Chemical Warfare Begins Now!!

Since my last post, I've left the lights on the tank off more than 23 hours of the day. The only time I turned them on was to do my routine maintenence (levels, top offs, etc.). I didn't want to leave the lights on to promote growth. I did a 50% water change and will not be doing any water changes for the next couple of weeks while I dose Magnesium (to reduce costs). After 4 weeks of heavy dosing I will resume my regular cleaning regimine. I did test my levels this morning and everything has finally reached zeros. This is important, as my tank is now ready to sustain life (if it wasnt for Bryopsis).



Yesterday evening I recieved my shipment of chemicals from JL Aquatics and I am now ready to start combatting this beast known as bryopsis. I'm just going to call it bitch algae from now on though because it sounds more appropriate. I ordered a 64 oz bottle of Magnesium Dose from Kent Marine and a Mg/Alk test kit from Seachem. The total order cost me $78 which may seem a bit steep to most but for comparisons sake the Seachem test kit sells locally for $89.99. Talk about gouging! I probably wont need all 64oz for treatment but I figured it's better to order more than not have enough. Plus, a 16 oz bottle is $10 compared to $20 for the 64 oz.
I have yet to test Mg levels but I anticipate them to be around 1250-1300 ppm. For this treate ment period, I must increase that level to ~ 2200 ppm. The instructions on the bottle suggest to add 1mL/gal daily to see ~ 19 ppm increase. I've got a long way to go. For today, I started with 7x times the recommended dosage. I will test Mg later this weekend and dose further if needed.

Here are some updated pictures of the bitch algae and a new full tank shot (or FTS):









Reducing the light cycle seems to have stunted the growth. I'm going to use a reduced light cycle on my tank along with the Magnesium dosing for the first week.









FTS:

Well that didn't take long...

Ok, so apparently I've got some "nuisance algae" forming at a rapid rate. It's called Bryopsis and it's common problem in the hobby. The bad news is that it's a pain in the ass to eliminate because it only requires one cell for regrowth.

The good news is that a bunch of people have already confirmed that the best method for irradication is to dose Magnesium. Basically, the higher levels of Magnesium choke out Bryopsis' ability to photosynthesis. You can read about it in depth here if you wish.

So the game plan now is to reduce the light cycle and purchase some magnesium booster. I'll also need to purchase a magnesium test kit. A $40 minimum adventure I'm sure. I can't call around to the local stores until tuesday as most are closed. There's a bird and aquarium shop on main st that I might call and see if I can swing by before golf otherwise it'll be tuesday at the earliest. I'm going to continue to test for ammonia, nitrite and ph over the next few days.

Latest pics of my problem! lol

My oh my do I neglect this blog....

So not like anyone even looks at this thing but hey. I've been quite productive over the past 2 months. The tank was officially "born" 6 days ago now on May 26th 2009. I ended up purchasing live rock locally at a place called The Fish Gallery. I've been visiting a couple of the shops in town and I've found a couple of good spots to purchase a clean up crew.

The live rock was $12/lb and I got roughly 18lbs. I had been calling around every couple of weeks asking about live rock and I think they were getting a bit pissed off. But, the Winnipeger in me HAD to seek a deal. No tax. Reluctantly the owner said fine provided I was paying cash (duh). Ended up saving me $30 which was good for me.

Anyways, here's a couple of pictures from the last couple days:

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So right now I'm testing semi daily for a couple of chemicals. My tank is undergoing what is called a "Cycle" which is short for Nitrogen Cycle. Here's a quick diagram of how it works:

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I'm currently in the start of the cycle, testing for Ammonia and Nitrite. I just tested 8.0 ppm (HIGH) for Ammonia and 0.0 ppm for Nitrite. I will begin testing for Nitrate shortly after the Ammonia zeros out.

The next step, as I mentioned earlier, is buying a clean up crew. I am currently researching different species of snails and crabs. Possibly a shrimp but we'll see.

So sorry for the lack of updates but now the ball is rolling so enjoy!

