New AP24 HQI Diary

mimic

mimic

Member
Hello everyone I went out and purchased an Aquapod 24 HQI 150w system, its really bad ass and I cant wait till I have my fish and corals in it.
8 days ago i set it all up, it includes...
20lbs live sand
23lbs uncured live rock
Koralia 1
150w heater
thermometer
hydrometer
I soon plan to upgrade my return pump to a MJ 1200, and I want to put some Chaetos in my tank for pod reproduction.
my paremeters are:
SG: 1.024
PH: 7.8
Temps: (Night 78, Day 80)
Ammonia: 5.0mg/l (very high tank still cycling)
Nitrites: 0.3mg/l
Nitrates: Unknown need to purchase test kit.
There is still no Diatom bloom, so hopefully in a week or two it will start, I read it only starts once Nitrates are in your system so obviously i dont have nitrates yet.
I purchased some Bio-zyme and Cycle, both are supposed to help me decrease cycle time by effectively adding "Nitrifying bacteria and Enzymes"
I guess we will see if it works.
I want to add my clean up crew already because I am tired of just looking at rock/water and sand, but deep down inside I know they will die instantly because of my high ammonia level.
Would a water change help the Ammonia level, or is it best to just let it cycle and then water change after I get 0 readings, and obviously before i put in a clean up crew?
I will get pictures up as soon as possible, hope you guys tune in.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated THANKS!!
 
peef

peef

Active Member
Just let it cycle on its own. It will finish before you know it. I would try to buffer your ph though, its a it low. Should be at around 8.2
 
mimic

mimic

Member
Yes the PH is low, I think its low because I havent done a water change and from what I read Bacteria uses c02 in the water and this fluctuates your PH level?
I checked my paremeters this morning.
PH: 8.0
Temps: 80f
SG:1.024 (Could this increase because of evaporation?)
Ammonia: 5.0mg/l (still the same as yesterday)
Nitrites: 0.8mg/l (Has increased after adding Cycle and/or Bio-zyme)
Nitrates: Unknown, going to purchase Nitrates test kit today.
Ill keep you guys posted, pics coming soon.
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
Originally Posted by mimic
Yes the PH is low, I think its low because I havent done a water change and from what I read Bacteria uses c02 in the water and this fluctuates your PH level?
I checked my paremeters this morning.
PH: 8.0
Temps: 80f
SG:1.024 (Could this increase because of evaporation?)
Ammonia: 5.0mg/l (still the same as yesterday)
Nitrites: 0.8mg/l (Has increased after adding Cycle and/or Bio-zyme)
Nitrates: Unknown, going to purchase Nitrates test kit today.
Ill keep you guys posted, pics coming soon.
Keep up the PH buffer slowly and it will be good. Temperature is fine. Ammonia and nitrites and self explanatory, its still in cycle. SG is 1.024, which means there isnt enough salt in the tank. I like to keep mine in the 1.025-1.026 region. Next time you mix (if you do), add a tad bit more. Its not the end of the world and it is fine for corals and such, I just like to keep it a bit higher.
Also, you may want to consider buying a test kit that is a dropper kind and tests for more things. I have one by API that tests pH and Nitrates/trites, and Calcium (since I have a reef). The whole thing ran me about 30$.
Also, pictars!
and welcome to the site!
 
mimic

mimic

Member
Cool thanks for the input, I actually purchase the water from my LFS its 84 cents a gallon. I'll ask them what there levels are next time, before I added my LR it was 1.023, i read you want it 1.021-1.025?
Yeah I'll buffer my PH there is a PH buffer that is supposed to keep your tank at a constant 8.2, i forgot what its called but I'll look for it and post it up.
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
Originally Posted by mimic
Cool thanks for the input, I actually purchase the water from my LFS its 84 cents a gallon. I'll ask them what there levels are next time, before I added my LR it was 1.023, i read you want it 1.021-1.025?
Yeah I'll buffer my PH there is a PH buffer that is supposed to keep your tank at a constant 8.2, i forgot what its called but I'll look for it and post it up.
Yea I use the Kent Marine (I believe its called that) pH buffer. Works well. Keeps mine at about 8.4 which is ideal. Try to keep the salinity 1.024-1.026, I think youll be ok there. I buy the water like you do, and its fine. I like it because it comes with all the trace elements and such already in it :) Less work for me.
 
