It's a nano!

promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
Mixing it is the worst thing you can do, unfortunately....the CC will work it's way above the sand constantly. It has sharp edges, that's why the beneficial critters won't go there. It will not allow for the denitrifying aerobic & anaerobic[sp] layers that complete the process in a good sandbed.With sand the critters clean it, with CC you have to clean it...with both there is no way to clean it.
 
R

reefernana

Guest
Originally Posted by promisetbg
Mixing it is the worst thing you can do, unfortunately....the CC will work it's way above the sand constantly. It has sharp edges, that's why the beneficial critters won't go there. It will not allow for the denitrifying aerobic & anaerobic[sp] layers that complete the process in a good sandbed.With sand the critters clean it, with CC you have to clean it...with both there is no way to clean it.
This is what I have heard, too. What kind of live sand did you buy that said that on the package (to put cc under as a base)???
 
dksart

dksart

Member
Originally Posted by reefernana
This is what I have heard, too. What kind of live sand did you buy that said that on the package (to put cc under as a base)???

I used CaribSea live sand. I threw away the packaging, so I can't quote it, but it said something like that. It actually gave three or four different suggestions on setting up the substrate.
I think it was a different package, but this is the brand...
 
R

reefernana

Guest
I used this brand, too, but I didn't read the suggestions which was a good thing I guess. I used the Carib Sea's Aragonite West Caribbean Reef Live Sand. I did a lot of research before I set up my tank and there wasn't any suggestions from others to use any cc. I guess most others learned by experience that it just gets too dirty. Let us know what you end up doing and good luck!
 
dksart

dksart

Member
Well, the biggest problem we have today is that the lights are not working. They worked fine for the last two days and we even left them on last night because we were watching the tank clear up. (I'll post some pics of different rock arrangements later) This morning they just went out and have now blown a couple of fuses in the hood as well. My husband has been emailing JBJ and they asked him to try a few things that didn't work. They seem to think there may be a problem from shipping it and all of the vibrations could have caused this.
MAN! Now we have to wait for them to ship us a whole new hood.

If anyone has a suggestion.....I'll try it.
 
dksart

dksart

Member
This was my first attempt to arrange the live rock. I kicked up so much sand that it was too hard to see.......
 
dksart

dksart

Member
Originally Posted by reefernana
I used this brand, too, but I didn't read the suggestions which was a good thing I guess. I used the Carib Sea's Aragonite West Caribbean Reef Live Sand. I did a lot of research before I set up my tank and there wasn't any suggestions from others to use any cc. I guess most others learned by experience that it just gets too dirty. Let us know what you end up doing and good luck!

Thanks so much for the advice. I guess I didn't research as good as I thought. Probably should have asked on the board before I did anything.
We are leaving it for now and if it becomes a huge problem, I'll have to disassemble everything at a later date. (crossing fingers)
 
ric maniac

ric maniac

Active Member
Originally Posted by dksart
Thanks so much for the advice. I guess I didn't research as good as I thought. Probably should have asked on the board before I did anything.
We are leaving it for now and if it becomes a huge problem, I'll have to disassemble everything at a later date. (crossing fingers)
your doing wonderfully and it looks nice, but the mindset of "if it happens later i will do it then" is not a good idea. i dont mean to sound mean
but think about it, if you have coral and fish in there how are you going to go about taking it out? this will stress the fish terribly and you will have to move the coral everywhere. my sugestion is to syphon out the water in to a bucket(s) and then put the live rock in with it asap. then dump all of the cc and ls out. then put it all back together with the old water. good luck with whatever you decide to do.
looking good as i said before
oh, and i love the color of your walls!
 
dksart

dksart

Member
Yeah Ric,
We have been talking about taking it all down to do just that. Since we will have to wait for a new hood anyway (My husband is waiting for a reply from JBJ about the malfunctioning lighting) we might as well.
I think I'm going to do some research and sleep on it.
 
ric maniac

ric maniac

Active Member
good idea, sleeping on it always works. and i find myself doing it more and more often...lol
and since you have to wait for a new hood and it hasnt even cycled yet why not?
 
dksart

dksart

Member
OK,
We are going to break it down and scoop out the crushed coral. I am learning patience much faster than I expected, I may as well learn to do things right the first time instead of fixing my messes when they blow up later! At least I have time now to play around with the aquascaping.
(Thanks Ric, for noticing the wall color, that took a lot of time to pick the right shade of 'orange-but-not-too-orange')
Should we get the clean-up crew going after we add more live sand? Or be patient there too?
 
ric maniac

ric maniac

Active Member
i would be patient there too, or you could put them in and keep doing water changes and test, test, test so the levels stay fairly normal untill it is cycled.
 
clay12340

clay12340

Member
Ah the joys of marine fish keeping :p
Scoop out as much of the crushed coral as you can and just pick the other pieces out as they surface. The package probably meant larger pieces of crushed coral or live rock rubble. People use it sometimes to build hills and such under the sand, since it won't flatten out like just sand. The pieces are large enough that it won't "float" to the top of the sand bed.
Don't worry about the lighting hood for now. You don't actually want the lights on for the first month or two while it cycles. The lights will encourage algae growth and it can be a bear to get in check once it has overrun your tank. Don't leave it on unless you're viewing the tank until you get a coral that needs the light.
I'd wait on the cycle to get a clean up crew as well.
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
You will be much happier with it the right way..that way we don't have to say "told you so" later.. Hey..your last rock assembly looks alot like mine!
Good luck & post back when you get it all together. Here's a pic from yesterday, it has changed slightly since we moved it:
 
ric maniac

ric maniac

Active Member
Originally Posted by promisetbg
You will be much happier with it the right way..that way we don't have to say "told you so" later.. Hey..your last rock assembly looks alot like mine!
Good luck & post back when you get it all together. Here's a pic from yesterday, it has changed slightly since we moved it:

wow! thats a beautiful plate coral!
 
dksart

dksart

Member
Originally Posted by promisetbg
You will be much happier with it the right way..that way we don't have to say "told you so" later.. Hey..your last rock assembly looks alot like mine!
Good luck & post back when you get it all together. Here's a pic from yesterday, it has changed slightly since we moved it:

Wow! I hope mine looks that nice some day. I love when there's a lot of 'caves' and 'tunnels' for the fish to swim through and play in. I especially like the concave formations like yours has.....gorgeous.
 
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