mario_sa05
Reefing newb
Thanks everyone.very helpful.
Cycling a tank, adding fish and corals
- Thread starter Jmck
- Start date
So we're buying a used, already cycled, 33 gallon tank with live rock and some soft coral. To transport it we are planning on putting all the LR and softies in buckets of the tank's water. Then we will add some new salt water once we set it up at home. Is this okay? Is the tank going to cycle again? We're not really sure what else we can do since we'll have live corals
BL1
.............
you may see a small cycle, just make sure to keep the live rock in the salt water as much as possible to minimize the die off. If you do that you should see little to no cycle. Also, if you are planning on reusing the sand make sure you rinse it out really well in some RO water that way the sandbed doesn't cause a cycle as well.
BL1
.............
There's no reason to, if you're planning on reusing it then you should be rinsing it out very well with RO water anyway, so you'd be losing all the life in there anyway.
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
Well, you should keep the sand wet (but a short trip shouldn't totally kill the sand). Just keep enough to keep it wet. Try to siphon out as much of the loose gunk, too. Like BL1 said, you will see a small cycle when you stir up the sand. Have lots of saltwater ready for water changes.
stealthfightrf17
Reefing newb
I cycled my 40 gal tank, got readings of 0ppm amonia, an 0ppm nitrite after heavy over feeding, did a 90% water change, added 4 damsels, Amonia went up to .25ppm for 24hrs, and nitrite has been at .25-.50 ppm for 3 days now. So far I have just been montering it. Any sugestions on how to speed up this second cycle, or why it even started
BL1
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It started because you added too many fish at once. Basically your tank can only handle so much of a bioload, and when you add a fish it increases the bioload. And your tank needs time to adjust to it. Adding so many fish at once overloaded your tanks bio-filtration and started another cycle.
stealthfightrf17
Reefing newb
I know with heavy over feeding in cycling a freash water will produce a strong bio filter and have never seen any spikes, but why does it seem to be different in a reef. I am not trying to create an aurgument just am trying to understand why. It seems as though everything I know about freash water seems to not carry over to reefs as much as I thought it would. I also used biospir when I first converted it, can that cause a weak bio filter?
BL1
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It's just that it's two completely different environments. In freshwater your filters are where you grow your bacteria population but, in saltwater your bacteria grows in your "live rock" and the use of a freshwater filter in your SW setup can cause dangerously high nitrate problems.
Yes, you can cycle you tank by putting food in and letting it rot but, your bacteria population will only grow and maintain it's size based on your bioload. So adding any fish into your tank is going to increase that regardless of how you cycled it
Also, livestock have different rules in SW. You can't add as many fish to an aquarium as you can in FW. And you need to research a specific fishes requirements because some need longer swimming areas. And others will only eat live foods.
Yes, you can cycle you tank by putting food in and letting it rot but, your bacteria population will only grow and maintain it's size based on your bioload. So adding any fish into your tank is going to increase that regardless of how you cycled it
Also, livestock have different rules in SW. You can't add as many fish to an aquarium as you can in FW. And you need to research a specific fishes requirements because some need longer swimming areas. And others will only eat live foods.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
I don't know much about freshwater, but I do know about saltwater. A good rule to follow is to only add one fish at a time, and leave at least 3 weeks between additions. Saltwater is very different.
Also, in saltwater you are limited to about 1 fish per 10 gallons. So with 4 damsels in a 40 gallon tank, you are maxed out already. If I were you, I'd remove the damsels, take them back to the store, and start with fish that you want to keep in your tank (unelss your goal is to only have a few damsels).
Also, in saltwater you are limited to about 1 fish per 10 gallons. So with 4 damsels in a 40 gallon tank, you are maxed out already. If I were you, I'd remove the damsels, take them back to the store, and start with fish that you want to keep in your tank (unelss your goal is to only have a few damsels).
ZyberGoby
Because I'm clever
not to shabby makes for a nice early morning read :D
fishsticks
No clue about reefs
does the 1inch of fish per 5gallons still apply?
OhNoNemo
i love triggers
IMO no......i think if anything it should be 10-15(like Biff mentioned) gallons to inch of fish....even though i don't really buy into any of those silly ratios ....I think common sense comes into play here
redsurfer
Reef Murse
Thanks for the very helpful post!!! i am just starting my first tank and this was a saving grace hahaha
ghostryderflhx
Reefing newb
not that its a good practice to do but I have went months with out water changes. the key to this whole operation is the live rock. aprox 3lbs per gal of water and the key is paitence. DO NOT RUSH IT. and when your ready for fish 1 at a time and my experience has been if the fish makes it after a month then add another. and also remember 1 inch fish per gal of water do not over load the tank
Jmck
Reef enthusiast
Sorry Ghost, completely wrong. You can survive for long period without water changes, but you will get deaths eventually unless your filtration can handle it. Even if you get no deaths you will get very little growth unless you dose every single trace element in the tank.
Do not rush it is excellent advice. And only one fish per month is correct.
HOWEVER - 1 fish per inch is the most incorrect rule for salt water, it is one small fish per 10 gallons of water and one large fish per 20 gallons. So if you use your method, everything in the tank will die as you will have 10 times the fish you are meant to have in the tank.
Do not rush it is excellent advice. And only one fish per month is correct.
HOWEVER - 1 fish per inch is the most incorrect rule for salt water, it is one small fish per 10 gallons of water and one large fish per 20 gallons. So if you use your method, everything in the tank will die as you will have 10 times the fish you are meant to have in the tank.
LoveJC03
Reef Enthusiast
So, to start I need all of the items listed below?
· Live Rock
· Live Sand
· Salt water
· Powerhead
· Heater
· Lights
· Skimmer
· Refugium (what is this?)
· Live Rock
· Live Sand
· Salt water
· Powerhead
· Heater
· Lights
· Skimmer
· Refugium (what is this?)
Jmck
Reef enthusiast
You NEED Live rock, live sand, salt water, powerhead, heater in order to cycle. The skimmer is better to run while cycling because it will run it in and lights are optional but it is best to get everything in the tank running together correctly from the beginning.
Refugium is an area where you keep macro algae which takes toxins out of the water to grow and is a natural biological filter. It is an excellent thing and you should have a look into one for your tank. Generally, a refugium is a section within your sump.
Refugium is an area where you keep macro algae which takes toxins out of the water to grow and is a natural biological filter. It is an excellent thing and you should have a look into one for your tank. Generally, a refugium is a section within your sump.
