Rodney013 Posted September 22, 2007 Author Share Posted September 22, 2007 Going to check water again tomorrow. Will post results as well as some pics if there seems to be any changes. Having my nano at work is great but it sure makes for some long weekends unless I go in Saturday or Sunday! Link to comment
Rodney013 Posted September 24, 2007 Author Share Posted September 24, 2007 Checked water this morning and still all zeros across the board. Starting to see a few things pop up but VERY tiny at the moment. As soon as they get big enough to see in a pic I will get some posted. I have very little algae growing at the moment as you can see in the pic. Not sure what type this is and what type of critter should I add to take care of it? Is it still too early to be adding any CUC? Link to comment
Rodney013 Posted September 25, 2007 Author Share Posted September 25, 2007 Was not sure if I was checking my water correctly so I took it to a LFS for a second opinion and it came up all zeros. Think I am going to add a single small clown this weekend. Link to comment
Phixion Posted September 25, 2007 Share Posted September 25, 2007 Was not sure if I was checking my water correctly so I took it to a LFS for a second opinion and it came up all zeros. Think I am going to add a single small clown this weekend. Did they test (or you for that matter) for phosphates? If not, then check for tham. That is what mainly feeds algae. Right now it's pretty short, so it'snothing that some hermits or turbo snails can't knock down. Good luck! Link to comment
Rodney013 Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 Day 12 Ammonia 0 Nitrites 0 Nitrates 0 pH 8.2 Ca 420 Temp 78.5F – 79.5 Salinity 1.021 I think everything is looking pretty good except for my salinity. I am having troubles keeping up with my evaporation. The pump I ordered would not work with my ATO so I am topping off manually. I let it go too long and had to add about 2 gallons of RO/DI to get it back where it belonged and I am assuming this is why my salinity took a dive. I know I have to do a much better job keeping on top of this so I don't have such big swings. Should I do my first 25% water change to try and get it back up or simply top off with a cup or two of SW each day? Also, did some more aquascaping, I like it better but still looks too boxy and too much like a pile of rocks? What do you think? Skimmer is working much better and actually starting to remove a little foam. Everyone was right about the break in period. It really gave me fits the first couple of days, but now is working well. Took out my Tunze 6025 today and put in a new Koralia 1. Not sure which one will be my final choice until I start adding some corals. I do like the function of the Koralia better, but only time will tell. My Reefkeeper 2 is the best single piece of equipment I purchased. I honestly to not think I could do this without it. If I can get control of my salinity I was thinking about adding a clown and a couple of blue leg hermits this weekend. Too soon? Too much? Too fast? Link to comment
Kombucha Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 My suggestion would be to continue to add SW until you get to your desired salinity. There is no reason for you to be doing a water change already. Also I suggest not adding a clown already, especially a single clown if down the road if your plan is to have a pair. You started your cycle on 9/15 and it's only 9/26. That's only 10 days. What's the RUSH? I bought fully cured rock from a 10 year old tank and still waited 3 weeks to make sure my parms were right before I even added my CUC. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment
Rodney013 Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 Day 14 Ammonia 0 Nitrites 0 Nitrates 0 pH 8.0 Ca 480 Temp 78.5F – 79.5 Salinity 1.024 dKH 10.4 Water was cloudy for some reason yesterday and today I think I know why. I seem to have an outbreak of copepods. Tiny white specs all over the place. From what I have read this is not a bad thing, right? Still thinking about adding a small clown and maybe two blue legs hermits this weekend. Link to comment
supreme_spork Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Day 14 Ammonia 0 Nitrites 0 Nitrates 0 pH 8.0 Ca 480 Temp 78.5F – 79.5 Salinity 1.024 dKH 10.4 Water was cloudy for some reason yesterday and today I think I know why. I seem to have an outbreak of copepods. Tiny white specs all over the place. From what I have read this is not a bad thing, right? Still thinking about adding a small clown and maybe two blue legs hermits this weekend. copepods are a good thing. they're not just white specs though -- they're like sea monkeys and you should be able to clearly see them scurrying and swimming around. they shouldn't make the water cloudy though since they don't generally float around in the water column but usually stay around the substrate and the rocks... i'd suggest going ahead with the crabs this weekend, but you might want to wait another week or two for the fish since they're going to have a much bigger impact on your chemistry... the longer you can let your tank stabilize before adding a major waste producer the better you'll insulate yourself from crazy algae blooms over the coming months. it would also give you some more time to get into a routine yourself (like with topoffs and changes), and that will help keep things stable with the tank as well. Link to comment
