my 125 gallon journey
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Lowstorm
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Yeah, super simple sump. I couldn't afford to buy a fancy one but do live in a farming community! It was really simple to drill through. The only time it goes up past the holes is when I hit the power button.
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Lowstorm
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Cycle is going great! Ammonia down to 0, trites are down to 1, trates are sky high. Almost time to get stuff. Id say 2-4 weeks of me feeding the tank.
Oh, and my first bloom of ugly brown something is happening! !! All over my rocks, sand, glass... cheato is growing too if my eyes are telling me right. Vinegar dosing is my daily maintenance right now. A shot glass may not be a correct measure, but hey- it works!
Oh, and my first bloom of ugly brown something is happening! !! All over my rocks, sand, glass... cheato is growing too if my eyes are telling me right. Vinegar dosing is my daily maintenance right now. A shot glass may not be a correct measure, but hey- it works!
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Lowstorm
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Ammonia still 0, even feeding daily. Trites still at. 25 or so, but.. I'm starting to think it's cause my trates are still over 100! Still trying to vinegar dose it down before I do a water change, cause I'm stingy with the salt. First wc planned for Tues or Wed night.
But, my cheto is growing like a weed and my pod population exploded.
But, my cheto is growing like a weed and my pod population exploded.
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Lowstorm
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First big water change. 32 gallons. Yay!
Nitrates are about 50! So next Friday I'm doing another water change, and I'm continuing my vinegar dosing. But I may change to vodka. It makes more sense to use a shot glass for vodka instead of vinegar.
Nitrates are about 50! So next Friday I'm doing another water change, and I'm continuing my vinegar dosing. But I may change to vodka. It makes more sense to use a shot glass for vodka instead of vinegar.
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Lowstorm
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Full testing done!:
PH 8.0
PO4 0
Trites 0
Trates 10 (Not dropping, but I feed the empty tank, a lot, so not surprising either)
cal 430
Alk 2.96
Mag 1440 (This is off, probably just from water making, using IO Reef Crystals)
I didn't even bother testing ammonia at this point. Its been 0, I tested it last week and it was at 0
Saturday is a BIG DAY! Getting my first corals, fish, and a more comprehensive clean up crew to tackle the diatoms.
Sand bed stirrers, unite!
PS: I vote for Superman. I haven't watched the movie, but I still vote for Superman. Yeah, Batman is cool, and totally hot, but Superman has super powers, therefore he wins.
PH 8.0
PO4 0
Trites 0
Trates 10 (Not dropping, but I feed the empty tank, a lot, so not surprising either)
cal 430
Alk 2.96
Mag 1440 (This is off, probably just from water making, using IO Reef Crystals)
I didn't even bother testing ammonia at this point. Its been 0, I tested it last week and it was at 0
Saturday is a BIG DAY! Getting my first corals, fish, and a more comprehensive clean up crew to tackle the diatoms.
Sand bed stirrers, unite!
PS: I vote for Superman. I haven't watched the movie, but I still vote for Superman. Yeah, Batman is cool, and totally hot, but Superman has super powers, therefore he wins.
OP
OP
Lowstorm
Well-Known Member
Oh. My pod population is OUT OF CONTROL. Like, seriously.. they're huge, they're ALL OVER the place... I could feed a mandarin for a year, just on what's in there now without the population growing any more. Okay, so I'm exaggerating, but its crazy how many of the little guys there are.
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Lowstorm
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Well, I got myself fishies!
a pair of A. nigripes (blackfooted clowns) Oh, they're so darn cute!
...oh, and a crapload of corals. A local is retiring, and in the process is also tearing down his tank to spend more time with his family. He has a lot of nice corals, so... I snagged a big colony of gold/orange colored acans! They recently went to war with a hammer and won, so they're a bit scarred up, but so nice! They started puffing up immediately in the tank. And a gold wall hammer, and a small green brain.
Then, of course, we were having our swap today. Yup, couple of monti caps, zoanthids, a different red/blue/rainbow acan (just one head, but it will grow!) a grandis, green candycane, lepastrea frag, a little goniastrea (Blue 'face', green tentacles!!!) and a little birdsnest frag.
