#11
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Ya I am a little worried about corals hitting each other. My thinking was fill a bucket with some tank water, put a battery powered heater in there and add some water to some ziplock bags and each coral gets their own ziplock bag and then they float in the heated bucket. I should have this tank setup at the new place all ready to go so all fish and corals will go directly to this tank when they get there. |
#12
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So I've started playing around with my radio xr30pro. Man that is a learning curve on how to program that thing. I am thinking of using one of the coral lab presets and adding a blue light period in the morning and at night. Anyone know the difference between brightness and intensity?
Finally figuring out my plan for moving everything. I think I will setup this tank at my grandparents house next weekend. Then the weekend after bring the coral and the fish. Then we move to our new place on the 5th. And finally go pickup the tank and move everything to the new place. Hopefully everything makes it alive through a few moves. My grandparents place is only 30 ish mins away from our new place. So the second move shouldn't be too bad... I hope. Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk |
#13
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So, changed my moving plans once again. Getting my dad to help out. So far he's excited about it so that's a good thing.
Sept 28th I will take the tank, water and rocks to my grandparents house Oct 1st my dad will pick up the tank and set it up at the new place. Oct 3rd or 4th Dad will take the fish and coral from our place to our new place. 4-5 hour trip. The good part about this plan is I don't have to move things twice. The bad part is I won't be around until later on the 5th if something goes wrong. My questions are what's the best way of transporting and keeping the cycled rock until the new tank is setup? Just keep it damp while transporting and then setup a rubbermaid again until the tank is setup? On the weekend I picked up a batter powered air pump and some heating pads the LFS had. They are called uni heat. Anyone used anything like that before? I'm hoping I can tape one to the side of each 5 gallon bucket and it will keep the water warm enough for the fish and coral. The cycle of the rocks is coming along. Have nitrites and nitrates now! |
#14
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Pick up a Seachem Ammo Alert from J&L (currently out of stock) and a bottle of Seachem Stability or a similar bacterial starter. Plus a bottle of ammonia locker such as Seachem AmGuard.
You are going to have a cycle, and just getting the new tank up and running won't be able to deal with supporting your fish. Get the Stability happening right away when you place the first tank move and use a pump, heater, some kind of filter and preferrably disturb the surface for oxygenation. This will help deal with the bacterial loss during the first move. The bacterial starter will start to process the ammonia needed to kick-start the cycle. If you prefer, you can add liquid ammonia, but this can take WEEKS. Dad makes the 2nd tank move keep up the Stability dosing and pump(s) heater(s) for bacterial generation. After the final transfer, test daily(or multiple times/day) for ammonia. If NH3 is present in too high of a concentration(keep below 0.02PPM), perform large(dependant on reading) water changes, or use a binder such as recommended above(AmGuard) and test NO2 and NO3. If either rises above acceptable limits(trace NO2 and over 10 NO3) perform water changes accordingly. 20-50 or even 100% Keep dosing bacterial supplement for at least 1 week and watch NH3, NO2 and NO3. If any rises above acceptable limits perform large water changes as required. Ideally, you want NH3 to be near undetectable, NO2 very low/not detectable, and NO3 below 10. If NO3 rises above 50PPM, perform a HUGH/75-100% waterchange as this can become toxic to fish. Keep up water changes/low feedings until NH3 stops showing on tests, NO2 stops showing on tests, and NH3 is below 2-5ppm. This will take upwards of 2 months, but will show you have finished your new cycle. |
#15
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That's a good idea. I have one of those ammonia badges that I use for my QT tank. Good call on setting that up on the new tank! I have the new rocks cycling in an attempt to minimize the cycle with the new tank. I also have a sponge from a HOB filter that has been sitting in the sump for a few months. I was going to put that in the bucket with the fish and then add it to the new tank as well. I will be sure to buy some stability and AMGuard. One of my concerns is making new water. I have a new RO/di Unit on order, but it might not be setup until after we move all our stuff there. |
#16
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Picked up some more supplies for the move the other day. Got the stability and amguard. I also have some aquaforest life bio fill that came with the tank. Anyone used that? Does it actually help with the cycle?
Also picked up two bags of sand. I'm trying two different types of sand as something new! What I do need to figure out is a game plan for my dad when he is taking the fish and coral to Kelowna for me. So far the plan is that the tank will be setup at the new place on the 1st and my dad will take fish and coral up on the 4th. What's the best process acclimation wise? Test the tank water to make sure there is no ammonia, nitrites, too high nitrates, do water change if nessasary then start acclimating the fish and coral? Or since they will already be in a bucket for 4 hours is it better to just get them into the tank? Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk |
#17
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I'd still acclimate to match temp and salinity.
Even though you don't have your RO unit yet, I'd still have some emergency water made up even if it has to be with tapwater. Also, maybe pick up some Seachem Prime. Not only is it good for removing chlorine from tapwater, it also binds NH3. Once at the new place, introducing air to the bucket can cause any NH3 to become more toxic. So, before starting the acclimation it'd be a good idea to put some prime in the bucket. |
#18
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My dad has a RO/DI unit so I can get him to make up some water. I am hoping that putting the little sponge that has been in my sump for months into the bucket with the fish will help keep things to acceptable levels at least for awhile. But good call on the prime. I usually just use cheap generic dechlorinator. |
#19
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I'm not advocating using Prime during shipping. Just to use it when the buckets arrive, and before/during adding aeration when you start the acclimation process.
Ammonia levels in fish shipment bags build up and my limited memory tells me I heard/read something once that reminds me about this; Upon exposing the fish shipment to open air/added air can increase the level of ammonia to near/beyond toxic levels very quickly, and is why many fish shipments suffer losses immediately after arrival. Don't remember fully what I read, but reminds me about adding Prime or AmGuard to an open bag immediately upon opening/during acclimation. |
#20
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Interesting. I hadn't heard that before, but makes sense. So when I am travelling I was going to have a air stone running in the bucket to keep everything oxygenated. Will that cause issues or is it just when I open the bucket when I get there that it could cause problems? |