new 150 gallon set up- few questions ( first tank)

jdthomas24 · 12/16/2009, 07:10 PM

ok im adding the water to the tank and getting ready for starting the cycle within the next couple of days. Now i have dry rock and dry sand ( marco rocks)right now and have a bottle of bio add and im going to add some cocktail shrimp th the tank also. It is going to be a mixed reef tank. My questions are

1- what else do i need to add for the cycle to get the rock and sand living besides mroe LR. i have 170 pds in there andwould like to keeo from buying any LR.

2- clean up crew, when should i add them and what exactly would i add... amounts of them also.

3-when should i add the microalgae to the refugium and shoudl i put somethign down there like snails or something?

sorry but this is my first tank and im sure i will have mroe questions..

sheac12 · 12/16/2009, 07:36 PM

"im going to add some cocktail shrimp th the tank also."

Why are you adding cocktail shrimp to the tank? I don't see the point, to me that is just asking for a smelly mess. I would suggest you do three things... one be patient, two go out, find a local reefer with some live sand and live rock to "seed" your tank, and finally test test test and test again.

You dont need much, say a lb and a cup of sand is all you need to get started.

Do not add anything live to the tank until your nitrates have fallen and stayed at zero. Nirtates are developed in the third and final phase of the nitrogen cycling process.

As for the number and type of clean up crew you need, well that depends on what intend on keeping in the tank.

Blownsvt · 12/16/2009, 07:52 PM

you can cycle using a good bacteria supplement like prodibio. I used that to cycle about 80 lbs of live rick to add to my alredy running tank and it worked great. I would wait until all your tests have read 0 for ammonia nitrite and nitrate for a few solid days before adding clean up crew. with that much rock you could probably add a decent amount of snails. I have about 120-140 lbs of rock and 120 lbs of sand. Ir have about 12 mexican turbos, 5 trochus, 5 small nassarius and 10 large nassarius. Of course if you dont have enough algae etc growing initially to sustain that many they will starve to death. I would reccomend adding a few at a time and seeing how it goes. if the algae comes faster then they can keep up with add a few more until you find the right balance.

jdthomas24 · 12/16/2009, 10:24 PM

ok so if i go down to one of my local RFS, i have a good one close that everyone swears by, he services large systems, and get one LR and a cup or two of live sand then i will be good to go for the cycle?

jdthomas24 · 12/16/2009, 10:26 PM

unless anyone is close to me i can get a cup or so of sand and a little LR, that i will buy or return or something.... i have got a 40 pd box of argonite sand that i did not use, i was going to keep it for the day i mayt need it but maybe i can do a little swaping on some sand to help out my tank. Anyone game? I am in Rockwall, Texas... lol... seems everyone is out of state though... lol

Golden Angel · 12/17/2009, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdthomas24

ok im adding the water to the tank and getting ready for starting the cycle within the next couple of days. Now i have dry rock and dry sand ( marco rocks)right now and have a bottle of bio add and im going to add some cocktail shrimp th the tank also. It is going to be a mixed reef tank. My questions are

1- what else do i need to add for the cycle to get the rock and sand living besides mroe LR. i have 170 pds in there andwould like to keeo from buying any LR.

2- clean up crew, when should i add them and what exactly would i add... amounts of them also.

3-when should i add the microalgae to the refugium and shoudl i put somethign down there like snails or something?

sorry but this is my first tank and im sure i will have mroe questions..

Don't throw the cocktail shrimp in.

1. You need something to feed the bacteria (other than those shrimp). I just add a few flakes of food personally. After a few days (and a positive water test) I add one small fish. That will start a small cycle. Add one or two live organisms a week from then on, always testing the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate before adding.

2. You will know when you need clean up crew. Don't worry about it now. Give it a month or so. Don't go overboard on algae eaters just because you get an algae bloom. You are going to get one in the beginning but if you put too many critters in there, they will starve when the algae starts to die off.

3. Microalgea to a fuge? Do you mean Macro? Don't add it until you have a few fish to feed.

Saltdog813 · 12/17/2009, 06:53 AM

Good Luck on your 150 I have pics in my photo album of my 150 if you want to take a look.

thile123 · 12/17/2009, 07:38 AM

Adding shrimp will speed up the cycling process (presumably).

1- That raw shrimp will do fine in assisting your tank to cycle. Ask people on your local reef club to donate a cup of live sand for you; this will also help to speed up the cycling process. You do not need LR to cycle your tank; you do not need to add live fish to cycle either.

2- Add your cleanup crew when your ammonia is zero, and your nitrite is close to zero or at zero. Add some cerith, Astraea snails.

3- Add macroalgae to the refugium when your ammonia is zero and nitrite is zero. When you see microalgae bloom in your tank, it's a good indication that your water can now support macroalgae also. Also get some pods culture and put it your tank (or refugium) at this point.

sheac12 · 12/17/2009, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thile123

Adding shrimp will speed up the cycling process (presumably).

