I'm setting up this old couple's saltwater tank. It's a 150 gallon, it used to house 2 goldfish and a pleco, so it's time for a change. I'm planning using 300 lb of playsand from Homedepot and Menards, and just 40 lb of aragnoite sand, will that be enough to create a 3" DSB? On thursday, I'm bringing the sand and salt mix, and putting them in the tank. On Saturday, I'm going to put 50 lb of pre-cured liverock and 25 lb of lace rock in the tank, and hopefully by then, the tank won't be cloudy anymore. Next Monday or Tuesday, I'm going to add 2 clownfish. Do you think there will be too much die-off from the 50 lb of liverock to add the 2 clownfish next week? They would like a yellow tang in the near future, but after the tank's established for a while. What else would you guys recommend them to get? They only know they want a yellow tang, that's all they're certain that they want. So suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks for the help guys.
setting up a tank for an old couple
- Thread starter JohnMemorialHS
- Start date
Well, for the DSB, you'll need a depth of 4"-6" for it to be truly effective. Are you talking about the regular playsand that Home Depot sells for about $2 per bag? Or are you talking about Southdown tropical playsand? Regular play sand is too large of a grain size - I'd recommend the Southdown sand, if you can find it, or you could use sandblasting sand or pool filter sand. Grain size is key here. Check out: http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm
I'd recommend doing a fishless cycle by throwing in a few large cocktail shrimp from the grocery store. This will give you a good strong cycle which will take a few weeks. I wouldn't add any fish until the cycle is completed. Also, if you're planning on using the live rock and DSB for filtration, you'll need more rock... 1-1.5 lbs per gallon is recommended.
That's about all I can think of at the moment. HTH!
I'd recommend doing a fishless cycle by throwing in a few large cocktail shrimp from the grocery store. This will give you a good strong cycle which will take a few weeks. I wouldn't add any fish until the cycle is completed. Also, if you're planning on using the live rock and DSB for filtration, you'll need more rock... 1-1.5 lbs per gallon is recommended.
That's about all I can think of at the moment. HTH!
It's not Southdown playsand, which means it probably doesn't contain calcium, but the grain size is fine enough. 50 lb of liverock is just to start off with, they'll add more later on. We're cycling with liverock, because
1. liverock contains organisms that will break fish waste
2. liverock contains nitrifying bacteria
I know there's still a possiblity to see small spikes of ammnoia or nitrite, but it's the fastest way to cycle a tank, they want the tank as a christmas present to themselves, and I want to help them to be able to have that present.
Thanks for the suggestions though gcvt
1. liverock contains organisms that will break fish waste
2. liverock contains nitrifying bacteria
I know there's still a possiblity to see small spikes of ammnoia or nitrite, but it's the fastest way to cycle a tank, they want the tank as a christmas present to themselves, and I want to help them to be able to have that present.
Thanks for the suggestions though gcvt
As long as the sand grains are about the size of sugar, you'll be all right. Personally I've never seen playsand that fine at HD. Most of the stuff I've seen there is in the 40-60 grain size which is more than twice as big as what you need.
Are you still planning on putting the two clowns in next week though? If so, it will likely turn out to be a very sad Christmas for them. No offense, but rushing to get this set up within the next 8 days is just asking for trouble. Like they say, only bad things happen fast in this hobby.
Are you still planning on putting the two clowns in next week though? If so, it will likely turn out to be a very sad Christmas for them. No offense, but rushing to get this set up within the next 8 days is just asking for trouble. Like they say, only bad things happen fast in this hobby.
You really think the die off from the liverock and 2 clownfish would create a spike of ammonia, nitrite despite the nitrifying bacteria that would exist 50 lb of liverock? 
I guess maybe I should just start off with perhaps ONE yellow-tailed damsel, since it's not as aggressive as other damsels, but still hardy enough.
I guess maybe I should just start off with perhaps ONE yellow-tailed damsel, since it's not as aggressive as other damsels, but still hardy enough.
Well, you're still going to have to go through the full cycle. Having 50 lbs. of cured live rock, and maybe some sand from an established tank, would speed things up, but you'll still have to cycle the tank. I still recommend fishless cycling - no sense in risking killing fish to cycle the tank.
If you cycle the tank with one damsel, it will take forever and it will only have enough bacteria to handle that small bioload. However, if you toss in a few dead shrimp, this will give you a very strong thorough cycle which would allow you to stock the tank quicker without fear of future ammonia spikes.
Any chance you could have the tank be a nice Valentine's day present for them, instead of Christmas?
Also, have you thought about what you're going to put in as a cleanup crew?
If you cycle the tank with one damsel, it will take forever and it will only have enough bacteria to handle that small bioload. However, if you toss in a few dead shrimp, this will give you a very strong thorough cycle which would allow you to stock the tank quicker without fear of future ammonia spikes.
Any chance you could have the tank be a nice Valentine's day present for them, instead of Christmas?
Also, have you thought about what you're going to put in as a cleanup crew?
You will still have a pretty big cycle to go through as bacteria begins to grow on all that sand. If you go with damsels, you would need about 12-15 of them for a suffiecient cycle in a tank that big. Of course you will loose some, not that losing damselfish is a big deal though. If you can find it, look for CaribSea Aragamax sand. Its sugarfine, and you can get it for about $25 for a 30# bag. Its what Im using in my 75, and its awesome. I wouldnt recommend the playsand, unless its the aragonite. The regular playsand is brown and ugly.
I would definetally second everything GVCT has said so far,
Putting in the clownfish would seem to only cause problems in the future. Without doing a full cycle you will only have problems in the future. Everytime you add more fish you will go through a cycle and all of your more sensitive critters will struggle. For the sake of tank stability and longterm sucess do a full fishless cycle and have patience!
tren
Putting in the clownfish would seem to only cause problems in the future. Without doing a full cycle you will only have problems in the future. Everytime you add more fish you will go through a cycle and all of your more sensitive critters will struggle. For the sake of tank stability and longterm sucess do a full fishless cycle and have patience!
tren