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Explosif
01-31-2007, 01:25 AM
Alright So I finally Made the jump. Bought the 65 Gallon tank from the guy I buy all my cichlids from. 65 bucks for a 48x18x18 from glasscages.com, Not a bad buy!

However, I let one of my friends borrow my car to go to the airport, and i accidentally left my phone in my car. So I wasn't able to let my other friend Mike know not to bring His LR up for me to buy. So, I got home from class today, talked to him on another friends phone (haha probably pretty confusing) And it turned out he was already more than halfway with all the rock and salt. Wow what a fiasco. This sent me into a shopping spree, I picked up a Hydrometer, another heater, and a few 25 gallon rubbermaids and 25 gallons of Distilled water (my LFS didn't sell any) So I get the rubbermaid up and running with the water 3 power heads and a couple of heaters, My water is at around 74 degrees. Added salt, and placed all the rock into the tub. I'm in the stages of figuring out a temporary stand for my 65 long, and the only thing I've really come up with are cinder blocks =/ Anyway here are some pics of day .5 =D
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1787.JPG
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1786.JPG
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1785.JPG
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1781.JPG
And what are these little buggers?
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1780.JPG
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1791.JPG
Does my glass look thin to you?

Anyway, Just getting started, Let me know any deas or comments you have!

Explosif
01-31-2007, 01:26 AM
More pics
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1790.JPG
The 65
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1789.JPG
The 50 $ skimmer, Looks like a steal!
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1788.JPG

iglowce
01-31-2007, 01:38 AM
keep us updated wt the turn out

Explosif
01-31-2007, 02:03 AM
I sure will!

CarmieJo
01-31-2007, 10:08 PM
Are rocks on the menu tonight? :)

It looks like you are on your way to a very nice set-up. I think your little green feathery thing is a kind of caulerpa. It is a macroalgae that is used for nutrient export. You need to harvest it on a regular basis.

Explosif
01-31-2007, 11:28 PM
not the green, those little red flowery looking things.

Small Fry
01-31-2007, 11:45 PM
My best guess is coraline algae??? or some sort of coral, cant really tell from the pic, . Good to see your tank journal starting, havent really seen ya around the forums but i like you already, i like anyone who puts "image intense" in the title :p

Btw, iunno how long you've been around the hobby, but usually things that are cheap (when bought new anyways), perform that way (cheap).

I imagine that $50 skimmer is only temporary becuase of the crazyness,. but hey, it may work perfectly.

just my 2 cents,

looking good :D

Explosif
02-06-2007, 03:06 AM
Just a quick update for today

I used the plans on GARF for my stand and it will be finished tomorrow morning. I'll post pix soon. Nah the skimmer was a used one that i bought from a friend. Since this is my first marine tank I'm not sure if it works. theres alittle tornado of bubbles that are going the opposite direction of the water flow, but thts all the bubbles in the chamber. Dunno /shrug

Thanks
Alex

PSH
02-06-2007, 10:17 PM
Thanks for the update. Skimmer looks to be a Seaclone.

Explosif
02-07-2007, 02:40 AM
Got the stand built tonight. All I want to do is fill it with water, and i don't have enought time too =/ bummer, gues it will have to happen tomorrow =(

Explosif
02-08-2007, 04:31 PM
Tank is all setup! pictures coming as soon as i get a few minuites to upload them!

Danamck
02-08-2007, 06:20 PM
Yep - the skimmer is a Seaclone. Some people like these, most do not. I found them to be pretty useless. That said, there are modifications posted on Reef Central that will improve it's performance. Still, this would be the first piece of equipment I would upgrade, IMO.

Bring on the photos!

Explosif
02-08-2007, 08:36 PM
The thing I need first are new lights =/ I'll keep looking for a decent skimmer. What are some I should look for?

Alex

Explosif
02-08-2007, 09:57 PM
Alright, SO I finally got a few minuites to Upload all these pictures!! I started out yesterday with a built stand and an empty tank and went to bed with a nice full body of blue!!

I guess the first thing we can look at is my DIY stand. My room mate and I built this out of 2x4's which we later found out were all 1 1/2 x 3 1/4.... whay they say 2x4 I dont know so we had to make some modifications. We used 4x4's as the posts, and Lag bolts to attach the 2x4s to the 4x4s. This stand is way overkill imo, and looks the part! Anyway I'm glad I have such a great roommate because I'm not nearly as handy!