Rodney013 Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 Going to hold off getting fish and only going to add a couple of blue leg hermits and a few snails. Link to comment
hipster123 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 ok... newbie here at reef (in fact, 1st time sw) ... but after much reading, searching, & reseaching online, i couldn't find a better fit than a cadlights... simply too beautiful to pass up!! so... i'm going for the Cadlights 22g 4 bulbs T5 (56 watt) w/ refugium + wazemaker nozzle. should arrive on tuseday 10-01-07. i plan to cycle using the 50/50 method... 11 lbs. fiji premium un-cured lr --from marinedepotlive.com 11 lbs. cured red lava base lr -- fijisandman from ebay 20 lbs. fine white fiji live sand -- fijisandman from ebay sand+lr+macroalgae in refugium sw premixed w/ calcium from lfs waiting on: refratometer and reef master test kit question: how many/much water change during the cycling period? is a protein skimmer required? is a clean up crew ok after about a month of cycling? what r the 4-6 best small reef fish to stock? what else is require? your comments and opinion will be much appreciated!! thank you all for such a great thread!! Link to comment
supreme_spork Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 ok... newbie here at reef (in fact, 1st time sw) ... but after much reading, searching, & reseaching online, i couldn't find a better fit than a cadlights... simply too beautiful to pass up!! so... i'm going for the Cadlights 22g 4 bulbs T5 (56 watt) w/ refugium + wazemaker nozzle. should arrive on tuseday 10-01-07. i plan to cycle using the 50/50 method... 11 lbs. fiji premium un-cured lr --from marinedepotlive.com 11 lbs. cured red lava base lr -- fijisandman from ebay 20 lbs. fine white fiji live sand -- fijisandman from ebay sand+lr+macroalgae in refugium sw premixed w/ calcium from lfs waiting on: refratometer and reef master test kit question: how many/much water change during the cycling period? is a protein skimmer required? is a clean up crew ok after about a month of cycling? what r the 4-6 best small reef fish to stock? what else is require? your comments and opinion will be much appreciated!! thank you all for such a great thread!! Welcome to the CAD club hipster! Here's my take on your Qs... I'm sure you'll get some other views as well. how many/much water change during the cycling period? Some people suggest not changing water at all -- what's happening during cycling is that beneficial bacterial populations are building up in response to toxins, and if you remove toxins during the cycle then you slow down the speed that the bacteria will reach critical mass. That said, if the toxins build up to a very high level before the good bacteria has the chance to break it down then more of the critters that came with your rock will succumb. But for sure, lots of people don't do water changes and it's just fine. If you do choose to do water changes, keep an eye on your parameters and try to time a 10 or 20% water change when your ammonia is at a high point. Of course, you'll never know when that will happen or what the high point will be, but if you test frequently you'll have a fairly good idea. is a protein skimmer required? No. It's the same as above -- protein skimmers during the cycle will slow it down, but will help keep concentrations of organic waste/toxins generated from decaying stuff a bit more diluted and so you might not lose as many critters that came on your rocks. is a clean up crew ok after about a month of cycling? It's completely dependent on how fast you cycle, and that's different in every situation. don't add the CUC before your ammonia and nitrites are zero -- it's OK to put them in if you're still a bit high on nitrates. That said, the longer you wait before adding anything the better off you will be down the road -- even when your numbers are great, your tank will still go through fluctuations during the initial months as stuff that was weakened during the cycle dies, as bacterial populations stabilize, etc. It's not uncommon to go through a second smaller cycle after the first, so try not to add too much in the first months. what r the 4-6 best small reef fish to stock? There are a ton of great nano reef fish -- the question is more about compatibility. There's a fantastic 2-part nano fish thread on reefs.org that one of the mods put together a while back -- go here http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewforum.php?...3218f81f1ff574a and check-out the first two stickies. That's a great place to start learning. what else is require? Keep an eye on your phosphates, and if you can it's not a bad idea to run a phosphate absorber as soon as your rock and sand go in the tank. Phosphates contribute to microalgae growth and frequently are very high during the start of a new tank and keeping them out from the