Nebie

[Trevor Robertson]

Well I would just like to say hello to everyone, I am new to this board. I am in west edmonton and am just setting up a 135gal reef tank. I am a bit of a newbie so sorry in advance for some of the dumb questions. So far I have 100lbs of live tonga rock. It is starting to come around and I can't wait to get some starter corals and a fish or two in the tank. I look forward to reading about your tanks and I will be taking pictures and video of my tank as it progresses, so that i can (and you if you want) see what I have done right and well wrong.

See you later.

[Delphinus]

Welcome to the board, Trevor. :D

[titus]

Hello,

Welcome :n00b:
You can list your tank spec at here (http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=15)

Titus

[Beverly]

[quote="Trevor I am in west edmonton and am just setting up a 135gal reef tank. So far I have 100lbs of live tonga rock. It is starting to come around and I can't wait to get some starter corals and a fish or two in the tank.
[/quote]

Welcome! We live downtown but know all the west end lfs ;-) Did you get your Tonga rock from locally at Aquarium Illusions (aka AI), or did you ship it from a MO place?

I understand AI will be getting in Jakarta rock on Monday. I assume it'll be uncured, just like the Tonga branch rock I got from them for my 2.5 gal bowfront nano last week. If this new shipment of Jakarta is anything like the their last shipment, the rock will be light, porous and will be interestingly shaped. We have some of that Jakarta rock in our 7 gal bowfront nano, and may buy some of the new shipment for our 42 gal hax that has a 3" DSB and about 38 gal of clear 78 F saltwater :-)

[CHEAPREEF]

Welcome, i live in the west end as well. If you need any help or tips just PM me. Beverly they got there rock last night along with a wack of coral/fish and inverts. If your over there you can check ot the skimmer i built, it's on the rock tank. :wink:

Clinton

[Beverly]

Beverly they got there rock last night along with a wack of coral/fish and inverts. If your over there you can check ot the skimmer i built, it's on the rock tank. :wink:

Clinton

Clinton, as far as I know, they got more Tonga yesterday and the Jakarta's coming Monday. At least that's what Desmond told me over the phone a couple of days ago.

I've got to get groceries today, so why not detour over to AI for a look see? Good idea ;-) But if the Jakarta's coming on Monday, they'll have two types to choose from. Plus I want to compare Big Al's rock (Fiji and looked cured when we were there last week) and Ray's (cured Indonesian) to what AI will have, and take the best of the bunch :-)

[Quinn]

good to see more edmontonians out there! i expect we'll have to do another tank crawl sometime in the future :)

[Trevor Robertson]

Well thanks for the warm welcome, I will gladly take any tips or advice that you can provide. I looking forward to getting something that will move in my tank. I would love to do a tank crawl some time I think that every tank is different and every one has there idea of what to do and how it should be done. The rock that I got was from AI. They are my choice for live stock, I work in retail so I am not a big fan of ordering over the net, I support the local vendors so that they will support me even if it does mean a few extra $$. It was the Tonga branch I really like the look that it gives the tank, lots of places to hide. I am going to take some pictures and see how they turn out.

PS when is the best time to add your clean up crew, and what do you all use for testing water?

PPS if there are any Macintosh users out there I have found a great program for tracking livestock and condistions called maquarium.

[Beverly]

I looking forward to getting something that will move in my tank. The rock that I got was from AI. They are my choice for live stock, I work in retail so I am not a big fan of ordering over the net, I support the local vendors so that they will support me even if it does mean a few extra $$. It was the Tonga branch I really like the look that it gives the tank, lots of places to hide. I am going to take some pictures and see how they turn out.