First Test.....

So today I got home from work and the tank had zero salt residue. The temperature has risen to 80 degree; which is slightly warm but still acceptable.

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So it was time for my tanks first test! Testing the salinity (saltiness of the water)! There are a couple of ways to test your salinity or "specific gravity". The most accurate is by using a refractometer. I purchased this one from my local fish store for around $100. I'll likely be using it hundereds of times to check my salt levels so I saw it as a good investment.

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The device is basically like a telescope with a prism in the end of it. The idea is that you use the dropper to take a water sample and then cover the blue lens in water. Place the shield down to spread the water evenly over the glass lens. Then hold the refractometer up to a light source and you can see how high the water reads on the scale inside.

The ideal specific gravity for a reef tank is somewhere in a range of 1.023-1.025.

My water tested right bang on in the middle at 1.024. I'm now ready to add my sand to my tank.







I purchased CaribSea sand earlier from my LFS and it's been sitting in my room waiting to spring into action. Well little bag of sand, now is your time to shine!

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I just kind of poured it as evenly as possible but the sand was kind of clumpy and didnt pour out like sugar as I expected. This resulted in some different levels throughout the tank. Over time the sand will get moved around so I'm not too worried. Some people will say that putting the sand into your tank first isn't a wise move. They believe that fish and inverts can undermine rock structure causing it to topple and fall. Some will even go as far as putting 'egg crate' in the bottom of their tank so they wont crack their glass. It was a tough decision but ultimately, I'd like to emulate a natural reef as much as possible so just like the bottom of the ocean my rock will be on top of my sand. I do plan on nesting the rock into the sand as much as possible

You may notice that I removed the heater while I poured the sand. I just didnt want to damage any equipment so I removed both the powerhead and the heater. I set the heater back in the tank immediately after I poured the sand but will leave the powerhead unplugged until the sand settles.

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Now I wait for my lights. Sigh.

ITS ALIVE!

So I set up my tank today.

The stand:
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The syphon was a big POS so I ended up having to get creative.
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Added the koralia:
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Added the salt and the heater:

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Tons of salt sitting in the bottom of the tank still. I couldnt believe how much salt I had to use. I added 9.5 gallons of water so I added 4 3/4 cups of salt as per the label. There's still a BUNCH sitting at the bottom of the tank after I stirred it around a whole bunch. The water temp was only around 65 at the time so I'm hoping the heat will help with absorbing the salt.
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I checked it at 8pm and it was a little better and I checked again just now and it's a lot better.

The pieces of the puzzle are falling together....

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So it's been a couple of weeks now since my last blog update but dont think I haven't been busy working on the tank! I ordered and received some equipment for the tank from JL Aquatics, a fantastic company from Burnaby.

I also just ordered my lighting. For those interested, I purchased a Current Sundial 4x24W 24" fixture. I chose this model because I like the fact that it comes with one cord, built in timers, and built in moonlight leds. I shopped and shopped around and the best deal I could find was through opentip.com. I also used a 5% off coupon to save an extra couple of bucks. All said and done it was $250 shipped to Canada, which is pretty good. I'm going to run stock for a while as I get used to the hobby.

I'll update soon!

The tank is here!

So today was a big day! I got the call that my aquarium was ready to be picked up. I got a tank made by a local gentleman by the name of Andy. He put it all together for me for $25 and I couldn't be happier. Thanks Andy!

Here it is at home:

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It's kind of dusty but I think it looks great! :D

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Andy also gave me a business card of one of his friends who's into saltwater aquariums. I'm excited about the possibility of meeting a fellow enthusiast. I'm sure he'll be able to offer some valuable advice and who knows maybe I'll even be able to get a pound or two of live sand to help with the seeding.

As for the lighting situation, I'm still just comparing what I want to spend and what I really need for this aquarium. I'm tossing around the idea of getting a T5HO now but it's just a question of where really. I'm not in any hurry really so it might be a while. Until next time!