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12 gallon Mr Aqua.... Lessons learned.... 🤓


JcSH2o

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Thank you all for the positive comments!

I'm busy today making water. The RODI system from BRS is working splendidly, and the Fritz salt seems to mix well. I'm averaging about 1/2 cup per gallon which nets around 1.025 on my refractometer.

In spite of all my planning, I have met my first hiccup. I didn't account for the bouyancy of the rock! :unsure: As the tank sits now it is half full, so I'm hoping once my larger Pukani pieces are fully submerged they will find the balance they had before. I imagine they'll also soak up some water which will help. Worse case scenario I will need to extract some of them, dry them out, and glue them together for more stability. 

But at least today we will have water flowing and the cycle beginning! Very excited for that! :lol:

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If you put the rocks in dry, they will soak water and naturally sink...

 

However, if you are cycling pukani in your tank, I have to warn you that they are full full full of crud.  When I cycled mine, the water turned completely brown and it took a few weeks just for all that bio-crap to decompose.  

 

Before you get too far along, you might want to kick off the cycle with the rocks in a bucket where you can more easily remove/rinse/clean them without worrying about rearranging your aquascape every time.  After the first week or so, most of the gunk will be loose and then you could finish off the cycle in your tank.

 

BTW, looks really nice so far above the fireplace.

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5 minutes ago, holy carp said:

If you put the rocks in dry, they will soak water and naturally sink...

 

However, if you are cycling pukani in your tank, I have to warn you that they are full full full of crud.  When I cycled mine, the water turned completely brown and it took a few weeks just for all that bio-crap to decompose.  

 

Before you get too far along, you might want to kick off the cycle with the rocks in a bucket where you can more easily remove/rinse/clean them without worrying about rearranging your aquascape every time.  After the first week or so, most of the gunk will be loose and then you could finish off the cycle in your tank.

 

BTW, looks really nice so far above the fireplace.

Thanks!

I did add them dry.... My plan all along has been to cycle the rock in the tank, after which I will add the sand and allow time for the so called "ugly phase". To account for this I cleaned the Pukani as I assembled and carved the pieces. Everything in the tank has had a Muriatic acid bath, followed by a bleach soak for 72 hours, followed by multiple soaks in dechlorinator, and finally air dried in the summer sun! 

I'm definitely hoping that the sudden loss of balance is just due to the air trapped inside and the fact that half of the rock is above the waters surface. We shall soon see! 

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Oh, an acid bath would likely have gotten rid of most or all of that bio matter, so you should be good to go.  They will for sure sink (if they haven't already) once the air bubbles work their way out..

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All is well, the rocks are behaving. Next step is filling the POB sump (this holds almost 6 gallons by itself) and then it's time to add bacteria, dose ammonia, and kill the lights. :haha:

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Here are some quick updates before lights out! It took a while to get the water flow correct... I'm not too sure of what I was doing, but eventually it all balance out. I was having an issue keeping the water level in both the overflow area and the sump itself. First the overflow box was lowering by almost half, and then the media tray area was flowing over the side. Eventually, by stopping and restarting and by removing some water volume I found the balance!

After it held a solid level for about two hours I felt confident enough to dose a bottle of Dr Tim's, followed by raising the ammonia to 4.0

 

As the lights extinguish tonight, my plan is to kill the lights completely for the duration of the cycle. During this time I will slowly raise the salinity during top offs. Currently at about 1.024 

 

Hopefully everything stays tip top, but that's probably a pipe dream!  fingerscrossed After the cycle is under way I'll begin sorting through the other test kits since they're foreign to me. In the meantime, any suggestions or tips are welcome! 

 

Here goes nothing! Hahaha

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Okay another noob question! Here goes:

 

So I was super excited to get home today and inspect my nano. (Incidentally I think I'm calling her "Little Laguna", as an homage to my first childhood experience with tide pools in Laguna Beach) BUT anywho I got home and discovered my overflow section has dropped in level again. This time the whole sump and each section seems to be correct (I think? Nothing is overflowing between sections....) so I'm wondering what is my issue? Or is this drop simply evaporation...?  :blink:

I believe once I purchase an ATO, that the sensor goes in this section; I just want to make sure I am correct in this since it's technically my first experience with a sump and overflow type of setup. 

Anyone have any thoughts or corrective actions for me to take? Thanks in advance for helping to ease my overdriven brain... Haha

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4 minutes ago, thedon986 said:

Yep, if all other levels look normal elsewhere that is evaporation, especially after 13 hours.

Wow! I wasn't expecting that rate! That's really incredible. I've been holding off on adding any water until I was sure of what I was seeing.

Thanks a bunch for responding! Very cool! :happy:

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So I heeded your advice @thedon986, and everything is tip top. Thanks again. 

