Here We Go Again!

[DrHank]

The reason that you get different opinions is that there is often more than one way to do things. Personally, I go with the consensus. I ask the question (and this is the best place to ask it IMO) and wait to hear what all have to say. Then I process the replies and make a decision on what to do. Usually (not always) I go with what the majority suggest. That's why when you've asked me a question that I've given you my opinion but suggested that you ask the others.

There is such a tremendous amount of experience on this site that it often astounds me. Also, the members are truly caring (something you don't find often on other sites) and want to see you succeed.

You are doing very well. The most important thing that you appear to have already learned is not to act impulsively. It's often also the most difficult thing to do.

[Melanie]

Just a quick update. I got my 80 lbs. of uncured Carribbean live rock while I was at work. I called my son and told him to put it in my empty tank until I got home. When I arrived, there was a teetering mountain of rock and about 1/2 inch of garbage on the floor of the tank. ha ha ha. I was too tired to clean up all the mess last night.

I found the instructions that came with the rock. I want to use the rock to cycle the tank but even so, I'm supposed to clean off the excess detritus. Extra work for me tonight cleaning out filters and vaccuuming the sand bed.

This morning at least half of the detritus was GONE! I don't know if all the creatures in the sand bed came out to eat or if the rock actually had some organizms in it that cleaned up. It's a mystery!!

I ordered 20 lbs. of live rock rubble to replace my bioballs and it should be here in 3 days. I also ordered 20 lbs. of bamboni base rock because I want to use it as a feather duster home eventually.

[Dentoid]

Originally Posted by Melanie

I have to say one thing that has been a little frustrating. You guys may agree. The more I read on reef tanks, the more confused I get. One source says you MUST do "this" or you will have a horrible tank and another source says you must NEVER do the same thing or you will have a horrible tank. Even here at RS I get such conflicting advice that my head spins.

How do you guys handle that?

Hey Melanie! I had a feeling you were getting overwhelmed that's why I haven't posted here. I too saw that you were getting conflicting information so I decided to take myself out of the mix. I've been following your progress though. Best of luck to you.

[Melanie]

Thanks a bunch Scott. I actually missed your posts.

I was getting a little overwhelmed and confused but I decided to go with this guide and tweak it a little with some suggestions I received here.

Live Aquaria Reef Set Up

[Melanie]

So I spent all evening cleaning my live rock, cleaning off the sand bed, emptying the bioballs, and cleaning the filters.

I didn't wear gloves and now my hands are burning. I think there were some tiny bristles and stuff on the rock because I feel like millions of splinters are in my hands.

I found two beautiful small brain corals and some gorgeous maroon macroalgae that looks like it may bounce back. There were more things I couldn't identify, but no creatures like crabs or worms that found.

I made my coworkers look at pictures of my rock. Poor folks don't know why I'm so excited about pieces of rock.

[bluespotjawfish]

Looks like progress! The bamboni base rock is interesting. Great idea for the tube worms, but these are also good hiding holes for smaller fishies. I might just have to go find me some of this stuff!

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by Melanie

I didn't wear gloves and now my hands are burning. I think there were some tiny bristles and stuff on the rock because I feel like millions of splinters are in my hands.

That's normal when working with your rock with bare hands. My hands were exactly the same way. It felt like I had been working in a briar patch or something.

Originally Posted by Melanie

S]
I found two beautiful small brain corals and some gorgeous maroon macroalgae that looks like it may bounce back. There were more things I couldn't identify, but no creatures like crabs or worms that found.

Great find! That's very exciting! If I had to bet, I would bet there are a LOT of things you didn't see because they were so retracted and hidden. I went through my LR with a fine toothed comb and was SURE I got everything. WRONG!! There's tons of life hidden in them there rocks (spoken with a strong hillbilly accent).

Keep up the good work and your co-workers will GROW to appreciate your tank as it matures. Some may even follow your lead! I have one customer who followed My progress and now he has his own SW set-up as well.

Good work girl!

Allen

[DrHank]

I know that you were a bit discouraged when the rock came in but I think that you're going to change your mind soon. As the rock cures in your tank, all kinds of new stuff will appear. It is also interesting to look at the tank with a red light after the lights go out. It becomes a totally different world.

Before you ask I'm going to tell you how to make a red light. Take a cheap dollar store flashlight, get some red taillight lens tape from an auto parts store, remove the plastic lens from the flashlight, cover it with a layer of the tape, put it back together and you have it.

Now you can see what goes on after dark on the reef. By the way, the rock does look pretty good.

[Melanie]

Here is the purple macro algae on one of my rocks. The color is a little off in the photo, but it's deep purple.


Here is is a pic of all the bubbles in my tank since I added the live rock. I hope my scrub brush didn't have any soap residue on it. I'm going to pick up a phosphate test on Sunday to make sure I don't have a problem.


A blurry picture of my brain coral. I have 2 of them on one of my rocks.

