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Starr's noob pico


starrlamia

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Might as well start a thread for my tank so you can all follow along as you like and probably watch me blunder a bit haha!

 

I just set up the tank tonight, no rocks yet though they should arrive hopefully by the end of the week. Specs so far:

 

JBJ 3g picotope, stock filter and light (so far... will most definitely upgrade the light, not sure about filter yet).

Caribsea Seaflor Aragonite special grade

Marineland heater (though an upgrade is on it's way as I wanted something adjustable, this one will be going into my mixing bucket)

Hydor Pico 400

 

I used Reef Crystals and distilled water, salinity is 1.026 but i plan on dropping that slightly (I made a noob mistake and didnt buy extra water in case I went to high lol, but as I only have substrate in my tank right now Im not super worried).

 

I dont know if I forgot anything? I dont plan on being super fancy with this tank because A- Im new to SW and reef keeping and B- It needs to be simple so my BF can keep an eye on it when I am away from home, as of January 2015 I will be out of town for months at a time for school.

 

I do plan on softies and maybe some sexy shrimp (I loovvee shrimp!).

 

FTS Dec 10, 2013, cloudy but assuming it will clear up

 

IMG_20131210_231002_zpsb196eaa1.jpg

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I really should have taken pictures of the process as my 2 dogs and cat helped me. The cat chased my sewing tape measure while I checked substrate levels and stuck his head in my bucket of aragonite. He also bit my foot a few times... Jerks!

 

Thanks Dramad!

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my rock is here! I put it in the tank to get it going, will think about a final layout later. 1lb live rock, 3lb key largo dry rock. Excited to see if anything survived the shipping, so far Ive only seen a few empty snail shells :S

 

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well the only wildlife i've seen is a dead bristle worm, kinda sucks but i left him in to get some ammonia in the tank to get the cycle going. Im trying to figure out how I want to scape the rock, Im thinking of breaking it up somewhat. Anyone have any suggestions?

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I have the same setup as of a few weeks ago and I upgraded to an ac70 which will eventually be a cheato fuge but I hope to stick with the stock light. Flow is everything in my opinion if you want to optimize natural filtration.

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I've been reading up on the idea of getting an ac70, they are just so bloody expensive. I may just do it though! Any pics of your setup?

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not a lot to update, getting some low ammonia readings and nitrate (not testing for nitrites at this point). Ordered some Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride just to add some more ammonia in as the dead bristle worm is almost gone. Also ordered a 32oz rabbit water bottle to make an ATO. Oh and I ordered a cheapo LED bulb with remote as a moonlight from china, will see how it is when it comes (in like 2 months lol).

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woot amazon stuff came (love living close to the warehouse) means I can set up my ATO soon, I got this bottle http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B005GPBCEM/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i04?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and this adjustable bike cage (which it fits into yay!) http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00DO7HFEA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 just need to get my tubing which is still in the mail.

 

Also, my red coralline algae is fading in colour :S but I think I have green coralline algae popping up. It looks like coralline and doesnt come off the rock easily so Im just assuming.

 

That's about all I got lol

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diatoms like crazy in the tank atm, just letting them run its course. Cycle still going, takes a few days to cycle out ammonia after being added but nitrates are there so just a matter of time until it's quicker :) One of my foraminiferans looks bigger, they are pretty cute.

 

Ordered a Par30 bulb as a place had them 40% off woot and I plan on stopping by the LFS near my parents for boxing day deals as Im flyin down to see them tomorrow :)

 

Merry Xmas folks :)

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finally got a chance to go to an LFS (been buying everything online) and partake in lots of sales! picked up a hydor nano 240, a few test kits and an RO system that was on a great discount, spent too much money and had a lot of fun haha.

 

Sidenote: got the three stooges mr. potato head set for xmas.. woot.

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woot cycle is done! I put in the hydor 240 and man the flow is crazzzee now! I also rearranged the rocks a bit, let me know if you think it looks ok or if you have any ideas of what else I can try! I also switched out the media in the filter from what came with it it some filter floss and phosgard since I had .25 phosphates when I tested the other day. I need to at the very least get a bigger filter :S i can barely fit those 2 things in there and I have some purigen I want to throw in!

 

Later this week I will be setting up the ATO

 

Pic:

IMG_20131231_154958_zps0de4c26f.jpg

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the LFS here didnt have any snails (WTF) So I may wait a week or 2 and order CUC and corals at the same time, 5 snails doesnt warrant $20 in shipping IMO lol.

 

Got my par30 today, will take some getting used to, it looks nice but I dont like the lack of reds but such is underwater! I also moved the PH to point forward, not sure I like it yet.

 

IMG_20140102_173257_zps7b2ead81.jpg

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played with the scape again, going to wait until my bf is home to play some more, he has a good eye for these kinda things

 

IMG_20140103_125642_zps822c68ae.jpg

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finally came up with a scape I like, we'll see if it changes haha

 

IMG_20140106_143405_zps7f4b6514.jpg

 

I also ordered snails and coral, I wanted to wait to add coral but I also didnt want to pay shipping on snails, since the tank params have been stable for over a week I decided to go for it. I ordered 4 different kinds of zoas and 1 shroom so nothing major or expensive. They should be here either end of this week or next week.

 

Zoas I got:

Pink

radioactive dragon eye

Christmas Candies

Red Sunflower

 

also got a blue mushroom

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I like that scape the best so far. For better filtration and flow, I would look into an Aquaclear filter and inTank media basket, inTank does ship to Canada. If you are handy you can DIY a media basket, but the Aquaclear line of filters are very nice and have a good amount of space for media and even equipment like heaters.

 

I am leery of ordering coral this time of year, it's been colder than normal here lately. snail slushies and coral popsicles anyone? I hope they come through safe for you.

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I want to get an AC but I have very little room behind my tank, I can just barely fit the little filter that came with it :S id have to put a filter on the side and Im not sure how that would look. It's something I've been waffling on.

 

We're used to cold up here :P Been a bit colder than normal but nothing that isn't unusual really, lots of heat packs and good packaging should make it ok, I hope.. haha

 

thanks for your reply :)

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I ran a 2.5 gallon tank with an HoB filter on the side instead of the back. It was a cheap filter that buzzed and vibrated all the time. An Aquaclear wouldn't fit there so I couldn't use one :( You could also paint the side of the filter facing the room black to have it blend in better.

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