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Chris' CAD Lights 45g Shallow : Another Re-Scape (Video)


cnseekatz

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Read an interesting article on "blooms" in a cycling tank. We're all (hopefully) familiar with the stages of a typical Nitrogen Cycle, but the different types of blooms seem to be less documented, and less understood.

 

My tank has been cycling for a little while now, and has recently grown a bunch of green filamentous algae, which suggests that the Ammonia and Nitrite have converted to Nitrate. Now my water has gone cloudy, and I'm experiencing a huge increase in the number of copepods at the same time. It seems as though I've had an Algae/Plankton Bloom, caused by high nutrients (nitrate &/or phosphate). The same nitrate that is produced at the end of a nitrogen cycle feeds the algae now growing on the rocks, as well as the phytoplankton suspended in the water column, which makes the water look cloudy (and a tiny bit green).

 

The abundance of phytoplankton in the water column is producing a ton of food for all the zooplankton I'm starting to see everywhere (pods mostly). So as the pods reproduce and eat all the suspended algae, the water should clear. Patience seems to be my best bet here.

 

Who knows if this hypothesis is what my tank is actually experiencing, but it's neat to try and understand what's going on.

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Added some snails and hermits! Hooray!

 

It's always nice to get something alive in your tank after a cycle... plus I'm hoping they'll demo some of the green algae that's popped up.

 

Stay tuned...

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Is it safe to add xenia and kenya trees to a refugium? I want this to be a display 'fuge, but more importantly, a true safe place for pods to grow. I'm just not sure if the xenia will eat the pods I'm trying to grow and protect. Anyone know?

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I'm still in the midst of my phytoplankton bloom, but I'm getting a bit impatient.

 

So, in the interest of keeping things clean(er), and giving me something interesting to look at, I'd like to introduce you to Brent. Brent is a portly Sea Hare, with a healthy appetite for green hair algae. He gets sleepy during the day and burrows under the sand when the lights are brightest, but when the sun goes down, Brent puts on his party shoes, and lays waste to any patch of GHA in his path. He's admittedly not much to look at, but he means well, and provides hours (or minutes as the case may be) of entertainment on demand!

 

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So the wait continues. I re-tested my parameters this morning, and Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate all measured zero. I'm not sure how nitrates are reading zero, considering I haven't changed any water, but even if the test is a little off, I'm guessing that my nitrogen cycle is done.

 

Only problem now is that the water is still all cloudy. From everything I've read, this is either a bacterial or algal bloom, it's normal, and I just have to wait and let it clear up.

 

This is the tough part... waiting... But I know that patience is a virtue in this hobby, and rushing anything is a recipe for disaster. So, I'll continue to take it slow, and let this come along at its own pace.

 

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Brent is a good slug... He has single handedly (er... zero handedly?) demo'ed every sprout of algae I had going in this tank. Now I'm concerned because he has nothing to eat. If any of you are in Orange County or LA County and have need for a Sea Hare with a voracious appetite, Brent is looking for a new mommy or daddy.

 

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Took your Radion mount as inspiration and got one for my tank!

Sweet man... let's see some pics!

 

The tank seems to be clearing up a little bit. I think I'm going to start the process of moving things over. I plan on doing this very slowly, with the hardiest stuff I have (aka: the stuff I will miss the least if it dies). I'll probably start with a bunch of xenia and see what happens, then maybe a few zoanthid frags I have sitting around. Everything in my current tank is super happy, and I'd hate to cause any problems.

 

I know that instant gratification is way more interesting when you're following a build thread, but I'm going to do my best to be patient.

 

Thanks for understanding!

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Won't your LFS take Brent back? Give him some nori to eat in the meantime.

 

I'm sure I can take him to a fish store... but it feels like taking a dog to the pound. I'd much rather find him a good home, full of algae, and someone who will love him.

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Give him some nori to eat in the meantime.

 

I took your suggestion. Brent seems like the stoner type... kinda fat, lazy, and always has the munchies. So I rolled him a fatty.

 

IMG_20141219_094052_689_zpsf21b8ed2.jpg

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