34 Gallon Solana build

[lmforbis]

Until you add some sort of critter that will eat the food.

 

[patrick8929]

so its time for clean up crew?

 

[patrick8929]

thanks for patiently answering all my questions guys

 

[patrick8929]

im really trying to do this tank the right way. its a display tank in our living room and i want it to look the part!

 

[lmforbis]

If ammonia and nitrates are 0 and staying there for a week or so with ghost feeding I'd do a big water change to dilute nitrates then add a couple snails and hermits.
If I am honest about it, when I started back up a year and a half ago after 4 years out of the hobby I couldn't keep that patience hat in place no matter what and I did pretty much everything the wrong way and I knew better. I upgraded twice in the first 6 months. Since the final upgrade to the 125 I've been doing it the right way, mostly.

 

[patrick8929]

tell me about it! its the hardest thing ever! i just remember the tanks I had with all the colors and movement and its killing me. But im determined to do this the right way.

 

[bang guy]

If it were me I would not set a goal of Nitrates of 0.00ppm. I think anything under 10 is just fine until you get into the more delicate reef corals.

I've really never seen a good reason to test Nitrite except when trying to diagnose an issue.

Slowly ramp up the ghost feeding until ammonia consistently stays at zero even when feed as much as you would feed your first fish. That is when a system is ready for a hardy fish.

Cleanup crew can go in once ammonia stays low and there's something to actually clean up.

 

[patrick8929]

okay cool, im wondering about acclimation. ive been looking at other forums and articles but it seems like its an opinion thing. im talking about inverts by the way. im seeing float, im seeing drip but nothing really standard accross the board. opinions?

 

[lmforbis]

I think it depends on the inverts. I just temperature acclimate most. Starfish and urchins I drip for 2-3 hours.

 

[bang guy]

Most snails I place on a plate until they expell their water then attach them to a clean spot just above the waterlne (remove salt creep!!!!). This allows the snail to self-acclimate.

Echinoderms and most other inverts I drip for about an hour for each point difference in Salinity. If the PH is off in the bag I may extend that time.

 

[patrick8929]

well my tank is fully covered in algae. i was thinking ill do a water change tomorrow. not real sure what the next step is. i feel like a CUC is right around the corner?

 

[jay0705]

All depends on cycle. If your cycle is near its end yup almost time.

 

[patrick8929]

did an 8g water change this morning. when i came down to take a look at the tank the water is cloudy and EVERYTHING has a layer of algae on it. will test the water tonight after work

 

[Kristin1234]

It's Probably diatoms. Can you post a picture?

 

[Kristin1234]

After the initial stages, when the aquarium is cycled, diatoms and brown algae should not reappear. If they do, there is something wrong with the water chemistry.

 

[jay0705]

Agreed

 

[patrick8929]

sorry ive been gone all day. i think it is diatoms ive been reading about. seems like i just gotta sit and wait!

 

[jay0705]

Patients grasshopper lol

 

[Kristin1234]

The hardest but yet a crucial part.

It will pay off!!

 

[patrick8929]

Well nitrates nitrites and ammonia are all 0! Still cloudy but the algae is all but gone!