Zer0's 25G Rimless Cube Reef

[thincat]

Daniel, even though he took his shrimp out he still has lots of Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a broad classification for organic molecules of varied origin and composition within aquatic systems. This will feed his tank until he will see nitrates appearing in his test. I for one would have left the shrimp in, but either way will work.

 

[harmy4993]

ok that makes some sense to me. i didnt even think about food(shrimp) particles still in the water.

 

[thincat]

Yes, that is why in a marine tank we use a protein skimmer to remove this DOC and keep our Nitrates at or close to 0 as possible.

 

[Zer0]

Reason i took out the shrimp was because there was nothing left but the tail lol. Which i don't think decays. lol.

 

[thincat]

No problem as it works either way. lol

 

[Zer0]

Oh alright.. cool. Pics of the tank with new light tomorrow! Woot.

I'm syked guys.. it's almost that time to start stocking! Nitrites are now at .25ppm.. but Nitrates still seem to be zero. Really wierd. Is there ANYONE who knows why i don't have nitrates?

 

[thincat]

As long as you have nitrites you won't have any nitrates.

 

[Zer0]

But i thought as the nitrites go down, the nitrates go up? Am i wrong?

 

[mrg02d]

Didnt you say you have a fuge going right now? That would account for no nitrates, especially considering that you had little ammonia to start off the whole process.
If not macroalgea, microalgae would also be consuming what little may be showing up.
I had nitrates while nitrites were going down during my cycle, but I also started off with ammonia over 8ppm
Matt

 

[Zer0]

See i mean.. that's what i was thinking. Considering i have TONS of diatoms and lots of small patches of green algae growing all over the place. Diatoms have been cutting back in the past day or two.. but theres still a ton lol. I keep my light on 24/7 so.. ya.

 

[mrg02d]

If you have patches of algae all over, then you have nitrates. They just are tied up in the algae. Algae doesnt live off of light alone, so its got to be nitrates and phosphates in the water.

You would be surprised how well algae rids you of nitrates and phosphates! (Hence chaeto or whatever)

Id just look for the nitrites to go to zero and then consider the tank cycled. Then wait a week to make sure you dont have any pH issues or whatnot before adding a fish. Seems to me that a CUC could be added as soon as nitrites are zero.

Matt

 

[Zer0]

Yeah, ill probly do that. ill test for phosphates today as well and see what i come up with.

 

[Ziggy953]

Very nice build Kevin!

I look forward to seeing how your tank develops!

 

[Zer0]

Thanks Ziggy! I hope to get a new camera in a couple months, so the pics should be better than the junky ones now lol. But yeah, this tanks got me really excited. Just got my new MH hung up and it looks amazing. Pics ina bit.

 

[Zer0]

Picture update! Nice.

Some pictures of my new light from fishneedit.com I highly recommend their Metal Halide pendants.

Here's a shot with a bit of the stand and a small piece of my room:

FTS:

Here's a cool shot of the water ripples:

Here's a cool shot of my scape:

Left Side:

 

[Aquarium1]

Looking Nice!!!!!

 

[Zer0]

A surprisingly clear shot, taken from the left side:

Bottom up left side shot:

Right side:

Plumbed refugium:

 

[Zer0]

Thanks Wayne. It is looking pretty good now because of the light. Like 20x more intense then that junky CF light i had.

 

[Ziggy953]

Looks awesome but I would raise the light off the water a bit.

 

[Zer0]

Really? Think it's too close to the water? What's the recommended height for a 150w over 18" of water? Jeeze.. i may need a fan now too. The water temp says 85.. but it really doesn't feel that hot. Meh..