Aqua One 500 Nano Reef!

[cuticom]

Just an update, I gave into temptation and have just ordered a 150w clip on MH fixture with a 14000K bulb, I couldn't resist it'll match the tank perfectly, and will allow me to move the Torch coral across as it isn't happy in my reef. Some idiot fragged it so it has a smooth rounded bulb of rock at the end, which coralfix won't stick too and theres no gaps in the tank it'd be happy with, plus I can't reach the bottom of my reef and the tongs are too clumsy to poistion it, so a nice shallow tank with easily movable rocks will be a lot better for it. and of course it means i'll have room for more corals LOL.

The fixture cost $250 all up so it better be good.

 

[cuticom]

Hmph just discovered something incredibly annoying. I've been running under the assumption our tap water (from a rain collection tank) was around 7.2 pH so the rocks should gradullay lower in pH to about 7.8, which me test kits can read.

I just tested the tap water its at 8.4, the rocks make the water shoot to 8.8 as soon as they touch it, and thats as far as my test kit goes.

Hmph the rocks could already be cyecled but I can't tell because our water is extremely alkaline for some reason...

 

[cuticom]

Hmmm last night I pulled all the rocks out and rinsed and scrubbed both them and the sink to get rid of the white dposits that are everywhere. Then refilled it to soak, after twelve hours the pH has yet to rise, so I'll give it three days and then test again, if I'm lucky the pH will still be sitting at 8.4

 

[cuticom]

Well to solve my problem of the unknown pH of the rcosk, i made my own pH indicator.

Firstly I just want to say, this gives a basic ideas of pH, it in no way replaces the standard high range pH test kit, but i used this just to let me know how far above the test kit scale the pH was...

It was really simple to make, chop red cabbage up, add boiling water and wllow to cool the colour will turn purple-blue depending on the pH of the water you started with. Strain the cabbage out and your left with indicator solution, try to use a large amount of cabbgae, to ensure the solution is strong.

For mine I've found 2 ml of the solution to 5 ml of water gives a good strong colour.

The pH is somewhere around 9-9.5 so will spend more time doing water changes, but it was definitely a helpful indicator!

 

[cuticom]

So I'm talking to myself but oh well.

It's been 44 days now since the first batch of rocks were made, a little over six weeks, and the rocks are getting sooo close to be cured, I'd say a week or so more of 100% water changes 3-4 times a day should do it.

I fished all the rock out today and scrubbed them to get rid of the white build up which is what's raising pH scrubbed the sink, then let the rocks drain of water, I swear at least 2l of water came out of those rocks. Any ways I weighed them and there's 9kg exactly, which is interesting, it means these rocks a lot lighter then the standard LR, but then again half of them float so what else would you expect LOL.

I doubt these rocks will even all fit in the little nano, but we'll see if they do that'll bring the total rock weight up to 12.1 kg as there's 3.1 kg of actual LR in there already.

So a pic, I haven't bothered taking a pic of the tank, as its the same as before, but once my new light fixture comes I will def take some pics...

 

[SkiFletch]

Wow they're that light? Damn, you musta done a great job on them. They look great to me. Pretty natural looking, w2g

 

[rhysiboy]

Looking good man, see potential here . I myself have the bigger borther of the 500 - ive got the 620 you see and all in all i recon that these tanks do the job pretty well for marines. Good luck with everything

 

[cuticom]

My Mums got the 620T it wasn't one of her brightest ideas, I do all her tank maitenace and that tank is a bugger to reach into, it's alsmot 80 cm Tall.

The MH came, and boy is it bright it puts the 100w MH in my big reef to shame.

So tomorrow I'll do a big water change and move the torch coral over before it gets brown jelly or some equally aweful disease.


We've had a stall on the liverock, I placed int in a 60l tub of water just to test how high the pH goes, in 24 hours it went off the scale again and even after a 50% water change was still off the scale. So in desperation because our tap water is such high pH I've added vinegar to the mic, to take the pH down to 6.0 which should give me a better idea of how high the pH is rising.

I'm starting to think just buying the stupid rock would have been better, but its now not possible as dads chucked a fit over how much money I'm putting into the marine tank and I've been banned from buying anything except the absolute essentials for two months.

 

[cuticom]

Well never mind the DIY LR now, it won't be needed.

My dad freaked out at my Mum about the fact she let me buy the light without his permission (it was a present from Mum for my fantastic marks at school and I paid for half of it) and I now have to collapse most of my tanks because apparently they use too much power. So my 55g four foot which I've been perfecting for four years, my big reef which I've poured money into and has such fun with, my bettas and a few other tanks are all going. The only two that are staying are the 17g nano and a half filled 30g which I breed apple snails in and thats only staying because it pays for itself through the sale of apple snails and doesn't use a light. I'm in tears, these tanks are something I've loved and worked hard on and put all my allowance into for the last five years, and now because Dad decided to chuck a tanny and Mum too busy at uni to argue with him I have to get rid of them.

I knew I would have to sell the tanks sometime next year so i could go to uni the year after, but I was hoping to have them for at least another 18 months, but guess not.

I'll be fragging my fave corals from the reef tank, particularly my blasto, sun coral and torch so I can at least keep part of them, but their all way to big for a nano.

 

[jakeroberts]

so sorry about that i read you journel on your reef tank and it was looking really good shame it has to be pulled down

 

[SkiFletch]

Ouch, that stinks man, sorry

 

[cuticom]

The nano tank still needs to be aquascaped, but figure I'll wait till the reef is sold, so all the LR can be done at once.

Torch

Sun coral which will move across

And not pictured but I also ahve a little blasto frag glued to a piece of Tonga branch which will go in, its only got like 3 polyps but it'll do.

 

[littleme1969]

Sorry to hear that, but it seems a common theme at the mo , with the cost of living so high corners have to be cut on non essentials. I just did the same myself and sold all my tropicals and breeding plecs which I have for 5 years now and have just kept one marine display tank. Shame he wont let you just keep the one marine

 

[cuticom]

Well here's the nano as is, since I'm selling the big tank I've yanked out the live rock I want to keep just so I could see how much I'd be selling.

Anyway I managed to get 9.2kg all up into the tank, can't fit much more than that in but it comes to about 20 pounds, which should do fine.

I also moved the sun coral across so now it's in the shade where hopefully less algae will settle on it. Every things sulking at the mo, but it should start coming out again soon.

I'm going to be leaving the tank to settle for a while now, plus Mum wants me to stop buying stuff for the mo till Dad forgets about the tank, but hopefully once I get the money from the big tank I should be able to buy some more things, as I'm guessing additives will be something I'll need for this, and I want to get a more extensive range of test kits, a better magnet cleaner and a few other bits n pieces.

As for livestock I'll just be adding a few frags of things in as I find them for sale, I'm thinking along the lines of some zoas/rics/shrooms, maybe acro (need to do some research) perhaps a frogspawn, maybe a bubble coral, and maybe a small leather. It just depends on what frags I can get. Hamlet will remain the only mobile invert.

 

[cuticom]

Well every things out now, will take some better pics once my camera battery is charged. There's also quite a few random zoas in there as well, which were hitchhikers.

My Big tank looks a mess now though LOL, I didn't bother rescaping it, I just moved the corals so they would all be happy, still waiting for someone to show even marginal interest in it.