At The Bommie's Edge - New Animals!

[xerophyte_nyc]

Took my first salinity test today with a hydrometer, had a reading of 1.026. Also added another 7G of SW. Water is clearing up a bit but is still murky.

[Zo0k365]

haha your plans are confusing. Cant wait to see it come together

[xerophyte_nyc]

Water is clearing up!

 

Until the LED is set-up, the photos won't look great - a flash is needed but reflects off the glass, whereas a good photo without the flash requires a tripod which I don't have. There is now 21G of SW in the DT. I think it will hold another 8-10G before going into the overflow. The overflow holds another 2-3G, the sump will probably have about 7G. I anticipate about 38-40G total water in the system.

 

 

 

[xerophyte_nyc]

Starting to add some equipment. Picked up a Tunze Nanostream 6025 to complement the existing Vortech MP10. They will run at opposite ends of the tank. The reason I selected the Tunze vs. the Hydor Evolution is because to me the Tunze was a little more compact in size and based on reviews may be of a better build. I also have a Maxijet 1200 with the Sureflow mod which probably exceeds either the Tunze or Hydor in flow, but is more obtrusive than the others - since we're dealing with a smallish nano tank, I prefer style over substance in this case.

 

I also got this cool little R2 Moonlight for nocturnal viewing:

 

I mounted it underneath the rear of my LED box with velcro. The moonlight swivels to adjust lighting angulation:

 

Here is the whole shebang - stand, tank with LED. It's not the most attractive lighting mount. It will have to suffice, for now. (Note: the LED just appears lopsided in the photo).

 

I tried my best to hide the ugliness of the power cord. I ran it along the metal suspension wire, through a cable organizer that is taped along one side of the lamp tree.

 

Here's another view of the lights from below:

[xerophyte_nyc]

More on lighting

 

As mentioned briefly in my introductory post, I am an avid collector of succulents, cactus and other plants. I own a 1500W Metal halide grow lamp, along with several 6x54W T5 HO fixtures for growing some stuff indoors during the winter. I have a simple Hydrofarm Light Meter that measures foot candles. This is valuable in determining how much light intensity is reaching a particular spot.

 

Bright mid-day sun measures around 10,000 fc. Sun loving plants do best at around 4,000 fc but tolerate less. 1,500 fc is a good minimum for sustaining a variety of plants.

 

My light meter measures close to 5,000fc @ 12 inches below the 1500W MH lamp. I get around 2,000fc @ 12 inches below the T5 fixture. I have sun loving plants that grow and flower well, a sign of good lighting.

 

The 120W LED aquarium light measures around 2,000fc @ 12 inches, very similar to the 320W T5 lamp. Clearly, light output is adequate, although I have no means of measuring PAR. I have to assume it is adequate. After all, if marijuana growers are fans of LED, they must be good.

 

I have the 120W LED mounted about 10 inches above the top of the tank. The light should be plenty strong enough for SPS and clams probably anywhere in the tank directly below the lights where there is no shading. Once you start moving towards the edges of the LED array, light output decreases quickly.

 

Once I have the lights hooked up and running I will take some photos to demonstrate the light meter readings.

 

For the refugium, I ditched the CF light that came with the CAD Lights system and instead opted for a simple, DIY double 13W 6500K daylight fluorescent light. It will provide a wider and more powerful light source for good macro-algae growth.

 

More equipment:

Turkey baster - apparently, a must have

 

Here's the Tunze waiting to be powered up, in the corner.

 

Front view of the DT with the MP10 on the left.

 

Side view of MP10, and a Nano-mag algae scraper.

 

Here's the sump. Left chamber is the drainage line, with room for a skimmer that I won't be using. Others use a filter sock to reduce noise - but I don't want to filter away detritus, planktonic material and tiny larvae that are all potential food sources for filter feeders. Middle is the "main" refugium. I have about a 1-inch sandbed of coarse aragonite. The DT has fine sand, I opted for a different substrate here for diversity - I expect different creatures to inhabit the refugium than what is in the DT. The right chamber is for the return flow back the DT.

