new tank...

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rillidan

New Member
Well, I'm still learning about saltwater tanks. My original tanks that I posted about (I inherited them from a neighbor) are gone. I really can't stand jbj stuff... so for my birthday, I recieved a new 24 gallon aquapod. I'm still trying to prep it for it's future life. I have a few questions regarding setup and some other simple things.

Question 1. What should I have in the back chambers of the tank besides the pump. I've read that I should take out all the junk in the back and stick in live rock. I've read that I should never use bio balls and the little white pasta looking stuff.

Question 2. Is it good to have live rock inside the tank for it's cycle? I'm using all my old rocks from the other tanks. All of the little worm inside died out so it's like starting over new. The rocks are still "alive", they don't smell like something out of the ordinary.

Question 3. How long should I wait till I start adding grabs and snails to help it along?


The water is cloudy right now, so I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but it's been like that since I first moved stuff over to the tank. I have the two sponges that the tank came with inside the back. I also added a bag of the black stuff since that's what I was using in the old tanks.


HELP?

I'll take some pictures to give you an idea of what's going on.
 
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mrfipp

New Member
Im guessing the black stuff is activated carbon. is it new carbon?

Different people like to run different things in their tanks. Broken bits of live rock is a good thing to put in the back/filter area. You can also mod these with a light to run a small refugium. There are numerous options here.

Yes, running live rock while you cycle is fine. You may experience some algae and die off, but it will all work out. crabs and snails can be added once your ammonia and nitrites have dropped to near zero.

The cloudy water should subside with time, its probably a mix of fine sand and detritous waste that has been suspended from the move. If there is no life in the tank, you may want to turn off your pump for a few hours, this may help things settle.
 
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SaltWaterNewb

Member
1. IMO, you should place the heater back there, a skimmer if you are going to skim, a piece of filter sponge with filter floss on top of that (replace the floss every few days and clean the sponge out just as often), and maybe some chaeto. I am of the school of thinking that the small amount of LR rubble you can fit back there does not have enough benefit to out weight the hassle of removing the rubble weekly to clean the chamber. The only thing IMO that it could be useful for is giving pods a place to produce safe from fish.

2. Since you are starting fresh there is no problem curing the rock in the tank. If you ever need to add new rock to the tank then you will want to cure it in a separate container to prevent starting a cycle in the tank. Add your CUC when ammonia and nitrites are ZERO. Use a quality liquid test kit, stay away from testing strips.

3. After the cycle is over which means ammonia and nitrites are ZERO. At that point you should have nitrates. Lower those by doing a large (25-50%) water change. Then you should be ok to start adding your CUC. Do it slowly so that the bacteria has time to acclimate to the new bioload. Since CUC has a small load I would wait at least a week between additions.
 
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rillidan

New Member
Thanks, I only have the sponges in the back from what some of the reefers at the lfs told me. I have a testing kit, but I'm waiting about a week until everything is done and all the nitrates and ammonia are down.
(They're really really high)... I had bioballs in the back so I removed them because I was told they're not really good for a reef tank. I changed the water and had to start over. I bought the tank for my birthday and moved everything into it (including the sand from the old tank... big no no... poor clownfish died as well as alot of the worms). I just have a few ugly little brown striped worms in the rocks and a little bumblebee snail still alive. There's plenty of LR already in the tank so I'm good on that area, the sand has settled down so that's a good thing I suppose. I have a heater, but right now it's been in the 80/90s here in california, so I took it out and turned it off. I'm on day 2 since the water was changed (zzz... so stressfull being a newb)
 
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rillidan

New Member
So how long does it normally take for the nitrates/nitrites to even out? I mean, is it ok to add a few snails? I have a bumblebee snail that's still alive and kicking, I'm just curious if it would work.
 
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dbjacks

New Member
I don't know if I would do a large water change so soon on such a new tank

In my experience, that same move put me back at least two weeks. I changed my water and the filter and I lost all the nitrate converting bacteria (which you want!)

In essence, my tank needed to cycle again. Check what your nitrates are after your tank cycles with a quality test kit (i like API) and go from there.

