Drift Monkey Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 I'll be documenting this tank's ressurection. FTSs will be here! 04/27/2011 New stand and light setup So far: Equipment: JBJ Picotope 3G Evil's PAR38 Lamp - 20k, 60 degree optics 6.5-7lbs(ish) Fiji Live Rock 3-4lbs (<~1") CaribSea Ocean Direct Live Sand (Original Grade) AC70 fuge modded Hydor Theo 50w heater Hydor Pico Evo-Mag 180 (damn that crappy mount) Lifegard Big Digital Temp Alert EcoTech VorTech MP10 ES (temporary) Livestock: CUC - 3 Dwarf Ceriths, 1 Nassarius, 2 Florida Ceriths, and 3 carpet surfing Nerites 2 Porcelain Anemone Crabs 3 Sexy Shrimp 1 Anemone Shrimp 1 Bumblebee Shrimp Corals: Various Mushrooms Orange Zoanthids Silver-tipped Xenia Green Star Polyps Mint Chocolate Chip Palys Blue Candy Cane Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 After a couple years outta the reefing game I caught the bug again and set this baby up. After helping a buddy of mine setup a Nano Wave 9G, I knew another tank was inevitable so... So far: JBJ Picotope 3G 4.5lb Carib Sea Arag-Alive (Fiji Pink) 5.5lb Fiji live rock The water level is a bit low (we didn't get enough )...but I plan of dropping by the LFS tomorrow to remedy that. Trying to keep this pico simple (God help me), but I figure I'd document her here and see where she goes. Filled her up proper now. You can see the aquascaping a little better now that it's clearing up. Link to comment
Meech Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Looks awesome. Simple, clean scape. I look forward to seeing this progress! Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 nice rocks.... but why does everyone have the "el fab" 3 rock scape??? its a pandemic. Link to comment
badfish816 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 its el fabs way of taking over the world!!! Link to comment
Jacobnano Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 Hes everywhere! I like the scape haha Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 nice rocks.... but why does everyone have the "el fab" 3 rock scape??? its a pandemic. ...and here I was, proud of myself for taking the time to choose and place my live rock. I had no idea the market was cornered for live rock count/placement. Link to comment
badfish816 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 this is a highly competitive sport. lol Link to comment
PaulE915 Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 nice...looking good so far! Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share Posted December 1, 2009 Re-did my rocks slightly a few days ago and stuck in a cheapo powerhead I had laying around rated at 106gph. Things seem to be going smoothly with the cycle. Diatoms decided to move in. Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 5, 2009 Author Share Posted December 5, 2009 It's been a little over a week, so I finally decided to test the water. Results: PH - 7.8 Ammonia - 0.25 ppm Nitrite - 0 ppm Nitrate - 20 ppm Link to comment
badfish816 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 lookin good. i would get that ph up a little more though. Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 6, 2009 Author Share Posted December 6, 2009 I have the powerhead diffusing off of the top rock now to disturb the surface a bit more. 7.8 is a bit low...but I've been reading PH can run low while cycling? Link to comment
badfish816 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 oh ya. no problem while cycling. i am surprised its not higher do to the aragonite. Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 Went ahead and placed an order at Big Al's Online for some goodies...and now the wait. Also waitin' on evil's PAR38 numbers so I can go ahead and order while the holes in my pockets are still burning. On another note...I know it probably won't matter either way for coral growth (strictly visual preference since it is LEDs), but I gotta ask, what y'all think? 12000K or 20000K? Link to comment
badfish816 Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 i think the 20000k look good on these small picos. just my 2 cents. Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 Another week and a half later, I test my water parameters again. Results: PH - 8.2 Ammonia - 0-0.25 ppm Nitrite - 0 ppm Nitrate - 20 ppm Not a while lot changed apparently. PH rose to the proper level, still showing some ammonia (about the same as last week), nitrites are still 0, and nitrates still steady at 20. What's up with the lingering ammonia? Is it my test kit? Probably just gonna let her sit... ...and of course updated pictures of the pet rocks: Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 My package came! Pics of some of the loot: Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 Anyone else have a Rio 50 think it's pretty loud? There is a constant rattle sound that is pretty annoying. I've also been modding the AC70. So far so good, pretty easy stuff. Link to comment
gregzbobo Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Anyone else have a Rio 50 think it's pretty loud? There is a constant rattle sound that is pretty annoying. I've also been modding the AC70. So far so good, pretty easy stuff. The Rio50 in my Picotope is utterly silent, and I even have it on the timer with the lights so it probably gets a little more wear than whats typical. Is the thing actually moving water? Might still be full of air. I have an old Penguin PH (its a spare now) that rattles badly when I plug it in, I have to baby it a bit to prime it/flush air out and the noise stops once it starts moving water. The box yours came in looks totally different from the box mine was in... The AC70 used to hum pretty loudly, but its broken in now and the hum is much less and only noticeable as I'm dozing off to sleep (tank is on my nightstand). I'll chime in on your cycle, I didn't even bother testing cycle params when I started mine in October, I let it run for about a month with no livestock added, started seeing green on the walls and brown on the sand, put a couple ceriths, a pair of blue-legs, and a single nass snail in. They went right to work, and so far no casualties. Nice refractometer, it came with that calibration solution shown on the packaging? Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 The Rio50 in my Picotope is utterly silent, and I even have it on the timer with the lights so it probably gets a little more wear than whats typical. Is the thing actually moving water? Might still be full of air. I have an old Penguin PH (its a spare now) that rattles badly when I plug it in, I have to baby it a bit to prime it/flush air out and the noise stops once it starts moving water. The box yours came in looks totally different from the box mine was in... The AC70 used to hum pretty loudly, but its broken in now and the hum is much less and only noticeable as I'm dozing off to sleep (tank is on my nightstand). I'll chime in on your cycle, I didn't even bother testing cycle params when I started mine in October, I let it run for about a month with no livestock added, started seeing green on the walls and brown on the sand, put a couple ceriths, a pair of blue-legs, and a single nass snail in. They went right to work, and so far no casualties. Nice refractometer, it came with that calibration solution shown on the packaging? Thanks for the response! Yeah, it's just a slight buzz...my other cheapo powerhead does the same thing, but i can at least eventually mess with it and get it to prime and it quiets down. It's definitely moving water, just not as quietly as I hoped. I might be SOL on this one...maybe RIO will replace it? Having the hum I read the AC70 plus the noise the Rio 50 isn't ideal though. I'm a sucker for quiet setups...I set my computers up the same way. We'll see how it goes, I should be able to drop in the AC70 tomorrow night after the silicone cures all the way. The green is definitely all over my rocks and was beginning to layer up a bit on my walls. I cleaned it up a bit with a Nimble Super (also came in yesterday) and blasted the rocks with an eye dropper though. Needless to say my filter floss is picking up tons of crap! Yeah, I'm pretty impressed with the refractometer. I've never used one before, but it's definitely has a good solid weight to it. It doesn't feel cheap. The calibration solution came in the box...although after testing it with the solution, it was already accurate from the factory. Good stuff. Link to comment
Drift Monkey Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 Well the AC70 refugium has been up and runnin' smoothy for about a day now. Now for some pics... ...and a closer view of the fuge. Nothin' but filter floss in for now... Boring right? Link to comment
pismo_reefer Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 new scape is WIN. Link to comment
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