Need help in setting up/ transferring a new reef

[koda_dad]

Hi all,

I have purchased a new fluval 305, an e200 heater, t5 4 bank lighting, and a 33 gallon tank. (all new)

I am buying the contents of another guys existing reef.
50 lbs live rock
40 lbs of crushed coral
Spiny Urchin
Two clown fish
and a
Prizim HOB protein skimmer

I still want to get a couple powerheads. (how many should I get and what rating)

But most importantly.... how the heck should I make this transition from the other tank to mine.

I am going to try and save as much of his water as I can...but other than that....how should I do this?

I am new to reef and saltwater. So please treat me as a total newb.

Thanks

 

[Bifferwine]

Hello and welcome!

First off, I would advise not taking the crushed coral. Instead, buy a bag of aragonite sand. You can find sand at any pet store. Crushed coral usually leads to poor water quality because the particles are so large that they trap waste and detritus. Your tank will be much happier if you use sand instead!

You should get one or two small powerheads. MaxiJets are a good brand, and are very inexpensive. Koralias are pricier, but are great powerheads as well.

I imagine it's pretty cold where you're moving the tank? :) The important thing is to keep the animals as warm as possible. Buy a styrofoam cooler and put the animals in it (with some of the tank water). Keep that in a place where they can stay warm! You can transport the rocks in 5-gallon buckets or in coolers. It's not as important that the rocks stay warm. You may have to remove the rocks first in order to catch the fish.

So you move the buckets and coolers with the animals and rocks to your tank, which you already have set up on the stand, about halfway filled with saltwater, ready to go. Add the rocks to the tank, and arrange them as best as you can. Then arrange the sand around the rocks. Put the rocks in first -- you want them resting on the glass so that they have a sturdy floor to sit on.

Your water will be cloudy at this point, but that's okay. Cloudy water won't hurt anything. It will help if you can rinse the sand off ahead of time to minimize dust in the tank though.

Fill up your tank to the top with the old water from the old tank, and slowly acclimate the animals to the new tank. You should be all set!

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you.
First off, you should get rid of the filter, they build up a lot of waste and raise nitrates, unless you clean it once a week.
Second, don't use crushed coral, get yourself some sand instead.
Buy yourself a few 5 gal buckets with lids to transport the water and livestock and rocks.
And 2-3 powerheads should do the trick for you.

 

[Smitty]

Ninja'd by Biff.......

 

[Bifferwine]

Doh!! ;)

 

[koda_dad]

Can I ask why ditch the coral for sand? What about running the the 305 as a chemical only filter? (carbon)

 

[yote]

Sand wont trap and hold detritus and other waste like the crushed coral will.Plus with sand,worms will colonize it and help control what little waste does settle out.
The canister will be fine for stuff like carbon.But your best filtration will come from plenty of rock,enough flow for the tank,and a good quality skimmer.

And Welcome to the site.Were happy to have you join us.

 

[Bifferwine]

Can I ask why ditch the coral for sand?

Why yes, yes you can ask.

First off, I would advise not taking the crushed coral. Instead, buy a bag of aragonite sand. You can find sand at any pet store. Crushed coral usually leads to poor water quality because the particles are so large that they trap waste and detritus. Your tank will be much happier if you use sand instead!

 

[VAreef]

Actually the way I have usually moved tanks is to put tank water and rock into plastic totes or coolers. Leaving about 4 inches of water and the substrate in the tank with the fish. Then when I get it home use a powerhead to pump the water back in then re setup the rock. If your just moving across town you shouldnt need to worry about the temp for that short of a time as long as they aren't out in the weather. If your gonna have em out in the cold for any period of time you will very much need to worry about the temp. And as they say why not while your at it just buy a few bags of sand and a new dustpan. Dig out most of the crushed coral with the dustpan then just replace with sand. The crushed coral isnt good for water parameters and you can always dose charcoal in it sure.

 

[koda_dad]

Great help.

The consensus is definitely lose the crushed coral. (gone)

Now I am worried about a cycle when I replace it with the sand?
Any thoughts?

