210 fun

[coffeetwitch]

call me crazy, but i enjoy seeing at the "behind the scenes" aspect of this hobby/obsession. good pics and thanks for showing. it helps me out.

 

[Sleeperr34]

Same here. And I post mainly so if it is wrong someone might tell me. So I can try and fix it before I put water in.

 

[Sleeperr34]

And so it begins. No point in holding back. Just going to get this thing started. I'm filling the tank now with ro water. Will prob have most o it filled by the end of the day tomorrow. Hoping to be able to have it all and up and running by then. But we will see. Now the fun starts. Lol

 

[coffeetwitch]

fortune favor's the bold.

 

[Sarcothelia]

When you said "and an extra I didn't mean to put in" I thought that you were referring to the cat amongst the live rock.

 

[Sleeperr34]

Oh. If ur talking about the pics I put up. Yea my gf helps out at an exotic cat rescue close to here and I had a pic of one of them I didn't mean to post. Lol

 

[Sleeperr34]

So update. Been filling the tank. Wow this is slow. But had a pump running water from my ro tub to the tank went to the bathroom. And when I came back the livingroom was flooded. The hose fell out of the tank and was just pumping all over the floor. Never been so happy I don't have carpet. Lol

 

[coffeetwitch]

wow! thankfully it wasnt for a long time.

 

[Sleeperr34]

Yea but lost about 10gal or more. Still sucked to clean it all up.

 

[coffeetwitch]

yeah, like you said thankfully it wasnt on carpet.

 

[crzytrace]

saw your fish list. not sure about alot of those, but i know the catalina goby is not a tropical species- they need colder water. LA says 60-70*F.

 

[Sleeperr34]

Yea that list was maid by my gf. She just went through liveaquaria and wrote down every fish she likes that might be ok In a reef. And it is my job to figure out what fish will work in our tank and with eachother.

 

[coffeetwitch]

ha. its my job to put together the tanks and set up everything to keep them alive.

 

[Sleeperr34]

Yea. She says she just wants to enjoy it. But not be involved in any of the details of it.

 

[coffeetwitch]

this is the fun part!

 

[Sleeperr34]

So tank is full. Half the sand is in was getting late and had to be at work early this morning, so planning on putting the rest in there tonight when I get home.

So for the cycling. What I was told by my Lfs to do was. Put a dead shrimp in the tank and leave it, it will cause an ammonia Spick then good bacteria will feed off of it and get established. Once ammonia is all gone dose it with ammonia and see if it goes away and then I should be set and able to add live stock. Is this right? And do I leave the lights on or off? Do I still do water changes, if so how often? And do I leave my protien skimmer running during this?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[coffeetwitch]

or you can dose with ammonia from the beginning and no dead shrimp. lights can be left off. only water change if your cycle stalls or its off the charts for too long and you cant tell if its moving along. temp at 80-86.

once ammonia starts to fall keep dosing with ammonia to keep feeding the tank. 4ppm on the ammo.

idk about the skimmer. i want to say leave it off.

 

[carey]

Since a skimmer takes a few weeks to break in you might as well run it now while you cycle. Save you some time, though I dont think you'll get much skimmate.

 

[Sleeperr34]

Sweet thanks. Prob will leave it on then. And might just do the does from the start.

 

[Sleeperr34]

For anyone following this.

Tank has been full for 2 days now. No leaks . Just over 300lbs of total rock. And 220lbs of live sand. Tanks looking clearer and been leaving the moonlights on to be able to see if I need the shift things or powerheads. And am loving the shimmer it let's out.