I Seem to Have 4 Options... Which One?

[fishlawyer]

OK, I am about to set up my first Salt Water Tank... I have decided to go Fish Only, with Live Rock. (No or minimal live plants.)
It seems I have 4 options to cycle my 150 Gallon Tank: (The tank has a protein skimmer and a Cannister Filtration System along with a nice lighting system.)
1. Fill the tank with about 150 Lbs of live rock and wait. (Not really an option for me since I will only be using about 35 lbs of live rock.) I am told this will take about 4-8 weeks.
2. Fill the tank with about 35 lbs of live rock and a few live plants and wait. I am told that given the size of my tank, this could take about 3 months.
3. Fill the tank with about 35 lbs of live rock and a few plants and add 3-4 dead shrimp. I am told this will take approximately 4-6 weeks.
4. Fill the tank with about 35 lbs of live rock and a few plants and handle the amonia/nitrogen with store bought chemicals/bacteria. I am told this will take approximately 1-2 weeks.
Anyone have any opinions on these options?
Also, after my last post I have altered my setup, here is what I am using:
* 150 Gallon Open Top Tank With a High End Lighting System. (Long style tank.)
* 300W Heater
* Hagen Fluval 405 Cannister Filter
* Protein Skimmer (I forget the name)
* 35 Lbs of Live Rock
I plan to slowly introduce a Volitan Lionfish first, followed by a Zebra Eel and eventually 2-4 Large Tangs.
Any comments on this setup?

 

[subielover]

Well, with 35 pounds of live rock I don't think your tank would be able to handle the bioload of those large fish. So I guess I would say option 1.

 

[fishlawyer]

Then how much live rock would you recommend? I think I can get my hands on about 60 lbs... Also, wouldn't the large cannister filter, purchased chemicals/bacteria and protein filter allow me to handle the bioload?

 

[crypt keeper]

General rule of thumb for live rock. 1 to 1.5 pounds of live rock per gallon. Fish with a lot of bio load. Id put another 125 pounds of qaulity rock in there with lots of caves and hiding places.
what happened to the 35 gallon with the fuzzy dwarf?
You can never really fully rush the cycle process. It just takes time. I think you are trying to get by as skimp as possible and in this hobby you shouldnt do it. You tried to rush the other tank you were asking about earlier. You have need to just kick back relax and let your tank do its thing with the correct natural filtration. In the long run it will save you money. headaches and possibly your fishes lives.
What type of tangs are you talking about? A full grown Lion will eat any fish that is smaller than it or atleast try.
Why not just set up a sump system with a 55 gallon tank? Do it correctly.
No chemicals. No bacteria. Time time time and nature nature nature.

 

[fishlawyer]

Originally Posted by crypt keeper
http:///forum/post/2908681
General rule of thumb for live rock. 1 to 1.5 pounds of live rock per gallon. Fish with a lot of bio load. Id put another 125 pounds of qaulity rock in there with lots of caves and hiding places.
what happened to the 35 gallon with the fuzzy dwarf?
You can never really fully rush the cycle process. It just takes time. I think you are trying to get by as skimp as possible and in this hobby you shouldnt do it. You tried to rush the other tank you were asking about earlier. You have need to just kick back relax and let your tank do its thing with the correct natural filtration. In the long run it will save you money. headaches and possibly your fishes lives.
What type of tangs are you talking about? A full grown Lion will eat any fish that is smaller than it or atleast try.
Why not just set up a sump system with a 55 gallon tank? Do it correctly.
No chemicals. No bacteria. Time time time and nature nature nature.
After some evaluation, I used my smaller tank to replace an older tank I used for cichlids. (It is actually very nice, I only keep 4 cichlids and one red tail shark in there, but it really looks professional.)
I think I am going to have to stock up on some live rock and give it a natural shot. I really want this one to work out right. This will give me the chance to properly set up my tank and order exactly the fish I want.
Hoping to add the rock this week and keep monitoring the situation.
Guess time is the only cure......

