[littleme1969]

Well I finally got all bits together, chopped of my arm and a leg and sold a kidney to pay for it all lol
So here goes what I have to date..

72ltr uk gallon tank with built in filter system, fan etc.. £130
Heater 75w £12.99 (already had this)
4kg Reef Bones (left over from another project) approx cost £5
Interpet Powerhead £12.99
3 stage 50gpd RO unit £75.00
API Master Saltwater test kit £17.75
API calcium Test Kit £7.99
Red Sea Hydrometer + Thermometer £11.99 (wil upgrade later when more dosh available)
Caribsea Fiji Pink Live Sand £22.99
Red Sea Coral Pro Salt 7Kg £19.99

I decided to get it all from the same place, worked out cheaper in the end as I paid no postage due to cost of order
Plus its from a company I use all the time who do next day delivery for nothing and are just great!

Ordered 5kg fiji cured live rock £49.99 (delivered)
1 KG " " Rubble £14.999 " (rubble for use in filter system at back
These arrive Friday

My RO unit is set up and running nicely with a good output. I got hubby to install it as he is a plumber.. he was very sceptice about fittings etc and expected it to leak..lol and it did!! So we played around with it and its running fine now Pic below.

I'm intending to use my rock rubble for the built in 4 conpartment filter sytem at the back. This will be as follows..
Chamber one with inlets will have Live rubble in
Chamber two again will have live rubble
Chamber 3 will have Bagged carbon and filter floss in thatcan be changed on a weeky basis so no nitrate trap issues.
Chamber 4 has the pump and the heater in.

Does this sound ok? Also is it best to bag the rubble? I have so filter bags ready for the job. Just thought it would make it easier to clean with fresh salt water from time to time.
Also what is a good temperature to run at? I have seen many different temps for 76 - 80 so not sure what is best.
My RO is working great and producing about a gollon every 1.5hrs, so I will have enough flow to throw away the first 30 litres or so , turn off tonight and restart in the morning so I have enough RO water ready and in the tank for when the rock comes on friday. Fingers crossed there are no disasters .

Any info suggestions comments most welcome..

This post has been edited by littleme1969: 09 April 2009 - 08:34 PM

[BigC]

Hi
I would upgrade the hydrometer to a refractometer.
I got a good Deltec one from
http://www.reefstore...r-pr-16527.html
Cheap. and good corespondance from owner.
Regards
BigC

P.S. Cant get into photobucket from the links you've given.

[kkyyllee]

if you bag the rubble its would be easier to remove debris

[littleme1969]

Upgraded pics.. Bucket was having issues early for some reason
Will bag my rubble for the sump at the bag, thanks
And yes I will upgrade to a better hydrometer as soon as cash flow allows.
Any info on the temp? is about 78 OK?

Thanks
Nikki

[SkiFletch]

78f Is pretty ideal for most reef setups. Usually 83 is the highest temp I reccomend before corals start getting stressed. 75 Is usually a low-end IMO.

[kkyyllee]

id say keep it around 80-82 degrees, dont let it get higher than 86 thats when corals will start to bleach

[littleme1969]

LOL.. so that 78 - 80..
80- 82 if I get any Ich outbreak on any fish... same as I do with my tropicals so thats ok.
Thanks guys

Mixing salt today with my RO water. Will fill the tank 3/4 full with current ref bones in then I have 20 hrs or so to run it to see how the powerhead heater etc perform.
Live rock comes tomorrow
So after a few days in the tank i'm keeping an eye out for pests, anenome crab etc, Will invest in some joes juice when I order my clean up crew in 1 - 2 weeks time. Whats the advise on bristle worms? I see some peoe consider them as pests due to the sting and remove them with a trap.

Nikki

[kkyyllee]

keep the bristle worms, there a good part of ur cuc, and help keep ur sand bed clean, just dont go and try to pick them up

[steelhealr]

I"m an 80-82, s.g. 1.026 man myself. Scrap the hydrometer...get a refractometer. Can you turn one of the back sumps into a refugium? SH

[littleme1969]

kkyyllee, on Jul 5 2007, 11:40 PM, said:

keep the bristle worms, there a good part of Ur CCU, and help keep Ur sand bed clean, just don't go and try to pick them up

Thanks, and yes once the live rock is in Ive no intention of sticking my little mits in there without full protection..lol

stalely, on Jul 6 2007, 02:08 AM, said:

I"m an 80-82, s.g. 1.026 man myself. Scrap the hydrometer...get a refractometer. Can you turn one of the back sumps into a Refugio? SH

Hi..
As there is no light in the back at the mo, its a no go at the mo May do a bit of a mod and add a light there later. At the moment I'm concentration on the basics, like getting the salt mix right, and reading the hydrometer..PMSL
Just wondered why you have your salt so high? is not 1.022 - 1.024 more normal?
Tank is currently 3/4 full with a little sand and reef bones.
Temp is 81 degrees (just turned heater down a touch to bring down to approx 79)
Hydrometer is reading 1.020 so just adding a little more salt mix slowly to bring that up a little
PH is 8.0 with just a Little sand and the reef bones after 12hrs in the tank together.
Filter and power head seem to creating a good current throughout the tank.
Just waiting on my live rock which arrives today.
I'll be sticking a more in depth diary over on my Fishy Photo Blog (link below) for anyone who is interested. Including lots of pics price info web links etc. So you can watch my fall flat on my face in great detail

A quick thank you to all the others who have taken the time to do journals. Its been the info and encouragement Ive needed to do this, after doing freshwater for 5 years

[parker313]

Sounds great so far! Another vote for not worrying about the bristle worms. For the temp, same as in FW, stability is more important than the specific number on the thermometer, as long as you're in the acceptable range, which 79 definitely is. I'll be a lone voice of dissent and say that a refractometer is not necessary if you have a good hydrometer. With a tank that size, are you considering a skimmer? To me, that help in removing the skimmate was more valuable than the money I could have spent on a refractometer.

