starting the cycle w/LR and a light

flashlink · 04/22/2006, 01:25 PM

Hello everyone,

I have been reading up on marine setups for about 3-4 weeks now, have 3 books, read a lot of posts about lots of stuff, but still am confused on a couple things...

I am getting a 75 gallon setup and plan on having a couple fish and soft coral... i do have a couple questions and was wondering if anyone could shed somelight for me...

1. Can I add all of the live rock at once? the guy at a LFS store didnt seem to think this would be a problem, it is fully cured and fiji (he also said its more porous and therefore more forgiving...) If not how much should I add at a time...

2. Guy at LFS also recommended the Coralite Aqualife 4x65 lighting setup... but said if i wanted the canopy i would need to probably get a chiller, or fans... what if i got t-5's would that reduce heat? or can i even do that, and whats the price difference?
(i have read the lighting posts and such, but with the search feature overloaded searching is slow)

Thanks!!

PatMayo · 04/22/2006, 01:54 PM

To Reef Central

1= I would add all the live rock at one time and aquascape it like you want it. I would still give it a couple of weeks before adding fish just in case of a mini cycle.

2. It really depends on what you want to keep in the tank. SPS and other hard corals typically do better in MH, but some folks have real good luck with t-5. I would determine what you want to keep in your tank then ask questions in the lighting, filteration forum.

There are a lot of choices.

Good luck,

Regards,

Pat

Marinemom · 04/22/2006, 02:53 PM

What kind of corals do you want to keep? By this I mean there are corals that need low, moderate, or high lighting requirements.First determine what corals you want to keep and base your decision on that. The fish do not much care what kind of light you have. Myself, I'm using power compacts which deliverws 260 watts of light to the aquarium. This houses 4-65 watt bulbs. Two of them are blue actinic and two are the daylights. This also allows me to turn on the blues first for an hour before the rest of the lights and later at night I turn the day lights off about an hour before the blues. This helps to simulate a dawn and a dusk for these animals. Also they do much better on a schedule such as 12 hours on and 12 hours off. This can be accomplished with the aid of an aquarium timer that automatically turns the lights on and off. You can also use a simple timer from a local home improvement center such as the home depot. If you want to have corals that require higher lighting requirements than I would suggest metal halides for your lighting. There are setups that have the fans built right into the system.I assume that you would like to see some coriline growth in your aquarium. In that case the blue lights are very beneficial as this seems to encourage this kind of growth. Yes, you can add all of the live rock at the same time and I would recommend doing this way. Don't add any fish after adding the live rock until you get 0 readings on the ammonia and the nitrites in the tank. At this time check your nitrate reading and you will probably see that the live rock has done its job and broken everything down. At this time you can add some fish to the system but just remember to be patient and take things slowly. This is always the best way to do it. Slow. Figi rock is in my opinion the best rock to use since it is relatively light in weight and porous at the same time. This will allow for a lot of growth to happen in and on the rock. Before you know it, you will have a beautiful and thriving reef. Good luck on the new setup and let us know how it turns out. Some pictures would be nice too.

Be happy!

Marinemom

flashlink · 04/22/2006, 08:55 PM

thanks for the help!

I settled on the Coralife Aqualight with the 4x65, its got the two switches so i can do the blue, and/or florensent... gotta wait a day or two for the live rock...the one thing that i know for sure is that patience is the key...I will post some pictures as i begin to assemble it, right now its just kinda empty...lonely more like it...

also one more question...

when is the best time to add the protein skimmer...? I know i dont have to add it right away, but should i do that asap? or wait till the cycle is done? I have heard mixed opinions on this.... thanx!!

Marinemom · 04/23/2006, 12:19 AM

Your welcome!

I waited until the tank was done cycling before I set up a protien skimmer. Use of a protien skimmer during cycling can slow the whole process down. I added the skimmer when I started to add corals and fish to the tank.

