TJ: Mini-Sea: #7

Aquarium Status

Day 9

Tested my water today. Here are the results:

Test results on 27/01/2015, approximately 12 hours after addition of fish food.

Ammonia:0ppm
Nitrite:0ppm
Nitrate:0ppm
Phosphate: 10-20ppm
pH:8
kH: 9
Calcium: 620ppm

Yep, ANN zeroed out quickly post-feeding, though phosphates is off-the-charts again. Also excuse the bad picture quality, I had to take the picture quickly since I spilled the nitrites test (hence the liquid towards the top of the picture). >_<"

In hindsight I could probably have just mopped it up first.

Anyways, so this is where the microbe propagation phase has been completed. It means that in conjunction with everything else, there is enough microbe to quickly take care of any organics that is added, at least in terms of ANN.

Anyways, this does mean that it is ready for fish, though not quite for corals.

So I did a huge water change (roughly 90%).

Emptied as much as possible into a 20 litre drum I have.

This is normally my RO drum, but at that moment it was empty, so I used it for the water change.

And then well, I had another filled with saltwater, which I then proceeded to refill the tank with.

Usually one of the drums is for salt water, the other for fresh. Here is displayed a very simple apparatus as well, for water drainage. Bought it off ebay for like $3. Been using it for 3 years.

It is always good to have two containers to do water changes. Nobody is ever the best estimators, and well, at least for me, I can never seem to estimate the amount I am changing out and in right. This ensures that a.) you are changing the same amount and b.) if you happen to not have enough water to add due to miscalculations, that you are not panicking and finding a source of saltwater half-way through a water change.

After the water change, I did test phosphates, because that was what I was most worried about. The result was at 1-2ppm, which made sense, since I did change roughly 90% of the water. Of course this is still high for corals, but for fish that is fine.

And so the plan would be to re-stock the tank the next day.

Day 10

It was raining, though I did have a chance to go to the beach. Of course, I just had to fall down and sprain my tendons in my wrist on the same day.

Came to the beach and managed to spot a single nice piece of red macroalgae (same species as what I already have. It seems like it is rare for this to be washed up on shore though. The picture below shows the amount of macroalgae washed up, and I only found one piece.

Maybe it is rare. Or maybe it is uncommon for it to still have color when it is washed up. Or maybe it doesn't break off as easily as everything else (I doubt it though). Whatever the case, there are so much algae there, but nothing that I definitely want. I may take a picture of a few for IDs, but I really do not want anything else in my aquarium except for this, or other red macroalgae species. Don't even want a chance that something else spreads.

A gem amongst all that.

Of course, I had to fall down (again) and smash it all. :(

Here is what it looks like at home:

Being tiny bits and pieces, I chucked it all in the sump instead of the display. What a shame.

Oh and yes, the bags behind are the fish.

My babies are back! All four of them. I had to board them whilst I was on holidays.

Yes, I am fully aware that the bags are deflated and look like crap. That was the best I could do with just one uninjured hand. But hey, it was a short trip anyways.

Of course, I had to forget the fish food. Will be getting it the next time I come back.

Anyways, I added the fish to the aquarium. My acclimatization is very complicated.

Step 1: Open up bags.
Step 2: Scoop out the fish and put into water.

Okay, I don't recommend this all the time, but the number one rule of the hobby is be flexible. The fish are healthy and happy, and really the more time they are in the bags or not in the tank, the more they would just be more stressed out. In this case it is better to let them in.

Just added. Fish are panicking and stressed.

 Literally five minutes later. 'Were we sitting in bags for the last few hours? I didn't even know. I thought we've been here all the time.' says the fish, swimming around happily.

They were breathing heavy initially, but very quickly were back to their active selves. This is very important to note - healthy fish should be active (unless they are specifically supposed to be otherwise). They should not be stuck to a corner, especially up towards the top corners of the aquarium. That is an indication that they are not happy. If they swim around doing stuff, that's great.

Day 11

My view from where I normally sit and work.

Here is the newest view of my aquarium. As you can see, all the fish are towards the front, exploring it. Soon enough there will be corals as well for them to enjoy, but for now it is quite bare.

Interestingly enough, the Regal Tang picked at the macroalgae, eating all the dead bits and pieces (or well, the parts covered in green) leaving just the red behind. So the macroalgae now also looks a lot better.

They are back to their usual antics, digging pits in the sand and all that. :) In fact, they are so active that it is impossible to take any clear picture of them! Oh believe me, I tried. Many, many, many times.

JUST A WARNING!

By the way, one big thing that I should mention. Whenever you read tank journals, such as mine for example, be aware of everything before copying what I do, as although I - and practically anyone else - would strive to provide heaps of information in tank journals, tank journals are just that - journals, and the information is whatever we like to provide.

