agetupkiddan Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Hello all, This is my 1st post, and 1st Pico (though i've been reading the forum for some time now)... I've been keeping Freshwater tanks since University (3 years ago), and have made my 1st attempt at a Pico tank... Specs are: - 2.5 Gal - AC 20 (Rock/carbon/25 watt heater in back) - Coralife 20 W 50/50 (read more on lighting later) - 3 punds Live Rock - Sand Substrate The Tank is about 1 week old now... This is a Pic of my open-top home-made hood thingy (soon to be painted) And my filter with heater. Side(ish) Shot of tank Front Shot And Does anyone know what this could be turning into? So here's some questions I have: 1. I have a custom top for my open hood thingy with 2 screw-in sockets 1 for my 20 w bulb aaand... should I add another 20 W 50/50 or maybe a 13 w 6500k bulb?? Is 40 w too much for a 2.5? 2. Should i add more sand to the bottom? 3. Why is my rock turning orangy brown (you can notice in the picture)... is this good or bad? Thanks everyone... ps. any extra advice, tips, critcisms are welcome, i'm relevetively seasoned on other forums, and value the knowledge of others.. Link to comment
mushroom head Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 1.Id add a second 20watt bulb to the hood. 2.I think the sand level is fine. 3.Your tank is just going threw a cycle(algae blooms). That thing on the rock looks like a dead or barley alive coral skeleton. It might live and turn into a full coral if your lucky. Very nice tank by the way. Nice and clean. Link to comment
schaadrak Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 The thing on your rock looks like a small zoanthid colony to me. Link to comment
andykee Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 #3 is a coral skeleton Link to comment
agetupkiddan Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 Nice, thanks for all the info people!... Updates: - yup algae is right, normal for a tank that is cycling i guess... it has spread a bit... - I'm suprised at the difference in enjoyment waiting for a cycled saltwater tank is compared to a freshwater... always something new in there to look at.. Question: any extra tips for the cycle? as i understand it, i shouldn't do a water change untill week 3, but just keep topping up the tank for now? I'm using this time to improve the hood over the tank.. i have now changed the old one for a sleaker version... it will easily allow me to fit 2 20W 50/50's in there... i just have to ensure temperature will be managable... Question for the DIYers: electricity/wiring is not my fortay.. however, i have become quite efficient at cutting and re-connecting my powercords to make them fit things (yay! i know its basic stuff, but hey its a start).... is connecting a pc fan (as i see done often) an easy type mod? where exactly would you connect the power wires to? any info would be great.. thanks again all who have read/posted to this thread Link to comment
brent-konieczny Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I haven't done a fan, but I would say it is very easy to do. First, cut the hole where you are mounting the fan. Next, you have to determine if the fan is AC or DC. If AC, connect the two wires to either of the ones that run to the wall plug. If DC, you will need to find an AC to DC adapter probably 12V (check the fan just in case). You may be able to find a suitable adapter around the house and save money: old video game systems, camera chargers, ect. The way you hook up the wires with DC will determine which way the fan blows air. Link to comment
PaulS Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I'm using this time to improve the hood over the tank.. i have now changed the old one for a sleaker version... it will easily allow me to fit 2 20W 50/50's in there... i just have to ensure temperature will be managable... Question for the DIYers: electricity/wiring is not my fortay.. however, i have become quite efficient at cutting and re-connecting my powercords to make them fit things (yay! i know its basic stuff, but hey its a start).... is connecting a pc fan (as i see done often) an easy type mod? where exactly would you connect the power wires to? any info would be great.. thanks again all who have read/posted to this thread Setup looks good! If you check out doncb's thread and some of the others in the lighting forums, you'll get some good ideas on installing fans. Like brent-konieczny mentions, they're pretty easy to setup and if you get a wall-wart that has a dc voltage adjustment switch, you can increase or decrease the speed of the fan as well. I think I spent about $15-$20 over at Fry's to find a good ac/dc adapter and a suitable pc fan and another $2.00 on wire connectors. I adapted doncb's ideas to my 2.5 gallon minibow and it was pretty straighforward. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...topic=60382&hl= Link to comment