Marinemom

04/22/2006, 01:25 PM	#1
flashlink Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bay Area, California Posts: 56	starting the cycle w/LR and a light Hello everyone, I have been reading up on marine setups for about 3-4 weeks now, have 3 books, read a lot of posts about lots of stuff, but still am confused on a couple things... I am getting a 75 gallon setup and plan on having a couple fish and soft coral... i do have a couple questions and was wondering if anyone could shed somelight for me... 1. Can I add all of the live rock at once? the guy at a LFS store didnt seem to think this would be a problem, it is fully cured and fiji (he also said its more porous and therefore more forgiving...) If not how much should I add at a time... 2. Guy at LFS also recommended the Coralite Aqualife 4x65 lighting setup... but said if i wanted the canopy i would need to probably get a chiller, or fans... what if i got t-5's would that reduce heat? or can i even do that, and whats the price difference? (i have read the lighting posts and such, but with the search feature overloaded searching is slow) Thanks!!

04/22/2006, 01:54 PM	#2
PatMayo Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 2,843	*To Reef Central* 1= I would add all the live rock at one time and aquascape it like you want it. I would still give it a couple of weeks before adding fish just in case of a mini cycle. 2. It really depends on what you want to keep in the tank. SPS and other hard corals typically do better in MH, but some folks have real good luck with t-5. I would determine what you want to keep in your tank then ask questions in the lighting, filteration forum. There are a lot of choices. Good luck, Regards, Pat __________________ 90 AGA Megaflow (Setup 1-24-06) 120 Lbs. Liverock EuroReef RS 100 Skimmer 2 X 150 MH 2 X 96 watt PC Actinic 2 Clarki Clowns (31 months old) 1 Niger Trigger (Owned 6 months) 2 Tunze 6055 PH Current Tank Info: 90 AGA Megaflow To Be Mixed Reef

04/22/2006, 02:53 PM	#3
Marinemom Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 534	What kind of corals do you want to keep? By this I mean there are corals that need low, moderate, or high lighting requirements.First determine what corals you want to keep and base your decision on that. The fish do not much care what kind of light you have. Myself, I'm using power compacts which deliverws 260 watts of light to the aquarium. This houses 4-65 watt bulbs. Two of them are blue actinic and two are the daylights. This also allows me to turn on the blues first for an hour before the rest of the lights and later at night I turn the day lights off about an hour before the blues. This helps to simulate a dawn and a dusk for these animals. Also they do much better on a schedule such as 12 hours on and 12 hours off. This can be accomplished with the aid of an aquarium timer that automatically turns the lights on and off. You can also use a simple timer from a local home improvement center such as the home depot. If you want to have corals that require higher lighting requirements than I would suggest metal halides for your lighting. There are setups that have the fans built right into the system.I assume that you would like to see some coriline growth in your aquarium. In that case the blue lights are very beneficial as this seems to encourage this kind of growth. Yes, you can add all of the live rock at the same time and I would recommend doing this way. Don't add any fish after adding the live rock until you get 0 readings on the ammonia and the nitrites in the tank. At this time check your nitrate reading and you will probably see that the live rock has done its job and broken everything down. At this time you can add some fish to the system but just remember to be patient and take things slowly. This is always the best way to do it. Slow. Figi rock is in my opinion the best rock to use since it is relatively light in weight and porous at the same time. This will allow for a lot of growth to happen in and on the rock. Before you know it, you will have a beautiful and thriving reef. Good luck on the new setup and let us know how it turns out. Some pictures would be nice too. Be happy! Marinemom

04/22/2006, 08:55 PM	#4
flashlink Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bay Area, California Posts: 56	thanks for the help! I settled on the Coralife Aqualight with the 4x65, its got the two switches so i can do the blue, and/or florensent... gotta wait a day or two for the live rock...the one thing that i know for sure is that patience is the key...I will post some pictures as i begin to assemble it, right now its just kinda empty...lonely more like it... also one more question... when is the best time to add the protein skimmer...? I know i dont have to add it right away, but should i do that asap? or wait till the cycle is done? I have heard mixed opinions on this.... thanx!!

04/23/2006, 12:19 AM	#5
Marinemom Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 534	Your welcome! I waited until the tank was done cycling before I set up a protien skimmer. Use of a protien skimmer during cycling can slow the whole process down. I added the skimmer when I started to add corals and fish to the tank. Marinemom