My Noob Questions

[laxbograt]

1. Bio Balls, mostly everyone hates them and says to replace them with live rock instead. What is the difference?

2. Lighting, how much is enough? I am currently running about 2.4 watts per gallon.

3. During cycling how long does it take before my Nitrites go down? I am not looking for an exact time line, just an estimate. Here is my story so far.

So far it took about a week for my ammonia to spike, this lead to a red algae bloom which as I understand it converts the ammonia to Nitrites, so about 2.5 weeks in my Nitrites spiked. About week 4 the red algae started dieing and mostly died off, for about a week there seemed to be no new algae growth now week 6 I have started to get some green algae growth I am hoping this is the algae that consumes Nitrites and converts it to Nitrates.

4. When should I start adding Inverts to consume waste in the water, and turn the sand?

5. When should I add a protein skimmer?

6. What do you think about in tank Fuge?

7. How much lighting do you need in your out of tank fuge?

That's it for now thanks for all the help.

[spw4949]

1. Bio balls will help colonize some nitrifying bacteria but can also cause nitrates to build up because they can trap detritus & waste, live rock is wirth it's weight in gold, it helps to stabilize your system long term...

2. Depends on what you want to keep, watts per gallon isn't as important as PAR output, what type of lights are you running, T5's, CF's?

3. There is no definitive answer to this question, there are a bunch of different variables, how much LR do you have? Do you have a fuge with macro? Your nitrifying bacteria is what converts nutrites to nitrates, having macroalgae will help lower nitrates because the macro will help remove nitrates from the water....so the more live rock the better because that is where your nitrifying bacteria(as well as other beneficial organisms) will colonize...

4. Don't add any inverts until your tank is cycled & your nitrates are at 0 or close...

5. You can add a protein skimmer at any point but you should add 1 within 2-3 weeks of adding livestock, up until the addition of livestock there won't be much(if any) waste in the water, once you add fish & start feeding & they start producing waste that's when you will need a protein skimmer to help get rid of the proteins in the water....

6. My personal preference is that I don't particually like the look of in tank refugiums, takes away from the display tank but that is just my opinion......

7. You don't need much lighting at all on a refugium, enough to make your macro grow, I personally rum an 18W compact fluorescent fixture, a lot of people use less, again, whatever keeps your macro growing...

HTH

[Playa-1]

1) Live rock is very pourous and has the abililty to house the bacteria that will process the nitrates into harmless gas. Live rock has the ability to be your complete filtration system where Bio Balls are very limited.
2) It depends on the depth of the tank and the livestock that you intend to keep in it. It's not a question of watts per gallon.
3) It will likely take from 1 to 8 weeks depending on what's in the cycling tank. There are no guarantees and it could take longer if you put a bunch of uncleaned liverock in the tank.
4) I wouldn't add inverts until the cycle is complete. Meaning Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates at 0.
5) You can go ahead and add the Protein Skimmer.
6) It's a good idea
7) I think that all depends on what your going to use the fuge for and what's in it.

I would take this time while the tank is cycling and do some research. This is a good place to start along with thoroughly researching Reef Central, especially the sticky threads. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-01/tips/index.php

[laxbograt]

2. I am running 2 x 65 watt cf lights

[Zestay]

i had 2x 65 watt cf on my 10 gallon and i wasnt sure if it was enough.

for your tank i would go with 4x 54 watt t5 hi outputs. in either a fixture or a retrofit. if you retrofit them id overdrive them with an icecap ballast.
lights are expensive, but if you set your lights up now correctly you wont have to upgrade them later when you want to add a high light critter



adding a skimmer now is a great idea.

[Sisterlimonpot]

Those cf's will be fine for a fish only tank or some softies, zoanthids and some LPS however if you plan on having a reef tank I would suggest going with T5 like suggested or even better MH.

[fishinchick]

We all started somewhere at one time ... Hope these answers help ya!

