Redoing my saltwater tank I let go,...

[kahlis]

Yes, shame on me.
A couple years ago I bought a tank from a college kid who knew the ropes and set-up a really great tank. From him I got a fully working, ready to go, 24" bowfront with everything. About 6-8 months ago I fell behind on maintenance and was left with belly up fish and a massive salt creep problem. Last weekend I decided to start over and start from the beginning.



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Can I reuse the rocks I salvaged from the tank? Looking online I see they can get rather expensive but they are usually sold dry. Since mine are dry, can I just soak them in fresh salt water and reapply?
What is a good idea for sand? A local shop said 1/2 live and 1/2 dead. After some time, it'll all grow into live sand.
Are moon light LEDs necessary or just for show? I'm looking at the Coralife T5 (without moonlights) and its about $100 less than a Coralife with moonlights.

 

[flower]

Hi, Welcome to the site!
Have your old rock soak in a tub of saltwater with a power head for a few weeks...since you already have life in the tank, that way you won't risk an ammonia spike at all.
Just to be sure, in case you don't know...Make sure ALL rock is under the sand...you can't build on shifting sand, you could crush a critter or break the tank. Live sand is the best for a reef tank...SWF.com sells good sand. 2 inches is a really good level of sand unless you have critters that burrow.
LED moonlights help the fish to see the other fish at night, preventing fin nips from aggression. They also allow you to see the night life in the tank..your tank becomes a whole new thing when the day dwellers go to sleep, and the night critters come out of the rocks. They are also very helpful if you discover a coral eater is munching on the corals, to see what rock it lives in.

 

[kahlis]

Thanks for the quick reply, I feel welcome already!
Actually, the photos are from a couple days after I brought it home (circa 2011),... currently the tank empty and dry.

How long is the recommended acclimation time before adding fish and other life? That may have been what slowly started the problem before.
The light system I'm considering is rated at 10k, with both white and blue lights. The previous range had installed timers for the white, blue and moonlights. It was set to transition from white/blue to blue to the moonlights as the day progressed. I hear what you are saying about the night-life, but can I use the white and blue separately and time them to transition as mentioned above?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kahlis http:///t/394524/redoing-my-saltwater-tank-i-let-go#post_3511426
Thanks for the quick reply, I feel welcome already!
Actually, the photos are from a couple days after I brought it home (circa 2011),... currently the tank empty and dry.

How long is the recommended acclimation time before adding fish and other life? That may have been what slowly started the problem before.
The light system I'm considering is rated at 10k, with both white and blue lights. The previous range had installed timers for the white, blue and moonlights. It was set to transition from white/blue to blue to the moonlights as the day progressed. I hear what you are saying about the night-life, but can I use the white and blue separately and time them to transition as mentioned above?
Hi,
...don't post links to other sites...SWF doesn't like that. Just copy post the stat of equipment you are looking at, and we can help you that way. (I didn't look at the link, out of respect to SWF)
You can arrange the light sequence anyway you want, and for how long you want...it depends on what type of light you get , if each light on the unit has it's own plug, you can put a timer on them to come on or off at different times.
When you reset the tank..Rock goes in first, you don't want to build on sand because it shifts, and a rock slide may break the tank and crush critters...SUBSTRATE: Live reef sand, aragonite dry or bacteria soaked...I personally wouldn't use crushed coral, but others do. Many SW critters need sand to burrow, and Crushed coral is too harsh for them. I like to keep my options open on what critters I want to keep, so sand was always my choice.
Once you have the tank set up with rock and sand, it would be very smart to also set up a 10g tank with a corner bubble filter (no stone) and some kind of fake decor or some PVC pipe for fish to feel secure, for a quarantine tank. The two can cycle at the same time ...put a piece of raw shrimp or pure ammonia (just a little)...to get the first cycle started, you can add good bacteria, such as some stuff called Cycle, but you don't have to, then test the water and WAIT for the ammonia to turn to nitrite, then nitrate (a complete cycle), I always wait an extra week after the first cycle, and then retest to be absolutely sure, do a water change, and you are ready for your first fish. Figure about 3 weeks, but go by the test results not time passed. Use lab type kits...I do use ammonia strips, because it's quick... and any ammonia either means the tank has begun the cycle or (later on when there should NOT be any ammonia) that something is wrong in an established tank. That is the only time a test strip should be used. If I do get an ammonia reading at all on an established tank, I go do the lab test to see the numbers.
Being smart and using a quarantine tank (AKA QT): Add one fish or two small fish (keep an eye on the ammonia and be ready to do an emergency water change by having premixed saltwater handy in a tub if you need it. ANY SIGN of ammonia, do a water change...if it turns out not to be needed, that water will serve to do that first water change later on. If your new fish is sick, that QT is the place to do medications. You don't want to dose medicine in the display tank, most medicines will kill the tiny critters that live in the rock and sand, as well as any inverts like snails.
The good thing about a QT, is that it forces you to go slow, once you add the new fish to the display, it's time to add another fish to the QT and wait another 3 weeks before adding it to the display. Over stocking, and too many too fast is the usual reason beginners kill off their tank. Patience is the key of success.
Some people use a live fish to kick start the first cycle, PLEASE don't. It slows down that first cycle because when the ammonia begins, you have to do a water change to keep the fish alive, it's actually the slower method, because you can't let the cycle just go without killing or burning the fish' gills. With a chunk of raw shrimp the ammonia goes up fast and hard, nothing suffers, and the cycle begins and continues uninterrupted.

