Live Rock pickup

[Hookup]

Lighting in general is done as follows... everyone has success and their own thoughts so im inclined to think that many things will work very well.

10 to 12hrs of actinics only to create a day-break and dusk effect on the tank
8 to 10 hours of all lights on

There are some, myself included, who are going with even less of a photoperiod.  I'm doing 7.5hrs of actincs and 6.5hrs of all-lights on.

Also, I've time-shifted my tank lighting...

the actincs come on at 4:30pm and go off at midnight
The mains come on at 5:00pm and go off at 11:30

This means that for the majority of the time, the 800watts is consumed during the non-peak hours...

On the weekends, my lights come on eariler... 2:30 and 3:30 respectively but go off at the same time.  I'm home on the weekends and want more "visual time" with the tank.


In the end, settle on something... and have fun playing around to see what you like...


PS: I know of several tanks that have "moon lights" which are low-intensity LED's (1 to 6 approx) that are on 24x7.... mainly cause they are too lazy to turn em off during the day-time... and want the night-time moon-light effect...

[Greatwhite]

My moon lights on on the reverse time of my actinics...

Also, 800 watts on my light schedule (lights on from 9am to 7pm - right through peak times) would cost me about $25/month (ya, I have a spreadsheet).  It's definitely worthwhile shifting those beasts.  You're only really saving about $5/month but there's really no point in lighting the tank if you're not there to see it...

[Hookup]

Can you post some info on you calculations for hydro?

There was a thread about a year ago and it averaged out to 0.17/watt hour with peak time being 0.26 and low being 0.12... (if memory serves)

i figure 0.14$/watt hour difference * 800 watts = $1.12/hr saved

8 hr lighting per day * 30.4 days/month = $34.05 savings just shifting from prime time to low time.

[CanadaReef]

I think the LED that acts as moonlights should not be on at all times. I have them on a remote and turn them on when necessary, its more accent lighting IMO.

For the rest of the lights, I would start with less ''ON'' time and increase it gradually.

[Greatwhite]

Can you post some info on you calculations for hydro?

There was a thread about a year ago and it averaged out to 0.17/watt hour with peak time being 0.26 and low being 0.12... (if memory serves)

i figure 0.14$/watt hour difference * 800 watts = $1.12/hr saved

8 hr lighting per day * 30.4 days/month = $34.05 savings just shifting from prime time to low time.

starting a new thread in the equipment section...

[Leucotome]

I guess I de-railed my own thread here a bit...


I think I'll aim for something along the lines of Hookup's rotation to avoid peak times, and to get a good amount of lighting in.

I think I'll leave my blue LEDs plugged in all the time, and leave the white's off all the time. I like the blue glow more during the night time period anyways.


Back to the Live Rock.

I picked up about 55 lbs, at $2/lb. It appears to be Fiji premium rock.

HOWEVER - my obvious expertise in the field of purchasing Live Rock led me to a problem.

I came home, aquascaped as best I could in the cloudy water, and left the rocks overnight.

The rocks came from a 125G system that had been running for 3 years.

Now that the dust has settled this morning, I've noticed that most of the rocks have a thin coating of brownish algae. Is this bad algae? Will this go away itself during my cycling process?

I'll try and post some pictures this evening...


On the plus side, despite essentially just dropping the rocks haphasardly into opaque water, the rock layout turned out rather well!

[CanadaReef]

Its really early in the cycle but I guess it could be diatom...pics will help!

[Bob P]

I'd kill the MH bulb at this point, it's not doing anything.
And when you do run it, 4 hous a day is plenty, the t5s will take up the
rest of the cycle.

[Greatwhite]

I like aquascaping blind.  If I can see what I'm doing, I constantly fiddle with the rocks and am never satisfied.  Placing them in blind, I know what general area I want them in - and just set them there, adjusting only for sturdiness.  Then when the cloud settles, it's a nice surprise to see how cool the layout is.

As for the algae...  It may just die off, or it may stick around....  When you're ready to start your clean up crew, grab some turbo and trochus snails, and they'll clean it right up for you.  They are amazingly efficient grazers and they don't leave much behind!

