New setup

[jesusq]

Last year, I started a setup on my 120 gal. I had about 100 lbs of dried sand and about 120 lbs of dried rocked from macro rocks.

I used dr Tim one and only and fed the aquarium a bit of Ammonia to keep the fish alive. The tank crash and the nitrate was off the scale for almost two months before I decided to take down the tank. Now after almost six months (I moved into a house) I'm setting up my tank again.

This time, I'm taking more caution on the nitrates and have increases my sand bed from 3-4" to a 5-6", have added a second BRS bio pellet canister and have had the rocks and sand on the tank through running water and the skimmer on for two months.

Two days ago, i added salt and I took a small piece of raw salmon and dumped it on the rock. I will move it to the sand soon.

I was told that I should take off the rock after I aquascapped it and rinse them off with a power washer before starting the cycle again. When I started the cycle last year I didn't have any fish on it. It was just the dr Tim one and only bacteria added.

What do you suggest?


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[nanoreefing4fun]

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

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

Sound like you on the right track to a new start... frequent water changes & purigen chemical filtration is how I control my nitrates

 

[Snid]

Welcome Aboard, Matey!

Yup. You are on the right track to success, so it seems. I'm not one for adding things like Dr. Tim's One and Only, but using that previously wouldn't have harmed anything with where you are at now (at least I highly doubt it). It sounds like the previous tank crash might have been from adding fish too soon, but not sure as the timeline mentioned is vague. Patience is the key. Wait until the tank cycles before adding anything. Once the Ammonia spikes, then the Nitrites spike, and then the Nitrates start to spike, that's when it is usually best to start adding a CUC and doing water changes. Also, once the tank cycles, you will want to keep adding a small amount of food of some sort to continue feeding the beneficial bacteria. The purpose of the cycle isn't to get rid of Ammonia, Nitrites, or Nitrates... The purpose of the cycle is to cultivate the beneficial bacteria that eats those things and then keep them living in the tank so that they are always consuming it before it becomes a problem.

 

[goma]

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