my big plans :)

[Snider82]

So, the wife gave me a 45ish gallon tank,  and i'v decided im going SW.  I'v done alot of reading and have started "fishless cycling".  its been 2 days. So far i have sand and a 10lb live rock.  i know, thats not enough live rock,  but i find it expencive. I plan in getting more live rock when i can afford it.  I have a filter the wife left for me to use, the fish store guy said it will do for now. iv added "Nutrafin Cycle" to the tank according to the direction.  so far after almost 2 full days, my ammonia levels are around 0.6ppm,  Ph: 7.9 and no nitrites yet.   
i plan on having just fish in the tank, i was thinking something agressive.

iv been researching about filters/skimmers/sump's.    i dont think im interesets in drilling my tank for a sump, but Possibly the one that hands off the back to drain to the sump.  that still involves my pulling my tank further away from the wall tho.

for now, i just want to follow my tank reading and see if i can get a stable healthy tank going.

anyway, thats where i stand and i will post more when somthing arises.. or happens in my tank.

[barabe]

Congratulations! I have a nice Triggerfish for you when you are ready. I'll make you a good deal. He is so tame I feed him raw shrimp from my hand...

[Snider82]

oh cool,  i'v been looking at photos of trigger fish, i really like the "queen trigger"   but they all are beautfull.

[az]

maybe you should start with a 10 gallon and upgrade to a 45 when you are ready, otherwise you would just be picking up dead fish/inverts every few days/wks.

[Vincenzo.]

good luck. fyi for a tank that size, i would have added all live rock first. it wont be able to take the bio load and you will have many casualties. so take you time. and remember one thing at a time.

vince

[Snider82]

I get what your saying,  i will probably pick up 20lb more of live rock on friday/saturday making it 30lb's.  then another 10 within 2 weeks from that.   i dont plan on adding fish untill i have enough live rock and my reading are correct and stable. am i ruining the organisums on my 10lb's of rock right now having not enough of it?  i hope its ok for now till i get the rest of my LR in there.   slow and steady i guess   im just soo excited to watch my reading fluctuate throughout the cycle.

i'v notice a couple tiny worm/centipide like things diging around in the bed,  i presume its a good thing to see action in there. 

[Vincenzo.]

for a 45 gal tank you should have At Least 50lbs.. if it was me imo i would have around 60lbs, especially if you dont have a sump and skimmer maybe even 65lbs. if you have questions, please post them...they're many knowledgeable people on this site they are willing to go into in depth questions&answers

vince

[Hookup]

Hey Snider,
  Welcome to the site/hobby/passion... Sounds like a slow and steady build for you my friend.  Though of course it would be faster to add all your LR at the same time, it's not a bad idea what you are planning; as far as i know anyhow...

  I think you'll have to wait till you get some stable readings... along the lines of 0ppm for Ammonia and Nitrite and < 10ppm Nitrate... Once you are there, i think you can get about 1" of fish for every 5lbs of rock... Though honestly i'm completely making that up based upon Nano-systems that I've been looking at recently...

  Also, 65gallons, nice first tank size IMO.  Bigger = easier always, and starting at 20gallons is hard... great to see you at 65!  Plus, you get into nice fish at that range, though over 120 you really get into some fish... LOL...

  One thing, if I can be so bold, take a good long look at aquascaping ideas from as many sources/ppl as you can find.  There are some good and some not-so-good styles out there... The best thing is to get an idea of something you like and try to clone it... live with it, then decide what you do or do not like and set it up again... Seriously, most of us do not like what we start out with and end up changing... which is fine for sure... but there are many styles of tanks...

Here are some samples of coral (reef) tanks, but rock-work in fish-only is still worth aquascaping isn't it?





  Keep us posted, and post photos....

[Snider82]

thanks everyone for the input,  its really helps.   i am going to ottawa this weekend to find the deals on live rock.  im going to stock up as much as possible,  i should be able to get enough to have 1lb per gallon.. and then ill only have a small ammount to add later.  i didnt think it would be so expencive to start up a SW tank,  but im going to do it!

i think im going to try my hand at this 45gallon tank for now,  knowing me tho,  ill end up upgrading when i can afford it. iv got a wedding to save up for, so it wont be anytime real soon.

Hookup, thats some REALLY nice rock work!  and i will take your tip into consideration when i bring home my next batch of live rock. i'v done the research on what is going to happen with the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. so i know what to expect,  i just have a feeling its going to be a long time for me.   

i take it right now with only 10 lbs of rock im not going to get enough ammonia to begin the cycle.

[Vincenzo.]

if you 'want' ammonia put in a finger nail size, or even half that.. of food in. the decay of food will kick start you up.

but fyi.. i would not run any lights. this entire time. go light less until you have added all your rock.. even after you have added the rock i'd do light less for a while. or you will have crazzzzy algae bloom on your rocks, sand bed, glass, .. and you wont have any clean up crew (cuc) to handle it... and with only having a few pounds of rock, you cant have much of a CUC.. it'll be hard to manage.

after all your rock is in, after about 1-2weeks add 2snails, 2-4hermit ...then wait 2weeks, then add a few more...ya ya, i know..slow process.

i ruined my first tank with adding to fast & with the lights on all the time. it took me like 6 months to get a handle on the algae.

best of luck
vince

[Snider82]

thanks for the tip vince.
i turned off my light,  ill leave it like that.  i gotta avoide the algae problem.  i dont mind this being a slow prosses. the longer i spend with the cycle, and what not the more i can learn before adding fish, and its fun.  i want to know enough about keeping the fish safe and happy before adding one.  i was thinking of going with a trigger fish (gotta read up on it more), so when i do add a "clean up crew" i will want to make sure they will be ok together.  guess i have more homework for tonight.   

[Vincenzo.]

adding fish is 'nightmare-ish' thing to. before you add your first fish i'd wait for a couple months. usually add only one fish at a time. with intervals of a month at least. for some quick info on that google quarantine tanks/ hospital tanks.  <<important info on not contaminating your tank with parasites and killing your fish.

for adding CUC it can be in about 2 weeks from initial start up. these critters will help the cycle dramatically. so only add Minimal. maybe a total of 3 snails and 2 hermits.

snails all have their own benefits..so choose one of each for better effects. and for hermits scarlet's are great, and so are the blue legs. just remember to keep a few empty shells in the tank or they will kill your snail's for theirs.

then i guess the next thing do some research on is acclimation. it's very important for your inverts and fish.

cheers,
vince

[Hookup]

I've posted this before somewhere but could not find the thread...

Cycling your tank is a process and is not ever dictated by a clock or calandar.   In general people tend to see the process take 4 to 6 weeks, but there are just too many factors for anyone to accurately perdict for any one specific system.

You are waiting until Ammonia and Nitrite read 0ppm for a consistent period, after they have spiked (i.e. gone from 0ppm up to something).  If you never got a reading on those you'd have one of two likely scenarios. a) the rock was %100 cured and "ready", meaning it came from a well established tank/system, or b) the cycle did not occur.

The time it takes is dependant on many factors, not the least of which is the quality of the rock in terms of "healthy organisims".  If you get a load of die-off, which is common, your cycle will take longer... if you start with cured and established rock from existing systems you might never even notice a cycle....

Get used to testing your system weekly right from the beginning.  In fact, right from the start, daily tests are a good idea so you can track the cycle.  Over time, you'll stop testing for ammonia and nitrite as they stabalize at 0ppm and having the same 0ppm test results for 3 solid months gets borring, but it never hurts to test.

Once you get thru your cycle, you might want to add other tests based upon what you end up keeping in your tank.  Common tests would include Calcium, Alk, Magnesium and phosphate.

[Snider82]

so, between you help here, and research, i have a strong understanding uf the ammonia/Nitrites -> Nitrates cycle.  I check my readings twice a day.    so, i plan on adding my live rock on saturday, and 2 weeks after that i will get some snails/hermit crabs.  im going to stop there untill i have 0ppm Ammonia/nitrites. once i get them reading i will most likly continue to take my readings for another month just to be sure, as well as the other tests you mentioned.  From there i will be watching this website and post my ideas for people to make suggestions. 

There is alot to learn / know and i want to try take it one step at a time. i really am happy to have a place i can come to for help.

This saturday...   LIVE ROCK!   i was looking at "Aqua Valley" store website. Indo premium rock is what i plan on getting, its a better price than my LFS.  so when i get it home atm im thinking that i check for black spots (dead stuff?)  and clean it with a toothbrush, then add it to my tank. 

Ok, so i might have a problem already.. im not sure.   I have noticed little "worm like" things in my sand.  I looked up pictures and im pretty sure their bristle worms.   I read that they are not really harmfull to the tank or cycle.  people say they are just ugly and grow kinda long.  i dont mind them in there if they wont kill/harm my CUC or fish, if they get annoing ill pick them out as i find them.  correct me please im wrong thinking that way about bristle worms.



oh boy,   some day i may be able to help others the way hookup and vince help me.


thanks a million! 

[Snider82]

oh yea, and i'v been getting ammonia reading of 0.7 ish ppm.  and no nitrites yet. 

[Vincenzo.]

im a rookie compared to everyone. im just letting you know from past experiences.

bristle worms = good. unless they are like 6'' they are a natural creature keeping you live rock, sand bed clean, eating anything dead. id keep them. i have quite a few. ive only picked out 2 that where about 6'' and it was a pain in the rear to catch em.

[Snider82]

oh well thats good,  ill keep them in there then  

[groupie02]

6" is nothing compared to the 6' 

[Snider82]

Oh my! 6'!!  that would be crazy!

[Hookup]

PPL are expecting photos of your rocks... (LOL i'm killing myself)