 

[kahlis]

I didn't know about SWF's policy regarding links - copy all.
Thanks for the informative reply, very well done. So you actually recommend two tanks, both established and good to go; the QT is simply a holding tank before adding new fish to the main tank. Gotcha. Previously, and perhaps the reason my tank died off, is because I wasn't utilizing a QT. I'll have to do that this time for sure.
On the recommended sand, what is the better choice? 'Bacteria soaked' sounds "pushed" to me. Meaning, it sounds 'designed' to have more bacteria than live reef sand to further along the process. This time I am in no hurry so regular live reef sand might be my go to option. I'll talk to my LFS.
Since links aren't well like around here, please email me your recommended lab kit. I was using the quick strips to measure the levels and probably not a great idea.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kahlis http:///t/394524/redoing-my-saltwater-tank-i-let-go#post_3511495
I didn't know about SWF's policy regarding links - copy all.
Thanks for the informative reply, very well done. So you actually recommend two tanks, both established and good to go; the QT is simply a holding tank before adding new fish to the main tank. Gotcha. Previously, and perhaps the reason my tank died off, is because I wasn't utilizing a QT. I'll have to do that this time for sure.
On the recommended sand, what is the better choice? 'Bacteria soaked' sounds "pushed" to me. Meaning, it sounds 'designed' to have more bacteria than live reef sand to further along the process. This time I am in no hurry so regular live reef sand might be my go to option. I'll talk to my LFS.
Since links aren't well like around here, please email me your recommended lab kit. I was using the quick strips to measure the levels and probably not a great idea.
Go back and edit your post and remove your personal e-mail. We have ad trolls who go around posting links around here, and it just isn't a good idea to do that, they might overload your e-mail with spam...we do have private messaging just click on a name. It's okay to name a brand of equipment, but no the link to go there.
I use SeaChem test kits, each test comes with a regent to be able to double check for accuracy. API isn't reliable for nitrate testing. The easiest to read test kit is the Instant ocean brand...they have little plastic colored blocks to match the color of the test vile...so you are not looking at a printed out color scale, who knows how much ink was in the printer when it was produced...I had 3 different kits of the same brand, and all of them had the same little card with color, to tell me what my water test readings were, and every card that came with the kit had deeper or lighter colors.
Live reef sand has little tiny critters (fauna) living in it....live bacteria loaded has no critters (fauna), just good bacteria. Dry sand has no bacteria, (fauna) tiny critters. In my seahorse tank I wanted a pure sand with nothing else, so I went with dry sand. On my reef tank I wanted all the life I could get, so I went with live reef sand sold to me from SWF.com. So it's a matter of choice, live (bacteria only) sand is fine, the stuff in the live rocks will seed the sand with fauna over time.
Once my tank was established, I use quick strips to check ammonia. It isn't the kind of test kits you need...get the lab type, the test kit is essential equipment.

 

[kahlis]

I'll look into those brands of testing kits and sand from my LFS. Their prices are pretty good and offer a 15% military discount.
I almost forgot to ask. At one point I had a red, segmented worm (maybe two) that would crawl in and out of the reef rocks. I'd only see them at night and were rather long, 3-4" (I would never see their "end", always in the rock). Are they good or bad? One train of thought is they help by eating left over food particles and any thing else that might lead to nasty water. But then another person told me the worm was a parasite and would trap little fish and eat them. The latter is not preferable. lol

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kahlis http:///t/394524/redoing-my-saltwater-tank-i-let-go#post_3511521
I'll look into those brands of testing kits and sand from my LFS. Their prices are pretty good and offer a 15% military discount.
I almost forgot to ask. At one point I had a red, segmented worm (maybe two) that would crawl in and out of the reef rocks. I'd only see them at night and were rather long, 3-4" (I would never see their "end", always in the rock). Are they good or bad? One train of thought is they help by eating left over food particles and any thing else that might lead to nasty water. But then another person told me the worm was a parasite and would trap little fish and eat them. The latter is not preferable. lol
Sounds like a bristle worm, don't touch them because they sting....but their purpose is to eat any leftover food and any fish that die in the rocks. They are the night crawlers that keep our tanks clean.