Teeka's 120 build

[Teeka01]

This is my tank and stand. I have included a close up picture of the board from the difficult door on the canopy.

[Teeka01]

This is the closet that everything will be going into.

[Teeka01]

This is the holes that Steve, my hubby, drilled thru the walls for the pvc pipe.

[Teeka01]

My sump waiting to be plumbed.

[FragOutpost]

It looks like it is coming along nicely Teeka. That is great that you have an available closet on the opposite side of the wall. I like the canopy. It looks great. I bet you can't wait to get water in the tank. Did you decide on a salt mix yet? Sump looks great too!

[FragOutpost]

A nifty idea that I saw last month at a local reefer's house was that he used a liner like the type used to go under bathtubs and he lined the bottom of his cabinetry having the liner extend up about 6 inches on the sides. He said that after the first couple of floods he decided to do something to prevent it from happening again. Just a suggestion to save any future headaches since you are at the point where something like this could be added easily.

[Teeka01]

The salt that I have got is the IO.I have to take a few more pictures to add to this.

[Teeka01]

Here is the rest of the plumbing.

[Teeka01]

Sump closet after it is done waiting for water.

[Teeka01]

Lights Installed in the canopy.

[FragOutpost]

Looks great Teeka. Have you been able to fill it with water yet?
Do you have some sort of a glass UV shield for your DE halides?

[Teeka01]

Last night we let the pipes dry over night. We got up and filled the tank with water. There was 1 leak. So that had to be taken care of. The system is now leak free. We also had to teak the system so it would not overflow the tank. I bought a bigger pump so I can add a 55. gallon I have. I want that one for a zoo only tank. So that means I can order my live rock on Monday. It ships on Tuesdays for a Wednesday delivery. I finally have my system set up, it has taken so long.

I have plain glass where would you get the uv shield glass from?

[FragOutpost]

Plain glass is good but tempered is better. I just wanted to make sure that you had something in place to filter the UV as the DE halides can potentially cook your corals if the UV is not filtered.
Looks like you are well on your way! Let the excitement begin! :D

[Teeka01]

I just ordered my live rock it will be here wednesday. I order 60 lbs of Marshall live rock. Yipee!!!!

[Teeka01]

I got my live rock today. I got 60 lbs of Marshall Island. I love the shapes of my rock. I still don't have any of the base rock so my tank doesn't have that much rock in it. I plan on adding 120 lbs of base rock to get a total of 180 lbs.

[D12monkey]

Looks like it progressing along nicely.

[Teeka01]

I test my Nirates. They was 50. I didn't get the other 2 test. But this seems alittle fast to me as my rock was uncured. The rock hasn't been in my tank 48 hours yet.

[FragOutpost]

50 is pretty high for only being the second day of the cycle. Did you rinse off as much debris as possible before placing in the tank? Check your nitrates again at the end of one week and let us know what they are.

[Teeka01]

Yes I did rinse very well. I also picked off what soft stuff I could find.

[Teeka01]

My nitrates had reached way above 100. I had a real deep pinkish purple on the Salifert test kits. Now they are somewhere between 50-100. they are not a 100 as the pink is not that dark. The color is a little darker then the 50. I am getting the base rock today. After my hubby gets home we will do the aquascaping then I will post some pictures.

[Teeka01]

I just got back from my LFS. I had him test my water, Good news. I have a small trace of ammonia and nitrites. It looks like my cycle is winding down. When I test the Nitrates it was a very light pink about 5. So I am going to give it another 2 weeks then add the cleanup crew.

[FragOutpost]

As soon ammonia and nitrite hit zero you can start adding some critters. Your cycle seems to be going pretty quickly. Next time you are at the LFS grab a couple of snails and see how they do.

Let me know when you get your fuge set up and I'll send you some chaeto. Since dosing the prodibio the chaeto has completely stopped growing and almost looks like it might be on the decline. If it starts to turn brown I will have to toss it out to prevent any nutrients from being released back into the tank. The strands already appear to be getting thinner.

