Neptune Aquatics

Reefatosis Tank Journal

Reefatosis said:
That type of cost comparison is impossible. I've seen very small bottles of kalk with respected brand names for stupid crazy prices.

For years I used Mrs Wages ATO kalk in my 135g and it may have cost me 5$ a month. And got the kalk locally. I suspect the 6 bags I purchased ($2.50 for each 1.35kg bag) will last my 50g the better part of a year; and likely more.

Regarding reef husbandry, if there is one thing I've noted after reading countless threads and reviewing TOTM's, there are many paths to a beautiful display.
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The BRS video did the cost comparison and icp testing for it and several other options.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/vide...-certified-icp-ms-testing-brstv-investigates/
 
Dang....after watching the BRS video, it seem like Mrs Wages vs Big Pharma (BRS Pharma that is!). And Mrs Wages comes out a winner in my book. Though not really a fair fight pitting pharmaceutical grade Ca(OH)2 vs food grade; especially considering that Mrs wages has a recipe on the back!
 
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And so, caving to reefing peer pressure I've rescaped. Went to Neptune's and got a few more hunks of dry rock. A few hidden dabs of two part - and........

Front View:
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Couch View:
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Top View: I've got to mention that I am really enjoying the 24" stand height and open top. I can comfortably reach anywhere in the tank from any side.
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Sorry for the weird iphone filters......just trying them out.
 
its been over a month? maybe add some bacteria to help? Dr. Tims? or seed from another person's tank? cup of sand maybe?
 
Reefatosis said:
Yep.......thinking of doing something bacterial-wise.... But I'm ok with the wait too.
Nitrite is the purple. Nitrate is the orange.
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How long have you been cycling for? Do you notice the change in ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?

For myself, I accidentally dosed too much ammonia at the beginning which caused the cycling to stall. Until fixed, the cycle was stuck. Never really knew about tanks getting stuck in a cycle, until I read an article about it.

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Oh NVM, notice your ammonia was a light green and not the dark green that I had when I overdosed it. [emoji16]

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The tank is consuming the 2ppm dose of ammonia I've been putting in every 24 hrs. I've decided to get a couple of water changes in and reduce the ammonia dosing to 1ppm daily.

Definitely not an exciting thing to watch. A least with live rock there are all sort of critters and hydroids to watch. And with freshwater planted, I can plant the tank immediately.

I even thought about added some chaeto at this point just to keep the nitrates in check (if possible), out compete nuisance algae and add some denitrification critters.
 
You don’t need to redoes the ammonia. Dosing to 2ppm once at the beginning is enough to start it.

I would do like a 50% water change to bring down the nitrites. Is the test for the nitrite maxed out?
 
So I've finally got the tank consuming 2 cc ammonia and converting it completely to nitrate within 24 hours. So I think I am good to go for fish stocking. My nitrates are barely reading (API tests) but I'm not convinced I believe it.

So the list will be.....

Midas Blenny
Royal Gramma
Clown fish
trio of cardinals of some sort

Corals maybe in a month or two...
 
Good list of fish. You could also go for a trio of chromis instead of cardinals. They're a bit meaner than some cardinals and in that tank they would do well.

In my experience, chromis tend to swim about more, whereas cardinals spend more time trying to find hiding spots. Both are skiddish. Chromis will stand their ground with clownfish more too.

Just generalizations, but a good option in addition to cardinals!
 
I love chromis too. But I found that they generally fight and die off until only one remains.......is that your experiences too? Same thing with Banggai Cardinals but not PJ's.
 
Springers (real and the false one), vanderbilts, and handful of other damsels/chromis that I know of are less aggressive than green chromis, which are usually what comes to mind when anyone mentions chromis.
 
Overdue update:
Overall the tank is doing well. I am getting heavy corralline growth and lots of small feather dusters. And the refuge is crawling with microfauna.
After receiving good advice from my fellow BAR members via a dosing thread, I stopped manually adjusting my Alk/Ca/Mg after testing indicated that I was not at my dosing goals. For example, I've now been letting my Ca level drift upward to 420 over the past 3 months rather than dose adjust and tweak the daily maintenance dose rate. So things have been stable chemically speaking.
I did have high nitrate levels after the fishless cycle. Luckily, my chaeto help bring the levels down. But it has been dying back with the lower nutrient levels.
After the swap, someone posted about finding odd salinity values. So I too checked my refractometer to find it under estimating by 10; and the adjustment screw was seized. So new instrumentation and 1/2 cup salt every other day is helping me slowly get the salinity back into line.
Current Stock list:
Handful of turbos, ceriths, 2 skunk cleaners, 3 Chromis, Midas Blenny (the boss of the tank), Royal Gramma, and a pintail wrasse. I was thinking about a clown but my thoughts have strayed something more like another small wrasse or firefish.
Coral List: I wanted to get some test pieces to get a sense if they would handle a younger tank before I invested into some more pricer choices. So I hit up Neptunes and Aquatic Collection for a scattering of cheap but neat looking zoa's; some sort of leptoseris; orange digi, ponape birdsnest; green slimer; some sort of grey-blue and red-brownish stags and a cali tort. So far everything seems to be downing well down on the sandbed. But I am still nervous to consider the tank SPS ready.
One pink-ish zoa, probably the same one that has formed the big mat in the shallow frag tank behind Neptune's checkout counter, is growing quickly. I'm hoping that the higher par levels at the top of the rockwork will keep it at bay.
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