Aquatop Recife 24

[putsumranchonit]

What’s goin on folks. This is about my fifth box of water, long time lurker. Gonna log my build here for others to review, reference, and comment on.

Aquatop 24
Lights: Navareef 135w
Wavemaker: Vortech mp10
Return pump: sicce 1.5
Skimmer: None
ATO: None
Dosing: None

1/30
Got the itch to get back into reefing. Scavenged marketplace for a few hours. Spotted this thing and the next thing you know i’m meeting this guy at a sketchy gas station. In that same trip I managed to score a sweet deal on an mp-10 about 45 minutes away.

Got the tank home. The back wall was covered from top to bottom in dried coralline algae and the rear chambers were covered in vermetids and other organisms of some sort. Something must be done.

A quick dollar store run for a gallon of pure vinegar, razor blades, and some microfibers later and we were off to the races. Or the reefs?

Firstly I rigged up a prison scraper mechanism with a long flathead, some masking tape, and a broken piece of plastic off an old sunscreen can to achieve a perfect 45 degree angle so that I could scrape the rear chambers to the bottom. After I got my prison shank reef scraper created the whole tank got a vinegar bath and the scraping party began. Took a solid 3 hours until I felt it was good enough. I’ll be honest it was worth the marketplace discount.

Moved the tank into its new residence and this is how she stands. Unlevel

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/1

Chaotic day.

First thing is first, tank needs leveled. Home Depot here we come. Composite shims and some small 1/2” sheets of birch wood in the basket.

Get home and level the tank out. Now I need rocks and sand. No viable marketplace deals on rock. Plus I’m so anxious to get this thing wet I’m already on the way to the closest LFS.

$8.99 a lb for dry rock. Wow man you guys are pretty high on prices and maybe drugs. I had forgotten that this LFS is usually on the pricer end. Ended up getting about 10lbs here along with 20lbs of some caribsea sand.

Took a quick ride to Petsmart of all places because it was close and I have
reward points. To my surprise, they have a 10lb box of caribsea life rock, wow score. Used my reward points and got some free rocks.

I remember I need a heater. Head over to yet another LFS which isn’t that local. Snagged a 50w titanium hygger, an API kit, and a small bottle of fritz ammonia. We’re doing a fishless cycle this time.

Had to make two more stops. Harbor Freight for six buckets and back to the first LFS for 25g of SW and 5g of R/O. Finally about time to aquascape.

Got home, scaped it up until something felt right. Added the water and heater. Added 2.0ppm ammonia to the water column and the cycle begins.

Side note: My marketplace deal on the mp-10 started to seem suspicious. It was so ridiculously noisy. figured out the ceramic shaft sleeve was cracked on the wet side. messaged the seller and he was willing to swap the wet side for another one he had.

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/2:
Water still cloudy, but clarity increasing
Tested ammonia and nitrite

Got some filter media from a friend’s tank. Time to plant the seed.

Was having major flow issues. With the filter floss in, the overflow was bottlenecking and the waterfall noises in the next chamber were driving me nuts. Removed the filter floss for the day. Problem solved.

Ammonia: ~2.0ppm
Nitrite: 0.00ppm
Temp: 77 F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/3
Water still cloudy, I did stir it up by rearranging some sand. Changed orientation of filter floss, flows much better now. No more waterfall noises. Life is good.

Ammonia ~2.0ppm
Nitrite: 0.00ppm

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/4
Left mp10 off overnight, water finally cleared up. Turned it back on and went to work. Came home and the floss was pretty white from sediment, replaced filter floss. Added some nitrifying bacteria (microbacter7)

Ammonia ~2.0ppm
Nitrite: ~0.25ppm
Nitrate: 0.00ppm

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/5
Added lights to tank, about 8”-9” off water level. Water is fully clear today. Seems like the cycle is progressing. Have not added anything else to water column. Lights are OFF. (Other than the photo)

Ammonia: ~2.0ppm
Nitrite: ~0.50ppm
Nitrate: ~ 3.0ppm
Temp: 78 F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/6
No testing

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/7
2:00AM EST

Ammonia: ~2.0ppm
Nitrite: ~2.0ppm
Nitrate: ~20ppm
Temp: 78 F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/8
10:45AM EST

Nitrite registering as nitrate causing false high readings. Don’t even know why I’m measuring the nitrate at this point.

Ammonia: ~2.0ppm
Nitrite: ~5.0ppm
Nitrate: ~160ppm
Temp: 78 F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/9
9:35AM EST
Ammonia and nitrites seem to be decreasing. Cycle is progressing. Changed filter floss due to debris on top of water. Removed seeder material in case it was what was causing all of the debris. Pointed the return flow towards surface to create more agitation and surface tension. Increased vortech from 35% to 50% reef crest mode.

Ammonia: ~0.75ppm
Nitrite: ~2.0ppm
Nitrate: ~80ppm

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/10
10:23AM EST
Layer of debris on top of water has visibly decreased. Here’s where it starts becoming hard to read NO2 with the API kit. NO3 fully maxed out and this is where I stop testing.

Ammonia: ~0.5 ppm
Nitrite: ~2.0ppm
Nitrate: ~160ppm
PH: ~7.8
Temp: 78 F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/11
9:51AM EST

Ammonia: ~0-0.25ppm
Nitrite: ~2-5ppm
Temp: 78 F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/12
8:17AM

Seems to be an oil slick on top of water again, even with the return pump turbulence created. Needs more agitation? Protein Skimmer?

Ammonia: 0.00ppm
Nitrite: ~2.0-5.0ppm
Temp 78F

 

[germieac]

looking great!

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/13
~4:30PM EST

Nitrite: ~2.0-5.0ppm
Temp 79F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/14
10:30AM EST

Nitrite: ~2.0-5.0ppm
Temp 77F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/15
No testing

Getting anxious, nitrite taking forever to decrease. Tank lights have been off. Very boring box of water.

Started researching nitrites and stalling cycle. Stumbled upon numerous reefers that state nitrite doesn’t matter for marine fish and they don’t even test for it anymore. Mostly a marketing ploy for bottled bacteria. Confirmed that nitrite is nontoxic to marine animals in the amount that it would be present in my water column. Solid article on this topic by Randy Holmes https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/16
1:09PM EST

Nitrite not decreasing. Added another capful of microbacter7 to water column. Considering adding a fish and turning the lights on.

Retested ammonia just to be sure the coast is clear.

Introduced two black clownfish. Will monitor parameters.

Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrite:~2.0ppm-5.0ppm
PH: ~7.9
Temp: 77 F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/17
9:47AM EST

Turned lights on this morning. Clownfish seem to be happily swimming as a pair. They’ve been loitering on the left side of the tank in the open. Observed the clownfish with the disconnected stripe has a couple of white dots on its left pectoral fin. Will keep an eye out.

Temp: 77 F

 

[putsumranchonit]

2/18
8:03PM EST

Fish seem happy. Relaxed breathing and tail fin movements. have not fed them yet. Wanted them to get comfortable in their home. Will feed tomorrow. Planning on a big water change this week (50%). Would like to see the nitrites come down so I can get an accurate Nitrate reading.

Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrites: ~2.0-5.0ppm
Temp 77 F