 

[spanko]

quote
"This article will give you a general introduction into the three main types of saltwater tanks. When getting started with saltwater it is recommended to get the biggest tank you can accomodate. Bigger tanks give you more room for error when it comes to water quality.
There are basically three types of saltwater aquarium setups:
* Fish Only
* Fish Only with Live Rock - FOWLR
* Reef Tanks
Fish Only
This is the least expensive type to set up because you don't necessarily need the better lighting that the other setups require.
In my opinion, even though this is the least expensive setup, it is not necessarily the easiest to get started with. Getting started may take a little longer than the other setups while waiting for the nitrogen cycle to complete. Fish only tanks also require more frequent tank maintenance than FOWLR tanks. This means that you will need to stay on top of those water changes to remove the nitrates that are constantly accumulating. Having a water test kit is a necessity when keeping saltwater tanks. You will need to periodically monitor the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH levels. These readings will give you a good indication of the water quality inside your tank. It will also give you an idea of how often you should be performing those water changes.
As the name implies, this type of tank is really for keeping fish only. You may be able to keep a few snails or hermit crabs to help control any algae problems. There are generally two types of fish only tanks. Community type tanks and semi-aggressive type tanks. The community tanks house species that will get along well with the other species in the tank. Semi-aggressive tanks usually house solitary individuals from different species. Unless you have an extremely large tank, it is normally not recommended to get multiple fish from the same species.
Fish Only with live rock - FOWLR
This setup is the same as a Fish Only with the addition of live rock and better aquarium lighting. The use of live rock has really taken off in the past decade because it really is the best form of natural biological filtration for the saltwater aquarium. It is called "live rock" because of the creatures and organisms living on the inside and on the surface of the rock. It can be very interesting to the look at the organisms and algae growing on the rock.
Getting good rock, such as Fiji rock, can be expensive and may even be the most expensive part of setting up a FOWLR tank. A rule of thumb for setting up a tank with live rock is 1 to 2 pounds per aquarium gallon. Currently, live rock is going for about $7 per pound, so a 55 gallon tank would need approximately 82.5 lbs (using 1.5 pounds/gallon) or around $578 to get started. This price is just an estimate and the price may be much higher or lower in your particular area.
What makes live rock so good? The porous nature of live rock means that it comes packed with all types of tiny creatures and biological organisms that aid in the nitrogen cycle. The dense, porous material inside the live rock helps rid your aquarium of nitrates. You will still need to monitor your water parameters regularly and perform water changes as needed. You will also need to add supplements such as iodine, calcium, strontium, magnesium and others, to the water periodically. Live rock helps maintain stability in a saltwater aquarium and it can become a food source for your invertebrates and your fish."

 

[hlcroghan]

wow, fantastic reply.....thanks for that........

 

[locoyo386]

Hi there,
Originally Posted by FishLawyer
http:///forum/post/2908652
OK, I am about to set up my first Salt Water Tank... I have decided to go Fish Only, with Live Rock. (No or minimal live plants.)
It seems I have 4 options to cycle my 150 Gallon Tank: (The tank has a protein skimmer and a Cannister Filtration System along with a nice lighting system.)
1. Fill the tank with about 150 Lbs of live rock and wait. (Not really an option for me since I will only be using about 35 lbs of live rock.) I am told this will take about 4-8 weeks.
2. Fill the tank with about 35 lbs of live rock and a few live plants and wait. I am told that given the size of my tank, this could take about 3 months.
3. Fill the tank with about 35 lbs of live rock and a few plants and add 3-4 dead shrimp. I am told this will take approximately 4-6 weeks.
4. Fill the tank with about 35 lbs of live rock and a few plants and handle the amonia/nitrogen with store bought chemicals/bacteria. I am told this will take approximately 1-2 weeks.
Anyone have any opinions on these options?
Also, after my last post I have altered my setup, here is what I am using:
* 150 Gallon Open Top Tank With a High End Lighting System. (Long style tank.)
* 300W Heater
* Hagen Fluval 405 Cannister Filter
* Protein Skimmer (I forget the name)
* 35 Lbs of Live Rock
I plan to slowly introduce a Volitan Lionfish first, followed by a Zebra Eel and eventually 2-4 Large Tangs.
Any comments on this setup?
Not sure what others might think of this, but here it goes.
Since you are going to use a protein skimmer, why not look into cost comparison if you go with a sump in lieu of the canister filter. You could go with a refugium with some live rock (maybe a 20 gallon with 30 lbs) and use about another 30 or 40 lbs in the display tank.
If you are concerned about initial cost, than go with the setup you have. Add a couple of fish, and with time add more live rock(just make sure to cure properly outside of the display tank before adding it to it, this will help in reducing the amonia levels). I think the 150 tank is a good size(maybe not for that many fish fully grown at one time, but not seen a tank that has more than 6 fish that are 12"+, home aquariums anyways).
Either way hope everything works out to the point that we can see pictures of it.