12 damsels for cycle not enough Bioload

[IMAGINEER]

I have 12 damsels and am wondering what I can do to get more Bio load for my cycle. My BM250 is not even foaming yet
I have a 300 gal system
Any thoughts ?

[zma21]

Oh dear lord. Please take those poor defenseless damsels back to the LFS and buy a good amount of Live rock.

[scrmbld33]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9545603#post9545603 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zma21
Oh dear lord. Please take those poor defenseless damsels back to the LFS and buy a good amount of Live rock.


yup :(

[Icefire]

Yeah...

[vtfishies]

people still use damsels for cycling..unfortunatly it may not be the best way to go about it but it happens..anyways technically i would say same..but i would use shrimp from ur local grocery market..add 5,6 of them..let them get to the nasty filmy state..whilest checkin levels after a few days, when ammonia is presant..remove them..( if u go this route..and get to the removal state..use a net to get them out as they will break apart a bit and hold nose..kinda stinks too :) good luck!

[Scuba_Steve]

300g will be expensive, but thats the right way to do it in this hobby. That would be about 300-500lbs of live rock. You can make this alot cheaper by buying about 400lbs of drv base rock, and 100lbs or live to "seed it". In a few months it will also be live, and you will have saved yourself about $2000

[zma21]

I second the base/live rock plan. I did it, and within 3 months i can't tell which rock was live or dead because it is all filled up with purple, red, and lime green coraline.

That's gonna be a chunk of change for your rock...It will be worth the frustration though.

[IMAGINEER]

well.....I definately dont want to put more than 200lbs of rock in my tank . I want some room for the fishes

J

[haywood2]

What exactly is base rock? Is it like lava rock or lace rock, or is it like real low-quality live rock thats real cheap? (ex: $2/lb)

[oli5]

Please take out those fish, they're suffering like crazy in an uncycled tank.

[Shagsbeard]

Base rock is typically live rock that has died off, and dried out. It's easier to ship and store that way, and hense cheaper. It's not lava rock. Lava rock typically leaches metals into your tank and ends up killing everything.

You have a 300 gallon tank... you wouldn't even notice the difference between 200 and 400 lbs of live rock... but your fish will. They'll get far more free food from the life in the rocks and a cleaner tank for it. It's much better for your tank, and cheaper in the long run, to properly filter you tank with live rock.

[IslandCrow]

Second that. 300 lbs of rock is not as much as it sounds like. I always thought 1 lb per gallon seemed like quite a bit of rock, but even in a tank my size (46g), it leaves the fishies plenty of room to swim. . .especially since most reef fish are used to having a lot of rock for hunting and hiding.

Oh, and base rock is the same as live rock, except. . .not live. In other words, it's been dried out and has no life on it, but it's the same type of rock otherwise. Not only is the rock itself significantly cheaper, but if you order it online, you save quite a bit on shipping since you don't have to have it express mailed.

[bertoni]

I'd remove the damsels, mostly because they get nasty and carry diseases. I'm not sure what you mean by "cycle the tank" in this case. Do you have a wet-dry or some other type of filter present?

[oli5]

IMAGINEER, having lots of live rock is a really good thing, and it adds to the look of the tank. You could get 100 pounds of live rock and put it with 200 pounds of dead rock (Marco rocks are really good). In time it will turn live and really add to the overall filtration the rock provides. That being said, you can scape a nice look with tons of caves and overhangs for your fish to enjoy and swim through. The more the rock the better (to an extent) because in their natural habitat the fish have lots of rock to swim through, so you want to keep them happy and healthy (the rock provides constant food for them). Anyways, good luck.

[kwaters]

I have visited many sites for live rock...where for "dead" rock. Always into saving some money.

Just a recap...I am still looking at my empty tank. I have my sump built, my skimmer (Octopus NW 150) and am working on other "dry goods" prior to going "live" with the tank.

Kris

[kwaters]

Another quick question, if my tank is 50-55 gallons, I know I should use 50-75 lbs of live rock, can I cut the ration of dead/live in half?

Kris

[Ed Ricketts]

kwaters,
if you mean by "cut the ratio in half" you mean use more or less live rock to save more or less money, the answer is yes. you just might need to wait a little while longer for lush growth, colonization of the non-LR, etc. There's no "hard" and fast rules about rock, but what's presented here is more guidleines and suggestions. Play a little, but be patient.

[Village Idiot]

Check on Craigslist or your local reef club...folks are always selling live rock cheap.

[Lion_Babe]

Please take the fish back and get tons of LR. Use can also use a dead raw piece of shrimp to help cycle your tank. Get one big one from your grocery store and leave it in there for a week....gross I know, but it works well.
:)

[IMAGINEER]

Do you guys not think that 240# LSB will fight off enough nitrates?

[Lion_Babe]

Yes it will if you do normal water changes and all.

[bertoni]

I don't think a live sand bed will provide enough filtration for the tank. I'd still have live rock for the system. How much you'll need depends on how many fish you want to keep, basically. I'd go for about 300 lbs, but a refugium can also do a lot of filtration, and there are other types of filters as well. So the first question, what fish do you want to keep?