Dah-nah's Saltwater Journal

dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
So...I started my obsession with saltwater about 3 years ago. Been in the research phase up until I bought my 150 gallon tank this past September. I have slowly been gathering my equipment together and should be putting it all together by the end of this month, so I figured that it was about time that I start my journal.
Equipment that I have so far
150 gallon tank & stand
100 lbs base rock
Sand
Current USA 60" 4x65w light
Tunze DOC skimmer 9010
2xTunze 6060 powerheads
Quiet 1 3000 pump
30 gallon QT
RO/DI unit
other misc. heaters, cleaning equip, PH, test kits etc.
Things on order
30 gallon Sump
40 lbs South Seas base rock
Things still needed
50lbs LR
Plumbing
More information to come soon...
 
dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
Stock List will be as follows;
Fish
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse
2 Bangaii Cardinals
2 Pink Skunk Clownfish
Midas Blenny
LMB or Redlip Blenny
Copperband Butterfly
4 Tiger Queen Anthias or 3 Bartlett's
Altlantic Blue Tang
Kole Tang
Tennent Tang
Mandarin Dragonet
Rusty Angel
Longnose Hawkfish
Inverts
4 Emerald Crabs
Marble Fromia Starfish
2 Fighting Conch
80 Snails (Cerith, Astrea, Nassarius)
 
yerboy

yerboy

Active Member
I think your on your way to a great start but 2 things stand out to me.
first being your lights, if you plan on just a FOWLR then your good to go, if you plan on adding corals i think you will be severely limited on what you could keep with those lights.
seconds is your stock list, i think if you go with that entire list i think you will be a bit overstocked. Thats 18 total fish. Also the Mandarin Dragonet required a very established system so i wouldn't plan on adding him until the tank as at least 6 months old if not 1 year.
Im sure you will get allot of great advice here and if anything i have said is incorrect i trust someone will correct me.
 
dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
QT has been cycling since April 1. As of today;
Temp: 80.5
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 4.0
Nitrate: 100
Phosphate: 0.03
Does this mean that my cycle is well under way? Should it be done cycling by May?
 
dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
Thanks for the reply yerboy.
To address the issues that you brought up it is going to be mostly a softie tank. I don't like or want acropora or anemone's. I like clams but I won't be able to keep one anyways because I want my rusty angel more. With that being said I couldn't justify or afford spending 3 times the money on MH not to mention the increase to my electric bill
just for the shimmer.
I know that 18 fish is a lot when you just look at the number but other than the tangs and copperband they are all small fish with a small bioload and if it is too much than some fish will get cut from the list. I will be adding one fish at a time with a minimum 6 week (QT) period between each fish. They will be added in the order that I had listed them so it should be well over 6 months before my mandarin is added.
Thanks again for the input.
 
dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
I will also be setting up 2 x 24 gallon aquapods (my kids tanks) at the same time so the QT will be shared by all 3 tanks. So it will probably be well over a year before the mandarin goes in. Patience is not a problem for me.
 
dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
I thought I'd give you guys an idea of my kids' plans (the whole family has caught the SW bug) making this a family journal and simultaneously bumping this thread back to the first page.
Daughter's 24 aquapod
Emerald Crab
Pearly Jawfish
2 Black & White Clownfish
Blackcap Basslet
Purple Reef Lobster?
Son's 24 aquapod
Emerald Crab
Orange Spotted LMB
2 Red Saddle Back Clownfish
Harlequin Bass
Orange Serpent Star
The family QT is still cycling. We hope to begin cycling the big 150 family tank and my daughter's tank beginning of May, while QT'ing Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse & Pearl Jawfish.
My son's tank won't begin cycling until August (it's his birthday present
)
 
dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
The only change in the QT is the temperature...and brown diatoms.
Temp: 78
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 4.0
Nitrate: 100
Phosphate: 0.03
I know that the diatoms are a part of all new tanks, but how do I get rid of it or does it just go away on it's own?
 
dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
I picked up my tank for my sump today. Only things that I have left to get are 50lbs LR, 40lbs base rock & plumbing, then I am ready to go.
I will post pics of the build when I put it all together

How long does it normally take to cycle a 30? Should a month be long enough? Should I do a 10 gallon water change at the end of the cycle or should I be doing a small water change half way through the cycle? Lots and lots of questions I know!

Thanks
 
matt b

matt b

Active Member
Originally Posted by Dah-nah
http:///forum/post/2563562
So...I started my obsession with saltwater about 3 years ago. Been in the research phase up until I bought my 150 gallon tank this past September. I have slowly been gathering my equipment together and should be putting it all together by the end of this month, so I figured that it was about time that I start my journal.
Equipment that I have so far
150 gallon tank & stand
100 lbs base rock
Sand
Current USA 60" 4x65w light
Tunze DOC skimmer 9010
2xTunze 6060 powerheads
Quiet 1 3000 pump
30 gallon QT
RO/DI unit
other misc. heaters, cleaning equip, PH, test kits etc.
Things on order
30 gallon Sump
40 lbs South Seas base rock
Things still needed
50lbs LR
Plumbing
More information to come soon...
Welcome to the boards!!!
BUT there is one problem. You can NOT have a thread teasing us about your tank and not show us pix
 
matt b

matt b

Active Member
Originally Posted by Dah-nah
http:///forum/post/2566806
I picked up my tank for my sump today. Only things that I have left to get are 50lbs LR, 40lbs base rock & plumbing, then I am ready to go.
I will post pics of the build when I put it all together

How long does it normally take to cycle a 30? Should a month be long enough? Should I do a 10 gallon water change at the end of the cycle or should I be doing a small water change half way through the cycle? Lots and lots of questions I know!

Thanks

A month should be good to cycle the nanos and QT. But it might take longer for the main tank. Just test for a ammonia to spike then go down then nitrite go up then go down then nitrate go up and then do a good size water change. Do not do water changes while its cycling unless the ammonia gose above 1.0 then do a water change to bring it down a bit so the small critters in the rocks can have a chance to live
 
C

cmaxwell39

Guest
Looks like the QT is just about cycled. Might be a few more days to a week, but it is getting there.
I would do a larger water change than 10% at the end of the cycle. I would think somewhere in the 25-50% would be good.
 
dah-nah

dah-nah

Member
Temp: 78
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0

I am off to pick up my daughters pearly Jawfish!!
 
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