Ratt's 10g Nano

[Rattzreef]

I pulled the trigger and ordered an ATO from BRS yesterday and it arrived this aft.. Also traded in some of my points and got a Hanna pH Checker

 

[Rattzreef]

Ammonia tested at 2ppm still.. Got the ATO installed already.. pretty simple install..

 

[Rattzreef]

Couple FTS..

 

[Rattzreef]

And a few of Pico..

 

[Rattzreef]

Ran a batch of tests this morning..
Red Sea Reef Care Tests kits for NH3/NH4, NO2, NO3. Hanna checker for pH and Alkalinity
SG: 1.025
pH: 7.96
alk: 6.1
Ammonia: .2
Nitrite: 1+
Nitrate: 50+

Looks like my Ammonia is finally coming down..

 

[Rattzreef]

Temperature: 78.0
SG: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 1+ over what my kit tests for..
Nitrate: Looks between 20-50 so ill say about 30
pH 7.9
Alkalinity 5.9

Thinking the Nitrite should start coming down but that alkalinity drop is a bit concerning.. I may have to check what my fresh SW tests at for alk so I know how much its dropping initially.. I may have to get some kind of alk. buffer to get my levels up.

Of course the tank is still cycling so parameters are gonna be all over for awhile.. Ill keep testing daily.. Its nice to see how the tank is doing from day to day..

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I would deffinatly check you salt mix to see what your base line parameters are. 6.1 and 5.9 are really low. What salt are you using?

 

[Rattzreef]

Kent.. This salt is rather old too that could very well be why its so low.. I have a new bag of reef salt coming from live aquaria next week.. The new brand they are releasing..

 

[SashimiTurtle]

New stuff, don't know much about it other than it got all kinds of awards at Macna... but so does every new thing that comes out. Website says 8.0-9.5dKH... pretty big range.

 

[Rattzreef]

It is new but I figure if Live Aquaria uses the stuff it has to be sufficient.. Plus if you purchase it now you basically get the first bag free.. they offer a $25 gift cert. back off a $24.99 bag. Plus free shipping.. Had to jump on it.. And its kinda local for me.. Rhinelander is only a few hour drive.

 

[Rattzreef]

They're having a tour of the facility in early Nov. I'm gonna make it up there for that.. Its been about 5 years since Ive gone through their fish and coral farm.. Its a pretty big place..

 

[SashimiTurtle]

That would be interesting... I'm thinking it's a bit more than a short drive for me tho. I've been using Red Sea blue bucket with good success. I see no reason to up and switch salts, but I'm not stuck on the salt koolade. IMO, salt is salt... As long as it mixes to what it says it does, and you can find one that suits what levels you want.

 

[Rattzreef]

the container of Kent salt I bought like four years ago before I tore everything down and took a break from the hobby. I had it so I used it for this smaller build. I'm not all that keen on a salt kool aid either but The LR that's in there now wont mind much.. my corals in the pico wont be moving in any time soon anyway.. I am going to make up some water tomorrow so Ill mix up 5g and check parameters on it.. theres only about 10g worth of salt left in my bucket so its almost gone.. Ill pick up a small jar of Alk buffer in the meantime..

 

[Rattzreef]

Batch of tests earlier today..
Temp: 78.1
SG: 1.026
pH: 7.9
Alk: 6.1 dKH
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite. 1+ still likely more than my test reads
Nitrate: 30ppm

Alkalinity was still low so I added half the dosage according to the BRS calculator for sodium bicarbonate and brought it up to 7.3dKH. Ill add the remainder tomorrow afternoon and test again to see where I'm sitting.. The Pico was at 7.1 so I only needed about .2 grams of baking soda to bring it to 8.2. Looking at the tank today I decided it really needed more LR so while at the LFS today I spotted a perfect flat piece of coralline covered Bali rock for $10 so I grabbed it and placed it in the tank.. Looking forward to putting the critters from the pico in this tank..

 

[Rattzreef]

Daily test results..

Temperature: 78.1
SG: 1.026
pH 8.01
Alkalinity: 8.1 (After I added the rest of the Alk solution and tested after an hour.)
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 1+ Still pretty high
Nitrate: 30

Salinity has been holding stable the last 4-5 days thanks to the ATO I installed last week.. That float sensor is pretty sensitive too. I take a cup of water from the tank and the pump turns on..
Happy customer here..

Algae starting to grow on the glass, rock and sand already.. Nice..

 

[Rattzreef]

Ran a batch of tests today.
Temp: 78.1
SG 1.026
pH: 8.2
Alk: 7.4 dKH
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: still +1
Nitrate: 30

Alkalinity dropped a lot in one day.. It was 8.4 yesterday when I tested it after adding the rest of the solution.. The only thing I can think is that the coralline on the new piece of LR may be using it up? I made up 5g of fresh SW and tested pH and Alk.. at 1.026 SG @ 79.9 I'm at 8.25 pH and 10.1 for Alk. It IS the bottom of the salt bucket also so that could be contributing to the high test results..

I'm kind of surprised that my nitrate levels are still off the charts.. gonna change out about 4g this weekend and see where we are at once everything settles..

 

[Rattzreef]

I decided to move all the LR and coral over from the pico into the 10g over the weekend. Mainly, because fighting this salinity is more than I would prefer to deal with at the moment. But because reading through a few threads on here about ammonia, the nitrogen cycle and their effect on corals, I figured they would be just fine going over now. The LR was plenty cycled and the tank has been running smoothly.. I did do a 1g water change yesterday morning and waited till afternoon to move everything.. after a few hours they were all open and enjoying the new environment.. There's ALOT more flow in this tanks and more randomly dispersed.

Here are a few pics:

 

[Rattzreef]

Also installed a panel under the stand to mount all my chords and power bars. I've got a buddy that works for a cabinet shop and he's gonna cut me some side and front panels. Then I'm gonna get some strong magnets to make the panels removable so they will cover everything up. My auto top off container fits nicely in the stand too. that wasn't planned out at all. HAHA.. Ordered the spectral controller for my Kessil light that should be here Tuesday and Ill install it under the stand and program a daily light cycle.. I don't mind turning the knobs manually but the controller will be a nice.. And my last! addition..

 

[Rattzreef]

Yay!!! New Reef Gear!!

 

[Rattzreef]

I've been super excited all day! Couldn't wait to come home and play with my new reef toy.. It was nice of BRS to send me a coupon for a free T shirt on my NEXT $100 purchase.. I guess the last four or five orders of $125+ didn't qualify me.. LOL no worries I have few things to order for the 40 breeder build this month.. Anyways here is a photo of my new reef toy

.. Got it all installed and programmed already. I set it to the seven day acclimation period..
All the coral in the tank look awake and happy today.. Think they like the new environment.