up & running

[ditchdoctor81]

Three days ago I was at work & my fiance called me & said she thought it was Christmas or something because DHL dropped off 2 big boxes & FedEx dropped off 7 boxes. I was pretty happy since on both sites it said it wouldn't be in until the first of next week. So we have spent the last 2 days setting the tank up. We filled it & added salt on thursday morning, with the ph's & heater. Checked the sg & it was 1.023. Added sand that night & tuned off the ph's. Went shopping for some toys for the quarantine tank & get some lr. We added 100 lbs of base last night & put in 20 lbs of lr that we got yesterday morning. Set up the quarantine tank, filled it, checked the sg & everything is good. The guy at the lfs told me we could put a piece of lr in the quarantine tank to cycle with. Is this right? Do you all think 2 SEIO M1100's are ok to move the water?

It was a friends birthday last night so we grilled steaks & I picked up a few lbs of shrimp to grill also. So I threw 2 shrimp in the 100g & a small section in the 20g quarantine with the 5 to 6 lb piece of lr. Is that ok?

I do have a question about covering the top of the tank. It cake with glass that fits over the top & pretty much seals it off, but I think I've read before that I don't want that. Do I need to get anything to go over it that doesn't completely cover & seal it off for now? I know that once I get fish I will need to get egg crate or something like it for th top.

 

[roka64]

I would use 1 jumbo shrimp per 30G. I added 3 to my 125 and it took over 9 weeks to cycle, of course, the only thing I had in there was 240Lbs of sand and a few chunks of LR.
What sized tank, BTW?
I like the SIEOs in larger tanks, I had two m620 in my 55, but I replaced them with Hydor Koralia Water Circulation Pumps http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=15955&inm=1&N=2004+22788+2035. I have only had them for a few weeks, but I like the fact they use magnents, instead of the suction cups.
As for flow, that really depends on what you are planning for your tank. Reef should have more flow than FOWLR.
I bought some eggcrate at HD or Lowes for a covering on my tank. You should be able to find it in the lighting section. I would definitely not use glaas, it could trap a lot of heat and will reduce your gas exchange, possibly lowering your pH.

 

[ditchdoctor81]

thanks, you all have been great help.

The big tank is 100g, quatantine tank is 20g.

 

[melosu58]

I would definitely not use the glass cover as your PH will be lowered by poor gas exchange. Also the LR is not necessary and any critters living in it will die if you treat with copper or hyposalinity. Find some PVC sleeves to to go in their instead.

 

[ditchdoctor81]

After the cycle in the quarantine tank I was planning on moving the LR back to the 100g. The guy at the lfs just said to put the lr in it while it cycles. Is that ok? Should I take it out & put it in the 100g?

 

[melosu58]

The only problem is that once your tank cycles then you`ll have your nitrifying bacteria on the rock. If you remove it to the other tank then there went your beneficial bacteria that keeps the cycle going. You can actually keep the rock in there as long as you dont add copper to your tank. If you ever do then before you add. you`ll need to remove all LR and never put it back in. Hope all goes well.

 

[MT79]

I found a HOB filter w/ a bio-wheel works well for QT's. Removing the piece of LR after the QT cycles would remove most of the nitrifying bacteria and surface area they live on, defeating the purpose of cycling in the first place. Once everything is up and running, if you have a filter with a bio-wheel, you can just toss the wheel in your sump, etc. and have a bio-filter ready to go for the QT at anytime.