tangerine3486
Active Member
no I have not...should i pick up a test kit on the way home?
Biocube 14!
- Thread starter tangerine3486
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tangerine3486
Active Member
So I am back to my tank. After the lights were off for a few days the algae amount is way way down! there are still traces of it but it is not a thick. i did a water test:
salinity: 1.024
ph: between 8 and 8.2
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
I am hesitant to think my tank is even mostly cycled to not get my hopes up. What are your thoughts?
salinity: 1.024
ph: between 8 and 8.2
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
I am hesitant to think my tank is even mostly cycled to not get my hopes up. What are your thoughts?
Rhodes19
Active Member
from my quick google search it does not appear that carbon picks up nitrates.
Aquarium photography is seeming to be more difficult than I thought, for some reason.
Anyway, my tank has become much more algae like over the past week. Is this good aerobic algae?
the live rock with feather duster?
Also a question: the worm looking thing that came with the rock has been piling up the sand on that hole. It does not bother me though, im just curious...it appears to have a white base with a bunch of worm looking tentacle things that move around. is this a bad organism?
That looks like a tube worm. They are fine. I have several on my rocks.
Rhodes19
Active Member
I'm glad to hear the algae is down. I'm curious about your nitrates though. I would expect some there with cycling tank. Are you feeding the tank anything? Flake food, raw shrimp?
tangerine3486
Active Member
I fed the tank once about 4-5 days after set up. I put in a piece of fish (all I could find in a 5 food store radius) for a day and took it out with ammonia levels at 1ppm. Those levels stayed constant for a week. I have not fed it anything other than light since.
Rhodes19
Active Member
Ok, throw in a raw shrimp or fish and leave it in during the whole cycling period. You need to provide a source of ammonia so the bacteria can grow and divide. It sounds like you got it started and them stopped it.
tangerine3486
Active Member
Gotcha. I will put that in asap. thank you
--update: it is in
--update: it is in
Last edited:
tangerine3486
Active Member
also, should I keep lights on a daily regular cycle or off all day, or somewhere in between?
Rhodes19
Active Member
You don't need the lights one while it cycles but I have to admit, when I get home at night I turn the lights on on my 180 and stare at it for a while. Its in the process of cycling and my wife laughs at me when she sees me staring into an empty tank.
Its almost done cycling. :whstlr:
tangerine3486
Active Member
haha nice! How long has yours been cycling? I stare at mine too!
Water levels are now about 4 ppm for ammonia, and my room reeks.
Also, a biocube question-my exhaust fan goes crazy occasionally, and one of my moon LEDs goes off and on randomly. Self fix or contact oceanic?
Water levels are now about 4 ppm for ammonia, and my room reeks.
Also, a biocube question-my exhaust fan goes crazy occasionally, and one of my moon LEDs goes off and on randomly. Self fix or contact oceanic?
Rhodes19
Active Member
I started cycling my 180 right before New Years so its almost 2 months. I am working on getting the alk up and the ca down now. Yeah, my wife wasn't happy about the smell a few days after I tossed in the shrimp, bu it doesn't last long.
Unfortunately, the fans on the Biocubes are their week link. You can call Oceanic and they will send you new ones (easy to replace and free) or you can get new fans from a computer store or nanotuners. The stock fans aren't that great. My replacements from Oceanic are starting to go so I will get them else where. I'm thinking of getting a PC retro fit from nanotuner at some point and put in some new fans with more air movement. As far as the moon light LED, I'm not to sure. I think you can replace the LED module. Maybe some one will chime in with that info.
tangerine3486
Active Member
Thanks for the info. I will look into it.
If I am not planning on having corals for a while, do I not need to worry about Alk and Ca?
If I am not planning on having corals for a while, do I not need to worry about Alk and Ca?
Rhodes19
Active Member
No, just ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, ph, temp and sg. Just make sure you check and adjust the alk and ca before you put corals in. With softies I don't think Ca is much of a concern.
tangerine3486
Active Member
So after a crazy week i was finally able to wind down with some fish tank stuff. I removed the bottom of the first chamber and put the heater in. there after finally getting it set to a good temp - didnt have an actual temperature dial, just a "+" and "-" .
I also got a mag-float cleaner so the glass looks way better, and I picked up a 3 lb base rock and did some reaquastructuring. I also took out some bioballs and added filter floss on top of the stock cover. Will this work for the time being?
