Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

Status
Not open for further replies.
Thank you everyone, I am beginning to understand just how incredibly beneficial it is to have the honest enthusiasm and goodwill behind you on this incredible journey. I am trying to juggle 17 balls in the air at one time at the moment so my next attempt to share the progress is a wee bit later than I anticipated. When I get some uninterrupted time at the keyboard without the "are you listening to me or playing on the computer" tapes playing, I will happily answer the earlier questions. Also, in keeping with my disciplined approach to this journal, I would consider the opening of this thread to be chapter two. I did it that way because I realize that the Kernel of what I presented so far is too often the heart of everyones interest. If we are going to learn from this then like Chingchai, we need to go back to the begining......before the crane. The plan......I don't have Ching's access to the unbelievable graphics designer that he had so I will have to cheat a bit with words and pictures (which I have allot of). I did have a plan however and I think the issues I looked at will be helpful for some....even if it doesn't involve a fish room with 30 tanks.

Soon folks ...... reeeel soon.

Thanks for your patience everyone, I know from experience on this forum that immediate gratification is a disease. So far your behaviour as a group has been classy and something to be very proud of! I'll try my best to rise to the high standard you have all set.

Peter
 
It is tough to do keep up with things in life and than to document takes even more time. Thanks for sharing.
 
nineball said:
VISION

I have a strategy to deal with my wife which involves reusing the same large colourful box which will become known as my fish maintenance box...Same box in and out every time.
Click to expand...

You're going to need that box to carry your electric bill in from the mailbox.:D

Good luck it looks like it's going to be a nice build.
 
As a followup to my initial thread in the newb section for those who have followed me here. I have 1500 lbs of Jakarta premium live rock branching type, 200 lbs of shelf rock and 500 lbs of Fiji.

I managed to get two 350 gallon storage tanks and 400 gal of ro/di water. All this with a skimmer, heaters, pumps for water movement. I expect to have to hold the live rock for at least 3 weeks or longer before I begin to aqua scape the the display tanks.

I have a question I would like to ask AND establish a precedent of sorts for future practice..........if humanly possible. I really would like some advice from a base of experience and knowledge rather than speculation.

There will be times we can explore a variety of options to challenges but this following type of question is an attempt to identify the conventional wisdom and avoid speculation.

OK the question......someone suggested in the other thread that I dip the live rock in fresh water or concentrated salt water or best option club soda.

Should I dip the rock before I store it? and or, after storage before placing it in the tank?

Which is the best dip? fresh/salt/club soda something else??

How long should the dip be?

can I expect a cycle in storage AND in the destination tank again???

Sorry if any of these questions are dumb but I'm learning to ask anyway.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer.

Peter
 
Last edited:
Hi Peter,
In my opinion the reason we buy live rock is because it has living things on/in it. I have read so many posts with people buying live rock and then doing so many strange things to it to kill off all the living animals on it before putting it into the display tank and it really confuses me.

I can tell you from experience that I bought live rock that did not sit in a fish store, it was really fresh, and I went through a good cycle with it, but a lot of stuff survived the cycle and I now have little copepods, amphoides, worms, and I would guess beneficial bacteria all over my rock, not to mention some really nice purple coralline algae growing on it.

So although I am by no means an experienced reefer, I can say my personal opinion is that storing it in fresh water, or concentrated salt water, or club soda to me seems like just a way to kill off all the beneficial things we buy our live rock for. You could buy base rock and seed it with bacteria from a bottle and get the same results.

Ok enough rambling .... just my thoughts.... keep up the great work.... can't wait to watch this tank " come to life ".....

Cam
 
Last edited:
ok... more thoughts on this.....

I think the reason people kill off the living stuff on their live rock is so they can cycle the tank faster and put fish in it.... If you store your rock in your garage with a heater, and skimmer I would think 50% of your cycle will happen in the garage (a good thing). When you’re ready to put it in your display tank you will have some really nice "live Rock" and your cycle of the display tank will be cut in half (another good thing).

If it was me I would cycle your rock in your garage with a skimmer and heater while you are building the display tank. Worst case is you can always dip the rock later in fresh water or club soda if you decide you need to, but you can never bring back the living animals that it came with on it after they are gone.
Cam
 
Last edited:
Following from just down the road in Stoney Creek , what an amazing start.
Best of luck with your build , your making Canadians proud :thumbsup:.

Tim K
 
peter what bayliner is saying is correct.
why dip your rock,your only going to kill bacte,if you were going to dip ,then you might as well bought dry rock.
you bought fresh rock this is the best way to go,you will get the best bacteria this way.

during this 3 week period i would do a 100% waterchange at 1 1/2 weeks
keep the rock dark,this will prevent algae blooms.
also when you put the rock in the display dont turn the lights on for 6 weeks.
this helps prevent algae while your tank is cycling.

vic
 
swissgaurd said:
peter what bayliner is saying is correct.
why dip your rock,your only going to kill bacte,if you were going to dip ,then you might as well bought dry rock.
you bought fresh rock this is the best way to go,you will get the best bacteria this way.

during this 3 week period i would do a 100% waterchange at 1 1/2 weeks
keep the rock dark,this will prevent algae blooms.
also when you put the rock in the display dont turn the lights on for 6 weeks.
this helps prevent algae while your tank is cycling.

vic
Click to expand...

Fabulous, this is the kind of advice I need and so much appreciate. Thank you for taking the time to help. Please peek in from time to time and feel free to comment at any time.

Peter
 
Bayliner said:
ok... more thoughts on this.....

I think the reason people kill off the living stuff on their live rock is so they can cycle the tank faster and put fish in it.... If you store your rock in your garage with a heater, and skimmer I would think 50% of your cycle will happen in the garage (a good thing). When you're ready to put it in your display tank you will have some really nice "live Rock" and your cycle of the display tank will be cut in half (another good thing).

If it was me I would cycle your rock in your garage with a skimmer and heater while you are building the display tank. Worst case is you can always dip the rock later in fresh water or club soda if you decide you need to, but you can never bring back the living animals that it came with on it after they are gone.
Cam
Click to expand...

Cam, thanks a ton for taking so much time to suggest and elaborate. I am going to take your advice. I'll also be taking pics to document my behavior for critique later. I am hoping to avoid if at all possible having to empty 25 ft of aquarium because of obvious silly mistakes. I know I will always run that risk and I have psyched myself up for the posibility............. The conventional wisdom I have gathered is that the process of bringing in 'Live Rock' is by its nature 'LIVE' so it does seem kind of silly to kill off the most beneficial aspect to the product.

Peter
 
Ken_Baird said:
Good God, I just realized I have a 120G nano for a tank! :crazy1:

Are you using any local "reef" talent for this build (be it working or consulting) or is it all your baby?

Tagging along...
Click to expand...

For projects like this as Chingchai would say you need three things.........

Courage

Great team

and a little bit of money!!!!!

Perhaps a fourth.....I can't seem to remember........Oh yeah I think it had something to do with medication!!!


Peter
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

N
Is this a design flaw from Red Sea? Please help me with this sump upgrade Max e170 (Sump and tank connection)
Replies
1
Views
132
wvned
wvned
C
Building a Sea Horse tank with sump from ground up
Replies
4
Views
197
Dustin07
D
D
Balancing a Dual Sump System
Replies
18
Views
441
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
F
new cichlid tank set up advice
Replies
9
Views
134
Reefing102
Reefing102
T
Looking for a specific tank build - EZTube.com sent me here
Replies
6
Views
91
Reefing102
Reefing102
Back
Top