bearwithfish
Non-member
thanks man!!! the two end pieces were one rock when i picked it up but a saws all and hammer later and i have those LOL...
Bears 30 breeder
- Thread starter bearwithfish
- Start date
Turbosnail
Non-member
Coming along very nice!
bearwithfish
Non-member
thanks!! yours too!!
bearwithfish
Non-member
could not cook the rock so figured i re started the cycle but that is ok because after talking with the better half we have decided that the little bit of rubble just may not be enough to seed all of this rock unless i want a 5 month cycle LOL... so in light of this we are considering adding a new larger piece of LR to the tank and hopefully gain a bunch more hitchhikers.
we now have 45 +/- pound of dead/dry rock
one pound(ish) of live rubble...(ugly needs to go and most of it is kind of dense..
question is would 5 pounds do the trick as long as its really porous? if you look at the pick above i am going to re work the rock so it would be no big deal to add one more nice chunk in there... thoughts?
we now have 45 +/- pound of dead/dry rock
one pound(ish) of live rubble...(ugly needs to go and most of it is kind of dense..
question is would 5 pounds do the trick as long as its really porous? if you look at the pick above i am going to re work the rock so it would be no big deal to add one more nice chunk in there... thoughts?
bearwithfish
Non-member
they are very porous and the gentleman before me had them live before drying them out. they are similar to some i had in my last tank so i am under the assumption that they will be live rock.. when cutting they created all the liquid calcium i would expect when cutting old coral (based on past experience) ...
MikeG
Non-member
Tank looks like it is coming along nicely.
I have a few suggestions, one is on the flow you asre using. I would add a couple powerheads in the tank, the 300gph pump you are using for the return is quite underpowered. I would strive to have about 1000-2000gph in the tank depending on what you are looking to keep for corals. If you are going to do a fish only, I would still increase it toward the lower end of that range.
Before you get too far in I would also consider using a sand type of substrate rather than crushed coral. Crushed coral being so big and irregularly shaped tends to trap a lot of detritus and make for a dirtier tank. Aklso makes it difficult if you want any sand sifting, burrowing, or fish that sleep in the sand in the future.
And lastly I would consider building a box for the overflow out of black acrylic and paint the back of the tank to help it all kind of disapear into the background.
Just a few thoughts.
I have a few suggestions, one is on the flow you asre using. I would add a couple powerheads in the tank, the 300gph pump you are using for the return is quite underpowered. I would strive to have about 1000-2000gph in the tank depending on what you are looking to keep for corals. If you are going to do a fish only, I would still increase it toward the lower end of that range.
Before you get too far in I would also consider using a sand type of substrate rather than crushed coral. Crushed coral being so big and irregularly shaped tends to trap a lot of detritus and make for a dirtier tank. Aklso makes it difficult if you want any sand sifting, burrowing, or fish that sleep in the sand in the future.
And lastly I would consider building a box for the overflow out of black acrylic and paint the back of the tank to help it all kind of disapear into the background.
Just a few thoughts.
bearwithfish
Non-member
thank you for the suggestions.. i have added a couple pumps for flow and want to focus on softies and such right now, as i find great deals (or freebies) on pumps and such (if they happen when i have funds LOL) i intend to start buying things to upgrade a little at a time... i liek the CC for a few reasons one is to help buffer my water and the other is i dont mind the extra work to clean it... in my last tank i had a mixed substrate and found i did not like it much at all..
i have a few ideas on the back of the tank - i agree is needs work but i am holding out right now to get a few things in order to get what i want rather than what will work
- acrylic is a pain to find out on this end of the state unless i want to get it shipped and i am not really up to spending tons on what seems to me to be small things.. function over form as it were... form can come later ... there is a plan in place for slow changes to this tank over time .. considering how hard it was to get the better half on board with trying again i dont want to push to hard.. at this point most of the improvements have been "her" idea..
i have a few ideas on the back of the tank - i agree is needs work but i am holding out right now to get a few things in order to get what i want rather than what will work
- acrylic is a pain to find out on this end of the state unless i want to get it shipped and i am not really up to spending tons on what seems to me to be small things.. function over form as it were... form can come later ... there is a plan in place for slow changes to this tank over time .. considering how hard it was to get the better half on board with trying again i dont want to push to hard.. at this point most of the improvements have been "her" idea..bearwithfish
Non-member
moved the rock a bit and added a few snails after a water test that showed my numbers heading further down and almost to 0!!!! very excited .. i thought the addition of this rock would have reset the whole process but it has not at all... also added some Cheato and now things sit for a few weeks while i research and plan my next steps....
here are some updated pix as well
FTS 1/20/2012
Left side
Right side
here are some updated pix as well
FTS 1/20/2012
Left side
Right side
Turbosnail
Non-member
Looking nice but that substrate is going to become a problem.
bearwithfish
Non-member
i have been reading more since that was mentioned above... i think at this moment i am going to let it ride and see if the benefits i get from it out way the issues in maintaining it... time will tell....