For example here, please do not think that you can keep a Regal Tang in this size tank forever. Regal Tangs grow very large, and in this aquarium it is a temporary resident. I am either getting a bigger tank for it, or will move it on when it grows bigger, maybe in as short of a time period as a few months. A few weeks even, if it grows bigger that fast.

This could have been something I keep in my head rather than writing it out, so with anything, make sure you understand why such things work before attempting it.

Cheers!

TJ: So Sinuous: #0

Aquarium Status

Introduction

This is a tank journal for my Fire Pico tank. It is a 26.5cm cube aquarium, with a back sump and a Tunze return pump. Intending to make this an experimental setup with Plerogyra sinuosa, a species of Bubble Coral. The focus will be to get them to grow, of course.

Tank Setup

I have an Vitapet 100w heater lying around, which I may use. I am not sure actually, if there may be a problem. Gotta check on that.

Otherwise, I plan to utilize macroalgae in the back sump as my main filtration media there.

In the display, there will be coral sand and 1/8th of a Marine Pure block to place the Bubble Corals.

Otherwise everything will be stock equipment (return pump and lighting).

The Plan

The plan is to get five very small Bubble Corals, and let them develop.

I may or may not be dosing supplements, depending on how well water changes work.

Otherwise, planning to use New Life Spectrum to feed the corals.

My plan is also to 'let it be' as much as possible, i.e. not disturb except to do water changes.

My aim is for the Bubble Corals to spread and hopefully embed themselves onto the Marine Pure block. This has never been done, so I do not know if it will work, but I do hope so.

Oh and I am hoping to add various organisms such as brine shrimp, copepods and the likes into the aquarium as well, and hopefully the amount of algae in the back sump can provide a home for them. If that works out, the main food for the Bubble Corals may be live food, fed on New Life Spectrum or whatever.

Anyways, that's the plan.

So far, the aquarium is ordered, so... well, it is a waiting game. That is also why there are no pictures for this update.

But, stoked!

TJ: Mini-Sea: #6

Aquarium Status

Cycling, Day 8

Tested my water today. Here are the results:

Test results on 26/01/2015, approximately 72 hours after the last addition of pureed seafood mix.

Ammonia:0ppm
Nitrite:0ppm
Nitrate:0ppm
Phosphate: 8-10ppm
pH:8
kH: 9
Calcium: 620ppm

So ANN has  now zeroed out, which is great. Phosphate is still high, around 8-10ppm.

Given that the microbes I am aiming to grow seems to have been established, I have proceeded to test their filtration capability. This process requires ghost feeding, but of course, I left my fish food with the caretaker of my fishies... elsewhere.

So instead, I have this:

Hikari Sinking Cichlid Gold Pellets! Cichlids love 'em.

Anyways, took out the equivalent to how much I feed my fish:

A lot? A little? I dunno. My fish eats this much. So I feed 'em this much. 'Just right' then.

And mix it in some tank water:

The proper way would be to grind it up, but I was lazy.

And add it to the aquarium:

Eat, microbes! EAT. You too, macroalgae. Go go go!

It would be much better to break up the food, to better distribute it throughout the aquarium. This is because when fish eat 'em, the food do get digested and turned into poop, which well, breaks apart much easier.

However, it is not the end of the world, using unbroken pellets. Just gotta manually break them up later on, when they soften. Every 30 minutes or so.

I'm not going to show myself doing that though. >_> I am not going to update this tank journal every half an hour, detailing how it was broken up.

But you get the idea.

Anyways, will test the water tomorrow to see how it fares. If ANN zeroes out by then, then the aquarium has gone through the microbe propagation phase successfully. :) Of course, I still have the phosphate problem to deal with.

My macroalgae is still recovering. And microalgae is refusing to grow quickly, for whatever reason. I would have thought my tank would be covered with diatoms by now... with all that phosphate. Maybe nitrate is the limiting factor? XD

Arghhhhh.

TJ: Mini-Sea: #5

Aquarium Status

Cycling, Day 7 - Cycling Done? No!

Tested my water today. Here are the results:

Test results on 25/01/2015, approximately 46 hours after the last addition of pureed seafood mix.

Ammonia:0.25ppm
Nitrite:0ppm
Nitrate:0ppm
Phosphate: 8-10ppm
pH:8
kH: 9
Calcium: 620ppm

Compared to yesterday,  there's been a huge drop in ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. This is great news, as it shows that the system is being able to filter the water well. Looking at these results, one would think that the initial cycle is nearing an end...

But! It is not. Let's take a look at the results again. ANN is low, but phosphate is high. Not as high as it was before though. Today I checked, and the color wasn't as dark of a blue as previously. I was curious as to what the exact numbers were, and so I decided do a serial dilution to get more precise numbers. The result is somewhere between 8-10ppm.

How did that result? See my guide on measuring through serial dilution here.

This is a very important factor to consider, as if I were to add live stock now, there could be major issues. The macroalgae don't seem to care less, fish perhaps not, but corals definitely. And anemones too. And a host of other organisms.

So if your live stock is dying right after adding them after you think your cycle is done, then consider this.

Macroalgae Status

As for my macroalgae, they are still alive.

It seems like their recession has stopped completely. They still have bits and pieces of dead tissue attached to them, just waving back and forth in the water. But otherwise, they are looking great!

There are more and more nodules growing all over. Someone else have identified them as air sacs, to keep them upright.

So we now have theories saying:
-They are results of infection.
-Tumor growth.
-Spore sacs.
-Normal growths (that will extend into branches).
-Air sacs.

I am in the process of confirming with each person about how they got to the above opinions. Once I get a conclusive result, I'll post it here.

Equipment Changes

I made some changes to the lighting. I wasn't happy with the layout of the LEDs in one of my ComboRays (the one towards the back) so I swapped the LEDs around. Initially a cyan was to the right side of the tank, and it just looked odd. So I moved the cyan to the third spot from the left, the cool white left of it, and the violet to the end where the cyan was.

Here are the comparisons:

Before and after. Ahaha excuse the fact that there are diatoms or something growing all over in the current picture, and the cloudiness of the first.

Anyways, more importantly:

I felt that previously it was a lot brighter towards the right side (as most of the brighter LEDs were to the right. Just so happens... lol.

Now the color is a lot more evenly distributed. :D

That's all for today's update. Let me know what your thoughts are!

The Serial Dilution Method to Measure 'Off the Charts' Parameters

Introduction

Have you ever done a test and saw that your parameters were off the charts? As in it was the highest on the color chart? Did you ever wonder what the parameter was exactly?

Well there is way to get a much more precise measurement, through the serial dilution method.

This guide will run through how to make serial dilutions, up to 1/8th and how to calculate the concentration from that.

Steps

Step 1: Make up the undiluted specimen.

This is just 5ml of tank water.

Step 2: Make up the first diluted specimen.

Take 5ml of tank water and fill up the next container (in this case, a tube). Then, take half of it out:

Half-half.

Add the other half to a third container.

Here we have four tubes. The first three are all undiluted, though of course besides the first one, the middle two are only 2.5ml each.

Step 3: Dilution!

Add 'fresh' water to the tube to dilute it. It doesn't have to be 'fresh' as in 'zero salinity water'. It just must not contain whatever you are trying to measure. In this case it is phosphates.

And this is now 5ml, half with phosphate-free water (or at least unmeasurable) and half with tank water. Dilution? 50%. Or 1/2. Whatever you prefer.

Do that to both the middle containers.

We now have three tubes with 5ml of water. However, only the first one is not diluted. The second and third only contain half the concentration of phosphates compared to the first.

Step 4: Repeat!

Once again removed 2.5ml from the last tube, and added it to the next. Here, we now have from left to right: 5ml undiluted, 5ml 1/2 diluted, 2.5ml 1/2 diluted, 2.5ml 1/2 diluted.

Filled with phosphate-free water again. They are all 5ml now, though from left to right, it is: undiluted, 1/2 diluted, 1/4 diluted and 1/4 diluted.

Step 5: Last Step!

So Step 4 must be done until you reach the final tube, which depends on how many serial dilutions you want to make. I stopped at 1/8, but one can go on and on.

Anyways, last step is simple. Take out 2.5ml from the last tube and discard it. Then add in 2.5ml of phosphate-free water.

And now, we have from left to right: undiluted, 1/2 diluted, 1/4 diluted and 1/8 diluted.

 Step 6: Test your parameter!

Test results.

So from left to right it is 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and undiluted. Which makes sense as the farther left, the less phosphate is measured.

So how do we interpret this? Simple. Whatever dilution it is, multiply the result with the denominator.

So we have:

Undiluted: 1x 10 = 10ppm

1/2: 2x 5 = 10ppm

1/4: 4x 2 = 8ppm

1/8: 8x 1 = 8ppm

So the results is actually somewhere between 8 to 10ppm.

Now, I am no way advocating that this is an extremely exact method. There are more dilutions you can attempt to make it more exact, such as by going through sequential integers for denominators. Undiluted, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, etc. for example.

But it is a lot better.

Here, it is found that the results isn't quite 10ppm.

Conclusion

This method (which is actually commonly used in laboratories) is something that can be done to not only determine concentrations initially 'off-the-charts', but also to get a more precise measurement.

Hope it helps!

TJ: Mini-Sea: #4

Aquarium Status

Cycling, Day 6

Tested my water today. Here are the results:

Test results on 24/01/2015, approximately 20 hours after the last addition of pureed seafood mix.

