Got my tank! Now what?

[Sean Smith]

The tank has arrived! The wife blew a fuse when she saw how big it is.... 100 gallons. But after three days of slamming doors, tears and sarcastic digs... the noise has settled down. :lol:

The only thing that has not gone to plan is that the UK is sold out of my chosen skimmer (turboflotor multi 1000); and there will be no resupply for at least two weeks.

Now after all of my research and planning I need to make a start... and I am a little overwhelmed. It's just that the practical steps required that getting stuck-in phase me now I come to actually do it.

So! for example:

How do I mix my water (planning to go RO)?
Do I put my sand in before the water?
How do I get large containers of RO water up 5ft in the air to pour into the tank - without getting a hernia? :?
I am assuming I can run my tank and attach the skimmer at a later date?
Is this a good time to start a shrimp cycle?
Do I add my live rock a few days after sand/water?
Do I keep my filter/powerheads off until the water has cleared?



Advice appreciated !

[HoopsGuru]

My advice would be:

1. Create your DSB or whatever you will be using first.
2. Add water (put a dish in the middle and fill slowly).
3. Turn on powerheads, etc.
4. Add salt until you reach desired s.g.
5. Throw in a about 4-5 cocktail shrimp.
6. Let the tank cycle.
7. After cycle is complete (4-6weeks or add some livesand to jumpstart), add liverock...waiting will preserve more of the life on it, seeding your substrate (preferably DSB).
8. Give your tank some time to mature and then start stocking slowly!

[Sean Smith]

Keeping my lights on/off during the cycle period?

[HoopsGuru]

Ahh..good question. I kept the light off, because I didn't have one yet!! :D But really, it would be a matter of personal choice not necessity....some people just need to look at it and have it "feel" like the tank is going. Personally, I left it off on my newest tank to keep the algae from getting a head start.

[Pineapple House]

I disagree. I think your lighting should be left on, but at a considerable amount. Some of your life on the live rock has zooxanthellae and will use it as a source of food, such as rock-boring clams, polyps, etc. I wouldn't say "Leave your lighting on 12hrs" but find an amount that is good for both you and the life. Personally, 5hrs of actinic lighting will do just fine for a cycling tank. This will provide enough lighting to suit most life, while being short enough to stop most algae blooms. 3-5 hours of an actinic light or two should do fine. Algae shouldn't really be too much of a problem, esspecielly when using RO water.

PH =)

[Sean Smith]

I plan to put my substrate in and RO water first, achieve the correct salination level and run for a spell before I put in 45kg of LR.

So, three very practical questions:

1) how long should I leave it before I put my cured LR in?
2) putting LR in at a later date will displace a large volume of water.... so when I initially fill my tank, how much "space" should I leave in anticipation of the water level rising?
3) what is the optimal temperature to achieve?

[HoopsGuru]

how long should I leave it before I put my cured LR in?
Sean, I would allow the tank to cycle completely before adding any cured liverock. Reason being, if you add it, you will no doubt lose a considerable amount of life due to the cycle itself. If you allow the tank to cycle first, you save some of the life from the effects of the cycle and only lose the "normal" dieoff from adding it to your tank. The extra life will be a good headstart to helping to seed your sandbed.

Do to cycling without the liverock, this is why I still advise not to turn the lights on, the cycle itself doesn't need any.

putting LR in at a later date will displace a large volume of water.... so when I initially fill my tank, how much "space" should I leave in anticipation of the water level rising?
I would leave it "short", but instead as you add the liverock....remove some of the water as it rises. This is much easier than attempting to guess how much your liverock will displace.

what is the optimal temperature to achieve?
This is a good question with a broad answer. The biggest concern you should have is keeping pretty consistent temperature rather than shooting for the "right" number. At the same time though, don't panic if your water fluctuates by a few degrees throughout the day (often due to lighting, etc.). I have seen tanks be very successful at 76°, while I keep mine higher at 80-82°. This higher number reflects a bit closer to the temperature on tropical reefs, but certainly isn't "needed" for success...feel confident with anything in between.

[phistio]

also...i would run sand, salt and water for at least 24 hours before rock is added. JMO, for what it's worth...

[carol]

A good way to get water up into your tank is with a good strong power head and some foodgrade tubing. I mix in 25 gal trash cans and pump it in with a maxi jet 1200

[Sean Smith]

I don't want the CO2 from the curing water mix to lay waste to my live sand... so I am going to put the RO water and salt mix in - and let it mix/oxygenate for a day or so first. Then add the sand.

[HoopsGuru]

Sounds like you are implying that you will be using live sand for the majority of your sandbed. I think this would be quite a waste of your hard earned money. I would use playsand for about 85-90% of it and then just add a bag of live sand later. You would be surprised how little it takes to seed the rest of the sandbed. For my 10g, I used ¼ cup and it cycled in about 7-10 days. Its also hard to determine how much of the sand has remained "live" in transport from place to place until you finally get it home...big risk, little gain IMO.

Your method of adding the sand later would work though, but I don't think its the easiest way, not to mention it would stress me out seeing the tank that cloudy! :wink: