The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Well it's been a while since my last post. All was going well until last week when I stopped seeing the Royal Gramma and the Firefish. I ended up finding a tiny bit of a dead fish but it was so far gone I couldn't identify. RIP Gramma and Firefish. I can't figure out a direct cause of death. My nitrates were pretty high, around 40ppm, but I couldn't figure out if that was what killed the fish or if the decomposing bodies caused the high nitrates.

Anyway, I've been doing everything I can to bring the nitrates down. Every other parameter of the tank is strong: a steady temp, steady pH at 8.0, steady salinity at 1.024ish, zero ammonia, zero nitrites. I started testing alkalinity, and that's fine, but nitrates remain stubbornly high. So Dennis at my favorite Local Fish Store (LFS) recommended Red Sea NO3/PO4 reducer, which I think is essentially vinegar mixed with methanol. Dosing that stuff encourages bacterial populations to bloom, which through reproduction suck up a lot of nitrates.

So far the dosing seems to really be helping. Nitrates fell over the week from 40 to 20 without a water change. I'm going to keep it up. Hopefully it'll do the trick.

Anyway, here's a picture of the tank. I did a big water change last night, cleaned the glass and the light fixture. It's looking good!

PICTURES!

Let the shameless exhibitionism begin!


 This is a coral cutting (frag) I got from my friend Billy. It's called Blue Cespitularia.

This is a frag of favia. It's kind of maroon with green centers. I'm going to glue it to the rock you see to the right, on which it should eventually spread and cover.

 This is another frag from Billy, pink (maybe orange?) birdsnest. I kind of killed the top when I drained too much water out of the tank, but the rest is doing great. Each polyp closes up at night to no bigger than the tip of a pen, and then it comes out (as shown here) in the daytime to look all nice and fuzzy.

 Our firefish (with the red tail) and the Royal Gramma (purple and yellow) behind.

Our lawnmower blenny come out to play.

Four of our six fish, with the clowns featured prominantly.

We've got a cleaner shrimp, and he's started cleaning!

So we've reached our quota on fish for the tank, the "no vacancy" sign is on out front of the aquarium. We have our two clownfish, blue tang, firefish, royal gramma, and lawnmower blenny. In saltwater aquariums, you have to limit the quantity of fish per gallon much moreso than in freshwater.

That limit doesn't prohibit adding invertebrates. So last weekend we bought a fighting conch snail, a frag (piece) of coral, and a cleaner shrimp.

Not two days after putting the cleaner shrimp in the tank, he set up a "cleaning station" like the literature says they do, and started cleaning the blue tang! They clean parasites and dead skin off of fish on the reef, and they'll do it in the aquarium too. I sorta got a picture of the action, see below!

Stocking the Tank!

It's been a while since I posted. I've been meaning to take more pictures to have something to show. I haven't done that yet, but I will get to it. But there has been so many changes to the aquarium it deserves an update!

Two pieces of bad news awaited me when I came back from a recruiting trip to Austin last week. The frag of birdsnest coral I got from Billy apparently was out in the air too long while I did my 15 gallon water change last week, and about half of it died off . On the upside, half of it still looks great. Hopefully it'll grow a bunch to compensate.

The other piece of slightly bad news was that my blue tang seems to have a case of Marine Ich. For the uninitiated, it's a protazoa parasite that causes itchy white spots under the skin of the fish. I'm treating with garlic (yes, garlic) drops and some stuff called "IchAttack", and so far it isn't too bad. My local fish guy said that every tank has it, but the fish only contract it when they are stressed out. Hopefully my tang will relax...

On the positive side, I've been adding quite a few species to my tank over the past week. Saturday James and I picked up a Lawnmower Blenny and a Royal Gramma Basslet. I have to get a picture for y'all of the Royal Gramma, it is awesome. The fish has blue eyes, and it's body is half purple and half yellow. Weird.

Yesterday I picked up a Fighting Conch snail, Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, and a frag of cool Favia coral- maroon with neon green centers. I will post pics!

So far so good.

More fish, and better pictures!

Since my last post, I've done another water change (15 gallons), and added our 4th fish and 1st coral!

