The long road...

Jip! Ditto to that - I "feed" my corals around 3 to 4 times a week in this way! Personally I think that this is EXACTLY what corals eat in the sea at natural reefs!

Suppose it's true, ever saw a white tip reef shark make a u-turn suddenly? All the substrate gets blown everywhere over everything :p
 
Hey - I just WISH! I only ever saw ONE white tip reef shark on ONE dive in the Seychelles.... Not "lucky" enough to see sharks while I dive - I am just so JEALOUS of everyone else who usually sees them. I had to go pay hugely for a White shark cage dive, to see white sharks in the wild.... AND only ever saw raggies' in the 2 Oceans aquarium (did the shark tank dive there).....

BUT - I have indeed see HUGE guitar sharks (3 metre plus) do "stir up" the sand.... and CLOUDING the water hugely with detritus, and then the detritus settling on the rock mounds!
 
Tank Update

Some Updated pics of my tank. It's been setup for 10 days now:
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958485816a196037.jpg


958485816e2dbb5e.jpg


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9584858177839a32.jpg


As you can see it all looks ok. The cycle has kicked in nicely and water parameters are ok. I've noticed that there's small specks of algea popping up on the glass here and there that i've been taking off.
I think i'll get 3 hermits, 2 Turbo's and 2 cleaner shrimps in about 4 - 5 weeks when everything is nice and stable. Any thoughts??
http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=2875
 
Firstly, very nice reef, loads of coral growth spots and nice caves for your fish.

Watch your parameters and you could look at CUC in 2-3 weeks.

Algae is good, it is showing the cycle is progressing.

Good Luck it is going be a stunner soon :thumbup1:
 
Hi Jaak, looking great .. with regard to testing, what temp are you running at (did not notice it mentioned with your other parameters) and look to also test KH (I try to keep mine at around 9 dKH) .. off to a great start ..
 
Water Parameters 18/06/2008

Ahoy!!

Thanks for all the feedback, it's good to know i'm doing it right so far. I tested my tanks water tonight again and here it is:
Temp: 25
PH: 8.2
SG: 1.025
Ammonia: 0.5mg/l
Nitrite: 0.0 mg/l
Nitrate: 0.0 mg/l
Phosphate: 0.1 mg/l
Calcium: 400 mg/l

I've not tested for KH yet, i'll try to pick up a test kit by the end of the week (mal at work).

JacquesB, i wasn't saying that i wanted to rush into getting CUC asap. I just wanted to know what you guys think about my thoughts for a CUC. I was at one of my LFS's tonight and i've got a bit of a credit going there due to me returning some goods. I've reserved 2 normal cleaner shrimps that they'll keep for me until i'm ready to come and fetch. I'm thinking around 4 - 5 weeks??

Later,
J.
 
Another thing...

Before I forget. I've noticed that Diatoms started making their appearance yesterday too. And I cleaned more algea tonight. Cycle is definitely kicking...
 
Before I forget. I've noticed that Diatoms started making their appearance yesterday too. And I cleaned more algea tonight. Cycle is definitely kicking...

Great sign, they will disappear as you go through the cycle. You also start seeing those bio-rocks colouring up.
 
Nice start Jaak, it's going to look great in a couple of months :)
 
Water Parameters 23/06/2008

Hi Guys,

Tested my water again tonight. Here's the results:
Temp: 25
PH: 8.0
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0.5mg/l
Nitrite: 0mg/l
Nitrate: 0mg/l
Phosphate: 0.1mg/l
Calcium: 420mg/l

It all looks good. It seems very stable as my parameters have not changed much. I did a 10%ish water change on saturday(21/06/2008) with RO water and salt mixture. There's loads of life in this tank from the LR. There's one particular critter that has made his appearance. I need some help to ID this guy. Please see pics below. Any Ideas??

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This guy shed that skin right there on the LR and when he came out he was a very similar colour to the coraline. From the side he looked like a crab but he had no pinchers or feelers... He has not been since but I'm pretty sure he's there. Please let me know if this is a friend or foe!!??
 
