live rock and live sand and playsand questions.

[neoginn]

I have a few questions, i tried looking for the answer around but i found nothing.
#1 what is a cheap place to buy some base rock (or live rock/sand).
#2 what is the difference between playsand and live sand?
#3 will playsand become live sand?
#4 can a person buy some base rock and "seed it" with some high quality live rock?

 

[roka64]

1. I don't know, I buy mine from my LFS.
2. You can use aragonite playsand and it will become live sand. Live sand has water and some beneficial bacteria in it. IMO, I would go with the aragonite playsand, to save the money.
3. Yes
4. This is a great way to save some money. Use a little LR and a lot of base and it will become "live".

 

[melosu58]

yes buying base rock and LR and putting it in together will make it all LR. And will save you lots of $$$$$

 

[neoginn]

awesome thanks for input. i am going to go out and get some playsand, and then some base rock sometime this weekend.

 

[roka64]

You will be able to tell if the playsand is aragonite, by testing it with vinegar. It should fizzle and foam. Watch out for silicate based sand. It can be used but consists of "glass shard" edges and will possibly damage any kind of sand sifting critters....

 

[neoginn]

i got sme fizzle and foaming action going with the playsand, but holy cow was that stuff muddy. i am still cleaning it as you read this.

 

[roka64]

Cool, pics are in order, soon!

 

[neoginn]

check out the murky waters after i cleaned the sand. there is some cheepo (2 bucks a pound) base rock (i believe stores call is "lace rock") only 11 pounds though. After the water settles i am going to check the salinity. but for now enjoy the pics:

and this is my puffer acting sexy.

but thats a brakish tank.

 

[neoginn]

This morning its a lot clearer but still a little muddy... i wonder if i should just do a 75% water change. any sugestions?

 

[slovinator]

I have play sand in my aquarium and have had it in there for years without any problem. I cleaned it really good before I set up the tank though. My method... 5 gallon bucket and a garden hose.

I would put in a few scoops of sand and blast it pretty good with the hose and poor off the water. I'd do that a few times and it was good to go. The just repeated that with the rest of the sand until I had enough in my tank.

good luck

 

[roka64]

i wonder if i should just do a 75% water change. any sugestions?

I wouldn't do a PWC, it could prolong your cycle. It will settle down. I actually had CC and sand in my tank. I ended up sifting out the sand, in the tank. I made a little of a mess, but not big deal...I even had my LR and critters in it. I did about 1/3 of the tank at a time.

 

[neoginn]

awesome thanks for the input. the sand has settled and its very clear, I am wondering if it is ok to start putting in live rock, to possibly help in the cycling?

by saying "live rock" i mean rock that has algae and other living stuff in it.

 

[slovinator]

absolutely! just make sure your chemistries are stable before you add any fish.

 

[neoginn]

ok well i did that, i added honest to goodness live rock. covered with a little purple, some white, and some green. a nice little splash of color to an otherwise boring tank. hmm i want to post pictures but i think photobucket has limits on the amount of photos you can post. but onto the questions:
1. now that i put my live rock i assume that as of today i am cycling. i read that the recommended period of time is 6 weeks is this correct?
2. if i add more live rock will it speed up the process.
3. what temperature should the tank be set to?
4. how much light should i give the tank?
5. is it ok to mix the salt in the tank? i did it in a bucket but i am just wondering for curiosity sake.

 

[slovinator]

Yes you are cycling... and the timeline is different for every aquarium. Get yourself a good test kit and check the chemistries regularly. You are looking to see a spike in ammonia and then it will go back down to 0. (ammonia isn't the only thing you should monitor though) Don't do water changes. Just let it cycle. Some people add a piece of uncooked shrimp into the aquarium. The ammonia will stimulate the 'good bacteria' to grow. Yes it might stink a little ... it wasn't too bad when i did it.

When the spike goes up and comes down and stays down for a week or so then should have a good amount of bacteria. Do a water change but not a huge one. 25% should be good. Watch the chemistries again for a few days and if you don't see another spike in ammonia then you should be able to add a fish. ONE fish. Maybe two if they are small. And pick something hardy. Like tank raised clowns or damsels. Again keep a close eye on the chemistries. if they are still stable after two weeks or so then you can add another fish. Try to only do one at a time though! I know its hard.

If you want more live rock in the aquarium... add some. It won't hurt anything. As for speeding up??? It all depends on your aquarium. Just set it up to your liking.

I keep my tank at 78 degree. If you have an idea of what kind of fish you want do some research and see what temp they prefer.

Lighting depends on the inhabitants too. Are you doing Corals? If so then general rule is 3-5 watts per gallon. If not then you don't need that much light.

Without fish in the tank you can mix the saltwater in the tank. Just keep the live rock out of freshwater. That will keep all the good stuff on the rock. With fish in the tank.... mix the water in a bucket! A rapid change in salinity is enough to stress a fish. I assume you have a hydrometer...bout 12 bucks at your LFS and its necessary.


You'll probably notice a lot of algae growing in your tank in the next few weeks to months. It happens.

 

[melosu58]

The only thing I would do differently is that I would not mix any more salt in the tank. It needs to be done separately and aged a day or two and then added to the tank because of how caustic it is when first made up. Yes you do not have fish but you do have animal life in your LR. It is OK to make the original tankful of SW in the tank but after LR and LS I would pre make it add to tank.

 

[neoginn]

I dont got a huge tank. its only 20 gallons so really its a nano. so here are my questions:
1. should i put in fish before i put in the cleaners?
2. what kind of fish can i put in that small tank?

another thing i should tell every one of AA is that i use NO compact florencents 3 running at 25 watts each. but still i do not have actinic lighting just yet.