My slow 135g build

Craig Manoukian

Craig Manoukian

Well-Known Member
Sue T used miracle mud in the refugium asnd had an awesome SPS/clam tank and she swore by it.

Many tanks have been successful with a DSB in the refugium. Chaeto is an excellent nitrate/phosphate remover that doesn't have the asexual challenges as with other algaes.
 
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JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
just came from Rockin' Reef, the LFS and bought another filter sock and some sponge sheets that i'll use to seed the QT. once the reef system has cycled i'll add the sponge to the sump, how long do yall think it has to stay in there before being seeded enough to support the QT?
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
thanks Craig. after doing some reading i think i'm probably going to take some sand out of the DT and add it to the "fuge". now the issue is what to keep in it since i plan on keeping the chaeto in the sump.
 
tbittner

tbittner

Well-Known Member
JoJo said:
just came from Rockin' Reef, the LFS and bought another filter sock and some sponge sheets that i'll use to seed the QT. once the reef system has cycled i'll add the sponge to the sump, how long do yall think it has to stay in there before being seeded enough to support the QT?
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Probably the usual amount of time for a cycle, 4-6 weeks. Don't get me wrong, the sponge won't cause a cycle, but it will take a while for the bacteria to build up in it. I wouldn't put it into the QT until you're ready to add a fish to it though. Without anything in the QT for the bacteria to live off of, it will die.
 
framerguy

framerguy

Well-Known Member
I will have to find my info source again, but I got miracle mud and large crushed coral to be mixed together for one of my refugium. As you may know I am going to have a multiple refugium system. One with miracle mud and one with a DSB of aragonite. The miracle mud will house the seagrasss bed and my elegance coral.
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
Ok, thanks Terry. i was hoping i could have some fish in the QT as the DT is cycling so once its done i could just add the fish but without any beneficial bacteria source to support the bio-load in the QT i'll have to wait until the DT finishes cycling then add the filter to it for a while before adding it to the QT.

Greg, that sounds cool. i would like to do something like that in the fuge, and since the fuge is tall and narrow (i think i should have just used a 10g) it has a small footprint of space, its making it hard to do so. i may have a 10g somewhere around here that i will use instead.
 
framerguy

framerguy

Well-Known Member
JoJo said:
. i was hoping i could have some fish in the QT as the DT is cycling so once its done i could just add the fish but without any beneficial bacteria source to support the bio-load in the QT i'll have to wait until the DT finishes cycling then add the filter to it for a while before adding it to the QT.
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You have been super patient so far, keep that up! Actually the fish should be some of the last things you add...but that is SO hard to do!! We all like the movement in our tanks and get impatient. You are being so meticulous that your system is going to be immaculate once it is mature. I need to learn patience from you!!
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
Thanks Greg! i was going to add the fish first because i dont know how long it would be until i can add corals since i only have my old 48" power compact fixture and i dont know how long it will be until i can afford the 72" T-5 fixture. i probably could support some low light corals with PC since the top of some of the rocks are only 9" from the water's surface. what ya think?
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
:lol: are you serious? well this would be the Orbit 260wt. i probably could house majority of the corals i want (all softies) with it until i get the T-5.

also, i just finished testing:

PH: 8.4
Am:0
NO2: 0
NO3: 10-20
SG:1.26

i'm not really sure whats going on with the parameters.
 
tbittner

tbittner

Well-Known Member
I ordered two of these to light the predator tank. Granted, I'm not going to try to grow corals under them but I bet I could if I didn't have fish that would EAT the corals before they had a chance to grow. :D
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
thanks guys. while watching a motionless tank last night i noticed a couple of snails popping up on the glass, should i be worried?

i also started trimming the tank opening. since the hole had to be big enough to slide the tank through, i had to close it in to hide the tank trim.

FTS4.jpg
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
daily testing results:
PH: 8.4
Am: 0-.25
NO2: 0
NO3: 20
SG: 1.27

since the trates are up to 20, i'm planning on doing a w/c tomorrow or saturday so they dont get out of control. and i also need to add some FW to lower the SG.

my question is how long do i need to let the salt mix before adding it to the system, i was thinking start mixing it tomorrow evening and do the change on Saturday morning. is that enough time?
 
tbittner

tbittner

Well-Known Member
I agree, 24 hours is good, 48 is better. I think it also depends on what salt your using. When I used IO, it was completely disolved in about 6 hours. The Reef Crystals I'm using now takes darn near 48 hours before it's clear. I don't want to put undisolved salt particles into the water because it would be very hard on the fish's gills.
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
Thanks Varga and Terry. since i'm using Reef Crystals i guess i'll wait until Sunday to do the water change, hopefully the trates wont go any higher by then.

Craig, i have a 32g tub that the RO unit fills up. and float switches from autotopoff.com in the sump.

i forgot to mention before that my water level in the DT is so high, it touches the bottom of the center brace. and when you're looking at the tank you can see the brace in the water. i believe its the "skimmer bridge" not being low enough that causing the problem so i'm thinking of taking my dremel tool and cutting notches in the side of the "bridge" so it will lower the water level. the skimmer box looks about .5" lower than the "bridge".
 
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