Switching to the salty side!

[PaulieFish]

Well I hope the fw people I met dont kill me! I am currently in the middle of breaking down my 45g freshwater planted tank, so that I can setup my new tank. My new tank is going to be a slow start up, and might not actually be set up for a couple of months.

I am going to be getting a 75g tank i think the dimensions are 48x18x21 or something close to that. It is a stand 75g tank. My sump is going to be a 30l.

My Plan:
Well since I have bills to pay and cant go dropping around a thousand dollars right away, I am going to be slowly setting up this tank. I feel this is beneficial because I hear patience is a key. The first thing I am going to do is try to get a protein skimmer (maybe a octopus or something similar), a quiet one 3000 for my sump, 2x powerheads around 900 gph or more, and either a mighty mite RO/DI unit or something better depending on price. After I can set everything up with that in it I am planning on getting some substrate (think its algorite or spelled something like that). And some live rock. Then well, let it cycle.

For this tank, I know its not needed but I feel I am going to let this cycle for around a month or two. I want to take things slow seeing this is going to be my first saltwater tank.

I have been doing a ton of research and these 1-2 months will be give me time to do a lot more!

My plan is to slowly get more things before I add fish and coral. I want to get a good amount of live rock in there before even getting fish. And well, saving up for a lighting system is going to be my top priority after I get everything setup.

What do you guys think?

Paul

 

[Mitchell0605]

A new mind to mold to our liking. Master! Our plan is working!
Jokes.
Sounds awesome. The sand your thinking of is argonite.

 

[melosu58]

Sounds like a pretty good plan. Level thinking on your part. Make sure you read our SW articles. They are pretty good. Also as far as equipment read this.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/stock-list-and-tips-for-maintaining-your-sw-tank-73477.html

 

[PaulieFish]

Amazing read thanks!

 

[nxb161]

Another newbie here, just wanted to add this, feel free to correct me. as far as cycling, 6weeks seems to be the average time. Just make sure you feed the tank the whole time so the bacteria don't die off. I hear it too often that they'll want to put in cured live rock, and just let it sit for 2 months. The bacteria need waste of some sort to feed and grow. Since you are trying to go on the slow side and on the low money side, you might want to find some nice base rock and get live rock on top to seed it.

 

[Zer0]

6 Weeks IMO is pretty long. My tank cycled in a week and half, and i've seen many other tanks that have cycled even shorter than mine. My ammonia even went all the way up to +9ppm, and STILL cycled in a week and a half. I had two ocellaris in my 55G tank within 2 and half weeks of the first drop of water being added.

However, that's not always the case. People say it can take anywhere from a week to 2 months, just because sometimes it takes a long time, and sometimes it doesn't. Just don't EXPECT the tank to cycle in a week, but if it happens, then consider yourself lucky. Even 2 weeks is a good cycling time. But the time it takes to cycle doesn't really matter. You just need to continue to test your water parameters, and when you start to see Ammonia and Nitrites dropping, this will be the indication that your cycle is coming to a close. Once Ammonia and Nitrites hit zero, it's best to do a 40-50% water change(just to drop the Nitrates), and then you'll be on your way to stocking the tank.

Definitely read the articles we have here as they are excellent and could answer a lot of questions you may have. Of course though, if you ever get stumped, we're here to help.

Good Luck!

 

[PaulieFish]

6 Weeks IMO is pretty long. My tank cycled in a week and half, and i've seen many other tanks that have cycled even shorter than mine. My ammonia even went all the way up to +9ppm, and STILL cycled in a week and a half. I had two ocellaris in my 55G tank within 2 and half weeks of the first drop of water being added.

However, that's not always the case. People say it can take anywhere from a week to 2 months, just because sometimes it takes a long time, and sometimes it doesn't. Just don't EXPECT the tank to cycle in a week, but if it happens, then consider yourself lucky. Even 2 weeks is a good cycling time. But the time it takes to cycle doesn't really matter. You just need to continue to test your water parameters, and when you start to see Ammonia and Nitrites dropping, this will be the indication that your cycle is coming to a close. Once Ammonia and Nitrites hit zero, it's best to do a 40-50% water change(just to drop the Nitrates), and then you'll be on your way to stocking the tank.

Definitely read the articles we have here as they are excellent and could answer a lot of questions you may have. Of course though, if you ever get stumped, we're here to help.

Good Luck!

Wont a 40-50% water change shock the system? Also, my plan this weekend, was to get about 50 lbs of dry rock, sand, 2x k4's QO3000 pump, and start the cycle. I was planning on just doing the shrimp, or getting 10 lbs of live rock to seed the rock. Not to sure yet. Im trying to save money until I start working in the end of may.

 

[Zer0]

No.. it won't shock the system. Doing a water change, with premixed saltwater, will lower the nitrates that are left over after the cycle is completed.

I say you just go with the shrimp idea, or the pure ammonia idea since you can regulate the amount of ammonia that goes in to your tank. That's what i'll be doing this time around.

 

[melosu58]

It wont shock the system. Remember you nitrifying bacteria is on your surfaces like the sand and LR and glass. It`s not in the water. 6 weeks is about average. It took me about 8 weeks. Only your test kit knows for sure. And yes if you are already using cured LR you need to throw a few pieces of flake in there to rot and feed the bacteria in the tank.

 

[thincat]

Wont a 40-50% water change shock the system? Also, my plan this weekend, was to get about 50 lbs of dry rock, sand, 2x k4's QO3000 pump, and start the cycle. I was planning on just doing the shrimp, or getting 10 lbs of live rock to seed the rock. Not to sure yet. Im trying to save money until I start working in the end of may.

This is why your first water change "without" any animals in your tank is so important. Once you put animals...fish, CUC, corals into your tank then you have to watch out that a too large water change might "shock" your animals.

 

[Zer0]

TC is right, it's only when you have livestock in the tank will you have to worry about the things you are already worrying about, lol.

 

[PaulieFish]

Oh ok, tomorrow I am going to pick up my 75g tank, 30g sump, and stand. Also going to buy 2x k4's a qo300, some sand and some dry rock.. Then its off to cycle!

 

[thincat]

Good show..the trip is about to start...

 

[PaulieFish]

Update:

Sorry been real busy with school.. what I have as far as equipment list goes..

75g tank, stand
30g sump, (still being setup) gonna have 4 baffles 10 10 12 and 6 inches long
2x k4's
qo3000
60lbs of anagronite
100 lbs of dry rock
30 lbs of live rock (getting that once tank up and running)
mighty mite 3 stage 50 gpd
red sea coral pro salt
Hydrometer (until i can afford refractometer)

Going to be getting a light (MH prolly 2x 250s) and a protein skimmer( Vortex IN 100 prolly)

But yeah just a little update.

Paul