Two tanks, One room

[monkiboy]

ps...i just placed my order for the dc12000 based on your suggestion

i know you're not in a great rush but were you given an ETA? the latest i read in the reef central threads was december '13 due to controller issues and trying to get the flow up to or beyond advertised numbers. that coupled with the constant "3 more weeks" BS vendors are being fed by RLSS had me switch gears to the immediate available alternatives. curious if you heard or know otherwise?

[YHSublime]

+1 to that!

 

To me, it looks like you'll need more rock to be on the same proportion of rock to tank size as Brad's tank...History tells everyone you will run out of rock! On the other hand, you can have many, many clams or open brains!

 

Alllllright, tune in Thursday afternoon for Comedy Centrals Isaac Roast!

 

I am not trying to recreate Brads tank, I am, however, trying to capture the simplicity. There is enough live rock in my sump to equal that proportion, IMO.

 

I do love me a clam....

[sachabballi reef]

IDK you two have a bit of a bromance going on lately.....I think you are recreating his tank to keep him close to you ha ha ha

[YHSublime]

IDK you two have a bit of a bromance going on lately.....I think you are recreating his tank to keep him close to you ha ha ha

 

Oh my. Jealously does not look good on you!

[sachabballi reef]

hmmmm...which of you would I be jealous of? ha ha....

[smallreef]

i know you're not in a great rush but were you given an ETA? the latest i read in the reef central threads was december '13 due to controller issues and trying to get the flow up to or beyond advertised numbers. that coupled with the constant "3 more weeks" BS vendors are being fed by RLSS had me switch gears to the immediate available alternatives. curious if you heard or know otherwise?

Not specifically...and I'm not in a rush anymore... I'd like to be but were paying off a few big things over the next 2 months and that's gonna put a crimp on fun money to work on my build..especially with my mother in law back in a rehab facility to work on her movement after her stroke in march...

 

Back to the build...the clear thing? Can you get a picture that's not so blue,lol seriously...it could be a clone of the Gbta you had...they look clear when they sit in the dark..but need a better picture

[sachabballi reef]

Back to the build...the clear thing? Can you get a picture that's not so blue,lol seriously...

Lol.

 

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[surf&turf]

[YHSublime]

It's beyond me how frank got a picture of my new stocked 150

[surf&turf]

It's beyond me how frank got a picture of my new stocked 150

 

I have to stalk people to get their pics for TOTM. Zebra chairs have to go!!

[sachabballi reef]

LOL...i can sense the fuzzy texture of that picture....

[YHSublime]

I have to stalk people to get their pics for TOTM. Zebra chairs have to go!!

Look. If I was in charge of the decorating, I wouldn't have to ask forgiveness on a 150 in the living room...

[surf&turf]

Look. If I was in charge of the decorating, I wouldn't have to ask forgiveness on a 150 in the living room...

 

True, lol

 

I guess there must be some give and take.

[sachabballi reef]

I secretly like the chairs shhhhhhh

 

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[YHSublime]

Miles and the sump experience.

 

He's been curious lately, not that curious...

 

[YHSublime]

Did a little bit of work tonight, hooked up my first ATO, and it's running properly. Cleaned up the electric work, and mounted the Apex inside the stand. 

 

Calculated that I'll probably run till October before I start adding anything, figured that will give me a good start time on letting the tank do it's thing. Did test last night:

 

PH: 8

Ammonia: .50

Nitrite: .25

Nitrates: 5,0

 

Looks like it's on it's way. Some of the rock I put in probably had a lot of die off from my 29bc crash, so I figure the live rock in with that will speed things up a bit. I thought about adding some Dr. Tims, but figured I already had everything I need except patience. 

[Origami]

Isaac, did you make it to see Tony Vargas when he spoke to the club this Spring? Among the things that he talked about was some "European" way of cycling which basically left the tank alone for (I think) three months. He talked of some of benefits of doing this. I don't remember the details but have you given any thought to doing something like this since you've got the other tank at up at the same time and can afford a leisurely handover?

(I've got Tony's book and am sure it's in there but haven't had time to look into it today.)

 

Sent from my phone

Somebody else reminded me of this, Isaac, and I looked it up tonight. Here's how I responded to that inquiry:

 

Here are a few excerpts from page 57 of "The Coral Reef Aquarium" by Tony Vargas. Under the heading, "Cycling a Reef Aquarium," it says:

 

• Cycling can be handled by using the display tank to cycle/cure the rock or by curing it in a separate container.
• For best results, it is advisable to run your circulation pump, protein skimmer and activated carbon, and to keep the lights off during this process.
• If you use the display tank to cure your rocks, replace half of the water with fresh sea water or synthetic sea water once the cycle is complete.
• Generally this process will take 4-6 weeks.
• Odor can be kept under control with activated carbon.
• Many micro- and macro-fauna reside in live rock. (He assumes, it seems that the you've seeded the cycled tank with some "grunge" from another hobbyist or, more likely, from the bottom of the live rock bin at your LFS.) These organisms should be given the opportunity to develop without the addition of fish, corals or light, as they help with the natural balance of the aquarium.
• Follow the 90 days or more rule, which allows the aquarium to create a natural balance within 90-180 days.
• Allowing these organisms to prosper will also assist with nutrient control.
• Stock gradually thereafter to allow the biofilter to adapt to the increased bioload.
• This process is often difficult with the new or enthusiastic hobbyist.

