Tinola's Nano in 90 Build Off Competition Entry

[Tinola]

Hey guys, new to this forum and new to reefing. I set up a 20 long on Wednesday, the day I moved back from school for the summer! Never kept sw before, but I've always had an interest in keeping a reef tank.
Anyways, here's my tank.
Equipment:
Old 20 Long
Kessil A350 (Yeah)
Vortech MP10ES
AC50 with Chemi Pure and Purigen

[video=youtube;RjLqOz5ArGg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjLqOz5ArGg&feature=g-upl[/video]



20 Long New Aquascape by Solanzo, on Flickr

 

[Loki]

Very cool. Welcome to the forum!

 

[thewackyreefer]

Looks cool, can't wait to see how it progresses. Welcome to R2R!

 

[Tinola]

Thanks!
I forgot to mention. I have 21 lbs of Marcorocks in there and 1 lb of LR from the LFS. Hopefully the cycle is quick! I can't wait to add corals!

 

[revsgirl]

Looks great!! Lookin' forward to following along!!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Looks very nice! Welcome to the contest and more importantly welcome to R2R!

 

[BarbH]

Hello and welcome to r2r and to the hobby. Look foward to seeing your tank come together If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask

 

[Tinola]

Not sure what kind of sand I shall put in it. Thanks for the kind comments everyone!

 

[gorally]

Hows the A350W? How much power did you turn that on in your photo and movie?

 

[Tinola]

Gorally, I have the normal a350. I love how it's very compact for the light intensity it puts out. I think I have it less than 50% on both white and blue.I'm telling you, this is way overkill for a 20 long. Also, it's about 14 inches above the surface of the water to get enough and even spread.

 

[wysiwyg]

welcome to r2r. nice aquascape so far good luck in the contest. following along

 

[m'akoyPINOY]

welcome to R2R,tinola!good start.

 

[Tinola]

Thanks!

I just tested today just to see where my cycling is currently.
So, here it is:
pH:8.4
Ammonia: 1ppm
Nitrite: .5ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm (Yay!)

Alkalinity: 10.4
Calcium 450ppm
Magnesium: Will retest tomorrow, I think I messed up, or the Red sea kit I have is innacurate.
SG: 1.024

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

It's getting there!

 

[Tinola]

Today, I tested the Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate.
Here's what I got:
Ammonia: 1ppm
Nitrite: 5+ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm

Should I do a big water change to get the nitrites down? Or should I just let it be?
Also, is it a smart idea to add chaeto at this point?
Noob questions lol.

 

[BarbH]

As for doing water changes during the cycle I have seen a few different lines of thought on this, some do think that it can help the cycle (don't have any scientific info to back this up) while others think you should wait until the ammonia and nitrites drop. It does look like you are in the point of your cycle that you are seeing your nitrite spike. Did you use live rock for your cycle or dry rock?

 

[Mike&Terry]

Looks like your build is coming along and that Kessil fixture looks sweet!

Best of luck with the contest and we'll be tagging along to watch your progress.

-M&T

 

[Tinola]

Thanks for the kind comments!

By the way, I used 1 lb of Live rock from the LFS and 21 lbs of Marcorocks.
Hopefully the cycle ends quickly within the next week or two. Had this tank running for a week already.

 

[buddythelion]

Looking good Tinola. Looks like you might need some more live rock and maybe a few bristleworms and pods to get this thing running! Did you make your own water?

 

[BarbH]

Just keep an eye on your parameters, cycle time can vary from tank to tank average between 6 to 8 weeks although can be less especially when using a large amount of live rock that has been cured. With what looks like a nitrite spike you are probably about half way through your cycle although I know with mine it did take awhile for my nitrites to finally go down once they had spiked. This is definitly one of the more difficult times in setting up a tank, waiting for it to cycle and do it's thing