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  #76  
Old 07/15/2007, 08:34 PM
Reefmack Reefmack is offline
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Hi Laurent. OK on the test kit. If your skimmer is working that well maybe cutting back on the air will reduce the microbubbles? I'm just making guesses on that. I assume you're cleaning that white pad every day or two? That helps too. That turkey blasting is probably doing a good job of plugging up that pad. I replace mine about once a week or so with some similar stuff from the LFS that I cut to size. They eventually degrade and get pretty compacted & don't keep their porosity after a while.

50% water changes even after cycling? That sure doesn't sound right. That's an awful lot of water to be changing forever! I do about 4g every weekend.
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  #77  
Old 07/15/2007, 08:57 PM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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ReefMack: Sorry, sometimes my english is not so good. I meant, 50% weekly changes during curing and cycling and one last big one at the end of the cycle.

This is actually what I understand from Method B posted on this page:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/g...ral_pagesid=59

I usually clean the white pad as soon as it gets quite dark... about after three days.
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  #78  
Old 07/15/2007, 09:05 PM
Rue Rue is offline
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Speaking of which...mine is disintegrating...I'll need to replace it soon...

Reefmack, any particular brand you're using?
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  #79  
Old 07/15/2007, 09:14 PM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Mine is close to disintegration too. I have on order from MarineDepot Coralife PureFlow 50 micron pads.
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  #80  
Old 07/16/2007, 06:26 AM
Reefmack Reefmack is offline
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Laurent - your English is fine to me. In fact it's a whole lot better than a lot of posts I read! Are you French Canadian? I assumed you were in Seattle, Washington but maybe there's a Seattle in Canada, or you relocated to the US? Or maybe you're somewhere else.

On the white pad - I get replacement material that's about the same fiber consistency & thickness at my lfs. I can't remember the brand (I'm at work now LOL). They have thinner kinds too, but I think those are too compacted already so I get the ones that are close to the one that came with the RSM. Not too expensive. It comes in a sheet and I'd just use the original or a piece of black sponge to cut out the right size piece, I usually cut then a bit bigger so that I know they'll fit without any spaces on the edges. I even picked one up this weekend that is black & impregnated with activated carbon - the right consistency, but not quite as thick, but I thought I'd try it. The carbon in it may be useless, but it'll still filter out stuff.
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  #81  
Old 07/16/2007, 09:56 AM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Day 19 - Monday 16th - Around 8am

Nitrites are finally down with a reading between 0.2 and 0.5ppm. FINALLY... Now I need to rush to work...

ReefMack - I live in Seattle, WA, the city under the endless rain - but my native language is French. And sometimes, I type with an accent.
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  #82  
Old 07/16/2007, 10:36 AM
jackjack jackjack is offline
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Hi,

i would suggest u do a test on ur phosphates and run phosphate remover right from the beginning. it will really be a pain to get rid of the hair algae after the cycling period.
  #83  
Old 07/16/2007, 11:41 AM
Reefmack Reefmack is offline
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Bonjour Laurent. That was good news on the nitrites finally starting to drop! And funny on the "And sometimes, I type with an accent"
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  #84  
Old 07/16/2007, 07:00 PM
abyall abyall is offline
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Pictures

LaurentSeattle what megapixel camera do you use to put photo's on here I turned mine down to two million and they are still to big to put on.
  #85  
Old 07/16/2007, 07:56 PM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Aby: I use a Canon digital rebel XT. My camera is always on maximum size/resolutions settings, RAW data. Then, I move the pictures to my Mac, export to PNG format using Aperture which let me define a maximum width - I use 1024. Then, I upload to Flickr, etc...

Hope thats helps.
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  #86  
Old 07/16/2007, 09:45 PM
shramj shramj is offline
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I also use the test kit that came with my RSM. When I was cycling, it looked like my Ammonia was at 0.25 & my Nitrite was at 0.05 until I took it to my LFS and had them test it. I was actually at 0.00 for both. So the RedSeaMax test kit isn't the most accurate test kit, I would take your water to your LFS and have them test it.
  #87  
Old 07/17/2007, 09:45 PM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Day 20 - Tuesday 17th - Around 7pm

Little to report...

- The nitrites are finally going down but still very very slowly. The reading was somewhere between 0.05 and 0.1ppm just a bit earlier tonight. I plan a 8 gallons (23%) water change Thursday and the introduction of the first wave of the cleaning crew for Friday evening. Just four, maybe six snails to start with.. a mix of Astrea, Cerith, Nassarius and Nerites, if the LFS has all these species available. I will wait a bit before introducing more snails and eventually an hermit crab - probably one blue legged. They have bad reputation, I know.

- I continue "blasting" the rocks, much less of a storm when I do so.

- The skimmer is still working hard, producing a lot of foam.

- Green Hair Algae is still growing but certainly not as fast as the days before.

- Diatoms are receding.

- Still very few pods and no additional hitch-hikers have been found.

Shramj: My tap water and my Ro/Di water both test at zero nitrites with the Red Sea test kit. My tank water should do too, even if the test is inaccurate, right?
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  #88  
Old 07/18/2007, 11:07 PM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Day 21 - Wednesday 18th - Around 8pm

Some news finally...

This morning nitrites were tested at "almost" zero and the green hair algae was seriously gaining ground. I also noticed some spots of "red slime", the infamous cyanobacteria. Take a look:



I am not 100% sure I have cyano but it look very much like it Please could someone confirm?

So I decided to bring in the first wave of the cleaning crew a bit ahead of time, even if water conditions are certainly far from perfect. I introduced 3 of each specie: Astrae, Nassarius, Cerith and Nerite. So far all have been quite active for a while grazing on rocks or buried in the sand. Now they are much quieter, seems like they are taking a nap after a fest of hairy algae.

