IM 20 build ... Juicy100

[tsouth]

In the end, all of your rocks will be "live." You're doing yourself a huge favor by using dry rock. Guaranteed no pest, no problematic algae, nothing. Of all the tanks i've started, every single one used dry rock and dry sand, and I seeded with a single piece of either live rock rubble from a previous tank, or a shrimp or some frozen food.

 

If you haven't already, be sure to soak and rinse off the rocks beforehand so that any dust comes off. Make sure you use clean distilled or ro/di water and just let them soak for a bit so that when you fill up your tank, it doesn't get too cloudy.

 

Base rock = dry rock = what you have in your tank now. You don't need to cure anything. You can literally put your sandbed down, make your rock formations, and pump in your premixed water then start your cycle. Pro-tip: When putting water in, I would recommend using a pump and tube. Cover your sand bed with the plastic that the sand came in and make sure it's nice and flat. Use the pump and tube to gently pump the water onto the plastic such that it spreads evenly and does not stir up the sand. You will greatly reduce a cloudy tank using methods like this.

 

You will have no issues putting a piece of your previous live rock in your new tank. Live rock would be rock that has beneficial bacteria on it. Live rock also have the probability of having pests, unless you know for sure that the rock is devoid of any pests (if it came from a post cycled clean tank). If it's a clean piece with no pests on it, then by all means go for it. You also will have no issues just putting a piece of shrimp in there or some frozen fish food and starting your cycle that way. Either method you choose, you will have to endure a cycle no matter what.

 

Honestly I think you should just keep this simple man. Don't over think it at all. Put down the sandbed, do your formation, cover the bed with plastic, get it wet, throw some frozen food or a shrimp in there and revel in your glory. You do not need live rock for anything. What you need to do is get that tank wet. Think about it this way. If you want to put a piece of live rock in it later, then do it later.

[Finding Paulo]

Dude my man.. T to the south! Thanks for your thorough response. I totally agree with you. Every time I start a new tank for some reason I like to dry out the rocks just to gaurantee no hitch hikers even tho it'll take a bit longer. I'll definitely take your advice and run it through some rodi water to give them a good clean before I set it up in my display. I never had a problem with rocks just trippin out. Thanks for your help!

[billdeluz]

Looking gooe can't wait to see it take off

[tsouth]

This is going to be a beautiful tank. Your gear is top notch through and through, and it's really great that you're questioning everything, but sometimes we just gotta test. Really looking forward to this man. All my best to you

[spectra]

Reef cleaners rock is good stuff but if you have the pukani already I say use it. Yes it might need a little time in a bucket but will be worth the wait if you ask me,.

[Finding Paulo]

Finally another update!

 

Got most of my parts in just waiting on some rock that should be in tomrw. I wanted to wait for my rockscape to be totally done but i was just starring at an empty tank for too long..

 

Sorry its such a slow process, im really taking my time with this one.

 

Decided to go with two Tunze 1073.008 and im very happy. (let me tell you these are super super quiet. i dont know if this or my mp10wqd is louder.) Flipper cleaner is cool, hopefully it can keep up with my ocd

 

Also micro ATO is the business.(the magnet is kind of weak and that can lead to problems.. im thinking about gluing it on to support the weak magnet.

 

How my filter situation currently looks

 

20lb sand is perfect IMO

 

 

 

 

 

 

ITS ALIVE!!!

 

I have my xr15 two return pumps and mp10 on battery back up and the rest on surge protection.(need a new stand with holes on the back.

 

This light is so beautiful.

 

Cant really tell but i hid all my wires in the RMS mount for my light. im proud of myself.

 

I feel like this is more of a water evaporater / micro bubble creator than a skimmer. Hopefully after it breaks in its cool. Also for the noise, i mean i was freaking out about the reviews but again, really not loud and totally doable if youve had a tank before. loudness i'd rate it 3/10. the micro bubbles can be fixed 100% with the filter floss trick. I dont know if i like this unit.. will have to wait and see.

 

Will be adding these in tonight

 

Clearing up a bit

 

NIGHT SHOT

no wires for life

 

Future plans:

 

1. Finish rock scape

2. Set up refugium

3. Start testing

4. look into a doser

5. sit and stare at an empty tank for weeks..

[tsouth]

Congratulations to you sir

[Laybackk]

Looking good man!

