Tank Remodel Complete...

[mpcolson]

For those of you who have been through my ups and downs here in the forums, I was thinking of changing out my substrate from Black Hawaiian to conventional Bahama Sand.

Well I have made the transition and I must say it was a chore but what a difference! I am convinced that the black was causing some if not all of my chemistry issues. As soon as I put the new sand in and the silt settled, the fish all seemed to be a whole lot more visibly happier and the Ph issues are leveled out...Good call to CarmieJo!

I also ordered 50# Marco Rocks Key Largo dry rock and replaced the bulk of my LR that was algae covered with bright and shiny new stuff. I kept my favorite pieces as starter pieces to seed the new rock. So my fish are happier.. I am happier and the only gripe I have is I cannot keep the sand in place in the front because the power heads vortex moves it around. I'll add 2 more PHeads later and maybe that will help that, dunno.

Anyhow...
Just thought I would share my news!

[boyesreef]

do you have before and after shots?

[mpcolson]

As a matter of fact I do...



Thats A Before pic.... When I first set up my tank



Now the new look under T5 blue light.. almost bedtime...

Everything is so much happier... I need to buy sand sifting snails I think I lost most of them in the gravel change. The brown area is from pellets on the sands not being eaten.

I actually have about 65 pounds of LR in there now because it interlock and fits better than the natural stuff I had, also I have the Bahama sand 4+ inches deep under the LR but in front the power heads have blown it back to a 2 inch layer... Haven't a clue how to stop that..

Over all very pleased with the results.. Marco Rocks... ROCKS!!!!

[SaltyDawg]

Looks pretty sharp. A little "naked"...lol. Look forward to seeing it fill in.

[mpcolson]

Well Salty,

I needed to get a handle on the balance in the water so I could begin to buy corals and stuff. After another week I think I will begin to look into some polyp cluster or pipe organ coral. I really am leaning to pipe organ.

Trouble is, again I'm in Oklahoma so I am going to have to go mail order on this. The locals don't have good selection of corals that I have seen. Guess I'll be buying from Petsolutions or Liveaquaria.com for my goodies. I'll post as I go.

TTYL...

[averagejoe]

bluezooaquatics.com is also a good online store. also saw spikescorals.com on this webpage for corals mostly all frags

[CarmieJo]

It looks good Matt. Once you get a biofilm on the sand it will stay in place.

[mpcolson]

I was scared the ammonia would blow up doing this, I think the sump had enough bio-material in it to keep the levels fairly safe. That and the original LR I keep in the tank I suppose. I also tried to keep some of the brown gunk that had worms and pods in it in the tank. I think that also helped.

I just need to watch my feeding habit and I adjusted my lighting to 5 hours a day... PERIOD. I was letting it stay lit too long too often.

I'll be glad when the sand does settle down, it's a pain right now but I figured it would settle at some point.

[mpcolson]

Another lesson learned...

I went to our friends at Reeftopia.com and built a real clean-up crew. I didn't invest into this in my previous tank like I should have. This is what I bought:

• 12 Nassarius Snails
• 12 Cerith Snails
• 4 Fighting Conch
• 12 Tegulia Snails
• 5 Star Snails
• 12 Turbo Snails
• 12 Med Blue Hermit Crabs
• 12 Scarlet Red Hermit Crabs
• 4 Peppermint Shrimp (freebies!)

I already had 3 turbos and a few astrea snails plus I think I have about 9 little blue hermits and 4 red hermits. I threw out my Cerith snails with my gravel , even though I tried to find them. I did salvage about 6 of them. And I have 4 emerald crabs.

I think this should keep me ahead of any algae problems now with all these critters in the tank. I find myself telling people to start from the sand and go up but I don't follow my own advice. <--- BIG DUMMY!!

Anyway I thought I'd toss an update in here just for kicks.

[rayme07]

wow that's a lot! I would watch those hermits with that many I would be afraid of them killing your snails for their shells. How much algae do you have in your tank?

[mpcolson]

Right now I don't have much. I have a turf beginning to grow on the sand and discoloring on the LR. So I think I am beginning to get a growth again. This tank had a BAD hair algae growth which is what I am trying to avoid.

I also hang a veggie clip every other day that I see some snails nibble on from time to time. I read that a good clean up crew was 2 critters per gallon.. I am just below that. I suppose it will be survival of the fittest if that is an incorrect ratio. I read that in several places. I guess I can run my lights a little longer to give them more to munch.

[CarmieJo]

I avoid any guideline that is #/gallon. How big is the animal l-w-d? What are the tank dimensions? What's the bioload? Until you know answers like these and more you don't have enough information to make a decision.

[mpcolson]

I finally got my API Master Reef Test Kit today... Early Christmas present to ME.

I don't know what to make of the results:

Ca 400-430
Kh 286.4 ppm (OFF THE CHART)
Po 0.00
Nitrate 40 ppm
My salinity is .025

It's like I get two dead on point and two that are deadly wrong. I just did a 5 gallon water change prior to this test.