 

I will have rock rubble in all 3 chambers for extra biofiltration and to support critter diversity. I will probably try to grow chaeto in the right chamber as well, the lighting should be adequate. I like to have built in redundancy - more macro-algae can't hurt. Worst case scenario is slow growth due to nutrient limitation.

 

You will also see a TLF Phosban 150 reactor. Initially I will use this to run a bag of Chemipure. Purigen will also be utilized (see below). I can run a phosphate removal media in the reactor in the future, as needed.

 

I will make a simple, in-sump DIY Purigen reactor. A translucent water bottle from Target will be modded with a 1/2 inch vinyl tubing for intake on the bottom. The tubing will be hooked up to a small Hydor Pico 200 pump. Water will flow upwards out the sipping valve at the top. A bag of Purigen will be inside with sufficient flow. Like I said, I like redundancy. Purigen and Chemipure are similar but still do slightly different things. I will start with simple filtration and won't fuss too much over adequate flow. Keep things passive at first, let the aquarium evolve. If the system becomes too reliant on chemical filtration, it may not be a good thing as inhabitants grow and feeding increases. I don't want to be a slave to "parameters". A more or less self-sufficient system is the ultimate goal.

 

Finally, here is the skimmer that came with the tank. What a contraption. I don't want to use this thing. It is scary looking. It will be stowed away in my garage, hopefully never needing to be used. I know skimmerless is a viable option, and that is what I will attempt.

 

Live Rock

15 lbs of cured nano rock, and about 7 lbs of uncured Manado rock will be arriving Friday morning, UPS overnight. This, along with some live rock rubble, should complete my aquascaping.

[timdanger]

why face the mp10 at the tunze 6025? seems like you'll neutralize the force of the flow.

 

i actually had a similar situation (6025 on back left, mp10 on back right, both pointing toward the front of the tank). i ended up switching them so that both are on the same side working together instead of against each other to create a more consistent gyre. i can't definitively attribute improvements in my tank to this change, but i do feel that it's helped me eliminate the majority of my low-flow/dead spots.

[timdanger]

also, I'm concerned that your refugium sandbed is too deep for a non-DSB application. definitely agree with your use of that grade/material, but I think you just have a bit too much of it, and it will end up being a nutrient sink (it has been my experience that it's a bit difficult to generate flow through that middle chamber).

 

if you want to use sand there, i'd recommend a conservative 0.5" layer. you can get away with 1" in normal flow environments, but ESPECIALLY if you're not planning to use a filter sock, i'd be wary of the potential for laminar flow right over the top of that chamber, with heavier material sinking down into it and staying there to decompose.

 

 

everything else is looking great, though!

[xerophyte_nyc]

I agree about the refugium sandbed, I hastily dumped the contents of a bag into the sump. I will ultimately end up with a 1/2 to 1 inch level. The sump is not set-up completely yet, still a work in progress!

 

 

also, I'm concerned that your refugium sandbed is too deep for a non-DSB application. definitely agree with your use of that grade/material, but I think you just have a bit too much of it, and it will end up being a nutrient sink (it has been my experience that it's a bit difficult to generate flow through that middle chamber).

 

if you want to use sand there, i'd recommend a conservative 0.5" layer. you can get away with 1" in normal flow environments, but ESPECIALLY if you're not planning to use a filter sock, i'd be wary of the potential for laminar flow right over the top of that chamber, with heavier material sinking down into it and staying there to decompose.

 

 

everything else is looking great, though!

 

I appreciate the advice. I don't know exactly what the flow will be like with my rockwork, I will have to wait and see and adjust as needed. The MP10 will be on the left wall, towards the front...the Tunze is in the back right corner facing towards the front. As it is the flows will collide somewhere in the middle. The beauty is that these pumps are easily rearranged.

 

why face the mp10 at the tunze 6025? seems like you'll neutralize the force of the flow.

 

i actually had a similar situation (6025 on back left, mp10 on back right, both pointing toward the front of the tank). i ended up switching them so that both are on the same side working together instead of against each other to create a more consistent gyre. i can't definitively attribute improvements in my tank to this change, but i do feel that it's helped me eliminate the majority of my low-flow/dead spots.

[TheNordCelt]

Very nice detailed build. Tagging along.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Measuring Light Intensity with Foot Candles

 

FTS with all the lights on, and no color correction of the image. It has a distinct bluish tone, but the photo exaggerates it. No Photoshop this time.

