Mrs. Hdsoftail's 32 Biocube Nem tank

bsn_rn_cen · Aug 8, 2019

hdsoftail1065 said:
Updated tank pics. Wife said there is to many nems. 3 are going to new homes tonight.

And here I was thinking you could squeeze 3 or so on that rock in the front..

hdsoftail1065 · Aug 8, 2019

hdsoftail1065 · Aug 8, 2019

GatorScott said:
Nice tank!!! What do you have your gyre settings at? I’m a very similar setup and have it at alternate gyre mode like 10% forward and 20% backward with a 10 sec minimum speed and only on full blast for 2 seconds.

Thanks! I increased the flow a few months back when I spotted a touch of Cyano. I need to readjust one of these days but nothing seems to be bothered by it.

hdsoftail1065 · Aug 8, 2019

Jomama said:
At wholesaler last week. Here's a very rare BTA nem. If you gotta ask, how much?......... I do NPS softies.

Wow, VERY NICE!!!

GatorScott · Aug 9, 2019

hdsoftail1065 said:
Thanks! I increased the flow a few months back when I spotted a touch of Cyano. I need to readjust one of these days but nothing seems to be bothered by it.

Nice thanks! Ya at first I thought it was too much but after a day or so the corals have reacted AMAZING. might bump it up a little if I notice algae as well

hdsoftail1065 · Aug 11, 2019

Current upgrades/equipment are -
Steve's LED's
Coralife fuge basket
Tunze Osmolator 3155 ato
Icecap 1k
Sicce 2.5 return pump - huge improvement over the stock pump.
Coralife skimmer - no longer use it - waste of money imo.
Cheap $10.00 aquarium light from Wally world for the cheato -. Cheato is slow growing but VERY healthy.
Coralife uv - ya, it's stored with the skimmer...enough said.
And my $2.00 ATO reservoir - it's cheesy but it works great. Fits nicely under the cabinet.

NY_Caveman · Aug 12, 2019

Dr. Dendrostein said:
At wholesaler last week. Here's a very rare BTA nem. If you gotta ask, how much?......... I do NPS softies.

Wow. Looks almost like some kind of crazy mushroom in that picture.

hdsoftail1065 · Sep 7, 2019

Struggling with amonia, I know the cause but we can't get it under control. Established for 2 years, 32 gallon Biocube. A couple of days ago my wife fed her nems and she said one shrimp didn't smell quite right but they ate it.

Then next day (yesterday) she noticed they spit it out and she collected and removed all of it out of the tank. I grabbed the API kit and tested and it did show amonia. I realize it's API and there is room for error. I tested against my tank and the qt and they tested zero. Now I'm in Oklahoma visiting my father and she's at home trying to get it leveled back out. Yesterday we done a 5 gallon wc and prime. Few hours later we done a 4 gallon and prime.
Today she done another 4 gallon and prime and it's still showing high. Everything is acting normal in the tank, fish, inverts and RBTA's. I'm not sure what to tell her to try next and looking for suggestions.

The WC's, prime and carbon should be knocking it down but her latest test shows otherwise. Ideas?
Larger wc? Dosed the prime according to the directions, hit it heavier?

#reefsquad can ya help a brother out.

saltyhog · Sep 7, 2019

Unless I'm mistaken the way Prime works, it changes ammonia to a different form that is still detected on the API test. I would continue with water changes and watch the tank to tell you what to do.

hdsoftail1065 · Sep 7, 2019

saltyhog said:
Unless I'm mistaken the way Prime works, it changes ammonia to a different form that is still detected on the API test. I would continue with water changes and watch the tank to tell you what to do.

Thanks, I told her to monitor and plan on another wc this evening. With the false positive from the prime and after that many wc's should we stop with the prime and concentrate on wc's only at this point? My little pea brain is telling me if it changed to another form or it worked as a binder just adding more will continue to show a false positive.

saltyhog · Sep 7, 2019

hdsoftail1065 said:
Thanks, I told her to monitor and plan on another wc this evening. With the false positive from the prime and after that many wc's should we stop with the prime and concentrate on wc's only at this point? My little pea brain is telling me if it changed to another form or it worked as a binder just adding more will continue to show a false positive.

That's correct. The ammonia (NH3) is changed to ammonium (NH4) which is non toxic. I just looked at API's test kit instructions and it confirms the NH4 is detected on it's test. You would need a test kit for free ammonia to detect the difference.

hdsoftail1065 · Sep 7, 2019

saltyhog said:
That's correct. The ammonia (NH3) is changed to ammonium (NH4) which is non toxic. I just looked at API's test kit instructions and it confirms the NH4 is detected on it's test. You would need a test kit for free ammonia to detect the difference.

Gee, a test kit for a test kit, who would have thunk! Thanks my friend, I appreciate the help.

saltyhog · Sep 7, 2019

hdsoftail1065 said:
Gee, a test kit for a test kit, who would have thunk! Thanks my friend, I appreciate the help.

I remember now....the Seachem test kit is the only one I can think of that can test for free ammonia (NH3). It uses the same method as the ammonia badges....those also would still work after treating with Prime.

hdsoftail1065 · Sep 7, 2019

saltyhog said:
I remember now....the Seachem test kit is the only one I can think of that can test for free ammonia (NH3). It uses the same method as the ammonia badges....those also would still work after treating with Prime.

Your a genius! I'll have her pull my alert badge from the qt!

hdsoftail1065 · Sep 7, 2019

saltyhog said:
I remember now....the Seachem test kit is the only one I can think of that can test for free ammonia (NH3). It uses the same method as the ammonia badges....those also would still work after treating with Prime.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious on the alert badge. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes help us though some of the simplest things.

She put it in and called saying it's not working because it's staying white! ;Hilarious
She will rest better now

hdsoftail1065 · Sep 17, 2019

Lights going down on the Biocube. Welcome to Nem Mountain! I have no idea how many she has now, the cover the entire top, front to back. She has been selling some off but there is a long way to go.