I have tried to search the message boards here, but it is usually closed because of user volume. I will be setting up my first Salt Water aquarium very soon. I am starting a 75G (48"X18"X20") Perfecto glass, pre-drilled w/overflow. I am not sure what animals are going to be stocked as of yet, but I plan on getting an Aqualight Pro (492 total watts, w/lunar LED), most likely the CSS skimmer and a sump ( Most likely 20-30G). I am not totally inexperienced in fishkeeping and the nitrogen cycle. I have several freshwater aquariums (or used to) with live plants. I have downsized considerably to a 29G planted "show" tank and a few plant only's for sale and trade. Well on with the question. I have read and been advised by LFS and articles to start off the 1st stage of the cycle by using the live rock (cured or uncured) without any light for 1 week to a month. There is supposed to be some "death" of the "things" living on the rock that will be the ammonia source. Also, was mentioned to toss in a dead shrimp. I get the idea that the dead stuff decomposes and releases the ammonia to "feed" the first batch of nitrifying/denitrifying bacteria. In freshwater some of use a "Free & Clear" ( usually no-frills brand with no soaps, scents and other additives, just DI water and ammonia) cleaning ammonia. By using a test set ( I use API's) you determine the amount to add per gallon and raise the level between 3-5ppm. Test daily until the NH3/4 drops to 0ppm. Look for NO2 to appear, spike and drop to 0ppm all along supplementing with a predetermined daily dose of ammonia. In a new freshwater setup , without any "seed" material it takes usually a month depending on other factors (pH, GH, KH etc.) . Anyway is this method used in salt water at all?
Reef "Cycling" ? first of many starter questions
- Thread starter Squidhead
- Start date
Jeremy Blaze
Former Reef Addict
Some use it, although if you start off with a good amount of lr, you should have a good cycle with no need to add anything else. I like to get a few gallons of water from an established tank as well.
let LR die?
let LR die?
Why would you want to let your live rock die with the lights off? I am thinking that from what I've read, you kind of want to keep the coral algae and such life going as well as you can in your tank. Choose your LR well. Keep an eye out at all the LFS in your area for the kind of LR that you think looks good. It isn't only bacteria that we want in our tanks right? The critters have to come from somewhere. I'd have to say treat your tank through your cycle as normally as you would when it would be finished cycling (but add no fish, nothing) as far as the lights go. That way your bacteria/tiny critter level is where it should be when the cycle is finished so you don't have another cycle when you start building etc.
Then build slowly.
My tank was small to start, with lots of LR, and my cycle was less than a week. Completed.
Good luck.
I wish these guys with more experience would respond to you.
let LR die?
Why would you want to let your live rock die with the lights off? I am thinking that from what I've read, you kind of want to keep the coral algae and such life going as well as you can in your tank. Choose your LR well. Keep an eye out at all the LFS in your area for the kind of LR that you think looks good. It isn't only bacteria that we want in our tanks right? The critters have to come from somewhere. I'd have to say treat your tank through your cycle as normally as you would when it would be finished cycling (but add no fish, nothing) as far as the lights go. That way your bacteria/tiny critter level is where it should be when the cycle is finished so you don't have another cycle when you start building etc.
Then build slowly.
My tank was small to start, with lots of LR, and my cycle was less than a week. Completed.
Good luck.
I wish these guys with more experience would respond to you.
sarduci
Premium Member
If you want to use live rock, get uncured. Run you skimmer, run your lights, run you pumps, run your heaters. Just run the full tank.
It'll get stinky, don't let anyone tell you any different. Make up enough extra water in brute trash cans (clean them with RO water first) to do some water changes as needed to keep the levels from going toxic in the tank.
You'll get more life off of the rock since it won't be cured, shipped, and cured again. Otherwise, get cured, and do the same thing. You'll pay a bit more do to labor process involved on the back side, it won't get as stinky (but can be).
Or you could do it how I did. Buy box lots of dry rock from e-bay, expoy some structures together, get everything setup and toss in a shrimp tail. Six weeks later my cycle was done and live has been good for the past year on this setup.
No matter how you do it though, you'll have algae blooms. That's what clean up crews are for.
It'll get stinky, don't let anyone tell you any different. Make up enough extra water in brute trash cans (clean them with RO water first) to do some water changes as needed to keep the levels from going toxic in the tank.
You'll get more life off of the rock since it won't be cured, shipped, and cured again. Otherwise, get cured, and do the same thing. You'll pay a bit more do to labor process involved on the back side, it won't get as stinky (but can be).
