Newbie needs help....

[reeftanknewbie]

I posted this in the newbie section but no one is really answering so thought i might try it here.
My question is with my tank setup do i need LR or can i stay with my lace rock? Advantages/disadvantages?
LS or CC? Advantages/disadvantages?
is there anything i am missing or need to add to my list for my reef tank? I am setting it up on 11 September.
Thanks in advance

 

[jacksonpt]

I'm not exactly sure what lace rock is, but I'm assuming its some type of base rock, i.e. NOT live rock. Live rock will improve the biological filtration in your tank... and good biological filtration is critical for a successful and stable reef. Is it necessary, no, not technically. Would you be better off with LR? Yes, most definitely. LR and LS are probably the most important things you can buy for a reef tank, with good lighting being second.
Do a search... there's tons of info on this. I suspect that's why people on the newbie board aren't answering... they get tired of answering the same question every other day. Do a search, you'll find all the info you need, and then some.

 

[reeftanknewbie]

Ok thanks. so do i need to abandon the CC for LS completly or just add LS over the CC or Under. Yes lace is a base rock. So should I use completly LR or base with LR? Thanks again.

 

[jonthefb]

for your substrate, go with one or the other, dont mix the two. I would highly reccommend a lsb of 4 to 6 inches, for filtration purposes. as for your other question, i would use some base rock and some live rock, as it will all become live eventually ( and is probably going to be much easier on your wallet to go half and half. use the base rock as a foundation for your reef structure, and add live rock on top of it and you will be fine!
good luck
jon

 

[jacksonpt]

Jon is right.
For your substrate... go one or the other, but don't mix. If you want to save some money... see if you can track down Southdown Play sand. I got mine at Home Depot in the gardening department. It's tank safe and cheap as hell. Then buy a good detrivore kit to seed it. In a month's time, you'll have a good DSB.
For rock... most people use both live and base rock because LR is so expensive. I suggest deciding how much rock you want in your tank (how much space you want the rock to take up, not lbs). Then buy a bunch of base rock to start with, then just enough LR to cover all the base rock. The LR looks better (I think), and all the good stuff that comes with LR will eventually filter down to the base rock.

 

[reeftanknewbie]

Thanks guys. Looks like i will be changing to a LSB and LR with a base of base rock. OK now the real questions..
Do I add the LR and the LSB during my cycle of the tank? I am not setting it up till the 11th of september.
I am using damsels to cycle my tank that has been the general concensous so far.
i was looking at like about 12-16 weeks for full cycle and ready for fish and coral. does this sound resaonable?

 

[bang guy]

There are hundreds of ways to setup a tank and most will work.
IMO skip the Damsels.
1. Buy a good book and read it cover to cover twice. I recommend The Conscientious Marine Aquarist for Newbies.
1a. Fill the tank with fresh water and leave it overnight. Check for leaks in the morning. Drain.
2. Fill 1/4 with saltwater. Lay down a bed of dead sand and your base rock and and fill 3/4 full with saltwater.
3. Buy your live rock and set it up the way you want. Fill the tank the rest of the way with saltwater. Turn on your skimmer, pumps, and powerheads. Light it 4 hrs/day.
4. If the rock is uncured you may want to do water changes to keep the ammonia below 1.0 or even 0.5 depending on how much life you want to save. The Live Rock will cycle the tank just fine without any additional critters.
5. Wait.
5a. Wait.
6. The ammonia will spike after 1 - 8 weeks followed by Nitrate. When they are both zero point zero add the Live Sand and begin to lightly feed the tank. The worms and bugs need to feed in order to reproduce. Any leftover food will rot and feed the bacteria. You want to keep everything alive but not spike the ammonia again.
Guy

 

[reeftanknewbie]

Thanks I will get the book and read it. How much of a water change should I do trying to keep life alive and still get through my cycle. what do i feed to LS. Thanks again for the help. it will be cheeper with no damsels.
How did you cycle your last tank?