Tested the water in our 2.5 nano today. Ammonia is almost 0 ppm, but nitrite is spiking at over 5 ppm. So the Tonga branch in our house is curing quite quickly. I'm hoping to get something live in it soon too :-)

Brought home 14 lbs of the Indonesian rock, a cleaner shrimp and a dozen astreas from SWF this evening. AI is also having a sale over the weekend only. Buy 2 corals and get 20%, buy two fish get 10% off. So I bought two fish and two corals :-D Then I couldn't resist the decorator crab, a bunch of halimeda and that's all for now. I do think this is the weekend that we do a little more shopping to get live things in our 42 hex.

PS when is the best time to add your clean up crew, and what do you all use for testing water?

Add them when ammonia and nitrite levels are at 0 ppm. That means your rock is cured.

I don't know if you're doing water changes in your curing tank. I'm not. I"ll probably do one big w/c , like 50% or more, once ammonia and nitrite are at 0 ppm. Since I don't have a nitrate test, I'm going to assume that nitrate will be pretty high, even with the rock, sandbed and halimeda consuming some of it. A big water change will certainly reduce whatever is in there and freshen the place up after all that crap was digested by bacteria. Besides, a 50% water change in a 2.5 gal isn't going to be anything serious ;-)

Take care.

[Beverly]

and what do you all use for testing water?



I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kits. They're usually a one or two step process, are very simple to use (which matches my personality to a tee), and they now have shiny, easy to match colour chart cards. I thought the Salifert and FasTest kits were too complicated compared to the AP kits. When buying AP kits, make sure they say saltwater or freshwater/saltwater. Some are only for fresh.

HTH.

[Trevor Robertson]

Beverly;

When did you first set up your hex tank? I am just wondering how long some of this takes? Does it take longer or shorter in larger tanks?

Sounds like AI is haveing quite the sale this weekend, but I can't take advantage of it for two reasons:
1-my tank is not ready
2-my wife will kill me I did just spend $800 on rock!!
but even crabs would give me something to look at.

[Trevor Robertson]

PS. Here are a few pictures that I just took with my video camera poor quality but I will have beter soon.
http://homepage.mac.com/trevors/.cv/trevors/Sites/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2003-03-21%2018.57.37%20-0800/Image-CA119CFF5C1111D7.jpg-thumb_273_205.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/trevors/.cv/trevors/Sites/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2003-03-21%2018.57.37%20-0800/Image-CA11BFDB5C1111D7.jpg-thumb_273_205.jpg
Here is the link, large images...
http://homepage.mac.com/trevors/PhotoAlbum20.html

[CHEAPREEF]

Very Nice. 8) So when do i get the invite to come oohh and aahh at your tank? :D

Clinton'

[Trevor Robertson]

hey I am in to a 'tank tour' when ever you are all ready. Just say when, I am open tonight :D

[Beverly]

Beverly;

When did you first set up your hex tank? I am just wondering how long some of this takes? Does it take longer or shorter in larger tanks?

Brought home the hex last Saturday. Took me until Tuesday to fill it with saltwater, then it took another couple of days for the particulate matter from the sugar-sized sandbed to clear. Today was the first time any rock went into it. And we've just now come back with 21 lbs of cured Jarkarta Grade "D" rock from Big Al's at $8/lb, so we don't have to wait for the curing process.

I don't know if a smaller tank or larger tank cures more quickly. I think there must be more factors in motion than how large or small the tank is, like lighting, sandbed depth, how cured the rock might have been when you got it, etc.

Sounds like AI is haveing quite the sale this weekend, but I can't take advantage of it for two reasons:
1-my tank is not ready
2-my wife will kill me I did just spend $800 on rock!!
but even crabs would give me something to look at.

Yeah, the killing wife'll do it every time, even if the rock is cured ;-) I just happen to be that killing wife at our house, so if we buy rock or corals or fish, it's usually good with me. Dear Husband is pretty good about supporting reef business, as long as I don't get carried away. And generally speaking, I'm not too wild. Well, maybe I am .... I think after the dust settles in our 42, we may have to go back to AI for another look ;-)

Interesting photos of your quite large tank with the Tonga branch, too :-) I can imagine how much you might spend on corals to help fill in the gaps ;-D