HOW TO SET UP A TANK, condensed verions (retitled)

[Sk8r]

'burning' usually refers to the higher-end lights like metal halides and those lights that have similar output.
Photosynthetic creatures shed and reproduce their photosynthetic components according to the available light. You'll see corals sometimes exude a brown stringy goop when upset: these are zooxanthellae (zo-zan-THEL-ee), and this indicates a light-stressed coral.
These rocks contain lifeforms that depend on light for their little passengers to produce sugars that feed them. If exposed to too much light, unprepared, damage results, like leaving a guy who's lived in a cave and is very pale---out exposed to the tropic sun. Skin damage results.
So when you start up powerful lights, first of all, you may want to shield your new tank's life, by burning them only a half hour at first, and increasing the time they're on by fifteen minutes a day until they're on for 8 hours at a stretch. You can help, too, by putting a screen of sunshield fabric on a frame between them and the tank (don't put them next to the light, or they could catch fire!) You'll use that every time you change, say, mh bulbs, which need to be switched out every 6-8 months: mh doesn't look different at 6 months to your eyes, but it's starting to burn through its useful life, and algae will increase and corals will suffer from its change of spectrum.
So, yes, a good idea to go slowly as you break in your powerful lights---let the 'guy from the cave', ie, your rock, 'tan' slowly: they've been stored in dark places and need time to get used to light again. And don't let your water heat above 80 degrees, and not below 78. It's a narrow window, with all the pumps and lights running a full schedule, and before there are a lot of expensive and delicate specimens in there, best get that 'heat balance' steadied down. For future reference, coral and other desirable life starts bleaching and dying at 85 degrees, and dying of cold at 62. So start watching your temperature and get that problem tamed. You can damage rock by overheating it much faster (as in a few hours) faster than you can damage it by letting it cool down because---remember this!---chemistry runs faster in warm conditions than cold, and what goes wrong when it's too hot goes wrong faster.
NEVER trust a heater thermostat: like the pirate code, it's more a guideline than a rule. Maintain two thermometers, one in the sump, one in the tank, and develop the habit of feeling the glass as you pass, so you'll notice any change. Temperature is one of the tricksiest problems you will solve. It swings a bit every day and night, and getting it to hit the sweet area of the scale requires some work.
You only THINK there's nothing to do while you cycle, eh?
Another thing to remember forever: your rock and sand retain either a good stage, a too-hot state or a too-cold state longer than the water. They're kind of a buffer, and may help save your specimens by providing a cooldown or warmup influence in a disaster.
Lot to learn, eh?
But lights, radiation, and temperature are intertwined, and very important.

[jUz129]

hello...i have a 240g tank...and i was wonderin if its better for me to put the bio balls in the over flow or the sump?

[Sk8r]

You shouldn't be using bioballs if you want to have a reef: they're bad for the corals. If you want a fish only, they're ok, usually sited directly under the downflow's entry into the sump.

[jUz129]

thank-you sir....

[Zswift]

My friend is selling me his 55 gallon tank for 130. He has to move a lot, and wanting to sell it. Right now all he has in it is some live sand, a small chunk of live rock He also has s clown fish, and an oscellaris (spelling??).The only downside is, he has brown algae all in the sand, and i can also see it on the piping for the filter inside the thank. What are some helpful tips to move the tank, and fish? He lives only about two miles from me, so it is not a really long drive.

[Sk8r]

a) set up a ten gallon tank at your house, no water, with his heater, and your floss filter ready to go. Make one trip to get the fish and the live rock into your house, into that tank, in their water, with a piece of Lowe's white lighting grid (lighting dept) over that little tank to prevent jumping, and set heater going at whatever it was set at at his house.

get 2 white polystyrene buckets from paint dept of Lowes or Home Depot, and use for fish and rock transport.

Then go back to his house, take same two buckets, stir up the tank, violently, and start netting out the sand into the buckets. Take as much sand as you can conveniently lift. Discard the rest, along with the water. Take tank, gear, and all to your house, and set it up. Put the sand in.

You have bought a big cannister of salt mix from a fish store. Read the label. Get ro water from your supermarket (I'm assuming you'll get a ro/di filter of your own real soon) Add the sand all at one end, piled up, and don't move it, add new salt water, (it's usually 1/2 cup mix per gallon of water---measure carefully!--) and now you need to get to your fish store and get: 50 pounds of live/and dry rock. If they don't have it, you're going to have to order it. Also get enough dry aragonite sand to complete your sandbed...and WASH THAT SAND before using it.
Get a refractometer (about 50.00). This will let you measure your water salinity very, very precisely every time.
Set up and start everything running---you've used the heater on your fish tank. Don't feed those fish yet: wait a day or so. Change that floss out daily. Run carbon wrapped in floss; and mark the fill line on that tank first of all. Keep adding FRESH ro water daily to keep the water at that fill line constantly. Test your water salinity once a day and keep it spot on at 1.024.(and use some of that eggcrate to line your tank with, to prevent rock hitting the bottom!) Your rock is in. Now add new washed sand, and let it all just kind of mix. YOu'll be cloudy for days, but it'll all work out. Meanwhile tend those fish, and don't worry about that brown algae. It's just life. We'll fix it later. Read this whole thread until you understand it, and good luck to you!

