BadCrab Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 My carbon is scheduled to be at my house when I get home honestly I don't see why you would have to change it, it's going to function the same way as floss. I'm using regular ol filter floss from intank, I change it out every 3-4 days so I buy in bulk lol. UPS says my BRS stuff wont be here until Tuesday I was hoping to hang the light this weekend but I guess it will have to wait! What kind of media bag are you running your carbon in? I may have already asked you that , hope the one I got doesn't leak media. That's a good question for everyone: what media are you running and what bags are you running them in? No experience with the Pad, but as long as you got it for a good deal, it may be a good thing for a small tank. From what I hear overall, people claim those things are overpriced for what they do and exhaust very quickly VS. GFO or other phosphate removers. I am no expert though, and am still learning myself! I don't think I will run the phosphate pad past the cycle, I'd rather utilize the media chamber and run some mixed phosphate remover like phosban or chemi-pure elite. Looks good so far! I am really debating buying one now even tho I just set up my 4.5g I am thinking about making it into a quarantine tank. Ahhh Absolutely do it. Chris @ PicO Aquariums makes (imho) the best handmade, quality glass tank that money can buy, and they are proudly made in the USA. I will never buy another aquarium that isn't a PicO Aquarium. /endfanboyrant Alternatively, there's a nano-reactor from Innovate Marine if you want to go that route. Overall, can't wait to see what kind of Ricodea Floridas you're going to stock with. I love R. Floridas and R. Yumas and if I started them 1st, I'd probably stock more of those than SPS... I hope I don't have to use a reactor at all (or a skimmer,) I'd like to keep the build extremely low profile. I should be able to do it with the proposed bioload and a religious maintenance schedule. What was the term Matt was using? 'Johnny on the spot'? LOL! I want to have multiple florida colormorphs (I like the metallic and rainbow varieties) on the large rock and possibly some 'very expensive' feature colormorphs on the small outlier rocks. I do want some Yumas in the Solana tank I'm preparing though - the new morphs I've seen grow huge and stupidly colorful. Update: Day2 Cycling Tank is extremely clear this morning. I topped off with RO/DI, adjusted the bio-baffle down for a more consistent (and quieter) flow, then adjusted the painters tape I'm using to track the water level. Very small update to OP. I added a 25w Neo-Therm heater as the tank is falling to 70º at night. I probably wont need it in the summer, though. Also added a planned livestock section. Tank is evaping more then I expected. I'm fine with manual top off now, but I might need a pico-sized ATO soon And I will absolutely need one for the Solana - since that system has significantly more surface area. I'm going to Aquarius today, bringing a water sample in to test (better test kits then API) but I'll do my own tests and add both to separate log books. (I plan to continue this double-test trend.) We're starting picture-a-day tonight, so I will post that along with pictures of the scape later. Link to comment
Hexadron Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 That's a good question for everyone: what media are you running and what bags are you running them in? I am using the BRS Mesh Filter Sock w/ sraw string 4"x8". Even the smallest size is huge for our Pico's. I am only using the reccomended 1tbsp of carbon Rox, and it looks quite ridiculous to have it in a bag that large. What I like is that they are 200 micron. I am currently looking into making my own media bags and have already found a great cheap source of various small micron mesh. That will be a project for later though. Good choice in heater I think it will work just fine. I need an ATO soon too $$$ Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 If you make some custom sized (velcro?) small micron mesh bags sized for PicOs, count me in on a half dozen! Link to comment
Hexadron Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 If you make some custom sized (velcro?) small micron mesh bags sized for PicOs, count me in on a half dozen! I'll keep you in mind. I'm waiting for a deal on a sewing machine... Link to comment
TristanC Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I ordered the same mesh bags as JDH, I knew they were going to be huge but oh we'll it's not like I'm going to see it all the time. Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 Update: Day 2 Cycling First: I promised pictures! Here's the entire (!) 4 picture album in high-res as always: http://imgur.com/a/2Yiqy#0 Additionally, I didn't get a chance to go into Aquarius for long today so I didn't test water or pickup sump/protein skimmer. Very slight updates to OP, again. Link to comment
TristanC Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 That's a pretty rad aquascape! I really love how open it feels. Link to comment