[Melanie]

The reason that you get different opinions is that there is often more than one way to do things. Personally, I go with the consensus. I ask the question (and this is the best place to ask it IMO) and wait to hear what all have to say. Then I process the replies and make a decision on what to do. Usually (not always) I go with what the majority suggest. That's why when you've asked me a question that I've given you my opinion but suggested that you ask the others.

There is such a tremendous amount of experience on this site that it often astounds me. Also, the members are truly caring (something you don't find often on other sites) and want to see you succeed.

You are doing very well. The most important thing that you appear to have already learned is not to act impulsively. It's often also the most difficult thing to do.

Thank you so much for your kind words Dr. Hank!

Looks like progress! The bamboni base rock is interesting. Great idea for the tube worms, but these are also good hiding holes for smaller fishies. I might just have to go find me some of this stuff!

Bluespot, I ordered it at Oceanpro Aquatics and I'll take a picture and let you guys know what I think when it arrives.

I know that you were a bit discouraged when the rock came in but I think that you're going to change your mind soon. As the rock cures in your tank, all kinds of new stuff will appear. It is also interesting to look at the tank with a red light after the lights go out. It becomes a totally different world.

Before you ask I'm going to tell you how to make a red light. Take a cheap dollar store flashlight, get some red taillight lens tape from an auto parts store, remove the plastic lens from the flashlight, cover it with a layer of the tape, put it back together and you have it.

Now you can see what goes on after dark on the reef. By the way, the rock does look pretty good.

Neat idea Dr. Hank! I'm going to have to try that!

[Melanie]

OMG, I almost forgot to tell you guys about the coolest thing that happened yesterday. Hermes, the hermit crab, was looking a little depressed in the little QT with no sand. I thought he might be hungry because the beast ate constantly in the big tank. So I pull out a little strip of the seaweed selects. I couldn't find the veggie clip so I stuck it on the end of a stick intending to place it under a rock. About one second after the strip hit the water Hermes perked up. He scampered over and waited while I lowered it and then GRABBED it off of the stick! It was so cute! It was like hand-feeding him. I will try to remember to get a video next week when I give him another piece. I love that little guy.

[Melanie]

Sheesh I'm talkative this morning. I feel like I'm talking to myself since none of my buddies are logged on yet. he he he.

OK, here is my plan for setting up my reef tank. I got it from Drs Foster and Smith and I respect that site. I've tweaked it a little because the size of my tank is different, and based on advice I've received here and other reading.

Week 1: Assemble the Aquarium and Cure the Live Rock (7/18/07)
You will need:

• 46" Bowfront Stand <--already had a stand
• 46 Gallon Bowfront System II Aquarium (includes built-in filtration) <--72 gallon bowfront
• Custom Sea life PC 36" hood, including an ultra daylight and actinic lamp, or a comparable fixture <--have the hood, will be buying a HO T5 on 8/1
• 100W Visi-Therm heater <--purchased 300W
• Grasslin Timer <--got the digital power strip with 4 day/night outlets and 4 continuous
• Two-20# bags of Indo Pacific Black Sand <--decided to go with a deeper sand bed and got my sand from the Gulf myself.
• 50 gal mix of Tropic Marin salt <--using Instant Ocean and water I collected 20 miles off-shore that I aged for 3 days to allow the sediment to settle. Will be switching exclusively to Instant Ocean once I'm finished with the curing process.
• 36# of Select Lalo live rock <--using Carribbean rock because of the price. 80 lbs. live rock in display and 30 lbs. base rock. 20 lbs. live rock rubble in wet/dry trickle filter
• 22# of Select Premium Fiji live rock

1. Pour the sand into the bottom of the aquarium. (7/15)
2. Fill aquarium with dechlorinated water.
3. Add salt and mix until the specific gravity measures 1.025.
4. Arrange the live rock as desired. (7/18 added 80 lbs. Sump rubble to arrive next week.)
5. Install the heater and hood. (7/21)
6. Wait 4 weeks.

Week 4: Add your First Inhabitants and a Protein Skimmer
You will need:

• Prizm Skimmer, <--ordered the Octopus, will arrive next week.
• 30 gallon Deluxe Algae Attack Pack (various snails and crabs)<--will be ordering the 55 gallon pack

1. Install the skimmer per the instructions.
2. Use the timer to set the lights to go on and off in 12-hour increments.
3. Acclimate and release your new inhabitants into the aquarium.
4. Wait 2 weeks.

Week 6: Add your First Corals
You will need:

• 50 gal mix of Tropic Marin salt <--switching over to exclusive use of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals.
• Beginner Coral Pack (Contains Button Polyp, Yellow Colony Polyp, Hairy Mushroom Coral, and Bullseye Mushroom Coral)<--plus 2 more beginner corals in the same species.

1. Prepare fresh water by dechlorinating it, mixing in the salt, and pre-heating it.
2. Perform a 25% water change.
3. Acclimate the corals and place them onto the live rock as desired.
4. Wait 2 weeks.

