Ten Gallon Start

[binaryterror]

Yes, cycling the tank is allowing the beneficial bacteria to grow that breaks down ammonia to nitrites, to nitrates. So as long as the rock is cured, you should have a pretty quick cycle.

And with sand, I would also use it. With such a small amount of water, the bacteria that will grow in the sand will help keep the water quality up by breaking down the fish waste, etc. I like BB on larger tanks, but small tanks almost need sand with such a small water volume.

And Scott, when you start your tank, dont waste your money on the bagged "live" sand. because it isn't live. Just buy normal dry sand and LMK and I can give you a cup of sand from my 55g (8 months old). That will seed your sand bed quicker. So just LMK, and you can have a cup of mature sand.

 

[Scott523]

Ok sounds good, so i get normal play sand then just add live wet sand from a mature tank to create the rest of the sand live

And yes i believe I am getting cured live rock so i will only cycle for about 2-3 weeks

Does anyone Know who to get cheap Chatto for my refugium??

Thanks guys

 

[brian is cool]

i have some mine is growing very quickly or u could buy som at AT next time me and andrew go we can tack u too. u could laso ask nathan for his water after the next time he does a waterchange because that will speed it up almost to being ready right away. and u should buy a reef starter pack of additivs http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4872&N=2004+113027
that is wat i use on my 20g and they work great

corect me if im wrong but when u buy cured rock online when u get it it is usually white and it smells really bad-doesnt that mean that during the shippment the bacteria died

 

[sir_dudeguy]

I wouldnt use play sand. Some do, but it just doesnt look right to me.

As for the chaeto...you can get that stuff for free pretty much anywhere. I'm sure that if binary has some that he could cut you a small piece...the stuff grows like crazy so you could really start w/a piece thats the size of a quarter (ok maybe a half dollar lol) and end up w/a piece as big as a basketball in pretty much no time.

2 weeks would be like the max that your cycle's gonna take.

 

[Henry22]

Some people use playsand, but what you will come to learn in this hobby, for the most part is you pay for what you get. I would just buy a 15lb bag of argonite sand and seed it with some sand from a LFS.

You can check the selling forums for chaeto, and you'll need some type of light, like a clip on light to grow the chaeto. Its also a good idea to add some live rock rubble, you might get some in your box so thats good. I suggest going for a bigger tank though.

I have a 15 gallon and wish I had a 30 so I could keep some reef safe wrasses and dwarf angels, and generally just more fish. The increase in LR(money wise) is some, but it doesnt outweigh the benefits. If ten is a big as you can go, then thats fine. But I would go for at least 20. Its more room to aquascape, more fish, and more corals. I think they have 30 gallon breeders, maybe 20 though Im not sure, with those they are long, deep and shallow, so it doesnt take metal halide lighting to grow higher light demanding corals, HO T5 should be fine on something like that it gives you a good depth to aquascape and those are one ot the easier tanks to aquascape. Aquascaping my 15 high was a PITA.

 

[binaryterror]

Yeah, me and Brian can give you a small ball of cheato. And also, water doesn't start the cycle. It's the rock and sand. So no mater how much mature water you put in your tank, it will still take 2-3 weeks for the bacteria to grow. That is a cycle. So you dont need water from a mature tank. Just make some up yourself.

 

[Scott523]

Ok i will get the Aroganite sand
Not quite sure what those additives are for??

If i get the AC 70, I am going to get a small maxi jet powerhead, it that OK
Do i need a clean up crew??? (If so what should be in it)

 

[sir_dudeguy]

I suggest going for a bigger tank though.

bigger tanks have more options for sure...but many people like smaller tanks. I too like the look of nano tanks just as much as large tank (not that 30 is large by any means). So imo, if you want a 10...go for 10....if you wanna 5..go for 5

smaller tanks are of course harder to maintain to a certain extent...not really hard to maintain...you just have to keep watch on the levels more.

But I would go for at least 20. Its more room to aquascape, more fish, and more corals

Again...same as first one. Many people dont like the look of tons of fish. A pair of clowns in a 10 gallon is always entertaining, and you can add little gobies too, which i dont think that i'd put in larger tanks because you'd never see them (like yellow clown gobies and whatnot)

which additives were you not sure bout? i didnt see any, so i must have missed it.

For the ac 70...is that the HOB filter? srry, i'm not really familiar w/all the model numbers...if so, whats the gph rating on it?

Yes you will eventually need a cleanup crew, but dont add them till the tank is completely cycled which wont be long at all... my 2.5 gal. nano cycled in a week w/rock that was sold as uncured, and was definately not cured. It still had that nasty smell to it, but it was in the lfs's tank for prolly a couple weeks to a month, so that helped some probably.

