socaldude. Im thinking mainly zoos, rics and mushrooms maybe an xenia or a cool leather.... CUC and the Goby is a maybe as I've realized fish change the parameters FAST lol did u change the stand? it looks flimsy.also a good time to upgrade to a refractometer. ur ph moves form 7.8 to 8.8 in a day? O.o The stand can withhold 200 pounds easy. i thought about changing it but im probably not going to. I was wondering why the harsh change in PH and realized i tested late and the lights never turned on all day. As per refractometer do you have and recommendations? the range on foster&smith varies Link to comment
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