thevidon Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Well I finally got my 4g Finnex up and running at my office. I think the rockwork came out really nice - see what you think! Hardware: Finnex Canister filter (running chemipure/purigen) F&S Bio Whisper HOB filter modded as fuge (with surface skimming) Theo 25w heater Evil Par38 (20k) Tunze Osmolator (w/ 2.5 gallon top off tank under desk) Contents: Reef rock from Reefcleaners CaribSea Arag Alive Hawaiian Black Sand Current FTS 2/23/11: 2/23/11 Corals from Reef Goddess Watermelon Chalice: Green Duncan: Purple Stylophora: Torch Coral and Blue Cespitulara: 2/22/11 New Corals/Nems from Reef Goddess Rock Anemone: Maxi-Mini: Maxi-Mini: Link to comment
Akiowalt Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 good start and nice rock work! Link to comment
Stephensx04 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Looks good. Got the same tank. I did something similar with the light too. Just remember to drain some water before putting your hands in. Link to comment
will46r Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Try raising the water level in the tank. If I don't top off to the correct line I get micro-bubbles in my tank. How do you like that F&S HOB? I'm considering one for a larger tank if I don't drill it and plumb a sump in. Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Try raising the water level in the tank. If I don't top off to the correct line I get micro-bubbles in my tank. How do you like that F&S HOB? I'm considering one for a larger tank if I don't drill it and plumb a sump in. Seems pretty nice so far. I love the built in surface skimming. It is still sucking a little bit of air and making noise which is annoying, but I think its related to the surface skimming.......... Link to comment
Funktastic Wint Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Seems pretty nice so far. I love the built in surface skimming. It is still sucking a little bit of air and making noise which is annoying, but I think its related to the surface skimming.......... hey could we get a close up on the surface skimming part? i like the set up here Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 hey could we get a close up on the surface skimming part? i like the set up here Sure - I can post it on monday when I am back in the office. I finally got it quieted down, and its pretty darn silent overall. I really like the filter and I think others should consider these instead of the aquaclear considering these come with the built in surface skimming. On an unrelated note I have a cycling question. Since I am using all dry rock, I will experience no die-off and get no ammonia spike correct? All I will need to do is wait a couple weeks for my bacteria to build up? I started the tank with arag-alive and I am dosing Special Blend to help boost the bacteria counts........ Link to comment
Funktastic Wint Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Sure - I can post it on monday when I am back in the office. I finally got it quieted down, and its pretty darn silent overall. I really like the filter and I think others should consider these instead of the aquaclear considering these come with the built in surface skimming. On an unrelated note I have a cycling question. Since I am using all dry rock, I will experience no die-off and get no ammonia spike correct? All I will need to do is wait a couple weeks for my bacteria to build up? I started the tank with arag-alive and I am dosing Special Blend to help boost the bacteria counts........ yeah if theres nothin to die then there will be no ammonia present. however as far as i know u should probly seed that rock with a small bit of live rock so coralline algae will be present in the system. if it isnt i dont think anything will turn purple. also i believe that any time new bio load is added a microscopic cycle takes place and then balances out over time. i dont know anythin about special blend... except that i heard it smells foul. lol aand arag alive is the sand right? thats good however a bit of live rock will soon make the sand live as well. hope this helps. also dont run chemical filtration till the cycle is over. ie: the canister with purigen etc... its quite futile. just filter floss for the first month. Link to comment
.Newman. Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 yes at least a small piece of LR can be beneficial, even if the sand did contain bacteria. though you could wait until you get a coral frag, those usually come on rock fragments that have bacteria and coralline if you need it. Link to comment
Funktastic Wint Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 yes at least a small piece of LR can be beneficial, even if the sand did contain bacteria. though you could wait until you get a coral frag, those usually come on rock fragments that have bacteria and coralline if you need it. that would definitely work on a system this small. Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Tested the water today: PH - 7.8 Ammonia - .5ppm Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - 0 Where would the ammonia be coming from? There is only dry rock and live sand in the system....... Link to comment
.Newman. Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 the live sand had some die off even if it was microscopic. Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Current Readings: Ammonia: .25ppm Nitrite: .25ppm Nitrate: 5ppm Should this cycle be done by next monday? When should I perform a water change? Link to comment
