Reef Hobbyist 40B

[aqua-nut]

The big problem with check valves in a marine system is there is all sorts of growth everywhere! Almost all of it has some form of calcium carbonate structure. So stuff grows on the check valve seal. The stuff is hard like grains of sand. So after some time, usually when you are not home (Murphy and his damm law!), there is a power failure and the tank drains till there is an air gap because the seal can no longer form a water tight connection.

Make sure your sump can handle the drain down! Don't depend on the check valve!

Another issue is the CV eats up return flow!

 

[Nav]

Another issue is the CV eats up return flow!

Very true... I could see that.

 

[Nav]

Picked up 42 lbs of Marco dry rock from Neptune Aquatics at $2.25/lb.

Rinsed the rock in running tap water (like hell) twice and got a lot lot of white milky residue out. Currently left it soaking in a tub until tomorrow and then planning to rinse again and lastly rinse in RO/DI water.

Anything else to be done before I get this rock into my tank?

 

[Spoon]

FWIW, I used the same rock and did not rinse it. You should be good.

 

[neuro]

Personally, I would cure the rock before putting it into an established tank.

 

[Nav]

Personally, I would cure the rock before putting it into an established tank.

Alfred, this is going into my yet-to-cycle 40 breeder I got recently...

 

[Nav]

So this is how I ended up getting 60 gallons of water home…

My car’s trunk was loaded with buckets of water and stuff from ReefRaft.

I got the Kent Marine Reef Salt 200g (which was waaay cheaper than Instant Ocean’s Reef Crystals), and some MicroBacter 7 to seed the new tank…

 

[Nav]

Forgot to mention, I also got 13 more pounds (totals to 35lbs) of size 3 sand from ReefRaft.

Rinsed all of it again in tap water, then in RO/DI and then spread all of it in the tank…

 

[Nav]

Now coming to the most painful part, it took us almost two hours to get the rockscape right (might not be the best yet). We wanted islands, tunnels and some symmetry to the scape…

• 3 big base rocks forming 2 tunnels
• 2 big islands (planning one for anemone and other for GSPs or Xenias)
• 1 small island (probably for shrooms)

Also made my own rubble with the 12lbs of dried live rock I got from @aquaticmouse.

Combined rock between tank & sump is now 54lbs.

 

[Nav]

Mixed the Kent Marine Reef salt to 10gal batches and loaded them very slowly into the tank (to avoid cloudiness & not disturb the sand).

Mixing ratio for 1.5lbs of sand for 5gals of water to give me an exact 1.022 salinity.

This was right after all the water was added (late yesterday night). I added my cheap LEDs for now…

and here’s one from this morning

Currently set the LEDs to run from 6pm to 11pm and the sump light between 1am to 5am.

 

[Hondo]

Looking good.

 

[Nav]

Dosed 10ml of MicroBacter today, also moved a small piece of rock from my other 29g tank.

 

[Nav]

Is it necessary to also move bit sand from an established tank?

Or will the dosing (over time) and small established rock be good enough to seed the bio filtration for entire tank?

 

[Hondo]

I would just dose your MicroBacter 7 and let your tank cycle.

By not adding any live sand or live rock from another tank you prevent any unwanted hitchhikers, pests, etc. from being introduced into your tank.

 

[denzil]

Why not just drill an anti-siphon hole in the locline? Also, I would just start fresh, personally, unless you are putting in rock/sand from a tank that's in really solid condition.

 

[Nav]

@denzil yea planning to drill the loc-line soon.

Removed the rock from tank (within an hour).

Does Fritz Zyme 9 help in better cycling? Can/should I include that with the MicroBacter dose?

 

[Drippy_fetus]

Yo! Looking good man!
This is Dan from Neptunes...that's a great rock scape dude! I would dose MB7 exclusively. I find it works just fine on its own. Regardless of how many bacterial additives you add, patience is most definitely a virtue. No product will instantly cycle a reef tank. Just monitor your NH4, N02, and N03 levels to best determine your cycle. Test P04 to see if the rock has been leaching phosphates.
Good luck with your build, looks great! Looking forward to seeing ya around the shop when you're ready to stock.
Happy Reefing,
-Dan

 

[denzil]

@denzil yea planning to drill the loc-line soon.

Removed the rock from tank (within an hour).

Does Fritz Zyme 9 help in better cycling? Can/should I include that with the MicroBacter dose?

Yeah, the Fritz Zyme would probably add some bio diversity but I don't necessarily think that it'll help with cycling faster. You're going to find yourself having a painful experience with your tank if you're impatient. The more patience you have, the more successful your tank will be for both the short-term and long-term.

 

[Nav]

Thanks Dan & Denzil. My question about fritz was not about faster cycling but a better cycle.

I read through a few posts where mixing multiple brands produced a stronger bio filtration system...

 

[Hondo]

Thanks Dan & Denzil. My question about fritz was not about faster cycling but a better cycle.

I read through a few posts where mixing multiple brands produced a stronger bio filtration system...

I read the same thing, but there isn't any definitive research.

Your tank is going to cycle just fine and will be just fine using MicroBacter 7. No need to waste money buying other bacterial additives that may or may not help. Save your money for fish and corals.