Week 8: Add Aquacultured Corals
You will need:

• Silver Branch Pumping Xenia
• Regular Pumping Xenia
• White Starburst Polyps
• Colony Polyps
• Cauliflower Colt Coral,
• Kenya Tree Coral
• Toadstool Mushroom Leather Coral,
• Spaghetti Finger Leather Coral,
• Green Starburst Polyp

1. Acclimate the corals and place them into the live rock as desired.
2. Wait 2 weeks.

Weeks 10 and 12: Add Fish
Add 2 (3) Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp, 3 (4) Hawaii Feather Dusters, and a total of 6 (sticking to this even though I have a bigger tank) fish. Choose from:

• Ocellaris Clownfish (Multiples ok),
• Fridmani Pseudochromis (Only 1),
• Six-line Wrasse (Only 1),
• Green Chromis (Multiples ok),
• Kaudern's Cardinalfish (Multiples ok),

MY List (one each):

• Firefish*
• Ocellaris clownfish
• Yellow Watchman Goby
• Neon Blue Goby
• Royal Gramma Basslet
• Kaudern's Cardinalfish

1. Prepare fresh water by dechlorinating it, mixing in the salt, and pre-heating it.
2. Perform a 25% water change.
3. Acclimate the fish and add them to your aquarium.
4. Feed thawed frozen food, twice daily.
5. Wait 2 weeks.

Follow steps 1 - 3 above and then add your choice of 2 (sticking with 2 even though I have a larger tank) of the following fish:

• Carpenter Wrasse (Only 1),
• Flame Hawk (Only 1),
• Coral Beauty (Only 1 - Small),
• Sailfin Algae Blenny (Only 1 - Small)[color="red"]

MY List (one each):

• Sailfin Algae Blenny
• Carpenter Wrasse

Feed thawed frozen food, twice daily.

Maintaining your New Ecosystem

1. Perform 25% water changes, at least monthly. <--plan on 10 gallons weekly
2. Feed a variety of foods to your fish such as: Mysis shrimp, Ocean Plankton, Mega Marine Algae, Tetra Marine Granules, and Sea Veggies.
3. Add the following to maintain healthy corals:

• Phytoplankton (for feather duster)
• Iodine
• Calcium
• Buffer
• Strontium/Molybdenum

Notes: I also plan to remove the sponge pre-filters (X3) and exclusively use the protein skimmer when it arrives. Another thing I will do is weekly water tests for the 3 months. If the levels aren't right, I won't move to the next step.

[lcstorc]

Not a bad plan. I would go more slowly on the fish additions though. If you add too many at once your bio-load jumps and often kicks off a mini cycle.
Other than that sounds like a decent plan.
Oh the one other place I disagree is on the additives like iodine. Don't add it unless you test for it. It is very easy to overdose the tank and that is not good at all.

BTW. Sorry if we are giving you conflicting advice. It is just that everyone has their opinion. Often we agree but there are times that we just don't. Often either way will work and it is a matter of what works better. This can be different for different set-ups.
Particularly when I was new I picked a couple of people that to me seemed like they knew what they were doing. Then I went to their photo gallery and looked at their tanks. If the tank was incredible then they went on my mental list of people to pay attention to most seriously. As time goes buy people keep getting added to the list. It is a lot easier now since I have learned the basics. I can at least read a couple of their posts and get a pretty good idea. Also some of the poeple here like to try the cutting edge new answer that hasn't been around very long. Others like the tried and true method.
It is awfully hard to tell the difference. Just remember we are all trying to help in our own way.

[Melanie]

Ok, I think Lynn is right. It feels like too many fish at once. What about this? Four each time instead of 6 and 2.[/color]

Weeks 10 and 12: Add Fish
Add (3) Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp, (4) Hawaii Feather Dusters, and a total of 4 fish.

• Firefish*
• Ocellaris clownfish
• Royal Gramma Basslet
• Kaudern's Cardinalfish

1. Prepare fresh water by dechlorinating it, mixing in the salt, and pre-heating it.
2. Perform a 25% water change.
3. Acclimate the fish and add them to your aquarium.
4. Feed thawed frozen food, twice daily.
5. Wait 2 weeks.

Follow steps 1 - 3 above and then add the 4 following fish:

• Sailfin Algae Blenny
• Carpenter Wrasse
• Yellow Watchman Goby
• Neon Blue Goby

Notes: I also plan to remove the sponge pre-filters (X3) and exclusively use the protein skimmer when it arrives. Another thing I will do is weekly water tests for the 3 months. If the levels aren't right, I won't move to the next step. Will test for trace elements before I add any.

[Melanie]

Bad news, Worse news, or really really terrible news?

Bad news - my "copepods" are sea lice.

Worse news - My new pump isn't working like I planned. The water level is almost over the top of the tank and no matter how much I scoop out and put in the sump it keeps filling up. But I have to have a high level in the sump to cover the pump! What do I do????

Really really terrible news - the LFS tested my water and said he had never seen ammonia levels so high. He said the live rock would die if I didn't get it out of the tank. He sent me home with ammolock, 3 fluval ammonia remover bags, and 3 poly filters that pull ammonia from the water.