[Zswift]

Thank you sooo freakin much! That actually gives me a good plan!!

[Sk8r]

That 50 g tank is going to cycle, but with that pretty-live sand, it's going to cycle fast, and the fact you've rinsed out that old sand means lowering the nutrient level in there so much you may not see that cyano (brown/red 'algae') that's plagued the tank.

Once you do set up, add a nassarius snail or fighting conch to your cleanup crew and they'll keep that new sandbed in good condition. The other guy's problem may have been too much fish-feeding, not enough corals (I recommend softies or euphyllias) to sop up the excess food, and not enough under-sand cleanup crew.

[Zswift]

So I purchased the tank yesterday, and got the fish put in a qt tank, with his old water.
Tank and equip. is in its new location. I had to get rid of the sand, he said he had mixed a bunch of chemicals in the tank to try and get rid of the algae. The fish are also fighting (Oscellaris and Tomato clown). He also had a piece of live rock(assuming tis alive can't tell) and that is with the fish. The rock is working as somewhat of a buffer zone between the fish. Should i get rid of the Tomato clown? I know i need to get more live rock for the new tank and sand. How much of each would be good?
The filter is nothing i have seen before. It has this double filtration thing, goes through the carbon and then goes through this really wirey mesh. Its an overhang filter.
Lights were for a fresh water tank, and should i keep the hood on or off? I have heard and ready different opinions on all of those.
But when i start, i would like two oscellaris clown fish hopefully paired, so should i get rid of both fish, or go ahead and buy a new clown fish to pair up? I am going to have to change out the water eventually, because i do not know all the chemicals he put in.

Sorry lots of questions, but thank you for the help!

[Sk8r]

my computer just died so my answers will be few online for a few days.
If the sand was bad, that rock is iffy, too. See if you can trade the clowns to your lfs for credit on some you want later. No lid on a marine tank, but a jump screen. Lights matter re wavelength...T5s can be good, s/b above water, ---and never try to solve algae with chemicals. Sigh. No wonder he had trouble...chemicals are not a fix. Go back and read through all of this thread, esp the ebeginning, and I'd look into a downflow box and sump for this tank if at all possible.

[oblongshrimp]

great thread, thanks

[kevinrf]

For cycling, should I run the skimmer & lights & everything like its fully operational?
Right now I have BRS dry "live rock", some aragonite sand, still need to get some live rock & a cup of live sand

[Sk8r]

Circulation is good and lights are good---cut on skimmer when you begin to want to get your 'heat budget sorted out. The pumps contribute heat, and you'll spend a while getting that tank settled down to a boring 80 degrees. It only removes protein waste and you won't have any of that until the tank starts really processing, but by the time you think it's nearly done cycling, time to cut it on and figure it into the heat budget.

[kevinrf]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Circulation is good and lights are good---cut on skimmer when you begin to want to get your 'heat budget sorted out. The pumps contribute heat, and you'll spend a while getting that tank settled down to a boring 80 degrees. It only removes protein waste and you won't have any of that until the tank starts really processing, but by the time you think it's nearly done cycling, time to cut it on and figure it into the heat budget.

Perfect, thank you! The tank shall finally be up & running by tonight. Really appreciate you having this thread and answering questions.

[b0bab0ey]

Awesome post! IMO Sk8r has done so much to help everyone and to advance this hobby!

[kevinrf]

What one question, or many more.. most likely.

What should the temp be set at? It will be controlled by apex.
I've been reading between 76-80?
Turn on below 76 turn off above 80?

[smootie]

Can I get clarification on the part about aragonite? I was planning to use coral sand in my tank since it's free for the taking at the beach. Would this be ok since both aragonite and coral sand are calcium carbonate? The section on substrate wasn't clear about why aragonite was better than coral (particle size, chemical makeup, etc.).

[scubaman2]

Great thread!!!


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.798039,-71.365182

[Sk8r]

Yep. Any calcium carbonate is ok. Just be aware of pollution of coastal waters, which will concentrate on the beach---and also be aware of local laws re the beaches and taking stuff.

[DoubleM 10]

Originally Posted by jUz129

thank-you sir....

the sir is a ma'am lol

[scubaman2]

This has been helpful.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.798091,-71.365359

[TprMoore]

QT Questions
My LFS QT's their fish for a week to ten days, then places the fish in their DT tanks, but the DT's are dosed with copper, now the time they've been in the copper varies....REALLY DON"T LET THAT WATER TOUCH ANYTHING, INCLUDING NETS< but it's usually at least a week. Now do I still need to QT or is this enough? If yes... read on, if no skip down a bit....THE DANGER FROM ICH IS LESS, BUT PERSONALLY, I DON"T USE COPPER, OR ADVISE IT: IT CAN SHORTEN FISHY LIFE SPANS. AND WHILE YOU'RE SAFE-ER RE ICH, YOU ARE NOT FOLLOWING EITHER THE ADVISED QT PERIOD OR THE ADVISED CUPRAMINE TREATMENT PROCEDURE. I'D SAY NO.

