A new 120, need advice.

bif24701

bif24701

New member
I have a 120, been running for two weeks, I am curing 100 pounds of dry rock in it (50 lbs Pukani, 50 pounds base rock). I first soaked the Pukani in RO/DI for 5 days for a good rinsing. Been dosing carbon the past week in the display tank to help remove nutrients from the Pukani. Stopped today and water is a bit cloudy but ok. How would you seed this new tank? Is it required? I bought about a gallon of Cheato from a local reefer. Should a get a little well seeded LR, Live sand, or a bag of pods?

3agyzy6e.jpg
 
I always do dry sand and a scoop of sand from an established tank to seed the new.
Wouldn't hurt to toss in chaeto in a basket or something to contain it, intro pods.
 
How you move forward depends on the risks you're willing to take. I started in the exact same way as you did on my 120. I added live rock from various places -- friends and the LFS. This is the quickest way to seed your dead rock in terms of adding coralline and whatnot, but there's also the risk of adding nuisance algae and pests. Many people use dead rock to avoid this. I used dead rock simply to save money, and I really like how Pukani rock looks. I was willing to deal with algae and pests. Fortunately my battles with both haven't been difficult. Three years later and my Pukani rock is covered with coralline and looks great.

You can also add a bit of live sand to seed that as well. If you go with the bagged variety, then the chances of pests are slim. There's no need for pods, since without a food source, they'll just starve and die. If you want, you can add one of the bottled bacteria solutions to speed up the process, but the reality is that patience goes a long way in this hobby, so get used to it. :-)
 
I have no problem waiting for good things, not in a hurry. However I do like all the benefits of actual LR and all the critters it brings. I've not had a problem with pests, knock on wood, so I'll do my best to find some.
 
Oh to clarify I don't mean add just pods, the chaeto will contain them and also be a food source for them.
 
Ok, well I've already got that covered. There is a gallon of Cheato in my fuge. Maybe this is all I'll need! Every thing else will be on coral frag.
 
A new 120, need advice.

And also a small LR that I put in the display. From what I read should have an entire tank full in 8 days. There is a bacteria bloom going on so the water is cloudy but here are my test results.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

Verified also by my LFS whom I trust.
 
bif24701 said:
And also a small LR that I put in the display. From what I read should have an entire tank full in 8 days. There is a bacteria bloom going on so the water is cloudy but here are my test results.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

Verified also by my LFS whom I trust.
Click to expand...

Two weeks isn't enough time. Buy a bottle of Microbactr7 and follow the dosing instructions. The pods you added will be an ammonia source so you have that taken care of. Give it at least 8 weeks.

You have a beautiful tank by the way. Are those kessils.

One more thing try to open up that rockwork a little your rock is beautiful but you want to get more flow to the center and a rock mound is really going to impeded flow. Try some archways and try to make it as asymmetrical as possible.

Its a beauty.
 
whosurcaddie said:
Two weeks isn't enough time. Buy a bottle of Microbactr7 and follow the dosing instructions. The pods you added will be an ammonia source so you have that taken care of. Give it at least 8 weeks.



You have a beautiful tank by the way. Are those kessils.



One more thing try to open up that rockwork a little your rock is beautiful but you want to get more flow to the center and a rock mound is really going to impeded flow. Try some archways and try to make it as asymmetrical as possible.



Its a beauty.
Click to expand...


Thanks sir, hard to see from picture but there is a good open area behind the rock in center between the overflows and my maxi jet 1200 with power head kit is pointed straight too it. I do see the concern, been trying different arrangements every few days to get it right so work in progress. Also working on better/more power heads. I was sure to have an open space between each rock at sand level too. I'll post more and better pictures so you can give me more feedback. Thank you.

