The_Barbe-Hatten_Project Posted August 10, 2005 Author Share Posted August 10, 2005 Yeah 300ppm is low... 2 part calcium buffers are usually a no no for small tanks... i just use good ol' kent liquid calcium... you can add it every day without affecting your Ph... That's ironic that you guys are noticing those cracks... i just noticed them for the first time yesterday... i dunno if they have been there on mine of what, but i can't see them unless i'm within 5-6in of the tank and only on the front of the bow at the top of the tank... i'm sure they are nothing to worry about... I a couple things in the sump this weekend that are worth noting... will post pics and explinations later... Link to comment
The_Barbe-Hatten_Project Posted August 10, 2005 Author Share Posted August 10, 2005 i made a bubble trap to keep the bubbles from the skimmer from entering the tank... use some plexi and a plastic knife.. Link to comment
The_Barbe-Hatten_Project Posted August 10, 2005 Author Share Posted August 10, 2005 the other side.. Link to comment
The_Barbe-Hatten_Project Posted August 10, 2005 Author Share Posted August 10, 2005 the bottom... Link to comment
whitmda Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 BHP, can you elaborate on why 2-part buffers are not good for small tanks? Is it just too much stuff for too little water? Maybe I can cut the doses in half or something (I don't want toss 20 bucks worth of stuff if i can help it). When should I look into getting a cleaning crew? Parameters as of last night were: Ammonia < 0.25; Nitrite < .05; Nitrate 10-50 (according to the card; I'm not sure how to interpret this). Algae has noticeably grown. Rust colors have appeared as well as some dark greens. One rock has what looks like grass growing on it (about 3mm tall) Another has what looks like green bubbles (about 2mm wide). I've spotted one tube worm. There are these weird gray/brown wormy things attached to the rocks. Little bugs are also swimming and running on the walls. I also noticed what looks like centimeter long turds the color of the substrate. I'm going to start on the new plumbing system within the next month. The powerheads are an eyesore. Don't think I'll do any drilling though. I went to home depot and ace hardware 2 weeks ago, no cpvc there. No cracks in my tank yet. Link to comment
The_Barbe-Hatten_Project Posted August 10, 2005 Author Share Posted August 10, 2005 Arag-Alive "Special Grade" is the name of it... go to drs foster & smith's web site, u'll find it... Its easy to dose incorrect proportions of one part or the other. In a large tank this is not a problem, but in a small tank it can cause such a big swing in Ph that everything will die... On the other hand, with such a small tank arag-alive sand and the nutrients in the salt mix usually can keep the parameters in check with regular water changes... i didn't dose anything after about the second month up until this past month when i got the sps... Are u using dip tests or the tests that use a test tube and chemical solution...? how long have you had the tank running now (w/ the rock)? A couple of astrea snails and a couple dwarf hermits probably would't hurt now... just watch everything, if one or two die in the next 2 weeks you'll be ok, but if they all die you'll have to start you're cycle over... That's insane... CPVC is what contractors use to plumb sinks and bathtubs... Go back to HD and ask some one in the plumbing dept... It's usually in seprate section then regular pvc... Link to comment
whitmda Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 I asked some guy in Home Depot who ran to ask the manager. He said they didn't have it. I was like "you got to be kidding me." I am using test tubes and chemical solutions (from Red Sea). The rock has been in the tank for about 8 days. Link to comment
whitmda Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 They sell these nano-pack cleanup crews on the internet. Is it a bad idea to add a full nano-pack cleanup crew once the cycle is completely over? Or would you recommend running to the LFS and adding them gradually over a few weeks? Should I be thinking the same way about critters as fish (adding too much too fast will = bad things)? As you can see with my addition of 25lbs of live rock, I get a little impatient. ... 4:01pm..bored at work..time to buy stuff at dr. foster & smith... Link to comment
Izzue Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Hey whit I understand the patience part--but I waited a month before adding clean up crew. I added 10 reds legs 10 blue legs and 3 astra snails. The back wall was covered with algae and was completely clean by the snails in one week The crabs help in cleaning all the crap off the rocks. I did not clean my LR well before putting it into tank so they had some work to do (still has some sponge decay). I havent checked nitrates and nitrites lately but Im starting to believe that BHP is right about the wet dry being a nitra and nitri factory. I spent 4 hours last weekend cleaning and syphoning algae--green and red out of my tank and after 4 days of 12 hour lighting you cant even tell I did it-- starting to get discuraged already. I dont have the room for refugium -- after testing water this evening--if it shows sign nitrate im gonna tosh the ceramic and add charcoal at the bare minium. Izzue Link to comment