But for a 10...i'd say go w/12 cerith snails to start, and maybe 8 nassarius snails...they'll stay in your sand so you prolly wont see the nassarius unless you feed meaty stuff (thats how mine are anyways)

But the ceriths are always out and they do a really good job on the brown algae for me. Dont be surprized if you get some too...its more like a phase in newer tanks (the algae i mean)

Then you could prolly put like 10 or so astrea snails...probably more tho...i just added 50 to my 55 and now i think of it i should have gotten 100...they were cheap enough, and 50 isnt quite enough imo.

 

[Scott523]

ya i know i dont need water from a mature tank

I was going to get sand from a mature tank

 

[binaryterror]

You will not need a powerhead with the AC 70. But if you want a ton of flow in the 10g, then go ahead. And with the sand, aragonite is a good choice. Just get whatever you think looks best, but make sure it isn't live, because live sand in bags are not really live. It's a rip off.

And yes, you will need a clean up crew. But not until your cycle is complete! Once your cycle is complete, then you can start stocking your first animals (your clean up crew). I would get the following:

-5 Astea Snails
-6 Nassarius Snails
-1 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
-1 Serpent Starfish or Brittle Starfish

I would not get any crabs because I heard that they will kill your snails and take there shell. And Brian's crabs kiled all of his snails. So I fed him to my Octopus! Hahaha!

The addivtives are trace elements that corals use to grow, and thrive. You do not nee dthem now, so dont worry about it. But you may want to look into them once you start stocking corals because they make the corals color up, and over all more healthy!

Let us know with any other questions!

 

[Scott523]

ok the clean up crew spounds good
so how long do i have the clean up crew defore i put in fish

 

[binaryterror]

sir_dudeguy, I wouldn't make his cleanup crew quite that large considering the small amount of water he is dealing with. Plus, they serve as a part in the bio-load. So he wouldn't be able to get as many fish. But just LMK Scott, and I will give you a cup of sand from my tank

With the clean up crew, I would wait until these levels are as following:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0

Those are what starts the cycle. the Ammonia will rise rapidly, then fall rapidly. Then the Nitrite will rise rapidly, and fall rapidly. It will take approximatly 2-4 weeks. After that happens, your ready for your clean up crew!

I wouldn't get fish until you have had your clean up crew for a few weeks to make sure your bio load has grew, and to make sure your inverts dont die and cause a problem.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

the snails dont really add that much tho...and werent you only planning on 2 clowns? i forgot lol..if so, you really dont have that much of a bioload, so extra snails wouldnt really do much i dont think...but like always...go slow on them...if you find that low numbers just arent cutting it, then get a few more here and there. I wouldnt add what i suggested right away at all. oh and binary, i meant for that to be like the max numbers that i would put.

I'd put the cleanup in at least a week before fish...that way you'd be able to tell if theres anything causing them to die. They're more sensitive than fish are.

And i also wouldnt get any hermits...i think i said earlier that mine are all wearing cerith snail shells now...but they dont really clean anyways, so they're a rip off imo.

 

[binaryterror]

Yeah, I hate hermits. I am trying to catch mine out of my 24g, and put them in my 55g for my Octopus to have a snack! Yippe! Haha

 

[Scott523]

hahha thats funny

 

[Scott523]

And by the way i was planning for 2 Clowns and a purple firefish

 

[binaryterror]

Yeah, that would be the perfect bio-load with the clean up crew combined. About the hermits, I just caught one from the 24g, and my octo is feasting now! It's a win-win situation for me and Henry the Octopus!

 

[brian is cool]

u sude deff put mature water in ur tank and andrew the water is more important to cycle than the rock because i am going to fill my 3g with water from my tank and i am putting base rock in it so the rock might cycle but if u have water already cycled than that will act as a replacement for the live rock and sand
and in turn will make the rock and sand live quicker

scott additives are things that u put in ur water that will benifit corals and they also need them to servive

 

[binaryterror]

Water doesn't cycle a tank. It is the bacteria that grow on the rocks and sand. So mature water wouldn't do anything to help a cycle since the water doesn't help the bacteria grow. But LR and LS does help, since it seeds the rock and sandbed for faster bacteria growth. Someone will come in here and explain it in more detail, but I am 100% sure that adding mature water does not cycle your tank quicker.

And Scott. Dont buy your LR from liveaquaria. The shipping will even out the price to buy it from Aquatic Tech anyways. And at Aquatic Tech, your guarenteed to get the pieces you want, and you wont have any die off!

 

[brian is cool]

i told u that u sould buy live rock from aquatic tech