Buffy's 1st Ever SW Build - Reef Tank

[carey]

I have pods that are almost the size of a small fish, and yes, they are creepy. lol Mine are fast as lightening too. The rest I;d say your fine with. The astrerina stars will multiply though so you might wanna pluck them out or keep em, your choice

 

[Gregcoyote]

These critters can live under worse conditions than fish/coral can. Your numbers aren't there quite yet. The PH is high, 8.4 is maximum and I would like to see near zero on the organics. I think you are almost cycled, but not quite. Just my opinion.

 

[Buffy]

These critters can live under worse conditions than fish/coral can. Your numbers aren't there quite yet. The PH is high, 8.4 is maximum and I would like to see near zero on the organics. I think you are almost cycled, but not quite. Just myhe
Those were the numbers from the LFS, when I was doubting my numbers. They used strip tests.

As these critters have been in there since then.

My pH test shows 8.2
My ammonia shows <.25 but not yellow enough to be 0
My nitrite is 0
My nitrate is 80

I'm still showing pretty close to the same but one test I could have sworn would be 0 for ammonia. I don't believe the LFS for pH, how would my water be that high? I don't add anything except salt and one cap of that purple stuff to check for dead spots. Only thing in the tank is straight RO/DI water for top off and mixed salt water for water change.

@carey, remember that pod pic I showed you from the filter? I have one of those in my tank, saw it tonite, but this other critter just isn't the same thing. Maybe still is a pod but I'm not sure, I went to every "hitchhiker" and "pod" search site I could last night and today and nothing matches that I can find.

I took some pictures but am too exhausted to go through them and upload, I'll upload tomorrow nite cause I think I need to retake them, still blurry, this time I'll turn the power off so no flow while I snap.

Besides the 2 of the 3 snails are hiding and the 3 black tenacle things from the rock aren't out either. Neither is this clearish tenacle that goes back in hole when light is shining on it.

Least right now they are blurry. Feels like I had my own 3 drinks smith LOL.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Sorry, I saw the 8.6 Ph and was concerned. Didn't understand.

 

[Buffy]

Sorry, I saw the 8.6 Ph and was concerned. Didn't understand.

No prob lol, That's why I explained for you. So IF the chemistry is bad, critters in there will still be fine cause they can take harsher parameters. Well I won't be able to go to foster & smith til sat so I have time to test a few more times and I'll do another pwc on monday morning, then monday evening see if it made any adjustments.

How do pH's fluctuate? From waste?

 

[Gregcoyote]

No prob lol, That's why I explained for you. So IF the chemistry is bad, critters in there will still be fine cause they can take harsher parameters. Well I won't be able to go to foster & smith til sat so I have time to test a few more times and I'll do another pwc on monday morning, then monday evening see if it made any adjustments.

How do pH's fluctuate? From waste?

Yes and several other factors. You will want to keep your Ph above 8.0 and below 8.5 and as little swing as you can manage. That is what buffering does, it provides a "Ph shock absorber" and keeps the tank from varying too much. Good aeration, feeding control, water changes and addition of a Ph buffer, if necessary, should keep everything pretty close. I have loads of coral, so I dose Kalkwasser and a two part calcium/alkalinity solution at a smaller dosage. I bought several of those dosing pumps on EBay and have automated the whole mess. You CAN NOT add these types of buffering and calcium compounds all at once, they have to be dripped into the tank or they will put your Ph way up too fast. I try to keep calcium over 400 and KH near 10 or slightly above. My Ph stays at 8.3 to 8.4, but I have a algae turf scrubbing system that lights up when my main tank lights go off, so it also prevents Ph swings.

 

[scottayy]

I find that when my ammonia is zero the yellow color doesn't match the card exactly due to some cloudiness. This leaves me (and a few others i've seen) thinking there's a little tinge of green present. If your nitrates are 80 and you've not been adding stock or mucking things about - I'd almost guarantee your ammonia is 0.

 

[huma-huma]

if youre getting a ph swing, id def talk to Carey because i vaguely remember her having this same issue on her 125, so it should still be relatively fresh in her mind

 

[carey]

I wa having low ph due to poor air circulation in my house as it turns out. I;ve been letting the house air out so to speak as much as possible with my ceiling fans running to try to bring some fresh air in. I;ve also been using a buffer once a week as well and my ph has stabilized.

Ph will swing from day to night though so thats something to keep in mind as well.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I wa having low ph due to poor air circulation in my house as it turns out. I;ve been letting the house air out so to speak as much as possible with my ceiling fans running to try to bring some fresh air in. I;ve also been using a buffer once a week as well and my ph has stabilized.

Ph will swing from day to night though so thats something to keep in mind as well.

I might imagine the buffer had a lot to do with stabilizing your Ph.

 

[carey]

I've used the buffer a total of 3 times over 3 weeks. So i think its a combination. But whatever I;m doing it's working.

 

[Buffy]

I've used the buffer a total of 3 times over 3 weeks. So i think its a combination. But whatever I;m doing it's working.

Awesome. @Scott no I've not added anything yet:-( . I want to be sure of my tests first. Yea you explained the ammonia color issue exactly.

I still am not home so I will do a pwc when I get home.

Questions:

1. How much pwc should I do this time?
2. How long should I wait after pwc to test?
3. What pH buffer should I use? (Feel free to post pic of bottle. LOL).

 

[scottayy]

1) As big as you want. Ideally you'd have 0 nitrates. That's the purpose of a water change.. get rid of nitrates and replace trace elements.

2) A few hours.. let it mix and circulate.

3) I'd buy a digital ph tester. Much more accurate than the liquid test kit (which I could never read the ph level correctly). The result was I thought I had massive ph swings when my ph was really stable. The ph meter will read "8.1" for example and doesn't leave you guessing what color is closest.

 

[Buffy]

Finished up rockwork, only took more hours tonite. Hope nothing falls. Am finishing up a 35% pwc now. Gonna let it settle a bit then test parameters.

If all goes well I hope to buy my first livestock a week from this friday.

Still haven't decided what I'm gonna buy yet though. So many to choose from lol.

 

[Grizz]

YEA Charge up the camera cause we want pics

 

[jsmith]

YEA Charge up the camera cause we want pics

Second the pics buffy

 

[Dary421]

If you thought it was crazy just getting to this stage than you've seen nothing yet!!! ....now comes the fun part and with it a whole new set of problems ( adventures).., don't worry Buffy ,..you've got the tenacity of a bull dog.

 

[Gregcoyote]

You're just getting to the good part. But don't get depressed, because there are all sorts of stumbles on the way.

 

[Buffy]

Thanks guys, I see that. LOL. I finally fell asleep and got in 2 hours nap yesterday before work. I'm thinking I got the rock sturdy. I didn't get a chance to test parameters. (Gonna borrow a pH meter from work next week to double check that. Unfortunately, I can't check the other parameters with their equipment lol, we don't test all the same stuff)

In the meantime, I'm tossing around in my head....fish or coral, fish or coral LOL, and am thinking bout shrimp and stuff too. I got this one tenacle that creeps out and when I shine a light on it, it goes back in. Now that the rock is done, I don't know if I can get a picture of it (if my camera will work long enough for 2 pics).

I will try to get the test parameters and pics online before work tonite.

I just found out last night a co-worker had saltwater tanks for years, up til last year. He's gonna be looking at his stuff and give me some of his books to read. He didn't do corals.

Also while I am at it. I'm going to look at that selfirt (sp) tests. I'm going to get them all I think. So besides what I have (the basics), I'll need calcium, magnesium and........... ????

Would anyone like to post a few good links to do a refugium? I'm gonna try to use a 10 gallon for that and maybe put it on a stand near the tank. Can I breed brine, mysis (sp) shrimp, copepods and the good eating algae in it? I'd like to try to get that started and developed to sustain my tank and build it up for the Mandarin that is in my future.

Nite all and thanks

 

[carey]

Hi Buffy. Good to see you back on fishie track.

I have in the past started a de tached "refuguium" so I could grow pods for my scooter and the results were less than stellar. How about a hang on back refugium? I think that might work better until you get a sump setup.

Here is two link, one cheap one not

Reef Aquarium Filtration: AquaFuge External Hang-On Refugium

Filtration - Reef - Hang On Refugium with Protein Skimmer

As far as salifert goes I use it for: calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, phosphates and nitrates. I use API for ammonia, trites and ph and copper.

here's a nifty link, while it costs a bit more than salifert I live them!!

Hanna Instruments Checker Colorimeter.

Check out the drop down menu for the available tests. I use the phosphate one now and it's beyond awesome.