So Its Begins! The Tank Is Empty And Ready To Go

[ben1987]

yes 10% sometime you do more if some of the elements are a bit low or nitrates are up but usually just 10%

Deltec skimmers are good

 

[superman1]

ive been doing 20% once every 2 weeks. to be honest dont notice any difference in stats that 2 weeks but i do it anyway..

 

[mark1979]

excellent,thanks for the replie's

thats got me going again now,lol

so a deltec skimmer is good yeah? any particular model. or any other model saying that thats good.

what powerhead should i get,i have no idea on makes and models of powerheads,and would i need 2?

as for live rock where is a reasonable place to get this,my lfs want £195 a box i think,sure sure how many kg that is though!!

also how do you cycle the tank? is it same as tropical or completely different?

 

[youngfisher]

Koralia powerheads are highly recommend.
Most LFS charge around £10-15 per kg for live rock.
So its best to find people breaking down there tanks, get it for like £5 per kg.
To cycle a tank, I believe the Live Rock does it all for you. Without adding ammonia etc.
You just have to do readings and wait.

YF

 

[mark1979]

Koralia powerheads are highly recommend.
Most LFS charge around £10-15 per kg for live rock.
So its best to find people breaking down there tanks, get it for like £5 per kg.
To cycle a tank, I believe the Live Rock does it all for you. Without adding ammonia etc.
You just have to do readings and wait.

YF

cheers YF,that was quick.

any particular power power head needed? and would i need just 1?

is reef live rock? thats such a daft question but i had to ask? lol

 

[youngfisher]

Reef is a tank with corals.
Im not sure how many powerheads, I'd say 2-3.
Maybe Koralia 2?
Im not the best with the powerheads, as im still learnng myself.

YF

 

[ben1987]

for a reef tank you want upwards of 20X flow for a soft coral tank. Then a hard SPS coral tank 40+
So atleast 400x20 = 8,000L an hour. As for which pumps, depends what your going to spend. Korallias and tunze pumps are decent or big money get a vortech.

look at deltec MCE600 rater for a 600L tank. Should be ok for 400L

 

[superman1]

personanly for your tank i would buy

2x powerhead maybe koralia 3s. if you look around you should be able to get both for under £80 easy if your patient.

you can still run your fx5. but worry about that later..

about 35kg would be good to get to started maybe a little less at the start. but you just put the salted water into your tank.... pop the live rock in and let it cycle.. just keep testing so you know whats going on.. use the powerheads to create a flow around the rock..

once cycle is done then you can add fish.. the lighting is mainly for corals.. so all depends on what you plan to do..

now the filter you could just put live rock rubble in there.. but you dont really need the external although its helps with water movement and to increase the volume..

you want to aim for at leat 20x flow..

so if you tank is 400 litre just multiply that by 20 and you get 8000...

so if 1 koralia produces 4000 litres of flow per hour then you need 2.. (does that make sense)

(by the way the figures above i made up but gives you an idea on how to work out what u need.

 

[mark1979]

cheers superman,that answers alot of my questions.

there is so many different live rock ive noticed,is there any difference? i want decent stuff as i only plan on doing it once,lol

so in the fx5,live rock rubble, do i leave the sponge in there or take them out and have nothing but rubble?

korilia 3's, i seen them in the shop,i will check them out onlne later. where should i place them in the tank,either end?

as for the skimmer,there are so many with a massive price difference,i like the look of that MCE 600,but its alot of money,cheapest ive seen is £229!! is that a realy good skimmer? like i said,i would rather pay out decent money now and get it over and done with,rather than buy cheap and have to change!!

now as for substrate what do i get? and how thick does it need to be?

how much salt should be in the water? is there a level it should be at or between?

so in conclusion for the moment,if i empty my tank,clean it well (with what?) add substrate,powerheads,skimmer and then water and salt.then plonk 30kg ish of a type of live rock and just wait and test ?

wont the live rock die if it isnt fed with anything? also i have been told not to run the skimmer at 1st is this correct?

sorry if i sound stupid,but i want to get things right

 

[ben1987]

as for the skimmer,there are so many with a massive price difference,i like the look of that MCE 600,but its alot of money,cheapest ive seen is £229!! is that a realy good skimmer? like i said,i would rather pay out decent money now and get it over and done with,rather than buy cheap and have to change!!

look for a 2nd hand one, but yes they are good.

now as for substrate what do i get? and how thick does it need to be?

arogonite sand or coral sand. myabe 1" deep

how much salt should be in the water? is there a level it should be at or between?

reef tank 1.025-1.026

so in conclusion for the moment,if i empty my tank,clean it well (with what?) add substrate,powerheads,skimmer and then water and salt.then plonk 30kg ish of a type of live rock and just wait and test ?

yes thats it

wont the live rock die if it isnt fed with anything? also i have been told not to run the skimmer at 1st is this correct?