Last weekend I changed 15 gallons of water (thanks again to Billy for the RO/DI water). He also gave me a few pieces of his Pink Birdsnest coral, which seems to be thriving in the tank.

While they can eventually get too big for our tank, I wasn't going to put together a saltwater tank without DORY, the regal blue tang. So, we got a small one (2") and so she'll have years before she's too big for us.

My best friend, Will Lim, came over with his beast of a camera and took pictures 10,000x better than what I can get with my point-n-shoot. Here's Dory:

And pictures of the other three:

Pictures of First Fish!

Not great pictures, but you get the idea. First is the Firefish, followed by two shots of the two Clown Fish. No names yet.

FIRST FISH!

On Sunday, after I had messed around with rocks and stirred everything around, I did another water chemistry analysis and found that everything was as it was- pH of 8.0, zero Ammonia, zero Nitrite, and about 40ppm of Nitrate.

Monday was a busy day for the aquarium. I completed the big water change required at the end of the nitrogen cycle. I decided to do 7 Home Depot Buckets of water change, about 35 gallons. My tank is "58" gallons, but with the 80 lbs of sand and 65 lbs of rocks, after I took out 35 gallons, there was only probably 3-4 inches of water left in the tank.

Monica helped me and we put on a blue background onto the tank. Unfortunately, as I was putting the hang-on-back refugium back on the tank, I ripped a hole smack in the middle of the blue background. I will try to patch, but I may have to plant a coral right in front of it so I stop staring at it!

Jude (2 years old) and I mixed up each Home Depot Bucket to 1.025 salinity with the Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. Jude did the scooping, and I did the counting. We pumped all the water back in and turned all the pumps and powerheads back on.

After letting everything mix and settle for a while, I performed another water chemistry check. Salinity was right on target at very slightly under 1.025, pH was up to 8.2 surprisingly, Ammonia and Nitrite still zero, and Nitrate down to maybe a little over 5ppm.

So it was time for first official tank inhabitants (the stowaway hermit crab and snail don't count, though they lived through the nitrogen cycle just fine!). James, John, and I went out shopping and brought home....

(drumroll please!)

2 Ocellaris Clownfish (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+27+755&pcatid=755)
and
1 Firefish (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1636+168&pcatid=168)

I put links here to examples of our 3 little fishes. I tried to take pictures last night, but they came out blurry. I will try again tonight.

Hopefully everybody makes it through the shock of transition and that the tank handles the shock to the system, and then maybe we can add more livestock next weekend!

Coming this Thursday is our clean-up-crew from http://www.reefcleaners.org/. SNAILS!!!

Rock re-arrangement and glue down

Before we add livestock, I thought it best to get the rocks exactly how I wanted them. There was a few of the live rocks that were not in keeping with the decor of the tank, so I crushed them up into marble-to-golf ball sized pieces and put them in the refugium. I added another of the "dead" marco rocks and made one of the live rocks into a bridge. Today Monica helped me mix up epoxy putty and we tried to "glue" the rocks together. Hopefully it worked.

Tomorrow- water change! Then, livestock! Ordering the clean-up-crew today from http://www.reefcleaners.org/ for shipping later in the week.

Cycle is over! Time for Livestock!

I've been testing every other day for the past week. On Wednesday, Ammonia had come down but was still present, and Nitrite was still going up. Yesterday (Friday), Ammonia and Nitrite measured ZERO, and Nitrate is up around 40ppm. So it's time for a water change and then to add the clean-up crew!

I also rearranged the rocks now that I can actually see in the tank. When Billy and I put the rocks in originally, the water had the clarity of skim milk. Plus most of the live rock I received was coral skeletons which is not exactly the look I was going for. So a couple of the coral skeletons I crushed with a hammer on the back patio, and put the small pieces into my refugium.

Hopefully all the messing around in the tank hasn't stirred up another Ammonia spike. I'll test again today or tomorrow before ordering the CUC.

Today I'm going to be experimenting with trying to glue the rocks together to prevent future rock slides. I'll post pictures when I can find the camera.

Ammonia Peak!

