Starting again

[W Churchill]

6 months ago I got myself a tiny all in one 48 ltr tank to see how I would do keeping corals. Think I did pretty well. Fish and shrimp all with me, toadstools, vase coral, asparagus thingy, mushrooms, sponge, anemone, candy cane and others all doing well. Lost a star fish (think it got trapped and tore a leg off) and a clam (no idea why). In fact one of my toadstools has now outgrown the tank, has to be 8" long, head 6" across with tentacle things about an inch.

Any how today I bought an aqua one 900 (170 ltr) with marisys 240 all in one sump thingy (only I don't get the sump thingy til' Thursday) Have set it all up with 25 Kg of sand and 3 extra 1,000 ltr/h heads.

Before getting to my point, I noticed the lighting is a lot brighter than my old tank, how long should I keep T5 lighting before changing it, I assume it goes off, or is this just because my new tank is empty and likely a little cleaner.

Moving on. I'm impatient (yeah, I know I shouldn't be) but I was wondering if I can get my rock without having the sump thingy (it'll only be a day), then of course the old chestnut, how much rock.

I filled my tank with tap water and intend to remove the nasties with antiphos, should I wait until I have my sump to put it in or can I just drop a bag full in the tank to get things started.

Also, I want to keep my tiny tank and put sea horses in, so don't want to remove the rock, but want to move a few corals. How do I go about moving the anemone for example which is now stuck to a rock or my toadstools which have moved onto my main rock, some are on two rocks.

Also what about poly filter, was told not to use it on my old tank, but am told to use it this time round- I'm confused.

All suggestions welcome.

[vdituri]

Alot of questions in there.
I'll try to answer some of them.

The T5 lights, a "general" rule of thumb (not a law) is 6 months. Lightbulbs tend to change light spectrum towards the end of the spectrum that fosters algae.
Some people go 1yr and then change. Play it by ear. Look for algae changes and go from there.

Liverock, another rule of thumb (again not a law) is 1lb per gallon. I'll let you do the metric conversion. The more you can add, the better it will help with your natural filtration. You should be fine adding the liverock (LR) before the sump.

As far as moving the anemone and toadstools, try to limit their exposure to air. The anemone has no skeleton to support it's weight out of water. Try to move it in a bowl of water to the new tank. If the anemone is on 2 rocks, I would just move the rocks. But if that isn't going to happen, try a tickling the foot of the anemone with a paint brush to make it let go, or an icecube, or someone mentioned pointing a powerhead at the foot to make it let go. I've only tried the paintbrush.
Try the same with the toadstool, although a toadstool has a more rigid body.

The poly filter warning is because it traps food and dirt and can cause a build up of nitrates over time. If you promise to keep it clean and check it regularly then it's o.k. Otherwise it is easier to remove it and not worry about it. You can use it from time to time if you have problems with particles floating around.

That's all I have this round.

Round 2. lol Hope this helps.

[W Churchill]

Thanks Vic, I'll get the rock today and pick up some new T5's while I'm there.

[lcstorc]

I'll add a couple more pieces.
You are still going to need to cycle the new tank. Using some of the old LR will help but you need a cycle regardless.
Also do some investigating about seahorses. They need a very partivular environment. The thing most people have trouble with is the temp. They need a temp of 72-74 degrees (don't know the conversion, sorry)
Don't hurry on the new tank. Take your time just like you did with the first. It will need time to cycle and mature and then you can start moving things. Also I would move the nem last. They really need a stable environment and cannot tolerate the parameter swings of a new tank.

[W Churchill]

Originally Posted by lcstorc

I'll add a couple more pieces.
You are still going to need to cycle the new tank. Using some of the old LR will help but you need a cycle regardless.
Also do some investigating about seahorses. They need a very partivular environment. The thing most people have trouble with is the temp. They need a temp of 72-74 degrees (don't know the conversion, sorry)
Don't hurry on the new tank. Take your time just like you did with the first. It will need time to cycle and mature and then you can start moving things. Also I would move the nem last. They really need a stable environment and cannot tolerate the parameter swings of a new tank.

Yes I learned my lesson with the first tank ,started adding livestock too early (even though nitrite was 0), struggled but survived. This time around no livestock until at least the end of July. Going on vacation in July and don't want to leave my eldest son to look after a difficult tank, besides which he has enough on his plate looking after the other tank, my youngest sons freshwater tank, parrots, dogs and chickens. (Hey got to leave him some time to have some parties)