Eric's 65-Gallon Project!

• Oct 24, 2009

• #41

cthegame

Reef enthusiast

+1 smitty

I try to keep my salinity at .025 to allow some room for evaporation. .026 is ideal level.

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #42

Eric Noa

Reefing newb

Smitty said:

That's a good price for live rock...was it still wet or was it dry? If she kept it in good shape(in a tub with circulating water), you could place it right in your tank...if it's totally dry, then rinse it very well and place it in the tank. Salinity levels vary...if going with a reef, then natural seawater is about 1.026, which is where I keep mines...if fish only, then you could bring it down to about 1.022. You should be testing your tank for amm, nitrites and nitrates for now. Good luck with everything.:D

Click to expand...

Yea, she had then in coolers filled with water and water circulating. They werent dry. I check the salinity level today but I think its kinda low.. I don't remember exatcly what it was. I think it was a 1.020

Do I need to chet the Amonia, nitrite and nitrate levels before putting the rocks in or after?

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #43

Smitty

Reef pro

Check your water b4 putting the rocks in...if you are done with your cycle, then it is ok to put the rocks in...placing cycled rocks in an uncycled tank will cause some die-off to occur, which will jump start spike in amm, and also another cycle.

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #44

Eric Noa

Reefing newb

What do you mean by cycle the tank before putting the rocks in??? What do I need to do to cycle the tank???

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #45

Smitty

Reef pro

The nitrogen cycle...its when you tank goes thru the three stages..of ammonia, then nitrite, and then nitrate. when you first set up a tank, it will test for amm, unless you started off with enough live rock from an established tank...amm then turns into nitrite...and then the nitrite turns into nitrate...this is when you do a nice water change, and it is also when you can start adding livestock(cuc)...how long has your tank been set up now?

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #46

Smitty

Reef pro

Hey Eric, I see that you tank has only been up a day or two...so to kick start your cycle...I would just place the live rocks in the tank and let it do its thing. the large amount of cycled rocks in the tank may just prevent you from having a cycle because there's enough bacteria on the rocks to handle the new water. there may be some die-off, but not much.

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #47

cthegame

Reef enthusiast

put some fish food in the tank to help it cycle. Please dont put any fish like damsels to help with the cycle. a piece of food will do the job.

+1 smitty

 

Last edited: Oct 24, 2009

• Oct 24, 2009

• #48

Eric Noa

Reefing newb

So I should just make sure the salinity level is good and add the rocks nd then what???

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #49

Smitty

Reef pro

...and then just sit back, be patient, and admire you days work:Cheers:....after a few days, check you levels(amm,nitrite,nitrate) to see where they are...when the first two read zero, and there is only nitrates, do a water change. Then you should be in the clear to add your cuc.

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #50

Eric Noa

Reefing newb

Smitty said:

...and then just sit back, be patient, and admire you days work:Cheers:....after a few days, check you levels(amm,nitrite,nitrate) to see where they are...when the first two read zero, and there is only nitrates, do a water change. Then you should be in the clear to add your cuc.

Click to expand...

How much water should I change?

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #51

cthegame

Reef enthusiast

since you have no fish or corals in the tank, you can raise the salinity slowly...but more important right now is to have the tank go through the cycle. Test your water regularly for the next couple of weeks. Once ammonia, nitrates and nitrites read 0, you;re ready to add fish.

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #52

Smitty

Reef pro

Anywhere between 10-20% of your tank volume...so in you case, you could do anywhere between 5 and 10 gal water changes...

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #53

Eric Noa

Reefing newb

OK... I'll probably add the live rock tomorrow then... I will keep you guys posted. Thank you

 

• Oct 24, 2009

• #54

Smitty

Reef pro

good luck

 

• Oct 25, 2009

• #55

Eric Noa

Reefing newb

OK guys here are a couple of pictures... The tank clear up from the salt today and I added the rocks.. I took some pictures with with and without the rocks and also of the rocks.

 

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• Oct 25, 2009

• #56

Eric Noa

Reefing newb

When should I start testing for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrates??

 

• Oct 25, 2009

• #57

Smitty

Reef pro

Looking good Eric...I like your rockwork. You should test those levels at least daily when 1st starting off...as the tank become more mature, you will not need to test as often, or at all.

 

• Oct 25, 2009

• #58

Eric Noa

Reefing newb

Thank you smitty I think I did a good job with the Rock for being the first time. lol

 

• Oct 25, 2009

• #59

Bifferwine

I am a girl

Or, you can chill out and test every few days. If you are in a hurry to start adding animals, then you will probably be eager to test every day and see how your cycle is progressing! It doesn't really matter how often or when you test, all that matters is that the cycle is complete before you start adding animals.

 

• Oct 25, 2009

• #60

dcantucson

Reef pro

+1 Biff
I say chill out and take it easy for a few weeks. And yes you did a great job with the rock. Good amount too.