Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
- Thread starter jahmic
- Start date
Decided to just ghost feed the tank small amounts the past couple days to get the bacteria population going. After 3 days of feeding:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite ~ 0.2
Nitrate - 2
I pulled out the vile-gelatinous-blob that used to be 3 scallops sitting in the fuge...grabbed some febreze...and left a couple newer pieces of scallop in there that some bristleworms were still feeding on. I'll check the nitrites tomorrow and pull the rest of the scallop out if the nitrite reading is still creeping up. I don't plan on feeding the tank tomorrow until after I test...but will continue feeding and testing until I'm sure the bacteria can keep up with some daily feedings.
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite ~ 0.2
Nitrate - 2
I pulled out the vile-gelatinous-blob that used to be 3 scallops sitting in the fuge...grabbed some febreze...and left a couple newer pieces of scallop in there that some bristleworms were still feeding on. I'll check the nitrites tomorrow and pull the rest of the scallop out if the nitrite reading is still creeping up. I don't plan on feeding the tank tomorrow until after I test...but will continue feeding and testing until I'm sure the bacteria can keep up with some daily feedings.
Re: Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
Nitrite - 0.1
I didn't bother testing the rest of the parameters; I'll continue to ghost-feed the tank and monitor nitrites. Once I see nitrites go to zero, I'll go ahead and test all 3 parameters for several days to be sure the cycle is finished. Nice to see that the nitrites are coming down (rather than going up) with a couple scallops still decaying in the fuge.
It looks like the bristleworms and snails in the fuge are still moving around; I've been adding food to the fuge to make sure they have something to scavenge.
Nitrite - 0.1
I didn't bother testing the rest of the parameters; I'll continue to ghost-feed the tank and monitor nitrites. Once I see nitrites go to zero, I'll go ahead and test all 3 parameters for several days to be sure the cycle is finished. Nice to see that the nitrites are coming down (rather than going up) with a couple scallops still decaying in the fuge.
It looks like the bristleworms and snails in the fuge are still moving around; I've been adding food to the fuge to make sure they have something to scavenge.
Re: Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
Got the ATO rocking in the ice chest
Tested it and immediately had an issue with water siphoning into the sump after the pump shut down...apparently the ATO bin sitting up higher than the 1/4" line going into the sump was an issue. Whoops.
Tried moving the aqualifter pump up above the ato bin, but that made no difference. To solve the problem I ended up having to route the outlet from the pump up to the overflow on the back of the tank. Not ideal, but it's secure and and still looks clean from up front.
Got the ATO rocking in the ice chest
Tested it and immediately had an issue with water siphoning into the sump after the pump shut down...apparently the ATO bin sitting up higher than the 1/4" line going into the sump was an issue. Whoops.
Tried moving the aqualifter pump up above the ato bin, but that made no difference. To solve the problem I ended up having to route the outlet from the pump up to the overflow on the back of the tank. Not ideal, but it's secure and and still looks clean from up front.
jahmic;245026 said:
Got the ATO rocking in the ice chest
Tested it and immediately had an issue with water siphoning into the sump after the pump shut down...apparently the ATO bin sitting up higher than the 1/4" line going into the sump was an issue. Whoops.
Tried moving the aqualifter pump up above the ato bin, but that made no difference. To solve the problem I ended up having to route the outlet from the pump up to the overflow on the back of the tank. Not ideal, but it's secure and and still looks clean from up front.
Tested it and immediately had an issue with water siphoning into the sump after the pump shut down...apparently the ATO bin sitting up higher than the 1/4" line going into the sump was an issue. Whoops.
Tried moving the aqualifter pump up above the ato bin, but that made no difference. To solve the problem I ended up having to route the outlet from the pump up to the overflow on the back of the tank. Not ideal, but it's secure and and still looks clean from up front.
Re: Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
Will that work? It's not back siphoning due to the end of the outlet being submerged in the sump...the water just continues to flow into the sump from the ato bin due to gravity. The bin sits up higher than the sump and water trickles out of the line constantly.