So, basically he's saying cycle the rock and sand in a new tank to build up the bacterial population. This takes about 6 weeks. If it's not already there, add some "grunge" (my term) to the tank after the nitrogen cycle has completed. This grunge is often full of pods, micro brittles, worms, and such and can be found in the debris that is found at the bottom of your LFS's live rock bin. Allow at least another 6 weeks for this micro & macro fauna to develop. (It may be important to feed the tank just a little bit to encourage rapid reproduction. Just watch how much you feed the tank. You should not see an appreciable increase in nitrates if you're doing this right.) When at least 90 days has passed (or as many as 180 days), you can begin stocking, albeit gradually.

 

Except for the addition of micro and macro-fauna and "predator-free" period following cycling, the process is typical. I can see how this extra bit of patience can pay off in the long run and provide the aquarist with a mature tank faster than if adding fish began after the nitrogen cycle had completed.

[brad908]

IDK you two have a bit of a bromance going on lately.....I think you are recreating his tank to keep him close to you ha ha ha

Hate to break it up over the Internet but I will be moving to San Francisco soon.

 

Will long distance work?

 

[sachabballi reef]

Uh oh.....

We're all here for you Isaac...Costco Kleenex on hand...

 

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[sachabballi reef]

Now it seems like I'm a prophet though....he IS building it to keep you close LOL

 

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[YHSublime]

Hate to break it up over the Internet but I will be moving to San Francisco soon.

 

Will long distance work?

 

Congrats man! That's awesome news!

 

But you couldn't have called instead... :p

[YHSublime]

August 23rd:

PH: 8

Ammonia: .50

Nitrite: .25

Nitrates: 5,0

 

August 28th:

 

ph: 8.0

Ammonia: .25 ppm

Nitrite: .25 ppm

Nitrate: 20 ppm

 

Looks like my cycle is going in the right direction, my ammonia is dropping and my nitrates are rising. I took the rock that was growing all the caluerpa and threw it in the sump. I'm sure it's a great nutrient export, as it grows faster than anything in my tanks, but I don't think I want the risk of it sticking around on a new tank. Once my cycle is complete it will find its way into the hot sun. Maybe even through a hydrogen peroxide/water dip. I like the rock a lot, but not matter what I do, the green keeps coming back from nothing. Even though my nitrates are high, and my ammonia level is considered deadly, I have seen snails, and pods all over the tank from the live rock I put in. Pretty amazing stuff. I saw some clear algae looking stuff growing on one of my rocks. It's gone tonight, wonder what happened to it? 

 

57 is on auto-pilot. Everything is growing. My next concern is coral warfare, trying to keep things spaced out enough, but I've had some burns on some corals, and some snails knocking things about into and over other things. 

[sachabballi reef]

baaaaaaa haaaaaaa.....Im SO gonna win this bet....September 1 huh?  

 

"So I'm not the worlds best photographer, but I hope you got a taste of the past 6 months for me. Currently I'm cycling my 150, and letting it go fallow for 3 months, so the 57 is up and running until I move everything over the 1st of September!"

[YHSublime]

baaaaaaa haaaaaaa.....Im SO gonna win this bet....September 1 huh?  

 

"So I'm not the worlds best photographer, but I hope you got a taste of the past 6 months for me. Currently I'm cycling my 150, and letting it go fallow for 3 months, so the 57 is up and running until I move everything over the 1st of September!"

 

No way! That's obviously a typo. My 3 months is going to be November 1st. I'll have to get a live cam up so you can see how good I'm being. And you can watch all the sand, and rock, and more sand. I might flip the lights on a couple hours a day for ya' 

 

Funny about that Sep. 1st date though, did a water test today,

 

PH: 8.0

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 0 ppm

Nitrate: 5.0 ppm

 

Looks like the cycle is just about over! I've got some hangers coming in the mail today, plan on putting the hood on a pulley system so I can raise and lower it as I need to work on the tank. Either that, or I'll see about putting the lights on a bar which will raise and lower as needed. Or both... maybe.

 

Skimmer is in the sump, it's been all of but half an hour, so will see if there is any skimmate for it to pull out. I have the skimmate locker for it somewhere in all my toys, I think I'll have to get a breakout box, and I'll figure out how to connect it to the Apex. Oye, what a headache, but it'll be so nice to have one everything is up and running. 

[sachabballi reef]

Lol....I have ryes everywhere

 

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