how much LR to start a cycle?

[apolyom]

LOL sorry my bad its a 100g tank NOT 400g
i'm from australia so i had to work out the conversions so i could be understood on this site lol. its a 400litre tank (im my language lol). i completely forgot to ask about if it was cured or not. they had a coral banded living in the tank to rock was in but i also didnt get it in my tank for a good couple of hours after i bought it. i still have to reinforce my floor (just to be on the safe side) before i get more rock and sand etc so im not in any great hurry. im also getting a sump set up hopefully in the next couple of weeks (depends how the loan goes). so yeah i've waited this long so what another month or two lol. as for curing LR once the sump is up then i can do it in that cant i?

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by apolyom
well the main reason for that is not because i wanted to..... its because i HAD to.. $$$$$ turns out ALOT more expensive than first thought. but its also very rewarding and worth it IMO anyway
Dude... if you are only into your cycle you have no idea how expensive yet.
Oh man... I've spent so much money on my tanks it hurts to think about it.
Let's just say... if I didn't have my tanks I'd have my BMW by now.... for cash.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by apolyom
yeah i've notice on my LR all these little tube like things wondering what they might be. i did however find 2 little white stars when i first put it in the tank but i think they may have been filterised lol. im also going with a FOWLR tank. i'll take pics and post them as i progress if you like.
when i found the stars i was like a little kid at christmas lol
FOWLR will be nice. Wiht a tank that size you should consider my all time favorite two fish.. the Emperor Angel and the Sohal Tang. Both will do very well in a 400 gallon.
Your tube like things are tiny feather dusters. Filter feeders, great fun.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by apolyom
LOL sorry my bad its a 100g tank NOT 400g
i'm from australia so i had to work out the conversions so i could be understood on this site lol. its a 400litre tank (im my language lol). i completely forgot to ask about if it was cured or not. they had a coral banded living in the tank to rock was in but i also didnt get it in my tank for a good couple of hours after i bought it. i still have to reinforce my floor (just to be on the safe side) before i get more rock and sand etc so im not in any great hurry. im also getting a sump set up hopefully in the next couple of weeks (depends how the loan goes). so yeah i've waited this long so what another month or two lol. as for curing LR once the sump is up then i can do it in that cant i?
Scratch what I said about the Emperor and the Sohal. 100g is not enough.

No you can't cure in the sump. The sump is all part of the water column shared with the main tank. The problem with curing live rock is that the die-off generates ammonia. ANY ammonia is bad for the fish, so you don't want to cure LR in the sump once your tank is running.
If your tank is running and you need more LR, you are going to need to either make sure the stuff you get is cured at your local fish store and is transported underwater, or you can cure it yourself in a plastic trash barrel full of seawater, a heater and a powerhad. Search around the forums for how to do it.
uGH. Bed now. Kailiek's late remark made me tired. I'll check this thread in the morning.

 

[apolyom]

my bad its 100gal not 400
the tube things are rigid and attached to the rock. i'll try and get some pics of them later

 

[apolyom]

thanks SCSI been a great help. will keep you posted on my progress

 

[kailiek]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
Dude... if you are only into your cycle you have no idea how expensive yet.
Oh man... I've spent so much money on my tanks it hurts to think about it.
Let's just say... if I didn't have my tanks I'd have my BMW by now.... for cash.
i think i could own the company,

man, this hobby is sooooo surely a money gig. but it is so worth it when you end up with that oh so fab reef or wonderfully active fish assortment. totally worth it in my opinion

and you could cycle with certain clownfish and then have a real fish to watch and pet

 

[apolyom]

Originally Posted by kailiek
i think i could own the company,

man, this hobby is sooooo surely a money gig. but it is so worth it when you end up with that oh so fab reef or wonderfully active fish assortment. totally worth it in my opinion

and you could cycle with certain clownfish and then have a real fish to watch and pet
yeah its ALOT more than i anticipated but thats ok because i am appreciating the time/money and effort that i have been putting in to it.
hypothetically: would you choose damsel or mollie to cycle?

 

[scsinet]

I use damsels personally, but if you have rock in the tank they will be very difficult to catch when it's time to remove them. Mollies aren't quite as fast, but unless you can find an LFS that has already acclimated some to saltwater, acclimating them is a big pain.
Both fish will do an equally good job at cycling a tank.
pros and cons both ways.