• Would a 10Gal QT for a BC29 be an ok size? YES. I plan on just using a regular Marineland 100 HOB filter, a hood with a fluorescent bulb, and a 50W heater....then throw some odds and ends of PVC pipe in there to make the fish feel secure...JUST BE SURE OF ANTI JUMP PRECAUTIONS: IN A SHALLOW TANK, FISH PANIC AND JUMP.
• There's nothing to cycle in a bare QT tank correct? I'm more specifically referring to the filter cartridge in the HOB, and the possible colonization of nitrifying bacteria...THERE ARE 2 THEORIES; I PREFER NOT TO CYCLE, SO I DON'T HAVE BACTERIAL DIEOFF IF I SHOULD HAVE TO TREAT.
• Secondly, I'm worried about ammonia poisoning, could I install a Seachem Ammonia Alert and and act accordingly? Is it absolutely necessary to do 10% water changes during this time? YES, BUT ANY TIME YOU USE AN AMMONIA REMOVER, YOU'VE SCREWED THAT ALERT DEVICE. DURING THAT TIME, WATER CHANGES, YES, AND ALSO DAILY FILTER CHANGES---WHENEVER THE FLOSS IS STAINED.
  
• If I had to leave for a week while a fish was in QT, would adding an automatic feeder on the tank be ok for that amount of time? NO: DAILY MAINTENANCE IS REQUIRED
• Can you QT more than one fish at a time? YES. I'd like to QT a YWG, Purple Firefish and Ocell. Clown at the same time....
• Could one use SeaChem AmGuard in a QT to negate the ammonia? YES, BUT IT SCREWS UP THE AMMONIA DETECTOR. IT WORKS BY CONVERTING LETHAL AMMONIA TO SAFE AMMONIUM, AND THE DETECTOR CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE.

If No....

• How do you safely dip coral upon getting them home...assuming my parameters are correct do I float them in my DT slowly adding water from my DT into the bag, then after the appropriate amount time remove the coral, discard the bag/water, swish them around in the dip and then place them into the DT? NO; YOU PUT THEM IN A 5 GALLON BUCKET WITH THE CORAL DIP YOU BOUGHT, AND LEAVE THEM IN THERE, THEN TRANSFER THEM TO THE TANK; THEY'RE ROCK, SO YOUR HEAT ADJUSTMENT WOULD HAVE TO GO A WHILE TO AFFECT THE TEMP OF A ROCK. THEY'RE REALLY HARDIER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK. WATER TEMPERATURE CHANGE IS NOT SUCH A BIG DEAL TO THEM.
• I'll be adding cured LR to my DT, what am I precisely looking for with that, and what should my lighting schedule be for the first few initial weeks? FIRST OF ALL, I'M NOT KEEN ON CURING GOOD ROCK; BUT IF YOU MEAN BARE BROWN ROCK THAT'S BEEN IN THE TANK AT THE LFS, I'D RUN LIGHTS ONLY BECAUSE OF THE HEAT BALANCE: READ THE REST OF THE THREAD FROM THE TOP.
• What about using SeaChem Stability to boost the bacteria population? IN THE DT? EITHER YOUR TANK IS READY FOR FISH AND CORAL OR IT ISN'T, AND ITS NOT USEFUL. IN THE QT, IT'S NOT USEFUL.
• Finally, while the tank is in it's mini-cycle, I'll want to have removed the Purigen and SeaGel from the tank correct, as this will skew my readings of whats actually occurring in the tank? LET IT GET AS DIRTY AS IT WANTS TO AND THEN LET IT CLEAN ITSELF UP NATURALLY. I WOULDN'T USE ANYTHING DURING CYCLE EXCEPT WHAT MOVES THE WATER.

I know that's a lot of questions! Thank you in advance!

Cheers!

[Zswift]

Okay I am just a little confused and frustrated I guess. I purchased 40lbs of limestone rock from my lfs. This rock has lots of pores on one, and the other has some, just not as many. Now I have heard several different people and they all seem to contradict each other. I even asked people here and they told me something else too! Urg I just want to kbow, should I keep the limestone as base rock, and if I do what are some problems with that. If I should return it, please tell me why. My lfs said it would be okay just increase my ph a little, while some say it can be a big pain amd I should just return it. Please help

[kevinrf]

refuge light. I had a little clip on LED light for my fuge. The fuge is very small with some chaeto/LR/Sand in it(in my 18g sump). Do I keep it on all the time? Or should I turn it on when my DT lights are off?

[Sk8r]

Re the rock, if it's limestone and it's clean, it's good base rock. You'll want to use some 'lacier' live rock, perhaps, but it should be good as long as it isn't bricklike with little porosity. In general, the more surfaces the better, but it will work fine, I'd think.

Re fuge lights: I keep mine on 24/7; some put their fuge on an opposite cycle to the tank lights.