Novahobbies' 37g Seahorse Tank Journal - Page 3

pH: 7.8
Amm: 0.6
'Trites: 0.1
'Trates: Unmeasurable


First time cycling a completely dead tank....every other tank I've had had at lease SOME live rock, and the cycle was more obvious and evidently faster.

Went out and got the Aquaclear-20 today. Decided if the single IceProbe didn't give me enough pulldown, my fallback should be to save for a real refrigerant-style chiller rather than another iceprobe. I can always use this ice probe on the 12g nano mod I'm planning for "one day" if it doesn't work out here. I'll mod the filter tomorrow and I'll try to take pics of the process....

This thread's gone too long without pics. These detail the construction of the ice probe filter. 1st up: a size comparison with my hand; a shot of the filter and probe together; a picture of my marking the bulkhead; and finally sanding the bulkhead cutout.

2nd round of pics, in order: The finished filter top with the bulkhead and probe screwed in; the finished filter empty on my workbench; the iceprobe installed and running on the back of the tank; and finally, a current FTS as of this morning. The project took me all of fifteen minutes to do, and that included 5 minutes or so of hunting for the sanding drum on my dremel tool. The smokey clear plastic was perfect for keeping the low-visibility look I was aiming for in the tank itself, and the light fixture hides most of the out-of-tank hardware from immediate view. Hope you like!

I admit I have not. Going there to look right now!

*EDIT: ARTICLE READ*

Hmm.... interesting. I'd heard of this method before through a FAMA article. Never considered doing it; though now I might. I think I might have to turn my new toy off for the time being as well -- I forgot half the point of the chiller is to inhibit microbe growth, including our beneficial bacteria!

8 days into the oh-so-captivating drama that is a new tank cycle. Our narrator looks into the new seahorse aquarium in his den, and with an intensity usually only associated with the gladiators of old, grabs his trusty syringe and draws out the water for his chemistry tests. His steely eyes focus on the rim of the test tube as he adds, drop by drop, the mysterious reagents that will help him divine the future of this aquatic refuge. The results come in.....

pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.3
'Trites: 0.8


Hmm. I don't buy it. I'll be starting the straight ammonia trick tonight or tomorrow methinks. I glooped a decent amount of microbelift gel onto the rock and the bioballs in the sump before I filled the tank last week, but still.....I just don't buy it.

On the other hand, I came home today to a tank that was pretty hazy on the inside glass, presumably from bacteria. Too pale to be diatoms, and a little too soon I think.

I still haven't turned off my chilly new toy, and this morning when I checked the temp the tank was sitting at a brisk 69 degrees. Turned on the tank lights, turned up the AC (we keep it at 74 at night, 77 during the day), and the temp climbed to 75 for the daytime hours. That's with a glass lid over the tank trapping heat, so I'll try taking the lid off and seeing if the temperature difference is worth the evaporation aggravation. If the lid comes off I'll also have to do a netting top or rethink my longfin fairy wrasse.

Oh, I'm the proverbial portrait of patience! Nothing is going in this tank for some time. I, like you I believe, am somewhat dubious of the fast-cycle numbers that I am getting here. Everything's dead, so if I'm lucky I'll feel comfortable adding the beginnings of my CUC sometime in January. Fish and seahorses will have to wait until February most likely. Don't see any reason to push this.

Tonight marks the two-week point of the cycle, and we're definitely into the bacteria production now. Todays numbers are.....

Amm: 0.6 mg/L
Nitrite: 1.6 mg/L
Nitrate: 20 mg/L

The ammonia spiked on the 16th at somewhere between 1.2 and 2.4 (nutrafin test kit) and went down again pretty quickly. I STILL haven't taken the rotten fish out, but I think it's safe to do that tonight. Also noticed the diatoms are starting to get a foothold in the sand. Just a light dusting so far...I know they're gonna get worse soon.

This is for Dive Girl. I saw her mention somewhere that her Mandarin needed a hat, so......

Well, tomorrow will mark the 1-month point for the cycle. Tested the water tonight, and I have >0.1 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 0-5 ppm nitrates. pretty sure my ammonia is actually at zero, but between the yellow lights and these old eyes I couldn't be sure. Had a NICE bloom of diatoms that is slowly fading down....still pretty brown on the sand right now, but no surprises there. I acclimated and added a single ric tonight after I tested my chemistry, so he's sort of the guinea pig for the tank.

Heh.... I went to the LFS to pick up saltwater for a tank change.

I came home with a $50.00 Blueberry Gorgonian with multiple branches.

I had always planned this tank as a softy/non-photosynthetic tank, but I wasn't really planning on getting one of the centerpiece gorgs so soon! I couldn't pass it up at that price though. It's acclimating right now, so probably pics later tonight. The store had 4 specimens, and this was the most stunning. Since the place was practically standing room only, I parked my wife next to the tank to guard our gorg while I went to snag a clerk. Glad I did, too, cause there was another guy who was getting one as well!

I know the survival rate of blueberries right now. I've got Oyster roe, frozen oyster planulae, phytoplankton, cyclopeeze, and rod's coral food in the fridge/freezer. Gonna see how this baby does with small doses of twice daily feeding using a slurry of small foods like this.

LOL Yeah I'm late, what can I say. Spent the day out shopping with my wife, and the evening up to my armpits in the big tank doing a water change and cleaning. I love my 110g tall, but I think you need to have monkey arms to be able to reach the back bottom. I don't think the next tank is going to be any taller than 24 inches!

ANYway, here's a couple snaps of the blueberry. It's still getting used to the new home; only a few polyps have peeked out...which I fed as soon as I saw. She's about 5 inches tall. I think I'm going to place it where the yellow/red faux branch is at right now, just under the feeding shell.