[jerryclunsford]

As well as live rock you can purchase real ocean live sand. Harvested from the ocean floor near the mari-culture beds.

 

[Wiskey]

Is there any down side to adding live bio? I know some on here have said they aren’t convinced. Being my rock is pretty much sterile I was considering it. I was watching some videos from BRS and they recommended Microbacter 7. I was wondering if there was actually a down side or if it was a case of “it doesn’t always work”. Being live, the shelf life may render some doses almost nil.

Any input is appreciated as always.

I like your idea of getting some coraline! And you might want to buy a small piece of rock or two too just to get the bacteria, pods, and other living things in there.

As far as the bottled bacteria goes, I don't know. It's not going to hurt anything, but I don't really think it helps much either. There are places where you can mail order pods, hitchikers, sand worms, real live sand from tanks, that kind of stuff. I would sooner do that then the bottled bacteria.

Whiskey

 

[Wiskey]

I like your idea of getting some coraline! And you might want to buy a small piece of rock or two too just to get the bacteria, pods, and other living things in there.

As far as the bottled bacteria goes, I don't know. It's not going to hurt anything, but I don't really think it helps much either. There are places where you can mail order pods, hitchikers, sand worms, real live sand from tanks, that kind of stuff. I would sooner do that then the bottled bacteria.

Whiskey

Oh,.. forgot to say. Indo-Pacific Sea Farms is one such place.

Whiskey

 

[hackshobby]

I would personally got eh 'decaying food stuff' route over bottled anything.......nothing against it other than what Jerry always says.....the old fashioned way is free, and you know it works!
Cherish the time with the Boy Rick, value His opinion, and do it your way after he leaves.
Hack

 

[Tinsnips]

Thanks all. Good stuff in here. Man does that sand take some rinsing. Holy smokes. After rearranging the rock I had I have something I think looks good with lots of spots for corals and a lot of caves, arches, and pass throughs. I added 60lbs of sand and have 20 more ready to put in if I think it needs it after the dust settles. No point in a pic at the moment.

Given I have some rock left over that just didn’t work into the mix I may put together a smaller tank. Who knows. I have a bunch to use.

 

[VWD]

Yeah , sand is always cloudy after putting in tank. One of the more tedious things when it comes to an saltwater aquarium.

 

[Tinsnips]

Well it was pretty much cleared by late last night. You couldn’t even see the rock by the time I got the sand in and each half pail of sand got 15 minutes of rinsing and agitation before being scooped in.

I snapped a few pics. You can still see some haze looking long way through the tank but the filter really did a great job. I will pull it and clean the sponges tonight and add bio & carbon. I put a couple chunks of frozen food in last night as a snack and will add a frozen shrimp after I clean the filter.

 

[VWD]

Looks good, lot of swimming area for fish.

 

[hackshobby]

THAT'S looking cool Rick! The wire, is that a temp prob, or a HOT WIRE to keep bad guys from stealing your fish?
Hack

 

[hackshobby]

......yeah....that's the kind of questions the 3rd cup of coffee gets ya from me.
Hack

 

[Tinsnips]

Thanks Vinnie. I wanted lots of tunnels front to back and pass throughs. The tightest spot is 2 1/2" from the glass at the back. I am thinking it is enough - I was aiming for 3" but the tank is narrow and inspite of everything being perfect when I mocked it up in the backyard it simply would not lock together with out that peice sticking out a bit.

I am not sure how many fish I will end up with Vinnie, but yes a fair bit of room to move around. I would like a pair clown fish as I like their movment and antics & think they are a pretty safe bet for a novice. There was a Yellow Longnose Butterfly fish at the LFS that was gorgeous. It was about 2 1/2" long and was $149.99. Not sure the care level for that one. I'd also like some kind of bottom dweller like a blenny or a goby. Maybe a watchman goby or a lawnmower blenny.

Yes Hack, that is a super cheap temp probe with an old dried up suction cup. I have a new suction cup for it so it will stay where it should be. It has been accurate so it will get mounted nice and neat somewhere while I go through and set everything up.

You guys always talk about salinity using specific gravity. Occaisionally I see it in PPM. Is there a reason the hobby seems to prefer SG?

 

[hackshobby]

You guys always talk about salinity using specific gravity. Occaisionally I see it in PPM. Is there a reason the hobby seems to prefer SG?

Tomato/Tomatoe.....On my swing arm I have both readings, and for some reason have always just gravitated to the SG.("See what I did there? ") Yea,,,4th cup now.

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THIS has always pretty much been our 'gold standard' we refer folks to for recommendations. A fairly 'safe' reference.....but if folks search the WEB long enough they can find the 'recommendation' they like. THIS is my GO-TO.
Hack

 

[Doug1]

When i worked in shops or setup displays for commercial account we always grabbed a bag of substrate fron established tank. I think that and a rotting shrimp is cheaper than bottled bacteria in a bottle, What is it going to live one. Shelf life is a bout as long as a door gunner on a Huey

 

[Tinsnips]

Well first set of readings after 48 hours is as follows:

Temp - 79F
Salinity - 1.025
Ammonia - .25
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0

I added another shrimp because the first one is almost gone. Now we wait.

 

[VWD]

Wow, I’m surprised the original shrimp is almost gone. They usually take for ever .

 

[Tinsnips]

I tossed him in and he floated frozen for a while. When I came back he was stuck to the side of the power head so getting tons of flow ripping over him. I am sure that is accelerating his demise. The second one looks like it is gonna just settle on the sand.

 

[VWD]

What test kit are you using for ammonia?

 

[hackshobby]

I can still recall my excitement Rick seeing that first marine tank 'cycle......I doubt you'll wind up testing more than I did, but I'll let Ya have a go at it.
Your 2nd and 3rd tanks you'll have to force yourself to check the readings on occasion.....'Algae'? We're good, cycles done!
Hack

 

[Tinsnips]

What test kit are you using for ammonia?

 

[Tinsnips]

I didn’t buy the reef kit yet. Was just worrying about this half of the equation at the moment.