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Mercuryne's 28G Algae Farm


Mercuryne

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Come and listen to a story about a man who became Obsessed!!!

 

So my wife and I decided that our sons room needed a goldfish tank. We had moved him from a smaller room to a large room in our house. he's a growing boy. And as I often will do i let the trip to the fish store get out of hand.

 

I have kept a number of fresh tanks in the past, but never tried my hand at a reef tank or SW for that matter.

My wife was nice enough to indulge me and we took the floor model at the LFS which was a:

 

Beautiful new 28G JBJ Nano Cube HQI.

150wMH Bulb, with 4 LED "Moon Lights".

A three stage filtration box. (of which i'll use the Black sponge but not the other two media)

(2) Accella SP-1 1000 pumps (Rated at 266GPH along with the provided Ocean Pulse Duo Wavemaker

(2) directional Nozzles.

a skimmer (which i wont turn on for a while)

On our way out the door we grabbed a 20lb bag of Live Sand, and the stand that went with the cube.

 

We got the box home and filled it with water to test. as I've never worked with a reef tank before i immediately started searching online for every bit of information i could get my hands and eyes on.

I filled the tank with tap water, added the dechlorinator. Then i placed the live sand bag into the tank laying it flat on the bottom, then took an exacto Knife and split the bag on both ends, and down the middle then let it set for a while.

Still got quite a bit of cloud when i removed the plastic. I then topped of the tank with more tap water and a few more drops of dechlor, and put my son to bed.

 

At this point im pretty sure my wife is not happy, because she knows whats going to happen to me. I will become a mad man. Reading and studying. Gobbling up as much info i can.

Before the night is out i have spent three hours online at Nano-Reef.com reading the entire thread from "Icenine" about his Reef. AMAZING, the detail that he included. It was inspiring. As Iread I kept coming across terms and phrases that i knew nothing about. Then i found the Glossary of terms. THANKS. That helped a bunch. I couldnt stop reading (and Making notes) I was afraid he was going to say something that i'd need later. so i copied and pasted anythign that i thought i MIGHT need later.

What i came to realize is that the folks on this site are very helpful to share the info and words of advice. So i'll go ahead and thank you all now.

 

Next Day:

I've let the tank clear for a couple of days then went back to LFS and bought three large cured, FIJI Live Rocks.

At the time i got wrapped up in the shape of those three rocks because they were all very cool and different and i wasnt really thinking about how they MIGHT or might NOT fit together in the tank. I had come across H2O's thread and really liked his original aquascap, but while i was standing there at the store staring at those three cool ones i couldnt stop myself. I got the rock home and its in the tank and cool as can be. but i'm going to have to buy a few more flat bits and start to build vertically. i really want this tank to hold lots of beautiful coral, and a few fish, but my goal is a living reef.

 

 

So.. here is the First Photo of my 28G NanoCube.

jan292008withniteleds.jpg

 

Everyone suggested that I start a thread in that i could get a lot of advice along the way. Thanks to Icenine and H20 so far who have already given good advice.

My plan: Go home tonight and perform the first Param test.. see where things are and then hit the LFS in teh morning to get a a few more bits of Live Rock to finish my Aquascape. Maybe a few snails. .If the Water is right.

I took more than one photo, and meant to post a few but ive apparently taken them in too large a format and they wont load. SO MUCH TO LEARN..

 

 

WISH ME LUCK.

 

TBC.

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Sounds like a good start. Keep reading there are only three things you can never get enough of in this hobby, patience, knowledge and corals. Also I would change to RO/DI water. There are a million an ones reasons to do so. No copper trace (kills coral), no phospates/sulfates (helps control algea) and no mystery trace elements. Just to name a few.

 

(Edit) The forth thing you can't have enough of is money!

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constantocean

Yea tap water is nooooo good in a reef tank.

You need to use distilled or purchase a RO/DI unit. Or boxed seawater works too.

But on the other hand:

:welcome: to N-R and good luck with everything.

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the whole tap water makes me nervous. i hope you have good tds.

 

I knew when i typed "TAP WATER" everyone was going to be really freaked out.

I consulted with teh experts at the LFS who told me that our City has the Third Hightest rated city water in the country.. and that they use it for all their store tanks.