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by ReefTankNewbie
How did you cycle your last tank?
Mix up to 25 gallons of saltwater at a time using filtered water and add to the tank until it's 1/2 full.
Pour in either 1/2" (Shallow bed) or 4" (DSB) of dry aragonite sand and mix it up really good to make sure there are no trapped air bubbles in the sand.
Scoop off the foam on top of the water the next day and start the heater and waterflow. Waterflow should be very turbulent. Don't worry about the sand storm because there's nothing to look at yet anyway.
Add good uncured live base rock. Lay all the rock out on the floor and pull off all visible sponges and anything that looks dead or dying. Important - Do not ever rinse live rock in fresh water! Do a quick rough estimate of the aquascaping and place the rocks in the general vicinity of where they go. The water will be milky so just make sure the rocks are stable. I like using uncured aquacultured rock because it still has most of its critters alive. Sometimes you can get rock that has been out of the ocean for less than 24 hours. Remove all Mantis Shrimp and Crabs except Porcelain crabs. A seperate species tank can be set up if you want to keep them.
Start up the lights to run 8 hours a day and skimmer running 24/7 once the rock is in the water.
Check the water daily for Ammonia. If Ammonia exceeds 0.5ppm do a 25% water change to try to get it back below 0.5ppm. If Ammonia reaches a really high spike then a 50% change and a dose of AmQuel can be done. The diversity of animals in your live rock is very important to the long term health of your tank. The higher the ammonia level gets the lower the diversity of critters in your live rock.
After several days the sand will begin to settle and you can start working out the final aquascaping. Use a Turkey baster to try to keep as much silt off the rock as you can.
Once Ammonia reaches 0.0ppm I start feeding the tank a very small amount of food. I increase the food dosage a little each day until I'm feeding enough to satisfy a pair of small Clownfish. If Ammonia climbs then feed less or stop feeding. Once Ammonia is at zero I add uncured top rock (the $$ stuff) and stop feeding until the secondary ammonia cycle is finished. Same rules for the top rock as the base rock. Remove dead or dying stuff. This is usually a lot faster. Feed the tank again once Ammonia is back down to zero but don't feed enough to cause Ammonia to accumulate. Then add up to 1/2" of live sand. The more the better but a handfull will work, just no more than 1/2".
If Ammonia stays at zero for a week or two then I add the Clownfish.
From start to finish this usually takes 4 - 8 weeks.

 

[reeftanknewbie]

Thanks I really like the tank and have some paintings of a reef tank to go on the other wall that will really make this tank stand out. I will post pics once it is setup. Ok flake food what about brine shrimp and stuff? i will have 60 lbs of lace rock and 90 lbs of var. LR. also i am using agronite(not sure of spelling) but 20 lbs is live. Am i doing ok for the setup? What is the calcium in the tank for that i would need a cal injector? also is there anything i missed?

 

[david s]

make sure it is southdown sand from home depot if it is just play sand it may cause problems down the road

 

[bang guy]

Brine Shrimp have almost no nutritional value. Contrary to popular belief they are not a natural food for reef animals. They do have their uses but regular feeding is not one of them.
Eventually you'll probably want another 50 - 100 pounds of live rock. You don't need it now. You can pick a choose pieces that "work" for your setup.
Aragonite sand is preferable IMO. My ultimate preference is oolithic sand precipitated from the Carribean I have 2500 pounds of it and yep... it's LIVE!
cal injector - I assume you are referring to a Calcium Reactor. It's not needed until you adopt some corals. Until then water changes will be plenty to maintain calcium and ALK.
I include ALK because it's more important to a reef tank than Calcium. There are other options to maintaining Ca and ALK but a reactor is probably the overall best. I use limewater to maintain Ca and ALK. It's much cheaper, but more work and not as effective. Another option is a two-part additive like B-Ionic.
read the book LOL

 

[snakeblitz33]

Ah, back in the day when Bang Guy said more then a one sentence answer...