beginning will help make sure they don't infuse deeply into your rock and substrate. Finally, everyone gets the same advice but most people don't really follow it -- there is no such thing as going too slowly in reefing, but it's easy to go too quickly and screw everything up. It feels like you wait forever for the tank to cycle, and most people can't help themselves from adding a bunch of stuff as soon as their parameters are good -- but that usually leads to pain in the months ahead. In the perfect reef world you really wouldn't add anything for months after your tank cycled so your microfauna populations and water chemistry had time to truly stabilize, and when you finally did begin adding things you'd add maybe one or two small things each month (or even less). But none of us really want to wait 2 years to have a full tank (and if you're dilligent about monitoring the effect new additions have on your chemistry and doing sufficient water changes and maintenance it's not truly necessary), but it's good to keep in the back of your head that you can never go too slowly. Have fun! Link to comment
Rodney013 Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 ok... newbie here at reef (in fact, 1st time sw) ... but after much reading, searching, & reseaching online, i couldn't find a better fit than a cadlights... simply too beautiful to pass up!! so... i'm going for the Cadlights 22g 4 bulbs T5 (56 watt) w/ refugium + wazemaker nozzle. should arrive on tuseday 10-01-07. i plan to cycle using the 50/50 method... 11 lbs. fiji premium un-cured lr --from marinedepotlive.com 11 lbs. cured red lava base lr -- fijisandman from ebay 20 lbs. fine white fiji live sand -- fijisandman from ebay sand+lr+macroalgae in refugium sw premixed w/ calcium from lfs waiting on: refratometer and reef master test kit question: how many/much water change during the cycling period? is a protein skimmer required? is a clean up crew ok after about a month of cycling? what r the 4-6 best small reef fish to stock? what else is require? your comments and opinion will be much appreciated!! thank you all for such a great thread!! Hey Hipster, Welcome aboard.....I am new at this as well but will give you my two cents in regards to your questions best I can. Please remember as you read.....I am a newbie as well. Obviously, I think you have made a great choice going with the Cadlights. I have not been disappointed with my tank at all. I know some have had issues with lighting and quality, but I guess I was fortunate in that regards as everything worked right out of the box. Also, the customer service from Cadlights has been outstanding in my dealings with them. As for your plans I think everything looks good. I would say the fact that you have a thought out plan is over half the battle. To address your questions I would say the following: I used fully cured LR and my tank never had any real spikes so to speak. I am now at day 17 and have yet to do a water change. Both my testing and LFS have confirmed my water quality is holding steady. I do plan on a 10% water change this week since I added a small CUC on day 15. As for a skimmer, I really am not qualified to give an educated answer. My opinion is you do not have to have one but I believe it certainly helps. Mine is removing some pretty nasty looking gunk so far. I have seen some great looking tanks that don't run a skimmer as well. My thought is that running a skimmer cannot hurt. I would not put a time frame on adding your CUC. It depends on your tanks cycle period and what is going on at any given time. I know some here do not always trust their LFS, but I have found one in my area that I have grown fond of and pretty much trust what they tell me. I think this is very important and I often use their advice and my own instincts to make decisions on what and when to do certain things. As for what fish, I truly do not know at this point. I tend to like clowns, certain goby's and the ones that seem to be the most popular on these threads and at my LFS. I use a Reefkeeper 2 to operate my Cadlights and I would really struggle without it. It is without question the single most important piece of equipment I bought. I was hesitant at spending so much money on it, but I am glad I did. The second best thing I bought was a JBJ ATO. Both of these additions really take a lot of stress out of the hobby IMO. Again, welcome aboard and post some pics and comments when you get your Cadlights up and going. Link to comment
hipster123 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I use a Reefkeeper 2 to operate my Cadlights and I would really struggle without it. It is without question the single most important piece of equipment I bought. I was hesitant at spending so much money on it, but I am glad I did. The second best thing I bought was a JBJ ATO. Both of these additions really take a lot of stress out of the hobby IMO. Again, welcome aboard and post some pics and comments when you get your Cadlights up and going. ========== thank you both: supreme_spork & Rodney... for such warm welcome and ur responses are very helpful. sure makes this newbie a little less nervous about setup & cycling. now i am 'supper excited'!! wow... great product reviews on reefkeeper 2 & JBJ ATO... they're a little expensive, but if it will make my life a whole lot easier i think should get them. Eddie just shipped my 22g today so not until end of this week before i can get my hands wet. I will post some pics once i get it going... thanks again fellow reefers Link to comment