[neowind712]

_{Looks great so far. Love the scape. Following along.}

[Finding Paulo]

_{Looks great so far. Love the scape. Following along.}

 

 

Looking good man!

 

 

Congratulations to you sir

 

 

Thanks guys! Do you guys add fish to help cycle or wait completely till cycle is done? Ive noticed alot of people add a clown or some hardy fish.. Is there a risk for ich or even worse velvet? Velvet freaked me out never had issues with any of these but reading on them .. its like a plague that kills everything.

 

 

Also, Can anyone give me any tips for dosing 2 part .. my main concern was :

 

1. if you have it dialed in with a dosing pump how frequently are you guys testing or is it a leave it alone deal?

2. what happnes when you do a water change? do you still leave it alone? wonnt that cause a jump in calcium/alk levels?

[kimberbee]

Nice! I kinda like the big open space to the left!

[tsouth]

You can do a couple different things, but lets leave the fish one out of the picture.

 

1. Feed every other day, some frozen food or some raw shrimp or something. Just a littlebit.

2. Activate via ammonia and bacteria (dr tims or biospira)

[Finding Paulo]

Nice! I kinda like the big open space to the left!

I do too! but unfortunately i need more shelves for future corals..

 

You can do a couple different things, but lets leave the fish one out of the picture.

 

1. Feed every other day, some frozen food or some raw shrimp or something. Just a littlebit.

2. Activate via ammonia and bacteria (dr tims or biospira)

yeah.. my patience is running out but prob will wait a bit for a fish and i added the biospira in two days ago.

[Finding Paulo]

A little update on my finished scape..

 

Takes me forever to play around and glue them...

 

I wanted like a tree shelf type i think i got close

 

i promise it looks cooler in person LOL.

 

thinking about connecting the two peices on top

[Finding Paulo]

Some equipment question:

 

1. I need a chiller bc socal get hottt during the summer and the tank is on the second floor where all the heat gets trapped.. what can i do instead of spending 4-5 hundred on a chiller? is this trash? It says its for 12 gallons but my tank after the scape is about 15 gallons.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquarium-Thermostat-Chiller-Heater-Adjustable-Fish-Tank-Salt-Fresh-Water-/282026670359?hash=item41aa197917:g:-fkAAOSwQPlV9ozI

 

or will a fan actually work?

 

2. anybody have experience with the Jaebo dosing pump? Also, for people dosing 2 part ... what happens after you dial your pumps and you do a water change? does the levels stay constant?? At what consumption rate of calcium and alk do you recommend starting dosing? My previous experience I semi got away with water changes.

 

3. Test kits - i just put in my order for salifert - calcium, alk, magnesium, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, PH, phosphate. Is PH and phosphate necessary? anything im missing or anything i dont really need to check?

[Matteo]

How my filter situation currently looks

this is rad!!! I love these IM20s!

[Finding Paulo]

A quick update on my tank...

 

Custom made 7 gallon ATO BOX with 3 built in container for dosing .. calcium, alk, and either magnesium. Drew up the plans and had my man Dan from Anaheim build it. His quality is on point and fast and cheap. PM me if you want his info.

 

 

calibrating my dosing pump and acclimating myself to this machine for when i need it.. its fairly simple. I also heard a horror story about one guys Jeboa dp4 dosing pump not turning off emptying half a gallon of calcium into his tank. Hopefullly this is not the case for me..

 

AND FINALLY DIATOMS!!!! It took way too long and i dont know if ill ever use dry live rocks again but im glad i did it this time..

 

QUESTIONS :

 

1. when should i add a clean up crew? now? usually when i get a diatom bloom its way worse than this.. should i give it a few days?

 

2. if my ammonia and nitrate are basically 0 nitrate is in between 2 and 5 ppm .. am i good to go to add livestock(corals and fish)??

 

Thanks.

[BoxKing]

Really,really nice ATO creation; it doesnt seem like you have made any shortcuts in your build.

 

Quick note on the spin streams... I would get them since your return lines arent multi-directional, and your MP10 is also the same. They had a little noise when I first got them, and like all things in the tank they need to break in- then they are virtually silent. I applied a little Vaseline on the internal gears, and all was good, or you can just wait for them to build up a little slime on their own.