Here's a Picture of the stand!
http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1792.JPG

After we finished that, I went to wal-mart and painted my background with a really nice looking midnight blue type color. I love how that turned out.We ended up just throwing a sheet over the stand as i plan on adding more to it over the summer. Heres how that ended up looking, overall i am pretty pleased.

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1795.JPG

A few hours later, I went to petsmart. And god love them for price match. In case you don't have any idea to what im talking about, If you print an online ad for anything they have in the store, they will match the price on the ad. Ive had the most luck at Pet Supplies, Dog Supplies, Cat Supplies, Pet Meds and Pet Products from Drs. Foster & Smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com) and Fish Supplies, Online Fish Supplies, Aquarium Products, Aquarium Accessories at Big Al's Online (http://www.bigalsonline.com) and saved yet another 100 bucks. I bought 60 lbs of Aragonite substrate, a new powerhead and a stealth heater. I usually end up saving about 50% with the price matches. But since I dont have a RO/DI unit, I had to buy 65 gallons of reverse osmosis drinking water from walmart. I think its time for one of those bad boys. Heres a picture before and after :)


Before:

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1796.JPG


And after :

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1801.JPG


Filling it wasn't too bad, we figured out that the same way we shotgun beers (any college people out there)? could be used on gallons of water! this made the process go a lot faster.

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1799.JPG

We eventually got everything in the tank and running, and everything is looking pretty well off atm. heres a pic of the tank, and some close ups of my live rock.


My water parameters atm are:

75 degrees
PH 8.0
Salinity 1.020
Ammonia .3 mg/L
Nitrate /Nitrite 0


Thanks for your input!!

Alex

Explosif
02-08-2007, 09:58 PM
Heres the LR and FTS I was talking about

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1802.JPG


http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1803.JPG


http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1804.JPG

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/gallery/files/1/5/4/1/IMG_1805.JPG

Danamck
02-09-2007, 03:00 AM
Nice job with the stand.

Yes - get an RO/DI unit asap. It will save you time, money and hassle.

Regarding skimmers - I am very partial to Euro-Reef (I have 3). Some people say they are over-priced, but I believe you get what you pay for. And I believe that a skimmer is the most important piece of equipment in a reef system. Unfortunately, Euro-Reef does not make a hang on unit, only external and in-sump. The RS-80 is their entry level model, but it still runs around $250.

Good luck with the tank. Keep the photos coming.

Explosif
02-09-2007, 03:42 AM
Thanks for the input!!

anchor10
02-09-2007, 04:45 PM
Nice looking tank! Can't wait to see it grow. I also use Wal-mart water, but I've been using the distilled, until I can swing an RO/DI unit. Anyone have any idea about the distilled vs. their RO-drinking water?

iglowce
02-11-2007, 01:47 AM
wow nice set up so far.. any new fish/invert/coral yet?

Explosif
02-11-2007, 05:34 AM
No its still cycling. Nitrates / nitrites are at 0 my ammonia went down to about .2 ppm nad umm theres some brownish green algae starting to appear in some spots. Looks like a light dusting on a few spots on my substrate. I'm really excited to add some fish and inverts. I won a Green polyp leather at the RMRC mini conference tonight and got to meet Astrivian, was a blast!!

Explosif
02-12-2007, 02:57 AM
So i'm getting more of this brown stuff on my sand, Its only in a certain areas so maybe its a type of algae? My hair algae is also growing! i'm also seeing a few different types of macro algae pop out on my rock!

Danamck
02-12-2007, 04:04 AM
Yes - it's totally normal. You're going to get a lot more brown algae before it subsides. This is a totally normal part of a new tank cycle.

Explosif
02-12-2007, 01:54 PM
At what point should I start looking for a cleanup crew?

iglowce
02-12-2007, 11:26 PM
hm i think u can add some snails and MAYBE a cleaner shrimps... just do it slowly ofcourse

Danamck
02-13-2007, 12:08 AM
No shrimps. Snails and hermits are OK, as long as your ammonia and nitrite spikes are over.

