My New JBJ 28G HQI Nano - Tank Log

[Son of Red]

Put the stand and tank up yesterday. Added 20 lbs of sand and 15 pounds of LR. Snowstorm delayed a shipment of 10 more pounds of base rock and a powerhead, so will hopefully add tomorrow. Not sure how much of a cycle I'll get with the rock, it was only out of the water about 30 mins. So when I get the base rock in there I think I'll add a shrimp. Really nice shimmer with the daytime lamps on in this tank.

[Aquarium1]

Following along. looks awesome!

[melosu58]

Looks like a great start.

[Zer0]

Tagging along as well. Tank looks great so far.

[misskeeter2766]

looks like we are starting up at the same time.

Im 4 days in... just beginning to cycle...
looks good... don't you love how it makes the whole room shimmering blue?

[misskeeter2766]

I'm new.. so correct me if I'm wrong... but is that RIGHT next to a window? I had terrible luck with algae in my freshwater tanks when I had them that close to a window.

[Aquarium1]

Originally Posted by misskeeter2766

don't you love how it makes the whole room shimmering blue?

I probably would lol.

Originally Posted by misskeeter2766

I'm new.. so correct me if I'm wrong... but is that RIGHT next to a window? I had terrible luck with algae in my freshwater tanks when I had them that close to a window.

Yes, that can cause problems in sw too. Good question. It looks to be beside a window though, and probably wouldn't be as bad as right in front of it, but its possible that it could cause problems. But you can always put up some blinds or curtains.

[Zer0]

I have my tank beside a window and i have blinds that block out any light and have never had an algae outbreak because of the window. Just make sure you have something that cut out MOST of the light coming in through the window.

[skae310]

I had a window which did not have blinds and direct sunlight was hitting the very corner of my tank, but only for about an hour a day. I was soo confused for about two months because I wasnt home during the time of day the sun touched it. Algae was driving me nuts only in one corner and when I found out the problem I felt pretty stupid. haha just my experience with a window by a tank.

[Son of Red]

Yes, that's a window. Was wondering how long it would take for someone to comment. Was hoping to have new curtains up before but that's how it goes. There is no direct sunlight coming through but definitely need curtains in there anyway.

[misskeeter2766]

I just remember the trouble I had... I wish someone had told me what it could do before I put my tank there and ended up with nasty nasty everywhere. LOL

[Son of Red]

I am really surprised at how quickly the water has cleared. Since I'm starting from scratch, I did not rinse the live sand and the rocks gave out quite a bit of foulness but its almost clear as a bell this morning. Let's hope that is a sign of things to come.

[misskeeter2766]

lol. I am hoping the same with mine.. it is crystal clear... Im on day 6 now, and my ammonia got up to 1.0, but is now down to .25 ... I didn't expect that...
I have a TON of live rock in there.. and a ton of live sand too... I also seeded it with live rock from my lfs... I put live rock rubble in the chamber in back too

[Son of Red]

I'm kicking myself a little bit. My LFS said I could have all the rubble I wanted, no charge when I was picking up the cured stuff. I didn't want to grab too much worried about overcrowding the aquascaping, so of course I grabbed too little. Only have a few small pieces for the fuge.

[thomasnathan]

Check out some of my pics. You can see under my profile what I have in it. It's about 8 months old.

[Son of Red]

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Salinity 1.023 (a little low or just my crappy hydrometer?)
Temp 78.2
pH - 8.2

So I'm using cured rock but I can't believe that there hasn't been some die off. I see stuff floating around. When I put the first piece in I did see a whitish little wormlike creature swim into the corner so maybe not much. Added the 10 lbs of base rock last night so should be good to go there. Should I add a dead shrimp or just let it go?

[Zer0]

If your not seeing any changes in the level of ammonia, i would say start using a shrimp. You can put it in a media sock to contain the mess that it will inevitably cause. Because of the decomposing, it will probably fall apart to pieces when you try and take it out if it's just sitting there in your tank.

I would seriously consider investing in a refractometer because they are way more accurate then hydrometers and last a very long time. Just worth the 20-30$ that they are. You can probably find a new one for less, shipped, on ebay. I got mine for 23$ shipped, brand new in the box. But in any case, 1.023 doesn't sound low to me at all.. that is a decent level for your salinity to be at. Anywhere from 1.020 - 1.025 and you are in the desired range.

[Son of Red]

Shrimp is in. No media bags on hand so I used some cheesecloth. That should work. I hope. I'm sure I'll get a refract eventually. But after the tank and rock and RO/DI unit, etc etc etc I'm going to give my bank account a chance to rest. Soon it will be time to stock and until I get into the more sensitive tank dwellers I think I can live without one for a while.

[Zer0]

Sounds like you have a plan and a plan is always a good thing. Since the hydros are fairly cheap, i'd say your right on track as well. Use the hydro for now while you have fairly little in the tank and it's still cycling. And once you begin to acquire more sensitive creatures that you care for, purchasing the refractometer then would be a wise decision. But i know how it feels not being able to buy everything at once lol, i'm on an extremely tight budget as well. :p

[Son of Red]

Here's the tank with the base rock added. At first I hated the fact that it was so bleached compared to the LR, but its growing on me. No pun intended.