Is it OK to re-aquascape my tank?

[SnowZz]

is it bad to do and what effect does it have? i dont like mine and want to change it. some of your guy's designs have influenced me

 

[Zer0]

Pretty sure nothing will happen. It's just if you have an old sandbed and you stir it up, you may see a cycle again. But last i recalled, your tank was still not cycled.. so there isn't much that will happen. You just have to watch out for the coral that you've placed on the rocks already so you don't crush them or leave them out of the light.

 

[nxb161]

also be careful of any inverts that you have. I did a big change yesterday (not that I wanted to, but had to take just about every rock out of the tank to catch a fish) and I found a mushroom that I had lost in the process I had hermits clinging to rocks, and a serpent starfish that was not happy I was messing with its area! Expect some clouding up, mine cleared up in less than 24hours.

 

[SnowZz]

so zer0 what your saying is, my tank will never be cycled right? even though when my ammonia peaked at 2ppm and has been zero day after day and nitrates have been zero day after day and nitrites are zero day after day?

 

[melosu58]

I`m not Zero but I think he`s saying you`ll possibly stir up some sand releasing some ammonia and having a small mini cycle which could very well happen.

 

[Zer0]

As melosu said, that's what i was saying. Also, wasn't it not too long ago that you posted in one of your other threads that your ammonia spiked back up to +1ppm? A properly cycled tank will never do that unless you add an insane amount of fish. All i'm saying is that right now, your tank is only cycled to the current livestock. So the next time you add another fish, if you do, your bound to see another ammonia spike just like you saw a few days ago.

 

[SnowZz]

i said my local fish stores water was at 1.5ppm not mine

 

[Zer0]

Aha.. i see now. Well i'm glad it was their water and not yours. And to clarify things.. your tank WILL eventually be cycled, but it will take longer than if you didn't have any fish, because you wouldn't have to keep doing PWC's to keep the ammonia down to keep the fish alive. That's all i was saying..

 

[SnowZz]

ive been down to one water change every 6 days for a while now. still reads 0 ppm accross the board, but now i see what you mean. i really dont have any intention of adding anymore fish at the moment. ive been become more addicted to REEFing more so. If i did, i could see how my tank is only cycled to one fish.

 

[SnowZz]

you know what, i may go buy a 30g tank this weekend and do it right, protien skimmer and all, make my current 20g a QT. but i do love the nano look

 

[Zer0]

Sounds good. The bigger the better. But also, for a 30G tank, you wouldn't need a skimmer still. Anything under 40G you really don't need a skimmer as PWC's will accomplish the same thing. Now no one is telling you you can't buy and setup a skimmer, but we are just saying you could save that money from the skimmer that isn't necessary, and buy something you really do need. Like an RO/DI unit.. or.. more coral!

 

[SnowZz]

you just reminded me ****. yep ro/di time no new tank =(

 

[mdaniel2882]

you know what, i may go buy a 30g tank this weekend and do it right, protien skimmer and all, make my current 20g a QT. but i do love the nano look

Let the reef circle begin....my 20 is not big enough maybe I'll try a 30g....my 30 is not big enough maybe I'll try a 55....maybe if i sealed off that room I could turn it into an aquarium.....
The first law of reefing.....your tank is never big enough

 

[Zer0]

Let the reef circle begin....my 20 is not big enough maybe I'll try a 30g....my 30 is not big enough maybe I'll try a 55....maybe if i sealed off that room I could turn it into an aquarium.....
The first law of reefing.....your tank is never big enough

Hahaha excellent mdaniel Sounds like snow has got that good ol' reef bug.

 

[SnowZz]

its like my wife likes the fish, im like screw the fish look at that frag, i want it in my tank. Babe what do you think? would these zoa's look good on this rock. Hmm i wonder if i should add a bubble poylp right here later. Do i want even want to try SPS, not now later. mean while my wife is like OOO PRETTY YELLOW TANG, im like yea yea tang, really im staring at the brain behind the tang.

 

[SnowZz]

I was thinking a REEF only tank, lol. i mean no fish, no fish food no mess to clean. How much bi-product does a reef only tank produce?

 

[Zer0]

Well, i'm thinking you would need at least one small fish, just for the heck of it, because even without the fish, you will still need to feed the tank to keep the beneficial bacteria that feeds off ammonia alive. Also, since there's no fish to create waste/detritus, then you will need to feed all of your inverts in the tank. But that could go along with just feeding the tank because the inverts will most likely pick at the food you throw in there.