Mr Hermits 75 Build.

[MrHermit85]

Thanks guys!!! That makes more sense! Pictures are always welcome!!! I also went online and discovered the part that 35ppt is = 1.026 which is what I have my water at now. I got confused as the calibration fluid said to calibrate to 35ppt it would have been easier if they said 1.026 then an idiot like me would understand.

 

[yveterinarian]

Sounds like you are doing OK so far, and without little mistakes, how can we learn?  Absolutely love the rocks and the way you aqua-scaped.  It is always fun to see how others do it and I love your ingenuity.  I think your tank will look awesome when you are done.

 

[MrHermit85]

Sounds like you are doing OK so far, and without little mistakes, how can we learn?  Absolutely love the rocks and the way you aqua-scaped.  It is always fun to see how others do it and I love your ingenuity.  I think your tank will look awesome when you are done.

Thanks that is very kind of you to say!!! I wasn't too sure about the aquascape but I think I will keep it like that. I have certainly made a few mistakes so far and I bet there will be more to come but I have been taking it slowly so hopefully I will catch any major things as I go.

 

[MrHermit85]

So tank is now filled after two days of hell. Turns out that the skimmer I got is really loude and on the concrete hardwood floors in the basement there was a lot of vibration and a hell of a sound travelling from tank to living area so I drained the entire tank and moved it to our spare room in the basement which has carpets. Now there seems to be way less noise as I think the carpets act as a sound dampener???

So anyways after re-doing all the wires and plugs and relocating the tank all is well. Just letting it run with a filter sock for a while as the water is quite cloudy and once it settles I will try the old shrimp and see if I get a spike within the next week or so.

 

[MrHermit85]

So tank is now filled after two days of hell. Turns out that the skimmer I got is really loude and on the concrete hardwood floors in the basement there was a lot of vibration and a hell of a sound travelling from tank to living area so I drained the entire tank and moved it to our spare room in the basement which has carpets. Now there seems to be way less noise as I think the carpets act as a sound dampener???

So anyways after re-doing all the wires and plugs and relocating the tank all is well. Just letting it run with a filter sock for a while as the water is quite cloudy and once it settles I will try the old shrimp and see if I get a spike within the next week or so.

 

[MrHermit85]

So tank is now filled after two days of hell. Turns out that the skimmer I got is really loude and on the concrete hardwood floors in the basement there was a lot of vibration and a hell of a sound travelling from tank to living area so I drained the entire tank and moved it to our spare room in the basement which has carpets. Now there seems to be way less noise as I think the carpets act as a sound dampener???

So anyways after re-doing all the wires and plugs and relocating the tank all is well. Just letting it run with a filter sock for a while as the water is quite cloudy and once it settles I will try the old shrimp and see if I get a spike within the next week or so.

 

[MrHermit85]

Day three and tank has cleared up nicely. Also added a couple shrimp into the tank suspended in a net. Started to get ammonia readings yesterday but only 0.25 ppm. Started to see some fuzzy stuff growing on them so hopefully will see a bigger spike in a few days...

Also Cleaned up the spare room and made it look like a half decent fish room. Have to say that the idea of a fish room really made me happy  ;D .

 

[MrHermit85]

Day three and tank has cleared up nicely. Also added a couple shrimp into the tank suspended in a net. Started to get ammonia readings yesterday but only 0.25 ppm. Started to see some fuzzy stuff growing on them so hopefully will see a bigger spike in a few days...

Also Cleaned up the spare room and made it look like a half decent fish room. Have to say that the idea of a fish room really made me happy  ;D .

 

[reefin]

lookin very nice! I like the rock work looks good!  ;D

 

[reefin]

lookin very nice! I like the rock work looks good!  ;D

 

[MrHermit85]

Quick update: moved aquascape around a bit and also added a few flakes (phantom feeding) to try and get an ammonia spike. Ammonia has gone up to .50 now still no sign of nitrites.

 

[MrHermit85]

Quick update: moved aquascape around a bit and also added a few flakes (phantom feeding) to try and get an ammonia spike. Ammonia has gone up to .50 now still no sign of nitrites.

 

[MrHermit85]

Day 10: quite psyched, just got between  0.50ppm and 1.0ppm ammonia nitrite at 0.50ppm and 5.00ppm for nitrate!!! Only took 10 days for something to happen! I guess this will be the only time that I get excited about all these levels shooting up over night lol 

 

[MrHermit85]

Day 10: quite psyched, just got between  0.50ppm and 1.0ppm ammonia nitrite at 0.50ppm and 5.00ppm for nitrate!!! Only took 10 days for something to happen! I guess this will be the only time that I get excited about all these levels shooting up over night lol 

 

[MrHermit85]

Got annoyed with topping up my tank twice a day so I purchased a float valve from GoReef. It is the bubble magus one and works like a charm. Went away for the weekend and it kept my water level constant without a problem.

 

[MrHermit85]

Got annoyed with topping up my tank twice a day so I purchased a float valve from GoReef. It is the bubble magus one and works like a charm. Went away for the weekend and it kept my water level constant without a problem.

 

[MrHermit85]

Is this possible???

So I have not updated my build thread for a while because not much has happened over the last few weeks. Until now at least!!!

I just tested my water after not testing for 4 days as my parameters were consistant from July 2ND to July 13Th          - Ammonia 0,
                  nitrite 2.0
                  and nitrate 40.
So my results today were all zero, no ammonia, no nitrite and no nitrate, is this possible?? In only 4 days everything is sorted out and my cycle is over? I tested the water twice as I haven't slept in over 20 hours so I thought maybe I was dreaming or something and they all test zero???

I was under the impression that I was supposed to end up with crazy nitrates at the end??? I am going to do a water change regardless but I am dumbfounded as to how this is possible???   ??? ??? ???

Has this happend to anyone before?

Cycle info: I did have an ammonia spike and then by day 10 it dropped to zero. I started with raw shrimp the first two weeks and once those were gone I started ghost feeding every few days. I used Seachem Stability for about a week but nothing hapend so I stopped using it...

 

[Boga]

Nitrites to go from 2 ppm down to zero in four days? Yes it is possible.

Did you use bio-pellets?
Or, possibly that the Seachem product helped with denitrifying. Or other types of bacteria bonded the Nitrates and then they were skimmed out.

"Stability® contains both nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, a blend found in no other product"

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Stability.html

 

[MrHermit85]

Nitrites to go from 2 ppm down to zero in four days? Yes it is possible.

Did you use bio-pellets?
Or, possibly that the Seachem product helped with denitrifying. Or other types of bacteria bonded the Nitrates and then they were skimmed out.

\"Stability® contains both nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, a blend found in no other product\"

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Stability.html

Thanks Boga, I guess it must have been the seachem as I have not started running any sort of mediayet (I did turn on my skimmer last week though) I honestly didn't think the seachem would work but I guess the proof is in the pudding... I tested zero on everything for  4 days straight so I did a 20 gallon water change and then tested again and still zero so took a trip to sealife central and got a few fish friends  . They seem to be very happy!!!

I will post pics as soon as I manage to get good ones. I got a black ocellaris (he is missing a stripe which is cool) and an ocellaris, plus they had tiny frags for $5 so I got zoanthids and a candy cane to try.

 

[MrHermit85]

Everyone meet nemo and batman  ;D