bearwithfish
Non-member
soooo TODAY is the day!!! got the water tested and everything is good!! the cycle is over so i got my first 2 corals today
frag of Paly
and a nice littel toad stool
frag of Paly
and a nice littel toad stool
bearwithfish
Non-member
i am working on it slowly..... forgot pix of the red macro i got in there too it looks really nice... corals will come in time and then perhaps the pair of clowns i an planning on... i almost did the cardinal sin of the impulse buy yesterday and am super glad i avoided it... the fish (after some research) would have out grown my tank in a short time...
bearwithfish
Non-member
you know after thinking on it a bit more i must apologize if any one was thinking i was being stubborn or arrogant in my previous posts... i am taking all of your comments in and considering them on a for the future basis not being totally dismissive in any way... for example i just got done talking to my tax preparer and i am getting my new pumps in a few weeks to increase the flow.. i found some nice ones for $19 with fee shipping they are 850 GPH each and i am going to get 2 if the are too much i will run one and have the other as back up...
quick update aside from the above tank is doing good and no issues that wont go away in time.. planning my DIY fuge based on one i found on line and i like the design (i will like it more once i modify it to fit my needs) and will post the build as i do it again in a few weeks time..
starting to turn my thoughts towards the fish i want and i am still pretty sure i want a pair of clowns but i was wondering what others thought may be good in a take this size... no damsels for sure though.... been there and rather not go there again...
quick update aside from the above tank is doing good and no issues that wont go away in time.. planning my DIY fuge based on one i found on line and i like the design (i will like it more once i modify it to fit my needs) and will post the build as i do it again in a few weeks time..
starting to turn my thoughts towards the fish i want and i am still pretty sure i want a pair of clowns but i was wondering what others thought may be good in a take this size... no damsels for sure though.... been there and rather not go there again...
bearwithfish
Non-member
Fast update - i have not taken any pix in the last few days so i will try this week end... the last of the diatoms have gone and the others pests have dies down ... the addition of Cheato and another Macro (i dont recall the name) have really helped a ton!
pods all over the glass last night and the 2 little asternia stars i started with have now turned to 6 or more all crabs are showing good growth and the snails are doing a great job keeping things clean as well...
last night i got the beginning of my fuge and will take step by step pix of it as i figure out the final details and start to build it..
testing yesterday shows a stable 0 on everything PH is 8.4 cal is a steady 450 and all is well... i think keeping things natural and simple has made a huge difference in this tank from the last one and i am super happy with it as things move forward..
pods all over the glass last night and the 2 little asternia stars i started with have now turned to 6 or more all crabs are showing good growth and the snails are doing a great job keeping things clean as well...
last night i got the beginning of my fuge and will take step by step pix of it as i figure out the final details and start to build it..
testing yesterday shows a stable 0 on everything PH is 8.4 cal is a steady 450 and all is well... i think keeping things natural and simple has made a huge difference in this tank from the last one and i am super happy with it as things move forward..
bearwithfish
Non-member
just ordered my power heads (2x 1300 GPH!!!) and they are on the way! refugium in the building stage now and the stand for it to sit behind the tank is complete... new phone so once i figure out how to send pix again i will update with the latest shots...
afrankiewicz12
Non-member
ok to be honest i didnt read all of the comments but in case no one said it that glass lid will become an issue. with the glass lid on, it will trap CO2 between it and the water with out proper oxygen diffusion across surface of the water the PH will go crazy and really hurt the live stock
bearwithfish
Non-member
interesting all the research i have done does not indicate this.. i have the back 1.5 inches open which is over my overflow (that now leads to my refugium) and the new pumps just came in so the ripples are great and lots and lots of flow to bring things around...
i am not able to do an open top for a lot of reasons
but the top 3 are
my dog loves saltwater (he is a nut job)
my cats like fish (and done seem to mind crab either)
and above animals all like to shed NON STOP!!
not to sound argumentative but test weekly has shown PH, NO2, NO3, Alk, and Cal to be constant with no issues to date (note PH swings 0.3 from first light to just before they go off as is expected)
i am not able to do an open top for a lot of reasons
but the top 3 are
my dog loves saltwater (he is a nut job)
my cats like fish (and done seem to mind crab either)
and above animals all like to shed NON STOP!!
not to sound argumentative but test weekly has shown PH, NO2, NO3, Alk, and Cal to be constant with no issues to date (note PH swings 0.3 from first light to just before they go off as is expected)
Docstach
Non-member
I have the same pet issue (at least with the hair), Not that i really know what I am talking about but with the back and refugium open I would think you would be alright. I used a glass lid for a while without much issue, but did not have anything very sensitive in the tank. I ended up taking it off after I accidentally cracked it. I have read a lot of people use clear mesh for a lid to still allow airflow.
I have read a lot of people use clear mesh for a lid to still allow airflow.
