Returning after 6 year break with a new tank/setup

[IzzyTheFool]

There is no set rule on how long it will take to establish the nitrogen cycle. You can try some activated carbon to see if it helps with the smell.

 

Thank you seabass. I think that's what I did differently, I have no filter media currently in the tank. You are probably spot on.

[IzzyTheFool]

Had my first hardware problem today. I purchased a Tunze 9004 Comline DOC skimmer, and set it up last night. After installing it I found it was producing no bubbles whatsoever. It was just pushing water and making a clicking sound. After a forum search, I found another person here who had almost the exact same problem with this skimmer here:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/340166-tunze-9004-skimmer-problem/

 

I tried removing the silencer and forcefully blowing into the silicon tubing.. viola. The skimmer starts, but only runs for about a minute and then returns to clicking sounds. I'm able to do this repeatedly with the same results each time, never getting the unit to run for more then a minute.

 

It looks like a hardware problem with the propeller as mentioned in the post above. So I fired off an email tonight to Tunze and we'll see what happens. Bummer.

 

Meanwhile, everything else is going smoothly. He's my last water check, nitrate has spiked and I'm just waiting for nitrite to go down now.

 

[1.0reef]

Nice setup, if you're still considering a Jebao pump, go with the RW series, they have abetter controller and wider flow nozzle.

[IzzyTheFool]

It looks like a hardware problem with the propeller as mentioned in the post above. So I fired off an email tonight to Tunze and we'll see what happens. Bummer.

 

Just wanted to update the Tunze 9004 situation. Roger from Tunze replied to my email this morning, and even included a video he made showing how the air intake attaches to the impeller. Sure enough, when I took the unit apart, my piece was loose. It easily snapped into place, and the skimmer is now in my tank making foam. Now I just need to adjust the air valve a bit more and find the final placement that suits me.

 

Nice setup, if you're still considering a Jebao pump, go with the RW series, they have abetter controller and wider flow nozzle.

 

In a moment of weakness, I purchased a Vortech MP10 ES this past weekend at my LFS. In return I got a $25 credit towards livestock. They also had the Jebao/Jecod powerheads there and I wasn't as impressed. The Vortech seems to move like a wall of water, while the Jebao operated more like a very forceful powerhead. The final selling point for me was the wave height at the top of the tank. The Jeabao was making 3" waves (and a bit of a mess), while the Vortech made about 1" waves on similar settings. Maybe the settings were off or the demonstration was bias, but with the extra live stock credit I'm satisfied with my choice. Cheers!

[IzzyTheFool]

Good news for me, it looks like my cycle is complete! Nitrite is back to zero. I'll be leaving for work shortly, so my 50% water change has to wait until the morning. I ordered a clean up crew online, and it should ship Monday and arrive on Tuesday.

 

 

I also finished wrangling all my wires, plugs and cables into a somewhat neat system. Behind the tank are two separate power strips, one for the pumps which is connected to the backup power, and one for the rest of the gadgets which is connected only to surge protection. This will make it easier to shut off the pumps during feeding time. The side of the tank made a nice little base for a monitoring station. The only other hardware change of note, was the need to add some poly filter to the underside of the 9004 skimmer. I was continuing to get micro bubbles in the main tank until I made that change.

 

 

Lastly you can see the start of my diatom and algae bloom, started overnight and is quickly growing. The cleanup crew will be feasting for more then a few days I bet. That's it for now.

 

 

Hopefully this whole cycle and picture process will help a few new people out. Posting on forums makes me feel a bit silly sometimes, like I am talking to myself. Once I start adding livestock, I'll most likely begin a new post under members aquariums and stop bumping this thread up with new pictures and what not. Cheers!

[IzzyTheFool]

Came home this morning to a near disaster of my own making. Luckily it's an empty tank, and I was planning to do the water change this morning anyway.

 

Yesterday I made all my cables and tubes nice and neat. Apparently I also extended the fill tubing from the ATO pump so that it dipped into the water about an inch or two, and didn't notice. Before I go any further, I want to clearly state I love my Tunze Osmolator ATO. I think it's accurate and pretty darn spiffy, except for the pump. I'm not really a big fan of the pump. Because when the pump shuts off, it "backwashes" a bit into the reservoir. Usually not a big deal...

