new to the game

[kpiotrowski]

And yes, I use RODI water. I work near Blue Sierra so I just pick up water from them.

then you have no need for prime.

 

[kpiotrowski]

as far as cheato, trim it from the bottom and watch for it withering away. should be tough and stringy like fishing line. should smell fresh like the ocean, like a green salad....you should find the smell pleasant. like the difference between fresh cought fish...and a fishy smell which is not cool.

how are your test results?

 

[SnoQ]

Thanks for the tips on the chaeto. The consistency you described is what it's like but I'll have to check the smell. I would think I would've noticed if it smelled bad, but will make sure.

This morning my water test was good, no nitrates at all. Heading home from work in about 20 mins and will test again & update.

 

[kpiotrowski]

wow, went from 10ppm nitrates to zero. things looking fine then.

 

[SnoQ]

wow, went from 10ppm nitrates to zero. things looking fine then.

It was 5ppm back a couple of water changes but has been zero since.

Tests this evening:
High Range pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Calcium - 440
dKH - 2

Obviously I need to do something about the dKH. The test I use of course suggests adding their chemicals to adjust it but if there's a natural way to do it then I'd rather go that route. If this is something that's serious I'll pick up the chemicals tomorrow.

 

[kpiotrowski]

somethings not right. if you have done 2 recent water changes your alk should be much higher. recheck please. and check ph before lights come on in morning too.

 

[SnoQ]

I just re-checked alk and it's actually 8. The test I'm using turns the water from orange to green and I stopped at blue thinking of the calcium test where the water change ends at blue.

 

[kpiotrowski]

then don't bother checking ph with lights out. at low alkalinity you get massive ph shifts with light cycles. has to do with algea giving off oxygen and using co2 during day and the opposite at night. co2 lowers ph, has to do with available hydrogen atoms.........little complicated for me to want to explain or even able to properly explain but thats what you need to know at this point.

and on that note, you should run your cheato light 24/7.

 

[rukis]

Welcome to RF SnoQ!!! This has been THE best forum i have been apart of. Everyone has been boyond amazing at offering help, and or knowledge. I think your off to a great start, i think that you are lucky to have started with already matured water, and rock. That is prolly the reason of your success so fast. I look forward to tagging along and watching your tank grow. Keep an eye out in the Classified sections you can find some amazing frags there from some of our great fellow reefers here.

Keep the pictures coming! because we all LOOOOOVE pictures!! ha

once again, welcome!!

 

[kpiotrowski]

Welcome to RF SnoQ!!! This has been THE best forum i have been apart of. Everyone has been boyond amazing at offering help, and or knowledge. I think your off to a great start, i think that you are lucky to have started with already matured water, and rock. That is prolly the reason of your success so fast. I look forward to tagging along and watching your tank grow. Keep an eye out in the Classified sections you can find some amazing frags there from some of our great fellow reefers here.

Keep the pictures coming! because we all LOOOOOVE pictures!! ha

once again, welcome!!

agreed! just lucky there wasn't...at least yet, a die off of live rock. these are still delicate times though! tank still needs to come in to balance. I wouldn't blink. test daily for many weeks.

 

[rukis]

agreed! just lucky there wasn't...at least yet, a die off of live rock. these are still delicate times though! tank still needs to come in to balance. I wouldn't blink. test daily for many weeks.

Agree'd still delicate times... i would just monitor your water parameters very regularly, and keep up with the water changes, and i think things will be good, you seem to have everything under control, if something doesnt look right or you are unsure about anything, ask about it here, there are so many people willing to help..

 

[rukis]

Any updates, pics?

Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G with Beats Audio using Tapatalk 2

 

[SnoQ]

I do have some pictures. The quality isn't great because I just shot them without setting up my camera on a tripod and dialing everything in, but for quick photos they don't look too bad.

As you'll see, I have added a lot to my tank. I know that wasn't recommended, but friends of mine who have a great deal of experience have given me good advice and everything is doing great. I've lost one acan because a snail knocked it down into another coral and I lost a chalice frag that had just been cut and I don't think it recovered well being moved into my tank.

Fish: A pair of Clowns - one orange and one onyx, 1 Tailspot Blenny, 1 McCosker's Wrasse, 1 Firefish, 1 Yellow Clown Goby, 1 Green Clown Goby, 1 Randalii Goby and 1 Green Mandarin. I picked up the Mandarin on sale at a LFS and it was pretty scrawny. I figured I'd give it my best shot and fortunately it took to NutraMar Ova right away. It's a fat & happy guy now but hard to get a picture of. It hangs in the back a lot.

Inverts: 2 Sexy Shrimp, 1 Pom Pom Crab, 2 Porcelain Crabs, a Sandsifting Starfish, 1 Feather Duster, 1 Koko Worm, 1 Sea Cucumber, 1 Scallop, 1 Crocea clam and a bunch of red Hermit Crabs and snails

Corals: Palys, Zoas, Chalices, Xenia, Leather, Fungia, Trachy, Lobo, Ricordia, Monti, Acans

I have a bunch of Chaeto in the back with a light on it 24x7 to keep it happy & healthy and in the tank. In the tank I have a bunch of Caulerpa. It's actually growing like crazy behind my rocks and peeks out here & there. I just added some Red Palm and Flame algae as well.

Yeah, it's a lot and I'll be the first to say too much, but my levels are all good. I had one nitrate spike up to 20ppm about 2 weeks ago but I did a water change and it's been good every since. I have acquired 3 more tanks and am setting up a 50 gallon that I can transfer some of my corals to (and get more), a 46 gallon bow front that will be a FOWLER and a 25 gallon acrylic that is up and running and waiting on a Mantis Shrimp to arrive. I've really been bitten by the bug.

Pics:

Rearranged the tank again

 

[user 26995]

Haha!!! Bitten is an understatement.

 

[SnoQ]

My job is stressful and I've never felt more relaxed than when I just kick back and watch my tank. I really enjoy target feeding my corals and the shy fish and even cleaning it doesn't bother me because I love it when everything is crystal clear. I'm going to have to invest in an RO unit though because hauling buckets of water is going to get ridiculous once I get the other tanks set up.