 

Here is the light meter about 10 inches directly underneath the LED. 2500fc is pretty intense.

 

As you move away from the LED array towards the front of the tank, intensity drops off:

 

Away from the short end of the array, the drop in intensity is most pronounced:

 

Directly underneath, at around 10 inches, with the 14k LED only. I thought they would give a higher reading.

 

Here are the 420nm and 460nm blues only. I was surprised that the fc reading was this high. It is difficult to get adequate PAR in the lower wavelengths, but the intensity sure is there, FWIW.

 

120W LED Conclusion:

Overall the light intensity is sufficient for healthy plant growth, but as with all lights, the fc readings drop quickly as the distance from the light source is increased. These fc readings are indicative of adequate photosynthetic activity for sun loving plants, therefore one may conclude that photosynthetic zooxanthellae could exhibit similar "healthy" growth.

 

Light is most intense directly below the lamp source, which covers a good portion of the DT surface area. Along the periphery, the light exposure may be more conducive to low light coral.

[xerophyte_nyc]

How to get a media bag into the TLF Phosban 150

 

The Phosban 150 reactor's directions state that a media bag should not be used. I assume this is because proper water flow may be compromised.

 

However, Chemipure Elite is supposed to remain in the special media bag it comes in - probably because the contents can escape into the DT easily.

 

So here's my solution: I snipped off the existing plastic zip tie on a bag of the CE, guided the reactor's hollow plastic tube through the bag, and re-tied the loose end of the bag with a new zip-tie. On the other end, I carefully cut a small slit and ran the plastic tube back out the bag, and used more zip-ties to secure that end. Some material became lodged within the hollow tube, so that was cleaned away. The result is a bag of CE safely fastened to the plastic rod in the reactor.

 

 

Now I await seeing it in action.

[xerophyte_nyc]

My first parameter tests:

 

SG = 1.025

Ammonia ~ 0.25ppm

Nitrite ~ 1+ppm

Nitrate ~ 50ppm (!)

dKH ~ 11

 

This is my first time playing around with these Salifert kits, so I may be off. I haven't hooked up the RKL pH probe yet. I've been "feeding" liquid ammonia to the tank for the past week...could the high nitrates be a consequence of that?

 

I better have lots of water ready in case a big water change is on the horizon with the live rock coming tomorrow morning...

[timdanger]

my guess on the media bag requirement for chemipure is that carbon + gfo in the same bag/chamber/whatever means that the harder substance is going to rub against the softer substance (carbon, i believe) and result in fines being released out into the water. some have attributed carbon fines to HLLE in surgeonfish. that's why you see people running dual reactors for carbon/gfo instead of just putting them both together -- you don't want those materials to rub together (that, and you want GFO to tumble while carbon stays still, again to avoid creating fines).

 

if you find that a media bag in the reactor isn't working, you could always just run the media bag passively in the drain chamber or in the overflow over the display and use the reactor for something else.

[timdanger]

I've been "feeding" liquid ammonia to the tank for the past week...could the high nitrates be a consequence of that?

 

yes, though it could just be part of your cycle (hard to speculate at this stage).

 

remember, you have to have something to support/feed the nitrifying bacteria you're creating.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Addition of Live Rock

 

Live Rock arrived Friday from Premium Aquatics. I order 15 lbs. of cured nano-rock, and a big 8-lb shelf of uncured Manado. In addition, there is 10 lbs. of live rock rubble and 2 lbs. live sand scrapings from their rock pool.

 

The rock was packaged very nicely in a big styrofoam box, each rock packed individually in wet paper. It smelled fresh. Lots of nice colored hard algae, along with barely rotting mush that I scraped off in a couple areas. I quickly packed all the rock away into a pre-made tub of SW with a powerhead, since I had to leave for a few hours.

 

When I returned I arranged the rock and then the water started clouding up badly. The next morning, the DT was clear again and I was able to aquascape. I put on a protective glove up to my shoulder to keep my hand dry and the tank clean. I also added some decorative coral skeletons on the top. The shelf will make a good spot for growing some SPS down the road.

 

During the arranging I saw a small brittle star float down and scurry across the sand bed. I added about another 13 gallons of SW to the entire system. Including the sump, there is about 34-35 gallons of water total.

 

Here is a FTS after 2 days:

 

More pictures from different angles:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I purchased a small Ricordea, which will function as my indicator animal. If it remains healthy, I know my water is reasonably OK. It may seem somewhat cruel but so far, so good. I am confident. I had trouble stabilizing him. After blowing around in the current, it settled into a nook and has remained there undisturbed for 2 days now. The mouth appears turgid.

[xerophyte_nyc]

The Sump

 

I added a bag of Purigen right underneath the drain hose, for now. It is turbulent in there, lots of microbubbles. The baffles do an excellent job of keeping the bubbles from escaping into the refugium chamber, and there is barely any noise.

 

 

 

Due to a high nitrate level during the first few days of "cycling", I decided to be proactive and get some macroalgae for the refugium. My LFS only had Caulerpa, so I bought a handful and will keep the lights on 24-7 to keep it asexual. Eventually I will replace it with Chaeto, I don't want to have to worry about out of control Caulerpa.

 

There are a bunch of hitchhiker pods and a bristle worm or 2 crawling around the algae.

 

 

Oxygen bubbles???? If so, that is good!

 

 

I went ahead and activated the TLF reactor with Chemipure Elite. Need help getting the nitrates down.

 

 

RKL and Vortech controller are mounted with velcro on the side.

 

 

What a mess...I take it this is the norm? Got to tidy it up...

[xerophyte_nyc]

Water Parameters

 

I believe that the games I was playing with the sand bed early on have been beneficial. After 2 days of live rock addition, including a big piece of uncured rock, ammonia and nitrates are very low. Nitrates were very high day 1 but have been creeping down.

 

I also believe that overnight shipping of the rock was also helpful in minimizing death and toxins. I see a small colony of baby feather dusters waving in the current on one of the rocks, and there is algae starting to grow. I'm not sure what type of algae - they are hairlike and light brownish, but still very small.

 

I will perform (my first) a decent water change shortly.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Last night, I measured 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0.5-1.0ppm nitrate. Looking good, almost too good.

 

What I thought was light brown algae is really just detritus and old junk on the rocks dying off.

 

Some algae are sprouting, I can see what looks very much like small Halimeda. There is a small colony of feather dusters on a rock. I have seen a couple of bristle worms. Ricordea is hanging in there.

 

If the water quality continues to look good I may begin to stock the tank with a fish and get some active food and waste processing. As it is now the tank is probably a barren desert devoid of nutrition.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Some photos of sprouting life in the tank:

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can spot a colony of coral gall barnacles here:

 

Got a decent shot of the Ricordea. It's not easy taking photos with a regular point-and-shoot camera. I have to focus on an outside object and then bring the field of view in separately.

 

[timdanger]

just saying, you're going to regret that caulerpa -- take it out, put in some chaeto. if the LFS doesn't have chaeto, just wait until it does or get another LFS (you've got plenty of other nitrate removers in the tank, particularly the DSB). there's no reason to get worked up over early-cycle nitrates and end up infecting your tank with something you'll potentially have to battle with for the rest of the tank's/rock's/sand's existence (without even getting to the issue of the caulerpa going sexual). chaeto is a ready substitute with none of the downside.

[xerophyte_nyc]

just saying, you're going to regret that caulerpa -- take it out, put in some chaeto. if the LFS doesn't have chaeto, just wait until it does or get another LFS (you've got plenty of other nitrate removers in the tank, particularly the DSB). there's no reason to get worked up over early-cycle nitrates and end up infecting your tank with something you'll potentially have to battle with for the rest of the tank's/rock's/sand's existence (without even getting to the issue of the caulerpa going sexual). chaeto is a ready substitute with none of the downside.

 

I hear ya. It's on my agenda. Lights are on 24-7 which is supposed be the anti-aphrodisiac.