 

That being said. I probably should have waited until i could get the R/O but i was overly excited.. I'll let you know how it goes..

I can tell im going to learn a lot already....

Thanks for the note.

 

 

 

When you say tap, you did mix it with salt right?

 

 

SeDem.. I did mix salt. YES..

sorry to have started off alarming everyone..

I mixed the salt and used the de-chlorinator..

 

Hoping the tap doesnt screw me up.

 

 

 

Yea tap water is nooooo good in a reef tank.

You need to use distilled or purchase a RO/DI unit. Or boxed seawater works too.

But on the other hand:

:welcome: to N-R and good luck with everything.

 

 

Constant,

 

Seems i've learned my first Big Lesson here.

I am buying a R/O Filter Tomorrow and will use that from now on for all changes (adding salt) and top off's.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

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tap can be fine as long as its in a good range of tds so when ppl say tap i just want to make sure they know its good enough, but constant tap can be fine in reef. my tank started with tap because my tap is good and my tank is doing amazing and i have pics to prove.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=128324&hl=

 

Fire.. would love to see your tank..And thanks for the follow up. The guys at the lfs said. that its really really good and that they use it. i figured it should be good enough. still will get the filter anyway..

I'll go and find your tank.

Have a great weekend.

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suppressive fire
Fire.. would love to see your tank..And thanks for the follow up. The guys at the lfs said. that its really really good and that they use it. i figured it should be good enough. still will get the filter anyway..

I'll go and find your tank.

Have a great weekend.

I edited for you. also in my sig now.

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constantocean

wow lucky you!

I wish my tap water was good enough to use in my tank!

Buying boxed seawater and distilled for top offs every week gets to be a real hassle.

by now I probably could have bought 10 different ro/di units.

I should really probably get on that.

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supreme_spork
The guys at the lfs said. that its really really good and that they use it. i figured it should be good enough. still will get the filter anyway..

I'll go and find your tank.

Have a great weekend.

 

The problem with the above is that it might be really good for them and much less good for you -- there can be a huge variation in water quality depending on how it gets from source to your house and the pipes it passes through.

 

If you want to use tap, you should absolutely test it for yourself to understand what you're dealing with.

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The problem with the above is that it might be really good for them and much less good for you -- there can be a huge variation in water quality depending on how it gets from source to your house and the pipes it passes through.

 

If you want to use tap, you should absolutely test it for yourself to understand what you're dealing with.

 

Spork.. i dont dissagree. i think picking up the R/O filter solves the worry...

better safe than sorry with what i know i can end up spending on the stuff that lives in the water.

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suppressive fire
Spork.. i dont dissagree. i think picking up the R/O filter solves the worry...

better safe than sorry with what i know i can end up spending on the stuff that lives in the water.

as long as your tap is good then your good but i bought a ro di any way. but the link i showed was tap water.

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Hey man! Welcome to Nano-reef.com. I think you will find this site very helpful. Lots of information, and people willing to help out. I'm still a n00b myself, but have come a long way, and am lstill earning every day. I'm a FW to reef convert myself.

 

I think an all-in-one tank is definitely a great way to get introduced into this hobby. I did it backwards. I built/am building custom system (see my signature). A couple weeks ago while ordering some hose clamps for that system, a 6g nano-cube some how ended up in my cart. It resides on my nightstand by my bed now. It's cycled and houses a CUC, a zoa colony and a hawkfish. My custom system has just started cycling two days ago. At the end of the day, I don't think the custom tank will be any more interesting to gaze into than the all-in one system.

 

Welcome aboard, I look forward to seeing your project mature!

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gotta watch out for the "experts" at the LFS. sometimes thier advice isnt always in YOUR best interest. If they had said "hey, you cant start until you get one of these RO-DI systems" it may have deterred you a bit and you may have not bought the tank afterall.

