PSYS Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Got back from the LFS... added my sand. Started my aquascaping. And I can't really tell if I like it or not? I think the one rock furthest on the left may be too close to the glass which could prove to be a PITA to keep clean. Not sure. What do you guys/gals think? My salinity is at 1.023 right now. Temp is at 79.3 right now. Light are off and will remain off during the cycle. Bought the live rock from my local LFS - Aquarium Pets here in Oshkosh. I felt like I got a really good deal. Ended up being 3.8 lbs. of Bali live rock. I can already tell that when you're working with 3 gallon of water... you really need to be selective about what goes into this little tiny environment. As this rock was sitting on the scale at the store, I was actually contemplating about whether or not I had enough?? Obviously, it was plenty. Purchasing corals should be equally difficult, I would imagine? You can't just toss anything in the tank when you're working with such a small volume of water. But in the end? ...the results are just so damn cool. I can't wait. Input? Insults? Questions? Comments? ...all are welcome. But go easy on the insults. haha. My pico was born on Saturday, Feb. 14th, 2009. YES! * sand in place. tank is in place on our kitchen counter. * * sorry this one is a little blurry. I didn't use the flash to try and eliminate the rock looking too washed out. It appears to be in really good shape. smelled fresh and has been in their "curing" tank for close to a month * * lights on + aquscaped * * another angle... * * ...another one * * top down shot. modded AC70 + Rio 50 powerhead for flow * * lights off... plus a better shot of the aquascape. * Link to comment
Gerber77 Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Looks great man Im sure you are stoked to see it up. Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Looks great man Im sure you are stoked to see it up. Thanks, man... I appreciate it. I'm psyched to see this thing finally filled with water. Link to comment
kv2wr1 Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 That looks awesome! Let us know what little critters pop up. Link to comment
JonathanS Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 nice, your gonna need some ricordias. Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Thanks you guys... I'll let you know if I come across any cool hitch hikers. And yeah, some nice rics and zoas would be SWEET. Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 ** Been checking out the tank with the lights off. And I've seen a couple of little critters. They almost look like little gnats walking around on the rocks. I can see what look like little antennae. They look like bugs. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I've attempted to photograph them but they're far too small for my camera to pick up. Not sure what they are... but it's nice to see life so soon. Tank has only been aquascaped for a couple of hours. Link to comment
NeenasReef Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 ** Been checking out the tank with the lights off. And I've seen a couple of little critters. They almost look like little gnats walking around on the rocks. I can see what look like little antennae. They look like bugs. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I've attempted to photograph them but they're far too small for my camera to pick up. Not sure what they are... but it's nice to see life so soon. Tank has only been aquascaped for a couple of hours. Sound like copepods! Yay! I like the LR placement... You may want to turn on the lights for the cycle to keep any photosynthetic stuff on your LR alive... and yay for rics! I may be getting some next week!!! Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 I've been reading so many different online articles... some say to use some lighting... some say don't use any. Some say use the same photo period you would use normally despite the cycle happening. I guess if there is life on the tank, I don't want what little life there is to die. And it sounds like if I have copepods and other miscellaneous critters... I don't want those to die. But I don't want any serious algae outbreak either right off the bat. So what's the consensus? Lights on? Lights off? The Nano-Reef.com article about cycling says: "...So what should you do during the cycle? Keep your lights running on their regular 10-12 hour schedule. Do not cycle your tank with the lights off, unless you want the life on the live rock to die off. Do not perform any partial water changes during the the process, as doing so will stall the cycle from completing. Some people have experimented with doing very small water changes during the cycle to keep the ammonia levels from getting extremely high. The thought behind this method is that it will help preserve the life that came on your live rock. The benefits, if any, are not well known at this time however." Link to comment
Miami Reefer Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 congrats, it looks great I will be starting mine very soon also Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Very nice! I like the rock work and it looks and sounds to me like you've got some good quality rocks. If you're not happy with your 'scape, at least let things settle down before moving things around but personally I really like the way you have it. As for that one rock being so close to the glass you won't have that problem once you get the super slim and super strong Nimble Nano which you're going to get when you're ready to put your Mag-Float away and start playing with some big boy toys. Link to comment
Aeridne Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I've been reading so many different online articles... some say to use some lighting... some say don't use any. Some say use the same photo period you would use normally despite the cycle happening. I guess if there is life on the tank, I don't want what little life there is to die. And it sounds like if I have copepods and other miscellaneous critters... I don't want those to die. But I don't want any serious algae outbreak either right off the bat. So what's the consensus? Lights on? Lights off? The Nano-Reef.com article about cycling says: "...So what should you do during the cycle? Keep your lights running on their regular 10-12 hour schedule. Do not cycle your tank with the lights off, unless you want the life on the live rock to die off. Do not perform any partial water changes during the the process, as doing so will stall the cycle from completing. Some people have experimented with doing very small water changes during the cycle to keep the ammonia levels from getting extremely high. The thought behind this method is that it will help preserve the life that came on your live rock. The benefits, if any, are not well known at this time however." I personally left my lights on for 10-12 hours a day during my cycle, I had tons of critters I wanted to keep alive though, starfish, bugs, etc. I didn't have a really bad outbreak of algea.. actually, I don't think I had much at all. I'd say go for it. Plus, when you add your CUC, you can just get some awesome algea snarfing snails to clean up the tank Link to comment
