si_sphinx Posted September 2, 2014 Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 And you need to account for rock, sand, filter media, pumps, heaters etc which all take up space and lower the total water volume. Local water around here is usually 1.028-1.029. I just add a splash of water and test it before adding it to the tank. I always seem to get it right without measuring. If you have a 20ltr container, I can fill it up with RODI water if you ever need any. Just let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted September 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Its wet! Went and collected the water in my 200L barrel today, and after much kicking and cursing I got it off the trailer. The tank has been filled and I added 1 mussel to kickstart the cycle. Has anyone got a indepth guide of what I am going to see during the cycle and signs that it is done? And you need to account for rock, sand, filter media, pumps, heaters etc which all take up space and lower the total water volume. Local water around here is usually 1.028-1.029. I just add a splash of water and test it before adding it to the tank. I always seem to get it right without measuring. If you have a 20ltr container, I can fill it up with RODI water if you ever need any. Just let me know. Thanks! I will take you up on that offer sometime. Pics to come later, Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted September 4, 2014 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Again, I've been through this before with you in this thread. Ammonia will spike, fall away, nitrite will spike, fall away, nitrates will start to build up. Occasionally add a bit of fish food to keep the ammonia->nitrite bacteria alive, say weekly. Increase this towards the end of your cycle. Once all ammonia and nitrites have gone (roughly 4-8 weeks with an unseeded tank), try adding another small piece of frozen shrimp and your ammonia and nitrite spikes should last only hours, then you know you have a decently cycled tank. Using "cycle" can't hurt I don't think but it also may not do anything. I personally used it. Don't do water changes in the first few weeks, and only later if nitrates get above 80ppm. You don't need light but you do need flow and heat. You can add local invertebrates from the rock pools after a few weeks, if you want some activity in your tank. Once you are ready to stock, add 1 fish at a time. You can start with softies (xenia, zoas, mushrooms, etc) after the 4-8 week cycle period, but you will still get algae blooms etc. I would stay on top of phosphates at the start by running GFO in a media bag or reactor, or purigen, as soon as you start stocking. You'll thank yourself later for having no excessive algae growth. If you need a more detailed explanation, google will have some very scientific explanations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted September 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Sorry - keep forgetting to check old posts first. Will some of my freshwater fish food be ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted September 4, 2014 Report Share Posted September 4, 2014 Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted September 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Hi there guys, looking for a bit of advice. The tank has gone cloudy overnight, when should I take out the mussel I threw in to start the cycle? Cheers, Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted September 5, 2014 Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 How big was the mussel? I wouldn't use any more biomass than the size of your little pinky nail for a tank your size. Cloudiness is indicative of high concentrations of ammonia. I would take it out and only put a very small amount back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted September 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 How big was the mussel? I wouldn't use any more biomass than the size of your little pinky nail for a tank your size. Cloudiness is indicative of high concentrations of ammonia. I would take it out and only put a very small amount back in. Well that explains the smell. How long will it take for the ammonia to go back down? Should I do something to lower it and get rid of the smell. Its not too bad but it gets annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted September 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2014 Heres a picture of where I am so far. Yes thats a scented candle on top. It happens to be right where you walk past and you could smell it when you walk there. How long should I expect the smell to last? Cheers, Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted September 6, 2014 Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 How big of a mussel did you put in? It all depends on that... If you are really worried about it, put it in a bucket with the same water and a small powerhead. It will cycle just the same that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted September 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 Around 7-8cm long. I'd prefer to cycle it where it is, theres a towel on top now and theres no smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted September 6, 2014 Report Share Posted September 6, 2014 You should take the mussel out entirely, it will only add phosphate. There will be more crud in that rock than you would have imagined possible, it is quite capable to rot on it's own without adding a mussel to the mix. While rotting (cycling), it can smell pretty bad, if doing it in the house you live with it. Other thing though, while cycling, lots of crud comes out the rock and settles on the bottom. It contains phosphate and junk that you want to remove from the tank or you will have massive algae problems later. Although you may not want to, you would be best at this stage to remove all the sand. That way as crud builds up on the bottom it's easy to syphon out. Syphoned water can be replaced with new water if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted September 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2014 You should take the mussel out entirely, it will only add phosphate. There will be more crud in that rock than you would have imagined possible, it is quite capable to rot on it's own without adding a mussel to the mix. While rotting (cycling), it can smell pretty bad, if doing it in the house you live with it. Other thing though, while cycling, lots of crud comes out the rock and settles on the bottom. It contains phosphate and junk that you want to remove from the tank or you will have massive algae problems later. Although you may not want to, you would be best at this stage to remove all the sand. That way as crud builds up on the bottom it's easy to syphon out. Syphoned water can be replaced with new water if you can. Taking the sand out at this stage would be nigh on impossible. I guess I will just have to deal with the phosphates as they come. I will take out as much of the crud as possible and I guess I will have a longer algae stage? I will dose for the phosphates during the algae stage and because I am using RO water, NSW etc I should be able to eliminate the phosphates. Am I right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted September 7, 2014 Report Share Posted September 7, 2014 You can only remove phosphates with water changes, a skimmer or GFO/purigen. But they are pretty much a given and there won't be much you can do with it, just let it be for a couple months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted September 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2014 Good thing I just got my skimmer. I think I am not meant to turn it on for the next few months until the cycle is over? I added one of the algae pellets I feed to my BN's so that should be my source of ammonia. When I was cycling my first tank I threw one of those in and it slowly released ammonia, so I will just add one every couple of weeks. Couple of things I just noticed that I am not sure about, 1) on the glass lid I noticed a bit of salt this morning, was that from the tank? 2) the back compartment on the AquaNano 40 isn't filling above the pump? should it? Maybe I should add some more water but it already seems quite full. Cheers Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted September 8, 2014 Report Share Posted September 8, 2014 Can't answer your tank specific question. As to the skimmer, it's good if you can run it, but some skimmers cannot be run during a cycle because they overflow real fast. But if you can run it then do so. This other stuff you are adding to the tank to make ammonia or whatever, is not necessary and really just adds more phosphate. Really the focus should be on cleaning stuff out of the tank or it will be a mess of algae later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted October 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hi all, Haven't done a update in a while so I thought I'd share the progress! I ended up buying the MicMol LED's as I saw evidence of reasonable SPS growth AND I got it direct from the manufacturer from less than 1/2 retail! If anyone is interested in one I'm sure I can sort one out. The light is on 100% (On all three channels, White, Blue and Special) in these pictures and is looking good. Is their anyone who can help me figure out what % I should have each channel on at points in the day? Currently on turns on 7:20 AM at 100% and stays that way all through the day (Apart from thunderstorms ). The tank is completely set up with skimmer, wavemaker, light and all! All I have left to get is the test kits and I'll be ready to get my first coral. On that note is there anyone in Nelson with some Zoa or other easy frags for sale? I'd prefer to get the 1st one locally to avoid any complications. Tell me what you guys think! Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverdollarboy2 Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hows the skimmer going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted October 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hows the skimmer going? Only had it running a few hours :slfg: But it is looking good and isn't very noisy! Thanks for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverdollarboy2 Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 Glad you like it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 100% is waaay too high. I would run the lights at 50% max when you get corals for it. And if they show signs of not enough light then increase as needed. Start the light cycle at 10% at 6:30-7:00am increasing your lights by 10% every hour from the morning increasing to the 50% mark at 11:30am-12:00pm. Then from 3pm start going back down to moonlights @ around 7:30 - 8:00pm. I might be able to frag some zoas for you to test out whenever you are ready. Let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Yeah I had a feeling 100% was too high. My ceiling was like a disco floor, all the % you mention, is that across all three spectrums? So I have all 3 at 10%? I would be interested in getting a few Zoa frags from you, so once I've got the last test kits and checked the parameters are right I'll let you know. While I am keeping just Zoa's and Softies will I need to be dosing anything? I am using NSW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totara Posted November 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2014 Hi all, Another update on the tank. I have added my first coral and it is going well! Thanks to si_sphinx for providing my first coral I got it on Sunday, and it was opening on the same day. The next day it fully opened, on the little rock is mainly green zoa's but I noticed one yellow zoa head, which has already grown to two heads. So it looks like all is going well. I'm going to add a few more corals this weekend, and need to sort my supplements and other test kits before I start looking into LPS and SPS. I'm starting to look for my CUC members and a pair of clownfish if anyone has anything please let me know! For my CUC I'm looking to get a Hermit Crab, a snail or two and a shrimp. On that note here are a few pics of progress so far, let me know what you all think! Cheers, Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 My Hermit crab ate my snails and starfish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 Mine will eat them but only after they've died, I haven't noticed them attack them while alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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