 

Not saying in any way that thats the reasoning behind them suggesting tap water but you never know. Any knowledgable, respectable hobbyist or retailer would never suggest something as impure or possibly contaminated as tap water. Like stated above, the pipes vary from place to place and considering how temperamental water quality can be and how fickle marine organisms are, I would get a RO-DI system asap or at least buy jugs of distilled water from walmart at the least. I wish reef tanks were as easy to keep as goldfish. hell, I once dropped a goldfish i thought was dead into the toilet to flush him and then walked away not remembering if i had flushed but he was gone from sight, sat down later to do my business and heard a splash and there he was, hours later, splashing around in his new white bowl.....LOL

 

Other than that you have a great start! looking forward to your tank progress! :)

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Ive just tested my water for the first time, after reading everything about the tap water...i'm going to be certain.. as it was my first test, i am having a hard time distinguishing the actual color vs. the chart, so i'm taking a sample to the lfs to have to test and show me what they get just to be sure.

here is what the first test looks like:

 

Day 7

Amonia 1.2

Nitrite 0.3

Nitrate 10

water Temp 74

1.023 Density

 

havent boutht the ph test, but will this afternoon.

 

The live rock have been in for 7 days..Do these numbers look right to you guys that know?

like i said, im going in to have them check it as well, but i knew you all would have the answers now.

 

will pick a couple of good slabs of live rock today as well as i want to go a little more verticle.

 

Photo and the LFS test Params coming in a few hours.

 

Thanks

 

P.S. my wife tells me that the organic market RIGHT down the street sells R/O water.. its literally 1/2 mile from the house. Stopping there today as well. that will take care of every using tap again (at least until i purchase a r/o filter of my own)

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Hey man! Welcome to Nano-reef.com. I think you will find this site very helpful. Lots of information, and people willing to help out. I'm still a n00b myself, but have come a long way, and am lstill earning every day. I'm a FW to reef convert myself.

 

I think an all-in-one tank is definitely a great way to get introduced into this hobby. I did it backwards. I built/am building custom system (see my signature). A couple weeks ago while ordering some hose clamps for that system, a 6g nano-cube some how ended up in my cart. It resides on my nightstand by my bed now. It's cycled and houses a CUC, a zoa colony and a hawkfish. My custom system has just started cycling two days ago. At the end of the day, I don't think the custom tank will be any more interesting to gaze into than the all-in one system.

 

Welcome aboard, I look forward to seeing your project mature!

 

 

Johnny,

 

Thanks for the kind word...Much appreciated.

 

Just back from the LFS, picked up a couple more pieces of live rock which brings my total to about 24lbs.

I think i will hold there for now.. rearranged the scene a bit and have a good foundation.

Took a sample of my water with me just to back me up.

on the 7th day the

PH is at 8.2

Amonia is at about 2.0

Nitrite at 0.3

and the Nitrates were almost nothing.

their Salinity reading had me a little high so i brought home a container of R/O and swapped out about two gallons. Re-read it and its lookng good1.022.

 

i've decided to wait on any livestock for a while. Will let the Live do its thing, and hope that the cycle doestnt take too long. Patience.. Right?

 

I was really pleased to see a large variety of coral at the LFS here in Nashville. The selection was great.

Who would have guessed that here in Nashville. The place is always packed. They do a nice job.

 

As soon as the tank clears i will take a new photo..of the live rock.

 

I'm keeping a file folder with reciepts in it.. just so i can follow along. Hopefully I wont spend all of my sons Education money.

 

Peace!

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As far as I can tell, patience seems to be the key factor to make or break this hobby for people.

 

I'm an impatient person. Luckily there is a LOT to learn and research while "being patient."

 

I started tracking my reef related expenses, but realized that it quickly started zapping the fun out of it for me. I quickly found out that I don't want to know how much that box of water cost me! My current project didn't start with a budget, thank goodness because I would have exceeded it a long time ago. Being my first project, I made quite a few unnecessary purchases (made mistakes). The $$ lost on those mistakes should pay for themselves in dividends later, when I get the chance to use what I learned from them in subsequent systems I build.

 

Good luck, and I hope you are having fun.

 

Do you have stocking plans yet?

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Following along here to see you progress. :D

 

A couple of things:

 

You may want to bump uup your water temp. 78-80 is where most folks will run at, and you will probably get up there when your halides are on a good portion of the day, but you may need a 75-100w heater in a back chamber to keep your water temps steady.

 

Also, you may want to bump up your salinity. 1.022 is a bit low. Most people run reefs at around 1.025. 'Fish only' would be ok a little lower, but corals like it a little higher. 1.024-1.026 would be better for a reef.

 

Good luck!

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The problem with the above is that it might be really good for them and much less good for you -- there can be a huge variation in water quality depending on how it gets from source to your house and the pipes it passes through.

