Cycled123 Nano to 180g

[cycled123]

For future Reference When dosing copper NEVER add an ammonia reducer as it will turn toxic Fast! I believe that was mentioned above but I wanted to restate it. Also, by the way it sounds, you shouldn’t have had problems with ammonia. Were you measuring with the Badge or the test kit? The test kit will read inaccurate 100% of the time with copper.

Great looking sump! Glad it turned out nice for you. Good luck with your build.

I was measuring ammonia with badge once I had it (day 10). And yes it took forever (well ~6 weeks to cycle) I thought prime was depleted when added Copper. Now I think issue with fish was Uronema all a long from the first Bartlett. Thanks for the advice and reading through. I'm very excited for the new tank. Unfortunately now saying end of January instead of mid January for the tank

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Unfortunately now saying end of January instead of mid January for the tank

Aw man I know how much that sucks. It is hard to be patient when you have everything ready to go. I hope it comes sooner for you.

 

[Zack K]

It is hard to be patient when you have everything ready to go.

Unfortunately nothing good happens fast in this hobby. It’s a good thing you Quarentined, other wise you would be looking Mod February if you had introduced any diseases into the many Display. Don’t beat your self up over it. Sometimes these fish hid symptoms so well, it’s hard to say. Just don’t blink, February will come before you know it.
-Zack

 

[cycled123]

Unfortunately nothing good happens fast in this hobby. It’s a good thing you Quarentined, other wise you would be looking Mod February if you had introduced any diseases into the many Display. Don’t beat your self up over it. Sometimes these fish hid symptoms so well, it’s hard to say. Just don’t blink, February will come before you know it.
-Zack

I am very glad this happened in QT not DT! I'm just very sad to keep loosing fish. I just hope completely rebooting QT solves the issue! I currently have bleach running in the QT tank and then will take everything apart and rinse real good. Then start cycling with new water. Does this sound like an ok plan?
My QT for my nano tank went without a hitch and we only lost one fish due to getting crushed not disease. It's been tough this go around to lose 5 fish already I'm starting to wonder though, our QT for our nano tank had live rock and sand and was more just observation. If I keep loosing fish to my "sterile" hospital QT I may look at going back to sand/live rock in one tank and a smaller medication tank. My husband does not want to set up 2 tanks and if the fish end up with uronema like these ones we would be tearing down both anyway. Decisions Decisions!

I am trying my very best to be patient I just want to get the equipment side going because I know that is going to take awhile too! (Especially plumbing) On that note my husband bought Aluminum to build the frame for floating canopy and the wood to build the supports for the floor in the crawl space. That's about all we can do until we get the tank and stand. We are going to attempt to suspend floating canopy from our ceiling. Should be an interesting project. Anybody got any tips for anchoring to the ceiling?

 

[cycled123]

My husband and I started to look at generators and are trying to figure out what our best options are in case the power goes out. In doing so my husband tried to figure out how much draw our tank will have. Turns out we would be blowing fuses with everything on for the tank, oops! We had an electrician come in yesterday and give us some options. I think we are going to go with a dedicated 20amp outlet for the tank and a 10 switch transfer box and a Champion 7500 watt duel fuel generator . This would allow us to not only use the generator to power the tanks but also furnace, well pump and fridge/freezers. I'm also looking at getting the icecap backup battery to run the gyre in case we are not home when the power goes out. We looked at getting a whole house automatic generator but we are not planning to stay in this house forever. And in 10yrs the power has only gone out for more than a few hours three times. It is definitely something we will do when we build our new house in Northern Wisconsin where outages are much longer and more common.. Besides that nothing really happening. Just waiting for the tank. QT tank showed nitrites yesterday so appears to be cycling as planned and faster then last time. I will not be getting any fish until ammonia is 0. My husband does not want to try Anthias again so we are looking for other schooling fish (besides Chromis). He is leaning towards zebra dart fish. Any thoughts?

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I like black bar chromis.

I know you said something besides chromis maybe try some cardinalfish?

Checking into a generator is on my short list of things I need to get done ASAP. I have been so busy since the holidays I have gotten behind. It sounds like you guys have found a good solution!
I think a dedicated circuit is a good idea. My dh put in 2, 20 amp for my tank and I am glad he did.

 

[cycled123]

I like black bar chromis.

I know you said something besides chromis maybe try some cardinalfish?

Checking into a generator is on my short list of things I need to get done ASAP. I have been so busy since the holidays I have gotten behind. It sounds like you guys have found a good solution!
I think a dedicated circuit is a good idea. My dh put in 2, 20 amp for my tank and I am glad he did.

Black Bar Chromis are pretty but hubby is trying to stay away from anything prone to uronemia. I'm not sure what our next fish is going to be. Probably whatever is on our list or schooling possibilities that is on diver's den when QT cycles. We have a few gift certificates to spend

 

[Zack K]

Black Bar Chromis are pretty but hubby is trying to stay away from anything prone to uronemia. I'm not sure what our next fish is going to be. Probably whatever is on our list or schooling possibilities that is on diver's den when QT cycles. We have a few gift certificates to spend

Unfortunately I have found it is common in most Schooling fish. Chromis, Anthias, Skunk Clownfish, and even a few Basslets. I have not successfully kept a group of dart fish but that Is on my list of things to keep. They always seem to jump or are poor shippers. After 3 attempts I found a firefish that made shipping, ate, and stayed healthy, and now doesn’t jump (knock on wood)

-Zack, who like pink Skunks the best for schooling fish.

 

[cycled123]

Just a quick update... WE CAN PICK UP TANK NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!!!