Sword Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Your thread has inspired me to start a JBJ Picotope (and finally register on here). I'm loving the step-by-step coverage. Looking great so far! Link to comment
fiction101 Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Leave the light on, so you can get the algae growth and diatoms started. Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 sweet pet rocks. Link to comment
imkevin20 Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 gonna follow this because i love picos and the vw avatar is stellar mk4 jetta owner here Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Leave the light on, so you can get the algae growth and diatoms started. +1 The stock Picotope light isn't intense enough to do any serious damage to your tank as far as algae goes. Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Very nice! I like the rock work and it looks and sounds to me like you've got some good quality rocks. If you're not happy with your 'scape, at least let things settle down before moving things around but personally I really like the way you have it. As for that one rock being so close to the glass you won't have that problem once you get the super slim and super strong Nimble Nano which you're going to get when you're ready to put your Mag-Float away and start playing with some big boy toys. Haha. Thanks, man... I've not touched any of the 'scape at all. I'll leave it the way it is. I kinda like how everything looks and it's grown on me. So I shall leave it for now. And no worries - I'll get my super slim Nimble Nano ordered. I personally left my lights on for 10-12 hours a day during my cycle, I had tons of critters I wanted to keep alive though, starfish, bugs, etc. I didn't have a really bad outbreak of algea.. actually, I don't think I had much at all. I'd say go for it. Plus, when you add your CUC, you can just get some awesome algea snarfing snails to clean up the tank Good to know. Starting today, I'll begin leaving the lights on. I don't want anything to die or perish due to me thinking it isn't good to have the lights on and a few random Internet articles I've read. Consensus?? ...lights are staying on a normal light cycle as of today. I really appreciate your input! Your thread has inspired me to start a JBJ Picotope (and finally register on here). I'm loving the step-by-step coverage. Looking great so far! That is SO awesome. I really appreciate that. Thanks a lot for tagging along and reading my thread... it's nice to know other people are benefitting in some way? ...glad to see you're tagging along for the ride! Leave the light on, so you can get the algae growth and diatoms started. Most definitely. gonna follow this because i love picosand the vw avatar is stellar mk4 jetta owner here Thanks a lot for tagging along!! I really appreciate it!! Yeah, the avatar is sick. I used to have the '03 GTI 20th Anniv. Edition. My girlfriend has an '03 Beetle with the 1.8T engine. I had to sell my 'dub after I got laid off from Northwest Airlines in '05. Bleh. I'm definitely gonna get a VW again. But right now, I'm rockin' a Toyota Yaris 'cuz of the good gas mileage. But I miss my turbo. Here's a pic of my 20th... Thanks so much for tagging along!! Link to comment
Miami Reefer Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 very nice 20th aniversary gti my buddy has a mk4 gli Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Nice! I've never had a VW but I always imagined myself driving one. Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Yeah, I really enjoyed my VW. Super sweet car + I put lot'sa toys on it. Everyday was a thoroughly enjoyable driving experience. haha. OK. Back on topic. Tank looks really good today. Water looks clear... doesn't quite have that "sparkle" but I think I'm bring over-critical right now. I'm sure some carbon would help but I'm not touching anything right now. How often should I change the filter floss? Wait until after the cycle is finished? Or once a week? Every two weeks? Just wondering. I hope everyone's having a great weekend! Link to comment
PSYS Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Took these photos just a few moments ago. Not sure what's on the surface of my tank... super duper teeny tiny micro bubbles? They don't look like actual particles? And nothing is actually floating in the water column. Not sure how or why the AC70 would be generating these bubbles... and I'm not even sure if it matters. They seem to be dissolving immediately and they aren't actually landing on the rock. Like I said, there is nothing floating in the water column of the tank itself. * FTS. See? The tank itself looks clear. What do you guys think? Link to comment
BlueAbyss Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Hmm almost looks like some sort of film on the surface... any way you can increase surface agitation? Or surface skimming? Looks good anyhow Link to comment
el fabuloso Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Those micro bubbles are normal and should go start going away once you break in the AC70. You will need to change out the filter floss frequently at first until it's trapped all the suspended debris in the water. After that you'll be fine changing it out once a week when you do your maintenance. The surface scum is also normal and you can use a plastic spoon to remove it manually. Point the powerhead towards the top so that it breaks the water's surface. This will help with surface agitation and oxygen exchange. Tank looks great and it's coming along nicely. The label on the powerhead is ugly and glaring though. Make it go away. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.