 

If you want to use tap, you should absolutely test it for yourself to understand what you're dealing with.

 

 

I live in Toronto, and the water quality here is pretty prestine too, but i kept having cyano, until i finally had no other things to blame but the water, I even tested for phosphates and nitrates and nothing came up, but I bought a R/O anyways, did one water change, cyano was reduced by 90%. never seen it since. so even test kits cant detect phates and trates.

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post-34141-1202015672_thumb.jpg

As far as I can tell, patience seems to be the key factor to make or break this hobby for people.

 

I'm an impatient person. Luckily there is a LOT to learn and research while "being patient."

 

I started tracking my reef related expenses, but realized that it quickly started zapping the fun out of it for me. I quickly found out that I don't want to know how much that box of water cost me! My current project didn't start with a budget, thank goodness because I would have exceeded it a long time ago. Being my first project, I made quite a few unnecessary purchases (made mistakes). The $$ lost on those mistakes should pay for themselves in dividends later, when I get the chance to use what I learned from them in subsequent systems I build.

 

Good luck, and I hope you are having fun.

 

Do you have stocking plans yet?

 

 

Thank Johnny. Hey another great tip..maybe i dont really want to know. fact is.. i love the hobby.. so far.. anything that i need to study and research and maybe gain to information along the way is really intriguing to me.

 

I have not made a hard copy of stocking plans yet other than i want it to contain more live Coral than fish.

love the Zoa's and poly's. rics, etc.

 

posting a pic here of the couple of new rocks i picked up today. its coming together.. still think i want to go a little higher but you get the idea. tank is pretty cloudy here from moving stuff around but just a couple hours after adding the Cube was almost clear.

 

hows yours coming?

weekonenewrockswithleds.jpg

post-34141-1202015985_thumb.jpg

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Following along here to see you progress. :D

 

A couple of things:

 

You may want to bump uup your water temp. 78-80 is where most folks will run at, and you will probably get up there when your halides are on a good portion of the day, but you may need a 75-100w heater in a back chamber to keep your water temps steady.

 

Also, you may want to bump up your salinity. 1.022 is a bit low. Most people run reefs at around 1.025. 'Fish only' would be ok a little lower, but corals like it a little higher. 1.024-1.026 would be better for a reef.

 

Good luck!

 

 

H20,

 

I failed to mention the trusty heater that resides in the spare chamber. I have yet to really run the halides for more than just a check to see how the aquascape is coming along. I'm making a note that 78-80 is best.

i've got plenty of salt and will bring the salinity up. Amazing that ive read and read for a week pretty much non-stop. Mainly forums here but you are the first to mention (at least as far as i have seen, that the higher salinity is ok for the coral. )

once again: a tip of the hat.

 

Now, if i can just figure out how to TAG other peoples threads so i can easily find them, and also how to get my pictures to stop getting reduced, i'd really be rolling.

 

 

 

I live in Toronto, and the water quality here is pretty prestine too, but i kept having cyano, until i finally had no other things to blame but the water, I even tested for phosphates and nitrates and nothing came up, but I bought a R/O anyways, did one water change, cyano was reduced by 90%. never seen it since. so even test kits cant detect phates and trates.

 

Lobo,

ive learned a really quick lesson here. regarding not being patient enough to go and get the R/O to do the initial fill up. i plan to do a big change next week just to try and insure i'm doing all i can to overcome the mistake..

i'll be watching for the cyano...

Thanks for your note.

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H20,

 

I failed to mention the trusty heater that resides in the spare chamber. I have yet to really run the halides for more than just a check to see how the aquascape is coming along. I'm making a note that 78-80 is best.

 

 

I guess I should clarify why I said that. There is alot of debate on the 'best' temp to run at, but all will agree that what is most important is not having big temperature swings. If you were to run your halides for 10 hours, and the water peaked at 80*, then at night when the lights were off and it was cool in that room (we are in winter now), and the tank temp dropped to the 74*, then you might run into problems. That is why I suggested bumping the heater up and running near 80, as you will have a hard time getting much below that once you are running your lights a good portion of the day if you don't use a chiller. So the heater keeps you up there when they are off, so you don't have those temp swings. Just thought I would throw that out there for ya.

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