The chemistry nerd in me is having a ball right now. I'm doing full water chemistry analysis every other day. Today, 8/31/11, reveals the following:

T: 79.4F (holding steady between 78.4-80F)
pH: 8.0
SG: 1.024
NH3: 0.25ppm (down from 2 ppm)
NO2: 5ppm (up from 0.5ppm)
NO3: 40ppm (up from 5ppm)

I expect to see a drop in NO2 soon and then I can do my big water change and add livestock!

The Cycle Has Begun!

John (5 yrs old, my #2) insisted on being in the picture. The water is clearer than this picture makes it look.

I tested the water for the first time Saturday (you can see the results below) and there were signs that the cycle might be starting, but nothing certain. I tested tonight, and got the following results:

Temperature: 79F (holding steady between 78.5-80F)
pH: 8.0
SG: 1.024
NH3 (Ammonia): 2ppm (up from 0.5ppm on Saturday)
NO2 (Nitrite): 0.5ppm (up from 0 on Saturday)
NO3 (Nitrate): 5ppm (up from 0 on Saturday)

That to me says the Nitrogen cycle is really starting! Far sooner than I expected! Now we wait for the NH3 and NO2 to go to zero before we can do a water change and start adding livestock!

My nitrogen source, what was a grocery store shrimp!

And the waiting begins

We're on day 2 of what should hopefully be a less than 4 week nitrogen cycle. I hadn't been worrying about the temperature yet since there wasn't any macrofauna present, but in an effort to get to stable water parameters, I installed the thermometer and 200W heater. It was sitting at about 72F, which means there must have been a lot of evaporation. The water we used to fill the tank had been sitting in the garage, so it was 95+, and our house holds a constant 74F all summer. After installing the heater last night, it is holding pretty constant around 79F.

I also did my first water chemistry analysis this morning. pH was right about 8.0. Interestingly, even though it's only been two days, the NH3 (Ammonia) was not zero, but was at least 0.5ppm. NO2 (Nitrite) and NO3 (Nitrate) were zero. But hopefully having some ammonia means we'll be starting the cycle pretty quick. Specific Gravity (salinity) was holding a constant 1.025. All in all, pretty good.

Monica has been in Austin and the boys and I needed something to do, so I loaded all four of them up and took them to the local fish store, Fish Land, on Westheimer near Eldridge. They have a really quality selection of fish and corals at good prices. I can't wait to go back there when I can actually bring something home!

One stowaway from the live rock

Found this guy in the bottom of the box of live rock, out of his shell. Billy put the empty shell right next to him and when we came back 20 minutes later he was in it! So we dropped him in the tank and he's been all over!

Full startup! And the waiting begins!

We got the water system completely set up yesterday and running! I picked up 3 more 20lb bags of live sand at Aquarium World over lunch, which now gives the tank a nice bed depth! Live rock was delivered at 4 and was in the tank by 6:30. Billy and I did the best we could at aquascaping, but the water was so cloudy we couldn't see a thing. I fear some re-arrangment may be necessary. We got all but 3 pieces of the dry marcorocks into the tank. Total 15 lbs of live rock, probably 40 lbs of dry rock.

The picture above was taken this morning after the water had settled down and was much clearer. It had the clarity of skim milk at 7pm last night!

You can see in the front right corner of the tank our source of ammonia to start the nitrogen cycle in the tank- a whole shrimp from the grocery store. We'll let that rot and let the bacteria go crazy!

Tonight and this weekend I'll get the heater and thermometer installed and start cleaning up the wiring down in the stand. And then we wait and test NH3, NO2, and NO3. Hopefully we'll get a good and quick cycle.

Start-Up Has Begun!

Last night Monica helped me get the aquarium into position on the back wall of our house where it will live. It's going to be so awesome in that spot. Right in the middle of where we "live" in the house. I put in the live sand that came from the previous owner, which turned out to be far less than what he made it out to be. I'm not complaining, it was free after all, but the sand bed is maybe 1/2" deep across the tank. A trip to the store is in order today! I'm aiming for a 2"+ deep sand bed.

