farfromsea
Active member
Hello everyone,
I've been wanting a saltwater tank for almost a decade now and I'm finally biting the bullet and getting one. I was very fortunate to find an attractive used setup on Craigslist that is being discarded due to the owners' increased travel for work.
Anyhow, I've been trying to research how to deal with the live rock/sand. It seems that many people buy empty used setups or they purchase a setup with live rock/sand that has fish/livestock in it.
In my case this is a 55 gallon cube with a lower sump, protein skimmer, pumps and some live rock on top with sand that I presume is somewhat alive as well. The tank previously had fish in it, but none now. The live rock has been kept wet and the owners are going to breakdown the tank for me and put the live rock in buckets with water to reduce die-off. Picking up the setup Sunday and planning ahead for the cycling.
I'm going to take this slow. Very pleased to find that things have changed and no one cycles with damsels anymore. However, my main question(s) are about my approach to cycling the tank.
My concerns:
1) the sand bed is only a couple of inches but I am concerned about major die-off in the tank when I set it up in my home. Is this an issue? Perhaps not if there is no livestock but I have read recommendations to just switch the sand out
2) Debating how I should cycle the tank.
Options
(a) purchase reef mature pro kit from Red Sea since I like following rules and steps or
(b) sprinkle in some fish flakes and encourage the nitrogen cycle to get started or
(c) put everything in the tank and wait for an ammonia spike/die-down which I presume will be inevitable? however not very much growth on the live rock (see pic) or
(d) add the biospira the owner is including with the sale, however I've read it
is useless so not really inclined on this option
Concerns with the options
(a) reef mature pro kit + testers costs as much as a couple+ fish and the owner is giving me test strips already (yes I know strips are difficult to read compared to the test tube kits)
(b)/(c) not sure how long to keep lights on if I do the fish flakes or wait-and-see. I've read 6H and ramp it up to 10H slowly but red sea just dives in with 10H. also not sure if I should leave the protein skimmer off for a few days with these methods
(d) biospira just introduces bacteria in the tank and there might already be some so why bother? I've also read it can lull you into thinking your nitrates/nitrites are low and confusing your readings? (doesn't make a lot of sense to me scientifically however)
3) per my reading the order should be that when nitrates/nitrites/ammonia are 0 then should add the CUC followed by livestock (slowly). I want to have a reef-safe tank for future expansion so my plans is CUC=cleaner shrimp and livestock= pair of clowns. Needs to be cost-effective hence only one cleaner. Turbo snails are cheaper but I've read they can fall over and die if not righted again and the last thing I need is death/ammonia.
Very much appreciate your time and any feedback you may have!
I've been wanting a saltwater tank for almost a decade now and I'm finally biting the bullet and getting one. I was very fortunate to find an attractive used setup on Craigslist that is being discarded due to the owners' increased travel for work.
Anyhow, I've been trying to research how to deal with the live rock/sand. It seems that many people buy empty used setups or they purchase a setup with live rock/sand that has fish/livestock in it.
In my case this is a 55 gallon cube with a lower sump, protein skimmer, pumps and some live rock on top with sand that I presume is somewhat alive as well. The tank previously had fish in it, but none now. The live rock has been kept wet and the owners are going to breakdown the tank for me and put the live rock in buckets with water to reduce die-off. Picking up the setup Sunday and planning ahead for the cycling.
I'm going to take this slow. Very pleased to find that things have changed and no one cycles with damsels anymore. However, my main question(s) are about my approach to cycling the tank.
My concerns:
1) the sand bed is only a couple of inches but I am concerned about major die-off in the tank when I set it up in my home. Is this an issue? Perhaps not if there is no livestock but I have read recommendations to just switch the sand out
2) Debating how I should cycle the tank.
Options
(a) purchase reef mature pro kit from Red Sea since I like following rules and steps or
(b) sprinkle in some fish flakes and encourage the nitrogen cycle to get started or
(c) put everything in the tank and wait for an ammonia spike/die-down which I presume will be inevitable? however not very much growth on the live rock (see pic) or
(d) add the biospira the owner is including with the sale, however I've read it
is useless so not really inclined on this option
Concerns with the options
(a) reef mature pro kit + testers costs as much as a couple+ fish and the owner is giving me test strips already (yes I know strips are difficult to read compared to the test tube kits)
(b)/(c) not sure how long to keep lights on if I do the fish flakes or wait-and-see. I've read 6H and ramp it up to 10H slowly but red sea just dives in with 10H. also not sure if I should leave the protein skimmer off for a few days with these methods
(d) biospira just introduces bacteria in the tank and there might already be some so why bother? I've also read it can lull you into thinking your nitrates/nitrites are low and confusing your readings? (doesn't make a lot of sense to me scientifically however)
3) per my reading the order should be that when nitrates/nitrites/ammonia are 0 then should add the CUC followed by livestock (slowly). I want to have a reef-safe tank for future expansion so my plans is CUC=cleaner shrimp and livestock= pair of clowns. Needs to be cost-effective hence only one cleaner. Turbo snails are cheaper but I've read they can fall over and die if not righted again and the last thing I need is death/ammonia.
Very much appreciate your time and any feedback you may have!