Ammonia: 1ppm
Nitrite: 0.5ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm
Phosphate: 10.0ppm (or more)
pH: 8
kH: 9
Calcium: 620ppm

Ammonia has decreased significantly (as expected), nitrite has risen, but not as much as expected. Could be that there is just some extra nitrite that has yet to be able to be converted into nitrate. Because nitrate has also rose as well. To 40ppm. Phosphate is still 10ppm or more, so still very high.

pH and kH remain stable, calcium is exactly the same as tested on the first day (yesterday's test may be a false reading). If the next few readings of calcium is still the same, I will chalk yesterday's test to human error. Otherwise, it is a bit worrying.

More importantly - or rather, more interestingly, my macroalgae has developed more nodules. Take a look:

 Nodules pointed to in black. Any ideas?

Original photo for comparison/reference.

So yeah, I still have no idea what it could be, except that there's more and more of 'em.

If anyone know with certainty, let me know. I talked to someone yesterday and it could be galls/tumor growths/basically from infection, but still not certain.

TJ: Mini-Sea: #3

Aquarium Status

Cycling, Day 5

Tested my water today. Here are the results:

Test results on 23/01/2015, approximately 9 hours after the last addition of pureed seafood mix.

Ammonia: 4ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm
Phosphate: 10.0ppm (or more)
pH: 8.2
kH: 9
Calcium: 500ppm

For some odd reason, calcium has dropped drastically. No idea why, or even if I did the test wrong (I am not too familiar with the API Calcium Test). pH is higher than previously tested by 0.2, whilst kH remained the same.

Ammonia is really high, which I am not surprised about. Both nitrite and nitrate though, are lower than the last time I tested it, after a number of rounds of pureed seafood addition. Phosphate is even higher than before, but given the look of the tank at the moment, I am not surprised. There are food bits floating all over.

In hindsight, I should have pureed the food better. The first time I cycled a tank, the food was pureed really fine, there was absolutely no clogging. This time round, the food particles are still quite large. My bad.

Anyways, this is good and bad. On the one hand, both nitrite and nitrate is lower, despite daily additions of ~15g of pureed seafood. That means that the biological filtration system is being established, as despite all the organic addition, nutrients are being taken care of.

On the other hand, phosphate is increasing... which is worrying. That was the point of the macroalgae. To take up nitrate and phosphate.

Now, two possibilities.

1.) Microbes are outcompeting the macroalgae for nitrates, and so nitrate has became a limiting factor for the macroalgae.
2.) The macroalgae is just half-dead, and so it's just not doing it's job properly.

Of course, it could be both...

Well, this will be something that I just have to keep an eye on.

Talking about the macroalgae, there are some nodular growth on the algae, which wasn't there before.

Anyone know what it is? Tumor growth? Spores? Aliens?

Not sure if it's because the thing is dying, or my water quality is horrid at the moment, or if the light is too bright, or if it just does it because it can but...

The little blobs in the circle. There are two. Kinda hard to see I guess. Any ideas? Because I ain't got any.

Anyways, I'll probably leave my aquarium like that for a bit to see if phosphate do decrease over time. I plan to add a lot more macroalgae anyways, just gotta find them. The second time I went to the beach, it was high tide and unfortunately there was not much. This Monday hopefully, I'll be able to collect more awesome stuff.

Here's the FTS at the moment:

 So much stuff floating around...

As I mentioned, the macroalgae is half dead. D: Which isn't surprising, considering how I found it washed up on the beach. But still. I was hopeful.

It is breaking apart, though part of it is turning green (you can tell from the picture above). I am pretty sure that's just microalgae growing inside those tubes though.

Talking about stuff floating around, thanks to how dirty it became, I actually was able to witness the water flow in the first compartment of my sump.

 A very artistic representation of the water movement.

I have always been worried about how the water flows when it enters the first compartment. Due to the way the baffles were designed, I have to fill up water very close to the top of the tank, but that means that water flows over the baffle, as opposed to underneath it as intended.

I have always been worried that therefore the area below would be stagnant, but I was wrong! :D

I noticed today that whilst some water flowed over the top, much of it did flow downwards and into the second compartment, as per designed! Awesome. :D

Tank: So Sinuous: Current Status: Up and Running!

This contains the most updated information on my aquarium, tentatively named 'So Sinuous'.

Current Full Tank Shot

Aquarium Setup
Manufacturer: Aqua One

Model: BettaBloc (Black) - 56119BK
Setup: Tank w/ Aqua One Clear View 75 Hang-On-Back Filter

Dimensions: 10cm x 10cm x 10cm
Total Volume: Approx. 1 litre/0.26 gallon

Equipments
Lighting: N/A

Heater: Aqua One 10w Nano Heater

Thermometer: N/A


Filtration System
Mechanical:
-N/A
Biological:
-Marine Pure 2" Cube
Chemical:
-N/A

Current Stock
Corals:
-Bubble Coral (Plerogyra sinuosa)
-Ricordea (Ricordea sp.)
Anemones:
-Bubble Tip Anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor)
Others:
-Red Macroalgae (unknown species)

Tank Journal
---27/01/2015---Introduction
---21/03/2015---Reintroduction
---21/04/2015---Up and Running!
---01/05/2015---Aquarium Modification and New Additions 

TJ: Mini-Sea: #2

Aquarium Status

Well, Results are In!

