2 week cycle test results.. good or bad?

[LEEWINK]

Got my mysis food today dont forget click the HD button

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203476245056637&l=8396465661999183966

[darkdancer333]

your tank is beautiful. I need to take some pictures myself..

 

I still cant figure out the tiny aereation bubbles?? I never had these before, perhaps its the change of water level. It seems to be coming from the power head..

I did remove the sponge yesterday from compartment 3 it was full of cat hair or fiber floss lol

 

Since I have the skimmer in compartment 1 and filter cartridge in 2 with a filter pad on top I dont think I needed the sponge.

All looks good today, I did remove the snails and I think I knew what killed them. When I added a little salt I mixed with purified water.

But it didnt dissolve until after in the tank. I need to mix wihen it's lukewarm water..

[LEEWINK]

yes, definitely mix salt out of the tank, I do a 15 litre change, and I have a spare heater or two, and pumps, so I mix, heat and aerate out of the tank, then water change, its a swifter operation for the actual change then you'll find to that its a lesser shock to the inhabitants when you do it too, on that, are you testing nitrate today I think its the only concern left for you now, even still, looks good to me, but one final test will tell you a) if the skimmers started, and your live rock and water is getting all its bacteria's and almost there

 

And yes, remove any sponges from the filter, and cat hair LOL and or floss to be honest at worst just use a tiny thin pad if you REALLY need it only, nothing else, oh, apart from in time something to tackle phosphate

 

And its good to hear your using purified water, please tell me you mean RO/DI though

 

Sorry about the snails though, no one like losing anything, I've lost a good few, I found a decent cheap seller now, so its not such a knock, even still ...

 

I had another go at the tank earlier before ive just took the dogs, glass and hoover although hooverings fun with flour like sand

 

In the rear compartments though if your tank was mine, I would strip the lot out over a little time, let the skimmer kick in, and have a bag of charcoal or tub to use only if needed, and in there, i'd have my phosphate media, its up to you though, if you get lots of fluff and stray stuff in your tank a quick easy clean pad isnt bad

 

And thanks on my tank, I'm here all day so I have plenty of time to mess with it

[darkdancer333]

yes, definitely mix salt out of the tank, I do a 15 litre change, and I have a spare heater or two, and pumps, so I mix, heat and aerate out of the tank, then water change, its a swifter operation for the actual change then you'll find to that its a lesser shock to the inhabitants when you do it too, on that, are you testing nitrate today I think its the only concern left for you now, even still, looks good to me, but one final test will tell you a) if the skimmers started, and your live rock and water is getting all its bacteria's and almost there

 

And yes, remove any sponges from the filter, and cat hair LOL and or floss to be honest at worst just use a tiny thin pad if you REALLY need it only, nothing else, oh, apart from in time something to tackle phosphate

 

And its good to hear your using purified water, please tell me you mean RO/DI though

 

Sorry about the snails though, no one like losing anything, I've lost a good few, I found a decent cheap seller now, so its not such a knock, even still ...

 

I had another go at the tank earlier before ive just took the dogs, glass and hoover although hooverings fun with flour like sand

 

In the rear compartments though if your tank was mine, I would strip the lot out over a little time, let the skimmer kick in, and have a bag of charcoal or tub to use only if needed, and in there, i'd have my phosphate media, its up to you though, if you get lots of fluff and stray stuff in your tank a quick easy clean pad isnt bad

 

And thanks on my tank, I'm here all day so I have plenty of time to mess with it

its from reef store it's 0 tds water once skimmer is a week old I will pull the filter cartridge.

Aereation bubbles do you have any at all??

[LEEWINK]

hmmm, I get a few seeping from the base of the skimmer outlet, they generally dissipate off before returning to the tank though, if you have only a few strays, i'd be temped to leave it for now, give it a few weeks, see if any further settling does anything, obviously if you have a full swept tornado going into your tank then maybe its time for a look at it LOL

 

Good to hear a fat zero TDS see how you go on the cartridge

My brother has a 48 x 18 x 18", says I can go raid some corals at some point, hmmm oki then

[LEEWINK]

2 secs, got a vid coming of my kamikaze hermit ! how he gets up there is pure skill

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203477833776354&l=2826128365026704475

[darkdancer333]

hmmm, I get a few seeping from the base of the skimmer outlet, they generally dissipate off before returning to the tank though, if you have only a few strays, i'd be temped to leave it for now, give it a few weeks, see if any further settling does anything, obviously if you have a full swept tornado going into your tank then maybe its time for a look at it LOL

 

Good to hear a fat zero TDS see how you go on the cartridge

 

My brother has a 48 x 18 x 18", says I can go raid some corals at some point, hmmm oki then

I just got back from reef store. I picked up 2 more snails... The 14 gal reef tank at store has same aereation bubbles. She said the lower the water level the more you get. Mine is lower in compartment 3 because of the skimmer.

