240g Hap/Peacock setup...800 watts of Metal Halide light, DIY wetdry...PICS

tcarswell

Polypterus
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Dec 6, 2008
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Will Hayward;3042044; said:
Just put in some cheap fish and see if the fish eat them. Then use those fish for cycling, and if you see any signs of any infection during the 6 weeks you're waiting for the filter to cycle, treat them with meds.
What if they get in his sump and continue to breed.... Or what if there are a ton in there and they do die they would be big producers of nitrate hidden in scrubbies and bio balls
 

Will Hayward

Feeder Fish
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Mar 5, 2008
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www.alternativeaquariums.com
tcarswell;3042066; said:
What if they get in his sump and continue to breed.... Or what if there are a ton in there and they do die they would be big producers of nitrate hidden in scrubbies and bio balls
You're right, better put some fish in the sump too.

And if there are a ton in there and they die off, it will kickstart the cycle as their rotting bodies will produce ammonia which will encourage growth of the Nitrifying bacteria.
 

NOLAGT

Fire Eel
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Dec 5, 2007
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I will be starting on the sand project in a bit...and hope to have some progress pics tonight maybe.

As for the bugs I dont want to add fish to eat them because I dont know if there in the sump too like what was said. And I plan to do a fishless cycle so it wont take 6 week....been long enough already lol. I will try sucking them out and maybe i'll run some sort of parasite stuff if they come back. Another thing too I never de-chlorinated the water...its just straight tap...so I know it still probably has chloramine in it....
 

NOLAGT

Fire Eel
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Alright...that was loads of fun lol. I got 120lbs of Estes Ultra Reef sand in the tank now. Seems think enough...I ordered 180lbs so I have some extra for this tank....or the next one. I really like this stuff! Has great shape and size...zero rinsing...just opened each 5lb bag and dumped. It says no rinsing needed....just soaking so it stops floating and clumping...and it def does that!

On to some pics....like every one likes :D

This is the sand next to a common ball point pen. I was going to try to get the 3m stuff...but this stuff looks pretty darn close and had no cleaning!



This is after some bags of sand in some of the remaining water...this stuff likes to float.



Now I have started to fill the tank. I used a fly swatter to knock all the sand that was floating on the surface. There is still a lot of air trapped in the sand. For those wondering whats in the glass...vodka n 7 :D



Now its full and running :D



I added some river rock...ill probably add more...sorta blend the concentration of them out into the sand....





In order to get my free shipping on the sand I had to hit 175$ so I picked up this Kent reactor to run whatever...carbon some times...Phos stuff some times...and whatever else I need.



I also added some lights in the stand so I can see what im doing. I need to run and tuck the wires away so its nice and neat.

 

LowCel

Piranha
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Oct 10, 2006
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Woohoo, pictures!!! It's looking amazing!
 

hybridtheoryd16

Jack Dempsey
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Nov 28, 2007
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If it were me since you have no cycle started and no fish in there. I would use bleach to kill the bugs. Any med you put in there will kill the bio-bacteria once you try to start that. So with bleach you can do a 90-100% water change after a few days and add double the amount of antichlorine and be 100% safe to start the cycle process. I would use 1 cup bleach per gallon of water and run the tank for 2 days. Then do a large WC and go for it. The bleach will not hurt any of your decorations etheir. Unless that sand is the fake kind that is dyed.
 

NOLAGT

Fire Eel
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Dec 5, 2007
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The bugs are still there...some of them...I think its some sort of flying bug larvae maybe. I saw some what looked like really young flying bugs in the stand and glass last night. BUT my back door was open running the hose through it and I have a TON of bugs in the backyard so who knows. I think they will die off or fly away.....
 

NOLAGT

Fire Eel
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Dec 5, 2007
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So I took and uploaded a short vid of my tank...but after looking at it on youtube where I uploaded it....the quality of the vid is not as good as the originial. The original looks good but uploaded its not as good...makes it harder to see the shimmer....is there a better way to upload it??
 
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