Water Parameters 29/06/2008

Ahoy!!

Here's my latest test results:
Salinity: 1.024
Temp: 25
PH: 8.5
Ammonia: 0.5mg/l
Nitrite: 0 mg/l
Nitrate: 0 mg/l
phosphate: 0 mg/l
Calcium: 380 mg/l

I did a 10% water change yesterday (28/06/2008) with RO water and salt mixture. This tank has now been cycling for 3 weeks heading into week 4. All paramaters have stayed very stable over these past weeks. Can this be right? I've had no spikes in anything, nitrites have been low, nitrates have been low, etc.
Now the next question is when can I start putting in CUC one by one?? Should I wait until the tank has cycled completely?? Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Ciao...
 
Give it another week, then start with snails and hermits. A week or two later shrimps.

Check parameters after each addition and see the effect.

The slower you go the more chance you give the bacteria to handle the new bioload and basically process the new shit ;)

You have kept your patience this far another couple of weeks will be well worth it.

Remember when adding CUC, please acclimatize slowly
 
Give it another week, then start with snails and hermits. A week or two later shrimps.

Check parameters after each addition and see the effect.

The slower you go the more chance you give the bacteria to handle the new bioload and basically process the new shit ;)

You have kept your patience this far another couple of weeks will be well worth it.

Remember when adding CUC, please acclimatize slowly

Thanks Warr,

I was thinking about adding 2 - 3 Hermits in around 2 weeks and then depending on what the water parameters are doing then maybe another week before I add 2 turbo's. And then adding 2 shrimps another 2 weeks after that. After adding any livestock do you test the water parameters the same day or a day or 2 later? I'm also going to upgrade my lighting like Matt165 did in his Boyu, i'll probably do it in the next week or 2.

J.
 
Thanks Warr,

I was thinking about adding 2 - 3 Hermits in around 2 weeks and then depending on what the water parameters are doing then maybe another week before I add 2 turbo's. And then adding 2 shrimps another 2 weeks after that. After adding any livestock do you test the water parameters the same day or a day or 2 later? I'm also going to upgrade my lighting like Matt165 did in his Boyu, i'll probably do it in the next week or 2.

J.

With CUC, it is really not a prob, especially as you only putting in small amounts. When it gets to the fish, then things start changing as fish can introduce loads to the tanks bioload. Normally the tank's bacteria cannot cope with this huge amount of fish poo to process and then parameters go out of whack.

That lighting upgrade will do wonders for your future coral.

good luck
 
Water Parameters 02/07/2008

Hi Guys,

Tested water again last night. Here's the results:
Salinity: 1.024
Temp: 25
Ph: 8.0
Ammonia: 0.5mg/l
Nitrite: 0.0mg/l
Nitrate: 0.0mg/l
Phosphate: 0 mg/l
Calcium: 400 mg/l

It all looks good so far. Diatoms are still very visible. I'm cleaning algae off of the glass every 2nd - 3rd day. The bio rock is also starting to colour slowly. There are more signs of life in the tank than before. LFS will hopefully receive stock of Hermits & Turbo's next week Wednesday the 9th of July. I'm correct in saying that I can put 2-3 Hermits in and maybe 2 Turbo's? I'm al ears..
 
Looking good, just have to make sure Ammonia is 0 before adding anything.

Hermits and snails must be acclimatised slowly.
 
Looking good, just have to make sure Ammonia is 0 before adding anything.

Hermits and snails must be acclimatised slowly.

Thanks Viper,

Will do. I can't put my finger on what's causing the ammonia. I do 10% water changes a week etc. I can't see anything dying off either. Any suggestions?
 
Jaak I havent done a water change since i started cycling my tank, friday will be 4 weeks. My amomonia dropped from about Day 10. I only replaced a bit of water due to the evaporation. Think it was Jaquesb that said i must not do a water change while im cycling the tank. You might be removing the good bacteria.
 
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