dpoltsdsu Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 No third year actually I've had a tank both other years thankfully my roommate like have a tank as well. Which led us to go overboard and buy a 50g for our living room:) Lucky haha. I wish we all had roommates like that Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 Yah he's great not as into spending the money but he certainly enables me too:p He will study infront of our big tank and fall asleep out there on the floor.(It sits on the floor under the bar) Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 So tomorrow is the day I will be moving the tank to it resting place at school. Today I mixed 5 gallons worth of salt water as I will be leaving the current tank running and only taking half of the old water with me to start the new tank. It will certainly be interesting. I'll try to take lots of pictures to show everyone the setup process. More to come tomorrow! Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 So it begins! Good luck! Take a bunch of photos and best of luck Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 So here is everything packed up in my basement ready to be loaded in the car. Biggest fear at this point was one of the water containers exploding in my car. However everything made the hour and a half drive without any issues. I immediately got the tank out of the box and tested it in the spot I want it to go. While it is thinner then the 5.5g AGA I am still concerned with there not being much room for my laptop in front of it. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 I also tested it with the light on to see how I liked it in this position. Even though I may have an issue with the amount of room I went ahead and added the sand, rock and water. If it ends up being a huge issue sliding it to the other side of my desk wont be a huge issue. At this point I did have to chisel down the piece of rock a bit since it was just a little to wide to fit. In this picture you can see the rock a little better since the sand has started to settle. I am very happy with how this piece looks in the tank. I'm still undecided on getting another small piece of rock for the left side of the tank. For now it will stay how it is. A few more pictures on the next post since I can't figure out how to get a lot of pictures on one post without making them tiny. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 IMG_0798.JPG I also tested it with the light on to see how I liked it in this position. IMG_0799.JPG Even though I may have an issue with the amount of room I went ahead and added the sand, rock and water. If it ends up being a huge issue sliding it to the other side of my test wont be a huge issue. At this point I did have to chisel down the piece of rock a bit since it was just a little to wide to fit. IMG_0800.JPG In this picture you can see the rock a little better since the sand has started to settle. I am very happy with how this piece looks in the tank. I'm still undecided on getting another small piece of rock for the left side of the tank. For now it will stay how it is. A few more pictures on the next post since I can't figure out how to get a lot of pictures on one post without making them tiny. Make a photobucket account and upload them there. Then, copy the IMG link and paste it here Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 This is the view from my bed which sits right behind my desk. This is one of the main reasons I went with the Spec V over the plain AGA I originally planned to use. I have to say I am very happy I went this route as the cleanness of having to long viewing side completely free of equipment is awesome. Finally this shows the mess under my desk. While it is not terrible I still have some tidying of wires to get it to look nicer. Overall the move went great and I am very pleased with the tank. The upgraded pump (100gph) while not a huge jump in flow is enough to circulate water pretty well, and once the hidor pico shows up I think I should have more then enough flow. Going forward I need to make some sort of holder for the ato tube, and also I want to find some way of hiding the wires running behind the tank. While there is still lots to do I am very happy with the progress. I will be back at school thursday night so hopefully by then I can add a picture with out the sand storm. Let me know if you have any questions,, suggestions, or just general comments. Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Looks good. You'll have a little spot of Zen to fall asleep and wake up to Link to comment
Tokyudo Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Are you planning on keeping the stock light? I was thinking about one of these Fluval's for a 2nd tank but wasn't sure the light was good enough for even soft corals. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 I had a current orbit marine light that I was going to use over a 5.5g aga tank before I upgraded to this tank. I'm not sure about the stock light, it might be enough but you'll have to ask the more knowledgeable reefers. If your planning to upgrade and money is a factor I definitely recommend the current orbit light, I picked mine up off eBay for $70 refurbished. I don't have any corals yet obviously but I have seen some other members keep bueatiful corals under this light. If you do get one of these tanks make sure you post a link to your own thread I'll be sure to follow along! Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 Testing out the photobucket deal for BIG pictures!Edit* It worked now I just wish my iphone pictures didn't look so crappy. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 21, 2015 Author Share Posted August 21, 2015 So I am back at school and this is the sight I was greeted byI dirty tank.. but the sand has settled and water is very clear. Of course I promptly vacuumed the sand to remove dead algae but it looked awesome before I "cleaned" it. Also I tested the water and I think everything is alright but I am severely color blind so I am going to post a picture for second opinions. Finally I threw some filter floss in the rear chamber but I am going to wait on the chemipure and purigen untill I DIY a media rack. Thats all for now hopefully livestock coming soon!! Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 [/url Finally went and picked up these two little guys. I know the clown may eventually need a bigger tank but by that time I plan to upgrade anyway so it wont be an issue. I am a bit worried about caring for the scooter blenny as I didn't realize it was actually a dragonet. I knew from research they sometimes were picky eaters.But it was labeled as a scooter blenny and I never made the connection. However the lady at the store was feeding mysis while I was there and he was swimming around and eating it so I am hoping there is a chance. Since adding them the scooter has been very active moving all over the sand and rock. The clown has been staying in one corner mostly, but is starting to venture out a little. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 Just a quick fish update All seems to be going well one day in, the clown is mostly hanging in one corner against the glass but from what I have read this is fairly normal for the first few days. The scooter is very active moving all of the place, he really seems to like the small cave in my rock work. So far the clown hasn't eaten but its still early, however the scooter has been eating mysis of the sand when I drop it in which I am taking as a positive sign that I may be able to get him to eat prepared foods. I think I am going to make a baby food jar feeding station to keep the mysis from blowing around and also so it is easier to keep track of how much he is eating. Thats all for now! Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 In regard to your test picture a few posts ago, some comments. First, set the vials next to the range rather than above it, and set them at the bottom of the card so the whole range can be compared to the vial. Set the vial so that you have white card behind the whole length of it in the pic. It looks like something went wrong with your ammonia test. Looks like clear water in that vial. It is hard to tell because the background color of the wood desk is mixing with the water color, especially on the nitrate test, but nitrite looks fine. Nitrate looks like it might be a little on the high side but hard to tell. Since you have fish in there now you might want to test ammonia again and see if you can get a real result. Here's an example of how to post results: Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 In regard to your test picture a few posts ago, some comments. First, set the vials next to the range rather than above it, and set them at the bottom of the card so the whole range can be compared to the vial. Set the vial so that you have white card behind the whole length of it in the pic. It looks like something went wrong with your ammonia test. Looks like clear water in that vial. It is hard to tell because the background color of the wood desk is mixing with the water color, especially on the nitrate test, but nitrite looks fine. Nitrate looks like it might be a little on the high side but hard to tell. Since you have fish in there now you might want to test ammonia again and see if you can get a real result. Here's an example of how to post results: Is it possible to have a bad bottle of test solution since everytime I have tested it thats how it always looks. Edit* just tested again using both bottles of ammonia solution and one came up clear as before the other came up a milky white so I am going to look at ordering new test kits. Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Is it possible to have a bad bottle of test solution since everytime I have tested it thats how it always looks. Possible, but not likely. Ammonia is a two part test. Are you using both bottles? Nitrate is two part also, and now that I'm looking at it it almost looks like you only used one part... Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 Oh my I guess not receiving the directions was an issue I assumed they were just extra drops because you used more of those. I will retest and post new results. Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Look the directions up if you did not get them with your kit. There's more to it than just putting both chemicals in. You can find the instructions online. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 Thank you I am retesting now following the proper procedures I will post results shortly Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 Look the directions up if you did not get them with your kit. There's more to it than just putting both chemicals in. You can find the instructions online. Alright so it looks to me like i have an ammonia issue and possibly high nitrates as well but I am really having a hard time telling the difference in colors. Regardless I am going to do a water change today to try to get the ammonia down. Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 I think this tank is still cycling. I would keep a very close eye on your fish, maybe even get them out of there and take them back to the LFS to hold onto for you until the cycle is complete. They really shouldn't be in there yet. Your ammonia is at potentially lethal levels and it looks like you have no nitrite or nitrate at all yet. Your bacterial filter is not there yet. Link to comment
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