New Tank...Please give your input

K

kgalliher

AC Members
Mar 22, 2005
38
0
0
I am new to marine tanks and just set mine up this weekend. I received all kinds of information, most of it conflicting, on how to set up my tank.

Let me give you some details on the tank then, I will tell you what I have done so far.

I have a 55 gal tank with a wet/dry trickle filter and RIO 1700+ pump and a 150W heater.

Initially I put water and salt and 40lbs of crushed coral in the tank. I let it run for a day and talked to a few LFS's all of which gave me a little different info, but 2 of them mentioned a Marineland product, Bio-spira. At the 2nd store I went to that mentioned this, I purchased it and 2 damsels and added them to the tank simultaneously (after letting the bag float for 15min). The fish have now been in the tank for 3 days and all apears to be well. I have tested Ph, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels and all is well.

After talking to yet another LFS today, the guy tells me that the 2 damsels will not do much for starting the cycle in my 55g tank, he recommended 1 fish per 10 gals to get this going well. I did not purchase them yet, because frankly I am getting more and more confused.

I had done quite a bit of reading prior to all of this and had not heard of doing a fishless cycle prior to coming here, so for all of you that think what I am doing is cruel, please forgive me, I was not aware of the alternatives. What I would like to know is what to expect in the coming weeks and what I will need to do as far as water changes and keeping ammonia and nitrite levels in check. I definitely do not want to loose the fish I have purchased. I would also like to know what changes to expect my tank to go through chemically and visually.

I almost forgot....One LFS did give me a bag with some loose gravel and what appeared to be small chunks of live rock from one of their tanks. I added that as well.

Thanks again for all of your help
 
If you purchased the Bio Spira, you really shouldn't have any cycle issues and it is a fairly dependable product (at least for FW it is). Really with Bio Spira though, you are suppose to add your entire fish load with it at the time of use.

This is all coming from my first-hand freshwater experience with the product though so I apologize if it is not accurate to SW.
 
Before you get too far in the cycle, I would recommend considering a few things. First of all, figure out what kind of fish/invertabrates you want, as they may conflict with the crushed coral. For example, jawfish and some wrasses like to burrow in the sand, as well as many burrowing snails and crabs. Also, crushed coral, from what I've read around here, can cause nitrate problems down the road.

Secondly, you can cycle your tank with or without fish. I did it with fish just so I didn't have an empty tank. Pick up lots of live rock, 1.5-2lbs per gallon. It can be expensive, but it's worth it in the long run.

About the damsels, be careful if you decide to add more. I never had problems with 2, but if you start to add more, the already established damsels will become rather territorial and may peck at the new damsels' fins. To avoid this, you can stock quite a few damsels in your tank so they can't establish territories, also, find out if your LFS will take the damsels back, as they can be monsters when you add more peaceful fish.

About the biospira. . .I didn't use it, but at the same time, I haven't heard anything negative about it. But I'm guessing that with some live rock, and just like with anything else, a bit of patience, you won't have any problems cycling your tank either way.

Patience is the key to a successful tank. :) Monitor the levels of your tank every other day or so and keep a chart so you can watch the spike. About keeping your ammonia and nitrite levels in check, that's what the cycling process is for. Damsels are great at handling high ammonia, which is why they are recommended for cycling. The jury is still out on whether or not there are any benefits to a fishless cycle over a cycle with fish, or vice versa.
 
Thanks for the info. I am planning a fish only tank for now. Maybe down the road I will consider inverts, etc.

On the LR, if I buy live rock and do not have the lighting to keep it live, what is the point exactly? Is it just to get some more living things in the tank? How long will it live in the tank without the correct lighting? Also, What should I look for when buying live rock, and what's the avg cost? I'm sure it varies depending on where you live (I live in FL). Also, I hear people talking about cured rock and curing rock....what's this about.

Also, when should I do a water change and how much? I would assume this depends on the Nitrite/Nitrate and Ammonia levels, correct?

Thanks again!
 
You're going to want to consider some inverts in your tank in the not too distant future. If you throw a few scavengers in there (be sure that they are scavengers and not predators), such as shrimp, crabs, etc, then they will eat up any left over food after feeding time, help keep your tank clean, and most importantly, keep your ammonia level low, as rotting food will raise your ammonia.

About live rock, I'm talking about bits of rock with bacteria and some smaller creatures on there. You don't need any special lighting. The bacteria on the rock is the bacteria needed to properly cycle your tank. The critters can be good or bad depending. . .I got a serpent starfish and a porcelain crab as hitchhikers, not a bad deal. :) About cured LR, here's a good article on that. http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=31

The cost of live rock depends on a lot of factors. My LFS charges $5 a pound, so 100lbs of LR can be rather spendy. There are a few sites online that you can order LR from fairly cheap.