[xerophyte_nyc]

DIY ATO/ Kalkwasser Drip

 

Picked up an empty 2-gal 8 gasoline container for $11 at Lowes. I will drill a small hole and add a basic IV drip line somewhere on the bottom. This will function as an easy auto top-off gadget. 2 gallons should last me roughly 7-10 days +/-. When the tank is ready, I will mix up my own kalkwasser as needed, provided of course my Alk and Ca are in the proper ratio. That will be a future project. I like the fact this container is opaque, which will prevent any unwanted algal growth. It fits perfectly sitting on top of the sump without interfering with any plumbing or lights.

 

 

Additions to Sump

 

I added a ball valve to the drain. If anything in the sump needs servicing, I can cut the drain line off. Also, as it turns out, a slight crank of the valve renders the water practically silent. It inhibits flow just enough.

 

 

I added a ball valve to the return line as well, for the same reason of cutting off flow during sump maintenance or servicing. The cooling fan that came with the tank is now in the sump too. It is set to go on at temps above 83.5^oF.

 

 

The middle refugium section is now outfitted with a Maxijet 400 with a few inches of perforated 1/2" tubing, to increase flow. Now things are rolling around in there.

 

 

Diatom Bloom

 

As you can see, a brown diatom bloom formed today, mainly on the glass but also on the sand and some rock surfaces. Tank has been cycling with live rock for about 4 days now. It appears I have successfully shortened the cycling time. Maybe I will add some members of a CUC this Friday.

 

[xerophyte_nyc]

More life has arrived

 

Got a package from Reefcleaners.org today...about 12 small Cerith snails, and 2 Nassarius vibex. The Ceriths quickly scrambled away and the Nassarius promptly buried themselves in the sand.

 

I also ordered a few different macroalgae:

Laurencia, placed in a very high flow spot

 

And 2 different Bryothamnion species.

 

 

All these red algae are not aggressive and can be pruned easily anytime to maintain shape. The bryos are calcifying algae. They add a nice variety to the tank's repertoire.

 

Ricordea is still hanging in there.

 

Lots of different things are springing up on one of the uncured pieces of Manado rock - besides the green algae, there are some red things that are sprouting, and some other strange growths - who knows, too small to ID. You can see one of the Ceriths towards the right.

 

More hair algae...

 

Added a small zoa frag from the LFS - $4. Has a nice orange center. It opened up pretty quickly after adding to the tank. I dipped it into some Coral Rx and a bunch of amphipods came out and eventually died.

 

Another $4 frag, Galaxea. I have plenty of spots where it can live with plenty of space for the sweepers. I enjoy the LPS that sway in the flow. This one too extended its polyps pretty quickly. I have it in a lower light area to adjust.

 

Cerith living on the edge.

 

This one is not interested in eating, he just wants to take in the "sun".

 

Tons more algae, with a Cerith nearby ready to feast.

 

Here's a frag of Pachyclavularia violacea, or GSP as we know it. This one is still being shy. Go figure.

 

Got rid of the Caulerpa, and replaced it with Chaetomorpha and some Ulva. I hear amphipods like Ulva...

 

Bristle worm? in the sand...it's cool how the body pulsates in a peristaltic manner, I wonder what it's doing.

 

Coming up next:

 

Next week is part 2 of the cleanup crew. Joining the team will be 2 left-handed hermits, some Nerite snails, along with a handful of Trochus and Stomatella snails. From IPSF.com, I will also add more Bristle worms, "Spaghetti" worms and amphipods.

 

I don't want to go crazy with a ton of snails. Let's see how the tank does with a few first. I will also start feeding the sandbed with some chunks of wafers. Coral and fish are great - but the real work will be maintaining a diverse and active sandbed fauna.

[xerophyte_nyc]

DSB working as planned

 

So far so good - pockets of gas forming within the deep sand bed, signifying denitrifying bacterial activity. In the coming weeks I should start to see worm tunnels. There are already lots of copepods scurrying along the glass. I saw a flatworm too. In abundance, flatworms are not good but at normal levels they are part of the beneficial sandbed infauna.

 

 

I have started "feeding" the sandbed with a daily pellet made for bottom-feeders. I dropped one in today and within seconds a big amphipod came running from a great distance and pounced on it.

 

I also noticed one of my Nassarius snails sticking his proboscis out of the sand. I need to add some meat for my two Nassarius.

[xerophyte_nyc]

Check out the sweepers on this Galaxea. Not bad for a little baby coral.