Be sure to hit your rocks with a turkey baster to blow off any of the settled dust.  That might also blow off some of that algae.

[dan2x38]

If the LR is covered in diatoms this is caused in new systems and often with tap water. The major culprit is silica which is high in tap water. GFO media will remove a little of this but RO/DI takes it all out.

As for blind aquascaping I did it once and loved the layout so much only moved one rock next day...    In fact loved it so much took a picture of so when I transferred the rock I could get the look again - it didn't work - never does...    LOL

[Leucotome]

Pictures of my problem.

It's too bad I can only remember the rocks feeling fuzzy after putting them in...

[Leucotome]

It's too bad, because it looks so nice from far away!

Haha...

[dan2x38]

It is not diatoms.

[Leucotome]

It is not diatoms.

Is it better, or worse?

With my luck, much much worse...

haha...

[dan2x38]

Is it better, or worse?

With my luck, much much worse...

haha...

I do not know not a pro period and especially not with marine algae. i do not want to speculate and freak you out. Try do some Google searches you can see it better than us so enter the description and see what ya come up with.

Some said to hold off on the MH for now I would for sure. Since your cycling maybe keep lights off or on very short cycles. Algae needs light to grow and nutrients eliminate these you kill off the algae.

If you can ID it then better able to deal with it and now what to get for a CUC.

[Hookup]

My guess is green hair algae...

Yep..

Dead or dying.   The old system was shut down a few weeks ago and rock kept in dark in buckets... 

if in right, you'll def want to keep lights out.. Throw a blanket over the tank to keep it black... And no light...  Cycle will take longer due to dying & rotting algae also.

[Leucotome]

My guess is green hair algae...

Yep..

Dead or dying.   The old system was shut down a few weeks ago and rock kept in dark in buckets...  

if in right, you'll def want to keep lights out.. Throw a blanket over the tank to keep it black... And no light...  Cycle will take longer due to dying & rotting algae also.

The LR was taken out of the system about 6 days before I picked it up. Kept in the dark yes, with a powerhead in a rubbermaid container.


Lights out then eh... Leave skimmer/powerheads/heater on?

Will the LR still be alive at the end of this?


Does anything eat green hair algae?

[Greatwhite]

I had a little patch of green hair algae... My trochus snails didn't see it at first, and I had just picked up a couple turbos.  I put 1 turbo at one end of it, and a trochus at the other end - to race them... But then I lost interest in the race because, well, they're snails.

BUT - they ate up all that green algae over night!  Both types of snail do a great job on rocks.  My turbo snails have since moved mostly to the glass, where they run laps.

My hermits were also up in there, harvesting - whatever.  I think most of what they picked just floated away at into my skimmer though.

[dan2x38]

The LR was taken out of the system about 6 days before I picked it up. Kept in the dark yes, with a powerhead in a rubbermaid container.


Lights out then eh... Leave skimmer/powerheads/heater on?

Will the LR still be alive at the end of this?

Yes/yes/yes

Yes

Test the water often so you know where you are in the cycle. You understand the nitrogen cycle? When it is complete throw in some of what GreatWhite mentioned but keep in mind a little at a time - the snails will soon eat themselves out of house & home then die.

To bad about the algae dude but hang in there it will come together. have you heard, "be patient" LOL sorry! Patience will pay off in the long run. You've been doing the right things just a little set back. Is the LR nice though? If so you still got a good deal at $2/lb for premium but guy should have pointed out the algae issue. We do now have a Trader rating System under the person's profile you can leave comments and rating!!! I applaud that addition!

[Hookup]

You're LR will be fine.. the bacteria will actually come back a bit stronger from this given the rotting algae (if it is in fact algae, but i think it is) will kick-start the nitrogen cycle.

Powerheads and Skimmer should be on 100%

If you weren't advised, skimmers take a bit to break in... IIRC it's the mfg greases/oils that need to be flushed out... which always gave me a shiver... as it's being flushed into the system... but that's the explanation i was given and every skimmer seems to need a few days to break-in before foaming up...