Cycling my 120: a few Q's!

[skidoll]

Hi everyone, I'm Katy! I've been reading the boards for awhile, but now I have some specific questions regarding my tank!

First, here's the tank specs: its. 120g tank (36"x24"x28"appr), apprx 30g sump. I purchased it used, and prior to me owning it, was setup as a reef tank. I've decided, at least for now, to stick with FOWLR. After sitting in the garage for 6 months, plumbing finished and its up and running. Once cycled, I'll add the fish from my 29g. Couple q's:

1) I put apprx 100lbs of CaribSea Ocean Direct sand in last week. It took 2 days to settle. Today, while trying to (gently!) Rearrange rock, fake corals, it created a huge sandstorm. Any experiences with this brand, and should I expect a sandstorm all the time? I have a clarkii clown and diamond goby, and they LOVE to play....should I buy a bigger grain sand to lay on top to prevent these storms? Frustrated!

2) I placed a sump sock over the tube that drains into the sump, and it has quieted the sloshing sound, but the drop inside my overflow makes the water sound rather loud. While at my LFS, they suggested placing Bioballs inside the overflow. I've read Bioballs can turn into nitrate factories....opinions anyone? Any ideas for a quieter overflow?

3) the used tank came with 36" T5's. I am interested in doing LED only. I'm contemplating purchasing 2 Aqua Beam units to mount to my canopy. Anyone know if these are worth the price? Not as much as ecoxotic, etc, but 500 is still a lot for me.

4) i'd like to get a mate for my clarkii. I've had him since May, he's constantly "nesting" and lives in a fake coral I purchased for him. Would he accept a mate? He's approx 3" long. Can, or should, I add him and potential mate at the same time into the new tank, once cycled?

I have a few more questions. I'm trying to do things right, as I moved too quickly with my current 29g, and lost fish/corals. I've finally gotten it right and all is well in the current tank, so I don't want to risk losing "my babies" when introduced into the 120. Any advice, experience, etc greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[nuccadoc]

Hi Katy! Welcome to Reef Central!

ABout the sand....you should have rinsed it before putting it in your tank. If you are able, I would recommend siphoning the sand out in sections into a 5 gallon bucket, take the garden hose to it and rinse it thoroughly. THen carefully place it back in your tank. Be patient, it takes a while to get it clean.

Bioballs are not really recommended anymore. They are not necessarily "nitrate factories in as much as they don't complete the nitrogen cylce per se. They don't convert nitrates to nitrogen gas.

Led's are definitely gaining popularity. I am not a fan but there are plenty of threads here you can check out.

I don't have any experience with clarkii's so I cannot comment.

Good luck!

[john_blaze]

1) I think that's normal I rearranged some rocks and the same thing happened to me. Wut size grain are you using? I got a coarse grain for my SB and put about 40 pounds of "live sand" which is a fine grain, so sandstorms are something I deal with. IF they bother you too much, you could always get a canister filter and run some polishing pads in it and that will get rid of the sandstorm fairly quickly.

2)What does your overflow look like? I run the "bean" overflow and it is quiet as a mouse (thanks bean!!). So I am biased to say you should convert, but I am sure there are other alternatives.

3)I noticed you are from San Diego, me too! Check out SDReefs.com, there is a group buy for some LED's that are pretty good for an awesome price. pm me if you want more info.

4)Cant help you there.

I am by no means an expert but I HTH.

[ihavtats29]

you do not ned to rinse the sand the cloud will go away in time if you are still wanting the dust to go away you can vaccum the sand bed like you would a fw tanks gravel when you do a water change before your tank has completed its cycle.

as for q#2 if your over flow is internal and the stand pipe is adjustable you can raise the highthof the stand pipe making the distance of the water flowing over shorter . it will make less noise, aslo if you are going to keep using filter socks you may want to buy a few as the will get stopped up every few days and will need to be cleaned. a alternitive is you can get a piece of 3 or 4 inch pvc pipe cut it just high enough that it is a few inchs above the bottom of your drain pipe in the sump., drill a bunch of 1/2 '' holes in the pipe . make it look like swiss cheese it will act like a muffler.

Q#3 as for leds i am not yet a firm believer they are new to the hobbie and have no long term results . 28'' depth is deep decent reef lighting you would need 2) 250-400 watt halides or 6-8 HO T-5's i dont know id leds have enough punch for deep tanks but i could be wrong

Q#4 you can add both at the same time to the new enviroment after your cycle he/she should not be too agressive untill it establishes a teritory

when transfering make sure water parimeters are as close as possible between the tanks
and you should be fine if you want to be cautious you can slowly acclimate them to the tank.

[rayn]

Let the sand settle and the grain size is up to you. If you place a your fish in and they constantly create a storm then maybe a small layer of coarser grade will help, but don't know if it would gurantee it.

For the overflow, what kind? That will make a big difference on the suggestions there. I also went with a bean. Check out the silent and failsafe thread in DIY. It may be worth draining and drilling if you want quite. My pumps are noisier then the drain.

Not sure on the led, but I have the same tank and run dual 250 watt MH. 14K bulbs and they are great.

As for the clarki, add it when you transfer and after QT!!!!! Make sure your fish are ich and parasite free before the 120. It is no fun trying to catch fish in a tank like that. They should be fine together and the mate should be smaller.

[Wolverine]

In addition to what the others mentioned about the overflow, also keep in mind that those often get more quiet over time. As they develop some biofilm coating, it definitely dampens some of the sound.