Will that work? It's not back siphoning due to the end of the outlet being submerged in the sump...the water just continues to flow into the sump from the ato bin due to gravity. The bin sits up higher than the sump and water trickles out of the line constantly.
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LOL...I thought maybe you knew something I didn't with all of your RO/plumbing experience.
That's great idea. I'll give this a try as I'd prefer to have the line run into the sump...dunno that I have a Y splitter laying around, but I'm sure I can find one at the lfs. Thanks for posting up the pics, that was a huge help.
FishTV;245029 said:
If you have an airline splitter, you can vent the output line at the high point.
I just use an air stone at the top for a filter to keep junk out
I just use an air stone at the top for a filter to keep junk out
jahmic;245074 said:
That's great idea. I'll give this a try as I'd prefer to have the line run into the sump...dunno that I have a Y splitter laying around, but I'm sure I can find one at the lfs. Thanks for posting up the pics, that was a huge help.
Makes perfect sense, thanks again. I'll just be using fresh RO/DI through this, so it should be cool. I did consider the possibility of water being pushed up the vent, and figured the only issue would be if there was a blockage in the line, so I'll make sure I'm diligent about checking the outlet going into the sump for salt creep. I'll probably end up mounting it high enough that the water doesn't touch the line when I shut down the return pump and the level rises in the sump.
Thanks for pointing out that the high spot at the splitter needs to be higher than the source water level, by the way. That wasn't what I had planned out in my head for running the line. Could've been messy. Ill have to route the line so that runs up above the bin before heading out of the cabinet and into the sump, as it currently just runs out of the bottom of that cabinet from the base of the storage bin.
Thanks for pointing out that the high spot at the splitter needs to be higher than the source water level, by the way. That wasn't what I had planned out in my head for running the line.
Could've been messy. Ill have to route the line so that runs up above the bin before heading out of the cabinet and into the sump, as it currently just runs out of the bottom of that cabinet from the base of the storage bin.
Lol yea...haven't been going up to the mountains over the past month since the snowboard season kinda tapered off. Trying to keep myself busy while I wait for the weather to cooperate enough to get in some mountain biking.
My Nitrite level has been sitting at about 0.1 for the past few days, and doesn't seem to increase after feeding the tank. I even stopped feeding for a couple days and it hasn't budged. I'm using a salifert kit and remembered that my old API kit used to only be accurate to as low as 0.25...otherwise the color change would show a "trace" of nitrites, but there was no discernible color on the chart below that level.
Did some digging and found this interesting article on nitrite toxicity in reef aquariums...and figured it was worth sharing:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/
Cliff notes version: Nitrite is actually much less toxic in marine fish than freshwater fish. Toxicity is caused by the gills absorbing nitrite instead of chloride, which results in a chloride deficiency in FW species. But, due to the higher concentration of chloride in a reef system, the level of toxicity of nitrite to SW fish is greatly reduced.
I won't be adding fish before the cycle is over, but definitely found that interesting.
My Nitrite level has been sitting at about 0.1 for the past few days, and doesn't seem to increase after feeding the tank. I even stopped feeding for a couple days and it hasn't budged. I'm using a salifert kit and remembered that my old API kit used to only be accurate to as low as 0.25...otherwise the color change would show a "trace" of nitrites, but there was no discernible color on the chart below that level.
Did some digging and found this interesting article on nitrite toxicity in reef aquariums...and figured it was worth sharing:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/
Cliff notes version: Nitrite is actually much less toxic in marine fish than freshwater fish. Toxicity is caused by the gills absorbing nitrite instead of chloride, which results in a chloride deficiency in FW species. But, due to the higher concentration of chloride in a reef system, the level of toxicity of nitrite to SW fish is greatly reduced.
I won't be adding fish before the cycle is over, but definitely found that interesting.
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Re: Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
Got the splitter/siphon break hooked up on the ATO, thanks everyone for the help...it worked great and my storage chest is officially being put to good use now that my ATO bin is off the floor lol.
