180 Mixed Reef

[Rowdy18Rules]

I am a little late to the party here.... Since is tarted this build about 4 months ago. Have been studying the hobbie on and off for years and have stepped out on the edge a few times, but never jumped in. About 4 months ago i ran across a post on Facebook marketplace for someone selling a custom 180 glass tank and a 140 g gallon custom sump and a Bubble Magus Hero 77 Skimmer. it was a custom install less then a year old. The price was right, about $800 plus it was local so i figured now was the time to get in.

I spent the first month building an extremely overbuilt custom stand. Once that was done it was another few weeks learning and doing the plumbing. Then it was time to get into the piggy bank... I went with 3 radion xr30 Pros, 2 MP40WQD, a Vectra L1 and a reeflink. I didn't want to jump into a controller until i knew what i was doing so i went the Ecotech route.

I added about 200 lbs of Live Rock and 180 lbs of live sand filled it up with salt water on 6/23 and started holding my breath.

That' where I am now. Have been cycling for about 12 days now. My first water test was on 6/28, five days after setup. Ammonia was at .5 and has steadily decreased every day since currently sitting at .10ish (best i can tell with API kit)

Flat zeros on Nitrates and nitrites every single test. Im tarting to see brown algae / film on the rock and glass and this i s where im starting to feel over my head. I have no idea what this means, don't feel like it ever Amonia spiked, and never saw a single PPM of nitrate or nitrite.

Im currently finishing up my water mixing station. 2 65 gallon tanks with a vertex RODI 200 GOD with booster pump and built in TDS meter. Waiting on a Pan World pump to come to finish the plumbing.

I also have a ATO reservoir, 10G, and a AWC controller with optical sensors on the way to wrap up that end of the project.

Stand In Progress

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

This is my currently Algae growth. Does it seem right for 12 days into cycle with a max Ammonia of .5ppm and never a trace of nitrate or nitrite?

 

[NY_Caveman]

Welcome to R2R! I would not run lights during the cycle. That would help. Only really benefits algae at this stage.

 

[Kyle Rinker]

That looks largely like diatoms to me based on the photo. Absolutely normal and not much you can really do about it. They will typically go away over time with tank maturity. For the sandbed, you can try to siphon some out. You can also use products like GFO to help remove silicates that the diatoms thrive off of. Another popular option is to do a series of large water changes. The easiest thing to do, especially if you don't have anything in your tank that needs light (corals, etc). is to turn the lights off and completely cover the display tank for 3 to 5 days. Diatoms also need light to survive, so completely eliminating light will typically kill them off. Keep in mind that diatom die off can also deplete oxygen levels in the water, so if you happen to have livestock you will want to keep that in mind. Making sure you use RODI water instead of tap water will greatly reduce silicates in the water and therefore limit the diatom bloom. If you are already using RODI water (and it looks like you are), ensure your filters are all working efficiently.

Happy reefing

 

[SPR1968]

Welcome to R2R!

That’s a nice system you have there, very nice and great pictures.

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

Welcome to R2R! I would not run lights during the cycle. That would help. Only really benefits algae at this stage.

Thanks, I have then on at like 10% for a hour a day, mostly so i can see it when i get home from work. Ill shut it down complacently, i understand has no relevance to the cycle or health of system at this stage right? I have been running the refugium light for 7-8 hours at night (When sleeping). Is that a good idea?

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

That looks largely like diatoms to me based on the photo. Absolutely normal and not much you can really do about it. They will typically go away over time with tank maturity. For the sandbed, you can try to siphon some out. You can also use products like GFO to help remove silicates that the diatoms thrive off of. Another popular option is to do a series of large water changes. The easiest thing to do, especially if you don't have anything in your tank that needs light (corals, etc). is to turn the lights off and completely cover the display tank for 3 to 5 days. Diatoms also need light to survive, so completely eliminating light will typically kill them off. Keep in mind that diatom die off can also deplete oxygen levels in the water, so if you happen to have livestock you will want to keep that in mind. Making sure you use RODI water instead of tap water will greatly reduce silicates in the water and therefore limit the diatom bloom. If you are already using RODI water (and it looks like you are), ensure your filters are all working efficiently.

Happy reefing

Thanks for this info, i guess that is another part i have been unsure about is water changes during cycle. Should i do a water change at this point even though there is no ammonia nitrate or nitrite ?

 

[Kyle Rinker]

In my experience you certainly can. There is a chance it can slow down your cycle, but the beneficial bacteria we all want largely grow on the rock or other hard surfaces so you would be removing very little of that through a water change.