[darkdancer333]

2 secs, got a vid coming of my kamikaze hermit ! how he gets up there is pure skill

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10203477833776354&l=2826128365026704475

LOL that is funny so i guess hermits can climb up a glass wall. I saw some aereation bubbles coming from your pump

[LEEWINK]

Its under water, the powerhead if you mean, maybe just some air in the works, I clean it regular so its possible.

 

If you mean the skimmer, then yes, but again no problems.

 

These hermits are so damn clever, he climbs the silicone seal in the corner, then stretches over to the powerhead, makes me jump when the lights are out, the pump starts clanging and clicking, its the vibration of his shell sitting on it !

 

great that you got some explanation for your pump, and cool, you picked up a couple of snails, long may they live

 

And the tanks looking good again tonight ? hope so

[darkdancer333]

Its under water, the powerhead if you mean, maybe just some air in the works, I clean it regular so its possible.

 

If you mean the skimmer, then yes, but again no problems.

 

These hermits are so damn clever, he climbs the silicone seal in the corner, then stretches over to the powerhead, makes me jump when the lights are out, the pump starts clanging and clicking, its the vibration of his shell sitting on it !

 

great that you got some explanation for your pump, and cool, you picked up a couple of snails, long may they live

 

And the tanks looking good again tonight ? hope so

soon as my wife gets home I'll have her take some pictures..

The aereation bubbles are at the top of the tank.. It looks like little particles swirling around..

saturday if test goes well I made add a coral ?? or should I do a water change first??

[LEEWINK]

Ok the excitements definitely there

 

ys grab some pics, see if you can get a couple that the front glass fills the whole pic too, and some shots and explanation of the rear compartments, we don't get those tanks here, and now, I have to get pictures with everything, somethings just dont go in with my head being a tad messed up

 

Micro bubbles, ok, plan does it seem the waterflow from the pump is causing it ? or could it be the pump is drawing air down into it ? I really wouldnt be fussed for now if there only tiny, tank aging could help this, see if you can get a close up of them for me

 

And yes, do your testing, the full lot you have, ignore "you don't need this type and that", if you have them, there's no harm in making sure your happy, and when you add stocks, they may just be using the stuff your testing for, Calcium for one, corraline (purple) algae the type that sets on rocks and glass in time, that definitely needs it, let alone some corals you may place in there in time, especially hard if you decide, softies not really, but again I for one likes to be happy on parameters, some i test and it gets used, some not so much if not at all thats up to you again.

 

Now, there's a 50/50 here on "do I do the maiden water change" ? I tell you what I did, I did my last cycle based tests, really took my time with them so I was sure on results, then I added my cleanup crew pretty much in one hit, apart from the odd snails here and there. Then added SLOWLY my corals and fish, first I added my 2 clowns and some xenia (which has now took over my top half of the tank, it was about a quarter of its current size), and slowly over say a month and a half added the rest, recent I added the frogspawn and torch, then the wrasses.

 

If your results are good, which I reckon they will be, why change water out ? I didn't, just got on with stocking and testing from then on, I only do a monthly W/C of 15% now, but for you, you can do bi-weekly 10-20% and see how it goes, the water change debate will reign on for years to come to me its a "well it suits me" type of arguement, if your skimming and testing, that will tell you enough, but remember, a water change will not replace all used up parts of your salt mix, only in part, whatever percentage you do, its why I have all additives I test for, so I can boost it back to level if the tests show its needed, in short say your tank used i dunno, 6 of strontium when you test, "ok, i'll do a water change" say you do 20%, that fresh salt mix you put in will have 100% of strontium in it say, but that 20% w/c at 100% strontium mix if you get me, will not take your strontium back to 8-9, this is why I add additives when I need, usually at least every month on strontium alone, and a touch of magnesium, I add iodine daily and test monthly too, that goes fast to with the xenia and clean up crew for shedding skin ect.