Tested my water today.

The tests and my interpretation of the levels. Let me know if you guys think I may be interpreting the colors wrong.

So the parameters are as below:
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 0.25ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm
Phosphate: 5.0ppm
pH: 8.0
kH: 9
Calcium: 640.

Yes, calcium is surprisingly at 640. I'm not entirely sure what's going on there, but I have used this water before and each time it is tested, the result is above 600, from around 620 to 660. Whilst I highly doubt it, it is not impossible. Sydney Harbour is highly contaminated and usually have elevated levels of metals. Will bring in a sample to a LFS and have them test it out.

Otherwise, everything else is lower than expected. I would have thought ammonia would be higher, but nope. There's also quite a bit of nitrate and phosphate. I was hoping the macroalgae should be able to uptake much of that. Then again, the macroalgae is in recovery mode (as they were half dead and dried when I found them on the beach), so maybe it'll take a while. We'll see.

Because of the levels above, I did add quite a bit more pureed marinara mix in.

Tested the water about 30 minutes after, and ammonia was at 0.25ppm still.

After about two hours, ammonia was at around 0.5ppm.

Assuming there's really not a lot of microbe in there at the moment (i.e. they all died over the holidays), there should be an ammonia spike.

TJ: Mini-Sea: #1

Aquarium Status

Introduction

So today I've gotten quite a number of things done for the aquarium, which is awesome. Can't wait to let it fully go through the microbe propagation phase!

Steps that was taken today:
1.) Preparing the aquarium.
2.) Obtaining filtered NSW.
3.) Obtaining macroalgae.
4.) Filling the aquarium.
5.) Setting up all the equipments.
6.) Cycling/Microbe Propagation

Preparing The Aquarium

Took quite a bit of work to scrub all that algae. >_> Thought when they dried out after a month, it was easier. Can't be more wrong. In the end did remove quite a bit, though much of it fell back into the tank... unfortunately.

Obtaining Filtered NSW

One of the good things about working at a research institute, is that one has access to filtered NSW (natural sea water). I like using NSW, because I don't have to worry about making the parameters perfect. Though I will test the water again just to check on calcium levels, to make sure that this region has high enough calcium solutes.

I did use unfiltered NSW from this same place before though, and it seemed fine for use (higher than average calcium concentrations, which is cool), so fingers crossed.

Obtaining Macroalgae

The first macro-organisms in this revised aquarium are two patches of red macroalgae I found on the beach right next to the research institute. :)

Red Macroalgae (Gracilaria sp.?) collected at Chowder Bay, NSW.

There were various other types of macroalgae washed on shore, but these were the reddest I could find, so they are the chosen ones. I'm hoping to find more, partially to fill my sump, partially to add more to the aquarium. This patch is tiny. Ish.

Filling The Aquarium

The best part of the day! The aquarium is on a shelf, 120cm tall. Plus another 30cm for the tank, I basically had to lift a 20lt drum of water above my head to fill it. Wasn't too bad tho.

But really, this was the moment I was so excited about, finally having an aquarium with water again!

Since there was so much algae that fell into the tank when cleaning, plus all the detritus in the container, plus the fact that I did dig up all the sand to release build up of detritus, waste and gases during the away period.

Setting Up All The Equipments

So in the last update, I've mentioned how I have set up pretty much anything (or more precisely, everything has already been set up previously).

Well, there's a new addition today, and that's an additional light!

I originally was going to try it out yesterday, but I forgot to take the stand out of my car (oops).

Tested the lights today:

 

The new lights on!

 

The old lights!

 

Both of them! Overkill? Is there such a thing? Lol.

 

 It is ALIVE! You can see the effect of the pump on the water surface here.

Overall, I like the combined coloration, though I may move the cyan around, or perhaps add in something new (I still got some spare LEDs elsewhere). There is an eighth of a Marine Pure block in there behind the macroalgae which I was gonna use in another tank, but it looks nice behind that macroalgae. Hm... dang. >_<"

Cycling/Microbe Propagation

 

 What is this...?

Cycling time! The MPP is very important as it established beneficial microbes in the aquarium. There are plenty of dead matter in there already to feed the beneficial microbes, but I want to really push it.

So...

Food for microbes. Oh and also for the macroalgae. Version: peeled/unprocessed.

Marinara mix! 120g, all sorts of sea organisms. Well not all sorts, but quite a variety. This will be great to boost the growth of microbes. Plus it will contain a lot of microbes itself, so that should also help.

