My 80 Gallon Reef

[Parrothead]

Charlie,

That's a straight up 51 lbs, that is some really cool stuff,
Charlie, you got a pm.

[cdearing]

Yes you can Robert. It's coming together rather nicely. Charlie is a real pro at putting stuff together. There's no way I could have done it without his and Vaughn's help and support. Once my water quality returns to normal in the 80 I will move the rock and critters from my 29 and I'm guessing that I have about 40 pounds of LR in the 29. Should help fill it in nicely.

Thanks Charlie for posting the pix. We are just back from a pig roast at Purple Frog Gardens. Lots of hippies, lots of food and live music. And no, I did not eat the pig! My son said that his friend came over and said "Wow!" when he saw the tank and that's from a 15 year old. Pretty cool. I'm loving it.

[charlie]

Thank you.

The fun is just starting Cynthia. It is going to be really interesting to see what happens with that rock. It is going to be a learning experience for anybody who wants to watch.

[cwoods5]

wow on tank or Cynthia jsut kidding tansk looks great also

[returnofsid]

While Charlie was over on our side of 2 borders, we got a chance to visit and he reminded me of this thread!! WOW, tanks really looking awesome!! I love that Tatoka. Angie has some in her Nano and I'm probably going to replace some of the rock in my 200 with some. It's great rock!!

Don't even get me started on the CPR overflows. Compared to the U-tube overflows, CPRs are amazing!! They are truly plug and play....and FORGET!! You'll love it's simplicity. The only two things I'd suggest is:
1. Where the Aqualifter tube plugs into the top of the CPR overflow, watch for build up on that inner "nipple" that sticks down, inside the overflow. Sometimes I had to pull the hose off and stuff a toothpick down the hole to clean it out. I'd say I did this about once every 4-6 months. Took a few seconds. Make sure you do it quick because the CPR overflow loses flow during this procedure.
2. The "screen" material that keeps fish and such from going through the overflow. Remove it and rinse it on a regular basis. Otherwise, it'll trap gunk and start growing algae. Once it starts growing algae, it doubles as a great turf algae scrubber!!! BUT it slows down flow. You'll notice your water level, in the tank, getting slightly higher each day.....lol.

Cynthia, you did a wonderful job of making sure this tank was set up the right way!!! After all, those two needed a supervisor!!!

Keep the pics coming!!!

[cdearing]

Thanks for the heads up on cleaning out of certain parts. I'll stay on top of it. They don't call me Anal Annie for nothin'! Oops. Did I let that out to everyone. Darn it!

I think it's looking really nice. Know I will have to but can hardly wait to start moving stuff over. Will keep everyone posted.

[charlie]

They don't call me Anal Annie for nothin'! Oops. Did I let that out to everyone. Darn it!

Shouldn't have done that.

[Parrothead]

NO you should not have

Between that statement and the glasses, I got ya where I want ya,

I see all sorts of hush adult beverages in my future

Tanks,
Robert

P.S. How can we get Reefland to add the emotionicon above to our choice,that would save mass qty. of typing

[charlie]

Hey Annie, can you get us some water tests and maybe a pic or 2.

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate...

[returnofsid]

Just not pics of the water tests!!!

[charlie]

Just not pics of the water tests!!!

We would look at em anyways.

[returnofsid]

True statement!!

[cdearing]

Marine Lab test kits are a royal pain and hard to read. Saying that -

Ammonia .020
Nitrate 0
Nitrite .05

Brownish orange cyano (I'm assuming) is taking over the sand and some on the LR. Will try to post pics tomorrow and do a partial water change in the next day or two. It doesn't look so perty anymore.

[charlie]

Is this the first time you have cycled a new tank? I would take some more tests maybe Saturday or Sunday, and post those. I am going to wager that the ammonia will be heading down.

[returnofsid]

The brownish orange stuff is probably diatoms. Does it kinda look like gold dust?

It does look like your cycle is in full force and with the presence of nitrites, I'd agree with Charlie, you're on the downhill swing. Your Ammonia has probably peaked and should start down soon. Nitrites are probably just starting their upward swing. They'll peak and then drop, as nitrates show up. Then it's time to start the water changes, good skimming and use of Macro algae, to get those nitrates down.

[tehfeer]

Looking very nice! I ended up getting some of that same type of rock from a guy here in missoula. It is very nice!

[cdearing]

No, this is not the first time I've cycled a new tank. Was that tongue in cheek? I cycled my 29 over a year and a half ago but it was a totally different animal. Different sand, no LR, no sump, etc. I just didn't expect it to happen so fast. Here are some pix of what it looked like this morning:

[Parrothead]

I love that rock, it looks like it has some really nice color to it, and definetly got places to attach corals, can't wait for the next set of pics

Good Job Cynthia and helpers

Tanks,
Robert

[TimH07]

simply amazing rock cynthia!! is that a mag i see hanging? i thought you had that sumped out, is that for a closed loop?

[charlie]

Runs the Remora Pro Tim. I can see that getting hidden in the future, can't you??