It's Like Playing 21 Questions...

[EmilyXLC]

Okay, to prevent me posting a bajillion more threads in the future, I am going to post just one with all of the questions I would probably end up posting. I'm being proactive here. Ready yourselves.

1.) Does anyone in the area have any sand they would like to get rid of? I need about 10 - 15 more pounds. Dry is fine. I don't want to order it online.

2.) I'm still in the market for dry rock. If you have some, please post/send me pictures of it, along with the weight & how much you would like for it. I don't wish to order this online, either, because I want to pick the exact pieces that I will be purchasing.

3.) Is anyone good at aquascaping? I'm apparently much worse at it than I once was & would LOVE some help. My rocks are a hot mess right now. Come over & help me & I will pay you in a home cooked meal & all of the admiration your heart could desire.

4.) I am cycling my tank with a piece of raw shrimp. I can't remember... do I take it out once the parameters are down to 0 or do I remove it before then?

5.) Can I wait until after my cycle to add my skimmer?

6.) In a reef tank, is it better to add fish or corals first? I wanted to add fish first but while searching online it sounded like some people prefer to add corals first... Why? Shouldn't the tank be established first? What are some beginner, low maintenance corals that you would recommend to a first timer?

7.) Should I be performing water changes/topping off the tank during the cycle?

8.) In a QT tank, can I just fill it with freshly salted RO water & add fish? I'll be running an AquaClear filter on it. Other than water changes, is there anything I need to know? How often do I do these water changes? Once a week?

9.) Once my tank is ready to add fish, I will probably want to place an order online to purchase them. Would anyone want to do a group order? Where is everyones' favourite place to order?



Okay... that should be it. I raked my brain for ANY question I could possibly come up with. Thanks in advance! : )

 

[H@rry]

1.) Does anyone in the area have any sand they would like to get rid of? I need about 10 - 15 more pounds. Dry is fine. I don't want to order it online.

I can get you 4 or 5 cups of sand from my tanks that will be "live" and will seed the bacteria. No charge for that.

3.) Is anyone good at aquascaping? I'm apparently much worse at it than I once was & would LOVE some help. My rocks are a hot mess right now. Come over & help me & I will pay you in a home cooked meal & all of the admiration your heart could desire.

My recommendation is a whole lot different from what most people do. Most people put the big rocks on the bottom and the small rocks on top. Then your tank looks like a fruit stand. Put the smallest rocks on the bottom and progressively add the larger ones. Save the biggest ones for last. This will create caves and will prevent your sand bed from being covered up.

4.) I am cycling my tank with a piece of raw shrimp. I can't remember... do I take it out once the parameters are down to 0 or do I remove it before then?

Take it out.

5.) Can I wait until after my cycle to add my skimmer?

Add it now.

6.) In a reef tank, is it better to add fish or corals first? I wanted to add fish first but while searching online it sounded like some people prefer to add corals first... Why? Shouldn't the tank be established first? What are some beginner, low maintenance corals that you would recommend to a first timer?

When you nitrites measure zeri put a small fish in. A lot of people put a damsel in first but then he becomes a bully later on. I'd get a chromis or wrasse first.

7.) Should I be performing water changes/topping off the tank during the cycle?

You will have to top off as water evaporates. The water change is something people debate about. I say do it.

8.) In a QT tank, can I just fill it with freshly salted RO water & add fish? I'll be running an AquaClear filter on it. Other than water changes, is there anything I need to know? How often do I do these water changes? Once a week?

I would not add any livestock to a tank until it cycles.

 

[Parkerman]

Okay, to prevent me posting a bajillion more threads in the future, I am going to post just one with all of the questions I would probably end up posting. I'm being proactive here. Ready yourselves.

1.) Does anyone in the area have any sand they would like to get rid of? I need about 10 - 15 more pounds. Dry is fine. I don't want to order it online.

2.) I'm still in the market for dry rock. If you have some, please post/send me pictures of it, along with the weight & how much you would like for it. I don't wish to order this online, either, because I want to pick the exact pieces that I will be purchasing.

3.) Is anyone good at aquascaping? I'm apparently much worse at it than I once was & would LOVE some help. My rocks are a hot mess right now. Come over & help me & I will pay you in a home cooked meal & all of the admiration your heart could desire.

