Cycling nano tank strange results so far

[Lula_Mae]

6 hours ago, Recci said:

I have Salifert all in one to dose with but I think you are right.  What salt would you recommend? I was thinking of going with red sea, Not sure if i should get their standard salt or the coral pro salt? 

Also I think my bag of kent salt is a bad bag everything i mix it there is a lot of undissolved white stuff left over. Even if I mix slowly into warm water. Even tried boiling the water to get it do dissolve no joy. 

I think some salts just have some precipitates left over, Instant Ocean was always like that for me (IO is a perfectly good brand of salt btw and available everywhere, it's as good a salt as any to try).  I used IO for years and recently bought a new one to try...Aqua Forest, I think, in a purple bucket.  I got their sea salt but might should have gone with reef salt, but everything seems to love it (went with sea salt since I'm not doing tons of stony corals, just an acan and some blastos at present).  Red Sea is a good brand too.

[Clown79]

Instant ocean needs 24hrs pre mixing. Its in the instructions so if its not mixed for 24hrs, that maybe why you have issues with it.

Are you using a heater and powerhead as well.

Io is the one salt not known to precipitate, you can make large quantities of it and params don't change with time.

 

Personally i like red sea coral pro but hated the high alk

 

I like Aquaforest Reef salt. Mixes clear within minutes and ready in 30mins. Each batch comes with a number and parameters of the batch

[Lula_Mae]

4 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Instant ocean needs 24hrs pre mixing. Its in the instructions so if its not mixed for 24hrs, that maybe why you have issues with it.

Are you using a heater and powerhead as well.

Io is the one salt not known to precipitate, you can make large quantities of it and params don't change with time.

 

Personally i like red sea coral pro but hated the high alk

 

I like Aquaforest Reef salt. Mixes clear within minutes and ready in 30mins. Each batch comes with a number and parameters of the batch

Even with a couple days mixing it wouldn't always all mix in, but like I said I used it for years.  I just wanted to try something different, and I really like how clean the Aqua Forest mixes up.  Especially since I don't really have space right now to have a bucket mixing for days lol.

[Clown79]

When mixing salt, each ones instructions are different. It may need 24hrs mixing to fully disolve. It may only require 4hrs.

 

When mixing salt in the bucket, using a heater and powerhead is best after handstirring.

 

I've used 

Instant ocean

Reef crystals

Red sea coral pro-love the salt but too high of alk

Aquaforest- love it

[Recci]

Thinking of swapping over to slightly bigger 35L tank as it fits my stand better. Would a small damsel be to big for that tank? It would be 40cmx32x28 (WxDxH). which nano fish would you recommend?

[Nidilsky]

On 6/5/2017 at 10:33 AM, Recci said:

Seem to have some vermit snails as hitch hiker as well 

 

On 6/6/2017 at 11:29 AM, Recci said:

I have Salifert all in one to dose with but I think you are right.  What salt would you recommend? I was thinking of going with red sea, Not sure if i should get their standard salt or the coral pro salt? 

Also I think my bag of kent salt is a bad bag everything i mix it there is a lot of undissolved white stuff left over. Even if I mix slowly into warm water. Even tried boiling the water to get it do dissolve no joy. 

I usually just put a heater and a sicce pump in the water and let I go until it heats  up enough. I use instant ocean reef crystals....i love it. I add the salt a little at a time and use my hand to dissolve the stuff on the bottom.  My alk is generally around 2. I then use 2 part to get may alk to acceptable levels over the course of the week. 

Alkalinity isn't all that important until you have some livestock anyway. Get the tank cycling and decide your stock.

[brianinak]

On ‎6‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 7:23 AM, Clown79 said:

When mixing salt, each ones instructions are different. It may need 24hrs mixing to fully disolve. It may only require 4hrs.

 

When mixing salt in the bucket, using a heater and powerhead is best after handstirring.

 

I've used 

Instant ocean

Reef crystals

Red sea coral pro-love the salt but too high of alk

Aquaforest- love it

Hello Clown79, I am preparing to start my first tank.  Have a reefer 170, have been planning and taking slow.  don't plan to get it wet till end of July.  I was planning on using the Red Sea coral pro, only real reason is b/c their reputation is very good and like the "reef care system", great for newbies (I think). Plan on doing mix reef, invertebrates, fish, soft corals, LPS and would love to have a clam down the road when system is mature.  You stated that the ALK was too much for you.  Is there a down side to this salt and the alk? 

[Recci]

My nitrates are low and and my phosphates are next to non-existent. I have carbon and phosphate remover in my filter but I am still getting a fair bit of green algae growth on the glass and top of sand bed. 

[Lula_Mae]

Algae is pretty common in new tanks, we call it the "new tank uglies" lol.  Have you seen diatoms yet?  If your ammonia and nitrites are zero you can probably start to add some CUC members.

[Recci]

If you read my previous comments you will see am I fully through the cycling process and have had CUC for a couple of weeks.

