doboy
Member
Hello,
First, let me say thank you to all on this board. The information and discussions that are here are like no other information source on the subject.
I have kept FW fish off and on for 20+ years. I've bred cichlids, raised an arrowanna from a fry, had all kinds of tanks. I even kept leeches for a couple years (for bait). I never had the money for SW.
I have a 55 that's been empty for about 8 years. My 5 year old daughter asked if we could fill it up. Of course, she wanted a "Nemo".
Needless to say, I do have the money for SW now, so I've been spending!
I spent about 3 weeks building a stand and hood. I had to make the hood to accomodate an Orbit 4X65 PC.
Set the tank up with 75lb of fully cured Fiji live rock, 60 lb live sand, 40 lb aragonite.
RO water, Oceanic Sea Salt mixed to 1.023 SG.
I bought a Wet Dry filter, 500 gph pump, Skimmer, power head for the skimmer, and all the plumbing in one package from a web site. Took out all but 1 layer of Bioballs. In retrospect, I could have made a sump, but I wasn't too sure until I got my hands on one how all this stuff went together.
Got everything up and running, and started testing daily for :
Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates
pH
dKh
SG
Temp Ranges from 76-78
Lights are on timers. Actinics for 12 hrs, Daylights for 10 hrs. Lunar lights when the Actinics go off. Also have a 190 gph PH that kicks on and off every 30 min and a 15 watt UV sterilizer.
I waited for a cycle. On day 5 I got an ammonia reading of .1 ppm. After that, I haven't got any ammonia since. My nitrites started off at .3 ppm, and have gradually gone down to .05 ppm. Nitrates were at a high of 10 ppm, and have worked down to 5. This is after 3 weeks. I put everything on a spreadsheet so I could track it.
Also, dKH is around 8, Calcium is at 495 ppm, pH has remained steady at around 8.1. I also have an alkalinity test that reads in the normal range.
I was waiting for a big ammonia spike, but my lfs said I probably wouldn't get one because of the quantity of cured LR. I made sure the water was at around 75 before I added the LR, and got it in within an hour of leaving the store. I even dropped a shrimp in there and let it rot -- didn't get any rise in ammonia. After the shrimp, I got a little nitrates and nitrites, but they have gone down. After a week, I got 10 small snails, and 15 small hermits.
After two weeks, I did a 10% water change. All my readings were still good, so the LFS said a couple of fish would be OK. I got 2 firefish, and a yellowhead jawfish. They are all pretty happy. One of the firesfish was a little beat up, but after two days, he seems a little happier. The jawfish went right to work builing a house, and is doing well.
The live rock came with all kinds of hitchikers, including a small bubble tip anemone. I know he shouldn't be in there, but he is. I also let impulse grab me, and got a small T. hippo clam. He has begun to anchor himself to a rock where I placed him about 1/2 way up the water column. I figure the LR can handle some bioload, but not a lot just yet.
I know I probably went a little overboard on livestock right now, but everyone seems to be doing well. I was going to give all this stuff a month, monitor my levels, and then look at some mushrooms.
A couple questions: Does anyone know of a formula for estimating copepod populations? I mean, can you get a count from a section of glass and get an estimate on what's on the rock, etc? I've got a bunch now, and was just wonering.
Also, If I got an SCWD, would I leave the powerhead in, or would that be too much?
Thanks again for everyone that participates in this site. It is really a great thing.
Jim
p.s., I was pretty proud of the stand/hood I built. I'll try to attach a picture.
First, let me say thank you to all on this board. The information and discussions that are here are like no other information source on the subject.
I have kept FW fish off and on for 20+ years. I've bred cichlids, raised an arrowanna from a fry, had all kinds of tanks. I even kept leeches for a couple years (for bait). I never had the money for SW.
I have a 55 that's been empty for about 8 years. My 5 year old daughter asked if we could fill it up. Of course, she wanted a "Nemo".
Needless to say, I do have the money for SW now, so I've been spending!
I spent about 3 weeks building a stand and hood. I had to make the hood to accomodate an Orbit 4X65 PC.
Set the tank up with 75lb of fully cured Fiji live rock, 60 lb live sand, 40 lb aragonite.
RO water, Oceanic Sea Salt mixed to 1.023 SG.
I bought a Wet Dry filter, 500 gph pump, Skimmer, power head for the skimmer, and all the plumbing in one package from a web site. Took out all but 1 layer of Bioballs. In retrospect, I could have made a sump, but I wasn't too sure until I got my hands on one how all this stuff went together.
Got everything up and running, and started testing daily for :
Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrates
pH
dKh
SG
Temp Ranges from 76-78
Lights are on timers. Actinics for 12 hrs, Daylights for 10 hrs. Lunar lights when the Actinics go off. Also have a 190 gph PH that kicks on and off every 30 min and a 15 watt UV sterilizer.
I waited for a cycle. On day 5 I got an ammonia reading of .1 ppm. After that, I haven't got any ammonia since. My nitrites started off at .3 ppm, and have gradually gone down to .05 ppm. Nitrates were at a high of 10 ppm, and have worked down to 5. This is after 3 weeks. I put everything on a spreadsheet so I could track it.
Also, dKH is around 8, Calcium is at 495 ppm, pH has remained steady at around 8.1. I also have an alkalinity test that reads in the normal range.
I was waiting for a big ammonia spike, but my lfs said I probably wouldn't get one because of the quantity of cured LR. I made sure the water was at around 75 before I added the LR, and got it in within an hour of leaving the store. I even dropped a shrimp in there and let it rot -- didn't get any rise in ammonia. After the shrimp, I got a little nitrates and nitrites, but they have gone down. After a week, I got 10 small snails, and 15 small hermits.
After two weeks, I did a 10% water change. All my readings were still good, so the LFS said a couple of fish would be OK. I got 2 firefish, and a yellowhead jawfish. They are all pretty happy. One of the firesfish was a little beat up, but after two days, he seems a little happier. The jawfish went right to work builing a house, and is doing well.
The live rock came with all kinds of hitchikers, including a small bubble tip anemone. I know he shouldn't be in there, but he is. I also let impulse grab me, and got a small T. hippo clam. He has begun to anchor himself to a rock where I placed him about 1/2 way up the water column. I figure the LR can handle some bioload, but not a lot just yet.
I know I probably went a little overboard on livestock right now, but everyone seems to be doing well. I was going to give all this stuff a month, monitor my levels, and then look at some mushrooms.
A couple questions: Does anyone know of a formula for estimating copepod populations? I mean, can you get a count from a section of glass and get an estimate on what's on the rock, etc? I've got a bunch now, and was just wonering.
Also, If I got an SCWD, would I leave the powerhead in, or would that be too much?
Thanks again for everyone that participates in this site. It is really a great thing.
Jim
p.s., I was pretty proud of the stand/hood I built. I'll try to attach a picture.