 

I personally would wait on W/C at least till you get fish in there, and you start your water change routine, its how I did mine, the way I thought on it all, i've got my empty tank full of water and rocks to an acceptable level now after waiting to stock, i've tested it all an its fine, why do I feel the need to change water, how will it benefit ? I asked my local chap in his shop wen chatting about live sand and rock I had bought off him, he said the same as I have above

 

You could add either, a fish or a coral either way round, but a fish continues and strengthens the cycle you have started, so if you go coral first, make sure the fish isn't far behind, but again go slow on stocking fish, and let the cycling catch up on the load before adding more

[LEEWINK]

... And one thing I will say as paramount, and i'm sure you've heard it here alot, NEVER add what you cant test for, a simple example would be trace elements, if you can't test them all which you can't, then if you must add it, only add a tiny percentage of whats recommended, even still, I dont add these, and simply let the tiny amounts I replace in my mixes or water changes be a "little is better than nothing" approach. Its to easy to overdose a tank without correct monitoring or testing.

[darkdancer333]

Ok the excitements definitely there

 

ys grab some pics, see if you can get a couple that the front glass fills the whole pic too, and some shots and explanation of the rear compartments, we don't get those tanks here, and now, I have to get pictures with everything, somethings just dont go in with my head being a tad messed up

 

Micro bubbles, ok, plan does it seem the waterflow from the pump is causing it ? or could it be the pump is drawing air down into it ? I really wouldnt be fussed for now if there only tiny, tank aging could help this, see if you can get a close up of them for me

 

And yes, do your testing, the full lot you have, ignore "you don't need this type and that", if you have them, there's no harm in making sure your happy, and when you add stocks, they may just be using the stuff your testing for, Calcium for one, corraline (purple) algae the type that sets on rocks and glass in time, that definitely needs it, let alone some corals you may place in there in time, especially hard if you decide, softies not really, but again I for one likes to be happy on parameters, some i test and it gets used, some not so much if not at all thats up to you again.

 

Now, there's a 50/50 here on "do I do the maiden water change" ? I tell you what I did, I did my last cycle based tests, really took my time with them so I was sure on results, then I added my cleanup crew pretty much in one hit, apart from the odd snails here and there. Then added SLOWLY my corals and fish, first I added my 2 clowns and some xenia (which has now took over my top half of the tank, it was about a quarter of its current size), and slowly over say a month and a half added the rest, recent I added the frogspawn and torch, then the wrasses.

 

If your results are good, which I reckon they will be, why change water out ? I didn't, just got on with stocking and testing from then on, I only do a monthly W/C of 15% now, but for you, you can do bi-weekly 10-20% and see how it goes, the water change debate will reign on for years to come to me its a "well it suits me" type of arguement, if your skimming and testing, that will tell you enough, but remember, a water change will not replace all used up parts of your salt mix, only in part, whatever percentage you do, its why I have all additives I test for, so I can boost it back to level if the tests show its needed, in short say your tank used i dunno, 6 of strontium when you test, "ok, i'll do a water change" say you do 20%, that fresh salt mix you put in will have 100% of strontium in it say, but that 20% w/c at 100% strontium mix if you get me, will not take your strontium back to 8-9, this is why I add additives when I need, usually at least every month on strontium alone, and a touch of magnesium, I add iodine daily and test monthly too, that goes fast to with the xenia and clean up crew for shedding skin ect.

 

I personally would wait on W/C at least till you get fish in there, and you start your water change routine, its how I did mine, the way I thought on it all, i've got my empty tank full of water and rocks to an acceptable level now after waiting to stock, i've tested it all an its fine, why do I feel the need to change water, how will it benefit ? I asked my local chap in his shop wen chatting about live sand and rock I had bought off him, he said the same as I have above

 

You could add either, a fish or a coral either way round, but a fish continues and strengthens the cycle you have started, so if you go coral first, make sure the fish isn't far behind, but again go slow on stocking fish, and let the cycling catch up on the load before adding more

 

The bubbles is from compartment 3 the pump is here and it's only half full with water, prior to skimmer it was full with water..

I think the snails will be ok because I didnt have to add salt and this time if I do it will be mixed.

