Back to the reef.....the hobby I just can't kick

[jimbanks77]

Hi everyone, my name is Jim and I'm about to embark on a reef journey. About 10 years ago I started a 75 gallon fish only tank and loved it. I'll admit that last time around i was a bit ambitious and might have hurried things into my tank leading to some eventual chemical/algae issues. I also went over (although only slightly) on the amount of fish and bio-load in there. Yeah, i know, I had issues The thought of using a quarantine tank and waiting longer to introduce my fish to his new home was unheard of!! I got that tank under control and then was talked into a reef system in a biocube by my ex-wife. We both loved it and found the self contained lighting/filtration/skimming to be entirely convenient. There was a hammer in there, an anemone, a clownfish, a purple lobster, amongst a hard-working clean up crew. Fast forward 7 years and the power goes out for a week while we're on vacation. I came home and nothing survived. At that time I didn't have the patience or money to get everything running again so the tanks were taken down and put in the basement.

So here I am a decade later with a new biocube being delivered today, a new found respect for the delicate eco-system in a reef, a better budget, and thankfully a generator which will keep things running in the very likely event of a power outage in the sticks of New Hampshire. Last time around I found Reef Sanctuary and relied on the help of some of the experienced members to save my old tank. I couldn't help but notice along the way that they had one thing I didn't-the patience to just wait things out!! Now I want to keep in touch and keep you all up do date on my build. I'm low-tech so the pictures might suck but i'll do my best!

So to the friends and moderators at RS, thanks for having me back. I'll rely on your help and hopefully I can someday return the favor...or at least provide a couple of laughs.

Jim
14gallon biocube

 

[Bearjohnson]

Good to have you back Jim!

Start a tank thread so you can make us all drool

 

[Snelly40]

welcome back!!!! I recently took the plunge again too haha! good luck brother!!!

 

[goma]

Welcome back to RS! Start a tank thread so we can follow your journey!! :swmfish:

 

[jimbanks77]

Wow, you guys sure are a demanding group! I love watching the tanks progress for everyone so I intend to do the same.

If I had some general questions about what I would want to do to get this thing kickstarted would that be best in a tank thread? I'm just looking for info like this-I want to get the cycle started and finished without delay-is it best to just add the sand and live rock at the same time and get the clock ticking or is there some reason to do this slowly? I'm pretty familiar with the chemistry aspects of this adventure but only pretty familiar! I'm thinking I would like to just to take the plunge (pun intended) and add it all at once. Keep the lights out and the water surface moving with a powerhead from my old tank, do some water changes, and keep measuring. I definitely intend to make sure the water conditions are right before putting anyfish/coral/cuc in there of course.

Here or in a tank thread guys? And thanks in advance for joining me on the journey!

 

[goma]

I'll answer you here and then when you start a tank thread, you can do any followup.

Yes, you can add the sand, live rock and water all at the same time. One of the best things to do is also add a raw deli shrimp at the same time. This will decay and be an ammonia source that will kick start your cycle.

Here is your typical cycle. Don't worry about they days across the bottom as many factors can affect the timing (condition of live rock). The important thing to look for is the rise and fall to zero of ammonia and then the rise and fall to zero of Nitrites. Once that is done, the cycle is complete and you can do a large water change or a series of water changes to reduce Nitrates and add a CUC.

 

[DianaKay]

Hi Jim
Sounds very exciting that you are getting back into the reef keeping hobby :yehoo:
I didn't have much of clue 20 years ago with my FOWLR as to what I was doing & I'm finding it WAY MORE FUN to actually be learning as I go what I need to know & RS has made it all possible
I'm very glad you are here to share & learn with us...So get that tank thread started so I too can follow along.
VERY BEST WISHES!! :biker

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

 

Start a new tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along - we love pics

Welcome back Jim !

 

[mcentire1123]

Welcome to RS!

 

[whippetguy]

Hi Jim, welcome back to reefing and Reef Sanctuary! Looking forward to watching you on your journey.

 

[ReefLady]

Moved to Reef Chronicles forum at Jimbanks77's request.



Chronicle away!

 

[jimbanks77]

Greg, thanks for that chart! I know there's nothing exact about the dates but it's a great reference. I have requested to have this thread moved to the chronicles before you guys even suggest it

It begins....
I grabbed 20 pounds of live sand, about 10 pounds of live rock, and 14 gallons of RO/DI water from the LFS. They set me up with some high quality salt called Red Sea Coral Pro Salt-online reviews look pretty solid. I also got some of the tank floss stuff and some recommended items for the middle chamber in the back of the cube-Purigen I believe (crushed up looking pieces of rock) and a little packet of some fine material whose name escapes me.

So I grabbed the goods, stopped and got my kids from school and went to work. We carried 14 gallons worth of water from my car over the icy driveway and got that inside warming up. Next step was to remove the bio-balls. Thankfully I have an 8 year old with 8 year old arms that could get to the bottom of the chamber! In the meantime I mixed 12 gallons of water thinking that would be enough for the 14gallon Biocube. I was wrong, it only needed 11. Since i couldn't locate my hydrometer I eyeballed the mix using the charts and put it in the tank. I have since found the hydrometer and will be testing tonight. Before I even added the water a small starfish came out of the rock and was hanging out in the sand. It looked like either a serpent or brittle. I'll get him out of there before adding anything that it might eat. My understanding is that the serpent IS reef safe where the brittle is NOT. This game is expensive enough without having our stuff eat our other stuff! I also couldn't find my heater or thermometer so i had to order new ones. While i was at it I grabbed a pack of those quick test strips for water qualione of the Hydor Koralia nano circulation pumps which always worked well for me in my old cube....did anyone know that reefing can be expensive?

I took some pics that I'll post but it's pretty boring so far!!

Two quick questions for you guys if you don't mind.
1)I have the old rock from a tank i shut down years ago-It used to be live but it's now dusty and dry. If I clean this stuff off with the RO/DI is there any reason I shouldn't put it in the tank? I was thinking I would use it as a base and put the better looking rock in a more prominent position. I believe the dead rock will eventually be 'seeded' with some of the life out of the sand and live rock.

2)Cycling-wise I've heard the raw deli shrimp technique which works. I mentioned this to the folks at the LFS who have never steered me wrong and they suggested just using a clown fish since I intend to own one anyway. I've done it before and the fish came out just fine. Beyond asking the fish to live through a little bit of stress is there any reason I shouldn't just go with the fish instead of the shrimp??

Thanks again and I look forward to hearing back!

Jim

 

[DianaKay]

I'm going to suggest you add the deli shrimp instead of the clownfish. Your tank cycle will involve an ammonia spike as well as nitrites that can be very rough on the clown fish & could even kill it :tears:
The deli shrimp will work to provide your good bacteria a food source, it's a better choice...I think most here will agree. The LFS won't miss the sale of a clownfish, it just needs to be after your cycle completes.
I'd say just clean off your dried LR as long as you know it was never in a tank with copper treatment & it will cycle with your tank. It will be full of life again in no time. I think the little brittle star is good score.
Here's a favorite bookmark for hitchhiker ID: http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml
Excited to see pictures of your tank beginning :chair::lurk:

 

[goma]

Since i couldn't locate my hydrometer I eyeballed the mix using the charts and put it in the tank. I have since found the hydrometer and will be testing tonight. I would recommend getting a refractometer to use instead of a hydrometer, as hydrometers are very unreliable. Here's the one I use and is highly recommended:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/refractometer-for-reading-salinity-with-calibration-fluid.html

I took some pics that I'll post but it's pretty boring so far!! Awesome!

Two quick questions for you guys if you don't mind.
1)I have the old rock from a tank i shut down years ago-It used to be live but it's now dusty and dry. If I clean this stuff off with the RO/DI is there any reason I shouldn't put it in the tank? I was thinking I would use it as a base and put the better looking rock in a more prominent position. I believe the dead rock will eventually be 'seeded' with some of the life out of the sand and live rock. Clean it up good and sure you can use it.

2)Cycling-wise I've heard the raw deli shrimp technique which works. I mentioned this to the folks at the LFS who have never steered me wrong and they suggested just using a clown fish since I intend to own one anyway. I've done it before and the fish came out just fine. Beyond asking the fish to live through a little bit of stress is there any reason I shouldn't just go with the fish instead of the shrimp?? Please don't use a clownfish as cycling with a live fish is just mean to the fish as it will stress it dramatically and it could die. Why would you risk killing an expensive fish when you can add a 50- cent shrimp and accomplish the same thing? That is some bad advice from your LFS.

Thanks again and I look forward to hearing back!

Jim

 

[jimbanks77]

Thank you both for the advice. I'm all about fish kharma so I'm not about to put one in danger for the cycle! Given all the good info I've gotten at the LFS it actually did surprise me that they would suggest that. Raw shrimp it is. Do I just put it right in the sand? And good call on the refractometer, Greg. I was going to use the hydrometer that I already have just to get the sg in the ballpark and then was planning to fine tune it with a refractometer later. This tank is going to contain some coral so I'm approaching it with much more attention to detail than my old fish only tank. I'll be tapping you kind folks for some advice on a reef chemical kit in a few weeks!

DianaKay, thanks for the hitchhiker's guide-good stuff!

 

[goma]

Raw shrimp it is. Do I just put it right in the sand?

God call on the Karma! You can mash it a little bit and then just put it in wedged between a couple of rocks.

 

[ALW]

Congrats on the biocube 14-love mine and all is well within the tank-trying to post pics but I just can't figure out the photobucket thing!

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

alw - are you able to get a pic loaded to photobucket?