 

I decided to take a salinity reading before I added water, and saw that as a result of the evaporation my salinity went from 1.024 to just above 1.025! That's quite a swing and very informative for me, showing me the importance of maintaining the same volume of water in the tank at all times. 

 

Since my goal is 1.026 I then mixed a half gallon of RODI with 1/4 cup of the Fritz. I ended up adding 3 cups exactly of saltwater to the tank to bring the levels in line. I waited about an hour and retested my water, Boom: 1.026 and fresh from this point forward. 

 

I can't believe how much fun I'm having just playing with the water. Hahaha :naughtydance:

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11 hours ago, JcSH2o said:

Another updated pic... About 13hours later. Is this drop normal?

 

20170819_075232.jpg

That's working perfectly as it should be. It just need an ATO setup with the sensor installed in the overflow box, I found the sensor of Smart ATO micro works perfect for this purpose and tiny to fit in here without wasting much of any space at all.

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2 minutes ago, MrNanoReef said:

That's working perfectly as it should be. It just need an ATO setup with the sensor installed in the overflow box, I found the sensor of Smart ATO micro works perfect for this purpose and tiny to fit in here without wasting much of any space at all.

Thanks! I really couldn't be happier with the quality of this thing. I appreciate the little touches... Like smokey tinted sides and a jet black face.... The extra green ring around the out flow tube. You really did a splendid job and I'll be back soon for other items.

 

I'm glad I stayed patient. B)

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cassianoyoung

Enjoyed reading your thread! I am new to the Nano Reef community as well and there is a lot of stuff around here! I am also doing a journal from the beginning. Had a larger reef before, but super excited to go Nano!! Good luck! Check out my journal when you get a minute! Got some good DIY ideas there too! Cheers!

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43 minutes ago, cassianoyoung said:

Enjoyed reading your thread! I am new to the Nano Reef community as well and there is a lot of stuff around here! I am also doing a journal from the beginning. Had a larger reef before, but super excited to go Nano!! Good luck! Check out my journal when you get a minute! Got some good DIY ideas there too! Cheers!

Will do! Thanks for reading through and leaving good words! :D

 

DIY?! Ooooo that sounds fun! 

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My first round of tests are complete, with KH/Mg/Ca being tested today. I used Foundation Pro from Red Sea. The rest are just reef dreams I had whilst counting titration drops.... 

 

Temp: 77.72°F

Salinity: 1.026

KH: 7.8dkh

Mg: 1460

Ca: 470

 

As for my cycle, I only tested my ammonia today. The drop I have been watching for has begun, giving an ever so slightly lower reading than yesterday at around 3.8 :haha: I think I will wait until I'm below 2 to begin monitoring my nitrites/ates. 

 

I'm currently lights off, with 1 pinky floss pad and 2tbl of Rox8 carbon. I did dose 1ml of Kent Marine purple tech which would explain my slightly higher Mg and Ca. I should have tested prior to adding it... And now I'm actually doubting my (lack of) logic in adding it at all. 

 

I'm considering adding some Matrix to one of my media chambers. My longer term plans are to utilize chaeto in the refugium section, I'm just unsure if mud/rubble/sand in that section is required or not? Anyone have thoughts on this or suggestions when to add? My instinct says after a CUC Is added... 

 

I'd like to add a small glass skimmer like a Reefglass or Mame. With relatively little breakdown of organics due to such clean Pukani, and zero life or nutrients in the tank; I just don't see these things as necessary additions at this point in time. 

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17 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

@JcSH2o your final aquascape looks incredible, such a cool concept!

 

Thank you so much for that! That means a lot! I did my best to plan for the corals I know I want to keep, and to sculpt the "skyline" to the negative space. I really enjoy the process of breaking down the rock and building it up again. 

I had a horribly frustrating experience using Aquaforests Stonefix. I could not get a strong bond no matter how I mixed it. I finally had to resort to using Super glue gel, and then using the Stonefix to kind of paint over the bonds. 

 

Anyone have any luck with Stonefix? It was a disappointing product for me. 

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Christopher Marks
2 hours ago, JcSH2o said:

My longer term plans are to utilize chaeto in the refugium section, I'm just unsure if mud/rubble/sand in that section is required or not? Anyone have thoughts on this or suggestions when to add?

It's not required, chaeto will grow on its own without substrate. It really can be that simple. I would avoid mud or sand in the refugium for simplicity sake.

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1 hour ago, Christopher Marks said:

It's not required, chaeto will grow on its own without substrate. It really can be that simple. I would avoid mud or sand in the refugium for simplicity sake.

Okay will do! 

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Just read through your posts and I'm excited to welcome you to the wild world of reefing :)

 

Youve made some great choices on equipment and I really like your rock scape.

 

Have you decided on a Powerhead yet? Personally I am a huuuge fan of the tunze 6040. I even made a video on YouTube if you wanna check it out.

 

Happy reefing :) 

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