Ok im Starting my Tank over again

[lorrenb]

since i moved i got discuraged w/ my tank and now im starting over i have a 55 gal. tank with Small "river bed Gravel" i got @ my LPS and its enough to cover the floor of the tank but its also mixed with "live Sand" so its a nice look for the tank since i rid of my Crushed Coral was that a good idea? i have some live rock but im afraid its all dead now :( is there anyway of re-animating it? im gana get another live rock about the size of a basketball this weekend will anything living on that inhabit the old stuff? I've been cycleing the tank for about 3 months now with damsles i know thats kinda long but ive been doing water changes and so on still but i wana add more stuff now also i have just a regular hang on filter its a double not a single sided one. i realy wana get a Canister filter but there a lil spendy for me @ the moment any other ideas for a good filter or will that do 4 now?


Thanx Lorren

[bertoni]

[welcome]

The gravel will move to the top over time and kill the live sand. It likely will accumulate a lot of detritus. That said, the system can work if enough cleaning is done to keep the gravel fairly clean.

You could buy some new lve rock to help reseed the old live rock. With enough live rock, you won't need another filter, although a protein skimmer might be a good investment.

[sjj80]

I would steer away from canister filters and invest in a good skimmer. If the reason for the 3 mo. cycle is due to nitrates a skimmer will help bring those down. Besides a skimmer is essential in SW tanks, especially reef tanks. I also had a batch of live rock (100 lbs.) that had set out for 1 week the last time I moved. I bought 10lbs of live rock rubble and added DT's phytoplankton, After about two weeks I saw plenty of little critters in the tank. HTH.

[lorrenb]

Realy now filter with enough live rock i wont even need my hang on filter? wow why is that?

[drummereef]

All you need is -

1. 1-2lb/gallon of live rock
2. A good quality skimmer (please no seaclones or skilters) :)
3. Proper flow - at least 20x turnover in the display
4. Patience ;)

I would recommend rethinking your substrate. Just get a fine aragonite. Anything corse will trap detritus and cause a nitrate problem. You can do a hang on powerfilter, like an Aquaclear, but remove the bio and mechanical media and only run carbon. Simplicity can be your friend.