Dude you got big ones for plugging that in to the ext cord like that. :lol::lol:

I may have big ones but I'm not a total idiot, I had the other end unplugged while I was setting up the LED cords and had my wife plug it in to the wall when I was ready to take the pic.

Just a quick question... what is the best "canary" in a coal mine, for a salt water reef tank?

that is a difficult question.
There are many different biotopes in the marine environment.
If you have a tank that mimics a reef crest (high flow, nutrient poor, bright light) you couldn't keep a sun coral for instance.

All organisms have evolved to fit into their own ecological niches. What lives and dies has to do with whether or not the organism is suited to the environment it finds itself in.

The concept of the canary in the coal mine should not be used. Let me explain...

Humans are not indigenous to coal mines. We are not accustomed to breathing methane, living underground in cold damp environments, perpetually in the dark. The environment is stressful and unhealthy to us. It just so happens that it is MORE stressful to a Canary, which means that they will likely die first. Regardless, the environment is wrong for both humans and canaries.


Plan the environment that you wish to mimic in your tank. I personally find a biotope tank to be a much more interesting concept than just collecting a bunch of fish and corals.

Design your tank to match the environment as best you can (flow, lighting, substrate etc)

Pick inhabitants that are suitable to the environment, and can cohabitate.


If you are concerned about your water parameters... use a test kit! Don't rely on something that will die to let you know if things are wrong. Chances are it will be the most expensive thing in your tank.

Schroeder really explained it well.

A couple things to add. Salt water tanks tend to take longer to cycle then fw tanks. Even after the cycle is no longer visible, they take longer still to stabilize and reach equalibrium. Tanks aren't generally thought to be mature until around the six month point or perhaps even longer.

The best approach is to never put anything in your tank unless you are confident that it will survive, if not thrive. Certainally, don't put any fish in that you plan to take out later or that aren't on your "fish list".

Take your time.

I don't plan on putting fish in I am going to take out... unless I buy a new house that can hold a bigger tank... :D

WOOT!
Tank has salt water in it... and only 1 leak... about 1 drip every 60 seconds or so.
I have salt in it... only at 1.016 atm. I have also started my cycle... I have added 5 raw shrimp... the 30 per pound size.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...e/Filling1.jpghttp://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...e/Filling2.jpghttp://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...e/Filling3.jpghttp://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...e/Filling4.jpghttp://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...e/Filling5.jpg

So on controllers I'm still on the fence about the controller I'm going to use... Neptune Apex or Digital Aquatics RKE. The main function for me is the light's going on and off as well as the moonlights... I will probably use the other stuff later on but my main thing is those two... does anyone have a preference or an opinion on them? Possibly even experience.

I'm sure there are more people following but I'm just not getting much response... oh well...

So here is an update on my water parameters.
After 2 days these are my current levels.

Ammonia 0.6
Nitrite 0.2
Nitrate 5

I did use an additive by Seachem... it's called Stability® here is a quote off the bottle: "...contains synergistic blend of aerobic, anaerobic, and facultative bacteria..."
I don't know why they put it like that... by the sounds of it it's all one type of bacterium.

For controllers I really like my Neptune.......

I used Hagen's Cycle when I did the 300g at work...and it really did speed up the cycle very well! Never tried it before, and will use it again as it was great!

Looking awesome! Can't wait to see more!

no that would be more than one type of backteria, one for anerobic, one for aerobic, and then the other one. could be 30 different type, or could be 3.

I get a kick out of there discription to. had to look up synergistic to see how they were using it. they must have paid some one to make that sound nice as the actual meaning is
"...contains our hypothesis of how we thing they should act blend of aerobic, anaerobic, and facultative bacteria..."

Steve

+1 on the controller and +1 on the Cycle

... it could be one kind or it could be 1 million all I was saying is they didn't need to put the "facultative" on there... a facultative bacterium can be both aerobic and anaerobic... they just switch processes when the oxygen is depleted.

Parameter update.

