how do i set up my reef?

[blennyluv]

i am new at reef tanks and fairly new at salt water tanks, my rock will be here tomorrow, how tough is it, how do i break it up if i need to, do i have to stack it high in the middle and work down, or can i stack it up on the sides and lower in the middle? or high on one side and low on one? ( to cover tubes and such )
its a 55 gal tank, with an undergravel filter, 2 maxijet 1200 ph, a powerfilter and a protein skimmer. i would also like to know what to expect, what the cycling process for a reef tank is and how i will know when it is ready for fish

 

[ericholcek]

just stack them anyway you want. Just try to not stack up against the back wall that way your fish will have room to swim back there and hide if they feel threatened. :happyfish

 

[cowpoke]

Hello Blenny
I can help with a few of your questions and I am sure the keepers of the wisedom will chime in on the others I don't feel comfortable about answering!
As far as your rock
I use an "old" chisel the wider the better, to score a line around where I want the rock to break, and it usally does break there.
The way you stack your rock is completely up to you, look at some of the photos folks have posted and see what you like!
Most folks will advise against letting the rock rest against the glass.
You will have to take it slow for a healthy reef system, most folks advise that you should not add corals etc., until you have a system that has matured, seems that most folks feel the one year anniversary is a good number.
Do a search on cycling of a tank and you find hours of thrilling reading!
In closing Blenny
Paitence paitence I know it is so hard to do, but the slower you go, the better final result will be!
Cowpoke

 

[blennyluv]

thanks!!!
i know it takes patience, is it true that you can add damsels in just a couple of weeks? what else is hardy enough to stand the test of change?

 

[cowpoke]

Blenny
Do a search on the damsels or cycling with fish
Allot of folks will tell you they work great to cycle your tank but are darn near impossible to get back out of your tank when you want to add the fish you want to keep!
And some damsels can be aggresive.
so do your research before you plunge.
You can do the cocktail shrimp method
and I have heard folks using mollies with good luck!

 

[ericholcek]

if you have a lot of live sand and live rock your tank will cycle real real fast. maybe in a week or so. Honeslty i added all live sand and live rock before i started to cycle my tank. I put in a damsel and the next day got a diatom bloom. Checked all levels and ammonia and nitrite were 0 and nitrate was at 5. I wouldn't recomend using any fish for cycling. You can just throw in a peice of shrimp to jump start it and take it out a few days later. Good Luck with everything...

 

[blennyluv]

very interesting guys! so i can just buy shrimp from the store and toss them in with my rock to cycle my tank??? neat. does anyone know which damsels are NOT going to be aggressive? I like damsels andif i get them i will want to keep them, i seem to get attached to my pets (even fish) maybe it s agirl thing. i don;t have any live sand, because of the undergravel filter, but i have 60 lbs of rock coming in the morning. i think that will be sufficient, there is about 48 gallons of water in the tank. thanks for the help and keep it coming, need lots of tips and stuff to get more comfortable with this thing!

 

[bot587]

a dead cocktail shrimp is what they mean, not a living shrimp from the LFS

 

[cowpoke]

Blenny
Yes just a simple cocktail shrimp is used in that method
say about a half of "the" shrimp is added and left for two to five days, then pull it out and you will have enough NH4 to start your cycle.
and you will also get some die off from your liverock when you add it too, additional NH4 sources.
Have you gotten any seed sand or gravel?
can be as simple as a cup from another mature tank, LFS, friends tank etc!
The search function will give you tons of reading on the shrimp method of cycling, and on the damsels!
Have fun
Take care

 

[jenn-e]

Just an idea but a lot of people here will say ug filter is and cc is bad. It will be alot easier to switch to sand now before you get your rock in there. You can buy sand at the hardware store for cheap. Cheaper than your cc, but i know you just spent money on these things and you'd hate to already get rid of them. CC will hold alot of nitrates do a search on this and read opinions from the experts.