[Teeka01]

It is set up now I had the guy who made my sump add a fuge to it.

[Teeka01]

Yeah my cycle is going alot quicker then I thought it would. But from the reviews I read about Premium Aquatics that is average. It was very clean rock. No odors when I opened the box. I have read on other forums that their rock when they get it stinks up the whole room for a while. My never did that. No PA doesn't pay me to say how good they are. LOL

[Teeka01]

Ammonia, Nirites, and Nitrates are all 0. Yipee!! I added 5 snails to so say test my water. I finally got the rock work arranged to make us both happy. I have changed the rock a few times trying to achive this. Here is a couple of pictures on what we agreed with.

[Teeka01]

Oops The second picture was suppose to be this one.

[FragOutpost]

Nice cave on the right hand side. That is weird that your nitrates are at zero. I figured that you would have at least some detectable nitrates. Have you done a water change yet? What kind of powerheads are you using in the tank? So when do you plan on adding your first fish?

[FragOutpost]

Oh and you did get the Lights Of America Floodlight right? Pm me your address and I'll send you some chaeto and ulva before it dies in my tank. I think I am going to prune back all of my macro until I decide to quit using the prodibio and then just set up a fuge again.

[Teeka01]

When I test my Nitrares yesterday they was at 2. This am there wasn't any. Fish I am not sure about. Does it hurt to get some corals first, then worry about a fish. I want to get a goby/shrimp pair someday.

[FragOutpost]

You can add corals and fish in any order you want. Have you picked out the type of shrimp goby you want? I really like the yashia gobies. In my opinion they have the best coloration.

I'll get your chaeto in the mail today, so expect delivery tomorrow sometime.

[Teeka01]

I am not sure on what kind of goby yet. I want to wait until there is some pods in my system. The water is still testing out good. Thank you Do you have paypal I will send you the shipping money next friday if that is okay.

[FragOutpost]

Yes I do have PayPal but hardly ever use it. PM me after you receive the delivery and we will work out the details for the shipping charges. Next Fri is fine. Whenever works best for you is fine with me. :)

[Teeka01]

My frags are starting to open up. Oh how pretty they are. I am going out tonight. I will try to get a picture of them in the morning. Thank You.

[Teeka01]

I am having problems taking pictures of the corals. No tripod, I will be getting one payday. Sorry pictures are not turning out.

[Teeka01]

I just tested my nitrates they are back up to between 5 and 10. What should I do?

[FragOutpost]

I just tested my nitrates they are back up to between 5 and 10. What should I do?

Nitrates between 5-10 is not that bad considering that your tank has just recently cycled. Your population of anaerobic bacteria should be steadly increasing at this point and should contribute to the regulatation of nitrates. Other ways to remove nitrates are to perform water changes, siphon any detrious you can, ensure that your skimmer is clean and operating optimally, and regularly prune back your macro algae as a means of nutrient export. Another potential method is to use a denitrating coil but those can be tricky to set up and I don't think that your situation would warrant the use of one at this time. Also be sure to regularly remove any nusciance algae as it grows in your tank. Hope this helps. Keep checking your nitrates over the next few weeks and I would not worry too much at this point unless the level increases.

[Teeka01]

While my hubby and I was watching the pods dance this evening, He pointed out some little white specks on the refuge wall. He told me to watch them for a minute. They started moving, I have baby pods. Boy those are some busy buggers.

[FragOutpost]

The tiny white specs are most likely copepods. In a predator free environment like your fuge they will multiply quickly. I often find myself paying more attention to the tiny critters in the tank than the fish and corals. :D

[Teeka01]

We are in awe right now. The first thing we do everynight when my hubby gets home is sit and watch the tank and sump. Who needs a tv. LOL

[FragOutpost]

Exactly! Who needs tv. I spend far more time in front of my tank than in front of the television. :)

[Teeka01]

I have some concerns today I tested my water
PH 8.17
calcium is 350
Alk never changed after I did the whole syrenge
nitrates was good at 2.

