Newbie, New tank, just got base rock in, and filled

[brianK]

Well, was able to get some base rock from my associate at work today. Got the tank filled. Got the powerhead (from my work associate) and a Prizm protein skimmer attached in the pic.

Working on adding a Tetratec Power Filter for cleaning, heating, and extra wave action. Now for the cycling.....


Brian

[brewercm]

Nice setup, I'd get rid of the air stone or you're going to have masive salt creep out the top.

[cvonseggern]

Welcome! What kind of critters are you planning on?

[brewercm]

Sorry, that was rude. Welcome to MAAST.

[brianK]

Thanks, Thanks for the tip also...done...so once the tank has cycled...what are some good inverts to start with? One or a few cleaner shrimp? I know it will take a little while to cycle...just trying to plan ahead...

Brian

[GaryP]

Brain,

First off welcome to MAAST. What inverts you add is going to depend on what you are planning to do with the tank.
Some soft corals, such as mushrooms and Xenia, actually like slightly dirty water. I've heard of huge patches of Xenia growing at sewage outfalls in Indonesia.
I've personally seen the same thing with Texas native anemones at a sewage plant in Galveston. It looks like you need some nicely cultured live rock in addition to the base rock before you go much further. I wouldn't recommend any crustaceans (shrimp or crabs) at this point. They are pretty sensitive to swings in water quality that are common in a new tank. Some of your choices are going to depend on what sort of lights you have on your tank. Some more details would be helpful in giving you some good advice. You might also want to see if you can get a few cupfuls of sand from a few other reefers to help jumpstart the biodiversity of your sand bed.

Gary

[brianK]

Hello Gary,

Gonna do some looking around this week for some good LR. I'm using 4 55Watt 10k bulds that I'm cycling on/off for 4 hour sessions
with an overlap of 2 hours when both are on. I used the ARAGALIVE reef sand that is suppose to have alot of microbes in it, Said it should cycle
fast ( I know don't rush the cycling). Got a testkit for checking all the regular conditions (ammonia,ph,nitrates,nitrites, etc) so not going to rush
and put anything in until the tanks ready. What is the most hardiest thing to put in first once the tank is ready?

Brian

[Ram_Puppy]

Brian,

Welcome to maast! I started my tank with aragalive too, but quickly figured out from the greater intelligences I now bask here in the presence of, I ripped myself off. Your gonna get all the bacteria you want off your live rock. I would also reccomend that you start hitting stores this weekend, and getting liverock in your tank now for a couple simple facts: Uncured has more life and diversity, and if you cure it in tank, in a controlled environment, you will probably keep more of it alive than the store will in their 'bulk' curing stations. Diversity is good, and your cycling in a fishless tank now anyhow... take advantage of the situation and do it when you can! THat is all PERSONAL OPINION, you don't have to follow it. :) it's what i would do though.

I would add more live rock before adding any invertebrates, whether you add uncured now, or cured later. I think also, another first step, would be to meet some MAAST members up there, and get a live sand culture from them. You allready have the bacteria, now see if you can get the micro flora, mini-stars, copepods, amphipods, bristle worms and so on. Again, this is if you are going for a reef tank. depending on what fish you get, that could just be making a tasty sand bed. :)

welcome to the addiction.

[Ram_Puppy]

oh, and witht hose test kits, make an excel spreadsheet and keep track of everything... I did (wish I hadn't stopped, and am starting back up.) it is really useful to plug it all into excells graphing system, and you can actually see your amonia spike go up, and then down, so on and so forth... I am also going back, and adding approximate dates that livestock was added to the tank as well, to track it's life under my care.

[GaryP]

A new tank usually goes through a hair algae stage. A Yellow tang or a Foxface are hardy fish that are good choices for helping control the algae.
Don't add any fish until your ammonia levels is consistently at 0. Remember that there may be ammonia spikes in between samples. I'd wait several weeks after your last detectable ammonia reading before adding fish. Also remember to stock fish slowly so that your biological system can catch up to the increasing levels of waste being generated by fish. Healthy Live Rock will help greatly in the cycling process and will help seed your existing base rock.

I don't really understand your light cycling method. You might just want to leave them on for 10-12 hrs. I wouldn't count on your Aragalive being as alive as they claim it is. It may have bacteria, but live sand contains a lot more than just bacteria. Personally, I think its a gimic but at least you have some sand and its a place to start.

Gary

[RobertG]

Brian welcome to MAAST, you are on your way to an addiction!!! If you jumpout now, I'll take your rock & sand... LOL Good Luck with it. I am sure someone here will be able to help get you through the tough times. You are welcome to a nice cup of my sand to help seed your sand. Nice & alive with all kinds of critters. I am on the otherside of town, in Leander. I might be heading to S. Austin later today. Let me know if you are interested, I might be able to meet you somewhere there in Bubbaland.... 825-8468 is my cell..

[brianK]

Sorry I didn't get back with you RobertG yesterday, had errands to run and didn't get much free time. I didn't know the light cycling so thought I would just stager
both lights..but alot easier to just leave them on for the 10-12 as you said Gary..thanks for the advise.

I've got a few programs to keep track of inventory, test results and such so should be covered on keeping track of things.

So when I go purchase the live rock, do I need to bring coolers, buckets to take it in, or do the stores usually have containers? Just curious.....How many pounds of LR
would be good for the base rock I have?

Brian

[Instar]

Welcome to MAAST BrianK!
Aragalive is a good live sand. It has lots of spores held in stasis by the red algae thats packed in it.
They will grow all kinds of things for you. Put that together with with some live sand from people here
and you will have a real good start on benthic creatures for your tank.

Judging just from looking at that picture, I would probably double the amount of base rock in live rock, so
if you have 30 pounds of base, add 60 pounds of live. You can do that in two steps with store bought regular
live rock and then some real nice rocks with things living on them such as zoo and ricordia rocks after things
cycle for you. Even small rock frags from other members will count for that. (Unless its to be a fish only, that is.)

There isn't really a "wrong" amount or way to run a salt water tank. There's more than one way to do it and
have great results. Have fun and keep your sense of humor. You did good by seeking advice here as there's
a lot of that to go around. :)
Take your time and enjoy all the little things that grow from that
sand and rock before you bury it with big hairy things.

[RobertG]

Brian, Looking at the pic again. I noticed the powerhead on the left the 802, I have nic named those pumps as murderers. They will suck a fish in like you would not believe. They sell a filter strainer deal for it, I highly recommend one, having lost a couple of fish over the years to one.

[brianK]

Yeah, I just got the powerhead from an associate at work, Gonna get a different one before I put the fish in. What are some good fish friendly
powerheads to use?

Brian

[GaryP]

Brian,

I think the consensus around here is that the Maxijet are the best small powerheads available. You probably only need a couple for that size tank.

Gary

[Ram_Puppy]

you could get a nice maxijet and put a sqwd on it, that would actually reduce the amount of power your using, and I think it's more asthetically pleasing as well, in addition to creating a wave action.

[brianK]

So Ram, what is "sqwd"?

BTW, so where is the best place to get Live Rock in Austin? Where have you had the best luck with? What test
conditions (ph,Amm,Nitrates/Nitrites) are best . Have 2 pairs of 55w 10k bulbs for light...

Brian