40 gallon Reef Journal

jumpfreak26

jumpfreak26

Large Fish
#41
Feb 26, 2006
918
1
0
New Mexico(yes its a US state!)
#41
Well im sure it can be done other ways. So would a Koriala #2 and #3 work out?

Just found the pic. A 90 built nearly exactly like mine......
http://www.theimac.org/All_Glass_Tank_back.jpg
sorry for the old post, i needed to vent.

Anyways....
You see the substrate i bought had a little sticker on it that said BACTERIA ADDED, and I blew it off as the substrate was fairly cheap, and most "INSTANT!!!!!!!!" advertised things hardly work. but after putting the cured rock in there and about three hefty pinchs of flakes and a cube of dried brine, to get the cycle started, The ammonia has never rose above 1 ppm, nitrite is 0, and my nitrate is 10 ppm? These are relatively new test kits(4-5 months) the bottles being opened maybe 5 times, and our nitrates and nitrites are virtually un detectable in our tap(were using it just for now till our RO/DI gets shipped....). Has my cycle finished? My theory is either the substrate had only so much bacteria in it that it converted majority of the ammonia and everything to nitrate, and a bit was left over since there was too much for it too handle, or a faulty test kit, which i doubt......i used it on my FW and everything seems within reason, if you could help that would be great!
 

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TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#43
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#43
a #2 and a 3 will be fine .... generally when ammonia and trites are at zero and trates are present you wanna wait a bit longer to make sure theres no other spikes but if its only been a few days thats a litle to fast! nows the time to add the rest of your rock since youll no doubt have another spike than
 

jumpfreak26

jumpfreak26

Large Fish
#44
Feb 26, 2006
918
1
0
New Mexico(yes its a US state!)
#44
That is a nice design, and the one I designed in the first place, but what were looking for is room, and my dad insisted on this, and i didnt mind. Our stand is very sturdy and strong, of course not as strong as the 2x4 frame lol, but I do plan on some extra bracing in the future. and if needed, a frame swap, but for now the one we have is fine, we even tested it with 14 50 lb bags (700 lbs for quick calculation) of flour on it(my mom owns a bakery), but we will see. I do like those metal brackets tho!
EDIT
By the way, did you make that stand?

Thanx for the input on the pumps too! Were waiting to order parts as my uncle is breaking down his large tank(75 i think) because he was having bad bad algae and fish kept dying on him. So he is willing to give me whatever i want from his pile o stuff(prtoein skimmer!, 72" MH fixture which we will break down, and all sorts of goodies! He by no means had a limiting budget lol,(anesthieologist)(sp?), but i think the breakdown and frustration was due to lack of patience, which is by no means easy to sit with this beatufil tank sit devoid of life for 2 months, and because of lack of patience, pH adjusters and excess supllements were used

And as for parameters my ammonia ISNT at zero, its at about one, which is the confusing part, but i will wait it out, as im sure the cycle has started cuz it stinks lol :p
 

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Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#45
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#45
If your ammonia is at 1 you are in the beginning of your cycle. Wait it out.....be patient. If you added all cured live rock you probably short circuited the cycle somewhat and jumpstarted it. This is all good. just wait until everything is reading zeros, add a week then add your clean up crew.....be prepared for your algae blooms and know that when they come they are somewhat normal.....
 

jumpfreak26

jumpfreak26

Large Fish
#46
Feb 26, 2006
918
1
0
New Mexico(yes its a US state!)
#46
Update 3/15/08

Last night i just picked up 15 lbs of aragonite and about 25 lbs of rock, and 5 pounds of the stores display tank rock. I dont have any pics, a lil too cloudy for a good pic. My cycle has also started, ammonia is about 4 ppm and i have about .5 nitrite. So far everything is looking good, looking for signs of life, but none yet. Quick question:cleanup crew. How many of each snail would you recommend? I really dont have any idea as to how much, so if you coul dhelp that would be great.(dont worry, i will wait until AFTER the cycle is finished, just trying to be prepared) If you could help that would be great!
 

jumpfreak26

jumpfreak26

Large Fish
#48
Feb 26, 2006
918
1
0
New Mexico(yes its a US state!)
#48
Yeah thats what i have heard, things tend ot get knocked over, sometimes even a large rock thats not very well supported. So is there a ballpark range I should be looking at?
Here is what i was thinking: 10 nassarius, 20 astreas, and 10 ceriths, and a coupl ehermits, and maybe an emerald crab
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#50
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#50
im totally against all crabs even just 1 or 2 ..... my experiance not only do they steal food right out of the corals mouth but they walk all over them! in a FOWLR tank its a whole nother story though

u really lucked out by getting all that stuff for free...ive spent thousands and im still not happy! but i guess we never are
 

jumpfreak26

jumpfreak26

Large Fish
#51
Feb 26, 2006
918
1
0
New Mexico(yes its a US state!)
#51
TRe-crabs? or hermits? or both? As for equipment, it really is just luck. He called right before I was about to orber a bunch of stuff, i still have to call him to let him know what i want and what he has. If we lived near him, we could have got th whole tank i bet, but FL to NM could be pricey for shipping :)
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#53
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#53
i dont have any type of crabs... hermits emeralds nothing! i dont even like peppermint shrimp cause of this same reason... IMO the bads out weigh the goods... my CUC consist of all snails nassaurus,turbo,cerith and a cleaner shrimp and thats about it...its bad enough i gotta deal with the tangs stealin food from corals
 

jumpfreak26

jumpfreak26

Large Fish
#54
Feb 26, 2006
918
1
0
New Mexico(yes its a US state!)
#54
LOl these guys sound funny to watch, but a pain, so ill leave them out for now. I got a snail list, is there anything else i need? i know there is shrimp, and i was thinking a coral banded shrimp(maybe, heard they are aggressive) cleaner shrimp, harlequin, peppermint, and or(your suggestion here)
 

jumpfreak26

jumpfreak26

Large Fish
#56
Feb 26, 2006
918
1
0
New Mexico(yes its a US state!)
#56
I like the cleaner shrimp too.

Anyways, i got some pics now that the takn cleared up. I know the bacteria are growing because it cleared up overnight!
Full Tank


End Shot


Parameters
Ammonia: 4 ppm
Nitrite: .5 ppm
Nitrate: 0

____________________________________________________________________
EDIT
Just got an AquaC Remora Hang On Skimmer for $90 off ebay!
 

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jumpfreak26

jumpfreak26

Large Fish
#60
Feb 26, 2006
918
1
0
New Mexico(yes its a US state!)
#60
cichlid-man_no problem! i love pics too, so ther will be no shortage lol

skratikins-im using a mix. Originally i put in 40lbs kordon gravel. not so sure about it, looks nice, but not much calcium. then i put a 15 lbs of caribsea aragonite.

Tank is clearing up really nicely. from the front it is crystal clear, from the side its a little cloudy, but big improvement.

Ammonia-2.0-4.0 ppm(hard to tell)
Nitrite-.25 ppm

enjoy
 

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