Ammonia is at 0 (or very close)
Nitrites are at 0 (there may be some slight color but not even a 10th the color of the lowest reading)
Nitrates are dropping... it's at less then 5 now... I would say 2 or 2.5
PH is at 8.1-8.3... hard to tell.
I will have KH and Calcium tests tomorrow.

parameters looking good, I always find PH and phosphate really hard to read so I test them just as a backup but generally not worried if my tank is thriving.

Ya I'll get a controller to read those :D

So now the results are:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
PH 8.1-8.3
KH 80
Calcium 360
Salinity/SG 1.0255

I will be adding one prawn every 2 days till I order my fish... 5 days before my fish are supposed to come I will add 5 prawns and take them out the night before my fish arrive.

Just curious... What is your theory on why you are seeing 0 nitrate. In your tank, what is consuming it?

its really starting to come together.. how much longer u figure before ull be able to start stocking it?

My theory is bacteria is converting the nitrate into nitrogen... or maybe the start of an algae bloom? Either way it's all good :D

I almost got a fish yesterday... I will be stocking it with my first batch of fish as soon as my LFS puts in a new fish order. (I still may add a fish or two early...)

Yes, but it's not quite so simple. If it were that easy, we would all have 0 nitrate in our tanks. Are you talking about Anaerobic bacteria and if so, where are they in your system?

My curiosity is sincere. The 0 nitrate reading surprises me. I know what "should" be happening, but can't explain where your nitrate consumers are finding a suitable anaerobic enviroment to thrive in.

It's the water in Courtenay/Comox I tell ya ;) I have never had nitrate in my tank either, not even through the cycle and that was months ago.

I have a DSB the homemade rocks and some special plumbing :D

I had zero nitrate when I started my tank also. don't forget he had his rock int he ocean for a while which trurned it into fresh live rock, so he has a large bacteria count to start off with. my case and several others were all the same. fresh live rock into a tank and you get a instant cycle. I put a ton of shrimp and junk in to mine and never ever saw amonia, nitrates or nitrites

Steve

Well I couldn't wait... I got my first fish today :D

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...Firstfish4.jpg

What? you can't see any fish?... neither can I so lets zoom in... I can see one in the picture below... but you need to know where to look.

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...Firstfish5.jpg

Lets zoom in a little more... I think everyone should be able to see one in this picture.

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...Firstfish6.jpg

And zoom one more time for a nice close up shot.

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...Firstfish7.jpg

If you look really close you can see two fish... it's like wheres Waldo :D

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...Firstfish3.jpg

Another picture of my two first fish.

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...Firstfish2.jpg

My best picture I have ever take of a solo fish... today was my first day photographing fish...

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x.../Firstfish.jpg

poor fella must be so lonely in there.. lol

There are two... I believe it is a mated pair... they were hiding in the same hole at the LFS... but they haven't found each other in the tank yet...

darn, I must be more tired than I thought.. lol. still, thats an awful lot of space for two tiny fishes~

er... do you still have that leak? you didn't seem very worried about it

They got to enjoy it while they can... soon they are going to have lots of company.

I just checked it... it's no longer wet so I think it plugged it's self. :D

See I wasn't worried because that wasn't a problem... but ya...
...I was planning on finishing my lights today... no such luck... my bottom tank gave way... so I now have Rubbermaid tubs as my sump... I think my fish might be dead too... thank cooled down a fair bit. Also with all the disturbance of the sand moving it into my new sump, now I can't see 1" into my tank. I'll post again on Wednesday at the latest.

What happend?? sorry to hear the bad news:sad:

Warped floor and poor setup caused the tank to come apart at the seam on the bottom.

:sad: Aw man! Sorry to hear this.

It's all good I'm just using Rubbermaid totes instead... and once I fix my 100g tank then I'll have a second setup. :D

That sucks man. Glad you see a silver lining

Sorry I took so long had some leak issues with my LED cooling so I needed to get that fixed before I took pictures. Well here they are.

15 Yellow 20 White and 25 blue.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x.../AllYellow.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...e/AllWhite.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...ne/AllBlue.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...rone/AllOn.jpg

A view of them mounted.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...htsMounted.jpg

FTS with the lights on.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...withLights.jpg

A couple of pics of my new Rubbermaid sump...
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...ne/NewSump.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/x...e/NewSump2.jpg