Quick Question
- Thread starter rerich74
- Start date
bang guy
Moderator
Originally Posted by rerich74
I have a 92 gal corner tank. How much sand and live rock should I put into the tank? Also what are good fish to cycle the tank, this is my second attempt to do this =0)
The amount of rock is personal preference. If it's going to be your primary filtration then somewhere around 1 pound per gallon will do but more is just fine.
For sand, it depends. Are you wanting a deep sand bed or a shallow sand bed?
Instead of adding fish to the tank to produce ammonia just add the live rock. Perform a water change whenever ammonia gets too high and back off on the food. Try to keep ammonia below 0.5. Once ammonia drops to zero start feeding the tank the fish food that you would have been feeding the fish. Just a small pinch once a day. The food will break down and produce ammonia to keep your bacteria alive and no fish will have to suffer through an unstable tank.
I have a 92 gal corner tank. How much sand and live rock should I put into the tank? Also what are good fish to cycle the tank, this is my second attempt to do this =0)
The amount of rock is personal preference. If it's going to be your primary filtration then somewhere around 1 pound per gallon will do but more is just fine.
For sand, it depends. Are you wanting a deep sand bed or a shallow sand bed?
Instead of adding fish to the tank to produce ammonia just add the live rock. Perform a water change whenever ammonia gets too high and back off on the food. Try to keep ammonia below 0.5. Once ammonia drops to zero start feeding the tank the fish food that you would have been feeding the fish. Just a small pinch once a day. The food will break down and produce ammonia to keep your bacteria alive and no fish will have to suffer through an unstable tank.
joshradio
Member
on LR.... average in about 1-1.5lbs of it per gallon...
LS.... I would say enough to give atleast an inch depth... ideal about 2 + inches
cycle.... please don't use fish to cycle your tank.... use a raw, peeled shrimp to spike the ammonia up to 1.0 and then remove it!
So add LS, then LR, then a shrimp and test the water weekly/2 times a week and watch the levels... once everything is 0, add a cleaning crew, and slowly add fish (one every 2 weeks)
Keep us posted!
LS.... I would say enough to give atleast an inch depth... ideal about 2 + inches
cycle.... please don't use fish to cycle your tank.... use a raw, peeled shrimp to spike the ammonia up to 1.0 and then remove it!
So add LS, then LR, then a shrimp and test the water weekly/2 times a week and watch the levels... once everything is 0, add a cleaning crew, and slowly add fish (one every 2 weeks)
Keep us posted!
J
jdragunas
Guest
you shouldn't ever use tap water for a tank. You should either use distilled or RO water.
joshradio
Member
yes... do you have a wal*mart close by? They have water machines there and it is RO water... mine here is about $0.32/gal
try not to use your tap water... and don't think boiling will help it, it will only concentrate it... just make the runs to wallyworld or to you local grocery store and pick that water machine water up, or buy the 5 gal jugs from the shelf of distilled
try not to use your tap water... and don't think boiling will help it, it will only concentrate it... just make the runs to wallyworld or to you local grocery store and pick that water machine water up, or buy the 5 gal jugs from the shelf of distilled
J
jdragunas
Guest
distilled and RO cost the same, RO is better filtered.
I get my RO from walmart. I buy it by the gallon. It is in the drink seciton, it's in gallon jugs, has a green cap and green label and is called "drinking water". It's $0.64/gallon, so it can get pricey to fill the tank... that's why i plan on getting a RO unit in the near future. It's too much of a pain to have to go to walmart once a week and get 10 gallons for water changes and top offs...
I get my RO from walmart. I buy it by the gallon. It is in the drink seciton, it's in gallon jugs, has a green cap and green label and is called "drinking water". It's $0.64/gallon, so it can get pricey to fill the tank... that's why i plan on getting a RO unit in the near future. It's too much of a pain to have to go to walmart once a week and get 10 gallons for water changes and top offs...
J
jdragunas
Guest
if you have enough LR, you don't need a filter. but you have to keep extra watch over the tank.
J
jdragunas
Guest
you can actually cycle your tank with uncured LR. That's how i did mine anyway. You have to make sure to keep your ammonia below 1.0 (i like to keep it below 0.5...). Otherwise you might kill any hitchikers that came with your LR (that's what happened to me the 1st time...). To keep it that low, you do water changes once it gets higher than that.
J
jdragunas
Guest
i always suggest to do water changes during the cycle for a number of reasons:
1. it will help the critters on your LR to survive the cycle
2. the cycle process won't take as long... the bacteria that changes nitrites to nitrates doesn't grow very well with a high concentration of ammonia, so too high of a level of ammonia will actually delay the process.
3. it doesn't smell as bad...
if you spend any more than $1.69 on LR, and you allow your ammonia to get too high, the hitchikers you spent all that money to get will die... What's the point?
1. it will help the critters on your LR to survive the cycle
2. the cycle process won't take as long... the bacteria that changes nitrites to nitrates doesn't grow very well with a high concentration of ammonia, so too high of a level of ammonia will actually delay the process.
3. it doesn't smell as bad...
if you spend any more than $1.69 on LR, and you allow your ammonia to get too high, the hitchikers you spent all that money to get will die... What's the point?