What Live Stock To Start With?

[rl1oyd]

So if i was to set up my tank what would i have to put in to get started? I thought live rock, some clean up crew, couple of clown fish?

 

[sic0198]

Get some damsels, they are pretty cheap and are good hardy fish to use to cycle your tank.

 

[Chac]

Get some damsels, they are pretty cheap and are good hardy fish to use to cycle your tank.

A IMO very territorial depending on the species

What size of tank are we taking about

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

You don't need to use any fish to cycle a tank, not even the little satam fish

 

[Chac]

That will teach me to fully read posts

Didnt notice the 'Cycle' bit

Your liverock will cycle your tank, there is no need to put fish through a this

 

[rl1oyd]

Tank is 720 litres. So if i dont need fish to cycle the tank i just use live rock how long does the live rock need to be in the tank before i can add fish??

 

[SkiFletch]

Typically if you're within 30 mins drive from your LFS LR takes a week to cure and make the tank ready for fish. If you watch the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels for the first few days you'll get a feel for how much dieoff there is on the rock (you'll see small amounts of ammonia/nitrite and a rise in nitrate).

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

As Ski said the less time the LR is out of the water the less die-off you'll face meaning the shorter time it should take for the tank to complete its cycle.

Every tank is different and you just have to monitor all water levels (Ammonia,Nitrite & Nitrate) and get them to 0 (Nitrate at least 5-10 preferably 0)

720 litres That's going to cost a bomb in LR You may have to consider ordering online if your after enough for that size tank which will mean you'll have a fair bit of die-off, it could be months until your tank cycles if this is the case but it should save you loads of mulla!

 

[Chac]

That must be about 160g

Your gonna need about 80kg of LR

 

[rl1oyd]

I was gonna buy it from the public who are closing down there tanks? Do you have to put it all in at once? Do you mix rock from different places?

I put on some pics of my tank for you guys, Im quite attached to it and thats why im in 2 minds of wether to sett up a SW tank

http/i10.photobucket.com/albums/a125/rl1oyd/P62600252.jpg
http/i10.photobucket.com/albums/a125/rl1oyd/Front.jpg
http/i10.photobucket.com/albums/a125/rl1oyd/Ven.jpg

 

[l337dave]

I was gonna buy it from the public who are closing down there tanks? Do you have to put it all in at once? Do you mix rock from different places?

I put on some pics of my tank for you guys, Im quite attached to it and thats why im in 2 minds of wether to sett up a SW tank

http/i10.photobucket.com/albums/a125/rl1oyd/P62600252.jpg
http/i10.photobucket.com/albums/a125/rl1oyd/Front.jpg
http/i10.photobucket.com/albums/a125/rl1oyd/Ven.jpg

wow! I was looking at that one on ebay, you should def make it a reef it would look amazing! you could buy your rock in stages and mixing it from differant places is fine. just make sure you don't pay too much for it, there are always people with it for sale, you should aim to pay about £6-7.

 

[Chac]

wow! I was looking at that one on ebay, you should def make it a reef it would look amazing! you could buy your rock in stages and mixing it from differant places is fine. just make sure you don't pay too much for it, there are always people with it for sale, you should aim to pay about £6-7.

I think £6 - 7 is a bit optimistic but fingers crossed

If you add your Live rock in stages you can/will get minicycle whcih if there is any livestock in the tank at the time the increase in Ammonia & NirtIte may well kill them

 

[SkiFletch]

Feel free to mix and match LR from different sources, theres no problem with that. You might get mini cycles, especially at first. As your LR volume increases, the mini cycles will get less and less prevalent (if they even happen at all).