Hello folks, and thank you for the warm welcome and wise words so far! My past experience of maintaining a journal has been... varied, but I intend to do my best, so here goes.
I've been running an AquaOne Minireef 180 marine tank for a while, with upgraded lights and skimmer, supporting a mix of SPS and LPS corals and assorted fish and invertebrates (and, from time to time, a more flourishing colony of assorted algae than I'd like).
Work and family commitments mean that the high maintenance demand of saltwater was becoming more of a drain on my spare time than I'd like, so I've reverted to freshwater. I say 'reverted' because, years ago, I kept a community tank which I loved: I was crap at plants, but great at breeding mollies and snails
So.
My salty menagerie has been re-homed to people with more time and money than I. The whole tank stripped down and cleaned of every trace of salt, coralline algae, and spirorbid worms. The skimmer has gone, and I've glued extra baffles into the sump to accommodate filter sock, filter floss, then alfagrog and fluval biomax. I've kept my carbon reactor and return pump but removed the powerhead.
I've also kept the lights, but re-parametered them for a six-and-a-half hour schedule of whiter light with dawn and dusk - I've also dialled the power right back: I think I'll be low light, no co2, slow growth for a while.
I've also planned a simple hardscape and light planting: Vesicularia Montagnei 'Christmas', Anubias Barteri var. Nana, and Microsorum Pteropus 'Narrow' for now. Bogwood and inert rock and substrate (I don't plan to plant in the substrate)
I'm cycling with ammonia and, following the advice of @dw1305, popped the plants in already.
Since 23rd Nov, a 4ppm ammonia load has reduced to 0.4, nitrites risen to 1ppm, and nitrates to 60ppm - so cycling is starting. Some of those nitrates will be attributable to a 10ml dose of TNC complete for ~200ltr water - (a deliberately light dose, given low biomass and light).
Once cycling is complete, the stock plan is a pair of Electric Blue Acara, a small shoal of Lemon Tetra, a few Otocinclus, and possibly some nerite snails and cherry shrimp. I've seen some small signs of green algae on the bogwood, and grey wispy algae on the Anubias - the latter was easy to wipe off with a finger, and hasn't returned and meanwhile the plant has greened up somewhat. I suspect this is normal cycling balance stuff - at least I hope so.
Next, I plan to get my head around the whole plant nutrient thing. I don't want to keep buying expensive water but, frankly, I'm finding the whole body of knowledge on dry salts, macros, micros, dosing calculators, etc. to be quite voluminous and - sometimes - a little inaccessible. I expect to get there in time, but don't be surprised to find me elsewhere in the forums with questions.
Lots of questions.
If we don't speak before, I wish you all a very happy Christmas (or whichever way you prefer to celebrate a circuit of the sun)!
Charlie
I've been running an AquaOne Minireef 180 marine tank for a while, with upgraded lights and skimmer, supporting a mix of SPS and LPS corals and assorted fish and invertebrates (and, from time to time, a more flourishing colony of assorted algae than I'd like).
Work and family commitments mean that the high maintenance demand of saltwater was becoming more of a drain on my spare time than I'd like, so I've reverted to freshwater. I say 'reverted' because, years ago, I kept a community tank which I loved: I was crap at plants, but great at breeding mollies and snails
So.
My salty menagerie has been re-homed to people with more time and money than I. The whole tank stripped down and cleaned of every trace of salt, coralline algae, and spirorbid worms. The skimmer has gone, and I've glued extra baffles into the sump to accommodate filter sock, filter floss, then alfagrog and fluval biomax. I've kept my carbon reactor and return pump but removed the powerhead.
I've also kept the lights, but re-parametered them for a six-and-a-half hour schedule of whiter light with dawn and dusk - I've also dialled the power right back: I think I'll be low light, no co2, slow growth for a while.
I've also planned a simple hardscape and light planting: Vesicularia Montagnei 'Christmas', Anubias Barteri var. Nana, and Microsorum Pteropus 'Narrow' for now. Bogwood and inert rock and substrate (I don't plan to plant in the substrate)
I'm cycling with ammonia and, following the advice of @dw1305, popped the plants in already.
Since 23rd Nov, a 4ppm ammonia load has reduced to 0.4, nitrites risen to 1ppm, and nitrates to 60ppm - so cycling is starting. Some of those nitrates will be attributable to a 10ml dose of TNC complete for ~200ltr water - (a deliberately light dose, given low biomass and light).
Once cycling is complete, the stock plan is a pair of Electric Blue Acara, a small shoal of Lemon Tetra, a few Otocinclus, and possibly some nerite snails and cherry shrimp. I've seen some small signs of green algae on the bogwood, and grey wispy algae on the Anubias - the latter was easy to wipe off with a finger, and hasn't returned and meanwhile the plant has greened up somewhat. I suspect this is normal cycling balance stuff - at least I hope so.
Next, I plan to get my head around the whole plant nutrient thing. I don't want to keep buying expensive water but, frankly, I'm finding the whole body of knowledge on dry salts, macros, micros, dosing calculators, etc. to be quite voluminous and - sometimes - a little inaccessible. I expect to get there in time, but don't be surprised to find me elsewhere in the forums with questions.
Lots of questions.
If we don't speak before, I wish you all a very happy Christmas (or whichever way you prefer to celebrate a circuit of the sun)!
Charlie
