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Fluval 13.5 NooB Journey *November 2018 Update*


ThisPlaceIsAPrison

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1 hour ago, ThisPlaceIsAPrison said:

Good to know, I did do a "control" test with the kit with my tapwater and it read 0.00 because I was thinking the exact same thing.  I'm going to dose Dr. Tim's One & Only as I have had folks give that product rave reviews.  I'm going to turn the skimmer off and pull the ceramic sock filter out for 48 hours per the instructions.  I think I'm close and I'm hoping that by week's end I'm there. 

I did the same thing, but IMO the test kit reacts differently with salt water than with plain tap or even RODI water. Even standing outside in the daylight vs in the kitchen under florescents will yield a different color to my eye. 

 

Either way, I'd trust time, technique, and your NO3/NO4 tests more than that API ammonia. Hahaha

 

Cheers! And happy reefing! 

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison

My assumption is that the process is coming along.  Ammonia has started to drop back down from 2.0 ppm to roughly 0.25.  I busted out the master test and my Nitrite spike is off the charts 5.0+

 

624EC50C-239A-4DD1-ACBF-56B49BEC23D4.jpeg

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7 hours ago, ThisPlaceIsAPrison said:

 I busted out the master test and my Nitrite spike is off the charts 5.0+

I would do a water change to get nitrite clearly lower than 5 ppm.  When ammonia or nitrite exceed 5 ppm, the process slows.

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison
3 hours ago, seabass said:

I would do a water change to get nitrite clearly lower than 5 ppm.  When ammonia or nitrite exceed 5 ppm, the process slows.

Thank you, my plan was to dose Dr. Tim's "One and Only" this evening.  After reading a few blogs on their site they recommend doing the water change prior to dosing.  So tonight I will do a 4 gallon water change and then dose the "One & Only"

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4 hours ago, ThisPlaceIsAPrison said:

Thank you, my plan was to dose Dr. Tim's "One and Only" this evening.  After reading a few blogs on their site they recommend doing the water change prior to dosing.  So tonight I will do a 4 gallon water change and then dose the "One & Only"

Other may disagree, but I'd let your nitrite settle down a bit before dosing more DT. Or you'll be back up over 5ppm nitrite in no time and have probably in need of a WC again, which you don't really want to be doing during the cycling .   

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23 minutes ago, jahnje said:

Other may disagree, but I'd let your nitrite settle down a bit before dosing more DT. Or you'll be back up over 5ppm nitrite in no time and have probably in need of a WC again, which you don't really want to be doing during the cycling .   

I agree. Let everything settle down. This is the one part of the process you don't want to rush. Let the tank do its thing.

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison
14 minutes ago, Oldsalt01 said:

I agree. Let everything settle down. This is the one part of the process you don't want to rush. Let the tank do its thing.

So just water change and leave it be?

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26 minutes ago, ThisPlaceIsAPrison said:

So just water change and leave it be?

Sure, but it doesn't really matter a whole lot.  You could dose bacteria, or not, and the cycle will become established either way.  The only thing that I'd consider wrong, would be to do a water change immediately after dosing bacteria (because you'd be getting rid of the bacteria that you just dosed).

 

I'll never argue with people that say to take it slow.  One could even argue to do the water change, then let nitrite come down to 0.25 ppm before doing anything else.  No matter what you do, you'll end up with a biological filter (which is the goal).

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison

Media / Filter Question*  I am running the stock media in the middle chamber which consists of the black sponge with two cutouts.  The top cutout has the carbon bag in it, and the lower cutout has the ceramic bag in it.

 

I have the Fluval P2 Skimmer in the first chamber, however; there is an empty space below the skimmer.  I am seeing products like Seachem Purigen, is this a media product that I can house in the empty space below my skimmer?

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My recommendation:

Look into one of these: http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Fluval-Evo-12-135-Media-Basket-FL12MR.htm

Basket%20Pack.jpg

 

Can you move the skimmer to the second chamber?

 

You don't want or need any additional biological filtration.  And the mechanical filtration should be easily cleaned or replaced.  I like these media baskets with filter floss up top.  Then you have your choice of chemical filtration.  I like activated carbon and Phosguard.  However, many people use ChemiPure Elite and Purigen.