agetupkiddan Posted February 25, 2006 Author Share Posted February 25, 2006 Awesome, that's a good read... as for right now, the temp is pretty good with the new hood... pics to follow.. when i add the extra bulb next week i will see what my temp is like and then possible go with the fan... Right now, the brown algae is starting to spread to the sand.. icky... if someone had any confirmations concerning my last post and the water top-off / water change things i mentioned that would be great.. (reminder, the question was: "i shouldn't do any water changes till week 3, just keep my top-ups going...") is that info correct?? Thanks Link to comment
brent-konieczny Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 I agree. I would do a 20-25% change. Link to comment
agetupkiddan Posted March 3, 2006 Author Share Posted March 3, 2006 hmmm not too sure what you mean by "i agree" ... i had asked to confirm if what i read about not doing water changes for the first 3 weeks of a cycling tank was correct? (or to generalize, don't do water changes on a cycling tank as it will slow the cycle)... anyway.. Update with pics... Tank is going nicely, brown algae is leaving slowly.. getting some growth of "other" things... bugs and stuff to be shown... (and hair algae i think :-( ) Anyway.. this thing came out of nowhere.. i dunno what it is.. ideas? Same with this.. it's green.. kinda furry on the end.. different than the other hair-ish algae i have.. sort of looks like a feather duster sticking out of a rock... And the tank as it looks right now... excuse the drips at the back, i'm still perfecting my hood and its hard to keep everything clean... Cheers Link to comment
agetupkiddan Posted March 3, 2006 Author Share Posted March 3, 2006 Oh and question for all you AC 20 (mini) users... What do YOU put inside the chamber? Currently i have a heater on 1 side seperated by a custom cut of that filter media holder thingy... and charcoal on the other side (just to clean some debris N nasties.) yeah so info would be great, as i noticed both icenine and fishfreak are using them in their beautiful tanks (according to the custom pico reef contest thread i was reading) Link to comment
shivametimbas Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 i gotta ac50 on my 2.5 mini bow. i got a lil piece of sponge in my first small chamber. then a small layer of livesand,liverock rubble,small shells, and cheato. lit 24-7. Link to comment
agetupkiddan Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 Hmm thanks shivametimbas... i'm wondering if its worth is to put any liverock rubble in my ac20, it's pretty small... i always wondered whether potential hitchhikers on the rubble would get killed back there though... So no ideas on what is in those pics everyone? Link to comment
robmacy Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 that green fuzzy algae stalk should be removed quickly. it will spread if not controlled depending on water parameters. Link to comment
JTYDELL Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 guess not! :-) Just get a few blue leg hermits and a few snails, they will take care of that for you. No worries. Link to comment
agetupkiddan Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 yay.. thanks for replying people, i was getting lonely here... Ok so i'm guessing that bright green thing is some kind of algae? its so pretty though... haha oh well.. Now as for the clean up crew... i am still kind aprehensive about adding anything to the tank, its been maybe a month now setup, but i want to make sure everything is cycled ready... Is there such thing as waiting too long before adding anything? Am i risking a large algae boom? Should i start my water changes now? sorry about the questions, i just want to do this right! Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I could be wrong but I do not think any one can say 1st water change in 3 weeks or 4 weeks. It is after your cycle finishes and nitrates are 0. Debra Link to comment
brent-konieczny Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 I could be wrong but I do not think any one can say 1st water change in 3 weeks or 4 weeks. It is after your cycle finishes and nitrates are 0.Debra Huh? Did you mean when ammonia and nitrites are 0? Explanation: As the cycle runs the nitrates increase steadily as ammonia and nitrite flucuate. When those are finally stable you have accumulated nitrate which is now ok to remove with a change. In a pico nitrates don't dissapear easily unless you have a skimmer or macro algae. Link to comment
agetupkiddan Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 Well my nitrate readings are zero, so i'm guessing i'm still going through the cycle... so i should hold off on the water changes right? oh and did anyone else have any guesses as to what was in my 2nd set of pics? mainly the white things with the weird ends... Link to comment
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