Rodney013 Posted October 3, 2007 Author Share Posted October 3, 2007 Day 19 Don't have time for a long update but do want to share some pics of my new additions. Link to comment
supreme_spork Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 looks good rodney! what did you get for a CUC? Link to comment
Rodney013 Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 Thanks spork, My CUC consist of 6 blue leg hermits and 4 astrea snails. I have been very fortunate to this point and had little to no algae. I am really getting the fever now. It is so hard to go my LFS's and not walk out with something new. I know I really need to slow down. Link to comment
donreefer Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 WOW that rock is aging perfectly! or maybe its the water clearing up also. but either way i can tell that your tank is going to look AMAZING when you fill it up. prime real estate is limited, so make it count! Link to comment
hipster123 Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 ok... just setup my 22g w/ 11 lbs of live rock... still curing. another 18 lbs of red lava lr w/ 15 lbs of white live fiji sand should be arriving very soon. hope u like the pic... i'm very happy!!! Rodney, cute little clown...btw. question: does it matter if the actinic lights are in the middle set or in the ends? "> Link to comment
supreme_spork Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 lookin good hipster! Link to comment
hipster123 Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 lookin good hipster! thanks spork... i have been sitting here admiring just how beautiful this thank looks with my girlfriend up until half an hour ago. unfortunately, i have to report to u that i am now officially living in a (salty) flood zone!! in less than 5 hours of running the tank, out of the blue a crack streaks right down the center on the left!!! after careful examination i suspect the glass divider between the main and refugium is about 2-3 mm too wide. oh boy... time to finish cleaning up and call Eddie tomorrow... Link to comment
121a Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 :o :o omgomgomg That is horrible. Rodney013, your one of the few who actually get MH and/or T-5 when starting because "they" think PC is better. Also the tank looks fantastic, Link to comment
supreme_spork Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 thanks spork... i have been sitting here admiring just how beautiful this thank looks with my girlfriend up until half an hour ago. unfortunately, i have to report to u that i am now officially living in a (salty) flood zone!! in less than 5 hours of running the tank, out of the blue a crack streaks right down the center on the left!!! after careful examination i suspect the glass divider between the main and refugium is about 2-3 mm too wide. oh boy... time to finish cleaning up and call Eddie tomorrow... Gack! MASSIVE SUCKAGE. this makes me feel lucky that my tank's major problems were limited to the lighting. good luck, hope eddie gets you set back up quickly. every time i read another one of these stories about the quality control of CAD tanks -- and dividers that are too big are a total QC issue and should never make it out of the factory -- it just makes me feel worse. ugh. Link to comment
hipster123 Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Gack! MASSIVE SUCKAGE. this makes me feel lucky that my tank's major problems were limited to the lighting. good luck, hope eddie gets you set back up quickly. every time i read another one of these stories about the quality control of CAD tanks -- and dividers that are too big are a total QC issue and should never make it out of the factory -- it just makes me feel worse. ugh. I agree spork... all about QC. But don't get me wrong, I still like the CAD, althought Finnex 32 - M tank was my next choice. I spoke w/ Eddie today and got things square away. he was very responsive with the crack, but puzzled--as I was--'cause it wasn't a shipping damage. I'll be upgrading to the 25g for replacement. it's same size tank but w/ the refugium built onto the back instead of within--thus, gainning about 3g or 4"x14" footprint for display which certainly helps. I offered to ship back the existing 4 bulbs T5 to replace for the 6 (144w), but Eddie was very nice and tell me to keep it as a spare. We got to talk a little in Contonese as well and i think his little 2 month old baby said hello!! Hopefully, when the new one arrives, my lr and i will be back admiring this beauty. Link to comment
Phixion Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Sounds like an uncontrolable catastrophic failure. Hope CAD gets it all sorted for you. Messes suck. Good luck hip! Link to comment
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