M1i1t1c1h1
Community Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2020
- Messages
- 38
- Reaction score
- 45
Hello all! I am still putting together my plan of action for my 125g startup. I read something a little bit ago regarding a bit more of an 'intelligent' startup method for the tank and I want to explore the idea a little bit further.
The concept for the idea was fairly simple: In a new tank (especially ones with live rock) there is going to be constant biological fluctuation. Dead organics that are in the tank decay, the ammonia spikes, bacteria has lots of food which causes a bacteria spike, ammonia dips, bacteria has less food, bacteria die off releasing ammonia back into the water, and the cycle continues. Whether or not this happens in every tank to some degree or not I don't think anyone knows for sure. But this is the reason why people say that you need a 'mature' or 'stable' tank before you add complicated/expensive corals (approx. a year after startup).
So the method of startup that was suggested was to not put fish in at all off the start. This is because fish are extremely sensitive to ammonia spikes. And as most of us know, it is not uncommon for the first few fish that go in the tank to die. Instead, after a few months once this natural biological sway slows down, it was suggested to add certain kinds of corals first (obviously hardy corals). Presumably this is to help control and stabilize nitrate/nitrite, create competition for nuisance algae, and perhaps allows the tank owner to figure out how to properly dose their tank to accommodate their corals before adding fish.
My questions are:
A) what kind of corals would you add for this particular startup method?
B) Is this a viable/tried and true startup method?
C) What other slow-paced startup methods have you guys tried that worked?
One thing I am fairly set upon is NOT starting up quick. I know there are some out there that have told me that my startup method may be too slow. But doing my own research and hearing stories from other reefers, the evidence is far too compelling to convince me to implement a quick startup method with live rock, live sand, fish, corals, etc. Not to mention I attempted to start up a 50g 7 years ago within a few short months and failed MISERABLY. I recognize that the tank is going to go through periods of 'ugly' phases. I am accepting of that. I am willing to wait. I just don't want to dump tonnes of money into things like fish and corals because they keep dying because I tried to rush things.
The concept for the idea was fairly simple: In a new tank (especially ones with live rock) there is going to be constant biological fluctuation. Dead organics that are in the tank decay, the ammonia spikes, bacteria has lots of food which causes a bacteria spike, ammonia dips, bacteria has less food, bacteria die off releasing ammonia back into the water, and the cycle continues. Whether or not this happens in every tank to some degree or not I don't think anyone knows for sure. But this is the reason why people say that you need a 'mature' or 'stable' tank before you add complicated/expensive corals (approx. a year after startup).
So the method of startup that was suggested was to not put fish in at all off the start. This is because fish are extremely sensitive to ammonia spikes. And as most of us know, it is not uncommon for the first few fish that go in the tank to die. Instead, after a few months once this natural biological sway slows down, it was suggested to add certain kinds of corals first (obviously hardy corals). Presumably this is to help control and stabilize nitrate/nitrite, create competition for nuisance algae, and perhaps allows the tank owner to figure out how to properly dose their tank to accommodate their corals before adding fish.
My questions are:
A) what kind of corals would you add for this particular startup method?
B) Is this a viable/tried and true startup method?
C) What other slow-paced startup methods have you guys tried that worked?
One thing I am fairly set upon is NOT starting up quick. I know there are some out there that have told me that my startup method may be too slow. But doing my own research and hearing stories from other reefers, the evidence is far too compelling to convince me to implement a quick startup method with live rock, live sand, fish, corals, etc. Not to mention I attempted to start up a 50g 7 years ago within a few short months and failed MISERABLY. I recognize that the tank is going to go through periods of 'ugly' phases. I am accepting of that. I am willing to wait. I just don't want to dump tonnes of money into things like fish and corals because they keep dying because I tried to rush things.
