markfsanderson
New member
Greetings All! After about a 5 year absence, I'm getting back into keeping Saltwater Fish and Coral. My wife of 3 years initially was opposed to keeping fish, but once she saw how beautiful saltwater reefs can be she now approves. I used to run a JBJ (12 or 14 gallon?) Nano aquarium; and in the early 2000's I had a 125 Gallon Malawi Tank for a couple of years. I hope to have both another large Malwai and Fish/Reef tank in the future.
I just recently purchased a Coralife BioCube 29 and its supporting stand kit as well. My hope is to keep a couple of clown fish bonded to an anemone, some LPS coral, and perhaps some other fish/invertebrates that might get along well. Since it's been a while, and perhaps new techniques have emerged; I've some questions about starting this aquarium:
1) Cycling: What would be the most 'preferred' method these days? Cycle with live rock and live sand? Only Live Rock? Since live rock and sand is expensive, and I'm patient - what is the minimally effective ratio of live/dead rock and live/dead sand that I can use for a complete cycle in 45 to 60 days? I'm confused by the various theories put forth - change water, don't change water in the first 30 days and on and on. Should I use some clear ammonia during the cycling? Will the LR/LS do all thats needed in the 45 to 60 days?
2) Heater: Should I buy a heater for the initial cycling? I'm assuming that a Eheim/Hagen 150 is suitable and is off quality these days? Are they still made in Germany?
3) I still have some old Eheim substrat ceramic/scintered glass thats supposed to have a good ability to hold a large bacteria colony. Can I safely boil this and add this to my filter before starting the cycle in lieu of the bioballs that are there? I'm not 'anti-bioballs' by any stretch, but it seems like this would do better than the bioballs to me.
Just for fun I photographed my build of the stand; of which I have mixed feelings about. Still trying to figure out why the doors are square . . . more on that as I learn more.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated . . .
Thanks!
Mark :beer:
I just recently purchased a Coralife BioCube 29 and its supporting stand kit as well. My hope is to keep a couple of clown fish bonded to an anemone, some LPS coral, and perhaps some other fish/invertebrates that might get along well. Since it's been a while, and perhaps new techniques have emerged; I've some questions about starting this aquarium:
1) Cycling: What would be the most 'preferred' method these days? Cycle with live rock and live sand? Only Live Rock? Since live rock and sand is expensive, and I'm patient - what is the minimally effective ratio of live/dead rock and live/dead sand that I can use for a complete cycle in 45 to 60 days? I'm confused by the various theories put forth - change water, don't change water in the first 30 days and on and on. Should I use some clear ammonia during the cycling? Will the LR/LS do all thats needed in the 45 to 60 days?
2) Heater: Should I buy a heater for the initial cycling? I'm assuming that a Eheim/Hagen 150 is suitable and is off quality these days? Are they still made in Germany?
3) I still have some old Eheim substrat ceramic/scintered glass thats supposed to have a good ability to hold a large bacteria colony. Can I safely boil this and add this to my filter before starting the cycle in lieu of the bioballs that are there? I'm not 'anti-bioballs' by any stretch, but it seems like this would do better than the bioballs to me.
Just for fun I photographed my build of the stand; of which I have mixed feelings about. Still trying to figure out why the doors are square . . . more on that as I learn more.
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated . . .
Thanks!
Mark :beer: