pepetj

Update on light assembly:

Consider that I have no access to F24T5HO 22" lamps (other than Marine Glo). The only available electronic ballast for T5HO runs up to four 54W. I figure I could safely use this unit to run four 24W (actinic) lamps and mix with six F20T8 24" lamps or just go with nine T8's.

I thought of these two possible solutions to get as good as possible lighting for my custom built 20gal tall (24"H, footprint of standard 10gal: 20"L x 10"W) which at this moment is on fishless cycle. You bet I'm starting with easy to care for fish (e.g. a couple of p. ocellaris or a. ocellaris) but if possible I would like to keep some compatible corals in it down the road...

Please comment on what you would do given my circumstances. No adequate MH lamps are either available.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Attached Images

	Nano SW T8NO T5HO combination lighting idea....jpg (36.8 KB, 30 views)
	Nano SW DIY T8 lighting idea....jpg (39.7 KB, 30 views)

pepetj

I got four Marine Glo 22" F24T5HO and ordered the T5HO ballast that is capable of handling four 54W lamps. So I am aiming at six or seven F20T8 (2 (or 3) Power Glo at 18,000K, 3 (or 2) Resun D-20W at 10,000K , 2 Marine Glo (actinic) + four F24T5 Marine Glo (actinic).

The lamp assembly was being painted today (after wood treatment was applied) so I expect to begin the assembly tomorrow or the day after tomorrow (have a busy schedule at work tomorrow).

Going to check my water parameters now. So far cycling has been going great.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

pepetj

Got the lamp box today! it still smells a bit (fresh paint) but it looks good to me. I finally got the electronic ballast for the T5HO: It's a Sylvania Quicktronic QTP 4x54T5HO (4 lamp switching programmed start).

So I am measuring and checking on it, hoping to have it running soon.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Tony G.

cant wait for the 's pepetj

pepetj

Got the lamps in place. I wired the T8s (six lamps). Still need to wire the T5HOs (four lamps). The tank looks awsome with the 2xactinic + 2x18000K + 2x10000K combination.

As I am testing the lamps, the wires are all around the place. The glass of the tank needs to be cleaned. The cycle is going great, and I still need to add 20+ lbs of live rock. I got a few wild caught inverts there already (nerite snails and others), as well as green algae, and an unidentified coral fragment that either has two species of corals or one coral and algae or both algae... I am devouring the three volumes of Julian Sprung (Oceanograhic Series: Inverts, Corals, Algae).

The wet/dry sump is working really well. I have to figure out how to seal the DIY ATO that I intend to build (two failures so far) that will end up being my Kalk reactor gravity drip ATO...

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

pepetj

Update: I collected some interesting algae and a few inverts today after I got (hopefuly enough) rubbles of rock to seed.

I will be working on the tank tonight and upload a few pics later on.

Tank is still cycling.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

pepetj

Update: The cycle is almost done. I am registering the lowest level of detectable Nitrites before reading zero as for today. My KH dropped from 9 to 6, so I raised it, for the time being, with Instant Ocean SeaBuffer. My DIY Kalk-ATO system is still in trial mode (I'm not adding calcium since it is still way high, as expected with the salt mix I am using: Coralife), as I determine the evaporation rate (likely two quarts per day) to adjust drop-rate.

Salt deposits are driving me nuts. I noticed that every single drop of water that goes out of the tank ends up leaving particles of salt, and that includes the AC source area as well as the lamps. I am likely going to build a wooden box to keep the electrical outlets covered/isolated from this salt deposits.

Also, I am considering purchasing the Pinpoint salinity Monitor instead of a refractormer, since it would be also useful for my low end brackish tank.

Most of the macroalgae that I introduced in the tank is adapting quite well. The ones in the small refugium are growing nicely. The red and brown varieties seem to be stressed but the green species (e.g. caulerpa) are growing up.

The Keyhole Limpets, Chitons and snails seem to be doing well after enduring the nitrite spike going down. I am sparingly feeding with small sized marine fish food and a liquid nutrient formulae for inverts. I found enough Seachem Zooplancton in a LFS, which is also good news for me.

I did noticed a somewhat deep scratch on the frontal glass of the main tank so I will likely end up turning the tank 180 degrees before I introduce fish in it. I have a ton of minute sized crustaceans in my tank, it looks like it's snowing in there!

I am considering setting a DIY in-tank brine shrimp hatchery, where I would raise Selcon/spirulina enriched brine shrimp to complement the diet of my fish (my two Perculas shall arrive in one week time) and inverts.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

pepetj

Update: Tank is cycled!

I can't say for sure if today is the first day of zero nitrites (I was out of town for a long weekend down here), but I got readings of ammonia zero and nitrites zero upon arrival. My nitrates are quite high, but I figure a huge water change should take care of that.

I wouldn't like to miss the bunch of white-snow-like organisms (small crustaceans I believe) but I got to bring nitrates down before introducing my first pair of fish (going with a pair of Clownfish as main fish) that are expected to arrive to the LFS in a few days.

specific gravity 1.023
pH 8.2
9 DKH
540 PPM Ca

I still don't have a magnesium test kit.

Didn't measure for phosphates yet.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

pepetj

Getting close to fish in the tank. The Clownfish are expected by the end of this week or the next. However I am fascinated with these commonly available gobies that are not endangered and would do a good work as clean up crew. I still need to ID the different species that I think I can catch in the wild. For what I've read so far, they are compatible with Clownfish. So ideas of using traps, nets, sienes (anything but chemichal stunning) are welcomed. I need to get a decent pair of scuba gloves... the garden gloves I've been using didn't stop an urchin spine to sting the palm of my right hand a couple of days ago...