 

Sometime during the night, the pump must have run to top of the system, and when it shut off, water flowed back into the fill tubing. Which created a siphon, because the tube was underwater. Which drained my tank water into the RO/DI reservoir. Which lowered the tank level, which then triggered the ATO pump, which then shut off and started a siphon... and round and round we go.

 

So for an unknown amount of time last night, my ATO was trading fresh water with seawater, while at the same time contaminating it's own reservoir with tank water. When I came home this morning, my salinity monitor was at 50.3 which is about 1.024 SG.

 

The tubing has now been securely fixed in place with a clamp above the highest level of the emergency stop float of the ATO sensor. I did my water change, adjusted the salinity back to 52.1 and replaced the RO/DI water in the reservoir. If I get a chance later, I'll take a picture of the back of the tank so you can see exactly what I'm talking about.

 

All this, because I wasn't paying attention yesterday. Luckily, no harm done. Lesson learned. If one person reads this and doesn't make the same mistake, I'll feel somewhat useful.

[IzzyTheFool]

Once I start adding livestock, I'll most likely begin a new post under members aquariums and stop bumping this thread up with new pictures and what not. Cheers!

 

I lied. After the water change yesterday, my nitrate came down to between 10-20ppm. I did one more small water change this morning, and added a little Prime. Then it was off to the LFS to pick up the clown fish they were holding for me. I also grabbed a few frags of Zoa, a Pulsing Zenia, and a nice Starburst colony. Took 2 hours to acclimate everything, and the corals are now almost all opened fully. I'll get pictures of them later, but for now here are the clowns:

 

[kimberbee]

Love your clowns!

[IzzyTheFool]

I am dealing with an out of nowhere phyto bloom. Everything had been fine all week, aside from the normal red slime and diatoms you'd expect in a new tank. All my water parameters are fine.. no ammonia, no nitrite, and 10ppm nitrate. Barely detectable phosphates. The phyto bloom is so bad, you can scrape the green film off the glass, and it's grown back (when the lights are on) in under and hour. I've never seen this before, and I'm not sure what caused it.

 

I'm guessing that one of the corals I purchased that was attached to live rock came with phyto spores, or they were just dormant on the rock I cured myself. So far it has not had any seemingly ill effects on my fish or corals.. but sheesh. Scraping if off the glass turns the whole tank green, and then it's back in an hour. I did a 25% water change just after scraping to get some out, but it was hardly worth it.

 

I'm still in the dark as to what exactly caused such a prolific bloom. I'm using frozen food, mysis shrimp which I soak in Selcon for a bit before feeding. I also spot fed the corals using a Julian's tool with marine snow. I don't "think" I overfed?

 

And this folks, is why I consider myself still a beginner. Suggestions? I'll try to get a picture up in a bit of my walls of green.

[seabass]

Barely detectable phosphates.

What's the level, and which test kit are you using?

 

 

Also, during a bloom of any sort, the bloom is using the nutrients to fuel its growth; so you often can't detect the high levels that started the bloom.

[IzzyTheFool]

What's the level, and which test kit are you using?

 

 

Also, during a bloom of any sort, the bloom is using the nutrients to fuel its growth; so you often can't detect the high levels that started the bloom.

 

API saltwater, and API reef kit. The closest color on the card for phosphates was 0.0ppm, but the yellow was just a tiny bit darker then the card. Nowhere near the next level where it turns greenish, 0.25.

 

I'm going to reduce my feedings and lighting schedule, but beyond that... not sure what to do. I don't have much room left for a UV sterilizer unless I can find a very very small HOB model. Maybe frequent water changes over the next few days?

[seabass]

The API phosphate kit is a high range kit. The target level for reef tanks is around 0.03ppm; however, the API kit goes up in 0.25ppm increments. That means the next level up from undetectable is around 10 times higher than the recommended level. You need a low range phosphate test kit (like the ULR Hanna Checker).