[littleme1969]

parker313, on Jul 6 2007, 03:08 PM, said:

Sounds great so far! Another vote for not worrying about the bristle worms. For the temp, same as in FW, stability is more important than the specific number on the thermometer, as long as you're in the acceptable range, which 79 definitely is. I'll be a lone voice of dissent and say that a refractometer is not necessary if you have a good hydrometer. With a tank that size, are you considering a skimmer? To me, that help in removing the skimmate was more valuable than the money I could have spent on a refractometer.

Thanks for that I wont be beotherering with a skimmer for the moment but will keep it in mind if I have serious issues in the future.

Tank has now been up for 24hrs with rock and sand etc.
Stats are as follows..
PH 7.9
Temp Constant 80.5 day and night, no change under lights so I'm going to just leave it at that
SG 1.024 managed to get this up over 24hrs.
Amonia 0.5
Nitrate 0
Calcium 550
All pretty much as you would expect though I would like the PH to be a bit higher.
The powerhead and filters are doing a great job with good flow all round the tank and no apparent dead spots.
The Hydrometer I'm using is one you can leave in the tank. Its stuck to the glass 6" down and gives a good constant reading ( I just turn off the power head and filter if I want a perfect result) Its really easy to use and ideal if you want to keep a close eye on the SG.
I seem to have quite a few hitchikers A few pics below maybe peeps can help me identify them please.
Ive posted more pics inc tank etc on my phot blog (link below)

[BigC]

How do you find the Coral Pro salt mix, (I've just bought a tub)
Regards
BigC

[littleme1969]

Its pretty good, if you mix as stated you get pretty much perfect sg. I mixed 15 ltrs at a time 500g os salt wit the RO water and it came out at 1.024 so pretty easy to use. After My RO has finished with the water my PH goes down to 6.8 from 7.4 and the salt is buffering back upto 7.9 so pretty good also. Just hoping the sand and rock help up that a little more over time
Its not the cheapest out there, but it seems to be a good blend for a reef system.

[BigC]

I thought the pH was ment to be a little higher.

[littleme1969]

Yes I did mention that above. around 8.2 is supposed to be perfect. I guess it depends on the water you start out with as to the end result you will get, but I have seen quite a few nano journals on here who have low PH to start with. I was hoping one of the old hands here would jump in and offer a few suggestions but they seem to be giving me a wide birth for some reason..lol
Hows you tank going BigC ?

[littleme1969]

Stats today..
Not much change really
PH is 7.9
Temp 8.0
SG 1.025 (just topped off with a litle fresh back down to 1.024
Amonia is down to 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Tank seems to be settling ok good water flow and nice clear water so the filter is doing the trick.
I decided to go with just one chamber with live rock. The second I have left empty to make allow space to grow algae etc as sugested by steelhealr. My tank is open at the back so attaching a light so be easy

I have a new hitchiker..
Purple people eater..LOL just waiting on an ID for this guy..


I thought he was either dead or some kind of coral at first until I saw him moving round his hole hes about 1.5cms long and a dark purple in colour
A Nice pic of my clam with his mouth open

[steelhealr]

Seems like things are moving along. Take your time now and don't be in a rush to add corals. Wait until ammonia and nitrite are at zero. Then, when the cycle is done, do a 25% initial water change. If you can bring your nitrates down to 10, you can add your cleanup crew. I like your s.g.....I like to run it high too. SH

[FLcracker94]

Nice tank! Is that a 12ga (US) tank?
How long has it been runnin?
Could you get a pick of the whole tank? Heres mine. (one True Perc, one Firefish, one YTD, HUGE bush of Halimeda. Second pic is my Bloodshrimp next to Xenia, you gotta get a B-Shrimp!)

First pic has my Bubble coral when it was healthy...I'm working so hard to keep it alive, and doing tests and water changes like crazy. Looks nice in the pic though doesn't it?

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[littleme1969]

Yup nice tank good luck with the bubble Coral.
Tank is a 16 UK gallong tank with about 4 gallon being taken up by the built in rear sump/filter system. Its of asian import origon will have to check box to get full spec etc.
Tanks is now on day 3 and there is no real change in the stats. Ive decided to go for a slow cycle with regular small water changes as I seem to have alot of hitchikers that I would hate to loose just for the sake of an extra week cycling.
There no real ID on the purple people eater as yet. Its either some type of sea cucumber/ sea slug . I somehow thing I wont be seeing him again for a while.. as hes left his hide away for greener pastures
A few more pics of other hitchikers ..

Bivalve of some discription

Britle worm (head end)

Bum end..lol

Tank without flash

Tank with flash.
Despite the obvious quality of the rock I was a little dissapointed at the hugs size of the pieces. I ordered a nano pack and to be honest you would have had to break the main piece up to even fit it in most nano tanks meaning the death of alot of your hitchikers
Heres where I got all my bits & bobs from for the tank
Aquatics Online
A great company thats also good on price and supper quick on delivery!
And here is where I got my cured live rock..
Live Rock