ReeferSteve
Member
So it's a new year and a new tank on the way 
I got myself a 92gal bowfront in the back end of last year as i really like the look of them and how easily they tuck into the corner of a room. The only problem being that the stand that came with it would need scrapping and a custom stand building if i was to have it sumped. That and the fact my other half won't let me build the custom stand to accommodate the sump means I'm going sumpless on this build (for now).
I've managed to get the last of the 'dead' live rock I needed and now have around 80lbs in the tank. The rock I cured in the tank for several weeks with a large raw shrimp in there to encourage bacteria growth. After the first week I set to on testing the water to see if and what was happening and am pleased that after the ammonia spike, nitrite spike and huge nitrate spike I did a 90% water change and everything looks to be doing good now. I have been phantom feeding the tank with frozen foods and monitoring the params, and so far the ammonia and nitrite have stayed at zero. I performed another 50% water change about 4 days ago and have nitrates down to 10ppm.
I purchased a boyu HOB skimmer that has a rating of 1400ltr per hour, which is probably over rated, but I think it should be more than enough for my 350ltr volume. I had the skimmer running whilst curing the rock and through the phantom feeding to break it in. And after a lot of adjusting seem to have got it bubbling nicely now.
I'm currently running my lights for a couple of hours a day so I'm not watching a dark tank all day everyday. So far everything is looking good with no real 'bad' points to mention. No algae issues, params are staying where they should be, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10ppm, Ph 8.2.
I'll upload a couple of pics from my mobile so you guys can see how things are going so far. I'm just debating whether or not to rescape the tank though as I'm not quite happy with what I've done so far.
I got myself a 92gal bowfront in the back end of last year as i really like the look of them and how easily they tuck into the corner of a room. The only problem being that the stand that came with it would need scrapping and a custom stand building if i was to have it sumped. That and the fact my other half won't let me build the custom stand to accommodate the sump means I'm going sumpless on this build (for now).
I've managed to get the last of the 'dead' live rock I needed and now have around 80lbs in the tank. The rock I cured in the tank for several weeks with a large raw shrimp in there to encourage bacteria growth. After the first week I set to on testing the water to see if and what was happening and am pleased that after the ammonia spike, nitrite spike and huge nitrate spike I did a 90% water change and everything looks to be doing good now. I have been phantom feeding the tank with frozen foods and monitoring the params, and so far the ammonia and nitrite have stayed at zero. I performed another 50% water change about 4 days ago and have nitrates down to 10ppm.
I purchased a boyu HOB skimmer that has a rating of 1400ltr per hour, which is probably over rated, but I think it should be more than enough for my 350ltr volume. I had the skimmer running whilst curing the rock and through the phantom feeding to break it in. And after a lot of adjusting seem to have got it bubbling nicely now.
I'm currently running my lights for a couple of hours a day so I'm not watching a dark tank all day everyday. So far everything is looking good with no real 'bad' points to mention. No algae issues, params are staying where they should be, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10ppm, Ph 8.2.
I'll upload a couple of pics from my mobile so you guys can see how things are going so far. I'm just debating whether or not to rescape the tank though as I'm not quite happy with what I've done so far.
but I still seem to be getting the occasional 'dead' spot. So I'm thinking of tearing down the aquascape and trying something a bit more open with more holes and open areas. Failing that I might need to rush on the mp40's, or that will be my excuse to the other half to get them sooner.