The first step is to puree it all up - as it is easier to distribute throughout the tank that way, and also the mix is a lot more consistent.

All I did was put it all in a blender, add water and press 'puree'.

Microbe/algae food version: *hurls*.

Smelled so bad, seriously. I almost vomited. Constantly. Couldn't even walk to the aquarium 4 meters away with the smell. Had to close the lid and then open it above the tank. Poured in about 1/8th of that and it was instantly mixed through the aquarium.

The final FTS for the day. Complete with fish-bits floating around.

I'm pretty surprised though. Despite the amount of particulate matter that was floating around earlier, plus what was just added, the tank looks pretty clear. Not that it really means much, until I test the parameters.

High PANN (phosphate, ammonia, nitrite and/or nitrate) is good, hopefully just not so high to kill of the algae. Shouldn't be the case though. :)

Haven't tested anything yet (salinity, calcium, PANN, etc.). Though temperature is stable at 25.8 degrees celcius.

Will test tomorrow and see what it is all like. This is the first time I use macroalgae as part of the biological filtration system, so quite excited to see the results. :)

Conclusion

Well that's all for today, the first step is complete. Just need to wait for the cycle to complete. :)

TJ: Mini-Sea: #0

Aquarium Status

Introduction

This is a tank journal for my custom-made nano tank. I thought it'd be nice to document the process, to share my experiences with everyone.

I will document the cycle, stocking and everything, including all the failures and successes. I am testing something different with this aquarium, so it might go swimmingly, or horribly wrong.

The current status of the aquarium will always be updated here.

The Aquarium

The aquarium is a 36 litre nano aquarium, made by East Coast Tanks. They are a Sydney-based custom tank designer and maker group, so check them out!

This particular aquarium is 30cm long, 40cm wide and 30cm tall. So it is wider than it is long, which is not usually the case with aquariums. The reason for this is that it has a 10cm wide 3-chamber back-sump.

Which is pretty cool.

At the moment, it looks like this:

 

Yes, pretty sad. I just came back from a month holiday, in which I tore it down. A month before that I had moved all my corals on, and so had let algae grow out a bit more than usual (was feeding my fish heaps more so that they don't end up skinny whilst being taken care of).

Yep, my fish is currently elsewhere, and hopefully tomorrow I'll know how they are.

The Plan

What I am planning when setting this up again is a bit of a mixed sort of aquarium, with macroalgae AND corals. In the display.

Not sure how it'd pan out but well, I'll know tomorrow when I finish calling around. I want some cool, red macroalgae. But we'll see.

Otherwise, there'll be a hammer and something else I'll let my fiancee pick out. :)

In terms of stocking though, it'll be a while yet. I have to re-cycle this aquarium. Once tomorrow comes, I'll get some salt water from my research lab and fill up the aquarium. :D

Then it'll be some organics, probably marinara mix to help the cycle. Will also have to clean the current algae off the glass. >_>

Hm... what else. Oh yes, double the lights!

This is another Dalua Illumagic ComboRay that I bought before going on holidays. Its colors are quite different from what is currently present (as shown in the above picture). Will see how it pans out.

Otherwise, once the cycle is done, I'll start stocking. :D

That's all for now.

Tank: Mini-Sea: Current Status: Closed Down

This contains the most updated information on my aquarium, named 'Mini-Sea'.

It has been closed down, due to the death of Piggybear, the Clarkii Clownfish.

The below is the archived update from the 21st of March, 2015. To see the final update, click here.

Current Full Tank Shot (21/03/2015)

Aquarium Setup
Manufacturer: East Coast Tanks
Model: Custom
Setup: All-in-One w/ Back Sump
Dimensions: 30cm(L) x 40cm(W) x 30cm(H)

Equipments
Lighting #1: Dalua Illumagic ComboRay 30
-Left to Right: Blue, Red, UV, Royal Blue, Cool White, Violet
-Stand: Dalua Rotatable Mounting Stands
Lighting #2: Dalua Illumagic ComboRay 30
-Left to Right: Violet, Cool White, Cyan, Royal Blue, Violet, Violet
-Stand: Dalua Rotatable Mounting Stands 
Return Pump: Eheim Compact 1000
Heater: 25w Eheim Jager Heater
Thermometer: Aqua One Electronic Thermometer ST-3

Filtration System
Mechanical:
-N/A
Biological:
-A Marine Pure 8'x8'x4' Block
-Aqua Nova Coral Sand
-Red Macroalgae (Unknown species)
-Sunflower Coral (Tubastrea sp.)
Chemical:
-N/A