4.) I am cycling my tank with a piece of raw shrimp. I can't remember... do I take it out once the parameters are down to 0 or do I remove it before then?

5.) Can I wait until after my cycle to add my skimmer?

6.) In a reef tank, is it better to add fish or corals first? I wanted to add fish first but while searching online it sounded like some people prefer to add corals first... Why? Shouldn't the tank be established first? What are some beginner, low maintenance corals that you would recommend to a first timer?

7.) Should I be performing water changes/topping off the tank during the cycle?

8.) In a QT tank, can I just fill it with freshly salted RO water & add fish? I'll be running an AquaClear filter on it. Other than water changes, is there anything I need to know? How often do I do these water changes? Once a week?

9.) Once my tank is ready to add fish, I will probably want to place an order online to purchase them. Would anyone want to do a group order? Where is everyones' favourite place to order?



Okay... that should be it. I raked my brain for ANY question I could possibly come up with. Thanks in advance! : )

Well, what kind of aquascaping are you looking for? What do you like/don't like?

 

[kmaintl]

I'm not from your area, but we posts before. SEE BELOW IN ALL CAPS, EASIER TO READ.

Okay, to prevent me posting a bajillion more threads in the future, I am going to post just one with all of the questions I would probably end up posting. I'm being proactive here. Ready yourselves.

1.) Does anyone in the area have any sand they would like to get rid of? I need about 10 - 15 more pounds. Dry is fine. I don't want to order it online.

2.) I'm still in the market for dry rock. If you have some, please post/send me pictures of it, along with the weight & how much you would like for it. I don't wish to order this online, either, because I want to pick the exact pieces that I will be purchasing.

3.) Is anyone good at aquascaping? I'm apparently much worse at it than I once was & would LOVE some help. My rocks are a hot mess right now. Come over & help me & I will pay you in a home cooked meal & all of the admiration your heart could desire.

4.) I am cycling my tank with a piece of raw shrimp. I can't remember... do I take it out once the parameters are down to 0 or do I remove it before then?
MOST LIKELY THE BACTERIA WILL COMPLETELY CONSUME YOUR SHRIMP ONCE IT REACHES A HIGH ENOUGH LEVEL.

5.) Can I wait until after my cycle to add my skimmer?
I WOULD START YOUR SKIMMER AS YOU'RE CYCLING AS IT WILL REMOVE THE LIQUID ORGANIC WASTE THAT YOU CAN'T SEE.

6.) In a reef tank, is it better to add fish or corals first? I wanted to add fish first but while searching online it sounded like some people prefer to add corals first... Why? Shouldn't the tank be established first? What are some beginner, low maintenance corals that you would recommend to a first timer?

7.) Should I be performing water changes/topping off the tank during the cycle?
TOP OFF IS GOOD IDEA, DO NOT DO ANY WATER CHANGES OR IT WILL PROLONG YOUR CYCLING EVEN LONGER.

8.) In a QT tank, can I just fill it with freshly salted RO water & add fish? I'll be running an AquaClear filter on it. Other than water changes, is there anything I need to know? How often do I do these water changes? Once a week?
CHECK YOUR PARAMETERS TWICE A WEEK AND DON'T FEED TOO MUCH WHILE FISH IS IN QT. DO WEEKLY WATER CHANGES, UNLESS YOUR PARAMETERS GOES OFF DURING THE WEEK. I WOULD TREAT FISH WITH PRAZIPRO FOR 2 WEEKS AS YOU CANNOT SEE INTERNAL PARASITES. SINCE LOOSING A LOT OF NEW FISHES BECAUSE OF UNSEEN PARASITES, I MAKE THIS STANDARD PRACTICE NOW. PRAZIPRO IS EXTREMELY SAFE. BY THE TIME YOU REALIZE YOU HAVE INTERNAL PARASITES, IT MAYBE TOO LATE TO SAVE THE FISH.

9.) Once my tank is ready to add fish, I will probably want to place an order online to purchase them. Would anyone want to do a group order? Where is everyones' favourite place to order?
JUST MAKE SURE YOU QT ALL FISHES AT LEAST 4 TO 6 WEEKS BEFORE ADDING TO YOUR DISPLAY TANK. TRY THAT 2 WEEK PRAZIPRO. MANY LOCAL REEFERS IN MY AREA THEN DO COPPER FOR 2 TO 4 WEEKS AFTER THE PRAZIPRO. SPACE OUT ADDING ONLY 1 OR 2 FISHES AT A TIME. ONCE THE FIRST SET OF FISHES ARE OUT OF QUARANTINE, THEN BRING IN THE NEXT OF FISHES.


Okay... that should be it. I raked my brain for ANY question I could possibly come up with. Thanks in advance! : )

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW AQUARIUM... TAKE IT SLOW AND DON'T RUSH. RUSHING IS WHAT GETS EVERYONE IN TROUBLE.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Since Harry answered your questions pretty thoroughly, I will just add a few things.

For aquascaping your tank, how about looking at a bunch of TOTM tanks in the old reefkeeping magazine issues (use the button above.) You will develop a particular liking toward certain looks after awhile. Try to emulate the look. As Harry put it, use smaller rocks in the bottom and try to create caves and tunnels for fish. It looks better that way, too.

Tanks continue to go through adjustments after cycling. As Eric Borneman once wrote, cycling is a continuous process. What cycling does is matching the size of your bacteria population to your bio load. As you add more organisms to your tank (coral, fish or what have you), the bio load increases and the nitrifying bactria will try to catch up to the new high (this is what cycling is about). I don't think it matters much what you add to your tank first. I usually start with a clean up crew - snails, etc. Whatever you add, take it slow to give some time to bring the bacterial population to catch up to the increased bio load.

As your tank cycles, the first thing you will see is brown diatom. Astraea snails are great at cleaning diatom off rocks. Nassarius snails and a fighting conch (your tank can only support one) will clean the diatom off your sand bed and keep it white. Larger snails such as Turbo snails will consume filamentous algae, which will try to sprout out of your live rocks from spores, mowed down. I add them in the beginning to head off the algae outbreak. It's easier to prevent algae outbreak than trying to fix it.

The next thing that may show up in your tank would be a small amount of cyano. It may be red, green, or both forming a black patch somewhere. It seems to be a natural part of cycling. If you keep your nutrient levels low through water changes, cyano will go away instead of becoming a huge problem.

As for your QT tank, you need to cycle that one, too, since your fish will live there for awhile. It's a pain to have to do daily water changes. Get that Aquat Clear filter colonized with nitrifying bacteria in the displayt tank that you are cycling (kill two birds with one stone.) Once the display tank is cycled, you can move the AC filter to your QT (no need to cycle the entire QT tank this way.) I would use a large PVC fittings for hiding place for fish in a QT. I would not add any rocks or sand in case you have to treat the fish.

 

[markkazdad]

Your questions are great and a good example of "don't be afraid to ask questions. If you have a question, chances are someone else in the class has the same questions."

I have many of the same questions. Although I've read many "sticky" tutorials, remembering all the details when it comes time to do it is tricky. Especially when there are differing opinions, some all valid, some propagated from newbie to newbie as truth.

My favorite are the build threads that go into elaborate detail on equipment specs, upgrades, sand choice, aquascaping, and then degenerate into multiple livestock additions across a short span of time within the first few weeks. You know, something like: day 1 photos, all the equipment in boxes, day 3 photos, aquascape set and sand settled, day 7, added 5 different species of coral, day 10 added 3 kinds of fish. My cycle is complete because my levels never rose above 0."

My wife hates going with me to school meetings, because I always ask a ton of questions. Frequently, I'm the only one asking *any* questions.

 

[JSB]

Since Harry answered your questions pretty thoroughly, I will just add a few things.

For aquascaping your tank, how about looking at a bunch of TOTM tanks in the old reefkeeping magazine issues (use the button above.) You will develop a particular liking toward certain looks after awhile. Try to emulate the look. As Harry put it, use smaller rocks in the bottom and try to create caves and tunnels for fish. It looks better that way, too.

Tanks continue to go through adjustments after cycling. As Eric Borneman once wrote, cycling is a continuous process. What cycling does is matching the size of your bacteria population to your bio load. As you add more organisms to your tank (coral, fish or what have you), the bio load increases and the nitrifying bactria will try to catch up to the new high (this is what cycling is about). I don't think it matters much what you add to your tank first. I usually start with a clean up crew - snails, etc. Whatever you add, take it slow to give some time to bring the bacterial population to catch up to the increased bio load.

...

As for your QT tank, you need to cycle that one, too, since your fish will live there for awhile. It's a pain to have to do daily water changes. Get that Aquat Clear filter colonized with nitrifying bacteria in the displayt tank that you are cycling (kill two birds with one stone.) Once the display tank is cycled, you can move the AC filter to your QT (no need to cycle the entire QT tank this way.) I would use a large PVC fittings for hiding place for fish in a QT. I would not add any rocks or sand in case you have to treat the fish.

Be careful of quick fixes, particularly as it pertains to cycling. I know for a fact that Dr. Tim's One and Only, for example, will "cycle" tank in a period as short as a day. This, however, is simply not enough. Yes, it will help colonize the right kind of bacteria, but it simply won't be enough to drop a bunch of fish on day one. (It is a great solution for a hospital or Q-tank, if you don't have the space or patience to keep one set up all the time, though).

As for aquascaping, cut a piece of cardboard the size and shape of the bottom of your tank, and another for the back. Place the bottom piece on a table top or the floor against the wall, and the tape the back piece to the wall right above it. Use this as your boundary, and try different combinations until you accomplish the look you are going for. Don't be afraid not to use every rock you own.

It might be easier in the beginning to decide what kind of look you are going for. Like Tomoko said, look at the TOTM pictures for ideas. Do you want the reef wall look? The single or dual island look? The minimalist look? A lagoon floor for clams and brains? Start with the idea and go from there. When you get it all laid out on the cardboard template, take a piece of blue painters tape and number each rock. Then take a photo of it. Dismantle and reassemble in your tank according to your photo.

You may want to take some PVC pipe and build a frame or shelf to stack or tie-wrap your rock to, to accomplish what you want. No need to glue it, really, just dry fit it. Anything exposed will get covered in coralline algae and disappear to the eye.

Lastly, per Tomoko's advice, I used a couple of 3" PVC T-fittings for my QT. I stashed filter floss in one end of each piece that had previously been stored in my sump. It makes a great home for fish with lots of surface area for bacteria. If you don't want to keep a QT up all the time, by some filter floss at petco. Roll up a bit of it secure it with a zip tie and toss it in your sump, when you need a QT, shove it in a PVC piece and add sea water.

 

[EmilyXLC]

Thank you for the tips, everyone! : )

I am in NO way trying to rush the cycle. I have all the time in the world. I want to do this right!

If anyone has any more tips, please feel free to share! I need all the help I can get!

 

[JSB]

I am in NO way trying to rush the cycle. I have all the time in the world. I want to do this right!

It is just an easy trap to fall into. As you see things come together, it is easy to get into "just one more thing" mode.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

My personal preference for aquascaping is a relatively substantial structure with caves and tunnels than the popular so-called "bonsai" or Zen look with two small islands. Here's one of my favorite aquascapes: Tank of the Month - February 2005 - Reefkeeping.com

 

[JSB]

My personal preference for aquascaping is a relatively substantial structure with caves and tunnels than the popular so-called "bonsai" or Zen look with two small islands. Here's one of my favorite aquascapes: Tank of the Month - February 2005 - Reefkeeping.com

That is excellent, Tomoko. I had a similar idea with mine, but it is dang hard to execute in a 24x24 tank. Hopefully mine will grow up to be half that attractive someday.

 

[EmilyXLC]

My personal preference for aquascaping is a relatively substantial structure with caves and tunnels than the popular so-called "bonsai" or Zen look with two small islands. Here's one of my favorite aquascapes: Tank of the Month - February 2005 - Reefkeeping.com

This is EASILY one of the most beautiful tanks I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing it!

 

[GatorBen]

I'm not sure if you are still looking but I've got some sand that is in a tank I am in the process of selling. It is well seeded. I'm not sure how much I'll have left but I can easily give you a few cups to seed with. I've also got an extensive copepod swarm going on in there so if you want some water with copepods in it I can give you a few gallons of that as well. Let me know.