1. Bio Balls, mostly everyone hates them and says to replace them with live rock instead. What is the difference?
This is the easiest way to explain this ... As the bacteria on bioballs is exposed to air it dies off. As a new layer of bacteria grows on the bioball - over the dead stuff - it is exposed to air and dies off too. Eventually you get this lovely gunk that sloughs off because the bottom layers are rotting and rotting matter makes ... say it with me class ... nitrates!

Bioballs seem to work ok enough for fish only systems providing the owner or whoever maintains the tank keeps up on the maintenance.

Live rock is better because it is usually kept fully submerged. If you are deteremined to have bioballs I highly recommend reconfigurning your wet/dry sump to force ALL of the bioballs to be fully submerged all the time. Then you dont have the air exposure.
I still think natural (ie: live rock) is better.

2. Lighting, how much is enough?
How much lighting depends on what you are keeping. The requirements of a fish only system vs. an all sps reef are VERY different. Do you know what you are keeping and what you plan to keep in the future? Fish only, leathers and softies, LPS (large polyp stony corals) or SPS (small polyp stony corals)?

3. During cycling how long does it take before my Nitrites go down?
Every tank cycles differently. I've owned and set up dozens of them and no two are alike. (frustrated yet?). It takes an average of 30 days to fully cycle a tank.
***however this doesnt mean you are free to stuff the tank to the gills after the tank cycles!!!!!***
But even then it takes about a year for the tank to fully balance and establish. You want to spend the first year stocking sparsely and adding fish a month or two apart.
The more you push the tank now and overstock it too soon - the more problems you'll have (like algae. Ew)

So far it took about a week for my ammonia to spike, this lead to a red algae bloom which as I understand it converts the ammonia to Nitrites, so about 2.5 weeks in my Nitrites spiked. About week 4 the red algae started dieing and mostly died off, for about a week there seemed to be no new algae growth now week 6 I have started to get some green algae growth I am hoping this is the algae that consumes Nitrites and converts it to Nitrates.

4. When should I start adding Inverts to consume waste in the water, and turn the sand?
You can reach down and mess with the sand whenever you want to. The more regularly you do this the less buildup you get. I usually only mess with the top inch or so, if that. Normally I let the cucumber, nassarius snails and fighting conch snails do the job.
The hermits and cleanup crew can go in once your cycle is done and your nitrites and ammonia are zero. Do a water change and you should be ready to rock.

A lot of people tell you not to turn the sandbed. Especially if you have a DSB. It still doesnt hurt to mess with the top inch or so as long as you do it regularly. I stole the little wood 'zen rake' from my desktop zen sand box and used that to rake my sandbeds on my tanks for years. (there you go guys ... the secret to my shiny white sandbed is sort of out). I employed a cucumber and a band of nassarius and a fighting conch to help out as well.

5. When should I add a protein skimmer?
From day one and leave it on 24/7.
The better the skimmer you get, the better results you'll have. I highly recommend the ASM G series skimmers or the Reef Octopus or EuroReef skimmers.
Going cheap on this will result in a long line of crummy equipment that you shouldnt have bought and you'll eventually buy the skimmer you should have bought in the first place.
^ ^ ^ you'll do that in this hobby a lot, by the way. :lol:

6. What do you think about in tank Fuge?
I think that anything you do in your tank to create a refugium won't be sufficient enough if you plan to have a mandarin or anything else that might rely on the bugs.
Macro Algae shouldn't be in the reef because it takes over too easy.
Either install a refugium next to your sump, or plan on never adding anything that really requires copepods (like mandarin gobies).There are dozens of hang on back (HOB) style refugiums in the hobby these days. I would think it's better to add one of those than whatever you are planning to have 'in tank'.

7. How much lighting do you need in your out of tank fuge?
Most small grow lights handle requirements for refugiums just fine. Home depot carries several different kind of grow lamp. Check out the gardening section. Don't try to explain reefs and refugiums to the guy that works there. Just smile and tell them you are growing indoor water plants in a controlled environment.
I usually use a standard fluoresent fixture with a couple of grow lights which you can get at WalMart.

HOB refugiums (usually) come with their own special refugium light and will save you about worrying about question #7.

Good Luck! :thumbsup: