CUC and 1st fish timing...

[sn4265]

OK. Tomorrow is the big day, maybe even this afternoon if I can get the help to get started. I'll be moving the new (used, but new to me) 120 gal tank into the house. The LR is fully cured out in the garage in a tub. The plan is to put the rock, sand, and water in the tank tomorrow. My question now is the schedule of what goes in the tank next...

I read in one of my books that I should have the water in the tank before putting in the LR so that I can get the water at least to the proper temp and salinity compared to the curing vat. Since I'm going to have the rock out of the water for an hour or so to arrange and drill it I wouldn't think that the temp/salinity is going to be that much of an issue in comparison, and it seems like it would be easier to place the rock in an empty or mostly empty tank.

Once the rock is in, my intention to let it run for a week before I add anything at all. Assuming I don't see any craziness during the first week I was thinking of adding a CUC. I would really love to get recommendations on types and quantities for this. I am leaning towards a tigertail cuc and some Florida Fighting Conchs, but I have no idea on numbers. Beyond these I am assuming various snails, hermits, stars, and shrimp. Once again though, I don't know about numbers and when to add these.

The plan on the first fish is a pair of Ocellaris, one orange and one black. I've heard that blacks are just a different coloration of the Ocellaris so they should do just fine in a tank together. I have another thread about other livestock going in, but I'm really curious about WHEN to add them. My intention is to add them a week after the CUC assuming everything looks good with the chemistry and nothing strange happens with the CUC.

Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[potterjon]

Personally, I would wait on the clean up crew because I don't really think they will have anything to eat until your sand bed and rock become more "mature". The sand bed really needs to develop micro fauna and more life to support conchs and such. I don't really think it matters if you put the rock or the water in first, as long as the rock stays wet. If you put the rock in first, just make sure the water is coming very shortly afterward. That's just my opinion. Remember that if you add the water first, not to fill the tank up because the rock will displace the water and you won't need as much as the tank can hold.
You may find some critter already in the rock, such as starfish and crabs that have hitch hiked in and made it through the process.

 

[Dustin1300]

Personally, I like to add rock, sand, and then water. I like adding the rock before sand as it builds up a better foundation as you don't have to worry about sand settling and having a rock tumble...

 

[jeff@zina.com]

Once the rock is in, my intention to let it run for a week before I add anything at all.

Buy and use a test kit. Measure ammonia and nitrates, give it time to cycle and then think about adding anything.

Jeff

 

[sn4265]

Absolutely. I've been testing the water in the LR curing vat out in the garage. This is where the chemistry numbers in my sig are from. This is also why I say that the LR is fully cured at this point. My plan is to wait at least a week before putting anything in the tank and this wait is only assuming that all of the chemistry numbers look good, as in 0 NH3, 0 NO2, and minimal NO3.

Now, I may go ahead and toss some flake food or a raw shrimp in the sump to keep the bacteria fed. I would also like to generate at least some NO3 for the cheato I'm planning on putting in the fuge. I'll probably plan on putting in the cheato next weekend when I was planning on putting in the CUC.

 

[rivoth]

It really depends on how patient you are. This is what I'd do if I was starting from scratch, and let me warn you, it's worse than watching paint dry.

Get your tank arranged the way you want with sand rocks etc. Get your water flow arranged as close to what you think will work long term as possible.

Every day feed your tank a few food flakes/pellets of both meaty and vegetative types. Do this day after day until you can easily see Amphipods crawling out of the rocks to eat as soon as you put the food in. Unless you keep fish that eat them, Amphipods will be the most effective members of your clean up crew so get them established. If you have reason to believe your live rock doesn't have any Amphipods then get some from the LFS or a friend.

Now you can add your first fish, the Amphipods will suffice as CUC while food is still scarce for the moment.

At some point you'll probably get a diatom bloom, followed later by your first algae. Somewhere in there is a good time to get a dozen Cerith snails. I like Cerith snails since they will help with both the rock and the sand. They are also one of the few larger snails that will propagate in a tank. They actually prefer the fresh growth on the glass so keep your glass clean so they don't spend all their time on the glass.

I personaly would recommend staying away from hermits, stars, and shrimp until you've read up on each of them. They all come with some downsides so you should understand those before you commit. Micro brittle stars and miniature star fish are fine. It is also very good to have some bristle worms if you aren't put off by their looks.

For Fighting conches, a good rule is 1 conch per 2 square feet of exposed sand. They do eat off detris though so it's best not to add them until your tank has been fed regularly for several months.

I would also wait on the Tiger Tail Cucumber until you see your first signs of cyano growing on the sand bed. The Cucumber is one of the few critters that eats cyano, so it will both help control the cyano, and it eats what the cyano eats. So the presence of cyano means there is also food for your Cucumber.

There are a lot of different snail options. Many of them end up being a revolving door of put snails in tank, watch snails die over the next year, get more snails. There are a few snails that will breed in your tank such as the small Collumbid and Stomatella snails. They can be darn difficult to find sources for though. Of the lager snails Cerith snails sometimes reproduce, as do the Strombus Grazers you can get from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms. I would only get snails outside of the reproducing ones if there is a specific type of algae in your tank that the snail targets and you need to control.

The missing part of your clean up crew is the fauna for your sand bed, assuming that you have fine sand. For that I'd recommend a couple pounds of Microvert innoculated sand from Inland Aquatics. Get that after you've been set up a month cause they need food too.

Enjoy the journey and cultivate patience.