What made me check the water is my limpet are dieing. Everything else in the tank is doing good. The mushrooms are showing some growth. Blushy and zoos is doing great too. My other snails are doing good. Just the limpets is doing poorly

[FragOutpost]

You are using the Salifert test right? You did put the conical tip onto the small syringe right? (Sorry if that is an obvious question. Sometimes I gloss right over the most obvious things). :)
Assuming that the test is not bad and that you followed all of the directions correctly then I would fill the syringe again up to the 1.0 mark and then add 16 to your result to get your correct alkalinity measurment. You have not added any supplements yet right? The alk will come down on its own eventually or you could try adding small amounts of calcium chloride to help bring your calcium up to 400 or so and this will help the alk to decrease. But personally I would not worry about it too much since your tank has just cycled. Soon your coraline algae will take off and help reduce the alk. IO is low on calcium and high on alk. When was the last water change?

[Teeka01]

Yes to the both questions on the test. I did the water change Monday the 10th.

[FragOutpost]

Yeah a water change with IO a few days ago would explain the high alk reading. Once you get some more alkalinity consuming critters in there you will not have this problem anymore. Not to worry, things will balance themselves out.

[FragOutpost]

Also, when you do your water changes how long are you mixing the water for and with what? I use a small powerhead and I aerate it with an air pump for a day or two to help the newly mixed saltwater come to an equilibrium with the carbon dioxide in the air.

[Teeka01]

I am mixing the water the day before I do the change. And I also put a powerhead in it.

[Teeka01]

I know it is in my head but I swear the mushrooms are growing already. All 3 of them are over an 1" to 1 1/4" long. I even see a new baby green zoo.

[FragOutpost]

Wouldn't surprise me, they are all very fast growers! :D
One day you will curse me going "How do I get rid of some of these shrooms and zoos, they're taking over"! :icon_bigg

[Teeka01]

My sump has a rainbow of algae growing on the walls of it. I have red, brown and green hair algae. Thank goodness it is growing in the sump and not the tank. I guess this is my faulr I have had the light on in the sump thru the cycle process and no lights on the tank. In the tank the coraline is spreading good.

[FragOutpost]

It will take a few months for your tank to mature and stabilize and until then you will likely go through various stages of algae blooms. That is why it is important to get a wide variety of cleanup critters after cycling the tank. Don't get discouraged as things will improve over time with a good maintenance schedule. It will take a few months for bacteria colonies to reach maturity.

[Teeka01]

I was prepared for the algae outbreaks. Friday I will be getting anothe part of my clean up crew. I am lucky so far as it is not in the display tank. I can live with it being in the sump.

[FragOutpost]

What critters do you have coming on Friday?

[Teeka01]

Not sure yet I am still trying to figure it out. Friday is when I get to buy them.

[Teeka01]

water test time
Salinity 1.25
Calcium 320
Nitrates 5
Alk 14.2
I am going crazy. it is time to change my water again and my levels are still way off. alkalinty is still very high and calcium is lower yet.

[FragOutpost]

Your levels are not that bad considering your tank is so new.
I assume that you mean that your specific gravity is 1.025 as 1.25 would have killed everything by now. :D

Once sure way to drop your alk and raise your calcium is to add calcium chloride starting in very small amounts that gradually increase. Water can only contain so many dissolved solids before it becomes saturated. So adding only calcium chloride will help to balance your tank in two ways - 1. By forcing some of the alk to precipitate out and 2. both calcium and alk will be consumed by your tank's critters and by only replacing the calcium the alk should naturally subside on its own. The one word of caution with this method is that adding too much at one time could lead to a "snowstorm" of precipitation so start slow and test often. Try to target your calcium around 380-400 for now. Try raising your calcium by 10 ppm every day.

[Teeka01]

Okay I meant 1.025 as everything is still living. LOL
Thank you.

[FragOutpost]

LOL. Yeah I knew that you meant 1.025. Just giving you a hard time. :D