taking a new direction

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eric b 125

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Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/540#post_3523938
Wow. That looks pretty awesome eric. Glad your build is going pretty quick. Im pretty jealous of your equipment list and your beananimal overflow.
So im guessing you will be adding some furry colored sticks to your tank in no time huh?
Ill be getting my photon 48 unit sometime this week. I cant wait to review it for yah.
I know your wanting leds pretty soon.
Thanks, bud! Really, it's been a few weeks, maybe close to a month that I've been working on getting this thing back up and running. My equipment list really isn't that great but I am proud of what I'm working with. Considering that I'm starting out with a totally dead tank, it will be a while before I add any corals. After the cycle, which will most likely be a long one, I'm going to work on my fish list for a month or so.
CUC: I was thinking of like 10 peppermint shrimp, 2 cleaner shrimp, 10 emerald crabs (think they'll be okay with SPS- I've never had a problem with them), #? of porcelain crabs, a handful of Nassarius snails and Astrea snails.
Fish: 3 YT, #? of green chromis, #? of lyretail anthias, and a red mandarin. I was going to give a flame angel a shot, but I was reminded in Meowzers thread that they aren't really clam-friendly and I definitely want some clams again.
 
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eric b 125

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It's weird how the picture turned out, but since I'm in a bit of a hurry:

It's clearing up pretty good. Later today I'm going to add some filter pads and maybe a powerhead to the fuge. Someday this week I'd really like to get around to getting rid of my fish, too.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Nice. I like the two island look. Good job!
Adding a powerhead to the fuge sounds like a good idea. I just recently did that with mine.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/560#post_3523970
Nice. I like the two island look. Good job!
Adding a powerhead to the fuge sounds like a good idea. I just recently did that with mine.
Thanks Seth. I'm pretty happy with the 'scape. I tried to give myself enough shelves for frags but also wanted to incorporate caves that would be good for 3 YT. Your thread is what really reminded me that having a powerhead in the fuge is a good idea. Too bad a K3 is too much flow, because I have an extra one in the 30B that will be available for use when I trade-in the fish.
What are your thoughts on the "#?"s of my stock list?
 
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eric b 125

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Got rid of the fish today. It was a little difficult to let the YT go. I've had it since the beginning, but the direction I want to head has changed, so.....
 
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eric b 125

Guest
Yesterday I got a small piece of premium LR to seed the tank. I'm hoping that the T5's are enough light to encourage some coralline growth on my rocks. I also picked up a phosphate removing filter pad that I put b/w the baffles in my sump. I will start testing for the cycle today or tomorrow.
My skimmer is starting to break-in again. I had a few days of micro bubbles coming through my return but that seems to have stopped.
Once the tank cycles I will order my CUC, put whatever snails and my brittle star from the 30B in the main tank, and clean up the small tank to use as a QT- something new for me
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric B 125 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/560#post_3524187
Yesterday I got a small piece of premium LR to seed the tank. I'm hoping that the T5's are enough light to encourage some coralline growth on my rocks. I also picked up a phosphate removing filter pad that I put b/w the baffles in my sump. I will start testing for the cycle today or tomorrow.
My skimmer is starting to break-in again. I had a few days of micro bubbles coming through my return but that seems to have stopped.
Once the tank cycles I will order my CUC, put whatever snails and my brittle star from the 30B in the main tank, and clean up the small tank to use as a QT- something new for me
I like your fish selection, but be aware that I am not really good with fish... and never was.
It's going to take a little while for coralline algae to take hold... as with anything in this hobby, be patient.
Glad your skimmer is starting to work right. I know Lubeck is frustrated with his.
Sounds like you are "headed in the right direction."
 
