MarlinHooker
02/22/2010, 03:38 PM
I tried posting this question last week on the equipment forum but got no replies so I quess it belongs here in the NOOB section ...
Can anyone recommend the smartest way to do the following: I'm setting up my new 150g mixed reef system and to get off on the right foot I need to have my quarantine tank (29g) established so that when I'm ready to add my first tank inhabitants they'll be able to go into quarantine first for 4 weeks, then into the DT. And that's my problem. How do I go about establishing a QT without already having an established DT to get my bio filter from? I want to avoid using media from someone else's filter since I don't really know the history and I don't want to introduce anything unwanted from the start.
So, do I just start up the DT normally & have it go through it's cycle while putting some floss material or sponge in my sump? Then after the DT has cycled I can put the material in my QT for its bio filter and be ready for the first inhabitants? If so, then what about my DT which will just be sitting there 'empty' for a month while my first residents go through quarantine? Do I need to continue to feed the tank somehow to keep the bio filter going? Also, what about timing for adding the cleanup crew?
Am I making this too complicated?
Can anyone recommend the smartest way to do the following: I'm setting up my new 150g mixed reef system and to get off on the right foot I need to have my quarantine tank (29g) established so that when I'm ready to add my first tank inhabitants they'll be able to go into quarantine first for 4 weeks, then into the DT. And that's my problem. How do I go about establishing a QT without already having an established DT to get my bio filter from? I want to avoid using media from someone else's filter since I don't really know the history and I don't want to introduce anything unwanted from the start.
So, do I just start up the DT normally & have it go through it's cycle while putting some floss material or sponge in my sump? Then after the DT has cycled I can put the material in my QT for its bio filter and be ready for the first inhabitants? If so, then what about my DT which will just be sitting there 'empty' for a month while my first residents go through quarantine? Do I need to continue to feed the tank somehow to keep the bio filter going? Also, what about timing for adding the cleanup crew?
Am I making this too complicated?