Also the reef store said w/c once a month an only if needed. I know I will do monthly because I despise algea an dirty looking tank.

I clean my glass an 2 days later more algea lol.

hardy coral I will add first maybe 2 pieces

 

 

 

 

 

 

... And one thing I will say as paramount, and i'm sure you've heard it here alot, NEVER add what you cant test for, a simple example would be trace elements, if you can't test them all which you can't, then if you must add it, only add a tiny percentage of whats recommended, even still, I dont add these, and simply let the tiny amounts I replace in my mixes or water changes be a "little is better than nothing" approach. Its to easy to overdose a tank without correct monitoring or testing.

 

 

These are my test kits, Mg, Ca, Ak, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate

[LEEWINK]

sounds like you and "the gal" at the shops got it sussed keep in with her too, she seems to know her stuff

 

hmmm, not sure how the skimmer can empty a compartment, i'm not seeing it thats all, does the skimmer exit out of the compartment its in into the tank, and thats how the last compartment is now more empty ? if the skimmer exits into the same compartment it shouldnt make any difference, i'm not grasping why its doing that thats all, strange aye.

 

"these are my test kits ......" and phosphate LOL

[darkdancer333]

sounds like you and "the gal" at the shops got it sussed keep in with her too, she seems to know her stuff

 

hmmm, not sure how the skimmer can empty a compartment, i'm not seeing it thats all, does the skimmer exit out of the compartment its in into the tank, and thats how the last compartment is now more empty ? if the skimmer exits into the same compartment it shouldnt make any difference, i'm not grasping why its doing that thats all, strange aye.

 

"these are my test kits ......" and phosphate LOL

The skimmer has a top off compartment that can't be submerged. The water level in comaprtment one must be lower to accomodate the skimmer. This controls the overflow from compartment 2 to compartment 3. It's like a domino effect....

[LEEWINK]

ah yes, so your pump in 3, the return i'm guessing is not so much struggling, but maybe causing air cos its so low in the water now ? yes

[darkdancer333]

ah yes, so your pump in 3, the return i'm guessing is not so much struggling, but maybe causing air cos its so low in the water now ? yes

i assume this is normal I just wasnt sure if aereation hurt the chemistry

[LEEWINK]

Nah I doubt it, think of my big skimmer LOL, there seems to be a mixed concern over micro bubbles, but to me, it harms nothing, as long as they dont settle on everything, again though, that could all change when you add stock aswell, its a touch and go thing i'm sure

[darkdancer333]

Nah I doubt it, think of my big skimmer LOL, there seems to be a mixed concern over micro bubbles, but to me, it harms nothing, as long as they dont settle on everything, again though, that could all change when you add stock aswell, its a touch and go thing i'm sure

they are only at the top of the tank

[LEEWINK]

Cool, maybe if you'd get that in the pics when you post i'm sure its nothing to worry over, gaseous exchange on the surface is good anyway / surface agitation

[darkdancer333]

Cool, maybe if you'd get that in the pics when you post i'm sure its nothing to worry over, gaseous exchange on the surface is good anyway / surface agitation

the power head nozzle is 3-4 inches below the water level an this is where is coming from

[darkdancer333]

Cool, maybe if you'd get that in the pics when you post i'm sure its nothing to worry over, gaseous exchange on the surface is good anyway / surface agitation

go to yahoo and type bio-cube then look at images you will see one with a layout I dont know how to load images here it wants url an i have just a picture

[darkdancer333]

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0SO8w9B001TF3UA4KFXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTBxdGxyZHR1BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkAzI4NV8x?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-745&va=biocube+diagram

 

here are several looks you can see where sponge was etc 1st picture best diagram

[LEEWINK]

I see

 

Your pump maybe pulling air down, tiny amounts, my powerhead in the tank, if I raise this about an inch on where it is, it vortex's air down to it. Seems odd otherwise where the air is coming from to then bubble it out

 

I'll catch ya a little later, have fun, Lee

[darkdancer333]

I see

 

Your pump maybe pulling air down, tiny amounts, my powerhead in the tank, if I raise this about an inch on where it is, it vortex's air down to it. Seems odd otherwise where the air is coming from to then bubble it out

 

I'll catch ya a little later, have fun, Lee

kk i'm confused talk later have good night !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

i think I know why lol by hose the connects to the adapter is above water before it was below water...