Tank restart after 8 years 😳

[Juggernaunt]

Hello,
I’ve restarted my tank after about 8-9 years away from the hoppy (salt water that is). After thanksgiving I started to set my tank back up(cleaning rock, tanks, equipment) taking my time no rush. I’ve had it up and running and here are my numbers.
Day 1 let tank run live sand and rock no lights no filtration
Day 2 added Dr Tim’s and 1 fish
Day 3 test (A) 0 nitrite 0 added another fish
Day 4 test (A) {.25-.50} Nitrite {0} Nitrate {between 0 -5.}
Day 5 test (A) {.25-.50} Nitrite {.50} Nitrate {5.0}
Day 6 test (A) {.25-.50} Nitrite {.50-1.0} Nitrate {5.0}
Day 8 test (A) {0-.25} Nitrite {2.0-5.0} Nitrate {20-40}
Day 9 12/24/24 (A) {0-.25} Nitrite {2.0-5.0} Nitrate {20-40}
12/27/24 (A) {0} Nitrite {.50-1.0} Nitrate {10-20}
12/29/24 (A) {0} Nitrite {0} Nitrate {10-20}
1/1/25 (A) {0} Nitrite {0} Nitrate {20-40}

Although my (A) ammonia and Nitrite has reached 0 I haven’t seen much of an increased with the API TK(could be misreading Nitrate definitely is not red).
I still have my lights off was considering running the low Par for my recent order of pods. Everything looks clean in the tank and skimmer (small accumulation in the neck). I’m considering a water change (when pods arrive). I found an old scrubber I made and was considering to re-install it within the sump chamber. Is this too soon? Should I also wait turning on the lights ?Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I’ll post pic soon. Thx

 

[griss]

Welcome back. I would love to follow along with your build and see pictures.

I personally, always light my tanks during the cycle. But, that’s because I use real live rock from the ocean and I hope that I’ll be able to keep some of the photosynthetic inverts alive. That said, I think you’re fine starting a shortened lighting cycle now.

I also think you’d be fine installing the scrubber now as well.

FWIW, we no longer strive for zero on nitrates and phosphates. 1-10 ppm for nitrates and 0.01-0.03 ppm for phosphates is the new goal.

 

[Juggernaunt]

Hello Griss thanks for the feedback.
I’m starting with my 48 and at the same time setting up my 210 (no water in it right now). Have questions about the sand bed. It’s been sitting for a looong time. I added water stir it up real good and drain it. My plan is to fill it, add Dr Tim’s and a clown and let it ride.
Regarding the 48 I’ve added pic below. Going to do a water change and add the scrubber. Please share your thoughts on the setup any and all suggestions are welcomed.
Thx

 

[griss]

Regarding the sand bed, was it sitting wet or dry? If dry, IMO, a good rinse should suffice. If wet with no filtration, who knows what could have built up in there

Looks good. I’d be mildly concerned about that old school overflow. I had one of those a long time ago and they have potential to lose siphon and cause an overflow.

 

[Reefing102]

Welcome back!

API kits can be hard to read due to the color and ranges of numbers. That said, it should be fine for initial readings.

I wouldn’t be too concerned with those numbers and wouldn’t add a scrubber (yet) as we don’t want your numbers to bottom out right of the bat.

 

[Juggernaunt]

Regarding the sand bed, was it sitting wet or dry? If dry, IMO, a good rinse should suffice. If wet with no filtration, who knows what could have built up in there

Looks good. I’d be mildly concerned about that old school overflow. I had one of those a long time ago and they have potential to lose siphon and cause an overflow.

It was definitely dry and coated with salt creep . But I did a good rinse siphon out any discolored sand. I really didn’t want to scoop all that sand out (tank behind a wall and small space to maneuver. I had considered drilling the 48 gal but would’ve had to do additional Sheetrock work. I’ll have to check into upgrading the overflow, I have 2 U tubes and one keeps failing siphon. Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[Juggernaunt]

Welcome back!

API kits can be hard to read due to the color and ranges of numbers. That said, it should be fine for initial readings.

I wouldn’t be too concerned with those numbers and wouldn’t add a scrubber (yet) as we don’t want your numbers to bottom out right of the bat.

View attachment 32408926

Thanks for info greatly appreciated and very useful! I’ll hold off on the scrubber until I start seeing anything on the sand, glass or rock . Going to give it a couple more days or week before adding the lights ( hopefully I can get the reef link back online) I checked the site recently and there up to Gen 6 lights I still have the Gen 2
Thanks for the intel, can you refer a more accurate way to test the numbers?
Thanks.

 

[kharmaguru]

Curved wall to match the bowfront, nice. I have to say that's the first time I like a bowfront.

 

[Reefing102]

If you don’t mind manual tests, I’m a fan of Salifert. They just have lower/more specific ranges.

If you want digital manual tests, there’s Hannah tests (pricey but generally reliable). There’s some tests (I believe the Calcium and MG) that have mixed reviews on accuracy though.

At a significant cost upgrade (read hundreds to approximately $2-$3k or more depending on the system and other accessories you buy), theres various aquarium controllers such as the Trident and Trident N&P through Neptune Apex, the Hydros Maven (I think this is still on pre-order), or the GHL Ion Director. There’s also the Reefbot Lab which I haven’t seen anything recent on.

Strictly from a cost perspective, I generally stick with Salifert tests. (There are other manual test brands as well such as Red Sea, Nyos, etc. that seem to get decent reviews as well).

 

[Reefing102]

Also I believe reeflink is still supported but I think it has to run on a 2.4 ghz network (not 100% certain). Here’s a refresher video for you though if you haven’t seen it yet

https://support.ecotechmarine.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015439794-How-to-Setup-A-New-ReefLink

With that being said, if they work, nothing wrong with the Gen2 lights. I don’t believe they have much resale currently, but if they work, they should get you through until you want to upgrade.

Hope this helps!

 

[griss]

I use Salifert test kits for everything but phosphate. For that, I use a Hanna low range checker.

 

[Juggernaunt]

Curved wall to match the bowfront, nice. I have to say that's the first time I like a bowfront.

Thanks! Much appreciated!

 

[Juggernaunt]

If you don’t mind manual tests, I’m a fan of Salifert. They just have lower/more specific ranges.

If you want digital manual tests, there’s Hannah tests (pricey but generally reliable). There’s some tests (I believe the Calcium and MG) that have mixed reviews on accuracy though.

At a significant cost upgrade (read hundreds to approximately $2-$3k or more depending on the system and other accessories you buy), theres various aquarium controllers such as the Trident and Trident N&P through Neptune Apex, the Hydros Maven (I think this is still on pre-order), or the GHL Ion Director. There’s also the Reefbot Lab which I haven’t seen anything recent on.

Strictly from a cost perspective, I generally stick with Salifert tests. (There are other manual test brands as well such as Red Sea, Nyos, etc. that seem to get decent reviews as well).

Thanks! A lot more things than I recall. I’ll probably look at automation down the line. Thanks I’ll check out Salinger’s and Hannah. Thanks again.

 

[griss]

Feel free to ask us questions, between @kharmaguru @Reefing102 and myself you’ll get different but, experienced perspectives.

I’ve always said, what works perfect for one person may not work for another.