 

[kailiek]

i agree, depends on what the end result is, do you want to keep a damsel, only the chromis is not so aggessive and could stay in and still be pretty. mollies are a cheaper kill basically, if for some reason the levels were to get too high you did not kill a 4-6 dollar fish, but in a large tank you could feasably keep levels from going over the top and still cycle. personal preference i think, also if you have mollies, and an aggressive fish tank is the goal they have food at the end when you start adding those fish.
i always liked the green chromis for esthetic value and temperment, definately if you are going to keep adding rock you dont want to have catch something you dont want

 

[apolyom]

i am thinking i might purchase some damsels towards the end of the cycle just to get a bit of life in the tank and also to make sure i can work the tank right lol instead of spending hundreds on a fish only to have it die on me.
i've also got a fish list i am looking at (short listed) in this thread. check it out and tell me what you think guys

 

[scsinet]

Do yourself a favor and don't buy fish that you'll end up trying to catch later for no other purpose than to have fish in the tank.
There are lots of great aquarium fish that aren't that expensive.
Firefish, Chromis, Clowns, Cardinals, and Grammas are all excellent, hardy, and pretty cheap... considering.

 

[apolyom]

firefish as in goby?

 

[kailiek]

Originally Posted by apolyom
i am thinking i might purchase some damsels towards the end of the cycle just to get a bit of life in the tank and also to make sure i can work the tank right lol instead of spending hundreds on a fish only to have it die on me.
i've also got a fish list i am looking at (short listed) in this thread. check it out and tell me what you think guys
where is the list of fish?

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by apolyom
firefish as in goby?
Yuh-Huh.

 

[kailiek]

what kind of fish tank do you want to end up with? small colorful reef type fish or large colorful more aggressive fish? i really like all the small fish they can be very interesting to watch due to the vaired behaviors.

 

[kailiek]

firefish (long narrow fish that looks like a small torpedo and hangs in the water table and sleeps in the rocks)should be in pairs or groups and they come in about 3 varieties of colorations, they are too cool. grammas(there are many varieties)(and you have to watch capatability-some dont like each other) are going to be more on the add last list due to diet, most eat the copopods that will grow in the tank around the live rock, cardinals are cool but also need to be in pairs or groups, the pajamas are really neat, very shy the bangki will breed in your tank if you get enough cus you cant --- them but you want to make sure this fish is eating since most that are brought in fresh from the sea will only eat live and will be short lived. but many are breeding them now so you can find eaters. clowns you need to figure out what you want cus some are very territorial, like the maroon. and speaking of clowns, does that mean you want an anemone? since i can't post other companies on here if you direct email me i can send you a link (very good one) on a graph of which fish will go together and what clowns go to what anemone, anemones also require certain light so that would be a good place to look at if you are considering this. kailiek@valornet.com

 

[apolyom]

Originally Posted by kailiek
where is the list of fish?
huma huma
dogface
radiata (do volitans grow the same size? or larger?)
maroon clown (probably) do they need to be in pairs?
blue hippo
sfe
plus clean up crew in the sump

 

[kailiek]

Originally Posted by apolyom
huma huma
dogface
radiata (do volitans grow the same size? or larger?)
maroon clown (probably) do they need to be in pairs?
blue hippo
sfe
plus clean up crew in the sump
the lionfish is going to eat the clown fish, and anyone in the tank he can eat, and they can vary in size, several lions out there,( colors small to med/lg)

the trigger and puffer will eat any snails,crabs, corals in the tank, so if you keep on your glass yourself
maroon clowns get very territorial, if you want 2 add them together
blue hippo is most popular tang, i would put this fish in a tank 1st due to extreme shyness, they also play dead so heads up. watch out for real cheap ones. blue tang needs shelter in the tank
i like all of the fish but dont think they are a great match unless you dont intend to have anything but fish, i am sorry i cant remember what you stated on that
are you doing a refugium in your sump? unless you do or have a large sump with some waste, dont put too many critters in there

 

[cymbal67]

whatever live rock you are going to put in there...put it in now. tank will cycle with rock when enough of it is used. if you cycle with shrimp or fish or whatever, and then put a lot of live rock in it later....you could just start another cycle again, depending on the rock you put in, messing up levels later. it wont take 8 weeks for a 100g tank to cycle. live rock is the most important item in starting a tank and having it cycle out quickly, another would be a thick sand bed in a refugium; wait to put chaeto and mangroves in, after nitrites go down. the people who tell you 4 to 8 weeks to cycle, were not using primo live rock. they people who used primo live rock will tell you 3 to 10 days to cycle. there is no wrong way to cycle a tank if you are getting the same results of 0's on trates, trites and amm, but there are quicker ways. dont skimp on rock.