 

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I'd dump the sponges. They tend to be nitrate factories and are impossible to clean thoroughly. Media baskets are definitely the way to go. They not only efficiently contain media, they also ensure your water flows through said media, making it much more efficient. I tried building one from eggcrate but it's kind of a PIA to deal with. Savin my pennies for an In-Tank.

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison

Seeing some cycle progress.  This is two days after the 4 Gallon water change, and the Dr. Tim's "One & Only" dosing.  Odds are these results are more about the water change but time will tell.

 

Test 12 6.jpg

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison

Finally fully cycled!  19 days from the set up date.  I added a small clean up crew of:

 

5 miniature sized blue legged hermit crabs

5 astrea snails

2 nassarius snails

2 cerith snails

1 emerald crab for fun!

 

I have also added 3 saltwater black mollies, however; these are temporary.  My plan is to keep these for a few weeks as I learn how to feed and monitor changes to my Fluval.  I’m not treating them as “kill fish” but I don’t want my learning curve to be through a pair of gladiator clownfish which is my end goal.

 

After Christmas I’m returning the mollies for the clowns.

 

My plan for after the fish will be to introduce soft corals.

 

 

 

 

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison

Tested the water this morning and I am showing a small increase in both ammonia and nitrite.  It's minor but it's concerning.  My last water change was exactly 7 days ago and I added livestock on Sunday (2 days ago).  My guess is between the tank being new, the livestock additions, and hitting the 1 week mark since the last water change are all contributing to this.  My plan is to do a 2 gallon water change this evening.

 

 

Water Test December 12 17.jpg

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison

I keep going back in forth in my head regarding my Fluval P2 skimmer.  If I'm doing weekly water changes do I need this thing at all?  Am I better off ditching it in favor of the "In Tank" media rack which sits in that first chamber, then eliminate the stock sponge filter in chamber 2?  

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13 minutes ago, ThisPlaceIsAPrison said:

If I'm doing weekly water changes do I need this thing at all?

No, you don't "need" a protein skimmer.

 

13 minutes ago, ThisPlaceIsAPrison said:

Am I better off ditching it in favor of the "In Tank" media rack which sits in that first chamber, then eliminate the stock sponge filter in chamber 2?

I'm a fan of the inTank media basket and getting rid of the stock filter sponge.  However, it's a hard question to answer as they don't do the same things.  Can you run a media basket and the protein skimmer?  If I had a choice of one or the other, I'd probably choose the inTank media basket (running floss, activated carbon, and PhosGuard).

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison
1 hour ago, seabass said:

No, you don't "need" a protein skimmer.

 

I'm a fan of the inTank media basket and getting rid of the stock filter sponge.  However, it's a hard question to answer as they don't do the same things.  Can you run a media basket and the protein skimmer?  If I had a choice of one or the other, I'd probably choose the inTank media basket (running floss, activated carbon, and PhosGuard).

InTank does make a media basket that goes into the middle chamber for the Fluval, which would allow the skimmer to remain in place.

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison

Initial coral placement suggestions inquiry.  So I want to get some insight as to what you folks think would be the best placement areas for my first coral / corals (once I feel confident to procure them).  I want to go with soft corals that will flow nicely and add color to the reef.  My first thought is GSP, Xenia, or Hammer.  My questions is this, if I went with one, two or all three varieties which of these placement areas would be best for them?  I labeled them with letters to simplify.  Let know what you think.

 

 

Coral Placement Ideas.jpg

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26 minutes ago, ThisPlaceIsAPrison said:

I want to go with soft corals that will flow nicely and add color to the reef.  My first thought is GSP, Xenia, or Hammer.

GSP and xenia are both borderline invasive corals.  Either or both could relatively quickly and easily take over.

 

I might put the GSP just off to the right of D, the hammer by B, and the xenia by A.  But I bet you could put them anywhere you want.

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ThisPlaceIsAPrison
13 minutes ago, seabass said:

GSP and xenia are both borderline invasive corals.  Either or both could relatively quickly and easily take over.

 

I might put the GSP just off to the right of D, the hammer by B, and the xenia by A.  But I bet you could put them anywhere you want.

Good points on them being invasive, and with my rock being all connected I might want to avoid that.  Perhaps I will start off with a Hammer or Frogspawn, and I think "B" is the sweetspot, especially for something showy with good flow motion.

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