Ricks' Oceanic 14G Biocube - my first salt water tank

[djbacon]

Thanks guys, I've got about 12 lbs of live rock in there now. One large piece is very light so I don't think I can get much more in there. I added another pound of smaller pieces to even out the aquascape.

Have another quick question...I removed the bioballs because they produce nitrate and this is going to house mostly soft coral. Should I also remove the sponge filter in chamber 3 for the same reasons?

Thanks

[djbacon]

Quick update - got the skimmer installed last night. So far nothing much to skim. Bio balls are out, sponge is out. Chamber 1 now houses the skimmer, Chamber2 is stuffed with filter floss (may another chunk of LR back later).Chamber 3 is now just for the pump and heater. Waiting is painful.
PH - 8
NH3/4 still at about 3-4
NO3 is around .30
Salinity 1.023
Temp 79

I assume these numbers are normal at this point. Pics of the skimmer set up and aditional rocks below.

[Royalscott]

How did you get the drip lid off off the middle chamber that hold the bio balls? I cannot seem to get mine off.

[djbacon]

Ya know, its kinda tough at first, especially with wet hands...

You need to grip the front side of it, and pull it up first. By side, I am refering to the sides parallel to the rear wall. Once this is in there diagonally, you can lift it out with an easy wiggle. It will not lift straight up. Easiest place to grab it is in that goofy rectangle shape in the middle. Just pinch one end of it and lift.

Hope this helps !!

[Royalscott]

Thanks, I will try it again. I got it slightly on a diagonal, then the darn thing got stuck. I was so frustrated that I gave up until another day. They certainly didnt make it easy to get the damned lid off.

[djbacon]

if you have the lid diagonally up on one side and it still sticks, its ok to flex the rear wall slightly and kinda force it out. It will be snug (by design) but will come out. After you do it a afew times the plastic will loosen up enough to make it easier

[djbacon]

The tank lives !!

A few photos comming up.

Photo #1 - A ton of these little feather duster worms popping out in recent days. In both red and white.

[djbacon]

Photo # 2 - also growing some fuzz on my LR, this piece in particular has both white and greenish brown hairs starting to rise up.

Hair Algae?

[djbacon]

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[djbacon]

10 days into my cycle. Readings:

Salinity 1.024
PH 8.1NH3/4 close to 0
NO3 close to 100mg/l !!!
Temp still 79-80

Guess this means the nitfiying bateria is doing it's job :-) Looking forward to the nitrate drop and adding my CUC.

[djbacon]

Saturday 1/19

Salinity 1.024
PH 8.1
NH3/4 -0
NO3 -25mg/l
Temp 79-80

Is it normal for the Nitrates to drop so quickly? This tank has been cyling less than 2 weeks. Still going to wait for another week at least before adding livestock but a bit surprised that the chemistry is leveling out so quickly.

[lcstorc]

It would be very odd for the nitrates to drop so quickly without a water change. I would re-test or take water to your LFS to re-test before you trust that reading. I suppose anything is possible but that is definitely unusual.
I agree that waiting to be sure is a good idea.

[djbacon]

LFS just confirmed readings

NH3/4 at 0
N02 almost at zero (test I didnt have)
NO3 is around 25mg/l

Appears to be towards the end of a very fast cycle

Question - should I increase the amount of deli shrimp in there to ensure the tank REALLy cycles thoroughly? Or is it simply due to the fact that the Cured LR and Water and Sand all came from established tanks at the LFS that my cycle seems to be progressing so quickly. I still intend to wait before adding livestock but want to ensure future cycles are minimal as I slowly add inhabitants. Just want to be sure I have sufficient bateria to deal with future bioloads.

[djbacon]

Algae photo 1

[djbacon]

Alage bloom - Well I heard it would happen - here it is, in the last 2 days a nasty brown algae is starting to form on the glass and sand in the tank.

Nitrates still a bit high - over 25mg/l everything else is reading well.