.Newman. Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 its going to get done when its going to get done. test at three day intervals or so to get your idea. daily testing IMO can be dissapointing and very misleading. What is this special blend thing youre using? A small piece of LR can help. Nothings in our tank so no need for a water change until the whole cycle is over. Once it is, wait about a week and when you decide to bring in your CUC additions, then do a WC the day before that to get your nitrates below 20ppm at least, and then you'll basically have to do another WC because of acclimating your stock the next day. Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 its going to get done when its going to get done. test at three day intervals or so to get your idea. daily testing IMO can be dissapointing and very misleading.What is this special blend thing youre using? A small piece of LR can help. Nothings in our tank so no need for a water change until the whole cycle is over. Once it is, wait about a week and when you decide to bring in your CUC additions, then do a WC the day before that to get your nitrates below 20ppm at least, and then you'll basically have to do another WC because of acclimating your stock the next day. New readings: Ammonia: .25ppm Nitrite: 5.0 ppm Nitrate: 80ppm Where does this put me in the cycle? Should the Nitrites be lower with a nitrate reading this high? Should I run a water change today? Link to comment
bigcapct Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 What kind of filter is it and were u get it ,cause I have similar tank and was lookn at the skimmer/filter systems on marinedepot.com Link to comment
.Newman. Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 that puts you at the nitrite spike of the cycle. wait it out, no WCs. remember ammonia and nitrite have to be 0 before you can do a water change to reduce the nitrates. then wait around a week to see if it all remains stable and get the CUC if you need to clean things up. Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 What kind of filter is it and were u get it ,cause I have similar tank and was lookn at the skimmer/filter systems on marinedepot.com Here you go: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/prod...fm?pcatid=16729 I got the 25 due to the size limitations on my tank. I used the filter cartridges it came with when I did my fuge mod, and it came out quite well. The built in surface skimming is a very welcome addition to a pico tank. Link to comment
bigcapct Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Just orderd one now !! Got a 24 pack of cartridges too lol gonna return my aquaclear when it arrives thanks for the info!! Link to comment
.Newman. Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 cartridges arent very useful in reefs setups for their main purpose anyway - biological filtration. but as long as you replace them frequently you shouldnt wind up with problems of nitrates...though once youre out of cartridges simple filter floss will do the job =/ Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 cartridges arent very useful in reefs setups for their main purpose anyway - biological filtration. but as long as you replace them frequently you shouldnt wind up with problems of nitrates...though once youre out of cartridges simple filter floss will do the job =/ I meant that I used one of the cartridges for my screen to hold the chaeto in the chamber. I am not planning on actually running any filtration media beyond filter floss in the HOB fuge. I did not have to purchase any extra materials, so the fuge mod for this filter wasn't any more difficult or expensive than it is for the AquaClears. In fact, I think it was even easier, since the output blocking piece can actually be used to run filter floss since it is one of the stock cartridges cut in half: Link to comment
bigcapct Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 So you just put some cheto in the back compartment and put floss in the cartridge holder?thats it?interesting Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 So you just put some cheto in the back compartment and put floss in the cartridge holder?thats it?interesting Kind of. You can see the cutout slots where the stock cartridges resided (there were 2 of them) in the main chamber. Here are the steps I took for my fuge mod....it was kinda fun since nobody had done one of these before and I had nothing to go on: 1. Remove stock cartridges 2. Cut one stock cartridge to a height where it can fit on top of the output ramp, but be level with the top of the filter (this ended up being like 1/3 to 1/2 of the original cartridge size). You want the bottom of the cartridge, so that you can use it as a floss holder. 3. Superglue (or silicone) the two sides of the cartridge together. Because you just cut it in half the top of the cartridge which is what used to hold it together is no longer there and you need to make it into its own little "basket". Once dry move to step 4. 4. Superglue (or silicone) the modified cartridge onto the top of the output ramp. Let dry. This half basket can now be filled with floss. Link to comment
.Newman. Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 yes that would work better. it was basically the AC mod like you said. Link to comment
thevidon Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 FINALLY finished cycling. Test results today: Ammonia:0 Nitrite:0 Nitrate:0 I just ordered my cleaning crew from Reefcleaners (no crabs), along with a baggie of chaeto to throw in my HOB fuge. I'll let those settle for a week or so and then I'll be placing an order for coral (probably from reefgardener based on talks with Morgan). I also am starting to get what I assume are diatoms?: Link to comment
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