Side topic and disclosure: It seems like close to shore Scuba-Snorkeling diving (I'm quite prudent average swimmer and sedentary person) is a SW keeping side-effect. To the point that I am seriously considering giving up smoking cigarretes (I have two previously failed trials, the mean to successfully quit is 7 attempts -source: NIMH/CDC)*

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

*NIMH: National Institue of Mental Health; CDC: Center for Disease Control

pepetj

Update: Newby mistake corrected. Made an error of measurement with my salinity levels and the tank remained at 1.029 for at least two days. The abundance of tiny white curstaceans crashed and is now returning. The previous Soft Coral frag died (I left it die to feed the beneficial bacteria) as well as one Key Hole Limpet. Once corrected the tanks parameter seem to stay OK. My Red macroalgae is thriving (you can see tiny oxygen bubbles coming out of it) but one of my Caulerpa carpets suffered a bit and is now recovering.

The Clownfish didn't arrive this week and are expected for next Thursday. I went to one of my favorite, easily accessible, seldom visited by humans spot that I figured out today is an intertidal reef ecosystem. It rained a bit down here, the tide was low at my arrival and I found some interesting disturbances (courtesy of Mother Nature) in the macroalgae. I managed to collect two fragments of soft coral that thrive in the low-end zone of this intertidal system, as well as two specimens of reef safe serpent brittle stars (need to ID the species), a small hermit crab, and a few feather worms. I lost sight of a small crab that was really fun to watch.

I placed the coral fragments near the surface and close to the Tank intake (the sump output) so it receives good water movement.

I am working with my DIY 2gal Surge Bucket for Nano Reef Tanks. I made it work but only 3/4 of a gallon are being released before the flapper closes again so I am figuring things out.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Attached Images

	My recently cycled Nano Reef.JPG (479.2 KB, 13 views)
	Low tide after rain Intetidal Reef in Caribbean Basin Hispaniola Island.JPG (478.3 KB, 14 views)

Tony G.

pepe, i hav fallen behind with your thread, i apologize.
it looks perfect!!!
i have never seen a tall SW tank before so this is my first and i gotta say i love it!
the live rock you picked up is beautiful!

pepetj

Update: Another delay in the arrival of the Clownfish. The pair I ordered is now due to arrive next week (Wednesday 21st or Thursday 22nd) at one of the LFS.

I'm keeping myself busy with the tank. Feeding the inverts there... Still working with fine-tune of the Nano Surge Bucket system which is DIY with two 2gal transparent buckets with lids in which I need to be careful with the total volume of discharge (I am aiming it to be at 1.5gal) to prevent flooding.

The fragments of soft corals are adapting. Another Keyhole limpet died.

So far so good for a newly cycled SW tank.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

pepetj

Today I went to my coastal spot to do some snorkeling. I ran away for a short dive (if wandering around at shallow shore qualifies as one) and brought home two small fragments of corals. One is a beautiful Zoanthus species (which I carefully detached from its colony) and the other (a recently detached piece I found at the bottom) I believe is a Fire Coral (Millepora complanata). So now I am keeping three species of corals in my Nano Reef tank.

As a "bonus" I got my share of stings from black urchins on my left hand and both feet (ouch!) so I found out that those black PVC coated "protective gloves" as well as the light weight street sneakers I've been using are no good at all against the spines of these awsome but scary animals. I saw one black urchin the size of a softball. I need an underwater camera!

I broke two floating glass hydrometers during this week as I rebuilt my surge bucket system (using a plastic drawer now) that I am still fine-tuning. A white deposit-like film (not precipitated carbonates) is developing in my glass tank but I figure it's part of the process of new tanks. It goes away with the magnet cleaner (but requires several passings).

I managed to slowly raise the specific gravity from 1.023 to 1.025. The alkalinity is the only variable that is giving me a hard time (fluctuates within the 11 dkH-7dKH range). My target is specif gravity of 1.026 with 9dKH. The Brittle "snake" stars are doing great. I suspect that the last limpet I reported as dead was actually devoured by someone in the tank. No fish in it yet.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Attached Images

	IMG00002-20091020-2259.jpg (375.6 KB, 9 views)
	IMG00005-20091020-2300.jpg (289.1 KB, 4 views)
	IMG00008-20091020-2301.jpg (381.6 KB, 4 views)

pepetj

Last update: Fish arrival!

With this post I intend to end this thread (please don't close it until I upload a couple of pics).

Today a pair of juveniles (tank raised if the LFS info is correct) Clown Fish (still to be determined if False or True Percula) and a (very difficult to keep) Mandarin Dragonet male.

I decided to bring the Mandarin home since I have to this day a bit over 80lbs of live rock in the Main Tank, with several "no fish access" spaces were tiny crustaceans thrive. I figure I have to have plenty of codepods species among those tiny-tiny but numerous inverts. I'll keep introducing fresh macroalgae (twice a week, from the wild) as I set-up an additional refugium (aiming at DIY phytoplancton reactor) to produce live enriched food on a constant basis (got this gorgeous Mandarin Fish so I'm ready to get him what he needs to have a happy life!)

What's next? I believe the answer is obvious: I'll keep learning as I enjoy keeping my first SW tank but sooner or later MTS is likely to take over (SW version of it).

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

PS I placed the order today for a PinPoint's Salinity monitor and nitrate monitor.