Kirblit's 125

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by Kirblit

....so I think I might have to take the shrimp approach.

Just go ahead and toss one in there just the same. Better safe than sorry.

Allen

[Kirblit]

sounds like a plan to me! What is a good amount of time to leave it in there?

[Kirblit]

Here are some pictures of the tank with the rock in it. I still have to scape everyting over the next few days. I love aquascaping, but I'm sort of a perfectionist so it tends to take quite a bit of time. (my wife thinks I'm crazy)
I'm going to shoot for a lot of caves and places to swim around rocks rather than a wall/pile becuase I'm going to get a Kole tang and I want it to have plenty of swimmming room.












Here is a pic of the skimmer, well, doing what it does ! I'ts been going crazy with the live rock in there.

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by Kirblit

sounds like a plan to me! What is a good amount of time to leave it in there?

I'm not sure there is a specified amount of time. Just too many variables to guess (amount of die-off, quality/quantity of bacteria already present, etc etc)

The complete cycle could take 3-4 weeks or if it goes really slow I have heard of (not seen mind you) a cycle to take a few months. With that said, I would suspect 3-4 weeks. All you can do is test and monitor. When everything spikes and THEN comes back to ZERO (one in turn after the other not JUST ammonia) then you can slowly add critters. Keep in mind that each additional "Critter" can create a mini-cycle as the bio-system adapts to new additions. So take it slow. Add something and watch for the mini-cycle then add something else after that. Take the time to really watch and learn your tank. It's awesome seeing how nature works and adapts in our lil slice of the reef.

Allen

[Kirblit]

Sounds good, that is how long I was planning it would take with just the rock, didn't know if the shrimp would make a big diff. My 12g nano took about 3weeks for it's cycle so I have the patience thing down pat, but still the whole time.

Thanks

[AnotherLousy1]

WOW! What an awesome setup. Will you come to the midwest and help me out when I'm ready to go that big? LOL Seriously, great lookin' tank, can't wait to watch this one grow. Karma to you for all the DIY skills!

[Kirblit]

Thanks, I wish I could come set yours up, I don't know what to do with myself know that the tank is beginning it's cycle. I have been working on everything nonstop for the last 3 months or so, and been reading, reading, reading for the last year. I think that I'm having PPTD (post pardom tank depression), !! I guess I'll just have to start another, yeah right, my wife would kill me !!

[MR PALM BEACH]

How are you likeing those Koralia's? I have 2-K4 In my 90 and I love them. So easy to re-direct and adjust.

[Kirblit]

I love them so far, great flow, and as you said very easy to redirect. The magnets are a nice addition, you don't have to worry about suction cups, and they are easy to move from outside the tank. The only problem is that my tank is about as thick of glass that you can have and still have the magnets hold, I actually had to take the rubber part off on the outside so that they would hold better. I wish they made them in different magnet strengths because if you had thicker glass they wouldn't hold. Other than that I have been very satisfied with them, wish I felt comfortable putting them on a wavemaker, Woodstock does and she hasn't had any problems so far, so I'm following her thread. The other worry is that the outlet is so big I don't want a fish to decide to lay in there while they are off, and then they kick back on again and !

[Kirblit]

Well I tossed a jumbo raw shrimp in the tank to kick off the cycle, now to wait.............................................. ......................

[MR PALM BEACH]

Wow thats good to hear they work on a wavemaker, Im glad to see It work Is was originaly going to put them on one but was unsure If It was possible. Glad to hear 2 other people are doing It and making It work.

[Kirblit]

Woodstock says that other than the occational click when the pumps start up again she hasn't had any real problems. I have heard however that they do not last as long on a wavemaker. Have you ever seen the Maxijet Mods? They are supposed to be the way to go for wavemakers, and powerheads that have good flow other than Tunze.


MJmods.com, Mod your Maxi jet into a high flow pump

[Kirblit]

Ok I am a little bit confused, or maybe I should say surprised. I bought 130lbs of live rock online, 1/2 came on the 17th of May, and the other half came on the 24th. So I had a week in between the rock. I took my first test about 5 days after the first batch of rock came in, the results were:

Ammonia- .5-1.0
Trites - .25
Trates- 10

I thought oh, well it's starting, well it was I guess. I got my other rock in a couple of days later and I again tested the next day. And my results were:

Ammonia- .25
Trites - .25
Trates- 15

Ok well nothing spectacular here so I decided to give it a good hard cycle to begin with to save troubles later, so upon everyones advice I put a jumbo raw shrimp in the tank to really get things going (25th). I waited three days (28th) to see how things were going and the results were:


Ammonia- .25
Trites - .25
Trates- 15

The same as before, I thought that was pretty weird but just thought it hadn't really started to rot real well yet, but boy was my skimmer pulling out some reall nasty gunk that suggested otherwise. The next day I tested again and the results were:

Ammonia- 0
Trites - 0
Trates- 30-40

I was very suprised so I looked for what was left of the shrimp, and it was TOTALLY GONE! and only after 4 days!! No it wasn't eaten by anything, it was in a mesh bag, and all that was left was a little slime. I know that tanks usually take about 3 weeks to cycle, and this is the third week but I thought it wouldn't really start to cycle until I stopped adding rock because it would really increase the bioload again each time I added rock.

So is my tank fully cycled, and ready for a good water change? I just never saw a really good spike in anything. I tested again today with the same results as yesterday:

Ammonia- 0
Trites - 0
Trates- 30-40

I would assume that it's a good sign that the shrimp was consumed by the bacteria so quickly!!!

[lcstorc]

Sounds like a good plan to me. I am pretty sure some hitchiker from the rock ate the shrimp as it won't decompose that quickly, but your water parameters look good to me. Just go very slowly with increasing the bio-load. Add one or two small fish and wait and see what that does to your parameters before adding anything else.

[Kirblit]

I just don't know what could have possibly ate the shrimp, I had it in a media bag that is 600 micron, and the shrimp was suspended from one of the center braces and not really sitting on any rock. I don't know that I would believe anyone telling me this either. I put it in the bag so that if I had some hitchiker I would see evidence of destruction to the bag I would think that if I had a mantis or something that the bag would be pretty messed up with it trying to get to it. Should I add another shrimp just to make sure it's fully cycled or just leave it as is?