Sharkey18 July 3, 2012 Author Share July 3, 2012 On Friday June 29th I added my first live thing to the tank. A maxi - midi carpet nem. Friday night a tree crashed through my roof. We evacuated in the height of the storm and turned off the main electric to the house on our way out. That created a bigger problem because not only did the tank drain into the sump ( not a problem there was plenty of room) but then a siphon started through the return and emptied about 40g of water onto the floor. This is in the dark, with a tree through the roof, and water running down the staircase in the living room. I could not wrap my head around why a tree in the upstairs bedroom would cause so much water in the fish room!! Finally I realized I had a siphon effect and pulled the return fitting up out of the water. Siphon stopped. We left the house. I was thinking, there goes the tank. Crap. Had just started the cycle with NH3 at 1 and Nitrate at 0. On Saturday I returned to the house. While there is significant water damage, I carefully turned the main power on and turned on the power to the fish room only. I am running the pump, a heater, a small MH lamp and one MP40. I am hoping I can let the tank continue to run and cycle and maybe maintain it, even though I have had to move out (again!) and I am looking at 6 to 8 weeks of construction. Not sure if the tank will make it through construction, but I figured I would give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga July 3, 2012 Share July 3, 2012 just couldnt wait til the end of that 30 days huh? is the nem ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT July 3, 2012 Share July 3, 2012 oh man that stinks, very sorry to hear about all of this....the syphon is so easy to forget about, and also very easy to fix with a couple of drilled holes.... cant think of a better time for it to happen, you already have a bunch of contstruction that will be going on...now youll be set as for the construction, i would build a quick little hood and just make sure debris doesnt fall into the tank...we had alot of construction on our kitchen not too long ago which is just above the tank...new floors etc etc etc...amazing how much crap was on top of my hood that would have gone into the tank if it was an open top. just placing a board over it would probalby do just fine. maybe put a 2x4 or something to let the tank still breathe and keep the majority of the junk out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimlin July 3, 2012 Share July 3, 2012 that stinks. let me know if you need any help with the cleaning. i also have a dehumidifier that you can use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 July 12, 2012 Author Share July 12, 2012 Thanks everyone... and No I could NOT wait So I have been out of my house for a week and a half now. Keep in mind that I had JUST moved back into the house 9 months ago after a complete renovation. In any case, the tank is still running :clap: and the carpet nem is doing well! It is still the only room in the house that I am running power in. Waiting to determine electrical and water damage before turning anything else on. I tested today: ammonia is up to 2 and I am finally seeing a small amount of nitrates... between zero and 5 but that is a good start. The good news about moving out is that I am no longer staring at a pristine 250g aquarium with nothing in it. It was really just too much of a temptation and I spent my days trolling coral frag posts..... Also I am back living with my friend where my 120 tank is holding live stock waiting for the 250 to be ready, so now I at least have a tank and some corals to play with. It also seems like I will be out of the house for about 6 more weeks, which means by the time I move back in the cycle should be well established and ALMOST ready to begin stocking. Since I am starting with dead rock and no sand I expect the cycle to take 8 to 12 weeks! Argh..... but that will give me time to QT all my fish, dip all my corals, etc etc. Here is the current problem: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 12, 2012 Share July 12, 2012 oh my gosh! i hope everyone was A-OK??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 July 12, 2012 Author Share July 12, 2012 Oh yeah, everyone was ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 July 16, 2012 Author Share July 16, 2012 So tank has been cycling for two weeks. It has a single resident, a maxi -mini carpet nem which is surviving quite well. Ammonia is at 1.0 and Nitrates are up to 10. (yay!) But, I am in a sort of unorthodox situation and need advice on what to do next. Since I am not living in the house, (see photo above) and don't think I can move back in until the end of August, what would you suggest I do in order to continue to establish a more mature system. Temp is unstable because there is no AC in the house now so I can't add any sensitive livestock. I stop by every day or so, but am not there for long. Should I do a water change and add macro algae? Add some snails and such? Drop in a poor lonely (hardy) fish? I threw some pellets onto the carpet nem to feed it and add some "food" for the cycle.... what else should I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga July 16, 2012 Share July 16, 2012 Just do 10% water changes once every week or two and be patient. I'm talking months of patience. That's a huge system to mature without any seed material. Just let it go for a few (i'd recommend atleast 6) months without putting more living things into it, unless it's a bag of live pods. A completed nitrogen cycle does not equal a balanced ecosystem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 July 18, 2012 Author Share July 18, 2012 I"M SOOOOO BORED, waiting for this tank to mature and my house to get fixed...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 July 19, 2012 Share July 19, 2012 Laura, sorry about what happened (if it were me, I'd be shimmying up the tree to get into the upstairs!). As far as the tank, don't do anything just let it run is my opinion. You could toss in some fish if you wanted that are hardy as they can handle fluctuations better than snails and inverts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 July 25, 2012 Author Share July 25, 2012 WOO HOO! Progress! Tank has been cycling for 5 weeks. Ammonia went up to 2.0 and is now down to .5 Nitrates are between 40 and 80. Wow. There has been a diatom bloom ( rust stuff ) on the glass and rock for the last week or two and there are several brand new baby tufts of green hair algae on the glass. Probably soon to be on the rock also. I am planning on a 100g water change this weekend followed by another 5 weeks or so of waiting. Any other suggestions? Some snails maybe? Macro? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga July 25, 2012 Share July 25, 2012 smaller water changes with higher frequency, rather than the other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc July 26, 2012 Share July 26, 2012 Looking good. I had to admit. You are sooo patient. When I started my SW tank using dried rock and sand, and after 2-3 weeks, I could not resist adding live stocks to the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 August 20, 2012 Author Share August 20, 2012 Ok. So much to share and lots of questions. First thing: hole is still in roof. Arguing with insurance company over settlement. I don't think I'll be back in my house before Thanksgiving. So annoying. In the meantime, I have been running the new tank and checking on it every several days. The tank has been cycling for 8 weeks. There was an ammonia spike followed by a nitrate spike. Last I checked ( a few weeks ago) nitrate was about 40. I was planning a water change but never got it done. Then today I was finally ready to do the water change. Before I did it I checked levels: Ammonia was 0 Nitrates were 0. So where did the nitrates go? I had diatoms and now I have some small green hair algae tufts on the glass, but I certainly did not expect to see 0 nitrates. I only have one small clip-on MH light on ONE side of the tank. So I did the water change ( about 50 gallons) and will take a new Nitrate reading. The only livestock in the tank is a mini-maxi carpet nem. Here the hair algae on the glass: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf August 20, 2012 Share August 20, 2012 Wow, sorry to hear about the insurance co. How can they argue about a tree falling thru the roof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 August 20, 2012 Author Share August 20, 2012 While the tank was cycling, Sam, (l82rise) finished all the plumbing and built me a stand for 4, 20 long tanks. The top tank is plumbed directly to the DT and is intended to be the refugium. The three lower tanks are plumbed in series and will house breeding bangaiis, I hope! I also picked up 2 new MP40's for flow, and yes, I did it. I bought 2 Radions. I still need to get 2 more, as $$ allows. I'd like 4 over the tank. Sam and his creation Bank of 20 longs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimlin August 20, 2012 Share August 20, 2012 wow. that looks insane. good luck on the breeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS August 20, 2012 Share August 20, 2012 Looks great. I see a fish room ladder in near future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef August 20, 2012 Share August 20, 2012 got some blackout curtains for that window???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 August 20, 2012 Author Share August 20, 2012 I already have a good step ladder and yes, I have blackout blinds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef August 20, 2012 Share August 20, 2012 Well I hope they get your house fixed...again and soon... so you can enjoy all the work youve been doing... cant the insurance figure it out ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 August 20, 2012 Author Share August 20, 2012 A bit off topic but the insurance company is offering much less than what it is going to cost to fix the house. But I'm a tough @$%#& and am arguing with them until they give me a more reasonable settlement. Meanwhile it has been amazing in that I have been very patient with the aquarium cycle. If I was living in the house I would totally have fish in there by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw August 20, 2012 Share August 20, 2012 A bit off topic but the insurance company is offering much less than what it is going to cost to fix the house. But I'm a tough @$%#& and am arguing with them until they give me a more reasonable settlement. I've been there. I had to get some roof repairs from storm damage and the settlement the insurance company gave me wouldn't cover the required repairs. I got quotes from 3 different companies and told them to pick one. They ended up adjusting my settlement.........they couldn't argue with the quotes. Meanwhile it has been amazing in that I have been very patient with the aquarium cycle. If I was living in the house I would totally have fish in there by now. Have you thought about getting waterchange water from an established tank and adding it? This may help get you through the cycle faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind August 20, 2012 Share August 20, 2012 I like the stack of 20 longs, very nice. Too late now but my recommendation would be to turn the boards under each tank on their sides so the low profile side is showing. I gives you more room to get into the tank. Ammonia was 0 Nitrates were 0. So where did the nitrates go? The nitrate was consumed and is now stored in the algae. Harvesting the algae with remove the nitrate from the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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