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eric b 125

Guest
I can't wait to start putting livestock in the tank. I've been thinking about it and I think I might give the Calcium reactor I have another shot. I will need to replace the pump for it but as long as I have it and can get it to work properly, there is no point in spending the $ to get a different one. It will be a while before I need it anyways so I won't feel rushed to fire it up.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric B 125 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/560#post_3524250
I can't wait to start putting livestock in the tank. I've been thinking about it and I think I might give the Calcium reactor I have another shot. I will need to replace the pump for it but as long as I have it and can get it to work properly, there is no point in spending the $ to get a different one. It will be a while before I need it anyways so I won't feel rushed to fire it up.
What are you going to do for calcium supplementation for the time being? Water changes? Manual dosing?
I have a Reef Octopus Calcium reactor for a 125g tank myself... I fired it up once... I was running it off of my return pump. Now that I look back at it, I think that was a mistake because it wasn't getting the constant pressure that it needed inside the reactor to stabilize the effluent flow. It was way too... variable.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/560#post_3524348
What are you going to do for calcium supplementation for the time being? Water changes? Manual dosing?
I have a Reef Octopus Calcium reactor for a 125g tank myself... I fired it up once... I was running it off of my return pump. Now that I look back at it, I think that was a mistake because it wasn't getting the constant pressure that it needed inside the reactor to stabilize the effluent flow. It was way too... variable.
Well, the calcium demand will be pretty low for a bit while my tank gets established enough for coral. I will maintain it with water changes and I have a few bottles of Purple Up that I never used so I will use them and try to get some color on my rocks in the meantime.
This calcium reactor was given to me by a client when I was servicing tanks last year or the year before. I have everything I need to get it up and going, including pH probe, except for the pump. I had a hell of a time trying to get a union for it last year and when I finally got it I was in such a rush I never really gave it a good leak test and the pump ran dry. I will give this reactor one more shot and if it works, it works; if not, then I'll look for a different one. I definitely want a calcium reactor on this system, though.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
Tank is still cycling; obviously, since it hasn't been that long since I set it up. Ammonia 1, Nitrite 0.5, Nitrate 10-20. I am getting bare spots in my sand bed so tomorrow I'm going to try to remember to put some rubble down.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
Still cycling. Amm: 1, Trite: 1, Trate: 20. I'm going to start mixing a water change and possibly make it out to one of the LFS to get some chaeto, today. What I really want to do is recharge the Kati/Ani so I may pick up some Muriatic acid and lye and do that.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
My parameters haven't changed since yesterday so I'm hoping (most likely naively) that this could be the apex of the cycle. I have a 30 gallon water change mixed and ready to roll. I recharged the kati ani last night and also added some chaeto to the fuge. Starting to get diatoms here and there, but not bad. I'm ghost feeding pretty heavily because of the CUC I have planned. I will order the 3 YT's as soon as I can get the brittle star and few nass snails out of the 30B. I will have to clean that up and paint the bottom. I was thinking of drilling it, since I still have the glassholes overflows from my main tank, and just not plumb it yet. I could never figure out how to get the skimmer that's on there dialed-in with the fluctuation of the water level even though the skimmer came with a surface skimming basket that was supposed to not be affected by evaporation. Maybe I just never gave it a fair shake.
My equipment list for the QT:
30B
Heater
Red Sea Prism Pro Skimmer
Koralia 3 or 4 - a lot of flow for a little tank, I know
Odyssea 250w MH fixture with 2 X 96w PC
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric B 125 http:///t/389056/taking-a-new-direction/560#post_3524723
My parameters haven't changed since yesterday so I'm hoping (most likely naively) that this could be the apex of the cycle. I have a 30 gallon water change mixed and ready to roll. I recharged the kati ani last night and also added some chaeto to the fuge. Starting to get diatoms here and there, but not bad. I'm ghost feeding pretty heavily because of the CUC I have planned. I will order the 3 YT's as soon as I can get the brittle star and few nass snails out of the 30B. I will have to clean that up and paint the bottom. I was thinking of drilling it, since I still have the glassholes overflows from my main tank, and just not plumb it yet. I could never figure out how to get the skimmer that's on there dialed-in with the fluctuation of the water level even though the skimmer came with a surface skimming basket that was supposed to not be affected by evaporation. Maybe I just never gave it a fair shake.
My equipment list for the QT:
30B
Heater
Red Sea Prism Pro Skimmer
Koralia 3 or 4 - a lot of flow for a little tank, I know
Odyssea 250w MH fixture with 2 X 96w PC
Looks good. I would not do the big light though. No need on a QT. Just use any old florescent (even a CFL).
If you end up doing a hypo treatment the skimmer won't skim. But it does add additional flow to the tank. I run a skimmer on my 10g QT (Reef Octopus BH1000).
I am interested in seeing how the 3 YT's work (the tank should be big enough... Right??). It should look beautiful!!
 
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eric b 125

Guest
I know I don't need a powerful light, or really any light at all, for a QT. I don't have any other light though, so I might as well use this one. The fan on it took a dump and I never replaced it so I haven't used the MH for a long time. (I wouldn't use a MH on a fish QT anyways) I realize I don't need the skimmer either, but if I'm going to QT 3 YT at one time, and other groups of fish at different times, then it will come in handy as long as I don't need to do hypo. I can also run media in the skimmer, which is nice, as long as I can get it to work well.
Here's a pic of the QT as it sits now (very dirty and unorganized, I know):

I put the skimmer on the side of it and I'll spend some time trying to figure it out:

Here's the light. Either one of the bulbs is going bad or it's the ballast. Either way, I don't care too much. I'll get around to fixing it at some point.....maybe.

Diatoms in main tank:
 
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eric b 125

Guest
Ammonia is down to 0! Really looking forward to ordering a beefy CUC. I might order the 3 YT for QT at the same time. CUC will go directly into main tank and 3 YT will be QT'd for a month.
 
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