Cured LR in an uncycled Tank

[bms270]

Hi,

I'm setting up my new tank so I was wondering if I can put a cured LR in my tank before cycling. same question for Live sand as well.

Thanks,
Bijan

[Sisterlimonpot]

definitely, usually when you do this you won't see a cycle. still wait 3-4 weeks to make sure and if no ammonia spike add a clean up crew.

[spleify]

Well, you will still see a cycle, though it may be smaller and shorter, there is "almost" always a cylcle.

To answer your question, yes you can(and should) use as much "cycled" LR as you can.

Good luck and take your time.

[bms270]

Great! Thanks so much. Another question, It's a silly question but should I put the sand and Rocks first then RO water then add salt or what is the right order?

Thanks!

[spleify]

Well not a silly question, ask as many as you have.

I don't know if there is a "right" order or not. But if you don't have a seperate container for making your water, you can certainly mix it in the tank, then add your salt and rock, there will be a big sand storm but will settle in a day or so.

HTH

Spleify

[xxoutlawtorn]

I filled the tank with RO water, then salt and let it mix with powerheads for a little while. Then added sand and blindly added live rock during the sandstorm. Within 24 hours I could see the front half of my tank and did a little aquascaping during this time. 24 hours after that, sand had settled, tank was clear, and I was able to do some fine tuning of my rock work from the day before.

But by no means is this the definitive way to do it, just what happened to work best for me.

[Sisterlimonpot]

+1 rodi, salt to desired SG, LR, and lastly sand. make sure you have a heater warming things up.

[bms270]

Originally posted by Sisterlimonpot
+1 rodi, salt to desired SG, LR, and lastly sand. make sure you have a heater warming things up.

wouldn't sand get stuck in the surface of the LR if I add it aftar LR? What is the desired temperature for starting things up?

[Sisterlimonpot]

You’re going to want your LR on the sitting on the glass not on the sand (less possibility of trapped detritus). When adding sand, just be careful if you get any in or on the LR you can blow it off with a turkey baster, The temp should be around 79-81

[LiveRockRob]

Hi,

Here is the process that I have read up on as I come close to starting my aquarium. I've seen this method duplicated in number of books.

Day 1

1) Fill the aquarium with RO/DI water.

2) Plug in all equipment (Set heater and all equipment on proper settings)

3) Run it overnight to make sure everything works and there are no last minute issues (Monitor Temp over this 24hour period. The temp should not fluctuate more than 3 degrees).


Day 2 (If everything went well over last 24 hour period)

1) With no Livestock in the tank, add salt per manufactures directions (***Under NO circumstances salt mix should be added directly to the established tank with living organisms present)

2) Continue running the system for 24 hours (This will allow all the salt to disolve with the help of power heads - The salt is made up of various complex elements that need time to disolve)

Day 3

1) Measure Salinity

1.1) If the Salinity is too low, add aditional salt mix and run system for additional 24 hours

1.2) If the Salinity is too high, remove some water (reserve for future use).

1.2.1) Add new RO/DI water to replace the water that was taken out.

1.2.2) Wait 10 minutes, and retest for Salinity. Repeat if still too high. (We only wait 10 minutes when it is too high, cause we are not introducing new salt into the system, just RO/DI water. The pumps will mix fresh water with existing seawater very quickly).

2) Measure pH

2.1) It needs to be between 8.2 to 8.4. If it is outside of this range you will need to get a pH Buffer to bring it back into the range.

3) Both pH and Salinity should remain stable for at least 24 hours

Day 4

1) Test Alkalinity, Calcium, Iodide, and phosphate.

1.2) Duing this does two things 1. Sets baselines for these parameters 2. Provides an evaluation of the salt mix.

2) If using RO/DI water and a good salt mix the tests should produce readings in range of what is required.

Day 4 or 5

If your readings are what they should be, and there are no problems with the equipment, you are ready for the fun part

1) Drain an amouth of water out of the tank that you think will be consumed by Live Rock. (Save seawater for later use if need to add more at the end).

2) Once all Live Rock has been placed in where desired, add your choice of substrate.

3) Once Live Rock and Substrate have been placed in, if needed top of the water with SEAWATER. Do not use plain RO/DI water cause that will change your Salinity again.

Hope this helped.


Happy Reefing



LiveRockRob!!!

[PRDubois]

Mix your water in a container OUTSIDE of the tank
Get a 30gal Brute Trashcan

[bms270]

Thanks everybody for the info. special thanks to LiveRockRob for the detailed info. these information would be really helpful for me to start the setup process.

Thanks again