29 Biocube Update

very nice

 

very nice hopefully mine will look this good

 

wow such a beautiful aquascape and tank... im jealous now. Looks amazing. Personally, i think that tank would look 10x better with sand but i respect your opinion ;D but thats just me because i like sand. makes it look more like the ocean. anyways, awsome job keep up the great work

 

Hmm....no one picked up on the very short period of time to have all that in there already. Not to be a downer, but I wonder what the Calc, Alk, Mag and PH are and are they stable in a month period?

 

He mentioned the LR he purchased was from a 6 year established tank, and that his perimeters had no ill effect..

tank looks good, i would rather see some sand or crushed coral, but it still looks very nice, good job!

 

Damn and here I thought I had been good about only adding 2 items a week. All parameters are very good. Calcium is over 500, Alk is in check, do not have a mag test and PH is 8.2. Salinity is 1.024, temp is 77 degrees (thanks to chiller), Nitrate, Nitrites, Amonia is 0 and phosphates are .02. I have been keeping up on my 10% water changes weekly and using RO/DI unit for water. How much should be in the tank at this point? Maybe I am too trusting of the LFS owner but he is extremely knowledgeable (Marine Biologist) and so far I could not be happier with results. At this point I am done with fish, I may add one more shrimp, I would like to add 4 blue knuckle hermits and additional coral. Please let me know if I am doing something wrong, I really do not want to make mistakes.

There are some really good signs, considering I am just at the 1 month point, coralline algae is starting to grow on my powerhead and rear of the tank. I have had no signs of hair algae or diatoms as of today.

As for the sand I agree but I do not want to mess up the tank by adding it at this point. Again this was my LFS owners strong opinion that swayed me. I think when the coralline algae covers the bottom it will look pretty cool (almost a continuation of the LR effect). I have a 8 gallon biocube with sand and it does look really nice (it is just starting to cycle).

Thanks.

 

i think you will be fine. what you did was basically move a tank. as long as the rock was cured you may have gone threw just a mini cycle, maybe none at all. when i moved my tank i think i used almost all new water and used new sand. i kept the rock during the move submerged, but even if you had yours wrapped and out of the water for a short period of time there would have been limited die off.i have seen aquariums with sand and without both can look sweet. both having benefits over the other.

 

The LR was out of water for a total of 20 mins (wrapped), basically went from LFS to house and into tank. Water was 75% new, and 25% from LFS reef tank display (he was out of pre-mixed water and felt sorry for me . I did not have my RO/DI unit yet so I had to buy pre-made water from LFS in my area for the initial setup. Now I have containers of water everywhere. I never saw a spike in Amonia, Nitrate or Nitrites. All have been 0 since day 1.

 

Hello Kelly, I didn't mean to upset you. It is just that being in this hobby for 20+ years I have gathered a lot of experience and knowledge. A lot of headaches can be avoided by not moving too fast. Most of my insight comes from; trial and error, mistakes, ignorance (not doing the proper homework) and being stubborn by not heeding good advice. So, you see, I am not really proud of some of the ways I have gathered my experience and knowledge! When I asked about the tank parameters I asked because I didn't think you could have attained sufficient data as to knowing the tanks consumption rate of the various elements and then designing a dosing regiment (if needed). Calc over 500 is not really "good" especially not knowing what your Mag is. If calc gets much higher it will "fall out of solution". When you do get your Mag test, since calc is at 500+ your mag should be at least 1500 ppm to "hold" the calc. I know from experience that there are some polyps that don't appreciate mag at 1500 ppm. especially Green Star Polyps.
I was merely attempting to give you a heads up to avoid problems down the road. I have read countless posts in this and the other 2 forums I am a member about those "putting together" a tank and of course things look perfect for a month or so and they stock up only to be back in 2-3 mos. describing all sorts of trouble with the tank. It is my, and many others, contention that no coral should be introduced in an aquarium for at least 2-3 mos. This gives the tank ample time to "settle in" and establish the required bacteria base of which there are different types which multiply at different rates in a closed system.
Since you are where you are I would add live bacteria now at double the marine dose and leave the tank alone for 3 weeks before you do another water change (you don't know your mag). After establishing what the mag is (watching it by checking it weekly) and after the 3 week period you could then change out 30% of the water, wait a day, and do all your testing to establish what and how much of the various elements are being used.
I have taken some time here because I wish you success.

 

You didn't upset me at all man. I was frustrated with myself because I thought I was being careful. I will take your suggestions and get the mag test and follow your ideas on confirming my levels. I really appreciate your input!

Thanks,
Jay