75G Build, First Timer

[carey]

I recommend koralia's. Have like a dozen of them lol. they have a magnetic holder on top of the suction cup thing so they never ever fall off.

They are also really quiet. Like are they on quiet. LOL

 

[Patterson333]

Yea, coffeetwitch had recommended those to me earlier. When I was at the store picking up the tank I meant to exchange them, but I forgot...

Hopefully I'll be able to return or exchange them. If not I'll probably just swallow my losses and sell them at half price somewhere and buy the koralias.

 

[coffeetwitch]

I took carey's advice with my powerhead section. Korilias have a fantastic wide soft flow. So happy I listened to her. If you exchange them or even if you have to eat the extra cost you will love em

 

[scottayy]

Wow, glad to know you had the same experience as me.

You might want to consider keeping them though. The IMpeller is silent, it's only the PROpeller that makes noise (thus, powerhead and utility mode are silent, circulation mode is noisy). So, I use one for mixing salt and the other is on standby for a powerhead for my qt/hospital tank.

They are great pumps to have around.

I got some koralias after the noisy MJ's and the koralias are silent. Nice flow too.

 

[Patterson333]

Wow, glad to know you had the same experience as me.

You might want to consider keeping them though. The IMpeller is silent, it's only the PROpeller that makes noise (thus, powerhead and utility mode are silent, circulation mode is noisy). So, I use one for mixing salt and the other is on standby for a powerhead for my qt/hospital tank.

They are great pumps to have around.

I got some koralias after the noisy MJ's and the koralias are silent. Nice flow too.

Hmm. Good point. I do have one extra one that I have set up with an impeller and vinyl hose for water changes, but it would probably be handy to keep a second extra around lol

I might just return/exchange/sell one of them

 

[Patterson333]

Alright, some good news, and some bad news. I'll start with the bad.

My brave little blue-green chromis survived the hardship of a fish-in cycle, but has succumbed to his own devices. Although I had never heard about them being jumpers, he decided to end it all =(

Now the good news. In the wake of his demise, I realized that I needed something to keep my QT ycled. I went over to a LFS, and picked up a nice little pajama cardinal. I figured he would ultimately be a good first resident when the DT is ready: hardy, active, peaceful, easy to feed, and (relatively) cheap. Here he is! He's going to be in my QT tank for as long as it takes me to fully cycle the DT.

 

[coffeetwitch]

sorry and cool little addition. ours hang out at the back of our dt more than anything. but cool little fish.

 

[Patterson333]

I'm still a ways away from buying one (maybe a month lol), but can anyone recommend some protein skimmers I should take a look at? I intend on using an in-sump protein skimmer, but I'm open to other options if you guys think they might work better for some reason.

 

[carey]

i would checkout the line of octopus skimmers

Protein Skimmer, Protein Skimmers, Aquarium Marine Reef Foam Fractionators

 

[coffeetwitch]

I've been eyeballing a few. eBay has one sc150 it's supposed to be a good cheap bubble magus cone clone. I'll get u the link if u want when I get home.

Octopus 150 needle wheel

Vertex 100or 180

Take your pick at few different online shops. Some have better prices than others.

Sorry I'm on my phone while at work and don't have the links.

 

[Patterson333]

Thanks for the links! I tested the water in my DT, as of right now, my levels are

Ammo: 2.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
pH: 8.0

I've got quite a ways to go in my cycle, but the only thing in there is rock so it's all good lol. I also ordered Dr. Tim's One and Only, after having a good experience with Biospira in my QT, so I'll be sure to include a mini-review when the time comes. Hopefully I'll be able to compare the two.

 

[Patterson333]

Update! I picked up a pair of Oscellaris clownfish! I got one small and one slightly larger with the hope that they'll pair up.



I also found life in my DT! I saw this little guy crawling around, thought he was a snail at first but turns out it was a blue-leg hermit. I'm calling him Odysseus because of the journey that he had to endure to get here and the challenges that still lie ahead lol

 

[carey]

Nice pull on the fish, they seem healthy and not too tiny. Fine buy!

 

[Patterson333]

Nice pull on the fish, they seem healthy and not too tiny. Fine buy!

Thanks! I tried to pick out the healthiest looking ones they had, and based on the advice of some other users here I had them feed them for me.

Oh and in case anyone was wondering, they are NOT going into my DT with the curing live rock. They're in my cycled QT.

 

[scottayy]

Very nice!
How's the cycle going?

 

[Patterson333]

Very nice!
How's the cycle going?

Hopefully it's going well. That hermit crab is alive, so that's always a good sign lol.

I haven't done any other tests lately. The last one was on Friday, but hopefully I'll be able to do one today (Sunday) and see if my nitrites have started to rise.

 

[Patterson333]

I am happy to report that I just ran some tests this morning and my tanks are doing great! First I tested the QT, to see how it was handling the bioload of those two clowns I added. Here's what I found:

Ammo: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
pH: 8.2
SG: 1.024



I also ran some tests on the DT, and it looks like it's running through a textbook cycle. Ammonia's dropping and nitrites and nitrates are rising. However when I was shaking the nitrate test tube, quite a bit leaked out, so I'm not all that sure if those nitrate levels are accurate, especially since they're higher than I'd expect this early on.

Ammo: 0.50 ppm
Nitrite: 2.0 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm
pH: 8.2
SG: 1.026



Most importantly, the fish in my QT are also doing great. They're eating pellets, which makes feeding nice and easy, and they're really active.

 

[coffeetwitch]

Looking good. It will be nice to see your qt empty and your dt with fish

 

[Patterson333]

Looking good. It will be nice to see your qt empty and your dt with fish

Haha tell me about it! It's gonna be a bit longer though. I'm trying to be really patient and take things nice and slow lol.

 

[coffeetwitch]

That's a good plan. Patients is a much needed virtue I'm finding out