Finally, on water changes, I was instructed to avoid a water change until the tank cycled. This may or may not have been good advice, but everything seemed to have worked out (except for a bad case of ich). I've been doing 20% water changes weekly since then.

Finally, if you have the money, do yourself a favor and get a quarantine tank. I didn't listen and lost a lot of livestock by not doing so. Go pick up a 20g tank, heater, and powerhead, that's all you need. Use it as a quarantine tank if fish are sick or need to recover from an injury, or as a means to break a fish in. I plan on using mine to keep new livestock in for a couple of weeks before adding it into my main tank to avoid disasters.
 
When would I add the shrimp, crabs etc? and should I add sand for them? If so, can I add it on top of the crushed coral?

Thanks for all of the great info. When you do a quarantine tank, should I wait to set that up until my tank has cycled using that water? I do know someone wanting to sell me a small tank and I already have an extra heater and a couple of powerheads someone gave me.

Thanks again.
 
When cycling with fish, you want to do water changes as often as needed to prevent ammonia from going higher then 1 ppm--and lower is better.

Adding 1 fish per gallon is suicidal advice--not only is that too many fish for any SW tank, but it will result in lethal ammonia levels.

When using Bio-Spira, you can add a full stocking immediately--and then continue to test and monitor for ammonia levels, redosing as needed to bring them down.

Crustaceans can be added once the tank is stable. Shrimp, crabs, and serpent stars will be fine on CC, but you may want to remove some of the CC and cover it with sand (which is best done in an empty tank) to avoid the waste trapping common with CC.

The water in the tank does not cycle. The beneficial bacteria are on objects, not within the water column. Old tank water will not help a new tank cycle, and just imports wastes. A Q-tank should be set up with freshly prepared SW.
 
Wait to add the inverts until after the cycle has happened. A little added ammonia from the food that isn't eaten is okay for now, but after the cycle, you want to avoid it at all costs. You don't need sand now unless you get something like a horseshoe crab (which I highly recommend avoiding, I have one that seems to be doing fine, but he's going ot be a monster in the not so distant future). If you do decide to go with sand, I would set up the quarantine tank with water from your tank, move your fish their temporarily and follow this advice I got from maxilaria here. Get a couple of 25g tubs from Target or Home Depot (cheap), drain the water into those. Move your live rock, if you have any, into one of them. Remove the crushed coral into a container of your choice. Add the sand to the bottom of your tank (play sand from Home Depot works, as long as it's fit for a play sand box, like $5.00 for 50lbs.) Then, place a large plate on top of the sand to prevent a sand storm when you add water. I used a pitcher and a lot of elbow grease (if you know waht I mean) to add most of hte water back in slowly. Put any live rock or decorations in, wait a little while for everything to settle back down, and replace your fish once the temperature is right. If you've already started to cycle, or you have cycled, what I did was buy a cheap pair of pantyhose, rinse them thoroughly, and part where your feet go off and stuff it with the crushed coral and tied it off. Then let it sit on your sand for 5-6 weeks to seed the sand with the necessary bacteria etc.

Keep in mind though, that if you get sand, you'll need some sand sifters to keep the sand rotating to avoid pockets of toxic material. There are some good snails that can do this, the cerith and nassarius (sp) snails, as well as some gobies and crabs (to a lesser extent).

About the quarantine tank, you can set that up any time you want, you don't need any filters in there, but you will want to keep a VERY close eye on the levels of ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites. Do frequent water changes, and make sure that it's the same temp and salinity as your main tank.
 
Oriongirl,

Why didn't anyone tell me about Bio-spira before?!? I did a standard cycle. :( When you say start stocking, do you mean stock the fish you plan on keeping permanently?

About the q-tank, I use it as a quick set up device, not something that's sitting around all the time. . .although I'm sure a lot of people have it permanently set up. I just set mine up not that long ago, and unless someone says that it's a bad idea, I plan on filling it up with water from my main tank, that way it's the same chemistry and temp, when I need it and then just using it as another excuse to do a water change on my main tank.
 
Last edited:
Thanks again to both of you.

OG-The guy at the LFS told me 1 fish per 10G not 1G just so you dont think the guy was an absolute idiot. Also-if I do put the full amount of fish in now, you mentioned "re-dose" I assume you mean with the Bio-Spira?? So, should I buy my fish and an extra pack of the Bio-spira? If so, that will most likely be my next step along with the LR.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated as well. I think I finally have an idea as to what I am doing and will do thanks to you guys.

It really is a shame that the folks at the LFS seem to be more interested in selling you things rather than telling you the right way to do things.

And by the way, my local LFS' want $8-9/lb for "Premium Fiji" rock. They also tell me (this was on the phone) this is the best stuff you've ever seen. Then they said they have base rock from Haiti for $5/lb. Any recommendations?

I see Liveaquaria.com has 45lbs for $116 plus $54 for shipping which works out to be under $4/lb and it is listed as "premium Fiji" as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom