Tank Journal Archive

Azedenkae

Member
Jun 17, 2013
191
40
Update #3 (07/07/2015)
So my aquarium finished cycling about 2 weeks ago, and I initially stocked it with 5 dispar anthias and a zoa colony.

I've just came back from my workplace (Majestic Aquariums), and got some more stuff. :p

So first off, a FTS:

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The one thing about this aquarium, is that the glass tints the water a bit (unfortunately). I'm thinking of how to solve that.

But anyways, today I've added two giobiodons, a purplelined fairy wrasse, and two Clownfish. :D Oh and an elegance coral as well. So far they are doing great! The elegance is really opening up now, and the fish are all eating pellets, so there's no worries there. They are currently swimming around the right side of the tank, awaiting more food. >_<"

Hard to take pictures of them close up, but these will do:

aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v320_Azure_Dragon1990_Mobile_20Uple5c8563a98e0a5cab28f7496e4c0bac3.jpg


My elegance, which has seen opened up more.

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Black Blob, aka the black gobiodon.

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The other gobiodon.

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The wrasse, who moves too quickly for me to get a decent shot of.

And last but not least, the two clowns:

aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v320_Azure_Dragon1990_Mobile_20Upl113b3cfbcf9510dad1444b8d5fedb3b2.jpg


:D
 
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Wrangy

Member
May 7, 2013
2,923
1,567
Research
I hate to be a negative nancy but does 10 fish in 2 weeks in a brand new tank not seem a little too much too quickly? Especially without a skimmer or much filtration capacity and given the sheer amount of food anthias require
 

Azedenkae

Member
Jun 17, 2013
191
40
Not at all. I was skeptical initially (and wouldn't have stocked these many fish if otherwise), but after testing the filtrative capacity of the aquarium, I found that it could easily handle a large bioload, larger than what I have in the aquarium now. So there's no worries with the amount of fish in there - I can add even more actually, though this is my selection for now.

There's no skimmer or anything, but the MarinePure, Poly-filter, live rock and sand is working well enough for there to not be a need for a skimmer.
 

curly747

Member
Aug 13, 2013
168
57
Curl Curl
There's no skimmer or anything, but the MarinePure, Poly-filter, live rock and sand is working well enough for there to not be a need for a skimmer.
I hate to be mr negative also but i really doubt what you are saying is a good idea. Why wouldn't a skimmer be the most effective and cheapest way to go as a starting point? Also i like to introduce 1 or maybe 2 fish every couple of months after a cycle. Not 10 fish in two weeks. I think this is my first negative post on this forum but feel i have to say something.
 

Azedenkae

Member
Jun 17, 2013
191
40
I hate to be mr negative also but i really doubt what you are saying is a good idea. Why wouldn't a skimmer be the most effective and cheapest way to go as a starting point? Also i like to introduce 1 or maybe 2 fish every couple of months after a cycle. Not 10 fish in two weeks. I think this is my first negative post on this forum but feel i have to say something.
Hm... this is probably a case of 'to each their own'. I am not a believer of forcing oneself to only add one or maybe two fish every couple of months, though I am sure our believes stem from the same origin - to add fish not beyond the capacity of the aquarium to handle said fish. However, my belief is that when cycled properly (and the filtrative capacity is tested beforehand to ensure that the aquarium can indeed handle the intended bioload), then there's no reason why one can't add more than one fish at a time. And I have done this many times before - both for my tanks and otherwise, without an issue. Sure, if the aquarium can't handle much, then sure, one or two a month or whatever may be necessary. But when that's not the case, why limit oneself? :)

As for a skimmer, they are really not my thing. They are too finicky for me, and really having to fit one on this aquarium is more trouble than it is worth. Even otherwise, I am not a fan of skimmers. There are other things that can work in its place, even if not through the same concept. I rely on MarinePure + Poly-filter for most of the parameters stabilizers (in terms of PANN). And then manual removal of algae and all that for further nutrient export.

But anyways yeah, that's just my own personal preference. :) As for the fish, I doubt there'd be any issues in this case, as with every previous experience of mine (except for that one time when my fish jumped out, which is also a reason why I love this aquarium. The lids offer very little avenue for jumping).
 

Lesley

Member
Apr 2, 2013
2,086
1,079
May I ask, you say you tested the filtration system before adding these fish so you actually think is capable of more. How did you test it ?
Would love to know ?
Thanks
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
... but after testing the filtrative capacity of the aquarium, I found that it could easily handle a large bioload, larger than what I have in the aquarium now.
So, you have found some way to magically measure the levels of nitrosonomas and nitrobacter bacteria?

Unfortunately, your comments indicate that your have no concept of the nitrogen cycle within a marine aquarium - please go away and do some reading before risking the death of any more fish.

As a starting point...

The numbers of nitrosonomas, nitrobacter and denitrifying bacteria (let's call them good bacteria) will balance out to sustainable levels based on the levels of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate within the system. But, this does not happen instantaneously - it takes time.

You seem to be working on the assumption that you can build up surplus numbers of good bacteria to handle the waste produced by future fish additions - have you been dosing ammonia into the tank to substitute for the future fish load?
 

Azedenkae

Member
Jun 17, 2013
191
40
@MagicJ You seem to be implying that I stated I know exactly how much nitrifying/denitrifying bacteria there is in the aquarium. Which I never stated.

But anyways, so let's move on to the specifics. This will also be for you @Lesley.

So I test my filtrative capacity much as anyone would, ensuring that a specific amount of well, something, can be 'dealt with' within a particular time frame. In my case, it is a large amount of food within a day. I do that for a number of days just to be sure, but yes, I essentially, each day for a few days, add in a large amount of food. Then I check parameters after 24 hours, and if things are zero, well, for me specifically, to be safe, I repeat the process a few times. This tells me that the aquarium can handle that much food within 24 hours. So I know that daily, I can feed up to that much.

Of course, there will be times in the aquarium when within a day, more food (including fish food, algae and other organisms) will be consumed (and hence more waste) than others, but on balance, what one adds per day is what must be dealt with, per day.

So yeah, once it is clear that the aquarium is able to deal with a particular amount of food, then it's a matter of adding fish that require less than said amount of food for sustenance. No measurement of bacterial levels whatsoever, at least not anything specific. I have no idea how much bacteria is in the aquarium. I just know there is at least enough to deal with the daily food additions, and that is all that matters.

@slin1977 did once link an article that explains this a bit better than I could: http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/how-to-start

Dr. Tim uses pure ammonia to test the filtrative capacity of his aquarium, and also to identify the end of the the cycle (or microbial propagation phase to be precise). I am assuming that MagicJ, you are familiar with his methods as you mentioned ammonia. My method is similar, except I use straight fish food. I don't like to use pure ammonia, just because I am unable to convert that into an approximation of how much food can be fed. Instead by using fish food, I can tell exactly how much I can't or can't feed.

For example, if I had added the same amount of food and there were signs of ANN after 24 hours, and despite whatever I do that remains the case, then I would know the aquarium as is simply can't handle that much food, and ergo I have to limit my fish selection. Unless I change it up somehow, such as by adding a skimmer for example.

It's similar to how this guy does it: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2488058

But rather than going for a miniscule amount of food, which only allows one to add snails or whatever he mentioned at the end of the cycle, I go for a lot more food. Which allows me to add a lot more. :) Like we can see with this tank.

Simple. :D Hope that helps. :)

P.S. One more thing I forgot to mention. I always aim to establish denitrifying bacteria if possible, so that there is a 'natural' method of nitrate reduction. I just find it less stressful later on, with one less parameter to worry about.
 

slin1977

Member
Jul 13, 2011
3,476
1,661
Sydney
@Azedenkae - thanks for tagging me . I've had my cycling discussion with you here.

http://thereefuge.com/threads/cycling-discussion.12885/

For the record I have to say that you've made update one and update two , this is update number three.
I looked all over hoping you would publish your water testing results.
I saw your Facebook post about water testing which was pretty much the same as update number 1.

Now - mate, you are welcome to do things your way and I wish you luck and encouragement with it.

Pls don't go MIA on us , and feel free to share your cycling experience further.
 

Azedenkae

Member
Jun 17, 2013
191
40
Yeah sorry for going all lazy after a while. >_> You can see more of my testing updates on my youtube channel as well, where I share things clip-worthy that I am too lazy to put in large swaths of writing. Let me collate what I wrote on the different groups/pages/forums and see if I can come up with a coherent timeline of my water tests from day 1 to day 22 or whatever day it was when I stopped testing. :P

And yeah no, don't worry, I am not gonna go MIA. I am a bit lazy to post updates on forums as it takes more work, but I am here for the important parts. XD

We will see how things go. For the record, I have done this before, so I don't see any worry with things continuing as it will, say, a month later. By then I can assume we'd know if I was right or wrong. This setup would only be until late August anyways, so unfortunately there won't be any long term data coming out of this. But eh. I like to enjoy keeping fish whenever possible, even if it is just a few months at a time.