Current Stock
Corals:
-Hammer Coral (Euphyllia ancora), mint morph
-Hammer Coral (Euphyllia ancora), green morph
-Hammer Coral (Euphyllia ancora), yellow morph
-Elegance Coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei)
-Sinuous Bubble Coral (Plerogyra sinuosa)
-Sunflower Coral (Tubastrea sp.)   
Fish:
-Regal Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
-Clarkii Anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii)
-Citron Gobiodon (Gobiodon citrinus)
Invertebrates:
-N/A
Others:
-Red Macroalgae (Unknown species)

Tank Journal
---19/01/2015---Introduction
---19/01/2015---MPP (Microbe Propagation Phase, Cycling)
---20/01/2015---Still Cycling
---23/01/2015---Maybe I Should Stop Bombarding With Food
---24/01/2015---Phosphates Still Off the Charts
---25/01/2015---Nearing The End (Or Not)
---26/01/2015---Testing the Filtration System 
---29/01/2015---Stocked!
---23/02/2015---Failures
---27/02/2015---Corals are In!
---08/03/2015---First Fish Death :( 
---21/03/2015---Water Change, Finally 

6 Misconceptions About The Initial Cycle

Introduction

Cycling is a process that we all have to go through when setting up an aquarium. But do we know what is the right way or not? Look at the misconceptions below, and see if you have been doing it right all along!

1. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate must rise and fall in turn

This is a common misconception, stemming from the belief that there must be an increase of each before the specific microbe breaking down said chemical starts to grow, breaking it down into the next in line.

This is false, as one can start an aquarium with different levels of each type of microbe, sometimes much higher than expected.

For example, ff you use live rock, and it happens to have a lot of nitrite-reducing bacteria, you may see a lot of ammonia and nitrate from the beginning, and little nitrite.

2. The tank is definitely cycled when all parameters zero (perhaps beside nitrate)

This is definitely not true. The initial cycle (also called the bacteria/microbe propagation phase, or BPP/MPP for short) is where you are trying to establish a large amount of microbes to break down waste.

Think about it, in a sterile tank with nothing but salt water, you can measure zero everything. Does that mean that it has cycled? Nope...

On the other hand, even if you measured some PANN (ammonia, nitrite and/or nitrate) and it takes a few weeks before it all zeroed, you still may not have cycled your tank either. If you think about it, the fact that it took so long for the chemicals to deplete (especially if the amount was low to start off) means that you don't have that much microbe to break down the chemicals in the first place. And that also translates to your cycle not being done, as there is not enough microbe to handle the eventual bioload.

A cycle is only done when your filtration system can handle the bioload you will introduce.

3. Only ammonia and nitrites need to be zero

This is one of those 'it depends' situation, but really the answer should be 'no that is not true'. You should have planned for phosphate/nitrate removal, which may be through water changes, or having chaeto in a fuge, or through chemical dosing, or whatever.

But it is not enough to go 'yeah some nitrates/phosphates is fine'. You have to have a plan ready for them. And implement them when necessary.

4. Only ammonia is needed to kickstart a cycle

Besides the obvious fact that you need microbes present, you also need to feed them. After all, matter don't just spontaneously appear. It has to come from somewhere.

So if you want to propagate microbes (i.e. have more of them), then those new microbes must be built from something. And that is from all sorts of molecules that comes in the form of organic matter.

Doesn't matter how you supplement that - through addition of fish food, raw seafood, die-off or whatever, the fact is that it is necessary.

Of course microbes can, as a whole, convert simple molecules in the water (CO2, H20, etc.) into more complex molecules, but it is faster to provide the more complex molecules right away.

5. Cycling takes 'x' amount of time

This is a very lazy, unhelpful suggestion.

There is no set amount of time for a cycle to complete. It could be days, weeks or months. Fact is, it depends on how you are cycling your tank and your tank's specific conditions.

You can wait for ten years and that tank with just saltwater won't cycle.

So don't think all you have to do is wait a certain amount of time, as that is very lazy. That will get you nowhere. Put in the effort to cycle your tank, and be prepared as it can be done anytime.

6. Do plenty of water changes to lower PANN

Again, no. You are just tricking yourself.

The point is to have a filtration system and maintenance schedule to lower PANN. If you are just doing massive water changes to lower PANN during he cycle, then obviously PANN is not lowering due to your filtration system.

Unless you will maintain the same large amount of water changes as part of your maintenance schedule, in which case it's cool.

The only situation where you may want to do a lot of water changes is if there are lifeforms in the aquarium you want to keep during the cycle. In that case, water changes are needed to keep PANN low enough for them to survive.

Conclusion

These are six common, persistent misconception that you must avoid, or else you'll run the risk of not cycling properly, and running into problems down the track.

Good luck and have fun reefing!