1- That raw shrimp will do fine in assisting your tank to cycle. Ask people on your local reef club to donate a cup of live sand for you; this will also help to speed up the cycling process. You do not need LR to cycle your tank; you do not need to add live fish to cycle either.

2- Add your cleanup crew when your ammonia is zero, and your nitrite is close to zero or at zero. Add some cerith, Astraea snails.

3- Add macroalgae to the refugium when your ammonia is zero and nitrite is zero. When you see microalgae bloom in your tank, it's a good indication that your water can now support macroalgae also. Also get some pods culture
and put it your tank (or refugium) at this point.

I still wouldn't add the shrimp. Also I disagree with the poster saying he added a small fish after a day or two. Wait for your cycle to complete, for a new tank easily 3 weeks.

Getting the live rock from the store would be a good idea too, you don't need much, just something to get the process started.

If you can get donations of live sand that is even better, try and get it from different sources for bio-diversity.

12/16/2009, 07:10 PM	#1
jdthomas24 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Rockwall, Texas Posts: 852	new 150 gallon set up- few questions ( first tank) ok im adding the water to the tank and getting ready for starting the cycle within the next couple of days. Now i have dry rock and dry sand ( marco rocks)right now and have a bottle of bio add and im going to add some cocktail shrimp th the tank also. It is going to be a mixed reef tank. My questions are 1- what else do i need to add for the cycle to get the rock and sand living besides mroe LR. i have 170 pds in there andwould like to keeo from buying any LR. 2- clean up crew, when should i add them and what exactly would i add... amounts of them also. 3-when should i add the microalgae to the refugium and shoudl i put somethign down there like snails or something? sorry but this is my first tank and im sure i will have mroe questions..

12/17/2009, 06:53 AM	#7
Saltdog813 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Apollo Beach FL, Posts: 144	Good Luck on your 150 I have pics in my photo album of my 150 if you want to take a look. __________________ Jack Marineland 150 gallon Current Tank Info: 75 Gal Rectangle/cube Sea Horse tank, 150 Gal Marineland SW Reef

12/16/2009, 07:36 PM	#2
sheac12 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Columbia, MD Posts: 77	"im going to add some cocktail shrimp th the tank also." Why are you adding cocktail shrimp to the tank? I don't see the point, to me that is just asking for a smelly mess. I would suggest you do three things... one be patient, two go out, find a local reefer with some live sand and live rock to "seed" your tank, and finally test test test and test again. You dont need much, say a lb and a cup of sand is all you need to get started. Do not add anything live to the tank until your nitrates have fallen and stayed at zero. Nirtates are developed in the third and final phase of the nitrogen cycling process. As for the number and type of clean up crew you need, well that depends on what intend on keeping in the tank.

12/16/2009, 07:52 PM	#3
Blownsvt Moved On Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 514	you can cycle using a good bacteria supplement like prodibio. I used that to cycle about 80 lbs of live rick to add to my alredy running tank and it worked great. I would wait until all your tests have read 0 for ammonia nitrite and nitrate for a few solid days before adding clean up crew. with that much rock you could probably add a decent amount of snails. I have about 120-140 lbs of rock and 120 lbs of sand. Ir have about 12 mexican turbos, 5 trochus, 5 small nassarius and 10 large nassarius. Of course if you dont have enough algae etc growing initially to sustain that many they will starve to death. I would reccomend adding a few at a time and seeing how it goes. if the algae comes faster then they can keep up with add a few more until you find the right balance.

12/16/2009, 10:24 PM	#4
jdthomas24 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Rockwall, Texas Posts: 852	ok so if i go down to one of my local RFS, i have a good one close that everyone swears by, he services large systems, and get one LR and a cup or two of live sand then i will be good to go for the cycle?

12/16/2009, 10:26 PM	#5
jdthomas24 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Rockwall, Texas Posts: 852	unless anyone is close to me i can get a cup or so of sand and a little LR, that i will buy or return or something.... i have got a 40 pd box of argonite sand that i did not use, i was going to keep it for the day i mayt need it but maybe i can do a little swaping on some sand to help out my tank. Anyone game? I am in Rockwall, Texas... lol... seems everyone is out of state though... lol

12/17/2009, 07:38 AM	#8
thile123 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: texas Posts: 65	Adding shrimp will speed up the cycling process (presumably). 1- That raw shrimp will do fine in assisting your tank to cycle. Ask people on your local reef club to donate a cup of live sand for you; this will also help to speed up the cycling process. You do not need LR to cycle your tank; you do not need to add live fish to cycle either. 2- Add your cleanup crew when your ammonia is zero, and your nitrite is close to zero or at zero. Add some cerith, Astraea snails. 3- Add macroalgae to the refugium when your ammonia is zero and nitrite is zero. When you see microalgae bloom in your tank, it's a good indication that your water can now support macroalgae also. Also get some pods culture and put it your tank (or refugium) at this point.