My Tank :)

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Hi Guys,

I can say i have officially started my tank.

Got some live rock this morning, courtesy of Mathewis, and placed it in the tank to kick off my cycle.

Had one major issue so far, had a wet carpet cause my skimmer just ran way too wet. I need to sort this out, i am not getting a nice thick froth that comes out easily. I have tons of bubbles, but, they dissolve easily. So to get anything to come out the skimmer i have had to keep the water very high up the neck. Not sure if i am doing anything wrong.

Here are some pics of thank. It is still a bit murky, but will post more pics once is clears up.

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Some mushrooms that came with the rock
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Thanks for all your guys help so far, dont think i would have got this far without your assistance.
 
i forgot to add that i hadn't really scaped it. I just kinda packed the rocks in there. Will have to think about how i want to scape it properly. Part of that involves, how to raise the rocks off the sand.
 
well, what you can do is cut little bits of PVC pipin, and once you have your ideas for your scaping you can pratley the bits of piping under the LR to get it sitting off the sand, also gives a bit of a over hang effect that little creepy crawleys can go under, hermits etc too
 
pvc piping. sounds good.

i got 32mm and 10mm, i am guessing make little feet using the 10mm? Pratleys, do i use the putty?
 
pvc piping. sounds good.

i got 32mm and 10mm, i am guessing make little feet using the 10mm? Pratleys, do i use the putty?

Make a reef stand or two, then you don't have to connect anything to the LR. Also easy if you need to re-scape.

Stand is made of PVC and eggcrate
 
yeah, i made a stand too, but connected all of mine using coners etc and drilled holes in the piping along the pipes then connected a 2500lph pump to the stand so it blasts water under the rocks, into them and in a general direction away from the pump, so that all the detritus collects in the back corner and is easy to siphon out during water changes. With flow going in between your rocks it means you dont need as many power heads to do the same.
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hmm, will look into those. Thanks guys :)

Normally you guys reccomend not cycling with lights. But seeing as i have some mushrooms (and some small other things not sure what they are) should i cycle with the lights?
 
I am thinking if i make a stand, 2 cm above the high of the sand bed should be high enough? what you guys say?
 
hmm, will look into those. Thanks guys :)

Normally you guys reccomend not cycling with lights. But seeing as i have some mushrooms (and some small other things not sure what they are) should i cycle with the lights?

Yeah, but only 2-3 hours a day
 
I am thinking if i make a stand, 2 cm above the high of the sand bed should be high enough? what you guys say?

Keep this in mind. I have raised my reef higher ( 10cm)to allow good flow but also as a cave for my fish, when sleeping and introducing new fish.

The shrimps also love it during daytime photoperiod.

2cm is quite small, and doubt any of your fish would be able to use it.

Just a thought.
 
Keep this in mind. I have raised my reef higher ( 10cm)to allow good flow but also as a cave for my fish, when sleeping and introducing new fish.

The shrimps also love it during daytime photoperiod.

2cm is quite small, and doubt any of your fish would be able to use it.

Just a thought.
yeah i agree, go a bit higher, so that you end up with a big cave, my fish love it. gives them a good place to hide and sleep. but keep your tank height in mind, too high and you will run out of space for your rocks and it will too visible, like i need to buy more rock to hide my frame, but corraline is starting to grow on it so it may become invisible soon, who knows? maybe about 10cms if you can? 8? mine is about 7cms in my 45cm height tank actually, the fish just go on their sides to get through, dont think it fazes them at all:thumbup:
 
lol, 2cm seemed logical to me, but after you explain it a bit higher would make sense. Too high, is not great either, my tank height is only 50 cm, and it doesn't get filled to the top, because of the overflow hole. so vertical real estate is precious, will have to find a balance somewhere
 
lol, 2cm seemed logical to me, but after you explain it a bit higher would make sense. Too high, is not great either, my tank height is only 50 cm, and it doesn't get filled to the top, because of the overflow hole. so vertical real estate is precious, will have to find a balance somewhere

Can also depend on your fish. If you don't have the larger surgeon fish then the smaller size will work.
 
i had the same problem, i made mine that size cause it was convenient, my problem was that my rocks were too big, like i had bulky pieces and not many smaller pieces so definitly made a boo boo. had to cut my first stand design down:( took me forever
 
Spotted a crab and some snails last night. Its good to see quite a bit of life in the tank despite just starting to cycle it.

There are plenty little pods swimming around too.

All these guys are keeping me entertained while i wait for the cycle to end
 
Spotted a crab and some snails last night. Its good to see quite a bit of life in the tank despite just starting to cycle it.

There are plenty little pods swimming around too.

All these guys are keeping me entertained while i wait for the cycle to end
you may need to catch that crab. when they get bigger they become opportunistic and try and take a quick shot at fish while they are sleeping
 
Yeah, but only 2-3 hours a day

I'd say have more light than that, if you only have a minimal photoperiod you just slow the cycle down, run the lights 4-5 hours a day and get in over with, as long as you top up with quiality R/O you will soon burn off the excess nutrients that cause the nuisance algaes.
 
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