whitmda Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 I never used the ceramic rings. All I have used for filtration/cleaning is the skimmer (which is finally churning away after a week) and 2 small bags of activated carbon. I have 3 out of the four drip trays in place so I can get the water to run through the bags of carbon just right. My parameters as of yesterday are: <.25 ammonia; <.05 nitrite; < 10 nitrate. My nitrates haven't gone over 10 yet. I did a 10% water change last Saturday though. Link to comment
Izzue Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Ok If i was testing any nitrite -- the tank would be in trouble Nitrate and Nitrite 0 Just gonna let it ride out for now--next water change thinking bout removing ceramic and adding charcoal just for the hell of it. Talking with finnex now about the cracks-- gonna hold off what I would like to say for now until I get some acrylic makers opinion on what this tank is doing. Ken--the owner is supposedly I nice person-- Be damn if Im gonna tolerate some crappy explanation for bad acrylic Izzue Link to comment
The_Barbe-Hatten_Project Posted August 12, 2005 Author Share Posted August 12, 2005 Whit... try lowe's.... i've started 2 tanks in a row w/o hardly even a hint of red/green slime/hair algea... my method for both tanks was to add LR wait 2 weeks and add a single hardy fish or two damsels... if one or both of them are alive in a 2 more weeks, you are probably in the clear... Adding all the LR at once is the best way to go... adding a bunch of snails, fish, coral, or crabs at once is not a really good idea, the bacteria in the tank can't catch up with the amount of waste being produced... Then ammonia, NO3 and NO4 start to spike... gradually the organisms die off as they do they basicly kill everything in the tank and you are back to square one... My advice would be go get 2-3 astrea snails and 2-3 dwarf hermits (i got the blue ones)... i had a turbo in my tank, but he ran out of stuff to eat very fast and died... Dead crabs and snails probably won't make the tank recycle, just incase you through them in too soon... This finnex tank is not that big so there is noo need for a huge clean up crew... Carbon is great now, but later too much will rob the tank of essential elements... The ceramic rings will take about 2-3 months to get good and saturated w/ bacteria... thats when they start producing NO3-NO2... Post some pics guys... Link to comment
Izzue Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Full tank shot with Seio and return flowing app 925 gph of water movement inside tank area Link to comment
whitmda Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 I hope my tank looks that colorful in a few months. my tank looks like the mojave right now compared to yours. Just bought a via aqua 1800 last thursday. Now I need to find some cpvc. Link to comment
ysncmary Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Hi, WOW ...I have just read most of your thread...WOOSH..But it has been a great read! Any way, I love this tank, but it seems like you have modifed your tank alot from the orginal tank. Is the lighting that came with this tank ok for softies? That is what I want it for. What do you think? I have saved pics of the Water flow. Would you still go with the under the sand flow? AND!!! Where can I find this Tank? Web Sites that you know of???I went to Fennix site and it seeems to be only for dealers. I did leave a message.So we will see. I am in Alabama so not to far from Tenn. Info would be much appreciated Mary Link to comment
The_Barbe-Hatten_Project Posted August 14, 2005 Author Share Posted August 14, 2005 Yeah, the light is ok for soft corals... i would recomend and upgrade anyway, but the stock light does fine... The undersand flow is great, but you have to have some kind of surface agitation aswell... i would just do what i've done recently w/ the flow, it is the most unobtrusive way to provide directional flow... Link to comment
Izzue Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Thanks for the Kind words whit Was their not any coraline algae on the LR you got?? I got my LR from my LFS and it was 85 % covered with coraline algaes. It amazes my after 3 months I still have different types of plants growing from the LR, and a few different inverts continue to appear. I still boost with Purpleup about once every two weeks and behind all the algae growth on back wall Im starting to get patchs of purple coraline algae growth. Izzue Link to comment
The_Barbe-Hatten_Project Posted August 15, 2005 Author Share Posted August 15, 2005 I'm tellin ya use this stuff for a month: Coral-Vital In 2 weeks you'll have purple, green, blue, grey, red, & pink everywhere... it also boost coral polyp extension and fish health... prevents ick and stuff too... HELPS YOUR TANK CYCLE FASTER!!! Only use it for a month as directed... some people have complained about it not working or hurting their tank... But i've use double doses for over a month on two tanks w/o anything but satisfaction... it's on sale too Link to comment
whitmda Posted August 15, 2005 Share Posted August 15, 2005 The rocks had a lot of coraline but faded about a week after I put them into the tank. According to BHP this is normal b/c of the die off and cycling process. Their color is starting to return. I got Coral Vital on the way from Dr. Foster & Smith. Also got an Aqua Via 1800 and some CPVC and related pieces to start on the new water flow. Link to comment
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