 

As far as dosing... Measure all your parameters b4/after each water change ie: figure out what your water change schedule will be (the more consistent the better.. time/volume); lets use 7 days.. for the first 4 weeks test your water parameters b4/after your water changes and log them. This should give you an average base line to run off of. Right now is a good time to tinker since you have squat in your tank, and you shouldnt need to dose much to increase levels. You will have to adjust when you start stocking your tank more and more. You might be better off just doing weekly water changes..... To each their own!

 

Nice setup!

[ReeferAddict727]

A quick update on my tank...

 

Custom made 7 gallon ATO BOX with 3 built in container for dosing .. calcium, alk, and either magnesium. Drew up the plans and had my man Dan from Anaheim build it. His quality is on point and fast and cheap. PM me if you want his info.

 

 

calibrating my dosing pump and acclimating myself to this machine for when i need it.. its fairly simple. I also heard a horror story about one guys Jeboa dp4 dosing pump not turning off emptying half a gallon of calcium into his tank. Hopefullly this is not the case for me..

 

AND FINALLY DIATOMS!!!! It took way too long and i dont know if ill ever use dry live rocks again but im glad i did it this time..

 

QUESTIONS :

 

1. when should i add a clean up crew? now? usually when i get a diatom bloom its way worse than this.. should i give it a few days?

 

2. if my ammonia and nitrate are basically 0 nitrate is in between 2 and 5 ppm .. am i good to go to add livestock(corals and fish)??

 

Thanks.

 

 

How long did it take for your diatom bloom to show up?

 

I used reefsavers dry rock and fiji pink sand. I ghost fed the tank and used AquaVitro Seed and it took my tank about 22 Days to cycle and form Nitrates. I saw a VERY SLIGHT bloom on day 16 but it was mostly gone by day 18... Not sure if I'll get another one but I was expecting a much more major bloom....

 

 

[Finding Paulo]

Really,really nice ATO creation; it doesnt seem like you have made any shortcuts in your build.

 

Quick note on the spin streams... I would get them since your return lines arent multi-directional, and your MP10 is also the same. They had a little noise when I first got them, and like all things in the tank they need to break in- then they are virtually silent. I applied a little Vaseline on the internal gears, and all was good, or you can just wait for them to build up a little slime on their own.

 

As far as dosing... Measure all your parameters b4/after each water change ie: figure out what your water change schedule will be (the more consistent the better.. time/volume); lets use 7 days.. for the first 4 weeks test your water parameters b4/after your water changes and log them. This should give you an average base line to run off of. Right now is a good time to tinker since you have squat in your tank, and you shouldnt need to dose much to increase levels. You will have to adjust when you start stocking your tank more and more. You might be better off just doing weekly water changes..... To each their own!

 

Nice setup!

Thanks dude, yeah ive learned in this hobby its best to do things right the first time around... i think i couldve gone with a cheaper build but im a reef addict and couldnt help myself. I was thinking about the speed streams until i heard they were super loud but now i will def be trying them out with your advice. yeah i honestly wanted to do water changes every 3-4 weeks so i bought the dosing pump.. im excited to use it but also nervous on tuning it.. my plan is to stock with a few cheap sps and other corals to dial in the dosing pump and then once ive become a pro i can add my wish list. i appreciate your advice with the dosing pump, it makes alot of sense.

 

 

How long did it take for your diatom bloom to show up?

 

I used reefsavers dry rock and fiji pink sand. I ghost fed the tank and used AquaVitro Seed and it took my tank about 22 Days to cycle and form Nitrates. I saw a VERY SLIGHT bloom on day 16 but it was mostly gone by day 18... Not sure if I'll get another one but I was expecting a much more major bloom....

 

 

My tank went online (water) on May 1st .. and i used the same set up as you.. dry rocks with fiji pink. I added a bottle of bio spira on May 4th which was 19 days ago. I didnt feed it because i wasnt thinking and around a week later i added a small live rock about a week later. I put it in a cup incase pests were present so they woudnt escape. i noticed a bacterial bloom yesterday and even more today but like you said .. its nothing like ive experienced before. I remember by whole sand bed being brown. im going to give it a few days..

 

If you know your tank cycled, im just curious to why you want a diatom bloom?

