Update 6/2/2009

[calihawker]

Not much to report. The kids are eating like crazy. I started doing an extra small water change in the afternoon. I noticed a little rise in ammonia at the end of the day so apparently my sponge filter wasn't as cycled as I thought. That being the case I decided to do a fishless cycle on the new canister filter before I add it to the tank. I'll be doing around 150% w/c until the new filter is installed.

My daily routine:

6 am lights On
7 am feed seafood/beefheart mix
9 am feed fbw
11 am auto feed tetra color granules
12 pm vaccum any crap and uneaten food 50% w/c
1 pm feed seafood/beefheart mix
3 pm auto feed ON prime reef flake
5 pm auto feed tetra color granules
7 pm feed seafood/beefheart mix
8 pm 100% w/c
9 pm feed fbw
11 pm lights out


Here's a couple more pics and a video. There will always be more pics and videos uploaded to my photobucket file so please visit there as well.


http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr356/calihawker/SD_Challenge/DSC01091.jpg

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr356/calihawker/SD_Challenge/DSC01098.jpg

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr356/calihawker/SD_Challenge/DSC01099.jpg

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr356/calihawker/SD_Challenge/th_PICT0172.jpg (http://s499.photobucket.com/albums/rr356/calihawker/SD_Challenge/?action=view&current=PICT0172.flv)

[rickztahone]

looking great Steve. do you make sure they eat the FBW in their last meal of the day? i know FBW are not messy in a cone but on the floor they will get kind of messy and just want to make sure they are eating all of it. i have 2 cones and it ensures that the floor stays FBW free and they get every last one of them

[calihawker]

Thanks Rick, Yeah it's the least messy and fully consumed of all the the foods which is why I feed it last. Funny, I never thought of using the cones for the frozen ones.:o I guess that works, huh?

[rickztahone]

Thanks Rick, Yeah it's the least messy and fully consumed of all the the foods which is why I feed it last. Funny, I never thought of using the cones for the frozen ones.:o I guess that works, huh?

yeah, i always just plop into the cone and it takes a couple of minutes to sink into the cone but when it does my discus know it's lunch time and they attack it! i also put my frozen brine shrimp in there. i'm telling you, no mess! the best part is that the cones are like 2-3 bucks.

[Eddie]

Looks like a recipe for success Steve, lots of good water and food!

Take care my friend,

Eddie

[acroken]

Steve-O,
Glad to see them doing so well:) Great routine you have going. I love that some of the eye are really filling in red. 150% w/c daily, nice! Best of luck to you.

Kenny

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Your measurable amount of ammonia you noticed is not necessarily because of an un-cycled sponge filter, but rather the inefficiency of the sponge filter from the high amounts of ammonia that are being produced with so much food being fed. There will always be small amounts of ammonia in the water, depending on the efficiency/maintenance of your biological filtration. I dont remember what your water parameters are like, but what is your pH?? So long as it is below 7.5 or so, the ammonia really isnt an issue as it is converted into its relatively harmless state ammonium (NH4+).

They look great though, keep up the good work....cant wait to see how everyone's fish turn out in a few months time. :)

-Ryan

[MRQuad]

they look sooo beautiful steve.. keep up the good work!

[Mr Wild]

Ditto !!!!!!!!!! Looking great!

[wgtaylor]

Hi Steve, well all that food and plenty of water change is showing in your fish.
They are looking great ! Look bigger already.

Bill

[calihawker]

Thanks for the replys everyone! I think they look bigger already also. Noticing little changes in color as well.

I'm not overly concerned about the trace of ammonia but I want to be overly cautious. Ryan, my ph is 7.2.

[TankWatcher]

Yes, they do look a little bigger. Looking nice, fat & healthy

[Chad Hughes]

Steve,

Looking grea man! I too think that I see growth, but I won't actually pull fish for measurement until the 30 day mark. I figure a measuerment once a month would be sufficient. Great job man!

Best wishes!

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

yeah they really do look bigger Steve, they look GREAT! your doing an amazing job with them. something tells me they are gonna grow really fast. I have 2 albino spotted leopards, very similar, but those guys are EATING MACHINES! they have put on nice growth already, in just a few short weeks. you got a great routine goin on. your fish are putting on some good color aswell, theres 1 or 2 in that batch that really stand out to me. but my favorite thing about the AGxASL and the ASL is that "golden" color too them. its not a yellow really...its just like their base body color. a super vibrant "golden" ...gotta love it. makes you think how some of these bad boys are gonna look fully grown right? a big golden mother!:D:D

[Scribbles]

They look great Steve! I agree with everyone else that they've grown. Keep up the good work.

Chris

[Armandi_Fishcarer]

Steve, doing well bro, they have put on size & thickness. :D Keep it up!

Regards
Ahmed ;)

[calihawker]

Thanks Ahmed! I've been able to settle into a routine now so everythings on cruise control. Fun stuff!!

[Eddie]

Damn Steve, I missed the pics and video cause I read your post from the job (no pics or video). Just watched that video! Those guys have grown like crazy! They definitely look significantly bigger! Excellent work!

Eddie