What to do first

[fatmtbiker]

I am guessing I am a few months away from getting my fist tank going. I was wondering if there are some things that I can start now. One thing I have heard is you can buy non-cured live rock much cheaper than cured but it takes a few months to do that. If this is the case I would like to start it now. I am planning on having a 20 long or a 29 under my 125 as a hospital tank. Would this be a good place to cure live rock?

If so how do I setup the hospital tank? Can I use a HOB filter or a power head? Does live rock need anything done to the tank before you put it in to cure? I would like to use the hospital tank always as I hear that if you get a bug in the system it is very hard to medicate a reef tank.

 

[BlakDuc]

FOr the rock, look at www.marcorocks.com Their rocks are very light and with awesome shapes and sizes. Usually when people have a tank under their display tank it is not a hospital tank. It is usually a sump or refugium. These are for a few different reasons. You can put all of your stuff like heaters, protien skimmer(filter) and whatever else you want without having it in the display tank. It also adds some water volume depending on how big you make it. If you opt for a refugium, you can grow macroalgae to lower nitrates and phosphates, it also adds to the pod(critter) population. I hope this helps.

 

[kawicivic]

If you are just starting a tank you can get live rock uncured and put it in your tank. You are going to want wayyy more rock than what a 20 or 29 can hold so I would suggest setting up either separate tub for curing (rubber made, tank, or even a bath tub... just make sure to have it heated and circulated). You will want to make sure to have access to a water supply so that you can change the water as the rock goes through the curing cycle. Another thing to consider would be to buy dead rock (a lot of people use marcorocks.com) and set that up to "cure". Although the curing with dead rock is to get rid of the same dead organics you really dont have to worry about water changes as much because there is no life to save. When you get your tank you could then pick up some cured live rock from a fellow reefer downgrading or getting out of the hobby (could easily find some rock within a couple weeks). This rock will be used to seed your dead or base rock. The more established the system it comes from the better. Both of these methods will help to keep your cycle shorter than just dumping a bunch of uncured rock into the tank and letting it cycle. Although that is another option since there is nothing in the tank yet.

 

[fatmtbiker]

Usually when people have a tank under their display tank it is not a hospital tank. It is usually a sump or refugium.

I was going to put both the hospital and the refugium under my tank. Now I think about it I can't get a 55 and a 29 under my 125. I was hoping that I could put as much as possible in the 55 (skimmer, pump, heaters, ....).

This is all in my basement so space and access to a sink is not a problem. It sounds like my hospital/staging tank should be a rubermaid container in the back. no problem.

I would suggest setting up either separate tub for curing (rubber made, tank, or even a bath tub... just make sure to have it heated and circulated).

What temp and how much flow? Say I get a 50 or 70 gallon container. Will power heads be ok? Does there need to be any filtration or just movement of water. Can I use an HOB filter?

 

[fatmtbiker]

So a box of (50 Pound box Fiji Dry Rock,"Marco Rock") to my house was $146. My local shop said I could get rock from them at $3 - $3.50 lb. That would be $150 - $175. Is it worth it to stay with live rock?

 

[kawicivic]

marco rock is supposed to be equal to about double its weight... 50 pounds should equal about 100 once it gets wet. Powerheads would be fine for the tub... you just need to make sure that the water turns over. The flow helps all of the dead stuff fall off. I would keep temp near what you are planning on keeping you tank at. All of this is more important with live rock... if you use the marco stuff you could just keep changing out with fresh water and scrubbing it etc.

I have never seen nice rock at a local shop that cheap... I got most of my rock from members breaking their tanks down. if you buy the tub and keep the water quality up you can save some money by getting used rock from people. The best thing is that you get fewer bad hitchhikers and a lot more good ones when using established rock. The good ones are commonly bristleworms or even some tag a long corals.

 

[ReefKeepersCorner]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11367258#post11367258 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fatmtbiker
What temp and how much flow? Say I get a 50 or 70 gallon container. Will power heads be ok? Does there need to be any filtration or just movement of water. Can I use an HOB filter?

Don't worry about a heater with just rock. Keep some good flow in there though.