Set up Questions

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#1
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#1
Okay so here is what I have done so far:

set up 75g tank filled it with r/o water and appropriate amount of salt. Once 2/3 full put in 90 lbs of fine Carib-Sea aragonite reef sand. Needless to say it was one cloudy mess of water. Started both SEIO 820 powerheads place in the corners directing the flow to mid front center. SEt up Aqua Remora Pro protein skimmer and ran all this together for 2 days. I set the heater to heat the water to 78. Today measured the sg and it was 1.023 ...temp steady. The water remains very cloudy but is gradually clearing. I turned off the pumps and the skimmer........hoping this will help settle the sandstorm in my expensive glass box of water. I added two cocktal shrimp to the stew and I have left the pumps etc off. Should these be turned on? When should I start looking for ammonia? I am prepared and know that it will take a while to get this all settled down but at this point I am curious.......
 

A

aresgod

Superstar Fish
#2
Jan 14, 2004
1,987
2
0
mass
Visit site
#2
It really is up to you whether you run the pumps or not, some people think that the sand storm can damage the impellers etc... but I have always run when cycling and never had any problems, it takes about 4-7 days for everything to settle down. otherwise it looks like you have planned well, and invested in good equipment, welcome to the hobby.
Brahm
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#3
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#3
Thanks. I did plenty of research and reading before investing mucho bucks into this hobby as I didn't want to constantly upgrade. I do wonder if 125lbs of live rock will be enough. Some have told me to add it now but I don't want to kill anything I spend money on.......even though I realize I will have another small cycle when I add it even if it is cured.

I turned on one pump as I wanted things to circulate. It stirred things up a bit but I expect it will eventually clear.....those shrimp are in there doing their thing I hope.......I wonder how long it takes...... will test tonight though I do believe it is a waste of testing materials. Maybe I will just wait til the weekend and then test......hopefully things will be clear by then

feeling kinda salty.......
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#6
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#6
okay question about the live rock. I tested the water last night and the ammonia has kicked in. How much water should I change out before adding the live rock on Sat. I don't want to shock the rock so to speak. Should a 20% or 15g change out be sufficient to lower the ammonia enough to add the rock? The rock should have minimal die off as the travel time is about 2 hours and it is fully cured.

Also, benefits of Marshall Island over Fiji? any opinions?
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#7
Oct 22, 2002
4,077
3
0
#7
I wouldn't have generated any ammonia in the first place. If the LR is out of water for any lengh of time you'll be able to generate more than enough ammonia anyway.
You are attempting to save as much live on the LR as is possible, so extra ammonia poisoning on top is not really useful. There are more than enough bacteria on the LR to be going on with, but they will take some time to process the ammonia to 'safe ' levels.
This is not freshwater! You do not need to do a freshwater cycle before putting the LR in! In your case I would NOT put LR in that tank till the ammonia had disappeared - but that's my persoanl opinion..

It is tough to say Marshall Island is better than Vanuatu better than Fiji as it is so dependant on the qualityof the indiviual rocks. You will be in a fine position if you visit Premium to pick out large, interestingly shaped pieces , and as long as it seems to meet your parameters of choice, don't worry on where it's from
 

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