advice on my new 180g

reefer Rob · 04/09/2006, 08:12 PM

Just want to say I took these animals so soon so they wouldn't end up in a dumpster or sewer so before you go "FLAME ON!" let me explain. My buddy had 1 week to get his tank tore down to move out of state. I had a 180g with nothing but fresh water as I just sold all my chichlids in preparation for going SW. So my future reef has been up and running for 8 days now. Inhabitants are as follows:

1 - cherub Angel
1 - spotted Hawkfish
1 - coral banded shrimp
1 - feather duster
1 - colony of 9 mushrooms
1 - colony (small) of about 15-20 polyps
1 - crab kind of pink in color and small
and a few snails and hermit crabs, red and blue
about 20lb very nice cured live rock with lots of coraline algae and some caulerpa algae and tons of these little white cyst looking things, like sand glued in little specks (my friend told me they were beneficial)
I also have about 40lb live sand and I used all 20 gallons of his established water in an attempt to seed the tank.

I'm waiting for my Big spike or crash or something, I dunno maybe it is still too early, but so far everything is doing excellant, feeding well and full of color, mushrooms opening and standing up off the rock every morning after lights on, the duster stays open most all day and night (normal?). very active tank.

My parameters have been the same all week until today:

APR 06------------------------TODAY
PH - 8.2 ---------------------- 8.2
Temp - 80---------------------78
NH3/NH4 - .50 ---------------.25
NO2 - 0------------------------ .25
NO3 - 0------------------------- 5.0
SG - 1.023----------------------1.023

So is this the lull before the storm so to speak? I know I need to do a water change but I am hoping my RO/DI will be here tomorrow so I am trying to wait.

I guess I am looking for expert advice as to what do I do next or now? All advice welcome. Some opinions too!

Thanks

Rob

Oh yeah forgot to ask about the polyps, it seems that only a few of them opened up all day today, most stayed closed all day. does this mean they are dying? They are near the top of the water and the 2 Power-Glo and 2 Coralife 50/50 are on 10-12 hours a day

aquawolf · 04/09/2006, 08:28 PM

I would like to tell you everything is going to be okay, but I am not sure at this point either.

I am assuming that the LR and LS came out of his 20 gallon setup? In SW the water column doesn't really contain that much beneficial bacteria, it is actually living in the sand and the rock. If you had taken all of his stuff and put it into another 20 gallon tank then I think everything would be okay, but it seems too late for that.

What filtration are you running on the system? The reason I am asking is because you are going to need a whole lot more than just 20 lbs of rock and 40 lbs of sand for your reef. Each time you get more you are going to take a chance at putting the tank through another mini cycle. If you buy fully cured rock it might not be too bad, but if you have any pieces that are not fully cured it could raise your ammonia to deadly levels and start killing what you currently have.

Hopefully someone else will chime in with better advice. I wish you the best of luck in working this out.

bertoni · 04/09/2006, 08:33 PM

For those animals, I suspect that the live rock will be fine. Over time, you'll need to add more or use some other form of filtraton. For now, I'd suggest using some Amquel Plus to detoxify the ammonia, and let the tank settle for a few weeks. These references might be useful:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=239848
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=707105

reefer Rob · 04/09/2006, 08:38 PM

Yeah I got the LR from his tank and I know it is WAY not enough, but I really wasn't prepared to tackle the entire cost of this setup in a week. I am planning to get at least another 100 lbs of LR and at least that much more in LS as soon as possible. I have a 75g that I will setup to cure the LR before putting it in the 180g in order to avoid the re-cycle later on, but first I have to get a pretein skimmer. I am woring on getting the ASM3 and a I have a 15g I will use as a mini sump for now, but then I also have to get an overflow and rtn pump. But I have already put out over $700 in the last week and can't do anymore til at least next week. I just hope everything waits that long.

reefer Rob · 04/09/2006, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bertoni
For those animals, I suspect that the live rock will be fine. Over time, you'll need to add more or use some other form of filtraton. For now, I'd suggest using some Amquel Plus to detoxify the ammonia, and let the tank settle for a few weeks. These references might be useful:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=239848
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=707105

Thank, I already read pretty much all that, I have an idea what to do to make things right but the main problem is the cashflow. I guess all I can do is ride the storm out! and I will try the Amquel Plus, I did put in 3 bags of a phosphate remover into the filters and 2 bags of carbon just to try and prevent the worst from happening.

For filtration as of right now I have 2 Emporer 400s and an Eheim 2217 with only the little cylinder media. (twas ok for cichlids) and I have 3 Marineland 660 powerheads and a Maxi-Jet 1200 power head for circulation.

reefer Rob · 04/09/2006, 09:13 PM

I have an Idea! I may be able to spring for a smaller HOT protein skimmer that is rated for up to 150g a seaclone SCPS 150 , I know it will not be sufficient but it may help in the mean time it's a more affordable $75. then in a couple weeks or month when I can afford the ASM G-3 or 4 and all that goes with it (a good $500+) I can put the HOT skimmer in my 75g to help cure my live rock. Do you think I would benefit that way or just forget it. I have $118 to spend if you know of a decent skimmer for that or less it woud be appreciated.

Thanks for everyones help!

reefer Rob · 04/09/2006, 09:51 PM

better yet I just found the Coralife Super skimmer rated for up to 220g for $114 will call them tomorrow

bertoni · 04/09/2006, 11:09 PM

I think the CoraLife is a good bet. I have the small model, and it seems to work well enough for me.