I also changed my ato float sensors around a little. I was originally running "mode b" on the JBJ...which places both sensors in the sump with one acting as low level detector to turn the pump on, and the other as a high level sensor to shut it off. It worked well...but I didn't like the fact that the only "backup" I had was to put the ato on a timer in case the pump got stuck on.
Switched the ATO to "mode A", which usually puts one sensor in the sump to turn the pump on and off according to the water level, and the other sensor in the reservoir to shut the pump off before it runs dry. But...since I'm running an aqualifter, the pump running dry wasn't a huge concern. I instead put both sensors in the sump, and flipped the sensor usually dedicated to the reservoir upside down. With it upside down in the sump, it "thinks" it hit a min level in the reservoir when it's actually floated to a desired height. I have it sitting just above the sensor that turns the pump on...so it's basically a fail safe in case the first sensor fails.
Tested it, works great. If the first sensor fails, the second one trips as a backup a few minutes later.
Got the splitter/siphon break hooked up on the ATO, thanks everyone for the help...it worked great and my storage chest is officially being put to good use now that my ATO bin is off the floor lol.
I also changed my ato float sensors around a little. I was originally running "mode b" on the JBJ...which places both sensors in the sump with one acting as low level detector to turn the pump on, and the other as a high level sensor to shut it off. It worked well...but I didn't like the fact that the only "backup" I had was to put the ato on a timer in case the pump got stuck on.
Switched the ATO to "mode A", which usually puts one sensor in the sump to turn the pump on and off according to the water level, and the other sensor in the reservoir to shut the pump off before it runs dry. But...since I'm running an aqualifter, the pump running dry wasn't a huge concern. I instead put both sensors in the sump, and flipped the sensor usually dedicated to the reservoir upside down. With it upside down in the sump, it "thinks" it hit a min level in the reservoir when it's actually floated to a desired height. I have it sitting just above the sensor that turns the pump on...so it's basically a fail safe in case the first sensor fails.
Tested it, works great. If the first sensor fails, the second one trips as a backup a few minutes later.
Re: Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
Got some fish in QT....Vanderbilt chromis.
Wanted 5 for the tank, so I brought home 6 yesterday lol. And as luck would have it, 5 of the 6 are eating. The one fish not eating looks like he just suffered from some poor water quality in his bag while shipping...fins are a little tattered, breathing rapidly, and I can see the redness in his gills through his open mouth.
Hopefully he pulls through. I'm gonna try to get him eating before treating the tank with prazipro prophylactically.
Overall though, they seem to be doing great in the little 10gal. The QT is setup with plenty PVC for them to all claim a little spot, and I have 2 koralias putting about 825gph of flow in the little tank. I have an ammonia alert on the tank and plan on doing daily changes. I seeded the tank with a sponge from each of my current systems and stuffed them in the HOB...so far so good.
These guys spend most of their time swimming in the flow with occasional pecking, nothing too bad, and even the smallest of the group tends to hold his own. They definitely seem slightly more docile than the standard blue/green chromis...and their colors are pretty amazing.
Got some fish in QT....Vanderbilt chromis.
Wanted 5 for the tank, so I brought home 6 yesterday lol. And as luck would have it, 5 of the 6 are eating. The one fish not eating looks like he just suffered from some poor water quality in his bag while shipping...fins are a little tattered, breathing rapidly, and I can see the redness in his gills through his open mouth.
Hopefully he pulls through. I'm gonna try to get him eating before treating the tank with prazipro prophylactically.
Overall though, they seem to be doing great in the little 10gal. The QT is setup with plenty PVC for them to all claim a little spot, and I have 2 koralias putting about 825gph of flow in the little tank. I have an ammonia alert on the tank and plan on doing daily changes. I seeded the tank with a sponge from each of my current systems and stuffed them in the HOB...so far so good.
These guys spend most of their time swimming in the flow with occasional pecking, nothing too bad, and even the smallest of the group tends to hold his own. They definitely seem slightly more docile than the standard blue/green chromis...and their colors are pretty amazing.