New tank questions..

[NakiFantaki]

Finally got my new tank wet today! It's been awhile since I had a tank set up so I have a few questions...

I filled the tank and added bio-spira to kick off the cycle. I was wondering if it would be okay to dose phosphate RX during the cycle to ensure I don't run into high PO4 down the line.

I also have a fuge area in my sump.. I added a marine pure block in it, but I'm wondering if I should of waited till after the cycle to add it?

 

[sbash]

Excellent, it is always exciting to get a new tank wet!

As per my personal philosophy, I would only use something like Phosphate RX as a reactive measure, not proactive. However, if your skimmer is running, it could very well have no effect on the cycle. Unless your rock is known to have lingering phosphates (I follow a thread on BRS Pukani and it has been most enlightening), then there may be little advantage to actually using it until it is needed. I also pre-cycle my rocks for 3+ months outside my main tank before adding them (including new builds), so really, if you are not doing that, I would be interested to see how something like Phosphate RX combats the leaching phosphates in the rocks...

During the cycle is a great time to add the 'pure block' type rocks. Essentially, you want as much bacteria to develop as possible from the start

 

[NakiFantaki]

Awesome. Thanks for the tips! My marine block is in my fuge for right now.. not sure if it's going to stay there...

I did a quick pre cycle on my rocks prior to starting this tank, but it was only for about a month. I had horrible hair algae on my last tank and I'm just trying to avoid that this time around.

I do have my skimmer running, but it is breaking it at the moment and not really skimming. I added a small dose of phosphate rx and have a filter sock running, but I think your right and I'm not going to add anymore unless I see or test a problem.

 

[mcarroll]

I was wondering if it would be okay to dose phosphate RX during the cycle to ensure I don't run into high PO4 down the line.

I also have a fuge area in my sump.. I added a marine pure block in it, but I'm wondering if I should of waited till after the cycle to add it?

Remove the marine pure block and sell it IMO.

No phosphate removers now or until you have an actual phosphate problem.

And nutrients are not your enemy. Nutrient are what your corals need to grow.

If you're worried about something, it's probably algae blooms. So avoid those and cut your nutrient levels some slack!

How?

Add livestock to your tank very slowly – avoid doing it how you see everyone else do it who ends up with an algae bloom.

Begin stocking your tank with the smallest critters and end with the largest.

Only add 1-2 critters at a time, and wait at least a few weeks (a month+ would be great) between each addition.

1-2 CUC....snails, for example. Wait. Then a coral or another 1-2 CUC. Wait. Then another critter or two. Wait. Etc. Moving that slowly and giving yourself so much time to observe, learn and make corrections, it will be very hard to go wrong.

Forget the whole "low nutrient" thing though. Very poorly understood route to successful reefkeeping...a very low percentage of folks make it work even in the short term. Not all reefs in the wild are low-nutrient, BTW.....a myth. Arguably there's no such thing in the wild as a low-nutrient reef...nothing like what we do anyway.

 

[NakiFantaki]

Remove the marine pure block and sell it IMO.

No phosphate removers now or until you have an actual phosphate problem.

And nutrients are not your enemy. Nutrient are what your corals need to grow.

If you're worried about something, it's probably algae blooms. So avoid those and cut your nutrient levels some slack!

How?

Add livestock to your tank very slowly – avoid doing it how you see everyone else do it who ends up with an algae bloom.

Begin stocking your tank with the smallest critters and end with the largest.

Only add 1-2 critters at a time, and wait at least a few weeks (a month+ would be great) between each addition.

1-2 CUC....snails, for example. Wait. Then a coral or another 1-2 CUC. Wait. Then another critter or two. Wait. Etc. Moving that slowly and giving yourself so much time to observe, learn and make corrections, it will be very hard to go wrong.

Forget the whole "low nutrient" thing though. Very poorly understood route to successful reefkeeping...a very low percentage of folks make it work even in the short term. Not all reefs in the wild are low-nutrient, BTW.....a myth. Arguably there's no such thing in the wild as a low-nutrient reef...nothing like what we do anyway.

Why would i want to chuck the marine pure?

I was more interested in controlling phosphates. My last tank had a huge phosphate issue and I want to try and prevent that.

 

[mcarroll]

The block is like dead live rock that's guaranteed to release aluminum. At the very least it's unnecessary, but you also do not need any added pressure on nitrates in the tank. Leave em in there. A nitrate starved tank could even have been behind the phosphate problem you mentioned – happens somewhat frequently. I'd almost be willing to bet that most cases of accumulating P are really cases of limited N. Just don't do it.

If you don't mind PM'ing me, can you give me the background story on that phosphate problem? Or did you have a thread on it you can PM me?

Growing mad corals is the best and only good way to manage nutrients IMO.

Macroalgae or an ATS would be second place.

Artificial nutrient removers are pretty much undesirable outside of very limited applications. Easy to cause problems with them – happens all the time, in fact.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Woo Hoo! A new tank is born!!! Congratulations!!!!

The big question right now is what is your current phosphate?

Treating for Po4 right now won't anything for po4 down the line
If you have some now imo there are better ways to treat it.

The blocks I'm up in the air on. It's probably not a bad idea. I'd say like adding a deep sand bed really. Your insuring a strong biofilter for the future.

I think you did a huge service to yourself by curing the rocks early.
I'd bet right now if you tested it would consume ammonia quite quickly. I.e. It's already cycled. Your just waiting for the water to mature.

Personally at this point without knowing what the po4 is I wouldn't dose anything. Let the bio filter mature.
In my coral QT , the bio filter is so good and there no fish the nutrients drop to nothing fast. It's just rock and sand. I can now kill Xenia in it because the nutints are so low.

@mcarrol makes a good point, don't strip the food out too fast.
Look at the numbers as a guideline yes, but don't be a slave to them.

I had the exact same problem with nutints in my bio cube btw. Just the learning process.