let there be water

[scuglass]

so finnaly got everything together and got a few questions. but first this is what i have.

75 gal 48x20widex18tall starfire glass (thanks bob )
38 gal sump--1 1'skimmer, 11'return, 14' fuge
coralife superskimmer 220
2x seio 820
2x 200wat ebo jager heaters
mag12 return
4x65 watt pc (which i want to upgrade, so if ne 1 is intrested )
coast to coast overflow with 3 1' bulkheads (thanks tony )
120 lbs lr
30lbs of aragonite
diy stand 48x40tallx20wide


i had my rock sitting for 2 weeks in a brute can with flow and heat and finnaly added it to the tank yesterday i was not testing when it was in the tub i tested today and got 0 ammonia 0 nitrate 0 nitrite ph 8.2 sg 1.025 temp 81. is it possibel that it has already cycled?? i plan on waiting for about a month for the tank to mature a bit befor adding ne thing else so ill keep testing. should i got safeway and buy a shrimp and thro it in there to force another ccycle if it has already done its thing or just leave it??


what type of clean up crew should i be looking at ? what do u have in ur tanks?? (dont really want ne crabs)

i bought the rock from another reefer and it doesent seem to have ne life on it maybee the pods or whatever havent com out yet?? should i add a cup of sand from another tank to help the population grow?

looking to get a light for my fuge at rona ne 1 have ne some macro i can buy?or sand?

what other test kits should i buy?calcium alk ect. does golds have refractometers?

for maitinence what should i be doing ? basting the rocks and 20 % weekly water changes and cleaning the glass?

and finnaly the pics









thanks scott

[scuglass]

also my skimmer wasnt making bubles?? i read that the ventturi could get cloged.. i tried to see if ne thing was there but couldnt see ne thing so i just hooked up an air pump to it and now it is working well. is this ok?

[outtafocus]

Its good to finally see some action in your tank.
I noticed you went sand also, I still ove the sand look.

Nice work Scott.

[scub steve]

how old is your skimmer it took mine 3 days before it started to pull out skim and make sure that little difuser thing is out of the water

[scuglass]

i just hooked it up yesterday night so its been about 24 hours

[scuglass]

does ne 1 glue there rocks together so they dont topple over. i have read about this on rc and was just wondering if ne one does this. what glue do u use?

[geopod]

I like how you aquascaped your rock looks cool.But some of that bridging work did you use any epoxy to hold some of it together?

george

[AndyL]

Personally I like to stack so that it's not going to topple, but I know some people will glue or drill and insert hunks of plastic coathanger between to get some interesting shapes which would be inherently unstable. PVC frames can also be used to ziptie rocks to creating a more open structure.

Andy

[Salinity Now]

what glue do u use?

I have purchased "Hold Fast" from Marineland for securing my live rock. As it turned out, I havn't needed it just yet. I'll probably be using it when I set-up my 65 in the near future though. It says that it bonds live rock, corals etc. I have seen it used in other tanks and it seems to work well. Any one else have any good or bad things to comment about this product?

[michika]

For a clean up crew there are lots of ways you can go. Shrimp are usually a staple in many tanks; cleaner, fire, peppermint, etc. Snails are a good choice as well. I personally really like crabs, but its all about personal choice. In the future you could consider a sand sifter star, I find they do a great job keeping my sand white. Regardless, make sure you research what your getting before you buy. FYI scarlet hermits eat coraline algae from your rocks.

Adding more live sand will seed your exisiting sand. If you can get some macro algae from another existing tank can also help kick start your pod growth.

Standard test kits usually seem to include calcium, alkalinity, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, magnesium.

Everything else is personal preference. Be careful you don't change out too much water too frequently. Try a smaller amount like 5-10 gallons weekly to start and adjust from there. Monthly water changes can be done too. Basting rocks makes your tank a little foggy for a day or so, also something else to consider.

Are you running an auto-top off system?

*edited for typos