Tap water and conditioner for start cycle???

[Jonnypro]

I am setting up my buddy's 75g sw tank with a 29g sump/fuge. I was wondering if I can use rap water with conditioner for the cycle without any liverock and sand in the tank. Only in the sump? How should I go about doing this?

 

[Jonnypro]

Anyone? I don't want my thread to go too far down...

 

[dmolavi]

No no no...use RO/DI water, add salt according to instructions, let it mix thoroughly (I have a circulation pump in mine for 24hrs to mix it completely), then add it to the tank. It's best to do the cycle with the rock and sand, as you will build your BB colonies at the same time as the rock is curing and the dead stuff give the BB something to eat.

 

[TheTodd]

Is it going to be FOWLR or reef? If reef, then you should use at least RO water. If FOWLR, you can probably get away with tap and conditioner.

You need something for BB to grow on while cycling, so sand and rock would be wise. Just having a little sand in a sump will likely not be enough.

 

[fishmonkey]

No no no...use RO/DI water, add salt according to instructions, let it mix thoroughly (I have a circulation pump in mine for 24hrs to mix it completely), then add it to the tank. It's best to do the cycle with the rock and sand, as you will build your BB colonies at the same time as the rock is curing and the dead stuff give the BB something to eat.

+1 to this. You should use the rock in the tank with the sand, not in the sump. You can always add rock or sand to the sump later.

 

[Jonnypro]

Only reason I wasn't going to put all the sand and rock in the display tank was that I heard that the copper and other stuff in the water will get into the rock and it will always be in there. That's something that I read the guy at the lfs that he went to told him tap is fine to cycle his tank and sold him prime for the water.

 

[dmolavi]

RO/DI water will not have any copper in it. You should be using 0 TDS water in your tank.

Besides, once the sump is connected to the tank, it's one big water column, so any "impurities" in the rock will make their way to the DT eventually.

 

[fishmonkey]

Only reason I wasn't going to put all the sand and rock in the display tank was that I heard that the copper and other stuff in the water will get into the rock and it will always be in there. That's something that I read the guy at the lfs that he went to told him tap is fine to cycle his tank and sold him prime for the water.

You probably shouldn't use that LFS any more . The guy that sold him the Prime is clueless.

 

[dmolavi]

You probably shouldn't use that LFS any more . The guy that sold him the Prime is clueless.

Unless he thought it was a FW tank, in which case, it's more than sufficient. No way for SW though.

 

[TheTodd]

If it is going to be a reef tank, you want RODI or at least RO. Reefs demand the good stuff. For FOWLR, tap and Prime is okay. I'm guessing that with the lack of rock, you are not doing reef?

 

[Jonnypro]

He is not doing reef in his tank jut fish. Should I use pure AMMONIA or a fresh dead shrimp to cycle it? When I said copper in the water I was taking about the tap. This is the tank. He got it with a sump off Craig's list for a cheap barter.







Then I reconfigured the sump for a fuge.

 

[fishmonkey]

A shrimp will work. You can have the live rock in the fuge, but you willl need to put a light over it. Get one of those compact florescent bulbs (the curly ones) and put it in a shoplight pendant sort of thing and you can hang it over the fuge portion to let algae and critters grow. Just put the sand in the display tank, and some rock, if you want to.

 

[dmolavi]

If you use the dead shrimp, make sure to run carbon in the tank or sump, otherwise it will stink and discolor the water. Pure ammonia won't have that side effect, and allows you to control the cycle a little easier, but you need to stay on top of the dosing.

 

[fishmonkey]

Oh, and if you do the shrimp method, put it in a pair of pantyhose. As it breaks down, you won't have a bunch of dead shrimp flakes floating around your tank, and after the cycle, you can just pull the whole thing out and throw it away.

 

[dmolavi]

yeah, that too..i forgot about that little tidbit

 

[fishmonkey]

What equipment do you have so far, besides the tank, stand, and sump?

 

[Jonnypro]

I have everything for it. Here are some pics. It's all set up.











But this happened when all the water was in. I heard a crack!! What should he do???

 

[fishmonkey]

Oh boy. Is that the center brace on the tank?

 

[Jonnypro]

And the salinity is 1.025 on the money... And the water is almost crystal clear.

 

[Jonnypro]

Oh boy. Is that the center brace on the tank?

Yea. It looks like it was broken before and Someone tried to fix it. I told him I didn't feel safe with it like that be he said hey if it happens it happens. I just wanted to make sure I had all the valves adjusted to if the power ever went out it wouldn't flood. A++ on my part. What can he do to fix it. ? I know it's not good.