30 gallon cube, am I ready to add rock?

[Talonstorm]

what type of ballast was it that went bad?

I don't think it was a brand name, the name on the light fixture itself is "Odyssea". It is a neat little light and worked good for the few days I used it. Hopefully if I get a replacement it will be ok. Otherwise, I will have to just buy a ballast I guess. It wasn't really a cheap light, it was close to $200, so I expect it to work. I got it because it was the right fit, the cube tank isn't the easiest to light. I thought about a pendant, but I saw this and it had the actinics, plus I don't really like the look of the pendants.

I will stop at the "borg" tomorrow to look for the egg crate material.

Thanks again,
Tina

 

[Anonymous]

Tina,
Good luck with aqua traders! I hope you followed their return instructions to the "T". I've had a go around with them a time or two and if you need some phone ###, I have three of them! :wink: I prefer to do my complaining in person.

 

[Talonstorm]

What is "Aqua Traders"? I got my light fixture from a different ebayer in California. I really hope that I don't get ripped off on this light. I looked all over for a light to fit and I was really hesitant to purchase this one on ebay, but it really does fit the tank perfectly. The instructions stunk and hanging it was a pain, but I really liked it. Seems like my kind of luck to have it quit working, hehe. I am currently gathering packing materials to send it back, that ballast is darn heavy. :?

Tina

 

[Talonstorm]

Update for today. Since today is my only day off in the last 10 days and the next 14, I decided to work on my tanks (the others are freshwater). I never scrubbed the live rock I bought, and it had crud hanging off it everywhere, so, I used a little brush and washed it down in a bucket of saltwater. It looks much nicer now, you can see the coralline algae a lot better now. I put it all back in the tank and now the skimmer is acting up again. So I am currently playing with that. The Zoomed powersweep finally died (definately NOT recommended!), so I went on ebay and bought a wavemaker with 2 maxijet 900 powerheads. I figured I would get there eventually, so why not now. The tank has a sickly yellow hue with my temporary 72 watts of 6700 K pc lighting.

This project is moving so slowly!

Tina

 

[SnowManSnow]

looking nice!

I agree with removing the top glass.

Your tank will run much cooler without it. Also, pointing a powerhead almost strait up will aid in evap (your PRIMARY source of cooling).

I Have a similar setup with a 37G reef tank that has been up a few years.

You have the right idea in moving slow. Best to make haste slowly! Also, dont be crazy about getting TOO much rock in there. In a smallish tank it will impede water movement and aid the cause of budding algae and so forth.

I also found that you CAN purchase only a little "live rock" and use base rock on the base of things (it won't be seen anyway). The base rock is normally a LOT cheaper, and it won't have to cure like LR.

Anyway, GREAT START! keep us posted!

B

 

[Talonstorm]

Well, in the last 36 hours the tank has become infested with ugly brown algae. I am also growing some sort of little green plant/algae directly on the glass. There is some good news though, I saw 2 signs of life on my "live" rock. I saw a bug, or rather some kind of pod, but definately not one of those evil cirolanid isopods. It ran into a hole on the live rock so fast that it was hard to id. It was maybe 1/8 inch in length and brown. I also have some sort of coral-like thing on the side of one of the rocks, see pics below, maybe tube coral?? It is tiny, like each being pin head sized, but it definately looks different in the dark than after the lights have been on for a few minutes, it opens and closes. So, pictures:
Ugly brown:

Green plants/algae? on the glass:

Tube coral? (I love super macro on my camera!)

Coralline algae or just red stuff?

Maybe I should move this to the live rock ID page, but seriously, I do still have newbie questions. Like, with the following readings, am I safe to add a clean-up crew? That brown stuff is ugly! For that matter, the yellow lights (until my mh gets replaced) make the tank look ugly too, hehe.

Today:
pH: 8.4
Alk: 2.9 meq/l
NO2: 0.1 ppm
NO3: 5.0 ppm
NH3/4: 0-0.25 ppm

If it is OK to add the clean-up crew, what is suggested?

