Reef nutrition

Gablami's Reefer 525 Build

I might just keep it open for the clean look and ease of maintenance. Might put some marinepure blocks in there. Might even use it as "timeout" place for fish.
 
@ roostertech How are you going manage nitrate and phosphate levels? You going to use the ato as a fuge?


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Maybe I'll run two fuges, one in the ATO and one in the sump :). For now I'm using the ATO as it's designed to, but it's too small for the long term. Will probably run a bigger ATO from the side cabinet. Heard that Apex is coming out with a nice ATO system in next few months so I'm waiting for that.

Planning for an Apex Dos/DDR, maybe a carbon reactor vs filter bag. I'm hoping my fuge will be enough for phosphates, but can have a GFO reactor next to the skimmer in that section if needed.
 
Well, 2 days ago I added some CUC, 5 snails and 5 crabs. Started feeding 0.5 cubes of mysis shrimp daily. Ammonia spiked up to 1.2 from 0.5, nitrite around the same at 1.2 and nitrate at 35. I think my snails are all dead. Upside down and not moving last night and today. Hermits are nowhere to be found. The coral frag used to have this purple tint and a green tip, and now it just looks white. Sad day for my tank :(.

I think I just have to be patient and let this cycle finish. It's only been 2 weeks. My original jumbo shrimp are just about decomposed. Any tips on what to do? Continue feeding mysis to feed the cycle?
 
In this case, I would say do nothing. Your cycle will continue fine by itself without additional food or sources of ammonia.

I would just do a 50% water change if nitrites go above 5ppm.

Nitrites for me took 31 days to drop to zero and it went from 5ppm to zero overnight on day 31.

And then after your cycle is done (ammonia and nitrites are zero and nitrates not rising anymore), then do a water change to bring nitrates down.

At that point, then I'd start adding some CUC and maybe some coral.
 
You're right, I am rushing it. I will try to be patient :).

I got another loaded question. Found an established 29g biocube with some nice coral in it on craigslist. It's a good price and the owner has to downsize and move. I want to use it as a QT and frag tank. But I'm reading about how to move established tanks and it's freaking me out. Not a lot of livestock, mostly corals.

I'll premake some new salt water and get it warm. But anyone have tips about moving the tank without messing up the water and killing everything? Will all the detritus from the existing sand lead to a huge nitrite bump? Should I dump the sand and just put new sand?

I figure I'll just pick everyone's brains tomorrow at the frag party. But this seems like quite a challenge, to relocate even a small tank 15 miles without killing everything.

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Having done some research, here is my plan. I make a lot of extra water, and bring a lot of buckets. Siphon off and save a good amount of the tank water. Disassemble LR with corals on them and place in buckets with water. Save some sand to seed the new sand, and dump the rest of the sand. Clean out the tank. Move into car. Setup stand and tank. spread old sand out and put new sand in. Put old water in with live rock and corals. Top off with new water.

There are no fish. Just softies, LPS and CUC. So that's a relief.
 
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Man you are hooked! Tank is not even fully cycled yet and you are already looking for a 2nd tank!

What are your plans for the livestock? Do they go into your reefer or will this be a seperate system?

Plan seems sound except I would keep some of the sand but toss the rest. Buy new dry sand from LFS to use. Use as much of the old water as you can. Change out to your sw every wc.


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Yes I am hooked! Instead of putting it in the garage my wife said to put the QT in the house. I think she doesn't want me hanging out for hours alone in the garage.

The biocube has no livestock now. Just corals and CUC. I imagining a QT and frag tank that still looks good. Light is already upgraded. May need to get a hang on skimmer in addition.
 
Corals n cuc still = livestock.

QT and frag tank don't go together. A frag tank needs to be maintained like a dt, just that it has frags.

A QT needs to be as barren as possible so that if you need to treat, nothing else gets contaminated with meds. Also if you get a fish with a virulent disease, you don't wipe out everything else in there.


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Dang. Barren?

Well, eventually I'll move the livestock over to my main tank when it's ready.

Maybe just some softies and some clowns in the QT?
 
Gablami said:
Dang. Barren?

Well, eventually I'll move the livestock over to my main tank when it's ready.

Maybe just some softies and some clowns in the QT?
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He means barren besides whatever fish you are QT'ing at the time. You would be exposing anything kept in it to risk of disease every time you add a new fish to "QT", as opposed to keeping existing livestock safe by isolating the new additions. It will also greatly limit your ability to treat any fish who do potentially have issues, since many treatments for fish are deadly to corals and inverts. To do either effectively you want two seperate tanks as he stated.
 
Gablami said:
Dang. Barren?

Well, eventually I'll move the livestock over to my main tank when it's ready.

Maybe just some softies and some clowns in the QT?
Click to expand...

I'll run a example for you.

I don't know what your procedure for adding fish is, be it nothing or full blown formalin/TTM/parizipro.

You add the new fish to your QT then find out a few days later it has velvet or some other disease or parasite. Your clowns will be exposed and may or may not die or show symptoms.

The next fish you add may or may not die from whatever has infected the QT. If it doesn't die n doesn't symptoms you move it to your DT thinking it's fine. But it could have picked up whatever was in the QT n now your DT is infected


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Well I currently don't have a system. This QT is part of me making my system.

By barren do you mean no sand, no live rock? Just some pvc pipe pieces? Seems sad to quarantine fish in a bare tank for 8 weeks.
 
Whatever you put into the QT, you have to be prepared to throw it all out or have it fishless for at least 72 days if a parasite or disease presents.


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