Or you could do it how I did. Buy box lots of dry rock from e-bay, expoy some structures together, get everything setup and toss in a shrimp tail. Six weeks later my cycle was done and live has been good for the past year on this setup.
No matter how you do it though, you'll have algae blooms. That's what clean up crews are for.
I plan on using mostly base rock and seeding it with some good pieces of live rock. My question is really just about the cycling. Well, for now. I always thought that Live Rock was similar to the plants in a freshwater set up. If you start the aquarium with live plants and let them start to thrive you can slowly stock fish. The plants use the ammonia produced by the fish, uneaten food etc. Some bacteria will grow after the fish are in ,but minimal compared to a non-planted tank. Some refer to this as the "silent cycle" because no ammonia or nitrite is detectable. I was trying to see if live rock worked the same way. Also, starting a freshwater planted tank there is no need to supply any ammonia for cycling. The ammonia supplement is only for a fishless cycle in a non-planted.
salt newbie01
New member
I too have converted from freshwater. It's a lot of fun and much more challenging and rewarding. Welcome to the addiction/money pit we call a hobby. I started my reef tank ( also a 75 only mine is not drilled ) with 3 bags of "live sand" and approx 40lbs of LR and a few small pieces of base rock. I was running 3 hob/cannister filters which combined turned approx 1100 gph. Plus a skimmer. Starting from "scratch" I had no ammonia and only slightly detectable nitrates within 2 weeks. Now this is not to say that my tank was stable yet, and still isn't. But the "cycling" was very quick. I have learned that reef/salt tanks take a long time to stabilize. You have to take your time much more than when dealing with fresh water. Making very small adjustments at a time. Both chemically and mechanically. Most people with established reef tanks don't run any media in the sumps except for some live sand and maybe some LR rubble and maybe macro algae. To start out I would use either a hob filter or use bio balls or some other mechanical media in the sump to get things going. Good luck and have fun.
HTH
HTH
BadOleRoss
New member
I started my tank with 135lbs of cured live rock that I purshased online and after the slight die off from the shipping process the tank cycled in less than a week. Keeping the lights on for a limited amount of time will help coraline and other things grow but you dont want to have them on so long you get algae problem. I hate looking at a dark tank. I did this same thing with 180lbs in a 220 tank a few months later. Everyone seems to have a different method that works for them, this is mine. Good Luck!
Just a comment from a fellow noob - I think you should decide what animals you want to keep before choosing your lights, since your choice of animals will dictate the lights you need. I agree, however I ordered the Aqualight Pro (2 X 150W HQI MH and 2X96W CF) . I originally was going to buy industrial MH and CF ballasts and an inexpensive LED setup to duplicate this set up. By the time I priced it all out I would save very little with similar quality ballasts and the amount saved with magnetic ballasts didn't seem to be enough for assembly time and wasted power. I do quite a bit of DIY and have built alot of lighting for planted tanks. If need be I can switch out the ballasts/bulbs to decrease intensity. If I need more, I'll add on. Or just dismantle the fixture and use what I need. But that is sound advise, usually what I advise anyone considering a freshwater, well if they want live plants or not.---Everyone seems to have a different method that works for them, this is mine. Guess I'll figure it out when I am ready to purchase the live rock, as far as quality. I'll only keep lighting on enough to support the L.R. until I start to add living things and go from there. I have a DIY diatom/micron filter in case I get an algae bloom, hopefully I'll prevent it so I won't need it. I could also use some lesser intense lighting until I need the high power stuff, I have tons of 6700 and 6500K CF lighting and a few 10000K and actinic blue bulbs from used reef setups. Thanks to all for heads up on algae troubles, that is deffinatly a risk with high power lighting and very little in a new tank to utilize it.
MiddletonMark
Premium Member
No, algae can also come from elevated nutrient levels in the tank.
IMO, without food, algae will not grow.
IMO, without food, algae will not grow.
IME in with freshwater planted when some nutrients are lacking, usually CO2 and iron, the plants will not grow at a normal pace. This causes excess nutrients, usually phosphates and sometimes nitrates, because growth is slowed. The lighting then enables the algae to grow because the plants can't utilize what they "should" of the excess. Also, newly setup tanks usually get a spike of nutrient build up because new plants or re-planted ones have a slight "stall" period, combined with the excess nutrients from the cycle being complete the algae bloom is very possible. I would suspect that in SW the live rock is the equivlent to FW plants in this respect.