Thanks again,
Tina

PS - I also received my new RO/DI filter from Buckeye Field Supply today, so I will start doing water changes with the good water once I figure out how to get the darn thing hooked up. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Algae is normal in a new tank, in fact, its a normal thing in most any tank.

As your tank ages, it will most likely go through several stages of algae. Nothing to worry about and perfectly fine.

I would not add any animals with any trace of either Ammonia or Nitrite.

Once you get to the point where they are both 0 you can add a clean up crew.

If you want to limit the growth of algae during this time (your cycle) feel free to cut down the time the lights are on. That will help with the Algae, and until you actually put organisms in your tank that need the light you don't even need them on.

Although, I do remember leaving my lights on for 18 hours a day when I had my tank newly set up because that is how long I am up....



Good luck, it looks like a nice tank!

 

[Anonymous]

What is "Aqua Traders"? I got my light fixture from a different ebayer in California. I really hope that I don't get ripped off on this light. I looked all over for a light to fit and I was really hesitant to purchase this one on ebay, but it really does fit the tank perfectly. The instructions stunk and hanging it was a pain, but I really liked it. Seems like my kind of luck to have it quit working, hehe. I am currently gathering packing materials to send it back, that ballast is darn heavy. :?

Tina

The ebay guys are the aquatrader guys and aquatraders is an online store. They import the Odyssea lights and other Jebo products, not to mention some knock off stuff. Here's the deal with them, you have to use the original packaging, you have to get a return ath. number which must be on the inside and outside of the box. They do NOT answer emails. In my case, I had a faulty ballast to begin with and after that ordeal was taken care of, only to find out the mh lamp was cracked. It took repeated phone calls as I wasn't getting any responces from the emails and a couple of months to get it settled. My personal favorite was when they told me "Thursday holiday" when some guy answered the phone in their apartment. I wouldn't recommend that company to my worst enemy!

As knuck said, you seem to be well into your cycle. The algea is just part of it, wait till you get your halides back on!! :wink: Just keep taking it slow and you'll be better off in the long haul 8)

 

[Talonstorm]

OK, another update:

I added 25 lbs more of live rock (ordered before I read the advice not to add more). This live rock sucked bad, and restarted the cycle. The brown algae turned to a green haze on the glass, but the rocks are still brown. I decided to order a clean up crew, 15 hermits and 30 snails. I just added them, so hopefully that will help things some.

I received my metal halide light back in the mail. I am more than a little annoyed because I sent it to them in good faith and was promised a replacement. I received back a used ballast and the same light fixture. I turned it on and it lit for about 1 second and went out. The fuse in the ballast was blown. I rushed to Radio Shack and purchased the correct replacement fuse (a 4 pack) before they closed this evening. Tried it with a new fuse and got the same result. I went through 3 of the 4 new fuses like this before giving up. I emailed the seller again about it. Now I am p*ssed! I spent almost $35 of my own money to send it back when it was defective the first time (through no fault of my own). Hopefully he does something about it. If not, I will file a claim with paypal (even though it may get me nowhere) and buy something different.

So, tonight I sit here frustrated with my ugly algae ridden smelly poorly lit tank. You know what they say about the best laid plans and all that. :evil:

Tina

PS - Yesterday the readings on the tank were:

NO2: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 2.5 ppm
Ammonia: 0-0.25 ppm (I have trouble with the color on this test)

 

[Talonstorm]

I got my first fish, a very cool firefish. I always wanted one someday.



Firefish:

Whole tank, the clean up crew did an awesome job!:

It is progress anyway. I am still struggling with the hydriod jellyfish, I keep scraping them off the glass and they keep returning. The comb jellies are also still around, they stay mostly on the live rock now though.

I have gotten in touch with the seller of the metal halide light again. Hopefully he emails me back with a reasonable solution. In the meantime, I purchased 2 50/50 power compact bulbs to replace the 6700K ones in the temporary lighting I have on the tank.

Tina