andrews 20 g reef transition build

[aquandrew]

thank you i like the way it looks so far. I'm really excited to get coral and my girlfriend wants a black and white ocellaris

 

[aquandrew]

Update:
just rearranged my rock work to make it easier to place coral on it.

i am ordering my lights today or tomorrow. got my master test kit and here are the results as of now
ammonia 2 ppm
nitrite 1-2 ppm
nitrate 20-40 ppm

 

[aquandrew]

here it is cleared up

going to get a black ocellaris clownfish tonight or tomorrow to put in quarantine!!!

 

[ivan_dalmatia]

Do a water change

 

[aquandrew]

Do a water change

what for? its a fishless cycle, I'm using Ace janitorial ammonia and just dosed it back up to 4ppm

 

[aquandrew]

okay guys, i still haven't got my clown yet, but will be soon. i am going to put him in a 10 gallon qt. i have been dosing up to 4 ppm every day and today i checked my levels and the ammonia was down to .25 and nitrites were 1ppm so i'm hoping my cycle will be done soon!!! quick question: how often will i need to dose ammonia, once it is cycled? it will most likely be finished cycling a few weeks before the clown is out of qt

 

[ivan_dalmatia]

When u put the fish in,? there should be no ammonia,, so how long does it take to drop to 0?
Ammonia is just food for your BB till you have livestock producing ammonia?

 

[Ingy]

Once cycle is complete (amm and Nitrite = 0 in 24 hrs after dosing), you can probably get by with maybe 2 ppm 2 times a week just to feed the BB. I would stop at least 3-4 days before adding the clown.

Regarding the rock structure, are there many caves? I don't see any, and fish love to be able to hide at night.

 

[aquandrew]

Once cycle is complete (amm and Nitrite = 0 in 24 hrs after dosing), you can probably get by with maybe 2 ppm 2 times a week just to feed the BB. I would stop at least 3-4 days before adding the clown.

Regarding the rock structure, are there many caves? I don't see any, and fish love to be able to hide at night.

theres 3-4 little caves, should i rearrange again to make more caves? the only fish going in here are two clowns, and they will be moved to either a 32 or 75 when they get bigger

 

[aquandrew]

so that light that was suggested was 70 dollars more for shipping and i just ordered a BridgeLux 120w dimmable led for 117 shipped

 

[jwh0818]

so that light that was suggested was 70 dollars more for shipping and i just ordered a BridgeLux 120w dimmable led for 117 shipped

You got the same one im getting!

 

[aquandrew]

You got the same one im getting!

nice!!!! I'm pretty excited to start getting some coral. how far into the cycle are you?

 

[jwh0818]

nice!!!! I'm pretty excited to start getting some coral. how far into the cycle are you?

I havent even began. Im still trying to find decently priced good equipment. Im trying to stick to under 500 $ on this. I may start it out as FOWLR and work my way up since my wife is pregnant!!!

 

[aquandrew]

I havent even began. Im still trying to find decently priced good equipment. Im trying to stick to under 500 $ on this. I may start it out as FOWLR and work my way up since my wife is pregnant!!!

oh, well congrats!!! ill follow along on your build

 

[ivan_dalmatia]

so that light that was suggested was 70 dollars more for shipping and i just ordered a BridgeLux 120w dimmable led for 117 shipped

They are great, hers mine, Bridgelux at 50%.
I just did a quick DIY hanger for it cause I didn't like the ones that came with it, they hung crooked

 

[aquandrew]

They are great, hers mine, Bridgelux at 50%.
I just did a quick DIY hanger for it cause I didn't like the ones that came with it, they hung crooked

yours looks awesome!!! it was shipped today so im hoping it will be here by monday. I'm setting up my qt now and going to get a snowflake and black ocellaris clown tonight.

gotta run to the store for more water quick. i got an aquaclear 175 gph powerhead and aqueon 50w pro heater for the qt tank. i have the 100w version in my 20

 

[aquandrew]

quick question; if i put a piece of live rock in the qt, will it keep my ammonia levels safe? i don't really want to do water changes every other day, thats a lot of salt. i know most medicines will kill the bacteria so i don't plan on putting the rock in my DT

 

[Ingy]

Is this for QT purposes or as a hospital tank? If its for a QT, why are you medicating?

 

[aquandrew]

Im not medicating unless absolutely necessary it is just for quarantine

 

[ivan_dalmatia]

I think it would be fine for the clown depending on the size of the rock but I'm not sure about the eel? You know It can be housed with some invertebrates, like anemones and corals, but not crustaceans like shrimp or crabs, the eel will eat them, when it gets bigger I'd watch for your clown too!