 

[revhtree]

WOOT!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Awesome!!! Can't wait to see your tank

 

[cycled123]

I have some new friends in QT. A Magnificent Foxface and 3 zebra barred dartfish. This was taken just after adding yesterday. The foxface is swimming around more today. The dartfish are pretty much just hiding and definitely can not get a picture.

Jeez I need to clean the glass of the QT tank!!!

My husband got a Champion 7500watt dual fuel generator. We are still waiting to hear back from the electrician about the dedicated outlet and transfer switch. With the tank coming this week I would like to get the outlet in ASAP!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

You got one of the fish my dh wants me to get... a foxface!! Nice.

That is great that you have the generator. I need to get moving on that. I may end up having some extra time this week if the Gov. shut down holds because I will be on furlough. May as well take advantage where I can.

 

[cycled123]

My husband spent his birthday leveling and supporting the floor where the tank is going (And dug through 2ft of frost to set a pole for my daughters basketball hoop-- I have a wonderful husband!) My husband ended up getting two floor support jacks besides building the support wall in the crawlspace. This allowed him to completely level the floor from below where the tank is going. Hopefully this will help greatly when actually leveling the tank. As it is now the whole area where the tank is going is level

The dartfish finally came out today! It was funny they were hiding until we put a light on the tank. We had been just using ambient light to not stress the fish but apparently that in itself was stressful, lol. They were out within minutes of putting the tank light on and stayed out all day. Turned out the light a little bit ago and they immediately hid. All fish ate and were very active throughout the day but we had a bit of a scare with the foxface. We were getting ready to do a water change and the foxface was loosing slime coat in strings and color looked off. I immediately assumed the worst and freshwater dipped and put formalin-ms and metro in tank (was thinking Brooklynella). Well after a little more research apparently it is normal for a foxface to "shed" occasionally. Probably jumped the gun with meds but after last experience am a bit leery. We hadn't treated this batch with anything yet and I was going to start hydroplex after water change. So just left the formalin and metro in the tank and will do the water change later in the week. Here is a pic of the zebra barred dartfish. The pic doesn't really do them justice! They are a really pretty fish and I am so glad we got them.

still need to clean the glass!

 

[GWHouston]

Sounds like you're doing a similar build to this one.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/doclights-180g-pennisula-build-tang-tank-and-mixed-reef.344313/

I'm starting my building thread soon. My 120 is 48x24x24 and built into the wall of the den. Since I'm new to this and starting my first reef, I am reading, learning, and listening to everything I can. We have a meeting next Saturday with our local club where I hope to saturate my brain with knowledge so as to not make too many mistakes. This is the first meeting in some time so it will be nice to bounce ideas and learn.
On a good note I do have most of my hood built. I'll post a picture later.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Your husband sounds a lot like mine... very handy

The dart fish are very cute!! Their shape reminds me of my fire fish.

 

[cycled123]

Sounds like you're doing a similar build to this one.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/doclights-180g-pennisula-build-tang-tank-and-mixed-reef.344313/

I'm starting my building thread soon. My 120 is 48x24x24 and built into the wall of the den. Since I'm new to this and starting my first reef, I am reading, learning, and listening to everything I can. We have a meeting next Saturday with our local club where I hope to saturate my brain with knowledge so as to not make too many mistakes. This is the first meeting in some time so it will be nice to bounce ideas and learn.
On a good note I do have most of my hood built. I'll post a picture later.

Joining a reef club was one of the best things we did. Its been a great knowledge base plus it was great just meeting people who don't think you are nuts I will have to check out doclights build. I don't think I have seen that one.

 

[cycled123]

THE TANK IS HERE!!!! My husband and I drove about an hour to custom aquariums to pick up the tank. It is beautiful! Here it is on the trailer. It was an absolutely harrowing ride home! The tank kept sliding on the foam pad between it and the pallet and at one point shifted 6in. We ended up stopping multiple times and put more straps on. If we would ever do it again we would pay for the tank to be crated but still pick it up.

We got the stand in the house. The tank is going to have to wait until we have more help. That baby is heavy! I applied industrial strength Velcro to the bottom of the stand to keep it from scratching the floor.

My husband cut the wood for the bottom. He made it in two pieces so if a leak would ever happen we can take half out without removing the sump and dry underneath it. The wood still needs to be painted with bed liner "paint" but we put the sump under to see how everything fit. Love all the room! ATO reservoir, dosing containers and skim locker still need to go under but will still have room if we ever want to get any reactors in the future. I think we are going to put the Apex outside the stand in a box behind the couch on the left. Figure it will be less moisture for the Apex and more working room under the stand. We are planning to have access on 3 sides of the stand once we skim it.

Now it is on to trying to figure out plumbing. (And get the tank in the house!) Unfortunately our credit card was hacked and we won't get the new one for 3+ days. We can't order gate valves online until we get it. Other plumbing will be sourced locally so we can get that. We got the quote for the electrical work and hopefully that will be done next week. All fish in QT are eating and appear to be doing fine. On a more personal note I have been off of work for 3.5 months due to an accident and of course this is the week I returned to work so it's been a bit hectic!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Beautiful tank! I am so excited for you.

Now the real fun begins... plumbing..lol.. I hope everything goes smoothly for you. I can't wait to see your aquascape.

 

[cycled123]

Beautiful tank! I am so excited for you.

Now the real fun begins... plumbing..lol.. I hope everything goes smoothly for you. I can't wait to see your aquascape.

Hubby is handling plumbing I just have to put up with the most likely crabby husband...