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Meta's Picotope Paradise (Retired)


MetaTank

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:) First off,

Greetings and Salutations, NanoReefers!

Current FTS 1/27/2014
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Quarantine Frag Tank
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It's covered with caves that go all the way through and hiding spots, I'm digging my rock!...Slightly worried it's a little close to the water's surface, but I have since filled the tank more, and slightly re-adjusted it...All in all I'm happy with the 'scape so far!


P.S.-Anyone mind telling me how to post videos? I love pictures, but videos rock!

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So, just tested the water for pH, Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates....Specific Gravity is refractometer tested to 1.024, adjusted from 1.027

 

pH is low, like the high 7's, but then again I did just remove a bunch of the water to re-adjust the salinity with distilled water, so that makes sense

 

Ammonia is at 0

 

Nitrite is at 0

 

Nitrates are around 15ish ppm

 

love the scape buddy

Thank you! I lucked out...I got the one big rock that was like 4lbs, and one small 8oz rock that is propping it up in the rear right, where that big cave goes through to the back! Nicely crusted with purple coralline algae too, so I was stoked! I can't imagine trying to buy over 100lbs of premium live rock, no wonder this is such an expensive hobby! lol

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Okay well you or the LFS guy contradicted themselves already. No cycle, but add a CUC to 'keep the cycle going'?

 

There is a chance you won't have a cycle if your rock is truly cured and was not out of water too long. But why risk it? Leave it a week at least, monitor the levels, and then decide if you should get a CUC. Key signs are the diatom bloom, which usually indicates CUC time has come. I would still then leave it a couple of weeks before adding fish.

 

Your equipment list sounds good and great to see the test kits. In the meantime, read and read and read. I am a noob myself and jumped in a bit too quickly, but have learned since that patience at the beginning is a virtue.

 

Good luck!

 

[edit]digging the rock too!

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Okay well you or the LFS guy contradicted themselves already. No cycle, but add a CUC to 'keep the cycle going'?

 

There is a chance you won't have a cycle if your rock is truly cured and was not out of water too long. But why risk it? Leave it a week at least, monitor the levels, and then decide if you should get a CUC. Key signs are the diatom bloom, which usually indicates CUC time has come. I would still then leave it a couple of weeks before adding fish.

 

Your equipment list sounds good and great to see the test kits. In the meantime, read and read and read. I am a noob myself and jumped in a bit too quickly, but have learned since that patience at the beginning is a virtue.

 

Good luck!

 

[edit]digging the rock too!

 

Yeah, the rock wasn't out of water for more than 30 minutes. I might have been confused, but I believe he said to add some life to feed the bacteria, but once again, I am a complete newbie...Though I do have another hobby that is just a meticulous, so I'm no stranger to constant testing and maintenance.

 

The rock was fully cured, i believe, and the night I brought it home, hours after I set it up and the water had cleared, after lights out I briefly observed what I believe to be a bristleworm making it's way from one hole to another...he was fast though, cause when I turned on the lights it only took a few seconds and he was gone.

 

So far, the plan is to wait till at least Saturday, but probably Monday(my day off) to add anything to the tank, and until then I will just test the water every other day.

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Love the scape and the tank! Let it sit for a couple weeks. Take it slow... This is how people crash their tanks. They go to fast and boom it over. It will run itself in a couple of months. :) but I'd be more than happy to get you going!

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Love the scape and the tank! Let it sit for a couple weeks. Take it slow... This is how people crash their tanks. They go to fast and boom it over. It will run itself in a couple of months. :) but I'd be more than happy to get you going!

Yeah, with all the cycled rock and water and live sand, i'm supposedly cycled already...I dunno, my instinct is to wait as well, so until then I'm just going to do my water checks every other day or so, keeping my eyes open for hitchhikers.

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Ok, so I was just sitting, staring at my pico(thats why I got it, right? lol) and I noticed that the tiny little tubes on my live rock had what look like little itty bitty teeny weenie fan worms coming out of them. I tried to take a picture, but they're way too small for my camera to focus...Yup, like little tiny feather dusters, red ones.

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Could be feather dusters or could be even tube worms. Hmmm pray it's feather dusters :)

Well, whatever they are, they are in tiny white tubes attached to the rock, not really protruding too much, and have a feathery "crown" that QUICKLY retreats back into the tube when I tap the glass...

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Nothing new to report...I intend to go buy some salt soon, and found an AC50 online shipped for around 20 bucks, so I might opt for that instead of the AC70, though I WOULD like the extra water volume...I think the flow on the AC50 would maybe take less tinkering too? I already have the hydor Pico powerhead, so flow isn't really an issue.....

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Ok, so it's been 8 days since I set up, water readings are holding steady at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and about 10ish nitrate...Specific gravity is still at 1.024...Did a large water change yesterday, and I'm planning on adding a CUC today! Maybe a piece of coral...it's about time to set up ther light timer, and maybe pull out a spare to put on the powerhead for 15min on, 15 min off...

 

Any recommendations? I would also like to get a shrimp of some sort. And eventually down the line I think I would like to get a single fish, so I want everyone to get along...lol...But one step at a time, for now, the CUC

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2 astrea snails

2 nassarius snails

1 red legged hermit crab

1 peppermint shrimp

 

Thats all for now

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Nice hermit - looks huge!

Haha, he's tiny...he currently has a snail on his back, and I think me might be getting a bit annoyed...lol...My nassarius snails took off and burrowed right away, and the other astrea snail is climbing the mountain...The peppermint shrimp has claimed the cave on the left side, and everyone looks comfy in their new home!

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Well, looks like everyone made it through the night yesterday...When I got home just now, one of the nassarius snails was roaming, but the hermit, the shrimp, and both astrea snails are just doing their thing. I cant wait to start adding some corals to the tank!

 

I have the powerhead on a timer, so it runs for 45 minutes on, and 15 minutes off, and the lights are on 11 hours a day, also on a timer.

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why have you decided to break up the powerhead on off time on a one hour interval?

 

also i suggest you bring the photoperiod down to about 6 hours while you have no corals. unless you are trying to grow algae for the CUC, but that shouldn't be the case since you could instead be feeding them if they have nothing to clean up.

 

its best to be patient with coral additions. my suggestion is to keep testing the water for about 2 more weeks and if your tank shows no flaws and all levels are at 0 then you could go get a beginner coral of some kind. such as a mushroom.

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why have you decided to break up the powerhead on off time on a one hour interval?

 

also i suggest you bring the photoperiod down to about 6 hours while you have no corals. unless you are trying to grow algae for the CUC, but that shouldn't be the case since you could instead be feeding them if they have nothing to clean up.

 

its best to be patient with coral additions. my suggestion is to keep testing the water for about 2 more weeks and if your tank shows no flaws and all levels are at 0 then you could go get a beginner coral of some kind. such as a mushroom.

 

Ok, so reduce the photoperiod, check! And the powerhead on a timer, I dunno, was wondering if certain critters and corals would display different behavior during the time the current was off. So you're saying leave the powerhead on all the time? I'm new to this, so bear with me...And mushrooms are cool, I'll get one or 2 eventually, but can't I start with something a little more "interesting"?

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Leave the powerhead on all the time, just turn off for feeding. Even then my daily cyclopeeze feeding is with the pumps on, the fish just chase the particles around and the crabs filter. Off for brine/mysis spot feeding though.

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