[BoxKing]

You can prolly get away with not doinf water changes for 3-4 weeks with the filtration setup you have (I run the exact same). I would still try to work your way to that point... maybe do a water change.. wait one week, do another, wait two weeks, then wait three... all while testing... this way if you ever deviate from your schedule, you should have a baseline logged to refer to, just my two cents. Luckily with all the substrate, media, and equipment in your tank, you can get away with around a 2 1/2 gal water change to equal roughly 20% water change... which is far simpler than those with 100g+ tanks - "IF" I can keep the two SPS pieces I have now, looking good and growing for another month, I will add more (current stock Hawkins Echinata, Birds of Paradise) - once I add more, I will play around with BRS KALK in my ATO. I will also be using a good portion of the KZ products to add to growth and coloration... (Nano Power Package).

 

With your cycle, did you run the skimmer during, did you do any water changes? If you had the skimmer going, then it prolly assisted in a softer cycle; even more so if you did any water changes. I'd say you're ready for a clean up crew, and any fish additions at this point.

 

BTW... I have had a lot of success running bio-pellets in my mini max media reactor.. I run them on the bottom, apply two of the filter pads a couple inches above, then I have BRS ROX Carbon sitting at the top (in a ping pong size media bag). This has kept my nutrient levels very very low.

[BoxKing]

Another option with the doser you have is to have your buddy make you another ATO style box, split 5g/5g. 1 for premixed salt, the other empty for removed tank water. All you would have to do is keep one reservoir with enough pre mixed salt and the other empty (maybe a cheap ATO pump with a line down a drain or exported out a window Set it up to do a gallon a week, and basically all you have to do is add more premixed water once a month... all while keeping your nutrient export/import steady. Just a food for thought

[ReeferAddict727]

Thanks dude, yeah ive learned in this hobby its best to do things right the first time around... i think i couldve gone with a cheaper build but im a reef addict and couldnt help myself. I was thinking about the speed streams until i heard they were super loud but now i will def be trying them out with your advice. yeah i honestly wanted to do water changes every 3-4 weeks so i bought the dosing pump.. im excited to use it but also nervous on tuning it.. my plan is to stock with a few cheap sps and other corals to dial in the dosing pump and then once ive become a pro i can add my wish list. i appreciate your advice with the dosing pump, it makes alot of sense.

My tank went online (water) on May 1st .. and i used the same set up as you.. dry rocks with fiji pink. I added a bottle of bio spira on May 4th which was 19 days ago. I didnt feed it because i wasnt thinking and around a week later i added a small live rock about a week later. I put it in a cup incase pests were present so they woudnt escape. i noticed a bacterial bloom yesterday and even more today but like you said .. its nothing like ive experienced before. I remember by whole sand bed being brown. im going to give it a few days..

 

If you know your tank cycled, im just curious to why you want a diatom bloom?

 

Oh I don't want a diatom bloom. Just expected one is all. This morning before work I noticed my water was very cloudy for some reason out of nowhere. All levels are still good but cloudy water out of nowhere.

 

Our tanks have the same birthday!

[Finding Paulo]

You can prolly get away with not doinf water changes for 3-4 weeks with the filtration setup you have (I run the exact same). I would still try to work your way to that point... maybe do a water change.. wait one week, do another, wait two weeks, then wait three... all while testing... this way if you ever deviate from your schedule, you should have a baseline logged to refer to, just my two cents. Luckily with all the substrate, media, and equipment in your tank, you can get away with around a 2 1/2 gal water change to equal roughly 20% water change... which is far simpler than those with 100g+ tanks - "IF" I can keep the two SPS pieces I have now, looking good and growing for another month, I will add more (current stock Hawkins Echinata, Birds of Paradise) - once I add more, I will play around with BRS KALK in my ATO. I will also be using a good portion of the KZ products to add to growth and coloration... (Nano Power Package).

 

With your cycle, did you run the skimmer during, did you do any water changes? If you had the skimmer going, then it prolly assisted in a softer cycle; even more so if you did any water changes. I'd say you're ready for a clean up crew, and any fish additions at this point.

 

BTW... I have had a lot of success running bio-pellets in my mini max media reactor.. I run them on the bottom, apply two of the filter pads a couple inches above, then I have BRS ROX Carbon sitting at the top (in a ping pong size media bag). This has kept my nutrient levels very very low.