The previous owner also gave me about 25 gallons of Reverse Osmosis/Deionized Water (RODI), so I pumped that into the tank. That filled it up about halfway. Billy, my new Aquarium BFF, just bought an RODI unit and will give me the rest of the water I need in the next day or two. I put in 12.5 cups of Red Sea Coral Pro Salt. I calibrated my new Refractometer (to measure salinity) with distilled water, and then measured the salinity in my half-a-tank. 1.025, right on target. So for now I have half the sand I need, half the water I need, but it's up and running and circulating with the powerhead!

The "dead" Marco Rocks arrived yesterday, but I didn't have time to open the box. The live stuff is supposed to arrive today, and I'll put that into the tank directly. Billy is going to help me figure out how to arrange the rocks in my tank. I'm excited to aquascape!!!

After the live rock goes in tonight and we add in the rock and rest of the water, I'll put in a raw shrimp or two from the grocery store and let that start to rot and add ammonia to the system. Then the nitrogen cycle begins! So if the N-cycle gets started tonight, hopefully it will be complete by the end of September so we can add Fish #1!

The "before" picture

So here's the equipment before we get going with sand, rocks, water, and salt. Notice the custom-made tank "lid" made out of fluorescent light diffuser grid!

Startup Cost!

One of the biggest hurdles in any aquarium (salt or fresh) is the startup cost. You have to buy the tank, stand, filter, substrate (gravel, sand, rock), decorations, pumps, on and on and on, before you can buy animal #1! Luckily, I was able to get the bulk of the expensive stuff used for 20-25% the cost of new. "Lower startup cost allowing progress towards another state" The chemical engineering nerd in me is screaming "CATALYST"... but I digress.

So in my previously mentioned used setup, I got: Tank, Stand, Sand, Filter, Pump, Powerheads, Lights, and Algae Scraper.

I've since placed orders for the remainder of what I need.

For the substrate, in addition to sand, to provide homes for all the fish-waste-loving bacteria, I need porous rock. You can go with live rock, which is already colonized with bacteria and good algae, or you can start with dead rock (cheaper). I've decided to meet in the middle. I ordered 15 lbs of live rock and 50 lbs of dead rock, all from http://www.marcorocks.com/. His stuff has a stellar reputation, and I look forward to seeing it in person! It's due to arrive mid-week.

I ordered the rest of what I need from http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/. I couldn't believe it, but everything I looked for, they had cheaper than anyone else on the internet, including Amazon. Plus free shipping over $49 and no sales tax, it was a deal! From them I bought:

Water test kit (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and pH)
Refractometer (Salinity gauge)
Night/Day Timer Power Strip
Heater
Thermometer
Water pump & 1/2" tubing for water changes
Coral Pro Salt (175 gallons)
"Miracle Mud" to put in the refugium (hang on back filter) . Adds good bacteria
Blue background for the tank
Stainless steel handle nets (dealing with saltwater now- VERY corrosive)

Next step is to put in the sand, rocks, and saltwater, start up the pumps and let it start growing bacteria!

Taking The Plunge Into Saltwater!

I've waited 10 years, done all the reading, and hopefully developed some patience, and I'm FINALLY putting together my first SALTWATER AQUARIUM! Where are the pics of pretty fish, you ask? Well, as part of the "patience" comment above, I have to let the Nitrogen Cycle happen first to create colonies of fish-waste-loving bacteria to avoid a big tank of dead fish. Before that, I need all of my equipment to arrive FedEx this week (see subsequent post).

So first, some stats. I purchased a second hand Mini-Reef aquarium setup from a fellow saltwater addict on http://www.marshreef.com/, my new favorite website.

55 gallons (36"x18"x20")
4x54W, 36" T-5 VHO Fluorescent Lighting
Eco-System Hang-On-Back Refugium w/ Protein Skimmer


And so, some goals for what I want to have in the aquarium (we'll compare to what actually comes true):

Fish:
  - Clownfish
  - Regal Blue Tang
  - Yellow Tang
  - Powder Blue Tang
  - Yellow-Tail Blue Damsel

Invertebrates:
  - Giant Clam
  - Starfish
  - Sea Urchin
  - Shrimp
  - Corals (I still need to learn more before deciding types)

I hope for this blog to become an avenue for friends and family to enjoy our new aquarium, to provide a resource for folks looking to start in the hobby, and to keep a record for myself!