Also, there is an amazing product called Algone which is a lifesaver for nano-reefers. It collects nitrates and it needs to be changed every 3 day to 2 weeks, depending on how raised your nitrates are.

Fipp, I heard that putting LR in the back chambers would just create more nitrates; also, how'd you do a refugium I'm looking into setting on up.
 
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SaltWaterNewb

Member
Well, the main bacteria in the tank takes care of ammonia and nitrites, not nitrates. Besides, the water does not contain these bacteria so essentially you could do a 100% water change and not have a cycle as long as your tank was established. Unless you have a large DSB, the only way to effectively reduce nitrates, especially in a nano tank is with chemical media and/or water changes. IMO, there is no need for such chemical media unless you have high nitrates that are uncontrolled by doing water changes and then you have an issue bigger than just high nitrates.

If you changed out your filter media then that is most likely were you ran in to trouble because that would have harbored bacteria. That is why IMO filter media should not use used during the cycle because you want ALL your bacteria to grow in the rock and sand.
 
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rillidan

New Member
Well, let's just the say the nitrates are in the red :cryinga:

The main reason I did the water change was because of the dead/dying things in my tank. Poor clowns :pills
 
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Marine1

New Member
Hey rillidan the answers SaltwaterNewb gave you are pretty much spot on. It will take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks to complete a cycle. Your best bet is to learn patience. Everyone suggests waiting because almost all of us have had problems in one area or another because of impatience.

Patience is key in SW world. Easier said than done I know, but it will be better for your wallet and the livestock you hope to get. Good luck and snap some pics when you get up and going with some life in there.

I like the AP24. Did you get it with the 150w sunpod? I was debating between that and the BC29 recently and I ended up going with the BC29 purely just for more water volume and I can't have an open tank because I have young kids.
 
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rillidan

New Member
patience... UNDERSTOOD!

Yeah, I don't know what what the "sunpod" is... I'm just using the stock lighting... I'll get something stronger later on. I honestly have to say, I like the aquapod way better than the jbj24... better all around quality. The hood I ordered from JbJ came without a protective plastic covering over the lights and the whole hood was ruined... I like the little night lights on the ap :gcool
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Ok. You have fish in the tank when it is cycling? Normally that is not done as the ammonia is toxic to fish. If it is possible see if a friend or LFS will hold your livestock while your tank cycles in my opinion.
 
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rillidan

New Member
Ok, a short story is in order...


This new tank was suppose to replace the old (crappier jbj)... when I purchased the tank, I guess I might have left out a few details or something and the guy who works there (he's actually very honest and well versed in the hobby) said it would be fine to just transfer everything over to the tank.

I moved everything over including the used sand, that's where it went bad. I left with my mom to go on vacation for four days, so I had no idea what was happening. I return home to find everything dead or dying... all of the bristleworms were dead, my snails croaked (all except that one bumblebee snail) and my clownfish. I learned a very hard and sad lesson when I came home... DON'T MOVE THE SAND.

That explains the lone snail... he's one tough little guy I'll say it now.

The ammonia near zero, nirates are in the red... but it's still chugging around munching on w/e is growing.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Ah ok. Makes sense now. Well I'm sorry the lesson had to learned that way. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised that if you did a massive water change the snail would die from going from such high nitrates to really low. Just a thought. :cry:
 
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rillidan

New Member
Yeah, I get your point mate, but I'm just going to wait it out, PATIENCE IS KEY. So hopefully that nifty little bugger will keep on kicking.

Quick question though, the few worms that did manage to live are living in the rocks. I have no idea what they're called but they never hurt anything. They're brown and some even have stripes, they're connected to a body that resembles a pale peanut... any Idea what they're called?
 
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rillidan

New Member
Thanks newb, they're peanut worms (ugly little buggers outside of their rocks). Should I do anything about them or just let them be? I mean, they're considered to be a pretty old species so that's really cool actually. :langle
 
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SaltWaterNewb

Member
On if there is some stuff in the tank that need light to live such as corals. If there is not, then you can leave them off if you want.
 
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