starting over

cindyski

cindyski

Active Member
new to the board :)
i had a 55 gal saltwater tank many about 15 or so years ago. i made many mistakes as i have read from other people from rushing to get the pretty fish in there. i ended up tearing it down and got a 125 gal freshwater tank. now, due to limited space, i need to take down the 125 and i want to start over with a 50 gal acrylic tank that has the wet/dry built in the back. also i want to f
first of all, does anyone have one of these tanks? or know anything about them? i know they have been around a while so i am assuming they are pretty good as far as filtraton goes. obviously i will need to add the protien skimmer.
second. when setting up a reef tank, what is recommended to cycle the tank? can i start with l/s & l/r? also i notice swf has reef packages, can you buy all that stuff at once and just drop it in? is that safe to do?
thanks for your help
 
cb

cb

Member
There are many different ways to cycle a tank and each person has his or her own way that they prefer so I would suggest that you do a search on this board for cycling and you can decide which way is best for you. The key to a successful tank is patience. You must add livestock slowly over a period of time.. HTH:)
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member
Welcome, most will recommend LR & LS in a sw tank... and you will thank yourself for it later. About 1 pound to a pound and half LR and 2"-3" of sand for a SSB 4"-6" of sand for a DSB. Most would recommend a DSB.
Sorry I don't now anything about the tank but I'm sure someone here does.
To cycle the tank... after the SW, LS & LR has been put in the tank a frozen shrimp will work nicely to get the cycle started. Don't use live animals or put anything live in your tank until the cycle is complete.
Like CB said there are many ways to set up a sw tank.
Research now will save you and your pets grief later. But you already new that, that's why your here :) .
 
cb

cb

Member
Yeah I don't see any reason to cycle with live fish it would be like dropping a person in a toxic enviroment and saying " ride it out maybe you will make it and maybe you won"t."
 
nacl-man

nacl-man

Member

Originally posted by CB
Yeah I don't see any reason to cycle with live fish it would be like dropping a person in a toxic enviroment and saying " ride it out maybe you will make it and maybe you won"t."

yeah... definately use LR and even LS if you can afford it. But I would say the LR is a must.... you'll be saying "oh <insertbadword>" to all that money on the rocks to begin with... then 6-9 months later (prob sooner) you'll be saying "oh wow" :D
I cycled my latest tank w/ LR and I couldn't be happier. With my first tank I had no idea what was going on (I'm so glad I found this board.... my LFS is worthless).
Cheers! Research research research :)
 
cindyski

cindyski

Active Member
i am so glad i "accidentally" found this board. i must have read over 500 posts last night and i am a bit fuzzy now :confused:
now after reading all of these posts, i am getting the impression that i dont have to cycle with live fish or shrimp. I am hearing i can just do the cycle with LS & LR. then after about 3 weeks i can get a reef package and put that in. watch it for a few weeks then, if all goes well, add some corals, watch that for a few weeks then maybe add a clown or other compatable fish. ( i definatly want SOME fish) if this is not correct, PLEASE let me know.
i currently have a 125 gal freshwater tank that i need to take down because i need the room. i wanted to get a 50 gal tank which is (36" long) for the reef tank. UNLESS someone has advise on how i can use my 125 as a room divider and disguise the hoses coming out of the back of the tank. & the opening in back of the cabinet. this has been on my mind all night. if i do this right, the 125 would make a beautiful reef tank, rather than something sitting in my garage!
an opinion for those of you bickering about cycling with shrimp or live fish, i have to say, i have always cycled with live fish. i have had freshwater tanks for a good 15+ years. i tried the saltwater one time and my LFS told me to cycle with damsels. they all lived, my problems didnt start till (as i said before) i started rushing the pretty fish into the tank. after loosing a couple $30 fish, i gave it up. this time i am going to take it slow. also as i mentioned above, if it is true that i can cycle with LR & LS then i dont have to worry about it anyway ;)
right?
 
lesa

lesa

Member
Do a research on this board about cycling and you will find all kinds of ideas. Just remember that each person has a diffrent opion. But personality I would not cycle with a live fish. YES you can do it with just lr and ls, it is just whatever u prefer.
Good luck and do not get discouraged. :D
 
cindyski

cindyski

Active Member
in a reef tank with LS, i dont see how it is possible syphon the tank for water changes (as i do with freshwater, getting down into the gravel with a hose) so how are the water changes performed? i have read on here that some dont do a water change, only cap off what evaporates. good/bad ???
also still waiting to hear if anyone knows anything about those tanks by tenacor or sea.... that have the fitration system built into the back of the tank. i wonder if this is efficent enough for a reef tank.
thanks again :)
 
lesa

lesa

Member
No do not ever siphon your sand.
You just do a water change with ro water of 10 to 20% once a month and top offs when needed.
 
lesa

lesa

Member
A good clean up crew will take care of the maintance of your ls. It is called a Detritus kit on this board.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member

Originally posted by CindySki
i have read on here that some dont do a water change, only cap off what evaporates. good/bad ???

Water changes are very beneficial no matter what some might say ;) . Now there are ways around water changes... Large fuge, dosing trace elements, etc. but IMO nothing beats a good fresh water change.
 
cb

cb

Member
You can still siphon the water out like you do in your freshwater tank just do not put the siphon near the bottom of tank. In saltwater ( if you have sand) you do not need to clean the bottom like in freshwater. HTH
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
Just to clarify a couple of things, if you cycle with LR you will want to get uncured or get rock online that has been shipped this way it will have some die off to start your cycle, if you use all cured rock from the LFS you may not cycle. Also I really recommend waiting several months to add corals, at least 3months, 6months is better. If you do want corals you will need to look into what type you want to keep and the lighting you will need to get.
This is the order I like to add livestock:
AFTER THE CYCLE IS COMPLETELY FINISHED
1. Cleanup crew.
2. Fish (one every 2-4wks)
3. inverts like shrimp (tank should be very stable)
4. corals.
 
cindyski

cindyski

Active Member
in my searches here i have also read that you can use play sand rather than L/S would it be ok to use 2" play sand at the bottom and then 2" L/S on top?
(i am sure you are all giving me the eye roll right about now, probably a stupid question)
:eek:
 
nacl-man

nacl-man

Member
nope not a stupid question :)
get very fine grain sand. If you can find Southdown buy up a few bags of that (about 1.50 to 5.00 a bag depending) and use that. I've got it in my tank and I love it... looks awesome! I did not use any live sand as I could not afford it... but I did seed the bed with about 3 pounds of sand from a friends established tank, which seemed to work O.K (prob not as well as it should have).
Find Southdown, it will be worth your while.
HTH.
Cheers!
edit: you live in Florida? I think thats where SD is "made"... you should be able to find it @ a home depot or something
 
cindyski

cindyski

Active Member
could i just go to the beach a scoop up a few buckets of sand? or is that risky with bacteria and stuff....
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member

Originally posted by CindySki
in a reef tank with LS, i dont see how it is possible syphon the tank for water changes (as i do with freshwater, getting down into the gravel with a hose) so how are the water changes performed? i have read on here that some dont do a water change, only cap off what evaporates. good/bad ???
thanks again :)
I only replace water that evaporates on both my freshwater and salt tanks. I use only untreated tap water. this has worked in half a dozen cities throught the US since the late 70's. The point is to establish a system that is stable and balanced. That is not possible when you routinely change everything.
I also highly recommend you use macro algaes/marine plants from the start. Just like freshwater plants they complete the nitrogen cycle, filter out all kinds of stuff, prevent "ugly" algaes, and do a whole host of good things.
 
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