As far as the pods being an ammonia source do you mean they will not survive? The tank has been cycling three weeks however I added the Pukani just two weeks ago. The rock had been in the garage cooking in RO for week and half prior to that. I had been dosing ammonia to cycle the tank and vinegar to help cook the rock in tank. I do realize it is dead rock and that organics are on the Pukani so extended cooking time is required that's the reason for vinegar dosing. I don't think it's ever been done before. I am a big believer in carbon dosing as it saved my tank years ago after my wife severely over feed while I was away for work. I thinking is that the bacteria will feed on the organic/carbon and the skimmer out and N2 gas as the theory goes for carbon dosing. I'm skimming wet and it's pulling out so much I'm amazed. Also running CAC and GFO in two reactors. I've been keeping up with my parameters and seen my ammonia nitrite rise and now fall to zero. What concern would you have of another ammonia spike? I've yet to do a single water change but I've got about 30-35 gallons set to go for a WC tomorrow morning. If this all fails I've got no problem posting the failure here but I'm betting this will work out. The system is entirely too new for real stability however pods are pretty hardy so I'm confidant they will live and hopefully multiply well before I add additional livestock. Right now I've got a bacteria bloom going on right that's causing some cloudiness.

Yes those are Kessil A360WE and I'm loving them at the moment. Still considering adding my T5HO 2x48" with a blue plus and actinic that I've got sitting around. Why not ? Who doesn't want more light but I'm just not sure I want to mess up the look I've got with just the Kessil. The tank looks so clean right now.
 
bif24701 said:
Thanks sir, hard to see from picture but there is a good open area behind the rock in center between the overflows and my maxi jet 1200 with power head kit is pointed straight too it. I do see the concern, been trying different arrangements every few days to get it right so work in progress. Also working on better/more power heads. I was sure to have an open space between each rock at sand level too. I'll post more and better pictures so you can give me more feedback. Thank you.

As far as the pods being an ammonia source do you mean they will not survive? The tank has been cycling three weeks however I added the Pukani just two weeks ago. The rock had been in the garage cooking in RO for week and half prior to that. I had been dosing ammonia to cycle the tank and vinegar to help cook the rock in tank. I do realize it is dead rock and that organics are on the Pukani so extended cooking time is required that's the reason for vinegar dosing. I don't think it's ever been done before. I am a big believer in carbon dosing as it saved my tank years ago after my wife severely over feed while I was away for work. I thinking is that the bacteria will feed on the organic/carbon and the skimmer out and N2 gas as the theory goes for carbon dosing. I'm skimming wet and it's pulling out so much I'm amazed. Also running CAC and GFO in two reactors. I've been keeping up with my parameters and seen my ammonia nitrite rise and now fall to zero. What concern would you have of another ammonia spike? I've yet to do a single water change but I've got about 30-35 gallons set to go for a WC tomorrow morning. If this all fails I've got no problem posting the failure here but I'm betting this will work out. The system is entirely too new for real stability however pods are pretty hardy so I'm confidant they will live and hopefully multiply well before I add additional livestock. Right now I've got a bacteria bloom going on right that's causing some cloudiness.

Yes those are Kessil A360WE and I'm loving them at the moment. Still considering adding my T5HO 2x48" with a blue plus and actinic that I've got sitting around. Why not ? Who doesn't want more light but I'm just not sure I want to mess up the look I've got with just the Kessil. The tank looks so clean right now.
Click to expand...

The kessil's look beautiful. I didn't see were your ammonia had spiked and then fallen if that's the case then your good to go.

I started my most recent tank with dry rock and I'm very happy with it. No nasty pests to worry about.

If your looking for a better powerhead I have 2 jabeo wp-25's on my 120 4 foot tank and they create a two inch standing wave they have my entire water column moving so they might be something to consider.

Enjoy the new build.
 
What are your phosphates like?

As far as seeding it that really depends on what you plan on keeping. It is going to be hard to get sponges from frag plugs but it does happen. I would fine the nicest live rock loaded with sponges and whatnot you can buy locally. You're after quality so wait it out if there isn't anything special. There is no rush. In Fl this shouldn't be an issue. Many places that can ship overnight ground.
 
I got a small rock from the LFS, not much for sponges and things like that. Ordering online isn't something I considered until just now, great idea. I have thought about but some rocks from local reefers, but what chances am I taking there?
 
Look at their tanks. If they are awesome and the fish are healthy and there isn't algae everywhere then you are mostly in the clear.

Have you seen the Pukani sculpturing videos?
 
Its full but I don't know if its too much. The tank has a deep front to back dimension so that throws things off a bit in the photo.

What kind of coral are you going to house?
 
There is a lot of open space in the front and top, also just realized I've not posted a picture since I did some rearranging. Once I finish this WC I will post. I changed it to get more surface area on top of the rocks for coral.
 
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