10 gallon nano reef journal (pics)

[unwritten law]

So I got the light but the actinic bulb was broken so I just put in my spare 50/50 bulb. That should be fine till I have to replace both or need a full actinic for some reason. I can't ask for a replacement cause the bulbs are different.

both on

It has two switches on the fixture but only one plug so a timer wouldn't be able to control both bulbs. I'll figure out that stuff later. I may have a timer turn on the white ones, then later i'll manually turn on the 50/50, then manually later ill tunr off the white, the the timer will turn off the 50/50 something like that...or just leave one or both on all the time.


Rock comes wednesday. Do you guys think 16lbs is too much for a 10 gallon?

Power heads are being picked up for delivery today... should be here friday at the latest..... I hope.

 

[Lotus]

The rock is always going to depend on the density as to whether it looks good or not. In terms of bioload, 16 lbs. should be fine.

 

[unwritten law]

I guess that makes a lot of sense. I'm gonna wait for Dr. F&S to have another light sale and buy an all Actinic light cause I think it'll look better.

 

[unwritten law]

in hindsight....16lbs might have been too much...I got the deliver this morning.... from california to my door in 20 hours... If was still moist so we'll see how much die off there is... The tank is really full now... I might try to sell some of the rock off to my friend once I get it back to being cured....he has an empty 10 as well.

Pictures once it clears up. It looks like there is plenty of life still in the stuff. Plenty of red and purples ( I am assuming coraline) and also some other stuff...

 

[unwritten law]

So... here's a big change....

Since I have 15lbs of sand.... 16lbs of rock... and tons of light.. I went and got a 20G High.... I was also told to use my extra canister filter and just make sure I clean it about once a month, which is doable. I really don't know about having a tank with out any kind of filter on it.. just seems wrong. Now I'll still have 6.5 watts per gallon, which still seems high and plenty more room for livestock,.

now im off to spray paint the back of the tank... then make the switch.... It's really a better idea cause I have everything but the larger tank...

 

[unwritten law]

ten gallon with tons of rock... just added so kinda ****ty pic

some wierd **** on the rock

20 gallon high

rock from above... it more colorful but a lot of the sand and gunk is on it from the tank move

 

[unwritten law]

24 hours after adding rock I tested the water.

I'm not sure id my ammonia test kit works for SW cause it is coming up as 0
Nitrite is way high... 1+++ - 5+++
Nitrate is somewhere between 5-20ppm
pH is at about 8.0
Salinity is at about 1.023-1.024
temp is 77-78

Now I still have my water level way low so I need to get some more today and that will lower the concentration of these number a bit. Since i don't have any livestock in there do I need to do any water changes to keep these numbers low? Or is it like a fishless FW cycle where you jsut let it run and do a W/C at the end?

 

[Lotus]

There's no need to do a water change to keep the numbers low. Just let it run.

 

[unwritten law]

thought so... next time I go to the LFS im gonna try and have them test my water for NH3/NH4... see if my test kit is for SW or not.

 

[Lotus]

As far as I remember, most ammonia kits will work on saltwater. However, I think the scale is slightly different.

 

[unwritten law]

I know my nitrite test is the same scale, and my nitrate test is different. I may need to search for a SW scale for the ammonia but on the card it doesn't specify. Either way its a red sea kit and it came out as really light yellow. But really I don't think it matters since its only been 24 hours.

Also I went out and added another 5 gallons... I need to add about another 5 to top it off. I temporarily arragned the rock and so far I like it but considering how much I would re arrange my FW tank during the intial phase... we'll see....

Pics once it clears up after the rock rearrangement or after I get more water... Today or tomorrow.

 

[unwritten law]

With 50/50 light

50/50

10000K

20 gallon tall...spray painted background..... got two maxi jet 400 (106gph each) plus my canister (185 gph).... 15lbs of sand... 16lbs of sand.... 130watt PC

The rock looks a lot more colorful than in the pics.

 

[zoalover34]

Lookin good man! Looks like you could use about 10 more lbs of rock or so IMO.. Looks like it's got some good colors on it! Did you say u got it from liveaquaria?

 

[unwritten law]

yeah That's where I got it... I would like some more rock.. at least another 5lbs...Now if I do get more rock, would I have to do it like right now while the tank is still cycling? Or if I know it is completely cured can I get it whenever... I'm pretty sure I gotta do it now. I do think my LFS is getting more rock soon, like this week and he only gets premium pieces.

 

[Lotus]

It would be better to cycle any additional rock now. If you get it later, you'll have to cycle it outside the tank (in a bucket) before you can add it.

At least now you have a better idea of the aquascape, so you can buy something that would look good.

The flat pieces will be good for corals, down the road. It makes it easier to place them if the rocks are flattish.

 

[unwritten law]

I just want a larger piece to put under all the smaller pieces on the right for now. I got a bunch of small pieces which were harder to deal with than the larger ones but I got to make a bunch of cool caves.... The entire left side is more or less hollow.. and the right side isn't bad either.

I'll make a trip out to the LFS later and see if they got any rock... I'd like to get some more before my first week of cycling is through...

Today my levels were about the same.. even with more than twice as much R/O water .

ammonia = 0?
NO2= 5+
NO3=20
Salinity= 1.023
temp= 80
alkalinity=medium/low
pH= 8.0

 

[Lotus]

Those nitrite spikes can get pretty high. It's a good sign of a strong cycle, though.

 

[unwritten law]

yeah I am pretty sure mine is off the charts...My ammonia test is for SW but it comes up as zero.... Testing to see if it works on my other tanks wouldn't really work either cause they all should be zero... Does this mean I just some how avoided a first ammonia spike or do I just need to wait for it...

 

[Lotus]

It's possible you avoided the ammonia spike. With nitrites that high already, there's obviously ammonia being produced.

 

[unwritten law]

NH3=0
NO2=5+
NO3=80!
pH=~8
Salinity=1.023
Alkalinity= Normal

alkalinity and nitrate went up... which I guess makes sense.. Just waiting for nitrite to drop and pH to raise a bit... still under the 8.0+ titration mark.... Most likely I'm gonna get some more rock tomorrow or Monday. My LFS wont get any new till about Thursday, so I'll just get some of their uglier base rock, which is what I want anyways... 4-5lbs...