Just for the record this is a 50 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump.

I have the following fish in the tank:

1 Blue Green Chromis
1 Coral Beauty
1 Yellow Tang
2 False Peculla Clowns

Plus the previously mentioned crabs and snails.

Dimensions are 36 wide 17 tall 18 deep (front to back)

I have approximately 65 lbs. of Live Rock in the tank with a 4" deep sand bed.

Since I recently did the change from the Hawaiian gravel to beach sand I can understand the Nitrates... But the Kh is miles high. What would cause that??? How do I correct this? Will it cause problems ... what type??

[CarmieJo]

Are you dosing anything? Alk and Ca are inversely proportional so high alk should lead to low Ca. Did you happen to test the new water before you added it ? Did you add the reagent one drop at a time and swirl the test tube between drops? It is also possible that the test kit is faulty.

[mpcolson]

I'm gonna retest this stuff today. I think I must have done something wrong. Perhaps the water sample was contaminated by dishwasher soap residue or something.

I have my kids this week end so I think I might be better served to test AFTER they leave so I can pay better attention.

I don't have any signs from the fish that I am creating an unhealthy environment, even the Yellow Tang which usually get Ich at the first sign of stress is doing great and eating his red algae leaves like a champ. So everything is passing the "eye test".

[CarmieJo]

The eye test is always a good reference. Let the kids do chemistry experiments! They'll think t's loads of fun

[mpcolson]

Well guys and gals I went to phase II of my Marine hobby now and invested in CORALS!!! Of course as my luck would have it, I ordered from a company in NEW YORK... Check the weather.... Haven't gotten my main order yet due to a blizzard or some such wintry mess going on up there.

SOoooo... I went to my LFS and they have a recently added frag tank that was placed with good lighting and tiered for good viewing. Prior to this they had coral in a dim corner as a after thought. So I gave it a once over and bought a nice mis-priced green polyp frag from a clerk that could not read his price chart.

It should have cost $35.00 he sold it for $17.99 and was pulled to the side after my sale! I love it when a learning experience works in my favor!

Anyhow. I placed the little slab on a piece of LR with a rubber band and after a few hours now it is opening like it was in the store. By morning I hope it fills like it displayed. Either way I wanted it to create a carpet rock so I'm off and running will a $300.00 order stuck in Manhattan. CAN'T WAIT!

Here's a pic of today's find in night light mode....

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/at...achmentid=5047

[CarmieJo]

Are they stuck at the store or in transit?

[mpcolson]

Oh.. They are at his store. He had to frag to order on a couple of pieces and let them heal. After that the weather came and he won't ship them. I may not get them until spring at this rate but I would rather that than them stuck in the Memphis hub for 3-4 days.

I will say the store is uniquecorals.com and the guy is almost too cautious about shipping. Dick aka Amphibious would be proud of this guy..lol

[CarmieJo]

That is way better than stuck in transit!

[mpcolson]

Well here I sit in Oklahoma ... IN A BLIZZARD!

11" inches of snow...4' foot drifts and a white-out condition!! I am wondering to myself... If the weather continues to be bad for an extended period, my frags will begin to grow while they wait to transport. Is that a good thing or not???

I can definitely say NOTHING is moving around Oklahoma for the next week or so and a follow up lighter storm in on the horizon.

ARGH!!! I hate the winter!!

/RANT OFF

[SaltyDawg]

As long as the frags aren't sitting at fed-ex in a frozen warehouse I wouldn't worry.
As for winter...I feel your pain. We got 15" yesterday. For the winter we are average on snowfall. About 75" so far with a few months left. I'll trade with ya..lol

[CarmieJo]

Matt, by the time they get to you the price will have gone up because they will be full colonies! LOL

[mpcolson]

Carmie,

You don't know how true that might be. You should read some of the back and forth e-mails we have sent. I think we are both are starting to feel like the Dahmer Party*.

I thought this was going to clear this next week but flurries forcasted yesterday became 2 inches and now they are looking at a repeat BOOMER storm Tuesday and Wednesday. For New York thats really not that big of a deal BUT Oklahoma City isn't designed for that kind of storm so we just lock the doors and hope we don't run outta smokes.

Mean while as you said I think the single polyp purchases I made are definitely going to begin to grow soon. I just hope that won't effect my ability to place them in my tank with out issues.

What a mess...

Good news is the frag I bought locally is thriving and seems to want to expand. So I feel confident when the rest come I will have good luck with them as well. I have all the sites surveyed where they will be placed. I just need 3 days of decent weather.

*The Dahmer party were pioneers trying to cross the Sierra Nevada mountain range too late in the year and had to resort to cannibalism to survive a horrible winter storm on their way to California in the 1800's

[CarmieJo]

Yeah, here in Raleigh we just wait for the sun to come out and melt the snow and ice. It usually does in a couple days.