Any other opinions on the fluval 305 filter?
If I do lose it, am I going to have enough filtration with just that protein skimmer?

 

[koda_dad]

Actually the way I have usually moved tanks is to put tank water and rock into plastic totes or coolers. Leaving about 4 inches of water and the substrate in the tank with the fish. Then when I get it home use a powerhead to pump the water back in then re setup the rock. If your just moving across town you shouldnt need to worry about the temp for that short of a time as long as they aren't out in the weather. If your gonna have em out in the cold for any period of time you will very much need to worry about the temp. And as they say why not while your at it just buy a few bags of sand and a new dustpan. Dig out most of the crushed coral with the dustpan then just replace with sand. The crushed coral isnt good for water parameters and you can always dose charcoal in it sure.

The tank is staying... everything is going in a brand new tank.

 

[andysgirl8800]

If you are taking the live rock from the previously established tank, you can use dry, (not live) sand. Don't spend your money on "live" sand. The rocks you add to your tank will seed the sand on its own, so that it will become "live". If you go that route, you shouldn't have to worry about sparking another cycle. :)

 

[VAreef]

Great help.

The consensus is definitely lose the crushed coral. (gone)

Now I am worried about a cycle when I replace it with the sand?
Any thoughts?

Any other opinions on the fluval 305 filter?
If I do lose it, am I going to have enough filtration with just that protein skimmer?

I would say most people on here do not use a "filter" per say. The Live rock is the biological filter, Crabs and snails and stars are the Mechanical filter, The skimmer well Its the waves of the ocean or the poop filter.

 

[koda_dad]

so lose the fluval add in the 2 powerheads and I should be good

but I will need some crabs and snails... what would you recommend I get and when Thanks

 

[wontonflip]

If memory serves, I believe a lot of people here don't like the Prizm skimmers...not sure. I'm sleepy :)

Looks like everyone has you covered, especially about the aragonite in place of crushed coral.

So put in the aragonite first several times (since it so you get as much dust as possible), then add the water, then your live rocks, then the livestock.

When you're draining his water into buckets to bring home, don't stir up the sand. In fact, drain as much as possible, and leave maybe an inch or so of water. That way the crushed coral doesn't stir up. and raise nitrates.

How big is the guy's tank? Is it bigger than yours? If not, just add more saltwater with the same salinity into the tank to top it off. Got a refractometer yet? ;)

Welcome to the site!

 

[Bifferwine]

The Prizm isn't the best skimmer out there, but it is fine for small tanks like his. It should do the job for a tank that size.

I don't know, I'd keep the Fluval. It's useful for running carbon on a monthly basis and other filter media if you need to.

 

[VAreef]

so lose the fluval add in the 2 powerheads and I should be good

but I will need some crabs and snails... what would you recommend I get and when Thanks

Soon as the cycle is done you can add a Clean up crew. I like zebra and scarlet leg hermits, maybe even the blue dwarf hermits and the turbo snails, and astraea snails. Thats just a preferance though just the crabs and snails are the clean up guys and is what matters.

 

[koda_dad]

Okay...I was on my way to pick up the rock and stuff tonight... and the guy informs me the rock has a TON apatacia (no idea if i spelled that right)

I just searched for this...and it doesnt sound good.

Is it time to just walk away from this deal?

 

[Bifferwine]

Oh man. If it has a ton of aiptasia, you should negotiate the price down, because you are better off boiling it all or letting it all dry out so that it's dead rock, not live rock. You do not want to start off a new tank with aiptasia infested rock. You'll be giving yourself headaches and getting super frustrated from the start!

Aiptasia is easy to take care of if there are a few of them. There are shrimp and fish that can eat them, and you can inject them with chemicals to kill them. But if there are a ton of aiptasia, the only way to effectively control them is to kill everything on the rock, including all the good stuff.

Either walk away from the deal, or have him drop the price so that it's no higher than what you'd pay for dry, dead rock. Because that's what you'll have to do to it to get rid of the aiptasia.

 

[wontonflip]

+1 Biff