Explosif
02-13-2007, 12:35 AM
I added a 20 lb bag of live sand and 2 little hermits. They are great to watch! I'm really not sure what im going to end up stocking in this! there are so many beautiful fish let alone corals!

Explosif
02-15-2007, 01:24 AM
added 20 lbs more live rock. theres some wierd looking anenomes on it, no pictures yet.

Explosif
02-15-2007, 03:26 AM
SO heres some pics, I have some aiptisa anems that came on the rocks =/ as well as some cyano, but all is well! I found a really tiny Asterina Starfish on my glass! its really really tiny, but way cool! A hermit crab came a long too!!

heres some pics

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s103/aalward/IMG_1809.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s103/aalward/IMG_1815.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s103/aalward/IMG_1814.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s103/aalward/IMG_1816.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s103/aalward/IMG_1817.jpg

Whats a good way to counter these anems? I've heard good things about Copperband Butterflies?

Thanks guys!

V
02-15-2007, 07:17 AM
wow, sweet start-up. your have the space in your favour for a nice future set-up.

I wouldnt worry about the cyno, cause all experience that. You want to addresss your triffid problem though, & real quick. They can reproduce like crazy, even in total darkness, & once they have a foot hold, its an absolute night mare to rid the tank of them. They love over feeding, which you dont have that problem yet, & even if you think youve got them with manual removal, chances are theres some triffid tissue left that can re-spawn quite easy.

Copper is easy, but the fact of the matter is, if your planning corals you can scrap that idea, much the pitty too.

yes you are correct, some fish can eat them, butterfly, copperband & some angles dig the taste for some reason, best while the triffids are small if only for the sting factor they can punch at a later date. But then what are you going to do, take the fish back?, these fish are beautiful but belong in larger aquariums or in the ocean cause they grow large, & nip any & all corals without favourtisms.

grab a syringe of pure white vinagar or kalk liquid & inject the suckers as close to the base of the foot as you can. you might have a fighting chance of heading off a potential pest before it becomes one.
Just in future, & this isnt "I told you so" i would suggest the rock your looking to purchase> look at it hard in the holding tanks, study the organisms that live on it & try to determin friend from foe. if the tanks are hooked up to a protein skimmer, wonderful, ask the LFS to drop just enough food to tain the water & see what moves or comes out. Plus i know your starting out, so its easy to say after the fact what to look for, open any marine book under "pests" & you'll have an idea on what to look for.

anyways. i like what your doing with the place, so keep it up.
also glad your loven the marine side.

Explosif
02-15-2007, 12:58 PM
thanks for the great reply. I ended up gettng 20 lbs of the rock for abround 20 bucks, and I didnt even know what aptasia looked like at the time, but now I know! Its all a learning experiance!!
Where do I get syringes?

Alex

mikellini
02-15-2007, 07:50 PM
the local pharmacy will sell diabetic syringes for cheap, most likely

Explosif
02-16-2007, 10:18 PM
so did some water tests today
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
0-.5 nitrate, I couldent tell.
79 degrees
8.4 ph

Now i need to figure out what to put in there!!

Any ideas?

iglowce
02-17-2007, 07:43 PM
i have that asternia starfish. are they bad??

Explosif
02-17-2007, 09:13 PM
It just hangs out on the side of my tank, I havent seen it do much of anything lately!

Explosif
02-21-2007, 12:26 AM
did the aptasia treatment of death today, They sold syringes at my LFS, I ended up using more vinegar than I thought I would, but it looks to have gotten the job done. I still see a few tiny ones here and there, but the big ones look pretty toast. It was relatively easy, Just stick the needle in their mouth and squeeze!

I also picked up 2 little green clown gobies, Probably the happiest ones ever, they have a 65 gallon tank all to themselves!!

Danamck
02-21-2007, 03:24 AM
Alex -

You must get all the aptasia - even the little ones - and nows the time.

I will now share with you the best advice I have ever gotten in my many years of fish keeping: be patient. I know - it's hard. You've got this big empty tank. The water parameters all check out great. Trust me - take your time. There is a saying in fish and reefkeeping that goes "nothing good ever happens quickly" and this is so true.

And while I'm on my soap box - if you can pick up a 10 gallon tank, a sponge filter, an air pump, a heater, and a cheap light. Then read up on all the threads about QT.

I have now gotten off my soap box and wish you nothing but success with your new tank.

