"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
Ok i pmed you about the 30 gallon and metal halide for the clam i will let that sit with the rock for a month with a fish in then i will start out with the soft then the lps then the clam then sps. Will a six line wrasse eat my clam.
JT, Not Hard to keep animals like Most SPS and Clams. Easier kept animals like Zoas, Shrooms, Crabs, Shrimp and many LPS will do fine. Keep in mind, there is a Flora cycle or (algae cycle) that happens after the bacteria cycle. This can create big problems for a lot of animals.
Following the flora cycle, there is another step in the maturation process; A Fauna Cycle where Copepods, Amphipods and many other life start to populate the system. This is important to balance your system. Your sand bed will become active......
Every time a fish is added the bacteria in the system will multiply to cover the extra waiste being produced. Adding too many fish at one time can overwhelm the system and stress or kill the animals.
Yes there IS a "Shake n Bake" tank start up, but it dosen't do well with Advanced Corals and Animals.
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"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
Yes, the article I picked up and posted here is a kindof "Shake & Bake" recipe. The longer you let your tank run unoccupied, the better. ***A good old fashioned Water change will make the conditions better for the addition of snails & other janitors.
*I personally don't buy into the "Evolution" Theory, it simply takes the passage of time for the natural conditions of a body of water to be right (or ready) for the next step in Maturation.
If we're going to talk about the Aerobic/Anaerobic Bacteria colonizing every surface in the tank system:
1. If the rock has its bacteria already, there's not a bacteria cycle. Talk to Slipper about the Calfo method of Cycling a System.
2. if the rock is uncured, the dying material on the rock will take time to decompose and needs to be kepy away from live animals until everything dead rots away. It's releasing Ammonia, so bacteria will multiply to convert toxins. (I have used this method several times to cycle a system) -------------SUPPLY AND DEMAND---------------
3. If the rock you are adding is already cured, no need for a full bacteria cycle.
4. Simply adding one fish that produces Ammonia will "grow" your bacteria bed. (No Ammonia, the amount of bacteria colonizing your rocks dies back) Therefore the old Axiom of waiting two weeks between each fish has it's foundation here. With each new Fish addition, A MINI CYCLE!
5. At the end of a Bacteria Cycle, adding a fish at the optimal time will prevent Bacteria Dieoff.
MOVING AWAY FROM THE IDEA OF A TANK CYCLE JUST BEING ABOUT BACTERIA GROWTH AND DECLINE;
A TANK NEEDS TO MATURE;
1. Floura Stage: Starting with brown, Algae blooms will occur until an Equlibrium begins to take place. (You can speed this process by adding a fast growing Macro Algae to your sump on an alternate light cycle to "OUT COMPETE" for the available suspended nutrients in your system preventing an invasive slime outbreak). *At the end of the Floura Cycle Calcareous Algaes (Corraline)will begin to repopulate.
2. Fauna Stage: Toward the end of the Floura Cycle, hitchhiking isopod and copepod populations will begin to reproduce. (this is a sign of a healthy tank) Snails and Hermits can be added to keep algae blooms in check.
Since most Corals don't produce Ammonia or much Waist, hardy, easy to maintain species can be added as soon as the water clears of Ammonia and Nitrite.
NOTE: SPS Corals should not be added until around the 5th to 8th months. these Corals do much better in an AGED system.
*I let my personal Show Tank run empty for almost 4 months while plumbed into my existing system adding light slowly by increments.
Slipper and I have discussed many times the benefits of building a Reef in reverse; rock base, beginner Corals, intermediate Corals, advanced Corals and finally adding fish very slowly to allow the Bacteria beds to expand to compensate for the fish waste.
Hope this helps.....
-- Edited by Monty at 11:02, 2009-02-23
__________________
"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
true the cure assumption, Ive been told by a few old salts that if you had enough rock the tank would never cycle at all, whats your take on this? and another thought i had was the curing of rock, when you cycle a tank in my experience cycling was the need for the ammonia and nitrites to spike to establish the bacteria so is it logical to say you could just cure the rock and cycle a tank all in one whack. barring the need to find bad hitchhickers while curing the rock.
You're dead on Dude, I will work a little more on the Post soon. A far as the snails, I believe that this is assuming that the rock is cured before adding. I think I would wait a couple of weeks longer if it's uncured rock straight from the box. In my most recent tanks I've seen a very small amonia/nitrite spike.
I will post on how I cycled my present show tank soon.
