First Nano SW

[Oscarr19]

Just did some tests.

0.6 Ammonia
0.3 Nitrite
A little bit more than 5ppm Nitrate

I have a raw shrimp in there that broke down pretty nicely to about a quarter of its size but I haven't seen an ammonia spike :s should I add another shrimp?

[Big Tex]

Originally Posted by Oscarr19

Just did some tests.

0.6 Ammonia
0.3 Nitrite
A little bit more than 5ppm Nitrate

I have a raw shrimp in there that broke down pretty nicely to about a quarter of its size but I haven't seen an ammonia spike :s should I add another shrimp?

If you haven't seen a spike your still good just wait it out, this is the longest part.

[Oscarr19]

Originally Posted by Big Tex

If you haven't seen a spike your still good just wait it out, this is the longest part.

Alright, so don't switch out the shrimp or at a new one? and I think I'm starting to see diatoms on my rock.

Should I worry about the sand on my live rock or it's just base on preference? As you can see my water is still cloudy and I'm gonna clean my intake and power head right now.

[Oscarr19]

I'm also thinking of painting the back of my tank black with non-toxic acrylic paint. The black edges around the back would make it a lot easier too since I won't have to tape too much.

[Big Tex]

Originally Posted by Oscarr19

Alright, so don't switch out the shrimp or at a new one? and I think I'm starting to see diatoms on my rock.

Should I worry about the sand on my live rock or it's just base on preference? As you can see my water is still cloudy and I'm gonna clean my intake and power head right now.

its just preference bud, i have some sand on my lr and its no bother to the actual bacteria on the rock, its purely aesthetic, and as far as water cloud just swap out your polyfil floss it will polish up the water nicely with new floss, after the bulk of the polishing the floss is pretty clogged up so just swap it out for epic clarity lol

[Oscarr19]

Originally Posted by Big Tex

its just preference bud, i have some sand on my lr and its no bother to the actual bacteria on the rock, its purely aesthetic, and as far as water cloud just swap out your polyfil floss it will polish up the water nicely with new floss, after the bulk of the polishing the floss is pretty clogged up so just swap it out for epic clarity lol

Perfect it doesn't bother me that much but I might blow it off when my first water change is due after the cycle.

I'm going lights off for the majority of the day now to avoid as much algae as possible. Ill only turn them on for a bit just to take a look and see how the rock is starting to look.

Might have to replace the shrimp as it's almost completely decomposed. Gonna test when it's all gone and if need be I'll throw another one in along with some filter floss for my QT.

As far as what's going to be happening in the mean time, I might pick up my 5G QT and paint the back of the tank this week.

[Oscarr19]

Looks like my live rock is turning red/purple and I'm hoping this is actually coralline algae growing from my other rocks and not just diatoms.

[bribo12]

Since the tank is just starting I highly doubt it is coralline it usually takes a good while to get coralline growth. More than likely some other algae.

[Big Tex]

Originally Posted by bribo12

Since the tank is just starting I highly doubt it is coralline it usually takes a good while to get coralline growth. More than likely some other algae.

x2 on this, way to early for coraline, I've been up 3 months and I'm barely getting tiny spots of coraline, its just diatoms especially the golden brown spots.

[Oscarr19]

Darn lol thanks guys! Tests today showed up as

0.6 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
10ppm Nitrate



Where'd the nitrites go lol could that have already been changes into nitrates since they rose? and this ammonia being stuck at 0.6 is annoying lol

[Oscarr19]

Gonna use this to put filter floss in for my QT tank. Going to make it smaller and hold it shut with a zip tie.

[Big Tex]

Originally Posted by Oscarr19

Gonna use this to put filter floss in for my QT tank. Going to make it smaller and hold it shut with a zip tie.

filter floss doesnt need a sock, i would put live rock rubble in it and keep the tank bare bottom.

[Oscarr19]

Originally Posted by Big Tex

filter floss doesnt need a sock, i would put live rock rubble in it and keep the tank bare bottom.

Well, it's kind of cotton ballish filter floss and I'd rather have it I'm there than breaking apart or having thing huge ball floating around my tank. I'm like just going to anchor the bag under one of my live rock caves.

My QT is going to be a bare bottom with some PVC pipes. Where can I get love rock rubble cheap? Do I really need it? I have enough floss to quarantine all my fish separately excluding the clowns. I'm just going to add some more to my DT when I get new fish so I'll be ready for another fish when my first exits my QT.

[Greenstreet.1]

You don't need any rock or sand in a QT the PVC will be fine.

[Oscarr19]

Originally Posted by Greenstreet.1

You don't need any rock or sand in a QT the PVC will be fine.

Ok, sounds good. Thank you!

[Greenstreet.1]

Stay on top of your water changes and your QT will be fine.

[Big Tex]

Originally Posted by Oscarr19

Ok, sounds good. Thank you!

your going to be running a hob filter on it arent you? the regular carbon filled floss cartridges work fine for water polishing because you need some sort of water movement.

and rubble is easy to find, any reef store that sells live rock has it, they get all kinds of rubble in with the live rock that breaks off in the shipping process, my lrs has a base rock trough, a pukani trough, a rubble trough, and a purple fiji trough full of rock.

[Oscarr19]

Originally Posted by Greenstreet.1

Stay on top of your water changes and your QT will be fine.

Definitely! I'm going to monitor water parameters frequently especially the first week so I can get an idea of how many water changes I should be doing weekly. Probably going to aim for 1-2.

[Oscarr19]

Originally Posted by Big Tex

your going to be running a hob filter on it arent you? the regular carbon filled floss cartridges work fine for water polishing because you need some sort of water movement. and rubble is easy to find, any reef store that sells live rock has it, they get all kinds of rubble in with the live rock that breaks off in the shipping process, my lrs has a base rock trough, a pukani trough, a rubble trough, and a purple fiji trough full of rock.

Yeah, I'll have a HOB on it. I don't know If I'm going to be using one piece medias though, I don't want any carbon in the QT. I'm going to look around and see if I can get a used set and I'll see what filter comes with it.

I'm actually visiting a lrs tomorrow that I haven't seen yet but based on their site, they look promising. Probably could find some rubble there so it'll come in handy in the future. I'm hoping I see some separated invert tanks.

[Big Tex]

Originally Posted by Oscarr19

Yeah, I'll have a HOB on it. I don't know If I'm going to be using one piece medias though, I don't want any carbon in the QT. I'm going to look around and see if I can get a used set and I'll see what filter comes with it.

I'm actually visiting a lrs tomorrow that I haven't seen yet but based on their site, they look promising. Probably could find some rubble there so it'll come in handy in the future. I'm hoping I see some separated invert tanks.

i would go with a topfin filter their cartridges are one of the last of their kind, the to-be-assembled ones, you can skip the carbon and just use the cartridge with no carbon it it, or just stuff it with polyfil floss, plus theyre mostly under $25 for a 10g or 20g rated.