Meech's 120

[meech]

DAY THREE OF CYCLING !!!!:spin:

Here's a few shots I took tonight. Just thought I'd break out the ol' Polaroid for a bit. I will aquascape the rock once the cyle is completed. For now, I'll have to look at this mess.

c ya

 

[home wrecker]

are u leavin the rock work like that ???

 

[meech]

Not at all !!! Once my cycle is complete I aquascape the tank . I know it looks like a mess right now but I have a vision of what I want.

 

[LouZoo51]

Youve got alot of branch rock,cant wait to see what you come up with...good luck with it...:wink1:

 

[meech]

Youve got alot of branch rock,cant wait to see what you come up with...good luck with it...:wink1:

thanks.

 

[Awibrandy]

That sure is some nice coraline on those rocks or should I say branches.:wink1:

What's that flat thing on the left bottom side?

How come you wait till it cycles to aquascape?

 

[meech]

That sure is some nice coraline on those rocks or should I say branches.:wink1:

What's that flat thing on the left bottom side?

How come you wait till it cycles to aquascape?

thanks,,,,,,,,hopefully most of the coraline will survive the cycling period.


The flat thing on the left is a 1" thick - 12" x 24" piece of acrylic sheet. It's part of my aquascaping plan. :Up_to_som

The reason I'm waiting until the cycle is completed before aquascaping the tank is because I'm undecided on which kind of sand I'm going to use for this setup. I still have 3 large bags of sand from last years FOWLR setup sitting in the garage. I'm on the fence about whether to use than sand of or go with Black Sand which I think looks incredible. I know that once I put the sand in I'm going to have to reposition the rocks anyway. The branches aren't heavy enough to establish a strong footing without being adjust so I figured I would just wait until it's cycled to make my decision. I know that adding the substrate after the cycle will create a mini-cycle of it's own but that's OK, it's worth it.

 

[Awibrandy]

Very interesting indeed!! I can't wait to see the final product.
I was also thinking of going with the black sand and opted for the "White ESV sand". Not so white any more. Should have gone "Black", at least it would still be Black.:flirt:

 

[crox99]

I like the black sand idea:cool3:

 

[meech]

my only concern with the black sand is that I've read that it's more difficult to maintain your calc/alk levels than with aragonite. we'll see

 

[scarf_ace1981]

i say go w/ reg color sand(looks natural).

just aquascape now and add the sand later. LOL

 

[russianmd]

I love the branches! It looks cool already, IMO :p

 

[meech]

i say go w/ reg color sand(looks natural).

been there, done that, got the t-shirt. :wink1:

who knows, I change my mind so often I may end up with red sand,,, hmm:scratch:

 

[meech]

I love the branches! It looks cool already, IMO :p

thanks !


My last tank was an aggressive fish setup. It was cool at first but after a while you get bored with having a 120 gallon tank and only 3 or 4 fish. With this tank I want to keep small reef safe fish (at least 10).I figured the combination of the old Fiji and the new Tonga Branch gives me the ability to make the most caves and hiding places to reduce the stress level of the fish. we'll see

 

[dnyce]

Meech what's up, that's a lot a branches....I'm dying to see how you set them up. Was the rock considered cured when you bought it?

 

[meech]

Meech what's up, that's a lot a branches....I'm dying to see how you set them up. Was the rock considered cured when you bought it?

sup D,

nope, uncured. this rock is literally 2 days out of the ocean and then into my tank. Tonga to LAX > LAX to NEWARK AIRPORT. my car smelled like the beach by the time I got the rock back to my house, lol.

 

[meech]

SOME NEW PICS. decided against the black sand,,,,,,,,,sometimes standard is better !

I've been experimenting with the aquascaping. I know this looks a little strange,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,what do you guys think???

As you can see, the tank has two neighborhoods. Mount FIJI on the left and the Island of Tonga on the right. It will be interesting to see where each fish will chose to call home during sleepytime.

 

[meech]

Ok,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,got a question.


I recently added sand from my old setup (which had been dry and sitting in a Glad bag for 8 months) to my tank. Prior to doing this, my ammonia was at zero, my nitrites were zero and my nitrates were about 10 ppm.

I just took a nitrate reading last night (3 days after adding the sand) and my nitrates were off the charts ( 160 ppm) :shocked: !!!!!!

Could the addition of the pre-used sand have caused such an enormous spike?

Obviously a water change is in order at this point but how much ????
I don't think a 50% water change will be enough to really get my Nitrates down? Should I do like a 75% or more change?

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

If adding sand from an old tank you should wash and rinse thoroughly before placing it in the tank. Your spike is most definitely from the old sand.

 

[meech]

If adding sand from an old tank you should wash and rinse thoroughly before placing it in the tank. Your spike is most definitely from the old sand.

OOPS :smash: .



thanks for the quick response Chief. should I do a large water change, a few small one or nothing at this point?