__________________
"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
hey Monty just a question about the set up, when I set mine up I waited till much later to drop my snails and crabs for fear the ammonia and nitrite would send my money to crab heaven isnt this a questionable time to drop them?
and one thing you forgot or I missed it was A TEST KIT and do daily tests as the tank cycles to ensure its all running properly I think my chastising from matt last night over tests and the log book made me a little more wary of it. Thought my dad was taking a bite of the ol @$$
This is assuming that the Reefer has a basic Marine Test Kit.
A Tank should not be started with out a test kit.
My fingers and eyes get tired and I ommitted the extra typing.
This is a Recipe that I picked up online and modified because I agree with the Concept. After hearing some "scrutiny" from others, I feel that I need to make a couple of points; 1. Use a test kit to monitor. 2. For Advanced animals, a tank needs to mature. In the future I will try to cross every T and dot every I. Thanks, Monty
How to set up a Reef Aquarium
10 Aug 2007
How to set up a Reef Aquarium
Setting up a Reef Aquarium . . . in 4 Easy Steps
If you've ever dreamed of having a spectacular reef aquarium in your home, but think you lack the time, funds, or knowledge required, think again! Creating a beautiful reef ecosystem doesn't require specialized skills or advanced knowledge, and won't break the bank if you setup a small to medium size tank. Follow the four easy steps taken by novice aquarists over a time period of just 8 weeks and you can enjoy the colorful beauty of a reef aquarium in your home for years to come. (If they can do it, so can you!) This website has a Forum and Articles to help you build up that Dream Tank.
Step 1: Assemble the Aquarium and Cure the Live Rock You will need:
Aquarium Stand
Aquarium
Reef Tank Lighting Fixture; (pc) Power Compact, T5 or Metal Halide, (see article on Reef Tank Lighting).
Appropriate Heater
Timer (for lights)
Appropriate amount of Live Sand, (1 to 3 inches deep).
Synthetic Salt Mix
Medium or Large Plastic Mixing Container
Appropriate amount of Live Rock = 1 lb. per Gallon of Tank Capacity
Fill Container with RO or dechlorinated water. Add salt and mix until the specific gravity measures 1.025.
Note: Its best to mix Sal****er in a separate container such as a 20 to 50 gallon Plastic trash can or Rubbermaid type container with a power head pump and heater at 75 Degrees.
Pour the sand into the bottom of the aquarium.
3. Add Sal****er to tank. Place a plastic bowl on the sand and pour the SW into the bowl to keep from Clouding the water.
4. Arrange the live rock as desired.
Install the heater and start pumps or filter.
Wait 4 weeks. Do a 10% sal****er change every week.
Note: If you purchase Cured Live Rock, you can trim 2 to 3 weeks from this process.
Step 2: Add your First Inhabitants and a Protein Skimmer You will need:
Protein Skimmer, Purchase a Skimmer rated at twice your tank volume.
Clean up Crew (various snails and crabs), One crab or snail per gallon.
Do a 25% water change and install the skimmer per the instructions.
Use the timer to set the lights to go on and off in 8 to12-hour increments. Note: For the first month, keep your light On time at no more than 8 hours to keep Algae blooms to a minimum.
Acclimate and release your new inhabitants (Clean up Crew) into the aquarium.
Wait 2 weeks.
Step 3: Add Corals You will need to only introduce Soft Corals and Zoanthids first.
Acclimate the corals and place them into the live rock as desired.
Note: you can slightly overstock your tank with Corals at this point but be careful not to put them too close to each other (Corals will Compete for space by Stinging each other).
Zoanthids CAN be grouped closer.
Wait 2 weeks.
Step 4:
Add ONE small or medium (Reef Safe) Fish. Contact your Local Fish Store (LFS) or Internet resources for Compatability.
Note: Fish should only be added (1 every 2 weeks to allow the natural bacteria to grow to accommodate the fish waste).
Ratio: 1 inch of fish per 3 gallons of water.
Feed your Fish Frozen or Flake Food twice daily. Coral foods are available online or at your LFS.
We will have Homemade Coral food recipes on this website.
Maintaining your New Ecosystem
Perform 10 to 15% water changes each week.
By following these steps, you'll have a complete and successful reef aquarium. Sit back and watch in awe as your aquarium comes alive. Each day there will be new things to discover and an unending diversity of changes to witness. Keep in mind, reef aquariums need considerable time to balance themselves. This reef aquarium is only 12 weeks old. Within a year, you'll have a beautiful, thriving ecosystem.
-- Edited by Monty at 11:36, 2009-02-23
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"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