Yeah that plan really makes sense i plan on doing exactly that to find out my 1 week 2 week 3 week schedule. Are you saying I can get away with water changes and no dosing at all? Ill test first after adding my livestock and see how much the calcium/alk level drops and determine if i can just do water changes or if i need to dose. In mu perevious experience anything 20gallon and up, once you fill it with corals these elements deplete to the level where you need to dose. unless your doing water changes weeklly..

 

as far as cycling, I turned my lights and skimmer off and ran it only using filter floss in my top section of my media baskets. No water change yet.

 

Another option with the doser you have is to have your buddy make you another ATO style box, split 5g/5g. 1 for premixed salt, the other empty for removed tank water. All you would have to do is keep one reservoir with enough pre mixed salt and the other empty (maybe a cheap ATO pump with a line down a drain or exported out a window Set it up to do a gallon a week, and basically all you have to do is add more premixed water once a month... all while keeping your nutrient export/import steady. Just a food for thought

I plan on putting my ato in my stand as i want a clean set up and unfortunately wont have space for your idea... i've thought about it before as water changes are a hassle. but this is the hobby.. Thanks so much for all your advices. keep them coming!

Oh I don't want a diatom bloom. Just expected one is all. This morning before work I noticed my water was very cloudy for some reason out of nowhere. All levels are still good but cloudy water out of nowhere.

 

Our tanks have the same birthday!

Ah i see. hmmm Cloudy water? not sure why that is. Same Bdays?! Thats awesome dude!! lol .. Ill definitely be following along your tank to see your progress and asking questions as we probably will run into similar issues. tank thread?

 

What are you parameters? When are you planning on doing your first water change? did you add a clean up crew or any live stock yet?

 

My ammonia and nitrate are at 0 and my nitrate is in between 25 and 50.. this is pretty high no? My diatom bloom is happening..

 

 

I ordered my Clean up crew, but before i add the CUC and first fish I am planning on doing a fairly large water change.

[ReeferAddict727]

Yeah that plan really makes sense i plan on doing exactly that to find out my 1 week 2 week 3 week schedule. Are you saying I can get away with water changes and no dosing at all? Ill test first after adding my livestock and see how much the calcium/alk level drops and determine if i can just do water changes or if i need to dose. In mu perevious experience anything 20gallon and up, once you fill it with corals these elements deplete to the level where you need to dose. unless your doing water changes weeklly..

 

as far as cycling, I turned my lights and skimmer off and ran it only using filter floss in my top section of my media baskets. No water change yet.

 

I plan on putting my ato in my stand as i want a clean set up and unfortunately wont have space for your idea... i've thought about it before as water changes are a hassle. but this is the hobby.. Thanks so much for all your advices. keep them coming!

Ah i see. hmmm Cloudy water? not sure why that is. Same Bdays?! Thats awesome dude!! lol .. Ill definitely be following along your tank to see your progress and asking questions as we probably will run into similar issues. tank thread?

 

What are you parameters? When are you planning on doing your first water change? did you add a clean up crew or any live stock yet?

 

My ammonia and nitrate are at 0 and my nitrate is in between 25 and 50.. this is pretty high no? My diatom bloom is happening..

 

QUESTION:

I ordered my Clean up crew, but before i add the CUC and first fish should i do a water change? My understanding is nitrate will not go to 0 on its own. I

My build thread is here, its about due for an update...

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/373411-reeferaddict727s-im-25-gallon-lagoon-build/

 

Parameters as of last night are:

 

Temp- 80.0

PH- 7.9

Salinity- 1.025

Ammonia- 0

Nitrite- 0

Nitrate- 7 PPM

KH- 8.6 dkh

CA- 415 PPM

Mg- 1300 PPM

 

 

I figure ill do my first WC later this week when Nitrates get to about 15-20 ppm.

 

Right now I have 1 colony of GSP, 1 colony of Pulsing Xenia, and one colony of Radioactive Green Zoas (all of which are quarter sized frags). I also have 1 Firefish and 1 Black Clownfish I added a couple days ago. Nitrites dropped off about 6 days ago today.

 

I got all the corals for free they are all very small and were fragged from a friends tank. Just have them in there to judge parameters and lighting spectrum/intensity.

 

I have not put in a CUC yet, I was waiting for a bit more algae growth before adding them, I imagine I will do that around the same time as my first Water Change.

 

Ill be following your build as well!!