ideal gal tank set up ?

[Snarkys]

don't sapose anyone would like in detail how they would cycle the first step of silling the tank with water to the last step of adding the fish one by one.

I have read about it in a few books and talked to the guy at the store but it seems you are all alot more helpfull and would like to hear how you do it ?

if anyone has time . thanks ..

 

[Max]

well ok
1. place tank and stand in a visually appealing place with strong flooring and out of direct sunlight that has easy access to all sides.
2 set up ground fault interupter with drip loops on all wiring salt water and electricity mix all too well.
3 plumb tank sumps etc if any.
4 place 2 to 3 inches of sand on bottom of tank. also add base rock at this time for firm foundation for your other live rock"
5 fill with water " pre mixed salt water is best but in an empty tank it's ok to mix salt and water in the tank"
6 sand storm
7 still sand storm
8 add pumps filter skimmer etc.
9 throw in coctail shrimp or other sea food to start cycle
10 turn on pumps "yet another sand storm"
11 do water tests wait complain to friends on ac central about how long this is all taking.
12 noxious algae bloom diatoms and red slime most of the time
13 complain to friends on ac central about algae so that we can tell you to turn off your lights " lol j.k. but it happens every day".
14 readings reach 30 ppm for nitrates time to add clean up crew.
15 lights now on in tank so green hair algae bloom begins " even if you had your lights off long enough to kill off most of the hair algae on your l.r. There will be enough on the hermits shells, the air or in spore to cause yet another algae bloom
16. start slowly stocking fish from least aggresive to most aggresive.
this is sort of light hearted and there will be twists on this experience for all of but, this is how it happens for most.
hth
chris

 

[Snarkys]

Originally posted by maxilaria
well ok
1. place tank and stand in a visually appealing place with strong flooring and out of direct sunlight that has easy access to all sides.
2 set up ground fault interupter with drip loops on all wiring salt water and electricity mix all too well.
3 plumb tank sumps etc if any.
4 place 2 to 3 inches of sand on bottom of tank. also add base rock at this time for firm foundation for your other live rock"
5 fill with water " pre mixed salt water is best but in an empty tank it's ok to mix salt and water in the tank"
6 sand storm
7 still sand storm
8 add pumps filter skimmer etc.
9 throw in coctail shrimp or other sea food to start cycle
10 turn on pumps "yet another sand storm"
11 do water tests wait complain to friends on ac central about how long this is all taking.
12 noxious algae bloom diatoms and red slime most of the time
13 complain to friends on ac central about algae so that we can tell you to turn off your lights " lol j.k. but it happens every day".
14 readings reach 30 ppm for nitrates time to add clean up crew.
15 lights now on in tank so green hair algae bloom begins " even if you had your lights off long enough to kill off most of the hair algae on your l.r. There will be enough on the hermits shells, the air or in spore to cause yet another algae bloom
16. start slowly stocking fish from least aggresive to most aggresive.
this is sort of light hearted and there will be twists on this experience for all of but, this is how it happens for most.
hth
chris

how many shimp and what is a sand storm ? oh and at what point would you add the rest of the LR ?

 

[ben72227]

here is a sandstorm:

notice how you can hardly see any of the live rock at all.

not too many shrimp, maybe 2 or 3? depends on what kind you're getting.

Also, I know its kindof a no-no to link to *rival* boards, but at ReefCentral, you can look at some of their members setup logs, with pictures and day-by-day reports to understand the process better. I linked to Wooglin's set-up log; its one of the largest threads i've ever seen - 1100 posts!

And now i wait for Oriongirl to send her lightning bolt at me and strike me down.

 

[Snarkys]

Originally posted by ben72227
here is a sandstorm:

notice how you can hardly see any of the live rock at all.

not too many shrimp, maybe 2 or 3? depends on what kind you're getting.

Also, I know its kindof a no-no to link to *rival* boards, but at ReefCentral, you can look at some of their members setup logs, with pictures and day-by-day reports to understand the process better. I linked to Wooglin's set-up log; its one of the largest threads i've ever seen - 1100 posts!

And now i wait for Oriongirl to send her lightning bolt at me and strike me down.

that thread owns .... thanks

 

[ben72227]

you're welcome. Still waiting for Oriongirl's lightning bolt

 

[Snarkys]

Originally posted by maxilaria
well ok
12 noxious algae bloom diatoms and red slime most of the time
13 complain to friends on ac central about algae so that we can tell you to turn off your lights " lol j.k. but it happens every day".

you don't need to have the lights on to keep your live rock alive ?

 

[ben72227]

you don't need to have the lights on to keep your live rock alive ?

It's a bit more complicated than that. You want to keep your lights on, but not on too much until you get your clean up crew. Algae feeds on light.

 

[Ray Pollett]

Originally posted by Snarkys


I am not missing that part . i am just worried that it will take along time for the growth from the first 50 pounds to spread to the other 100.

that is why i was thinking about buying 50 of the good stuff and 100 of the cheaper LR rather than plain rock ... maybe this is a stupid idea ??? i just want to make sure there is enough growth in there to filter the tank.

No, a very reasonable question. The bacteria will spread from the good LR to the base rock as needed. It will not hurt or help the LR if you put them in together. The cycle will only get as strong and last as long as needed to establish the needed bacteria for the load, in this case the LR from TBS. The cycle in my opinion from past experience will be the same, because only the TBS LR has any food for the bacteria. The Base rock has no food for the bacteria in an meaningfull quanity. The base rock will grow bacteria( give it a place to grow) as you add more life forms to the tank. One of the problems I see is people think the bacterias cover and are in everything at the max amount when the tank finishes the initial cycle. It is not. The tank only grows the bacteria it can support. It multiplies as needed and dies off maybe hibernates - not sure which) when it has less food.

Does that make sense or should I try to explain it again differently?

Ray

 

[ben72227]

to break down what ray said:

the beneficial *bacteria* will infest the base rock. This DOES NOT mean that the base rock will be loaded with corraline algae and anemones once it's finished. It may not have any noticeable life on it at all, but there will be bacteria growing in in. It will take about a year - give or take a couple of months - for the base rock to *LOOK* like the rest of the live rock.
HTH