Kyles 29 gal reef build

[fort384]

It will most likely take much longer than a week to cycle the tank properly and get it ready for fish and coral. What are you dosing? How are you measuring it? Dosing anything in a reef tank and not testing for it is not a good idea.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Im using kent nano reef starter stuf and I'm using a master tet kit I got but my dad did the last test. And it won't take more than a week because I'm using the water drone my tank that has been running and doing daily water changes for a week with that water which will add everything like the bacteria and all that into my new tank but the ten will still be running so I can just keep the corals in there. When I set my tank up should I put the protien skimmer on right away or wait like a day or do to start the breaking in and tuning?

 

[fort384]

You should set it up right away.

Using water from your other tank is not going to cycle the new tank. It would require transferring live rock or filter media.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Yes I'm outing the live rock and also I have a marine land filter with a biowheel and I am going to put that on it.

 

[fort384]

ok, that will definitely help cycle the tank.

I would still be concerned about dosing the tank with nothing in it. I might be leery of any advice from that source.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Ok. When I do get corals what do you think I could get. I think I told you my teacher has the same lights I'm getting on a 55 with a green frogspawn torch some zoas and others and they are fine. I was thinking about getting some zoas or that leather coral I told you about.

 

[fort384]

zoas are generally an easy starter, if you get a mid sized colony (the 2-3 polyp frags can be finicky). Never kept a leather, but I hear they are easy.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Yea petco got them in about a month ago and no one will buy it it's 25 dollars and they have been through a lot petco had a really really bad algea break out and they survived

It's a long tenticle leather coral

Ok so these are my early plans for my tank switch. If there anything else I should do just let me know.

1. Move my ten gal off to the side and set my 29 up right next to it
2. Fill up 29 gal 1 inch below full
3. Use 2 quarter inch tubes. One syphening from the 10 to the 29. And one syphening from the 29 to the 10 this will create a cycle between both tanks.
3. After 2-3 hours of that, remove tubes and test water.
4. Move live rock from 10 to 29 and run filter from 10 gal through the 29 one time.
5. Test one more time
6. Set up protien skimmer and new HOB filter.
7. Let run over night.
8. Start to move fish into 29 gal.
9. Move anenome and corals into 29 gal
10. Start to add kent reef supplements

This will happen in two weeks

 

[fort384]

How do you intend to siphon from 2 different containers into each other at the same time? Sounds like a recipe for lotsa water on the floor

I still don't understand what reef supplements you are adding and why? If you are using a salt mix, and there are no corals in the tank, adding supplements makes no sense.

 

[Elykreefs97]

I have corals now I got some zoas and I got a green BTA I stopped when you told me to but started when I got them. What should I do beside the syphen should I just put in the live rock and run the filter through for the night.

 

[fort384]

I still don't understand why you are dosing. Are you testing? What are your levels?

Ca?
Alk?
Mg?
pH?

Put in the live rock, cycle the tank. What filter are you using?

 

[Elykreefs97]

Ph 7.9
Ca around 450 ppm
Phosphates 0.02 ppm

Mg 1200 ppm

 

[fort384]

Alkalinity?

Your Ca is fine. Why dose? What is it after a week of not dosing? None of the coral you have is going to uptake much Ca in a week.

Your pH is a bit on the low end. Are you using RODI water? What kind of salt mix?

If I was going to recommend anything, it would be to dose Kalk depending on your Alk reading to up the pH a bit.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Yea I got crushed coral to up the ph for my new tank. The stuff I use is a 2 part system it adds calcium and mag. I forget what else I'll have to wait until I get to my dads tomarrow to see. My all is around 125 ppm I think.

 

[fort384]

2 part systems are to dose Ca and Alkalinity. Mg requires very little supplementation.

Mg is usually only dosed once a month or so, and then only if it is needed.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Maybe it doesn't but I thought it said that but maybe not. So what should I do not add any thing for a week and see how big the change is

 

[fort384]

Yes. I would definitely do that.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Ok I'll do that

 

[Elykreefs97]

So I should run the filter from the 10 throught the 29 for the night and put the live rock in then it's should be ok to put the fish and stuff in.

 

[fort384]

Doubtful.

You will need to test for a few days, and I would recommend adding a raw shrimp or other source of ammonia before adding anything else to the tank, even with using established filter media.