live sand question

[sunnyfowlr]

sorry, I think I posted to the wrong forum:

Hello,
My first post...
I am currently working on a 29 gallon FOWLR. I'm basically doing this to down-size (wrong direction, I know!) from a 55gal that crashed during a power blackout a few years ago.
I'm wondering if the 10 lbs of live sand and 20 lbs of dry arag. will cause a cycle on its own. I have about 40-50 lbs of live rock to move into the smaller set-up with a few surviving 'shrooms, hitch-hiker feather dusters (the little red ones with white tubes), and lots of bristle worms. I don't want to move my remaining life into the new tank if the sand is going to cycle.
As yet, I have not seen any Amm. but it is just a few days with sand in.
My motivation for the down-size is to hopefully reduce cost of maintenance and concentrate my PC lighting.


29g standard tank
Prism HOT skimmer
Fluval 304 can
200W heater (tronic)
Small PH (60gph?)
sg: 1.024
amm: 0
'trite:0
'trate:0
pH: 8.2
kH: 7
temp:76f

I think I posted to the reef beginners, initially.

 

[namxas]

I suppose the question is how badly your previous tank crashed...

However, since you're using all mature LR from an established system, I really wouldn't expect much of a cycle at all. With the newer substrate, you will likely get a small diatom bloom, assuming the LR can handle the bioload.

Have you "ghost fed" the tank to see how it handles the spike if you get one at all?

I suppose the question is how badly your previous tank crashed...

 

[sunnyfowlr]

I lost electricity for 3 days during a heat wave and the tank was basically laid waste. I was running a low-tech reef at the time which was oprobably over-stocked. This was back in 2006, by the way. All fish (except for a false perc. clown), Monti corals, most inverts were lost. Many water changes, attempts to re-stock, waste of life. The clown actually seemed to be doing well by himself but nothing else would survive. I stopped and just fell back to water changes and basic maintenance. The clown did perish about 1.5 yrs ago. I had him for 6 years.
After all this time, my rock is purpling up, the surviving 'shrooms seem to be spreading, and I have been seeing an increase in hitchhiker-type inverts in the tank.
The resurrection as a FOWLR (I guess a softie tank with the 'shrooms) will be much less ambitious than trying to run a reef on my budget.
Now the sand, 2/3 dry arag to start... makes me nervous. I'll keep testing for Ammonia for a few more days to make sure. I get what you say about "ghost feeding" but I'm not sure I want to "poke it in the eye". Many months from adding new stock for sure...

 

[namxas]

There's nothing dead in your "dead sand"...it's just void of life, and as such, won't give you a spike. It's not like LR where you can have dieoff, it's like putting new filter media in the tank. All it is is a medium for the bacteria to colonize.

However, testing and letting things settle out never hurts. It gives the tank time to clear up and you can make sure everything is working well.

 

[sunnyfowlr]

Thanks namxas, do you play the sax? JK, I'm a metal head, so...

Update: Ammonia now tests at 0.5 PPM ( old API kit) I guess there must be something in the sand getting the bacteria excited, so I guess I'm cycling.:rolleye1:
Glad I gave it a couple days...

 

[namxas]

Yes, I do play (used to do it for a living). However, that's a pic of my eldest son when he was in middle school (both the boys play sax tho). My original RC screenie was "saxman", but there was a problem with the account (it quit working, but nothing RC could fix).

It was a good idea to wait just to see how the tank acted. Do post some photos of it once you're up and stocked.

 

[sunnyfowlr]

Yes, I'll be doing that...
By the way, I'm not sure if I should be posting about this system in this forum or in nano tanks, considering that this one seems to be primarily about aggresives. Future progress reports would probably be more relevant in the nano forum?

 

[namxas]

To be honest, I find this forum to be the best forum here in terms of mellowness. Peeps DO have small tanks w/"aggressives" in them, and I'm one of them (Renee and I keep Scorpaeniformes almost exclusively these days).