55g tank startup - college project Q2

[ben&bobbi]

Here's the original post:
thanks for coming in to read.

I am attending UCF in Orlando, Florida. We have decided to do our group project on setting up standards to maintain a saltwater aquarium! I did not object!

What i need is help from everyone here at RC! I will several question that i will be asking for YOUR answers. We need ranges of answers to graph, but please be honest and realistic. If you don't want to post, please PM or email me. I will send this link to my team mates for reviewing.

We decided to setup a 55g tank (on paper only) going fish only with live rock. I have already asked for a quote to setup such a tank. i will start a new thread for each question, so it is easier to follow.

PLEASE help us out, all input will be included.

Thanks again!
Ben

 

[ben&bobbi]

Here is the last question about what equipment we will need. Please feel free to add to it AND send us your own list!
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1494005


Assuming we have made the decision on equipment and have the tank in place......

We have the tank setup with the sump to keep equipment out of sight, and now we want to add water and fish!

The second question -
Can we go to the beach and fill our buckets from the ocean? Fish live this way in the wild right!?

And we want to get Nemo tomorrow after filling the tank - that should be fine right?

 

[Bdawgfl]

People on the coast do it all the time. However there is a problem with the logistics of it. If you try to take it from too close to the beach and you run a risk of getting more pollution from stormwater runoff. Most of the folks I know that do collect water from the ocean own boats and go further off shore. They pump it on their boat then pump it into barrels on the dock. This is a time consuming and at today's marine diesel prices very expensive. You would need to collect the initial 55gal+ sump supply and additional for water changes.
As far as tank cycling after the initial fill, you can put in whatever fish you want during this time, though most try to avoid expensive fish as the likelihood of death is high during cycling. You can use live rock and live sand to cycle your tank but you still would not want to put in expensive fish during its cycle. (not sure if using real ocean water changes cycle time)

 

[dilligaf_biker69]

I get my water from the beach or inlet (depending on the waves) but there are a few guidelines that I use.

Collect as close to high tide as possible,

for that I use this chart:

tide chart

then I double check for Red Tide,

Red Tide Info

Then collect away....using within say an hour is best.

Most of the living organisms that are benificial are still alive.
If kept longer you still have fine salt water just not the added benifit of the live organisms.

I notice a difference when i use fresh collected from the beach versus water collected from the inlet where I have to drive 30 min each way.

As far as adding fish directly after, in general, it is not a good idea.
The live rock may have die off or may not be totally cured. IF you are using NSW and cured live rock and live sand I do not see a problem adding the fish immed.

 

[gwrench]

Natural seawater has some significant dis-advantages as mentioned above, contamination, localized algae blooms, baterial issues etc. If that is an only option I would recommend filtering the water as well as running it through a UV sterilizer to prevent any forms of unwanted bacteria from making it into the tank.
As far as adding fish immediatley after filling the tank, not so fast. The beneficial bacterial cycle still needs to occur naturally and this means a cycle. There are several "kick start" types of products available to speed the process but the "old school method" of verifying the cycle by testing is my choice.
Adding a dead raw shrimp from the market is the easiest way to introduce ammonia rather than using a fish as a sacrifice.
Test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates daily for the first couple weeks. What to look for is the ammonia spike and drop, the nitrite spike and drop and the high nitrate spike. Once this is acheived you should see ammonia drop to 0, nitrites drop to zero and the high nitrate should slowly drop to undetectable levels. Now I would begin adding livestock slowly.
Hope this helps Ben.
George

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

i agree about the local water changes. for your 55 gallon setup doing a water change once a month at 33% a 5 gallon bucket of salt would last you around 8 months depending on sg and manufaturer of the salt. so say low side it would take 2 buckets at around 40 bucks each so 80 for the year or 6.66 a month. not bad at all. as far a water cycling i've been there and done that with all types, one thing i think that was not mention is bio-zyme. i did notice a very little nitrate spike using that. the one thing i like to tell people is that (you must have death before life)

 

[ccampo]

Here's a good couple of URLs with good info:

* New Tank Syndrome

* A Typical Break-In Cycle

 

[chrisstie]

Putting nemo in a tank right away: Never a good option. If the tank is too new it could still be cycling, and even if it is mature enough Nemo may have parasites or health issues so quarantining him for a while and/or treating for potential health issues is a better option.

In regards to taking salt from the beach, I would pass. Taking it offshore from the ocean, I would. The reason behind this is that when you're at the beach, chances are the water is not ideal for a tank. Florida can have heavy rains and some areas may have diluted salt level which is not ideal for inverts, other places that stagnant water sits in may have too high of salt content making it hard for anything to live. Combine that with pollution, potential pets (anything from bacteria, algae, unwanted animals) and you're not looking at ideal reef tank situation.

However, if you were to do a species tank of just animals off the coast you could probably easily do this, however, the longevity of your animals is unpredictable, and you should probably collect with the highest of tides for the "freshest" water.

 

[loosbrew]

Add LS if you went that route.
Add freshly mixed and aerated salt water. I use Instant Oceans Reef Crystals.

Turn everything on. If you're running without leaks and such add the LR and let it sit running for a few weeks. Feed the tank sparingly, a few flakes a day maybe, to help the process along.

Test test test test test...

If all looks ok after a few weeks, then you can add a fish or two, depending on the species.

Test the water everyday to make sure nothing soars out of whack with the new fish in the tank and go from there.

 

[dilligaf_biker69]

How many people do all of you know that has had anything bad happen to them as a result of using NSW?.

The reason I am asking is (as a few here know) I have been using the same water (NSW just swimming out and filling my jugs) for over 10 yrs in my systems. Never have I had any issues with it at all.

In fact a local fish store in this area gets NSW from the inlet and sells it in the store, and its bought and used daily. Its been that way for as long as I have been in this area.

at first i checked everything salinity, Ph , nitrates, phospates
temp...now when i am ready for a water change I make sure the Ph and temp are close as I can get to each other.

even @ SRC Julian Spung (I think it was him) said he gets his water by wading out in Miami/Key Biscayne and taking it.

again, its something that has worked for me for many years.

If its an available option..why not use it??