New reef tank questions

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

That sounds like it. It does depending on how deep you want the sand bed. I like about 2 inches. It is possible to go without or have to or 6 inches. I think 1 or 2 inches is great

One of the earlier posts mentioned that if I use dry rock then I will need to boost the bacteria and ammonia in the water. Any tips on how to do that or did I just need to worry about that after I rebuild the base of my tank? LoL

 

[Blacktank]

Bio spira is a product that helps get it going. There are others.

You can do it now or after. I would wait until the Rock is in myself, bit personal preference, but I would ghost feed or get a shrimp in the tank now to start that part of it

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

Bio spira is a product that helps get it going. There are others.

You can do it now or after. I would wait until the Rock is in myself, bit personal preference, but I would ghost feed or get a shrimp in the tank now to start that part of it

Ghost Feed? I have know idea what that is. Also, do you have any advice about a hang on protein skimmer? I am still looking for a good one and I believe it may need to be up and running before I get to much farther into the cycling process

 

[Blacktank]

Ghost feeding is just putting fish food in to help get the cycle going.
When I get home I will tell you what I have. I hatted my first one, but love this one. Don't worry about getting one, if you want, until you cycle is about ready. As long as you have the water moving with a small power head or even an air pump, you are fine for your cycle. I added my first one when I added my clean up crew

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

Ghost feeding is just putting fish food in to help get the cycle going.
When I get home I will tell you what I have. I hatted my first one, but love this one. Don't worry about getting one, if you want, until you cycle is about ready. As long as you have the water moving with a small power head or even an air pump, you are fine for your cycle. I added my first one when I added my clean up crew

Right on.. thanks a lot for your time and your help. I will definitely be taking it all into consideration and putting it to use. So right now at the top of my list is pulling this crushed coral out. Right now I have Auqeon 75 pump/filter running so I will keep that going until.I get something else. Thanks again for your help everyone. I really appreciate it. It seems like you have already saved me some heartache in the future.

 

[Zack K]

"I don't have room for a sump" don't be silly!

Oh and Welcome to R2R. You will enjoy it here.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

"I don't have room for a sump" don't be silly!

Oh and Welcome to R2R. You will enjoy it here.

If I put a sump directly under my stand then my newborn would have to easy access to it. Lol, it's not a matter of space as it is a matter of peace of mind.

 

[Zack K]

If I put a sump directly under my stand then my newborn would have to easy access to it. Lol, it's not a matter of space as it is a matter of peace of mind.

Understandable[emoji6]

 

[Blacktank]

If you are interested, they do have hob sumps. I always though I might try one, but decided to go bigger with a sump

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

If you are interested, they do have hob sumps. I always though I might try one, but decided to go bigger with a sump

That really seems like a lot weight hanging of the back of the tank though. I really think it will work without the sump, I'm gonna find out soon enough I guess. Haha

 

[Blacktank]

The protein skimmer that I have and would suggest is the aquaç remora. No adjusting and it does a great job. Where I got mine, he has a used one that came out of à 55 gallon tank

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

The protein skimmer that I have and would suggest is the aquaç remora. No adjusting and it does a great job. Where I got mine, he has a used one that came out of à 55 gallon tank

Alright, I'm gonna look them right now. Thanks again. I also looked at the HOB sumps and they really don't look that big and bulky. I was expecting them to be much bigger.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

I have also been looking at the aquamaxx HOB-1

 

[Peter Blue Reef]

I love your bearded woman. One way that many people use is to put something rotten like a shrimp in there to add ammonia for your bacteria to consume. They sell bacteria in bottles at fish stores or you can do live sand. The important thing is the ammonia that will feed your bacteria. Some people will put one fish in there but I don't. Leave do this and leave it alone for three weeks. Don't even test your water there's no point. 3 weeks.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

I love your bearded woman. One way that many people use is to put something rotten like a shrimp in there to add ammonia for your bacteria to consume. They sell bacteria in bottles at fish stores or you can do live sand. The important thing is the ammonia that will feed your bacteria. Some people will put one fish in there but I don't. Leave do this and leave it alone for three weeks. Don't even test your water there's no point. 3 weeks.

Thank you, I appreciate all the input I can get. I actually think I am gonna try to run it with the crushed coral. I really like how it gives the bottom of the tank a more textured look. I am going to go and invest is some rocks, some live but mostly dry. Then I'm gonna push the coral away and build my aqua scape right on the glass bottom. Once I'm done with it and happy with the look (and sturdiness) I will push the coral back up around the base of it like Blacktank had mentioned doing with the live sand. If I do go with the dry rocks instead of live then how much more time will it add to the cycling time of the tank? I am not in any hurry, I am just asking as many questions as I can as soon as they come to me. [emoji106]

 

[Peter Blue Reef]

I used gorilla glue gel on my dry rock. I also add Gorilla gel directly to my tank for frags. It can go in wet, don't worry. I did a 99:1 / dry:live ratio. The two small live rocks brought in the microfauna "pods", coralline, algae and diatoms that seeded my tank. My goal for the first two months was to achieve as much purple as possible after the diatom bloom was destroyed with hermits, snails, and an emerald that later was removed due to the lack of food source. He now resides in the Caribbean. Trial and error with a lot of Google will get you where you want to be with your system.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

I used gorilla glue gel on my dry rock. I also add Gorilla gel directly to my tank for frags. It can go in wet, don't worry. I did a 99:1 / dry:live ratio. The two small live rocks brought in the microfauna "pods", coralline, algae and diatoms that seeded my tank. My goal for the first two months was to achieve as much purple as possible after the diatom bloom was destroyed with hermits, snails, and an emerald that later was removed due to the lack of food source. He now resides in the Caribbean. Trial and error with a lot of Google will get you where you want to be with your system.

So get some rocks and build her up the way I like it and then throw in just a couple live ones to help get it over the hump... I am gonna go out on a limb here and guess that the live rock can't be attached with the gorilla gel...

 

[Peter Blue Reef]

It can. Like I said super glue (gel prefered) can go directly into the water wet without worry. So yes. Wet rocks can be glued directly together and put back into the tank before they dry. Don't ever try it wet with epoxy or silicone. Just super glue (gel). I used rock that I collected from the beach in Hawaii and some of those I broke apart to make the shape I wanted. Then glued them out of the tank. You can literally put the super glue bottle into the tank and squirt what and where you need it without fear of poisoning fish or corals. And remember that fish react to chemicals before the coral do.

 

[Peter Blue Reef]

It can. Like I said super glue (gel prefered) can go directly into the water wet without worry. So yes. Wet rocks can be glued directly together and put back into the tank before they dry. Don't ever try it wet with epoxy or silicone. Just super glue (gel). I used rock that I collected from the beach in Hawaii and some of those I broke apart to make the shape I wanted. Then glued them out of the tank. You can literally put the super glue bottle into the tank and squirt what and where you need it without fear of poisoning fish or corals. And remember that fish react to chemicals before the coral do.

Watch this video. Don't fall for the epoxy crud just use super glue gel. I use Gorilla Gel. It's also great for small cuts and huge gashes.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

Watch this video. Don't fall for the epoxy crud just use super glue gel. I use Gorilla Gel. It's also great for small cuts and huge gashes.

Thanks a ton man, I really appreciate all your help. [emoji106]