 

[blennyluv]

jenne
ok, i know i am a rookie now, but what is CC?crushed coral? why is that bad????? sheesh, i really cant change now, so what i need is advice on how to deal with what i have. hard to get good advice in a little bitty town like ours
ok cowpoke, what is seed sand or gravel? would have to go with gravel cuz sand would just go into the ug.
maybe i can get some gravel from the pet store, but cant that also bring in disease?
:nope:
so please tell me what i will have to do to keep my tank healthy with what i have!

 

[ericholcek]

all damsels are agressive. Some have a nicer temperment than others. Defenitly stay away from the blue devil damsel and the domino damsel. :happyfish

 

[reefnut]

blennyluv, I know this is a pain but you will be money a head to swap the UG filter and crushed coral out and replace it with sand, or even leave it bare IMO. Stay away from any type of gravel.
Do you have a home depot in your town? If so they sometimes carrie or can order Southdown play sand which can be used.
Have you decided on lighting??

 

[saltym3]

agree with reefnut. Definately ditch the crushed coral and UG filter. I had both in my tank for 1.5 yrs and although never suffered a nitrate problem I couldnt believe the difference in apperance the sand made. My fish even play in the sand now.

 

[reefnut]

how tough is it, how do i break it up if i need to
A hammer and screw driver will work wonders.
do i have to stack it high in the middle and work down, or can i stack it up on the sides and lower in the middle? or high on one side and low on one? ( to cover tubes and such )
If you're anything like me you will be rearranging the rock several times the next few months. Really, what ever you think looks good.

 

[jenn-e]

:yes: CC is crushed coral, it is bad because it can trap particles of uneated food and fish poop, because the pieces of cc are big. Sand is better because those things that pollute your tank will lay on top, because the pieces of sand are small. When it lays on top of the sand your clean up crew, like crabs and snails, will come along and eat it. When that stuff gets trapped in the cc it turns into amonia and nitrates and that's bad. :notsure: That's the best way i can explain it to ya. In the long run it will be better to have sand but some people have sucess with cc if you can vaccum it often. Sand would be really cheap at your local hardware store and you could seed it with sand from your local fish store like mentioned above or a friends tank.

 

[blennyluv]

reefnut
a home depot? sheesh, thats about 250 miles away, our friggin pet store isn't even open when you need it, i did add some really small reef base to the top of the crushed coral, like i said, i live in a small town and have to order everything i get. plus my ug is supporting my powerheads. so to keep this tank healthy i am looking at what, weekly water changes? seems i never do anything the easy way, really wish i would have gone with live sand, but, water under the bridge i guess. it doesn't stress the fish to move the rock around?? thats great, love to change stuff around
jenn-e
great explanation! thank you. now i know i need to arrange my rock so i can vaccuum it often, the pet store here sold me all this stuff, so i guess i should not trust them that much ha ha.
salty, you are right, i do love the appearance of sand, maybe in the future i will get another tank and use it, but i am stuck wit h this one.
so eric, which damsel do you suggest??

 

[reefnut]

it doesn't stress the fish to move the rock around??
It pisses my Clowns off!! but they get over it .

 

[blennyluv]

ok everyone, i got my rock, its pretty cool, i didn't even have to break it up got some big and some small, and it is pretty stinky, been in the tank about 6 hours. am i suppose to pull off all the plant looking stuff? i rinsed it a bit in salt water before putting it in, its really nice i think, it has white, reds, purples, greens and browns, and i have found some dead worm looking stuff on it, i took them off and threw them away, hope they are not good animal life forms, one looked like it may be still alive. will take a picture if my camera will get a good one, and upload later
when should i test the waters?
any other tips to get rid of the dead fishy smell, or is that just time

 

[liverock27]

Good luck with your new hobby!! I started about 5months ago and I am addicted. I made alot of mistakes at first with my new tank because I didn't know about this site and I didn't buy a book until after I was cycling it. I have since gotten rid of pretty much the whole setup that my LFS said i should use(wast of money), but now because of this site my 30g(first tank) is doing great. I also have setup a 75g at my parents house, my dad is now really into this hobby and I just started cycling a 10g with a 20L sump at my new little apartment. Good luck and the only advice I can give is to research everything before you by it and use this board to answer any and all questions