Explosif
02-21-2007, 11:19 AM
Well theres some good news. I checked out my tank this morning, all the aptasia are gone. There are 2 left on the substrate, but il will grab those suckers when im done with class today. I spotted 2 more starfish this morning as well.

And while I'm on my soap box - if you can pick up a 10 gallon tank, a sponge filter, an air pump, a heater, and a cheap light. Then read up on all the threads about QT.

I already have a QT tank setup, its just not for fresh water, but since im done adding fish to my cichlid setups, I guess I can just convert it, only thing I don't have is a light. Is it really necessary? and instead of a sponge filter I have one of those little Aquaclear power filters hooked up to it. Will that work out alright?

Shananagans
02-22-2007, 02:48 PM
Im very interested to see what you do with this tank. I am about to start a 65G tank, but my dimesions are diffrent. I am going to do a reef tank, and have a good general idea of what i want to do, but not completly. I also am going from cichlid to salt. Any ideas with what you will stock it with?

Explosif
02-22-2007, 07:12 PM
Not really yet, problably be full of peaceful and semi-agressive fish. Its been an adventure, there seems to be a lot more exciting things happening in the salt world. All different types of good and bad things. Its almost like a whole nother hobby! take your time do your research, and understand its okay to add things piece by piece!!

Enjoy your time here at talking reef because Ive grown to love it here!!

Explosif
03-22-2007, 09:46 AM
Hey everyone, just a quick update. My hair algae has gotten a lot worse, probably because I dont have a cleaning crew. But waiting has really done some things! I see bristle worms coming in and out of all my live rock at night,
So quick update. Today I picked up a new MH fixture!! its a 2x175 watt 10k and 2x64 watt actinics PC. And wow check the ripples on the sand! its nuts! however, One of my lamps took a few tries to start this morning, where the right side bulb started on the first sideNow the bulbs that came with it are 5 month old ushio 10ks. How soon do i need to change these? The PCs are 6 months old. Any idea on how soon I need t ochange these out? The guy I bought them from also gave me a free GSP polyp. How should I attatch these to my LR??

Thanks A lot
Alex

Danamck
03-22-2007, 10:10 AM
Check out Rob's recent podcast on Metal Halide lighting - the answer to your question may be there. You may have the wrong ballast for the particular lamps you have. Do you have 2 separate ballasts, or just one? If 2, are they identical? And are the lamps identical?

Regarding the PCs, I change mine every 9 months. I know some people say 12, but I truly believe that letting lights go to long can increase your chances of having a cyanobacteria outbreak (the color spectrum and output changes). I'm not sure if there is any scientific evidence to back this up, but I have personally had it happen to me many years ago. And a trusted LFS confirmed this when they had a cyano outbreak in one of their display tanks - and eliminated it by changing out the bulbs.

Get a clean up crew going on that hair algae. Remove as much of it as you can by hand and by siphoning. You can also shorten you light cycle a bit to help get it under control.

Good luck.

Explosif
03-22-2007, 10:15 AM
just one ballast with 2 plugs. The ballast says 175w and the bulbs do as well. the lamps are identical as well, I'm probably going to replace the bulbs in the next month or so! And Danamck, Thanks a ton for all your swift and very helpful replys!!

petunia
03-22-2007, 12:28 PM
the tanks is looking great!

a clean-up crew is very important... don't be stingy with this purchase. good waterflow also helps with the algea problem. water changes are very important in the beginning and will also help with the algea problem. and a few bristle worms is a good thing... they are 'free' clean-up crew.

keep us updated on your progress. i'm looking forward to some more pics.

iglowce
03-22-2007, 02:50 PM
just checking up on ya tank.. any new pix update? =]

Explosif
04-09-2007, 03:04 AM
Hey everyone I know its been a whle since i updated everyone. I got a bunch of free stuff from a friends parents who are moving SOO EXCITING!!

So the Halides are all set up and working, but i dont like the look of 10ks. Im thinking of going with the iwasaki 15k's next time around.

Heres a FTS and a few pics of some shrooms aon the new rocks.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s103/aalward/HPIM0984.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s103/aalward/HPIM0985.jpg
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s103/aalward/HPIM0986.jpg

Its late and I still have a paper to do more updates soon!