What next?

[mcbunnymama]

Well the new tank is finally set up with 40 lbs of live sand( I know everyone said dont waste your money, but where we live there really wasnt a lot in the way of options) anyway 50g tank with 20g sump. Water has been in since saturday. Our lfs has some lr, but not a great amount. Some has been in his display tank for at least 6months, some small amounts he gets in every 3-4 weeks. He has his new shipments sitting in small tanks with lots of powerheads and does lots of w/c. My ? is how do we go about doing this right this time? How long should we wait to start adding rock? What should we look for when picking out rock? The lfs is housing our goby and two tiny false percs, how much rock is needed before they can come home? Do we start with adding rock to the sump or main tank first? We are buying completely new rock for the system and know it will be a big amount of $$$. Can we safely add it in stages? since he only has a small amount are we better off paying for the rock and having him continue to cure it until all the rock we need is purchased and can go in the tank at the same time?(BTW it will be a reef tank, sorry wasnt clear on that)

Thanks for answering, I know that most of this has been gone over so much that everyone is tired of it, but I am working crazy hours right now covering other people at work and can not devote much time to look up past threads
Thanks-Nicole

[EndlessSummer]

As long as the rock is cured you should be able to put it straight into your tank. Just keep an eye out for hitchhikers like aiptasia, hair/bubble algae, etc. I would put the rock in and watch for a small cycle. After that the goby and percs should be ready to go in.

[mcbunnymama]

Originally Posted by EndlessSummer

As long as the rock is cured you should be able to put it straight into your tank. Just keep an eye out for hitchhikers like aiptasia, hair/bubble algae, etc. I would put the rock in and watch for a small cycle. After that the goby and percs should be ready to go in.

do you mean the full amount of rock or just some rock? and do I really need 20lbs in the sump and 50 in the main tank?

[EndlessSummer]

You don't NEED 20 pounds in the sump, its just an added benefit of having a sump is to be able to add more biological filtration. I think a start with the 50 pounds in the display will be just fine.

[mcbunnymama]

can we add say 15-20lbs. then add more later, or will even a very small cycle be too much for the fish? the reason I ask is lr is very expensive here,7.99lb for base rock and 9.99 for any type of fancy rock

[fox2589]

for 9.99 a pound i would order it offline and you will still pay less with shipping!(unless your just supporting your LFS..which is also understandable)-drew

[EndlessSummer]

Originally Posted by fox2589

for 9.99 a pound i would order it offline and you will still pay less with shipping!(unless your just supporting your LFS..which is also understandable)-drew

+1

[mcbunnymama]

I am trying to be supportive of lfs- he has been very good to us, plus not many US companies will ship to Canada-supplies they have no problem with but livestock and rock is a different story
but can anyone answer my question about adding rock in increments

[bb0029]

Originally Posted by mcbunnymama

I am trying to be supportive of lfs- he has been very good to us, plus not many US companies will ship to Canada-supplies they have no problem with but livestock and rock is a different story
but can anyone answer my question about adding rock in increments

every time you add some you take a risk of another mini cycle unless the rock is just pristine and clean as all get out. I personally would just do it all at once. Get it all in the tank, out of the way and done.

[Fat Tony]

add all the rock at once... and keep the rock out of the sump.. it won't be needed and all it will do is cause future headaches by being in there.

[mcbunnymama]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

add all the rock at once... and keep the rock out of the sump.. it won't be needed and all it will do is cause future headaches by being in there.

can you explain it to me why-so when I go to the lfs I can pose intelligent ?? to them

[fihsboy]

The live rock in the sump will simply just collect detritus. Its a pain in the rear. Run your sump as clean as possible. It makes it easier to collect debris from your tank and when you do a water change you can just pour it into your sump without worry of a nitrate spike because the detritus was messed with in your sump. The live rock in the display will provide enough biological filtration to hold your tanks inhabitants.

[Fat Tony]

It traps detritus and waste from feeding your tank.. that equates into a nitrate factory in your sump.. it is basically no different than having bioballs..

So in short.. it requires maintenance to keep the rock clean and free of detritus.

[mcbunnymama]

ok-now I am totally confused- I may not have explained that the plan the lfs has for us is a fuge in the sump, so we currently have sand in there

[Fat Tony]

a fuge is fine, but the sand is not just one more place to collect waste. If youa re going to run a fuge then just use Chaeto for pod population and nutrient export.. it grows quickly and stays relatively intact..