Tank Journal Archive

[Azedenkae]

So my aquarium is cycling (or more precisely, going through its microbial propagation phase) at the moment. Ammonia, nitrite and phosphate is 2.0ppm. Nitrate is 40ppm. Roughly.

I should have measured what the parameters were yesterday to keep track of changes but eh. Was lazy. Lol.

So now that the water has cleared up quite a lot, I can finally see the result of my scape. I am wondering what to do with the MarinePure in the corner. It is not too conspicuous, and the heater and stuff makes it artificial anyways, but well, the less the better. Any suggestions as to where I may be able to put it?

Also, what do you guys think of my rockscape? There's only just a bit of a gap underneath the 'arch', but enough for small fish to swim through.

A few hitchhikers, mostly worms and chitons. Two snails survived being in a tightly sealed bag with sand for two months, so that's pretty freaking amazing. I also spotted two snails that were hitchhikers.

I did also add a bunch of brine shrimp eggs yesterday, just because there were some leftover from way back. XD There's hundreds of not thousands of tiny baby brine shrimp struggling to swim around today.

And yeah. That's about it. :P

 

[Sam Parker]

That's a solid cycle going on there! Keep us updated with how the parameters go over the next few weeks.

 

[Azedenkae]

Thanks mate. Yeah stuff is decomposing quickly, hopefully it won't be long before the water really clears up and all the parameters zero out. Not entirely sure what I would do to keep phosphates down in the long run, though the MarinePure and live rock should be enough for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Will keep everyone posted re: parameters. XD Man really should have tested it yesterday. Very curious as to whether I am only just starting to see rises in parameters, or that this was actually lower than yesterday. Well, I guess I'll know as I test more.

 

[Sam Parker]

Phosphates shouldn't be an issue without any fish or food going in the tank. Just let the cycle happen, then give it a decent water change, monitor for another week or two, then add your first fish :)

 

[Azedenkae]

Mhmm, just thinking long term. Thinking of just using Poly-filter, but not sure if it'd be good enough in this case.

The Horizon 130 only comes with a hang-on filter, and there really isn't that much space in there. So have to think a bit creatively in terms of what to do. Not gonna get a sump or canister or whatever. Sumps would require drilling and all that, or at least heavy mods which I am not gonna do (if I do I'd just get another tank), canister I've always had a dislike for.

I have tried stuff like Purigen but haven't really worked that well for me, so don't really want to go that route.

An ATS might be an idea though. Though if I go down that route, I need to figure out how to construct an ATS.

 

[dino]

I was going to say- cut the Marine pure block in half and hide it in the substrate and behind the LR - but then noticed there are already other blocks hidden there. The extra block in the corner is probably excess to your needs anyway (you've got plenty of LR there) - if it was me, I would remove it.

 

[ajkdark]

Ditch the API test kits.

They are useless.

Cheers

 

[Azedenkae]

@dino Lol. XD Yeah pondering if I should remove it too. Just felt like a waste of extra filtration that could come into handy tho...

Just to clarify by the way, that is half the block in the corner. So if I remove it, it'd be half a block + 15kg of live rock + 15kg of sand. Not exactly little, but that extra half gives me peace of mind. Do you reckon that'd be enough though?

@ajkdark: Hm... they've been serving me fine though. I heard plenty about them, but seems like I got lucky with mine. I tested them on 'fresh' water and on 'dirty' water and they seem to measure parameters fine. So I am inclined to keep them though. I have heard of how bad they can be though, I guess I got lucky. :3

 

[daveH]

I'd have to agree with @ajkdark about the API. Maybe replace with Salifert kits as each one runs out.
I think you will find them much more accurate.

 

[Azedenkae]

I'd have to agree with @ajkdark about the API. Maybe replace with Salifert kits as each one runs out.
I think you will find them much more accurate.

Mhm. That may be the way to go. At the moment as well, I guess it isn't so important when all I want to know is 'is this zero', which it at least tells me for sure.

 

[Azedenkae]

Also must say that I am really loving having chosen live rock this time 'round. Don't get me wrong, dry rock has its perks as well, and it really depends on what type of tank one is setting up. But I wanted to see all the cool stuff come out to play, and totally wasn't disappointed. :)

 

[Ian3145]

Ditch the API test kits.

They are useless.

Cheers

I second that. They give inherently false readings.

 

[dino]

@dino Lol. XD Yeah pondering if I should remove it too. Just felt like a waste of extra filtration that could come into handy tho...

Just to clarify by the way, that is half the block in the corner. So if I remove it, it'd be half a block + 15kg of live rock + 15kg of sand. Not exactly little, but that extra half gives me peace of mind. Do you reckon that'd be enough though?

I've not used the product myself, but from what I've read, the Marine Pure block will function just like LF - providing ample surface area for bacteria to colonise.
IMO, the amount of LR and substrate you have would be plenty for that size tank even without the Marine Pure.

 

[Azedenkae]

@dino It does have more surface area in general, and has a higher capacity to hold denitrifying bacteria, so there's that. Really the only reason why I really want it. :P

Btw, I'm gonna listen to y'all re: the test kits. They are working right now for my intents and purposes (as I really only need to know roughly where things are or if things are zero). Now, what are the most precise test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, pH, kH, calc and mag on the market?

 

[daveH]

I've found the best results with Salifert kits for ammonia, nitrate, calcium, magnesium and Kh Alk.
Digital probe for pH.
Hanna egg for phosphate. Although I also use the Hanna Phosphorus egg which apparently when used with the calculation scale gives a more accurate reading for phosphate.