Yose's nano reef

[yose_]

DISCLAIMER: This tank is still in the cycling stage so dont expect any colorful LSs yet, just boring photos of test kit readings and nuisance algae. I am just documenting each step of setting up the tank and hopefully this thread can serve as reference to future reefers who want to start the hobby the right way.

Started cycling last February 16, 2014


February 23 - Ammonia level increasing


March 2 - Ammonia going down, nitrite going up!


Testing the lights...

[RonSax]

nice bro! Keep it up.. Nice scape!

[obet_carlos]

dapat nag 50g ka na.. ganda yan.. lagyan na..

[aldwin]

wow!

now naalala ko...

testing kit pa pala kelangan ko...

wala pa sa budget....

[yose_]

@RonSax thanks!

@obet walang lugar dito haha maliit lang space. baka mag-FOWLR ako sa manila na lang.

[yose_]

Updates:

Still setting up the lights while waiting to cycle. I will be using aquariatech's PAR30 40W led but I find it too blue. Any suggestions to balance the color?

PAR30 40W 22,000K


Aquazonic


Combined

[yose_]

Update:
03/10/2014


And here is my almost final light setup:


Konti na lang!

Question pala po mga fellow reefers, at this point or when ammonia becomes unreadable, what happens to the nitrifying bacteria? do they run out of "food"? Do i need to supply tiny bits of ammonia source? or may die-offs pa rin bang nagaganap?

TIA!

[RonSax]

in my case, kung wala ng ammonia i still put fish food sa tank ko as if may isda sya. Kung madali ng mawala ang ammonia and nitrite, cycled na yan. Medyo matrabaho pero wala namang mali dun. Ang tawag dun 'SIGURISTA' lang. Mahirap na di ba? Kung akala mo cycled na tank mo tapos naglagay ka ng LS tapos namatay lang.. ang sakit kaya nun kahit mumurahin lang ang inilagay mong fish.

[yose_]

[alvinbam2728]

why don't you just wait and let your just cycle instead of putting stuff in it? sobrang taas na ng nitrate mo meaning tapos na ammonia nitrite cycle niyan hintayin mo na lang bumaba yang nitrate mo ngayon wait after a week or two before ka mag test ulit ng tubig. sayang yang test kit mo kung mayat maya test ka at lagay ka ng lagay ng food sa system habang nag ccycle it may prolong your cycle IMO hindi naman natatapos ang cycle, you will just make it stable enough para pag lagay mo ng LS hindi masyado maapektuhan ang params mo or kayanin ng params mo. be patient. good luck

[yose_]

[yose_]

Share ko na rin pala yung lumang tank ko:

Circa 2009 (Back when metal halides were the IN thing and hindi pa uso ang mga rare zoas )














Joined RP back in 2009 but had to stop since I was still a student then and my allowance cannot sustain the costs of this hobby. Im sure most of you can relate.

Ngayon may source of income na kaya start na ulet! Could have opted again for a large tank (100G+) but I have space constraints in my place right now. So try naman mag nano.

[seth]

[yose_]

[seth]

here is a nice summation by Eric Borneman in his article in RK, Myyhing the Point:

Through the initial periods, there will be a tank packed with some kinds of bacteria, probably not much of others. Eventually, the massive death slows and stops. Now, what happens to all that biomass of bacteria without a food source? They die. So, another cycle of decomposition begins, and this back and forth process will continue for a while until equilibrium is reached. I say equilibrium, but that is a relative term since reproduction and mortality is a constant process in our tanks, as are "mishaps" and the relative size of the pendulum swing will depend on the reproduction and mortality rates, and biomass of the organisms involved. Still, the new swing of dying bacteria also has antibiotics, toxins, and other substances released when they die. But, the die-off is relatively slow, and is relative to the loss of nutrients, and there is already a huge population present. The result to the aquarist is that they never test positive for significant levels of ammonia. "The water tests fine."