Hello Reef 15 Gallon Cube Build Thread

[tbrown]

Try lowering it an inch or two and moving it towards the middle an inch or two?

 

[DiamondDog1030]

Try lowering it an inch or two and moving it towards the middle an inch or two?

Alright, tried a bit closer to the middle and a little lower. Food seems to be moving around a bit, so we will see.

Thanks

 

[tbrown]

There's really no set formula for where to install a powerhead. It's all just trial and error. Move it an inch or two one direction or another and see how the flow works. The rockwork and flow are going to be different for every tank (and potentially change as corals grow).

 

[DiamondDog1030]

Hello,

Been about a week, and I have been waiting for my tank to give me some nitrates. Seems like it's not working. I know that API tests are notorious for giving people inaccurate readings, but I was given it as a hand-me-down. Seems like my tank is stuck at nitrites. Is this a normal trend that the bacteria that convert nitrites to nitrates take longer to settle?

Timeline:
July 30: Put Dr.Tim's that came with the kit into the tank. Added a large pinch of pellet food
August 5: Added second bottle of Dr.Tim's newer bottle (with new packaging). Saw ammonia rise to about 1.5 ppm
August 11: Noticed Nitrite spike and ammonia going down.
August 17: Current picture attached, less ammonia and more nitrites than on the 11th. No nitrates or very little (?). Maybe I can't tell the color well... or user error too...

I was thinking of going to a store and getting my water tested as a baseline check or a different brand of test kit. Any tips or advice here aside from that?

 

[tbrown]

Shouldn't take that long to convert ammonia to nitrates, no. I'd double check at the store but it seems like you've got them started now.

 

[DiamondDog1030]

Shouldn't take that long to convert ammonia to nitrates, no. I'd double check at the store but it seems like you've got them started now.

Yeah, I'll try and get it checked. At least nitrites are telling me that I didn't miss with two bottles of Dr.Tims.

 

[tbrown]

Yeah, I'll try and get it checked. At least nitrites are telling me that I didn't miss with two bottles of Dr.Tims.

Sounds like the first bottle may have been dead bacteria for lack of a better term. The second bottle helped get the ball rolling though hopefully.

 

[DiamondDog1030]

Sounds like the first bottle may have been dead bacteria for lack of a better term. The second bottle helped get the ball rolling though hopefully.

Have you heard anything about PetSmart testing the water? I heard it's free, but there is also an LFS nearby that does it for 15$ with an API Aquaspin. Tests all 8 params.

 

[tbrown]

Have you heard anything about PetSmart testing the water? I heard it's free, but there is also an LFS nearby that does it for 15$ with an API Aquaspin. Tests all 8 params.

The Aquaspin is only better if it's calibrated. The dip sticks work for what you're looking for. Presence/absence of nitrates shows how far along in the nitrogen cycle your tank is.

 

[DiamondDog1030]

The Aquaspin is only better if it's calibrated. The dip sticks work for what you're looking for. Presence/absence of nitrates shows how far along in the nitrogen cycle your tank is.

Got it, appreciate the help

 

[Louisianareefer]

Hi all,

I am getting started on my Hello Reef 15-gallon tank as an intro into the hobby. Just got the tank and stand set up (no water yet) and built an aquascape. Not sure about stocking plans right now and just following the videos until it cycles. I was thinking of just following the two clownfish and the clean-up crew. Got 20 gallons of RODI water sitting next to the tank right now and hoping to make some progress this week.

For equipment, the kit came with:

• Eheim Jager 50W heater
• Sicce Micra Plus Return Pump
• Sicce Voyager Nano
• A filter sock (already have 2 more, so 3 total)
• Refractometer
• Temperature Strip for side of tank
• Scraper (Handheld one)
• AI Blade light
• Carib Sea Rock (8pcs)
• 10lbs of Carib Sea Fiji Pink Sand
• 16 Gallons worth of Aqua Forest Reef Salt
• Bag of Bio Media
• Bag of Activated Carbon
• 2 Large sponges for back chamber

I also bought:

• The extra filter socks I mentioned
• A Kasa smart power strip
• Handheld HM TDS Meter
• Magnetic Scraper with temperature readout (from Amazon)
• 2 5 Gallon Buckets from Home Depot (with 1 lid)
• 1 2 Gallon Bucket from HD

I am terrible at giving consistent updates, but I hope any readers can bear with me here.

This is what i did with my rock

 

[DiamondDog1030]

This is what i did with my rock

Wow, you got some cool shapes in your kit!

 

[Louisianareefer]

This is what i did with my rock

Wow, you got some cool shapes in your kit!

I got a couple arches, but it wasnt as high as i wanted with what hello reef sent me. I asked around and found these caribsea frag rock from petco and basically used it as filler rock and part of the rock scape ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-life-rock-frag-zone-3105692 ).

Heres a pic of what the scape looked like before adding the frag rock.

 

[DiamondDog1030]

I got a couple arches, but it wasnt as high as i wanted with what hello reef sent me. I asked around and found these caribsea frag rock from petco and basically used it as filler rock and part of the rock scape ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-life-rock-frag-zone-3105692 ).

Heres a pic of what the scape looked like before adding the frag rock.

Ok, that makes more sense. That seems too low for me, too.

 

[Louisianareefer]

I got a couple arches, but it wasnt as high as i wanted with what hello reef sent me. I asked around and found these caribsea frag rock from petco and basically used it as filler rock and part of the rock scape ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/caribsea-life-rock-frag-zone-3105692 ).

Heres a pic of what the scape looked like before adding the frag rock.

Ok, that makes more sense. That seems too low for me, too.

Just started my cycle yesterday so fingers crossed , I got this tank for my kids...and my inner child

 

[tbrown]

I got the HelloReef 15 gallon GloFish tank. I added an extra 15 pounds of sand and 2 river rocks, then went with live plants instead of the plastic GloFish plants that came with the kit.

 

[X-37B]

I have my temp probe zip tied to my return in the tank. My powerhead works well in this position in my 15.

 

[DiamondDog1030]

Got some test strips, granted from API also... Seems like there is some reaction for nitrate, which is good news to me. It might take a while for the nitrite to drop to 0, though. Seems like an error on my part with the API nitrate test, but I've shaken it till my arm fell off and I got nothing. Probably just need to wait it out a week or two.

 

[mpatterson42]

Nothing good comes from rushing in this hobby. Take your time! I know it can be boring looking at an empty tank but you're better off waiting than trying to do something to speed things up.

Nitrites aren't really bad in saltwater aquariums (they're much more of a concern in freshwater). That being said, I would wait until at least the strips or your API test kit shows nitrites at 0 before doing anything else. Also note that the presence of nitrite can cause false readings of nitrate. To get an accurate nitrate reading you need to be reading 0 nitrite.

 

[DiamondDog1030]

Nothing good comes from rushing in this hobby. Take your time! I know it can be boring looking at an empty tank but you're better off waiting than trying to do something to speed things up.

Nitrites aren't really bad in saltwater aquariums (they're much more of a concern in freshwater). That being said, I would wait until at least the strips or your API test kit shows nitrites at 0 before doing anything else. Also note that the presence of nitrite can cause false readings of nitrate. To get an accurate nitrate reading you need to be reading 0 nitrite.

Yeah, I think I was unconsciously rushing. I think it's from reading all of those week-long cycles. I'm ready to wait it out. I'll just assume it's working and wait another week or 2.