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

Is the Diatoms algae part of the normal cycle process? I have seen some information and videos where that is said to be the case. After this algae i should see nitrate and nitirte down to zero then its cycled? I thinkk i maye have justr missed the entire thing in forst few days to the amount of live rock, live sand and bacteria supplements i used?

 

[NY_Caveman]

Is the Diatoms algae part of the normal cycle process? I have seen some information and videos where that is said to be the case. After this algae i should see nitrate and nitirte down to zero then its cycled? I thinkk i maye have justr missed the entire thing in forst few days to the amount of live rock, live sand and bacteria supplements i used?

Probably so. Still good to let the system mature for a bit. I added live rock starting my system two days ago and have had no Ammonia reading at all.

As far as the Refugium light, I am no expert, but I would think it is fine to run it. With live rock there will be some nutrients in the tank. Worst case, there is not enough to grow Macroalgae and you can add some more when you start stocking the tank.

 

[Kyle Rinker]

Is the Diatoms algae part of the normal cycle process? I have seen some information and videos where that is said to be the case. After this algae i should see nitrate and nitirte down to zero then its cycled? I thinkk i maye have justr missed the entire thing in forst few days to the amount of live rock, live sand and bacteria supplements i used?

I agree with @NY_Caveman While it may technically be cycled at that point, the tank will go through a whole series of chemical changes during its first 6 months of life, especially. The longer you can wait to add livestock the better. I am impatient and I waited between 4 and 5 weeks to add livestock the last time I cycled. Even then, I added it slowly. Your patience will pay off over time with a tank that has rock solid chemistry.
It is normal to miss some of the conversion from seeing Ammonia to Nitrite to Nitrate. In cycling somewhere around 10 tanks, I have only seen Nitrite once. For many people, this can be a rapid change.

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

Thanks Guys, all the insight from your experience is extremely helpful.

Another question, what is the next piece of hardware you guys would recommend?

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

I added a basic cleanup crew today to help with the Algae. 10 Turbos Snail, 5 Nas Snails, 3 Peppermint Shrimp, 2 Cleaner Shrimp, 3 red leg hermits, 3 emerald crabs and 1 Brittle Star. They all seem very happy and the crabs started eating the algae almost immediately.

1 peppermint shrimp seems to like flipping the little Nas nails over and picking at the inside of their shell. Everything i read says they wont go after snails unless they are dead, but these guys are walking across sand and the shrimp flips um over. Doesn't seem to be hurting them as they go about there business after the shrimp is done though. Its just one single shrimp that is doing this

Thoughts?

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

I have everything going, cycle is done, CUC running around for a week and just added 5 basic fish. A Pink Bubble tip anemone with a partner clown, a blue tang (best buddies with clown), 2 bicolor anthias. All are very happy, eating a ton and everything seems fine.

My next goal is to start adding some corals, but i want to make sure my water parameters are sufficient to support. Other then Phosphates, calcium and mag, what else should i be paying attention to, and is this the appropriate time for any additional equipment to support that process? Currently i only have the basics, Skimmer and refugium, no reactors, no dosing

 

[NY_Caveman]

Nice clown. Looks like Amphiprion akindynos? I am no help probably on that equipment for corals, but as far as testing obviously you would test Alkalinity as well.

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

Yeah he's a clarki

 

[christopher.lauwers]

Love the build!

 

[EspressoPatronum]

Beautiful tank stand!! IME even starting with dry rock and just cycling with bacterial additive (Dr. Tim's and biospira) running my fuge, I never once saw nitrates. Low ammonia readings for a day or two and then none, same with nitrites. Had a minimal diatom bloom as well which is almost gone, potentially to be followed by cyano or GHA but hopefully not [emoji16] Guessing your live rock is keeping up and the fuge is taking care of the rest. You definitely set it up to minimize your initial nutrient spikes. Good luck and beautiful setup!

 

[Rowdy18Rules]

Beautiful tank stand!! IME even starting with dry rock and just cycling with bacterial additive (Dr. Tim's and biospira) running my fuge, I never once saw nitrates. Low ammonia readings for a day or two and then none, same with nitrites. Had a minimal diatom bloom as well which is almost gone, potentially to be followed by cyano or GHA but hopefully not [emoji16] Guessing your live rock is keeping up and the fuge is taking care of the rest. You definitely set it up to minimize your initial nutrient spikes. Good luck and beautiful setup!

Thanks! Was fun to build.

One of my Radion xr30 pro G4's died this week. Like all before have said, Ecotech support was stellar, shipped me a new light yesterday.