[Clown79]

On 2017-6-13 at 11:44 AM, Recci said:

My nitrates are low and and my phosphates are next to non-existent. I have carbon and phosphate remover in my filter but I am still getting a fair bit of green algae growth on the glass and top of sand bed. 

New tank goes beyond after cycling. There are many algaes that arise for the first 7mnths. 

Some Algae is normal in tanks, it just depends on if its an aggressive algae or not. 

 

Your parameters may also be testing incorrectly because the algae uses the nutrients.

What phos kit are you testing with?

On 2017-6-9 at 2:04 AM, brianinak said:

Hello Clown79, I am preparing to start my first tank.  Have a reefer 170, have been planning and taking slow.  don't plan to get it wet till end of July.  I was planning on using the Red Sea coral pro, only real reason is b/c their reputation is very good and like the "reef care system", great for newbies (I think). Plan on doing mix reef, invertebrates, fish, soft corals, LPS and would love to have a clam down the road when system is mature.  You stated that the ALK was too much for you.  Is there a down side to this salt and the alk? 

My alk was creeping close to 12 with rscp. Many ppl don't like alk that high, its one of the main reasons ppl switch from rscp. Otherwise the salt is very good. If the alk was 10, i would have continued using it.

 

My sps were not happy, i had alk burn from it. 

 

I prefer my alk 8-9 no higher than 10.

 

If you have low nutrients high alk can be an issue.

[Lula_Mae]

5 hours ago, Recci said:

If you read my previous comments you will see am I fully through the cycling process and have had CUC for a couple of weeks.

Sorry, from what your last comment had said it seemed you didn't have anything eating the algae which is why I suggested it.  But clown is right, new tank syndrome goes well beyond the cycle and can last for a few months.

[Recci]

API Phos kit. Iv got phosphate remover and carbon in the filter.

Edited June 15, 2017 by Recci

[Clown79]

Api phos kit is a high range kit. By the time you see results it already too high.

 

Salifert kit is low range from 0 up. Its far better to use for saltwater

[Recci]

I changed my tank over to a Dennerle scaper's 35L tank because it fitted my stand better and gave me a bit more scope for live stock over the 22L. This is a lovely tank with a size of 40 x 32 x 28 cm (WxHxD) for a special depth effect. It has panoramic glass with rounded front corners and a glass thickness of 5 mm.

 

I also added last week :

2 x Red Claw hermit crabs(the small ones)
2 x Nassarius Snail. These snails seem to race to the food and scoff it before the crabs get a look in!

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2017 by Recci

[Recci]

I also added small Azure Damsel today. Not sure if this was a wise move? It wont kill a cleaner shrimp or small bottom dwelling gobie if I get them? 

 

I noticed that there are hundreds of tiny little white moving specs on the glass you can just seem them in this video.

 

Damsel eating pods

 

I take it they are pods? The damsel seems to be eating them anyway.

 

Hitchhickers

 

Should I have my pump in that position blasting against the live rock or should I move to the front a bit?

[Recci]

Got my first coral for free yesterday a pink pulsing xena frag. I went to my local LFS on the way back from the guys house to get some coral dip and they never had any in stock! The guy i got the frag from assured me his tank never had any pests and all his corals and tank look good to me. So i just put it in my tank and withing a hour I noticed a few tiny start fish climbing on the glass. I also seem some kind of worm swimming or at least wriggling in the water column. Looked like a small bristle worm to me, hopefully that's all it is. I dont mind the little start fish as long as they dont get to plague proportions. Would a coral dip have killed these?

 

I guess the way to look at it is I have introduced some more bio-diversity to the tank.

 

Any way to tell if these are the bad verity?

 

 

[Clown79]

Corals should always be dipped before being added to the tank. It helps with hitch hikers etc.

 

Damsels are aggressive fish and too big for a 5g.

 

 

Small goby or a tailspot blenny with inverts and corals is all that should be in a 5g

[Lula_Mae]

Congrats on the coral!  I definitely still dip everything that goes in my tank, even if coming from reputable reefers or companies, just in case.  I always liked asterinas but also never had an issue with them; others have had problems.  If the worm was orange and black with white bristles sticking out from the sides, it was probably a bristleworm and I consider them good additions to the CUC.  Damsels can be aggressive so be careful with what you add.  You can always take it back to the LFS and get something more peaceful if it will set your mind at ease.

[Recci]

3 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Corals should always be dipped before being added to the tank. It helps with hitch hikers etc.

 

Damsels are aggressive fish and too big for a 5g.

 

 

Small goby or a tailspot blenny with inverts and corals is all that should be in a 5g

I upgraded to a 10 gallon. Lesson learned I am going to dip everything from now on. It appears I now have bristle worms as well as the tiny starfish. Iv seen several orange looking bristle worms. God knows what else has jumped in. As long as there are no real pests then it's probably been good for biodiversity in the tank 

[Recci]

The live rock with the frag on is hotching with bristle worms :

 

[Recci]

what is this long tentacle thing that is coming out of my live rock?

 

 

[Recci]

another view: