EllisJuan's Deep Blue 30g Shallow Reef

EllisJuan · Aug 26, 2015

m88a2 said:
Have you decided on a stock list yet?

Not really as far as fish. Definitely a pistol/goby pair...possible Randals or Yasha. A designer clownfish, maybe a pair. Possibly a Helfrichi or Exquisite Fire Fish. I am very open to suggestions.

EllisJuan · Aug 26, 2015

We're up and running! Going to use Dr. Tims and Ammonia to kick off the fishless cycle tonight.

shadow1013 · Aug 26, 2015

Awesome build. What fish are you planning on putting in there?

EllisJuan · Aug 26, 2015

shadow1013 said:
Awesome build. What fish are you planning on putting in there?

I'm not sure yet. The size is going to limit me compared to my other builds.

Tahoe61 · Aug 26, 2015

Really cool.

Following

m88a2 · Aug 26, 2015

do you plan on creating a screen top? If so you could get a Mccosker's flasher wrasse. had one a few years back and he brought tons of color/movement/personality to the tank

EllisJuan · Aug 26, 2015

I really don't want to cover the tank. I think it really takes away from the whole "Rimless" thing. I have had McCosker's and Carpenter's in the past. They are really cool fish.

EllisJuan · Aug 28, 2015

Around 45 hours ago Dr. Tims One and Only was added and the tank was dosed with Ammonia to approximately 3.0 ppm. This test was just run. The lighting makes the shades in the pictures a little difficult. In person the levels test to a little over .50 ppm Ammonia and a little less than .25 ppm Nitrite.

I am going to test in another 24 hrs and if Ammonia and Nitrite test to <.25 ppm I will dose it to 3.0 ppm ammonia again.

EllisJuan · Sep 7, 2015

I ordered a pair of IM MiniMax Desktop Reactors (one for GFO and one for Carbon) over the weekend. Just because my tank is stuck in cycling purgatory doesn't mean I have to stop spending money...lol

rs1831 · Sep 7, 2015

Great looking build. I'm really looking forward following along.

EllisJuan · Sep 8, 2015

rs1831 said:
Great looking build. I'm really looking forward following along.

Thanks! I am getting very tired of staring at an empty tank.

Bokevince · Sep 8, 2015

Very nice set up!!!
Following

EllisJuan · Sep 10, 2015

So purdy...

EllisJuan · Sep 12, 2015

I'm ready to get some of this stuff in my tank. Their stay on the rack has been too long...

m88a2 · Sep 13, 2015

very cool, you going fishless for now?

EllisJuan · Sep 13, 2015

m88a2 said:
very cool, you going fishless for now?

Yep. Tank is empty. Ammonia has dropped to zero, but nitrites are still screaming. I just started to notice a little algae bloom over the last two day.

m88a2 · Sep 13, 2015

interesting. did you seed your tank with any live rock? i went all dry and bare bottom and never had much of a nitrite spike. the ammonia was there after 2 smallish spike it was gone. no detectable nitrite spikes and now i have small amounts of nitrates, but not much

EllisJuan · Sep 13, 2015

No. I did not seed it with anything. I wanted to try something new so I went all dry rock, dry sand, Dr. Tim's One and Only, and dosed pure Ammonia. I am still undecided how I like this method. It is very clean, sterile, and odorless...but kind of boring. In the past I have seeded tanks with live rock, sand, or both and used raw shrimp to cycle.