JR! Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 <3 this. well done man. you happy with it? Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 I might change the rockwork up a bit, but I want to stay with minimal rock. Even in a small tank I think a lot of open space looks good. It's pretty dark, I'll try to get another shot tomorrow around noon. This is going to be a little shrimp heaven, assuming they get along. I'm very happy with the PicO Aquariums tank, in retrospect I would have ordered one of the acrylic/screen covers from Chris instead of the glass. Link to comment
supermarvin76 Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Tank is evaping more then I expected. I'm fine with manual top off now, but I might need a pico-sized ATO soon And I will absolutely need one for the Solana - since that system has significantly more surface area.[/center] [/center] I'd suggest looking at the Tunze Nano ATO. It's been the best $104 I spent in my tank. It was evaporating 1 1/2 cups a day, and now it looks like its always sent within a few table spoons. Link to comment
Hexadron Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Woohoo! Cycling!!! Are you going to test params right away, or wait a bit? Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 I will probably start testing today or tomorrow. I'm not expecting a long cycle because I used well cured liverock and ocean direct sand. I can't wait to get a snail in there so there's something to look at Link to comment
Hexadron Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 I hear ya These diatoms on my end sure are interesting! Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Nice, I was wondering...why don't you have the ai nano sol mounted in the center of the tank? Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 The terrible mounting arm included with the AI Nano actually does fit over the thick back lip (combination of glass tank wall and acrylic insert wall) BUT the center compartment houses the media basket and bio baffle and the Nano's arm isn't secure unless they are taken out. Here's a blurry dark cellphone picture to give you an idea: I figure I get enough spread with it on the right. I have ordered the hanging kit it should be here Tuesday. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 I see. Well you're going hang it anyways, I don't see that as an issue. Ricordia garden it is then! Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Update: Day 4 Cycling I replaced my filter pad for the first time today. I also ran my first round of 'cycle tests' (sg, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate)... As you can see, barely detectable levels with API. Perhaps some ammonia, less then .25ppm. I have heard that API ammonia never detects 0ppm? I see immediately the value of quality test kits. Salinity has been bouncing between 1.024 and 1.026 as I try to find the right water level - I should be able to dial it in quickly. I think I'll just wait a week and test again. I've also installed a SeaChem Ammonia checker thingy for the duration of the cycle... Rockscaping! KAPOW! Here's some closeup pictures of my liverock, if you're interested. I've slightly moved things, might not be noticeable though. As always the entire album is available on imgur: Right Here! Goodies will be here Tuesday, so expect the next big update then. Link to comment
TristanC Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Looking good, API test kits suck but they give you an idea of how the cycle is going. Link to comment
Hexadron Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Well my API will let me know when it is 0, so for that one you let sit 5 minutes after shaking, but after lets say 10 minutes if you let it sit, it starts to get a little more more towards green (0.25-ish). So always take the value, right after 5 minutes has passed I just got a Seachem Ammonia alert with my last order, and though "Why the hell did I buy this?" If you are QT any fish it would be a good thing to have I suppose The checker should help you get a grasp of where ammonia is. Besides, you may have a softer cycle due to the quality of live rock as well. Maybe there isn't much die off, so ammonia won't peak higher than 0.25 or so. You should still get readable traces of Nitrite and then Nitrate though. Best of luck! Link to comment
BadCrab Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 Hard to tell from this picture (it was late.. and I'm bad at this...) But it appears we have a diatom bloom. I will run tests tomorrow. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Hmm that diatom bloom color looks extraordinary. Link to comment
TristanC Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Yeah that's not the normal color lol. Should be dark dark brown. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Yeah that's not the normal color lol. Should be dark dark brown. +1 Exactly what I thought. Lol Link to comment
timothybui Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Looks like someone piss on some snow. Link to comment
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