Tank Journal Archive

[dimitri]

Hi everyone,

Incase you didn't check the other thread I am testing the claims of the Hydro-pure Stream 1 - my LFS owner claimed it was the beez knees and bullet proof

Quick Recap: 0-96hrs

Red Sea Reefer 350 tank
Deltec 1350 skimmer running in
3000l/hr main pump
1500l/hr pump for hydro-pure
2 socks with media

*10kg well cycled LR installed @ 14hr mark
*12kg brand new fresh LR 4-6 days ( i originally miss quoted and claimed 26kg, i checked the invoice clearly 12kg) installed @ 36hr mark
*1x Hermit Crab, B&W clarks clown & yellow goby installed at 48hr mark
*fresh LR came with a sea snail of some sort & some parasite/worm i guess? see pictures below
*tried to feed the fish dried marine flake food, didn't accept it, no idea why the LFS guy recommended this, seemed odd... didn't want me overloading the hydro-pure?

latest update 96-100hrs in to brand new tank setup/run in

*got baby shrimp from my other LFS, both fish ate well!

ammonia .25 - slightly up from lunchtime today - they had no other testing kits at the shop besides the API the other 'decent ones' are all sold out, and supply is limited/rep is slack

nitrate, nitrite 0 - if the hydro-pure is doing its job then the nitrate/nitrite should bond with the titanium plate and not make its way back into the environment.

having real issues getting the SG to 1.02-1.025 though, this seems to be my biggest issue at the moment, my refractor is telling me its at 1.026, it's taken me about 6hrs to get it down from 1.034 with very small water changes every 30minutes, and my hydrometer is telling me its 1.010 < i think its a pile of junk though and am only going with the refractor reading for now..



also see 2 pictures attached.. fished this worm out the bottom just before, hadn't attacked anything was just on the sand after i put the wave-maker up to full speed to move some debris around..

I turned off all the lights and walked out of the room, then came in maybe 10 minutes later and this crustacean, second picture was attacking the Gill of my clownfish, pulled it out with a tweezer at the surface, any idea on the species? some sort of isopod?

the clown is swimming around fine now but was struggling for about 15minutes, no idea how much damage it did, it was about 10minutes between checks on the room and I had just put the lights out.

more to come over the next week as i load up the system faster then you would expect through a normal cycling process.

Hydro-pure seems to be keeping up with all of its claims, although I am expecting a large ammonia spike soon from the fresh LR die off

 

[dimitri]

110hrs:

the Sea Snail or 'Chiton' Was dead this morning. - took it out

Hermit crab, Clownfish and Yellow Goby seem fine, all going about their business.

Ammonia: 0.5 - highest it's been.
Nitrate: 0 - this should have spiked if ammonia goes up?
Nitrite: 0 - same with this?
Ph: 8.3

small water change, SG was 1.027 - probably due to evaporation, no lid on the tank yet

No Red Gills, No laboured breathing on the fish, I guess I will know tonight when I get home from work if the Hydro-Pure is the cure-all as claimed, my gut feeling is think it will be catastrophe.

*also heard some loud clicking when i first turned blue light on, going to be pretty annoyed if i got a mantis shrimp.

 

[MagicJ]

*also heard some loud clicking when i first turned blue light on, going to be pretty annoyed if i got a mantis shrimp.

It could also be a pistol shrimp.

 

[dimitri]

that is what i am hoping for, when i first put the LR in i noticed something scooting backwards, and again yesterday evening when i pulled out the worm.

more curious to know if the thing attacking the clarks clown was an isopod though...

 

[dimitri]

Ammonia: 0.7, its going up

Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0

fish still accepting food and swimming normally
Salinity 1.022

Bit of a pong to the room now, from the LR die off

will the Salifert test kit differentiate between the ammonia types?

 

[Agent M]

more curious to know if the thing attacking the clarks clown was an isopod though...

Yep it was, good pic you posted.

 

[Agent M]

Ammonia: 0.7, its going up

According the Seachem website, 0.5mg/L and above is considered 'toxic'.
http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/AmmoniaAlert.html

 

[dimitri]

the test can not differentiate between ammonia and ammonium... no test can so as long as the fish are doing fine, I am under the assumption that the hydro-pure is working/converting?

Apparently nitrate won't increase till after the ammonia starts to drop to zero, which would be in 4-6 days from now, so I still have some time/monitoring to go.

I am doing partial water changes to keep SG within range so this will probably help/fluff the lines a bit..


due to black bucket/flash i couldn't get a clearer shot, apologies.. you can see it better if you zoom in though, nasty little critter.

 

[Buddy]

Are you expecting nitrite before nitrate?

 

[dimitri]

I thought the nitrogen cycle goes

NH3 > HN4 > Nitrite > Nitrate? - So expecting nitrite to go up first?


I have just installed a (40hr soaked) seneye reef + & i can now monitor from work. (it might be giving slightly off readings for a bit, your supposed to soak it for 48hrs.) & it seems to give both forms of ammonia (something i thought wasn't possible? or maybe the electronic testers are different?)

I have been informed that the readings from this device are much more accurate and to follow that as the API will just give false positives and you can't differentiate.

PH: 8.49
NH3: 0.052PPM
NH4: 7.6
O2: 8.5

it doesn't do nitrite or nitrate but i was home earlier connecting the seneye and they both came up as zero on the API


SG is 1.022, that is within range however i just read this from an online article: "For reference, natural ocean water has a salinity of about 35 ppt, corresponding to a specific gravity of about 1.0264 and a conductivity of 53 mS/cm.
As far as I know, there is little real evidence that keeping a coral reef aquarium at anything other than natural levels is preferable. It appears to be common practice to keep marine fish, and in many cases reef aquaria, at somewhat lower than natural salinity levels. This practice stems, at least in part, from the belief that fish are less stressed at reduced salinity. Substantial misunderstandings also arise among aquarists as to how specific gravity really relates to salinity, especially considering temperature effects.

Ron Shimek has discussed salinity on natural reefs in a previous article. His recommendation, and mine as well, is to maintain salinity at a natural level. If the organisms in the aquarium are from brackish environments with lower salinity, or from the Red Sea with higher salinity, selecting something other than 35 ppt may make good sense. Otherwise, I suggest targeting a salinity of 35 ppt (specific gravity = 1.0264; conductivity = 53 mS/cm).
"


So not really sure where I should target at the moment..

 

[ReeferRob]

They make full plastic hose clamps, these are what I use.