[jrf1175]

Hey Everyone,

I have been MIA from the forum for a while so I thought I would give a bit of an update on my progress. I am just cycling now so not too much going on (visually)....almost at 3 weeks now.

Here are my water test results from today:

NO2 - 0.05
NO3 - 25
AK - 8
pH - 8.2-8.3
NH3/NH4 - negligible
Salinity - 1.025
Temp - 25 +/-

I have never actually registered any NH3/NH4 during my cycle; however, NO2 and NO3 have dropped significantly since my first few tests.

I have had some micro bubbles in the system and have discussed this in another thread. I grabbed a filter sock and some filter pad to try to help solve this. I wasn't too happy with the results of adding the filter sock (Aquarium Supplies from Mail Order Pet Supplies) but maybe I just bought the wrong one? It didn't seem to solve the problem and resulted in some additional noise. The filter pad (HBH Enterprises Cut-Your-Own Polyfiber) seems to be working and has reduced the bubbles overnight but not eliminate them....but maybe this takes more time?? The pad is also grabbing lots of nasty stuff in the water, but my questions is how long can I leave this without cleaning or replacing? Also when I pull out the pad to replace it seems that I will agitate all the collected material and re-suspend it.

I have my computer (Profilus II Plus) set up and the temp and pH probe working. However I am curious of your comments on the bet place to locate these probes and also how to secure them?

OK lastly some eye candy....