So, now I'm just going to care for what I have.. and wait. And wait some more. I have patience. Next corals will be more SPS. And I can wait. Why am I waiting? I want BIG colonies. I already know what I want my tank to look like. The only other LPS I might get is a frogspawn and an elegance. Oh, and a long-tentacle fungia. Anyhow, the reason I'm waiting is because 1) I want to do it right, and 2) I want to beable to grow big colonies, and fill in the tank. With my rockwork how it is, less species will be best than a crapload of frags.
In 2 years, I want my tank to shock and wow people with the size and health of the corals.
So, next plans:
Source captive bred assessors.
Source captive bred gobies.
Invest in some captive bred clams (maricultured is fine for this I'm thinking-need to do more research)
Find a nice healthy anemone for the clowns. (They naturally go for magnifica, but I don't really want a fish eating monster in my tank...)
Find 3 or more SPS for the rest of my rockwork... I love the rainbows, and I may have my eye on vivid's rainbow delight, a stylophora, and then... who knows. But I do not want more than 6 frags/mini colonies to grow out!
Find a nice elegance (hopefully I can find one that's been in captivity for a while, and not a wild specimen)
Find a maze brain (okay, this is something I kinda need. I LOVE maze brains!)
Galaxia! It was my first, and favorite coral. I should have one!
And then round out my fish. I have a ton of pods, we'll see how they hold up with the assessors and gobies. If they do good, I'll try to source a cb pair of mandarins, or scooters. If that becomes impossible in a year or more... I'll figure out something else interesting.
Oh, and a CB yellow tang. Unless by then they're breeding bristle tooth tangs. I LOVES me them bristle tooths!
a pair of A. nigripes (blackfooted clowns) Oh, they're so darn cute!
...oh, and a crapload of corals. A local is retiring, and in the process is also tearing down his tank to spend more time with his family. He has a lot of nice corals, so... I snagged a big colony of gold/orange colored acans! They recently went to war with a hammer and won, so they're a bit scarred up, but so nice! They started puffing up immediately in the tank. And a gold wall hammer, and a small green brain.
Then, of course, we were having our swap today. Yup, couple of monti caps, zoanthids, a different red/blue/rainbow acan (just one head, but it will grow!) a grandis, green candycane, lepastrea frag, a little goniastrea (Blue 'face', green tentacles!!!) and a little birdsnest frag.
So, now I'm just going to care for what I have.. and wait. And wait some more. I have patience. Next corals will be more SPS. And I can wait. Why am I waiting? I want BIG colonies. I already know what I want my tank to look like. The only other LPS I might get is a frogspawn and an elegance. Oh, and a long-tentacle fungia. Anyhow, the reason I'm waiting is because 1) I want to do it right, and 2) I want to beable to grow big colonies, and fill in the tank. With my rockwork how it is, less species will be best than a crapload of frags.
In 2 years, I want my tank to shock and wow people with the size and health of the corals.
So, next plans:
Source captive bred assessors.
Source captive bred gobies.
Invest in some captive bred clams (maricultured is fine for this I'm thinking-need to do more research)
Find a nice healthy anemone for the clowns. (They naturally go for magnifica, but I don't really want a fish eating monster in my tank...)
Find 3 or more SPS for the rest of my rockwork... I love the rainbows, and I may have my eye on vivid's rainbow delight, a stylophora, and then... who knows. But I do not want more than 6 frags/mini colonies to grow out!
Find a nice elegance (hopefully I can find one that's been in captivity for a while, and not a wild specimen)
Find a maze brain (okay, this is something I kinda need. I LOVE maze brains!)
Galaxia! It was my first, and favorite coral. I should have one!
And then round out my fish. I have a ton of pods, we'll see how they hold up with the assessors and gobies. If they do good, I'll try to source a cb pair of mandarins, or scooters. If that becomes impossible in a year or more... I'll figure out something else interesting.
Oh, and a CB yellow tang. Unless by then they're breeding bristle tooth tangs. I LOVES me them bristle tooths!
OP
OP
Lowstorm
Well-Known Member
I know, no pics yet. My bacterial bloom went haywire. Everything is still alive but not happy. Put a uv on today (13 Watts) and am skimming wet. Ran out of salt, ordered more. Should be here next week.
OP
OP
Lowstorm
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UV appears to be working! Set up for 30 hours, tank looks way clearer already. It'd probably be even better if I could set it before my skimmer, but due to how my sump is set up its simply not possible. And ick, the crud I'm skimming could make a rat puke
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