Mutration Period by Seeding.

[Gonzo]

Hi all, new here so firstly Hello.

Ive been a salt water hobbiest for about 5 years now but the latter 2 -3 were just maintaining my 240L tank.

About 3 months ago i sold it all as i moved house and thought it would be for the best, turns out it wasnt! lol. I cant settle down without having a tank to look at.

So, not having so much space now and not wanting to be as big i got my self a Juwel Lido 120 as i like the tank size, got the T5's and the internal filter. And ive decided to use just that filter, mainly because ive learnt in these latter couple of years that massive external filters arnt neccerssary if you have good amounts of living rock and good maintenance discipline.

My brother is also a reef keeper, and has 2x 260L reef tanks. Been established about 6 years. So to set it up i have used about 40 - 50L of his water, remainder RO water, and i have also put in some sponge media from his filters into mine.

Im now just wondering where i stand with it? OR how long it might take to get it safe enough to start adding a few stock?

There isnt any living rock in as yet, but i was thinking of going to get maybe 5 or 6 kg this weekend.

The tank has been setup since saturday just gone with the filter on, and has just a water mover in to keep things moving around.

Thanks
Andy

 

[kbuser92]

I would get closer to 10-20 kgs and then throw a piece of raw shrimp in. make sure.you have powerheads so water can circulate and when the whole piece is gone the cycle is over. Test your water to confirm and start buying your cleaners then fish! Only get 1-2 every 2-4 weeks, depending on size or if its a pair of clowns or similar. For your cleaners, 10-15 blue leg hermits, 10 ceriths and astreas, 3-5 turbos and a serpent or brittle star should do you well. Adjust as necessary, of course. Good luck, it sounds like itll be a good build and make sure you post a build thread in the tank showcase section so we can all follow along!

 

[Gonzo]

HI, thanks for the reply, somthing very odd has happened and is confusing me a little.

Last night i did an amonia test and the amonia is up a little at 0.6/0.8??

But all i have done is put some filtration media from an established tank in my filter, nothing that i would have thought to release amonia into the tank?

Ill check tonight to see if it has increased/decreased, the nitrate on the other hand is at 0?

Thanks
Andy

 

[kbuser92]

Thats normal for new tanks. Wait until everything is 0, it takes awhile