my unexpected 125g build

[huma-huma]

Did another test before going to bed, this is with the test strip, backed up with liquid after
Ammo-0 on both
Trites-0 on both
Trates-20 on strip,50 on liquid
Normally I'd say pwc pwc, but this is a good sign, the trates seem to have leveled off and are actually coming down slightly I think that my filter rinse/pwc/skimmer combo has finally reigned in the trates....going to do another pwc in the morning, prob 15g, then another round of reading tm night. I have this small bottle of green, it says is supposed to boost growth of calerpa and the likes, would I be safe to use this in my refugium? My poor calerpa doesn't seem to be making any headway, which is sad considering I heard it grows fast. Thank a million everyone

 

[scottayy]

Pretty good reading. I doubt your trates will rise rapidly anymore.
I have no idea about the calerpa.
I put strips of masking tape around my cords and wrote on it with a marker what it is. Cuz when I need to unplug something it sucked trying to follow the cords. Your system will work well too! Well, until you run out of colors

 

[carey]

I bought a labelig machine for my cords. $18 at walmart. lol

 

[huma-huma]

Yeah I def got tired of playing the guessing game when it came to unplugging something. And that's a good idea carey, never thought of a label maker lol I also took off both of my refugium return lins yesterday and cleaned them out, good as new except for the neon green hue the algae left behind.I'm thinking about taking apart all of the plumbing and shortening/simplifing it (there's no ned for my overflow pipes to run an x pattern across the tank, they should simply drop down and empty). Any advice on the green carey? You think it'll harm anything?

 

[carey]

Do you have the hose brush cleaning set? You can try to get the green out with a brush if you can. I don't think it will harm anythingbut it will buildup over time and may impede water flow at some point. But if its just a green hue I think youll be fine.

 

[huma-huma]

Lol my bad, I was meaning the chemical called Green, its supposed to boost plant growth, more specifically my calerpa, do you think I should qt some in a 10g with a light and then dose it to see if it starts growing? Or can I simply shut off my refugium and then dose

 

[carey]

Oh a chemical. Personally, me, I wouldnt use anything anything like that. But if you do make sure it's not in your DT. You never know what could happen. I'm totally unfamiliar with "green" though. lol

Do you have a decent light over your refugium? I find my macro isnt growing as much as I 'd like either...I think I have a 32 watt light too...can't remember hehe

 

[huma-huma]

The whole setup came with a 36w curly florescent bulb and a reflective dome housing....he said that when he had the refugium running nonstop that the calerpa filled the container...and it seems that mine is dying off idk if I'm leaving the light on too long/not long enough, should I switch the bulb for a regular halogen? I have a dual-bulb hood from a 10g that I could retrofit...but I don't wanna over do it

 

[carey]

I'm not sure, I know some people just use a home depot shop light dome fixture and add a daylight bulb and they do fine. I may swap out my par38 led fixture into the refugium see if that helps. It's too much light for my pico so maybe it will be enough to grow algae. lol

 

[huma-huma]

Yeah mine looks like one of those hd clip-on light fixtures, and I'm pretty sure its a daylight bulb.it gives off a pure white color that's blinding when I open the door on the stand. For some odd reason, plant growth is my biggest weakness...I had the same issue in my 20l fw....can't seem to grow plants

 

[huma-huma]

Trates are down to 5!!!!! Did a 20g pwc this morning and then tested about an hour ago also replaced my single bulb refuge light with a dual bulb setup I will make something grow in there

 

[kurtyboh]

Trates are down to 5!!!!! Did a 20g pwc this morning and then tested about an hour ago also replaced my single bulb refuge light with a dual bulb setup I will make something grow in there

I like it, what did you get for a fixture

 

[huma-huma]

Its just a simple dual-bulb fixture from a 20yr old 10g setup....give me a few and ill post a pic

 

[huma-huma]

got some awesome news!!! My old lady gave me the go ahead to setup a few 10g breeders and get a breeding room setup!!!! Imma start off with guppies and prob angels, then expand from there!!!!! I'm sooo excited!

Here's my dual-light setup now, not sure how I feel about it, gonna watch the caulerpa and see how it reacts

 

[huma-huma]

Just tested,
Ammo-0
Trites-0
Trates-2.5.......I was dumbfounded by the lack of pink color in the trate test, so I did a second one and got the same exact results!! also just out of curiousity I tested for copper..got a 0 for that too.
Expanding on my last post, I'm going to wait a month or so until our 125 is stable then I'm gonna start the breeding room. I would absolutely love to have a small fish shop one day but one step at a time, I'm gonna start with 4-10g tanks and have them drilled, then ill prob buy a fluval 405 or the likes and run them all off the canister...I also plan on using my 55 as a sump for them, figured I could run 6-8 10g tanks on a single 405 and 55g refugium......what ya think?

 

[stouty6969]

Hey did u so happen get that list made up yet if not it's cool

 

[huma-huma]

I take it you didn't get my pm let me see if I can re-send it, sorry bout that

 

[huma-huma]

Hey check your inbox, the pm is showing as sent so you should have it. Just pm me back

 

[stouty6969]

Hey check your inbox, the pm is showing as sent so you should have it. Just pm me back

I did but there's nothing in there

 

[huma-huma]

Pic of my 2nd part of my refugium and skimmer