04/09/2006, 08:12 PM	#1
reefer Rob Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 165	advice on my new 180g Just want to say I took these animals so soon so they wouldn't end up in a dumpster or sewer so before you go "FLAME ON!" let me explain. My buddy had 1 week to get his tank tore down to move out of state. I had a 180g with nothing but fresh water as I just sold all my chichlids in preparation for going SW. So my future reef has been up and running for 8 days now. Inhabitants are as follows: 1 - cherub Angel 1 - spotted Hawkfish 1 - coral banded shrimp 1 - feather duster 1 - colony of 9 mushrooms 1 - colony (small) of about 15-20 polyps 1 - crab kind of pink in color and small and a few snails and hermit crabs, red and blue about 20lb very nice cured live rock with lots of coraline algae and some caulerpa algae and tons of these little white cyst looking things, like sand glued in little specks (my friend told me they were beneficial) I also have about 40lb live sand and I used all 20 gallons of his established water in an attempt to seed the tank. I'm waiting for my Big spike or crash or something, I dunno maybe it is still too early, but so far everything is doing excellant, feeding well and full of color, mushrooms opening and standing up off the rock every morning after lights on, the duster stays open most all day and night (normal?). very active tank. My parameters have been the same all week until today: APR 06------------------------TODAY PH - 8.2 ---------------------- 8.2 Temp - 80---------------------78 NH3/NH4 - .50 ---------------.25 NO2 - 0------------------------ .25 NO3 - 0------------------------- 5.0 SG - 1.023----------------------1.023 So is this the lull before the storm so to speak? I know I need to do a water change but I am hoping my RO/DI will be here tomorrow so I am trying to wait. I guess I am looking for expert advice as to what do I do next or now? All advice welcome. Some opinions too! Thanks Rob Oh yeah forgot to ask about the polyps, it seems that only a few of them opened up all day today, most stayed closed all day. does this mean they are dying? They are near the top of the water and the 2 Power-Glo and 2 Coralife 50/50 are on 10-12 hours a day Last edited by reefer Rob; 04/09/2006 at 08:28 PM.

04/09/2006, 08:28 PM	#2
aquawolf Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Martin, South Carolina Posts: 343	I would like to tell you everything is going to be okay, but I am not sure at this point either. I am assuming that the LR and LS came out of his 20 gallon setup? In SW the water column doesn't really contain that much beneficial bacteria, it is actually living in the sand and the rock. If you had taken all of his stuff and put it into another 20 gallon tank then I think everything would be okay, but it seems too late for that. What filtration are you running on the system? The reason I am asking is because you are going to need a whole lot more than just 20 lbs of rock and 40 lbs of sand for your reef. Each time you get more you are going to take a chance at putting the tank through another mini cycle. If you buy fully cured rock it might not be too bad, but if you have any pieces that are not fully cured it could raise your ammonia to deadly levels and start killing what you currently have. Hopefully someone else will chime in with better advice. I wish you the best of luck in working this out. __________________ Most good judgment comes from experience. Most experience comes from bad judgment. Current Tank Info: 75 Reef, CPR CY294, Home Made Refugium, Coralife Aqualight Pro 48" Dual 150 MH / 30 Gallon Sea Horse Tank / 40 Gallon FOWLR

04/09/2006, 08:33 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	For those animals, I suspect that the live rock will be fine. Over time, you'll need to add more or use some other form of filtraton. For now, I'd suggest using some Amquel Plus to detoxify the ammonia, and let the tank settle for a few weeks. These references might be useful: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=239848 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=707105 __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/09/2006, 09:13 PM	#6
reefer Rob Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 165	I have an Idea! I may be able to spring for a smaller HOT protein skimmer that is rated for up to 150g a seaclone SCPS 150 , I know it will not be sufficient but it may help in the mean time it's a more affordable $75. then in a couple weeks or month when I can afford the ASM G-3 or 4 and all that goes with it (a good $500+) I can put the HOT skimmer in my 75g to help cure my live rock. Do you think I would benefit that way or just forget it. I have $118 to spend if you know of a decent skimmer for that or less it woud be appreciated. Thanks for everyones help! Last edited by reefer Rob; 04/09/2006 at 09:25 PM.

04/09/2006, 09:51 PM	#7
reefer Rob Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 165	better yet I just found the Coralife Super skimmer rated for up to 220g for $114 will call them tomorrow __________________ My other hobby is Corvettes Current Tank Info: 215g

04/09/2006, 08:38 PM	#4
reefer Rob Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 165	Yeah I got the LR from his tank and I know it is WAY not enough, but I really wasn't prepared to tackle the entire cost of this setup in a week. I am planning to get at least another 100 lbs of LR and at least that much more in LS as soon as possible. I have a 75g that I will setup to cure the LR before putting it in the 180g in order to avoid the re-cycle later on, but first I have to get a pretein skimmer. I am woring on getting the ASM3 and a I have a 15g I will use as a mini sump for now, but then I also have to get an overflow and rtn pump. But I have already put out over $700 in the last week and can't do anymore til at least next week. I just hope everything waits that long.

04/09/2006, 11:09 PM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I think the CoraLife is a good bet. I have the small model, and it seems to work well enough for me. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni