Col's RSM C-130

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Colin Tayler

Member
As i posted in the newbie area I just forked out for an RSM C-130...
Bought it on Saturday and filled it with water and Red Sea live substrate the same day, added live rock on Sunday.
Also got talked into getting a Koralia Smart Wave with 2 x 3200 l/hr pumps (probably too strong in retrospect!), as well as a spectrometer, API test kit, and also some Red Sea salt since my salt was a bit low at 1.022 - now up to 1.024+.
I will add some pics when the site lets me but still playing a little with the live rock layout - probably should have got a bigger tank - there's not much space in there!

Col
 
goma

goma

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
Your test worked!! :thumber:

You have 5 posts now, so lets see some pics!!
 
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melvis

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the club Colin, sure looking forward to seeing how you've aquascaped your C-130 and what you make of the Koralia's.

Just had a look at you 'meet and greet' post and if it helps, I've been running the skimmer 24/7 as heard (forget where) that it's good to bed it in. Also, I've had the lights on a 10 hour timer too, but reduced this now to about 6 hours a day. There's a wealth of posts out there that'll help explain the cycle etc, and if you're planning on doing it without any chemicals...a raw prawn (deli shrimp) will help speed up the ammonia spike.

Good luck anyway mate.
 
Joeys Tank

Joeys Tank

Well-Known Member
Jolly good morning, Col, and welcome to RS!!

Definitely looking forward to following along on your journey. Tank cycling is a great time to dive in to research (tank mnx, coral/fish selections, water parameters, etc).

I saw that you have a spectrometer. I think this is a refractometer to measure salinity. A spectrometer takes incoming light and breaks it up into spectral bands.

Again, welcome!!
 
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Colin Tayler

Member
Thanks for the tips - protein skimmer 247 it is and we have been doing lights about 6 hours a day so thats good too. We are also switching on the power heads in the evening to churn the water round - and yes I have a refractometer - at least I think so! The "Marine Fishes" book arrived today so we are starting to think about what we will fit in the tank once its ready in 4-6 weeks...

In the meantime, heres a look at the rocks, its not ideal but I'm pretty happy - after all you can only use the rocks you are given and I didnt know what to look for...

DSC02088_zpsea064ece.jpg
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In terms of fish early thoughts are:
- Chalk bass
- Royal Dottyback
- Threadfin cardinalfish
- Percula Anenomefish

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Col
 
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Colin Tayler

Member
Woah, just read up about the Royal Dottyback - too aggressive! And BTW I wasnt thinking of having all of these fish! I am thinking 3-4 fish (as well as corals and CUC), is that about right?

Thanks

Col
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Nice looking LR

Love clowns and a peaceful tank, I always look for fish that play well together - our Ocellaris clowns are model citizens :)
 
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Colin Tayler

Member
Hi again,

So its day 5 and the readings are now as follows (day 1 readings after the slash):

- ph 8.2 / 8.2
- SG 1.025 / 1.022
- Ammonia 0 / 0.25
- Nitrite 0 / 0
- Nitrate 40 / 20

So SG is good, ammonia was low and has now disappeared and nitrate has increased.

So I am guessing these would be good if my tank had cycled but it probably hasn't so I need to kick start with a piece of shrimp? I have live substrate and live rock.

Thanks for your advice!

Col
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Hi Col,

I would add the shrimp, mush it up a bit & just let it decay. Keep testing, it will feed the cycle and depending on the state of your LR (how cured it is) you will be good to go in one to three weeks is a good guess.

If you want to read a really great post, check out this one by RS member prow - it's a bit long, but a great read, I have read it many times, to get it in my brain :)

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...something-cycling-breaking-new-reef-tank.html

keep posting us pics :dance: we love them all, from just empty tanks to every stage of progression. If you have any questions feel free to ask, all RS members are great & will try to help you have sw success. There are no "dumb" questions & you won't ever see flames on RS, that's what makes RS so special, we all started at square one & all had the same questions at one time in our sw journey :clink:
 
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Colin Tayler

Member
Just read your post and the link - pretty comprehensive - thanks! :eek:lsmile: . One question, when adding shrimp should it be raw or cooked or doesnt it matter? And I guess prawn is fine (maybe its the same thing but its a US/UK language thing!)

Cheers

Col
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Shrimp.jpg


a raw one... , just take shell off if he has one & drop him it to rot... yes prawn (uk) shrimp (us) same thing

this would be just like a fish died down in the rocks & you could not get him out... you want the LR to handle the bio-load
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Cheers - if you have a hh (hitchhiker) crab, he may have been hungry ;) it's doing it's job though... where ever it went :)

rock watching, is lots of fun
 
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Colin Tayler

Member
So I have some developing brown algae (diatom?) - I am hoping this is part of the cycling process - so is it, and do I just let it carry on spreading or do I introduce some snails - I was assuming its too early for them since I should be waiting for the cycling to finish but just wanted to check!

See photos...

DSC02099_zpse09d17dc.jpg
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DSC02100_zpsc6daa106.jpg
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Thanks as ever!

Col
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
yep diatom

you are correct, don't want to add anything alive until the cycle completes

Watch for the ammonia to rise then fall to zero, then the nitrites rise & then fall to zero, then the nitrates rise, once this happens, do water changes to get rid of the nitrates - tank cycled - can add cuc, 1st corals, 1st fish or pair (then wait a month before adding anymore fish - fish=bioload)
 
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Colin Tayler

Member
So its day 11 for the tank now but the ammonia is staying resolutely at 0.25... I was hoping it would have increased by now especially since I added a raw shrimp at day 7... Will it definitely go higher? Should I add another shrimp? The first one got covered by the sand which has been drifting a little as the powerheads have been in operation.

Other readings are nitrite 0, nitrate 40, ph 8.2, sg 1.026, temp 26.

Thanks

Col

On the plus side, the algae seems to be developing nicely:

DSC02103_zps2a1e9225.jpg
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DSC02107_zpsd1601f6f.jpg
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Colin Tayler

Member
Hi again, its day 19 and I am wondering what is happening in my tank. I am fully prepared to be patient and have read this many times though many threads...

However...
My ammonia having been at 0.25 for a little while has been tailing off and is definitely now pretty much 0, i.e. it didnt have anything like the peak I was expecting - I thought it would hit at least 1 if not higher...
My nitrites have never been anything other than zero
My nitrates have been at 40 since about day 7 after I introduced the shrimp.

I am therefore thinking that the tank hasnt cycled properly (very low ammonia spike that has now disappeared, no nitrite spike), so what shall I do?

Should I add something else to kick start it and if not, how long do I just watch a tank that has no ammonia and no nitrites?

As a reminder I used live sand and live rock and do have diatom and green hair algae.

Grateful for any insight...

Cheers

Col
 
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