Nanoreefnewbie 2012 nano contest entry

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by nanoreefnewbie

Awsome Denny THANK YOU...i owe you a million ill bring over a nice sample size and do a test right infront of you and you can do test ur way ect..id love too see ur set ups..how much should I grab 5lbs or so?also pm ur adress and yea ill probably come over later this week?

my schedule is pretty free , getting me in the evenings is gonna be tough but ill work it out.

bring what you like , i have around 200lbs of rock on standby so i dont mind swapping some out.


when you come over i will give you some helpfull tips to keeping your tank clean and water where it needs to be , trust me its very easy just sounds like alot to do.

really think about investing in a skimmer, i know its a hard number to swallow but i bet i could find you one for cheap that would work on your tank , most any experienced reefer will tell you a good skimmer goes along way.

ill pm you my info in a bit

cheers

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

Was the rock fully cured?

Originally Posted by nanoreefnewbie

Nope

Originally Posted by nanoreefnewbie

I think it's from my curing rock...
Ro water is been used
40lbs rocks 38 dry/2 live too seed

The problem is your rock. You have to think of your tank as only having 2 pounds of rock in it. In a new system if the 38 pounds were completely dry it will take around a year to cure with only 2 pounds seeding it. Yes I said a year after 6 months it will begin to seed and start becoming live causing spikes along the way, after a year it might be fully cured. You should not have any livestock in the tank right now as it's not cycled and with that much dry rock it will be 6 months before it starts to cycle and up to a year before you stop seeing spikes and killing off livestock.

No offense to you (and I'm not referring to you) but I get frustrated with numerous people cheeping out and buying 95% dry rock and 5% live and then wondering why on earth they are having so many issues. I've told many people who want to use mostly dry rock not to and said to them if they do they should wait 6 months to a year before adding anything live and they look at me in disbelief. These same people don't listen, do it the way they want to, and get frustrated and confused when they have nothing but problems.

Not sure if you have any livestock in there now but I would look at re-homing it until the tank cycles. Or if you can find someone to swap out some of your dry rock for live that should help, however that seems unlikely. Edit: I see Denny to the rescue!

Doing tons of water changes is pointless in a system that isn't cycled. The high nitrates aren't good but I'd bet they're not as much of the issue as I'm guessing the mini ammonia spikes your most likely having from the dry rock in your tank. Focus on getting the rock cured and I'll bet most of your issues will clear up afterwards.

[nanoreefnewbie]

Originally Posted by The Grizz

One ? I forgot to ask, was the sand new or used?

Its was used from mature system bought from guy with rock

[nanoreefnewbie]

Originally Posted by reefwars

my schedule is pretty free , getting me in the evenings is gonna be tough but ill work it out.

bring what you like , i have around 200lbs of rock on standby so i dont mind swapping some out.


when you come over i will give you some helpfull tips to keeping your tank clean and water where it needs to be , trust me its very easy just sounds like alot to do.

really think about investing in a skimmer, i know its a hard number to swallow but i bet i could find you one for cheap that would work on your tank , most any experienced reefer will tell you a good skimmer goes along way.

ill pm you my info in a bit

cheers

Awsome ill bring 10lbs ish then should be enough??and I got a small diy skimmer seems too be working...but yea if you want too do some searching great I plan on running a sump sooo...

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by nanoreefnewbie

Awsome ill bring 10lbs ish then should be enough??and I got a small diy skimmer seems too be working...but yea if you want too do some searching great I plan on running a sump sooo...

i seen the pics of the little skimmer now while i admit i love a good diy , and it was an awesome idea, when you come to my house ill show you what real skimate looks like and how long it takes. i could even give you a loaner for a couple weeks if you want to try one before going all in?

mines so thick and black it could be passed as roofing tar lol

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by nanoreefnewbie

Its was used from mature system bought from guy with rock

Did you wash the sand really really well? Old/used sand causes tank crashes due to the excess of nutrients it traps in it. If you didn't rinse it I would remove it all and rinse it out until the water runs clear. The sand will cause nitrate (and other) issues if not cleaned. When my boyfriend moved his tank 2 years ago he used a 1" layer of the old sand and it caused his whole tank to crash, he lost 2 rubbermaid containers full of sps, all his zoas and fish

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by nanoreefnewbie

You say don't use GE some one else says use GE there's that mixed answers again or just don't use GE I or II

It's not the brand it is the type of silicone. Avoid GE I and II.

[nanoreefnewbie]

Originally Posted by reefwars

i seen the pics of the little skimmer now while i admit i love a good diy , and it was an awesome idea, when you come to my house ill show you what real skimate looks like and how long it takes. i could even give you a loaner for a couple weeks if you want to try one before going all in?

mines so thick and black it could be passed as roofing tar lol

Egh yummy lol..i cant wait too meet you and get some good tips...maybe you can give a lesson on uploading pics too lol..i have a bigger diy skimmer on paper but might just buy one..If u got a extra,small skimmer awsome

[nanoreefnewbie]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

Did you wash the sand really really well? Old/used sand causes tank crashes due to the excess of nutrients it traps in it. If you didn't rinse it I would remove it all and rinse it out until the water runs clear. The sand will cause nitrate (and other) issues if not cleaned. When my boyfriend moved his tank 2 years ago he used a 1" layer of the old sand and it caused his whole tank to crash, he lost 2 rubbermaid containers full of sps, all his zoas and fish

Humm okay umm I didn't was my sand oh boy..looks like I got a lot of work too do...when I pull rock out too trade with Denny ill pull out most if not all sand and rinse it really well...what do ido with my hermits snails and starfish tho...

[nanoreefnewbie]

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

It's not the brand it is the type of silicone. Avoid GE I and II.

K thank you...