I am planning to bring another group of smails this coming Friday.

I am still hesitating on whether or not I should introduce hermit crabs. Good janitors and fun to watch or just merciless Snail Serial Killers...

I have also found another tiny feather duster and possibly two more but it is hard to tell because they are so small...
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  #89  
Old 07/19/2007, 06:24 AM
GDESQUIRE GDESQUIRE is offline
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Not sure it it's cyano. Can you post a close up . It usually takes the form of a very thin slime layer. Add many more of the cleanup crew including the hermits. They will rid the tank of the hair algae very quickly. I have a combination of 20-30 hermits and another dozen or so of the snails and everybody is happy.
  #90  
Old 07/19/2007, 10:09 AM
Reefmack Reefmack is offline
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Hi Laurent. I agree with GDESQUIRE - hard to tell if it's cyano or new coralline on the rocks. Does it look slimy?

That's great on the nitrites. Yep - time to get a CUC in there!
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  #91  
Old 07/19/2007, 10:51 AM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Allright, I will post a closeup tonight around 7pm ( Pacific)
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  #92  
Old 07/19/2007, 08:44 PM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Day 22 - Thursday 19th - Around 6pm

Here are some closeups of the probable cyanobacteria :







I am soon going to test NO2 and NO3. I will probably do a 20%+ water change, depending on results.
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  #93  
Old 07/19/2007, 09:20 PM
Apachie Apachie is offline
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get some blue legged hermits and a emrald crab to eat the algae
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  #94  
Old 07/19/2007, 10:25 PM
GDESQUIRE GDESQUIRE is offline
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Sure looks like cyano. Get a large number of hermits. One of your pump nozzles is pointed upward. I would change the angle of the pump nozzle for awhile, directing it to the front of the tank to get more turbulence against, around and over the rocks. Cyano tends to collect where the water is stagnant.
  #95  
Old 07/20/2007, 06:25 AM
Reefmack Reefmack is offline
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I'm no cyano expert, but I'll agree with GDESQUIRE that it does look more like cyano than coralline - the bubbles on it are a pretty good sign also. More flow on the rocks should help. you might consider putting an inexpensive Hydor Flo gadget on the right powerhead - it'll rotate 360 degrees and if you aim it right you'll get more flow over the rock, but will still get periodic surface agitation to help oxygenate as well as break up any film on the surface. I don't know if you're open to adding a Koralia to the right side (and an additional power cord), but that would also help. I have a Koralia #1 on the right side of my RSM.
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  #96  
Old 07/20/2007, 12:26 PM
affordableocean affordableocean is offline
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I've battled cyanobacteria before and I'm afraid that looks like the culprit. I had great success with a product called chemi-clean. It usually knocks it out in about 48 hours, and you follow up the treatment with a 20% water change.

I also had a situation where I had a piece of rock that kept getting cyano on it.....I'd treat with chemi-clean and then it would return in a couple days to a week. After a couple cycles of treatment I just removed the offending piece of rock and I didn't have any more problems.

Your progressing nicely, kept up the due diligence and your going to end up with an incredible tank...

Rod
  #97  
Old 07/20/2007, 12:32 PM
affordableocean affordableocean is offline
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Also here is another tip....

Cyanobacteria is slimy and you should be able to vaccum it off the rocks with a piece of airline tubing. Coraline algae is encrusted to the live rock and won't vaccum up...
  #98  
Old 07/20/2007, 07:16 PM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Day 23 - Friday 20th - Around 5pm

More news...

- I am not so happy with the cyano outbreak but many thanks to all who helped with ID the beast. I was expecting this a bit because of the massive amounts of nitrites I have had, and consequently nitrates now present in the tank. Today, nitrites test at almost zero and nitrates are way beyond 50. And still, this is after a 8 gallons water change, that is more than 20%!

- The first wave of my cleaning crew is doing a great job: Take a look at the picture below, you can see the trail of one of my newly introduced snails. This Astrea leaves nothing behind him (or her?)



- I decided to bring in a second wave of "slow" cleaners today. 14 more snails: Astrea, Ceriths and nassarius. After hesitating for a while, I have opted to pass on hermit crabs: They were eating each other in the LFS sale tank and that was kind of "unattractive" to say the least.

- Thanks all for your advice with dealing with cyano. I will syphoon as much as I can, be patient and make larger water changes in the next month, without introducing any new livestock, if I can resist the temptation to introduce my first zooanthids... I would prefer to avoid chemicals and try patience first.

- Skimmer is still skimming big time.

- Microbubbles are now very very present. Turning the skimmer off for a while helps a lot and seems to be the culprit for that matter. However, I certainly do not want not to skim...

- No new signs of life on the rocks - just my four little dusters.

- Very very few pods...

Obviously, the tank is still cycling... and I am a bit concerned for my cleanup crew... We'll see.
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  #99  
Old 07/20/2007, 08:16 PM
Reefmack Reefmack is offline
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Sounds like more good progress Laurent. The nitrates are high, but the nitrites dropping is a good sign. You'll get it all under control soon. It's difficult to have patience but there's no other way. I agree on adding chemicals - avoid them unless there are no other options. Snails are great! They're probably the best cleanup crew as they eat just about anything & everything. I always like to see the trails that mine leave too. My pods are practically non-existant, and I've never had many, but that may be that I was able to add fish early and was lucky not to have a measurable cycle, other than nitrates. IMO I think your CUC will be just fine and should help get the situation under control.
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  #100  
Old 07/20/2007, 09:09 PM
LaurentSeattle LaurentSeattle is offline
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Just for the fun out of it... A picture of my four dusters. Why did they all appear in almost the same location??? All hitchhiking from Fiji???



I know, I need to work out the macro settings of my cam...
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