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Eric's First Reef Tank 50G Cube

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Bginose94015

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Hello everyone. So I took the plunge and bought a used SCAQUARIUMS 50G cube off of craigslist. I know I know don't buy used off craigslist but I could not help it. For $408 dollars (long story) I got a 1 month old 50G SC tank setup. Here is the kicker, this tank didn't really fit in his room so he replaced it with a NUVO SR60 (really pretty tank). So to him it was fire sale time. He had never used the sump or skimmer return pump or anything. He used the eheim pro series 3 canister filter instead. I was going to just purchase the tank assembly and use the skimmer and everything else for $400 dollars (he wanted an additional $100 for the eheim). I asked him if he would take $50 for the eheim and he said yes. Somehow my wife got to my wallet and I was short $42 bucks. Embarrassingly I said I don't have enough and the guy replied dont worry about it take it for the extra $8 bucks you have in your wallet. He then threw in a Jabeco MP10 with wave controller.

So I am at a loss. Sell the eheim and use the brand new skimmer and pumps or use the eheim. I am leaning towards using the sump setup and selling the eheim. I was amazed to find out they retail for $299.

I will have picture up shortly.

Thanks for any advice.

Eric
 
Not familiar with the particular sump setup, or the skimmer, but I'd likely go with that if they're any good... Canister could. E used as well, maybe as a media reactor for carbon or gfo? Sell it if you can get good money for it tho.
 
First teaser pic more in detail update to follow. Moral of the story dry rock is like legos to a 2yr old
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Spoon: Just added teh sand bed. About 2-2.5 inches.

aqua-nut: Thanks for the compliments. I have no idea why she looks so small in the second pic but she is a tall skinny monster. She thinks the tank is a bath tub and keep trying to climb in. This is going to be a fun habit to break.
 
Bginose94015 said:
Spoon: Just added teh sand bed. About 2-2.5 inches.

aqua-nut: Thanks for the compliments. I have no idea why she looks so small in the second pic but she is a tall skinny monster. She thinks the tank is a bath tub and keep trying to climb in. This is going to be a fun habit to break.
Click to expand...

:D

Um, I'm not seeing 'tall' in those pics! As to monster, I'm not sure that's possible for such a cutie.

With all the electricity and water, keeping her safe will be a challenge.
 
Update:

So the tank has been running for 24 hours now with some seeded live rock some live sand and some bacteria culture. Just been using some of my freshwater flake food for protein source to start my cycle.
output_5.jpg


PH: 8.2-8.4
Amonia: 0PPM (has the slightest tinge of green to it so probably trace amounts.
Nitrite: 0PPM
Nitrate: 0PPM

More to come. If you guys like I can do daily updates like this.

Cheers and goodnight.

Eric
 
Day two. PH has seemed to drop and I am not sure why. All other parameters seem to be showing that my cycle has started.

output_6.jpg


PH: Seems to be 8.0 now for some reason?
Amonia: 0.25
Nitrite: Just under 0.25
Nitrate: 0 ppm
 
Update time. Looks like my cycle has started need some advice on time frames and what to do next.

output_7.jpg

PH: 8.0 to 8.2
Amonia: .50 PPM
Nitrate: .50 PPM
Nitrite 10 PPM.

So once ammonia and nitrite drop its water change time and CUC time?

Thanks,

ERic
 
Once your Ammonia and Nitrite have reached zero you are cycled. While 0.0 Nitrates are best I believe 5ppm can be acceptable.

Wait for your algae bloom to start happening, add a few CUC to start mowing it down and start your water changes ;)
 
I have a concern which hopefully is not a concern. When I top off my sump with a 5 gal bucket the water gets really cloudy with what appears to be an oil residue. I would explain it as kind of like when you see heat waves and everything behind that heat wave is wavy or blurry. I assume this is not normal...

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So I think I figured it out. Two different specific f rabbits of water mixing causes the waves in water. Please let me know if I am wrong


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Yes it's the different specific gravity's of both your salt water and your top off water.

It's normal. But I don't know that I would dump a whole five gallons of water in at once.
 
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