I also found the hitchhiker star fish under one of the rocks. should I be feeding him anything?
For future additions, I think i want to finish off the tank with 2 small pieces of base rock and another aquacultured rock, and maybe another 5lbs of sand (have 10 now).
. I also got a mag-float cleaner so the glass looks way better, and I picked up a 3 lb base rock and did some reaquastructuring. I also took out some bioballs and added filter floss on top of the stock cover. Will this work for the time being?
I also found the hitchhiker star fish under one of the rocks. should I be feeding him anything?
For future additions, I think i want to finish off the tank with 2 small pieces of base rock and another aquacultured rock, and maybe another 5lbs of sand (have 10 now).
tangerine3486
Active Member
So I picked up more live (1 piece) and base rock and sand, and changed up my tank. Figured I need to make my tank closer to what I think I want now rather than later.
Water test:
salinity 1.025
temp: very constant between 80.5 and 81
pH: down to 7.8
ammonia: 4
nitrite:1
nitrate: between 20 to 30
pics later
Water test:
salinity 1.025
temp: very constant between 80.5 and 81
pH: down to 7.8
ammonia: 4
nitrite:1
nitrate: between 20 to 30
pics later
tangerine3486
Active Member
FTS:
Im not convinced I love the rocks like that. I dont know how to move them around. Is this too much for 2 fish?
new piece of live rock:
I love the pink coraline algae! I tried to brush some off onto the base rocks. There is an anemone in the lower part of the rock, the white circle thing. he is hiding, and I am pretty sure that is a clam opening. not sure about the clam/oyster part, but it definitely opens and closes. Because my water ammonia and nitrate levels are so high, how bad is it for these guys? really bad? I didnt notice either when i picked out the rock.
other side of the rock...I do not know if that white stuff is coraline algae-it just looks much different, or what the yellow stuff is. But I will post a pic in the hitchiker section later.
Some of the base rock with some coraline algae growing on it?? any way to speed it along?
Im not convinced I love the rocks like that. I dont know how to move them around. Is this too much for 2 fish?
new piece of live rock:
I love the pink coraline algae! I tried to brush some off onto the base rocks. There is an anemone in the lower part of the rock, the white circle thing. he is hiding, and I am pretty sure that is a clam opening. not sure about the clam/oyster part, but it definitely opens and closes. Because my water ammonia and nitrate levels are so high, how bad is it for these guys? really bad?
I didnt notice either when i picked out the rock.
other side of the rock...I do not know if that white stuff is coraline algae-it just looks much different, or what the yellow stuff is. But I will post a pic in the hitchiker section later.
Some of the base rock with some coraline algae growing on it?? any way to speed it along?
Rhodes19
Active Member
Looks like you are heading in the right direction. Set up the rocks in a way that is appealing to you and make sure there are holes/caves for the fish to swim in and hide. That will make them feel a little more secure. The anemone you are seeing may be aptasia. Google it and compare. If it is, you want to get rid of it with something like Joes juice or a peppermint shrimp. The white stuff may be sponge. Hard to tell in the picture. As for seeding more coralline algae, just give it time. I've heard of folks using purple up but haven't heard any good results. Do a 50% water change and that will help drop the nitrates. Also consider dropping the temp down a bit. Its within the temp range but if you have a warm day at home, it could spike. Just a thought.
tangerine3486
Active Member
tuned down temp.
the anemone seems to be kind of transluscent for now and doesnt appear to be aptasia. But I will keep an eye on him.
I will do a water change soon, and i guess I will just sit back and relax for water parameters and fix the tank when they come down.
Thanks for all the help!
Jay
the anemone seems to be kind of transluscent for now and doesnt appear to be aptasia. But I will keep an eye on him.
I will do a water change soon, and i guess I will just sit back and relax for water parameters and fix the tank when they come down.
Thanks for all the help!
Jay
tangerine3486
Active Member
That is awesome. Your tank is looking good!
My ammonia might be down to 0 tomorrow. It was .25 this morning--going from 4 to .25 is about 2 days is good yes?
What kind of shrimp are you getting for your tank?
My ammonia might be down to 0 tomorrow. It was .25 this morning--going from 4 to .25 is about 2 days is good yes?
What kind of shrimp are you getting for your tank?