The bacteria in the live rock will be using up the ammonia created by the die off from the rock

The average rule for live rock is 1LB per gallon or 1 kilo per 2.2 gallons

 

[TigerIssey]

so in conclusion for the moment,if i empty my tank,clean it well (with what?) add substrate,powerheads,skimmer and then water and salt.then plonk 30kg ish of a type of live rock and just wait and test ?

yes thats it

You can use white vinegar. Ski uses a stronger acid but I am not sure where you would get it from. Most people have or can get hold of white vinegar very easily.

 

[mark1979]

how much salt should be in the water? is there a level it should be at or between?

reef tank 1.025-1.026

what is used to calculate this? is it a refractometer?

is there room for error,or does it have to be spot on?

 

[mark1979]

i forgot to ask,what tests need to be done and how often?

will the tank hold the weight of all the rock?

also how do you make it stable when you stacking it up?

 

[superman1]

ok well i will tell you waht to do from scratch... i started off a month ago so i know exactly how u feel..

so what to do first

1. clean the tank

2. fill with water (RO water can be purchased from a fish shop) if using tap water which isnt recommended but if u do make sure you use dechlorinator like u would on a freshwater tank. then mix salt.. something that size would take quite alot so pop the salt in.. let it mix up untill its dissolved... then you can buy a hydrometre which is about £5... this will tell you how much salt is in there (best to use a refractometre but they can be pricey... mix salt to desired level..

3. get live rock... fiji rock from what i know is the best... when u pop that in the tank you will probaly get alot of die off from the rock so this will produce ammonia so no need to add stuff.. this will basically cycle itself..

4. you could add the coral gravel which from experience you can buy some good stuff online from warehouse aquatics. depends on personal preference really how deep you want it... place this in the tank before or after adding the live rock.

5. place powerhead either side of the tank aiming at the rock. remmeber you would to generate flow around the rock.. the spray bar on your filter will act as a powerhead aswell.

6. remmeber to have the heater on.. lol

7. you can use live rock rubble in your filter along with sponges to act as a means to remove particles from the water.

8... if i remmeber correctly once the cycle is done you can add the CUC... (this stands for clean up crew such as hermit crabs, snaills etc.)

9. you should be able to add fish..

oh yeah i forgot .. you should have the protein skimmer running too.. im not very knowledgeable on skimmers so im sure someone else could help you with this.

hope that helps. if i have forgotten something let me know

generally the rock and gravel should help you achieve a p.h of around 8 -8.5 and the salt mix should be between 1.020 and 1.025. if you have a hydrometre this should be fairly simple to see.

Live rock is quite expensive so best to look around on ebay, aquarist classified or Ultimate reef.. remmeber look around and you should expect to pay half the amount then brand new. .

i forgot to ask,what tests need to be done and how often?

will the tank hold the weight of all the rock?

also how do you make it stable when you stacking it up?

you mention the wait of the rcok but dont forget 400 litre will be 400kg.. im sure 30kg extra wouldnt be to much weight for it to handle.

best to find pieces that fit but you can use speacial epoxy to glue the rocks in case you worried it will topple. i havent but i dont really have anything thats boisterous enough to topple the rocks.

best to test for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, and p.h to start off with.,.. and the salt levels.

 

[TigerIssey]

also how do you make it stable when you stacking it up?

You can also use acrylic rods or carbon graphite rods (think thats what Ski said) and drill holes in the rocks to fit the rods. You can then stack rocks a little differently that would be precarious without some other form of support.

I used epoxy in this tank, it works out quite expensive that way though to be honest. Better of drilling and using rods as this is easier to restack long term if for any reason you need to get at the bottom rock.