Putter's first tank

[putter]

skimmer and plumbing

140LBS of rock

More dam rock!

first attempt

So any pointers, suggestions of constructive critisism?

 

[putter]

WOW those corners really stand out, not sure I like that, never noticed it so much IRL! Oh well, so when does the water testing start? Should I take a series of tests now and then weekly until the cycle peaks, or should they take place more often, like every other day? Also is there any thing other than a shrimp I could use to start the cycle? Thanks :Cheers:

 

[Doc]

slow down and take a breath. this is going to take a few weeks. Patience is the most important part right now. First off, no matter what we say, you will most likely re-arrange the rocks about a dozen times before the end of the week. Keep them how they are for now, they look just great.

Your salinity is within normal limits. leave it alone for now.

use a piece of shrimp from the market. some people try to put in a damsel to get things going, calling it a sacrificial fish, but I am not a fan of that for one reason: what if it lives? there is NO WAY with that tank you will EVER catch the damsel. they tend to be SUPER territorial and will hassel and even kill other fish that you put in after it so don't use that method. a piece of shrimp is all you need.

As for testing the water, you won't need to for a while. Once you drop in the shrimp leave your tank alone for about a week. don't even touch it. test after a week and if the ammonia is still present, leave it alone again, for another week. keep testing it weekly until there is no ammonia or nitrites present in your water, then do a water change to reduce nitrates and you are good to start one fish. that process will take between 3-4 weeks. Patience young Skywalker, patience...

-Doc

 

[reeffreak]

You wife let you put the LR on the table.Mine would of had a fit.

Your not wasting any time,sure looks like you have plenty of live rock.Honestly,it looks like it would start a cycle on its own,no need really to drop a shrimp in there.If you still want,you can put a little fish food to start the cycle.I prolly wouldn't be much help on the aquascaping.Maybe try to have two islands or high on the end and lower in the middle.Congrats,your well on your way.

I almost forget,I usually test a couple of days later and then every three days or so,while its cycling.

 

[putter]

Thanks guys, and Doc, I would never use a fish to cycle, was more wondering if I could use something else, like maybe some frozen blood worm or some such thing. Thanks for calling me young Doc, made me feel good for a couple seconds anyhow :) I do realize that this process is going to take a couple months, or could take up to that long, I just got a little over excited last night. Thanks for the testing advice I know it is on these forums already some where but thanks for repeating it. Dominick, my wife has only really said that she didn't like her house being turned upside down (which it has been since the tank arrived) she does not really care how I do it, but she wants it cleaned up NOW lol which is why I got away with placing all the rock on the table. Only a few things left to do now and the mess should be gone completely.

 

[reeffreak]

Good call on the skimmer,ASM skimmers are pretty sweet and nothing better than having an ATO.What lights are you going with btw?

 

[Doc]

glad you are taking it slow. Best way to go

-Doc

 

[putter]

The Solaris I4 48" LED is what I have ordered, was kind of hoping that it would have shown up by tonight but no luck so far.

 

[putter]

From what I have read so far Doc, only thing trying to rush this hobby does is cost lotsa bucks and usualy grief! Now that I have most every thing I need in the tank all I have to do is wait for the cycle and while I wait I can start to research fishes and corals more to get a good solid plan of what I want and when to add them/it. Consider this an official warning of more noob questions to come :P

 

[reeffreak]

The Solaris I4 48" LED is what I have ordered, was kind of hoping that it would have shown up by tonight but no luck so far.

I remember now.
Great,now we can find out some hands on experience with that fixture around here.

 

[yote]

The rock work looks great.
Like Reef said,you shouldnt have to do anything to start your cycle.The die off from your rock will get it kick started pretty quick.
As for testing,just test for ammonia about every other day or so untill you notice it start dropping.

 

[fishbait]

that's going to look great! I can't wait to see it lit up.

 

[MikMcgyver]

Nice setup so far, cant wait to see the lights...

 

[putter]

Thanks :) I...ummm redid the rocks tonight...not sure if I made it better or worse lol either way another 2 hrs of time gone...POOF lol ah well it was enjoyable...messy but fun. The lights are still not here, maybe tomorrow. And I did toss a piece of shrimp in the tank as well, don't seem to be much going on yet, seems to be a bit of an odour in the house now, I assume from the rock. No critters crawlin about that I can see so I am guessing they didn't like the plane ride. Reworked the stand pipe today as well, a little more quiet now, and I think I have the air flow threw the tube working right....so with luck it won't air lock and empty the sump into the tank again. Waiting on some replacement parts for the ATO pump, I kinda cracked the housing on the pump trying to make the fitting just a little tighter (grumble) thats about all I been up to while waiting, soon will have questions on clean up crew, been looking at some package crews but not sure about them.

 

[putter]

second and final attempt (manage to scatch the tank every time I mess with it)

 

[Doc]

it will work, don't stress. as for the odor, it will get worse. I like to cure rock in buckets in the bathtub with the window open and a fan blowing outside for a week while it cures. Your house will STINK something fierce, get some neutra-air style air freshener, you will need it

-Doc

 

[putter]

Thanks Doc, will purchase some today, as for leaving a window open, well it's -28 C here this morning so no window opening for....ummm about 4 more months. I am happy with the rocks this time (so far) got more of a sand bed for critters and display now, no stress, just messing about with the new toy so to speak, I will leave it be now and let it do it's thing, should have a light to mess with by tonight anyhow I hope, take some pressure off the rocks, they can feel safe for at least a few days. :)

 

[SAMMY]

Wow a Solaris... :D Can't wait to see it with the lights

 

[putter]

Well the Solaris light showed up tonight, spent some time looking over the manual, got around to hooking it up..... so excited......BAH SO MUCH FOR QUALITY CONTROL!! For a light that is suppose to be tested for 48 hrs I recieved one out of the box that did not work. Seems that one of power supplies is not working...at least I hope thats what it is, if not that then the light itself is toast!! either way it is not something that should be an issue on a 2700 dollar light, I hope that PFO is very prompt at replacing the power supply and that the customer service is still there! Now for the plus, the half that is working seems to be awsum...great shimmer effect with bright light to the bottom of the tank, and thats on a 30" deep tank, I have come up with a plan to mount the solaris light in the canopy if PFO can satisyfy me with their customer service...if not then I return the light, and tell people on the communtiy forums of my experiance with PFO and turn to trying the Aquailumination LED lights.

 

[LionFish]

Dude that Sucks!

I hate dealing with crap like that!
Keep us updated for sure.