Thriving Zooxanthellae can be the Savior of Corals

Introduction

It is without a doubt that climate change (or rather, 'global warming') whether anthropogenic or naturogenic, can have a major negative impact on coral reefs. This is not to say that it will last forever, or that it is not part of a climatic cycle, but nonetheless, it is clear that we are seeing increasing temperatures, on average. 'Coral bleaching' is an occurrence whereby corals 'white out' - i.e. when they lose their endosymbionts, the zooxanthellae. When this happen, corals lose their source of photosynthesized energy and various chemicals obtained from their mutualistic algae. For corals that are highly reliant on their symbionts, this can only spell death.

At the current global temperature range, the effects are already very clear across the world. Large swaths of reefs are disappearing, areas of immense biodiversity now nothing more than rocks and a few hardy scavengers here and there. Rising temperatures has more of an effect on corals than first seem, especially when rising temperatures also lead to increasing CO2 levels and ocean acidity.

However, not all corals are made the same, and recent studies have found something quite surprising - corals that actually fair better despite ocean acidification and warming.

The team at the Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina has discovered something quite remarkable about a certain coral, Siderastrea siderea.

The full paper can be found here.

S. siderea

It is amazing news that something remarkable has been discovered about S. siderea. This coral is only one amongst many different species of coral that can be found in the Carribean sea. However, it is important in the fact that not only is it abundant, but is also hermatypic, which means that it contributes directly to building up the reef.

S. siderea are the brown/tan corals. Not exactly the prettiest of corals, but who cares.

The genus (also called the 'starlet corals') include five species, with S. siderea and S. radians being the better known two. Respectively, they are called the 'massive startlet' and 'lesser starlet' corals, and no surprise in so. S. siderea can grow to a huge size, as much as two meters. Described by Ellis and Solander in 1786, they have yet to really enter the marine aquarium hobby. Though possibly good that they don't, for we need more of these in the wild.

The Experimental Results

Through subjecting the coral to various CO2 levels (pCO2 = 324, 477, 604, 2553 µatm) and temperatures (25, 28, 32°C), it was found that up to pCO2 of 604 µatm and/or a temperature of 28°C, calcification rate (rate of calcium carbonate deposition) increased, which is higher than what is tended to be suggested for corals. Above the aforementioned levels, calcification is past optimal and starts to decline.

However, it is interesting to note that regardless of the parameters tested, calcification still occurred - indicating an ability to produce their calcium carbonate skeleton. The research did indicate though, that this could just simply be a short-term effect, when corals can still work from their reserve.

What is most important here, is the fact that this coral's optimal calcification rate is at temperatures and acidity higher than that of many previous species of coral tested. In the end, we have to remind ourselves that corals are a diverse group of organisms, each unique in their own way, and therefore there is no way to 'catch all' with a simple parameter definition.

Calcification Rates from Photosynthesis

The author is this research paper provides an explanation for this unlikely news. Coral calcification is impacted by ocean acidication in two opposite ways. Whilst acidification reduces the seawater calcium carbonate concentration (and hence harder for calcification to occur), an increase in CO2 levels will increase photosynthesis, which aids in calcification.

This means that at optimal CO2 concentrations and temperature (604 µatm and 28°C respectively), the calcification rate as a result in the difference between the product of photosynthesis and seawater calcium carbonate concentration is greatest. In other words, despite everything, the increase in CO2 concentration and temperature drives, photosynthesis allowing for more calcium carbonate to be secreted. Of course, photosynthesis here is driven by the coral's endosymbiotic zooxanthellae, and therefore this poses good news in regards to that aspect.

If corals can be more dependent on the ability of zooxanthellae, in and of itself consisting of many species and variety, then there is all possibility that such a shift in ocean parameters can induce zooxanthellae to evolve to be more effective, in response to the need of their host corals, and hence better combat global warming and ocean acidification. However, there is every indication that even at higher temperatures and CO2 concentrations, zooxanthellae is already faring better - though the effects are being offset by seawater calcium carbonate concentrations.

How this balance plays out, it is hard to tell, but this gives a glimmer of hope, that even though global warming is still getting worse, hopefully the corals and their zooxanthellae can cope until warming is reduced.

Conclusion

Whilst it is far from known what the future may hold, or if this really does bode that well for corals and their survival in the future, it does offer hope - and another avenue for research. If it is possible to boost the photosynthetic capability of zooxanthellae and their ability to promote calcification, then it is definitely a worthwhile cause. Most research has been focused on corals and their adaptive capacity, but we always forget that there are two biological components in play here, and the lesser investigated - zooxanthellae - may just be the answer to the problems caused by global warming, the answer we seek to help extend the life of corals until global warming can be alleviated.

In the end, who knows if the current warming will go away by itself (as part of a natural cycle), or is something that we caused and must solve. Either way, the fact is that as of right now, average temperature is on the rise and corals must find a way to survive.

The Earth has seen average temperatures much hotter than now, and much colder than now. Organisms have always managed, so they may very well even now, without any help from us. Assuming it is even truly an issue for them, if corals indeed not mind an increase in temperatures or ocean acidification that much.