JaysLittleOcean Piece of the Reef.

Very nice start cant wait to see it set up.

 

So as the previous post might imply. Yes I managed to get the water into the tank and going this past week and I'm very please with the results.

 

Their are many freshwater automatic top off units out on the market, but personally I have always felt that the Tunze Osmolator 3155 has been the premium unit that offers a great package of the technology and reliability. So I chose it for my aquarium setup. I had a food sage pretzel container which I drilled holes in the lid to slip the wires and tubing through to be used as the RO/DI water holding container. The Optical and Float Sensors are mounted using the supplied magnet mountain brackets. I also mounted the main controller of the unit next to the rest of the equipment controllers
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I work a lot so just like everyone else I want to be able to automate some tasks and keep an eye on my aquarium when I'm not home. So I purchased what I believe to be one of the best aquarium controllers on the market. Now don't get me wrong. My entire system is not being connected to this controller. I believe in Murphy's Law so I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket as of yet. But I do believe in redundancy and maybe in time I will run two of these controllers side by side. But for now I'll proceed with a bit of caution. So my primary needs for purchasing the controller first and foremost was to be able to automate the tasks of controlling a calcium reactor and temperature within the aquarium. So I purchased one from Russ at Saltwater Critters and I was excited to get it installed. Well that excitement was immediately ruined by something that I just can't wrap my hear around.




Back in the day controllers came with pre-calibrated temperature probes and the configuration of items within the controller was pretty straight forward Outlet 1 was this... outlet 2 was that and so fourth. But like everything today. The more you can do, the more complex the configuration. So I give this disclaimer I was tired when I was setting it up as it was about 3:00am in the morning so the configuration was not as smooth as I had intended. But My controller started beeping straight out of the box and reads "Test Mode15" with a bunch of other junk on the screen. Then what gets me the most if that my temperature reads 20.7 degrees. My first thought is maybe its accidently configured for Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. But nope that's not the case. It requires calibration. I mean seriously? I just spent $525.00 for a high end piece of equipment to get precise readings and I have to calibrate the thing myself. I can see maybe down the line if I wanted to invest in something else to calibrate multiple temperature probes. But One of the main reasons I invested in this was to monitor temperature. That completely useless. So I have to purchase an infrared thermometer to calibrate the thing accordingly. Not too please. Let see if everything else works as advertised.

 

I'm currently working through the issues with my Neptune Systems Apex Controller so while that is being tended to I thought I should switch focus and move to starting the Fishless Aquarium Cycle. When I purchased my dry rock from Marco Rocks my package included a bonus 16 oz bottle of Frytz Zyme Live Nitrifying Bacteria and a packet containing a half of a teaspoon of Ammonium Chloride.





So before this I was prepared to let my aquarium naturally cycle over the course of 2 to 3 months or however long was required. But after looking into the Fishless Cycle a bit more I figured why not. I did some research on the company that manufactures Fritz Zime and they offer a line of products focusing on beneficial bacteria in both the freshwater and saltwater arena. There have been a few independent studies from private Universities to determine if the product actually works, which it does.

So the Ammonium Chloride is used to kick start the production of the ammonia in with the water column. I only had a small sample and was able to go from a very low level of ammonia detected to 1.00 PPM in under 1 hour. The goal is to raise the level of ammonia detected to over 4.00 PPM. Then you can start the introduction of the Frytz Zyme 9 Live Nitrifying Bacteria. The sample that was provided was only able to treat 40 gallons of water. So I figured mother nature would continue to take her course and in the mean time placed both an order for pure Ammonium Chloride, manufactured by Frytz Zyme as well and a couple of more bottle of Frytz Zyme 9. I'm hoping this will speed up the cycling process tremendously.

 

Boy you got a ton of things done.

Yeah the Controller is frustrating. Having researched them lately I am really not sure I need to be able to see the temp away from home to the tune of 3-500 or more dollars. However ever I would love to have one though and I am jealous.

Sure why not go with the fishless cycle. Following for results.

 

Thanks, it has been a lot of work. But I'm starting a new job in 2 days so I'm trying to get as much done as I possibly can. The temperature control for me was the most obvious use currently. That and I work so many hours its nice to keep an eye out on it while I am away. But I have some other uses planned. Also as far as the fishless cycle is concerned I will update you tomorrow. My delivery for the Frytz Zyme 9 and Ammonium Chloride is scheduled for tomorrow so stay tuned.

 

I think adding the bacteria is a great idea and it will probably speed up the cycle. Congrats on getting so much done and in joining us in the hobby The tank looks good! What are your plans for it?

Breaking Bad fan?

 

I defer all chemistry questions to Heisenberg. At this point I plan on making this a full blown SPS Reef. Not sure what fish I want to add so far but an Achilles Tang or a Powder Blue is on the must have list along with either a Red Spotted Blenny or a starry Blenny. I love those.

 

So I received my order of both the Frytz Zyme Pro Pure Aquatics Ammonium and the 32 Ounce bottle of Frytz Zyme 9. The instructions state that you are not to dose more Ammonium Chloride than what is necessary to create 4 ppm or you will actually increase the cycle time of the aquarium. So I added dose in 1 teaspoon measurements once every 1 hour and while testing the ammonia level in between doses. I took approximately 2.5 teaspoons to bring my aquarium (180 gallons of total water volume, 3 teaspoons in total) to the recommended 4ppm Ammonia measurement. It is also important to remember that their be no livestock whatsoever within the aquarium.








I gave a very vigorous shake to the bottles of Frytz Zyme 9 Live Nitrifying Bacteria just prior to adding the entire contents into the display tank near one of the Tunze Nano Stream Pumps in order to ensure that everything is mixed well. However, I will warn you. The bottle indicates that an earthy tone will be present upon mixture that will quickly dissipate after addition into the aquarium. I own a 3 story 4,500 square foot home and this smell managed to make it into every room on the 1st and 2nd floors. So needless to say my wife was not happy with I lit every Wood Wick Candle we have on those floors to cover up the small. It took most of the day for the smell to dissipate. You will also have to turn off your protein skimmer and UV sterilizer if present for the next 4 days.






I have been testing the Ammonia levels within the water column since the start of this Fishless Cycle process. It's blatantly apparent that the products do actually work as advertised. These photographs gradually show the increase of Ammonia within a few hours of the addition of the Frytz Zyme Ammonium Chloride.












Then approximately 1 day after the addition of the Frytz Zyme 9 Live Nitrifying Bacteria the level of Ammonia begin to drop by half!




However, the cycle is far from complete as I am still monitoring Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels. My Nitrate levels were off the chart as I didn't even have to wait the 5 minutes instructed by the test kit to get the color result. So I'm hopefully that by next week the cycle will be complete and I can maybe start considering to add fish.