mimic

mimic

Member
I hear that i just placed an order on ***********.com
1. Seachem Seagel 1 litre
2. 2x Media Bag 4 inch x 8 inch - 300 Micron
3. Maxi-Jet 1200 Powerhead / MP 1200
4. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit
5. Seachem Purigen 250mL
6. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Proper pH 8.2 310g
+ shipping it came out to 92 bucks... should be here in a week but I dont plan to use the Seachem products till after my cycle.
 
mimic

mimic

Member
Ammonia: 5.0mg/l still very high
Nitrites: 1.6mg/l still spiking by tommorow it should be on the last bar which is 3.3mg/l
Nitrates: 20ppm
SG: 1.025 been climbing .1 everyday
I got my first diatom bloom today its on the far right bottom of my tank where there is less flow, a little diatom in diff spots arouns my tank, a little forming on some rocks. i can imagine this will cover the majority of my tank in a few days. is ammonia the one out of the nitrogen cycle to get to 0 last because since day 1 its been at 5.0mg/l +
thanks!
 
poop_head

poop_head

Member
I saw one of these at my LFS and they had a chiller running on it. Are your temps staying low enough with the 150 MH?
 
mimic

mimic

Member
Well I am already picking what I want as a cleaning crew, if anyone has an idea's feel free to post up I was thinking a mix of things
5-10 turbo snails
10 blue hermits
5-10 scarlet hermits
1-3 peppermint shrimp
5-10 astrea snails
not sure on #'s yet but I am still considering will more then likely place an order on this website for a cleaning crew in a week or so, depending on how my water paremeters look like then.
 
mimic

mimic

Member
Diatom everywhere, on my rocks, on my glass, on my sandbed.
No complaints it adds a nice color to my setup, i just dont want it to get out of hand, is having TOO much diatom bad for the cycle? will it make it longer? will my system auto balance its self, cause if it will I'll just leave it alone but if someone advices me to do maybe a 50% water change, I have Ammonia/Nitrites and Nitrates, so I dont think a water change would hurt my cycle since there is substantial bacteria already which is why I had an outbreak of Diatom, just let me know...
 
halostalker

halostalker

Member
what part of the country r u from, whats the temp in ur room, and whats the evaporation speed of ur tank, how often do u topoff?
 
mimic

mimic

Member
I live in texas, I dont top off because I dont have really good water quality, every where I read people top off with distilled water, but couldnt topping off with pre-mixed LFS water serve the same purpose its rated at 1.023 SG...
 
crazyju

crazyju

New Member
Dont top off with salt water. Only the water evaporates. The salt stays in the tank. If you top off with salt water your specific gravity will continue to rise.
 
mimic

mimic

Member
Yeah I figured as much, I decided to purchase a 6-stage RO/DI filter on ----, i found it for $135 shipped I suppose I am going to need it so I can get my top offs.
Hopefully in a week my readings will be lower, my ammonia seems to be going down but very slowly I think the water change helped a little, NItrites and Nitrates are still pretty high so I guess you could say I am very well in the mid spike of my cycle, ill post up once something happens :)
 
mimic

mimic

Member
Tank ammonia is 0, Nitrites still spiking and Nitrates are like 40ppm.
Water looks crystal clear, no signs of pods or any thing, have very little red slime on rocks, green fuzzy algae, red fuzzy algae and some blades of algae looks like grass.
I think the water change I did helped with my ammonia because 1 day after I changed the water I tested ammonia and it was almost 0, a day later it was 0, so hopefully my nitrites will do the same, I will more then likely do a 50% water change in 5 days if my nitrite levels havent dropped any.
a couple pics for your viewing pleasure..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...h/IMG00449.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...h/IMG00448.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...h/IMG00447.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...h/IMG00446.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...h/IMG00445.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...h/IMG00442.jpg
 
L

lbaskball

Guest
wow, thats some cool rock work..its like a cave within a cave. nice.
 
mimic

mimic

Member
Thanks, although I have to give the credit to my girlfriend she did the layout, i just moved the rocks once they were placed to give it its final touches.
sidenote: I am looking for a good skimmer, one that wont give me microbubbles like the fission nano skimmer does, my spending limit is around 100-120 max, I think a skimmer would help me out alot on the long run, so if anyone has ANY ideas on what skimmer is good just let me know, does anyone know anything about JEBO skimmers? they are cheap but I dont know if they are cheap because they suck, or just good priced, let me know.
 
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