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fitzgeraldjw
06/07/2011, 11:16 AM
Good afternoon everyone! So, I've finally made some progress on my 75 gallon reef build, and would like some advice on input on what my next steps should be, or if there's anything I've missed so far. I have a 75 gal. tank w/ 29 gal. sump and this is what I've done so far: First, I filled the tank with 50 gal. of RO water, and mixed in Reef Crystals using 2 Koralia Hydor 750powerheads for about 24 hours and until salinity and temperature were right. Next, I added in 75 lbs of DIY rock (pH is good, I kept it isolatedted in a container and regularly changed the water for about 3 mos) and 12 lbs of live rock from another estabished reef tank. After waiting another day, I added in my aragonite with an additional 5lbs of live sand, which has almost completely settled after another 24 hours. My question is, is it ok to now go ahead and fill the rest of the tank with premixed saltwater, and turn on my protein skimmer and pump (i've read conflicting info about using a skimmer during cycle)? Also, I will be using a piece of shrimp from the grocery store to kick off the ammonia, so how long should I wait until I toss one in there? TIA

-Jason

SWN411
06/07/2011, 11:40 AM
Good work so far! As far as what to do next; I am by no means a vet at this as I am a newb too, but, I can give my two cents as I had an AWESOME cycle. I would check your SG before adding more salt as your levels may be ok with what you already have. Do you plan on a FOWLR, or do you plan on a reef? If you plan on a reef I would add salt until your SG is 1.025. As far as the shrimp and skimmer; GO WITH THE SKIMMER and DO NOT ADD SHRIMP, and finally WAIT! Everyone told me not to use the skimmer, but I did because I wanted a long cycle. A long cycle only means that your cycled tank WILL more than likely be filled with more beneficials. If you go with the shrimp you could cause a false cycle to happen. You will have a shorter cycle due to what you already have, but, if you can prolong a cycle the better your tank will be. Let's put it this way, my cycle was around 2 months with plain live rock and live sand, but when I was done I was able to have a sand sifting star which is still doing well and thriving after 5 months. The reason I mention this is that if you have a short cycle the live star would starve if you put it in right after a cycle as this creature needs a lot of organisms in the sand to eat, and if you have that, you have an awesome bio load going.

I hope this makes sense... Let me know if you have anymore questions, and of course ALL PROS, please chime in if I am incorrect.

Manta034
06/07/2011, 12:20 PM
The use of a skimmer and or a shirmp during a cycle seems to be pretty highly debated. Also, I am by no means an expert either. I am currently a month into my cycle. I'll tell you what I did and maybe that will help.

First, I have a 75g with a 30g sump. I added about 35lbs of BRS pukani dry rock as well as 20lbs of cured live rock. Also, I added 60lbs of aragonite sand and 40lbs of live sand.

I have been running a SRO1000sss skimmer the entire time. I placed a dead shrimp in my sump for about 3 days to contribute to the cycle. My cycle appears to be going well. Ammonia had already appeared to have peaked and has decreased to nearly 0. Currently nitrite looks like is topping out at around 5(ppm?). Nitrate is around 20 and I have minor algae growth.

Also, I have been doing 15-20 gallon water changes twice a week to prevent a really "hard" cycle.

I think a tank will cycle which ever method you choose. As to which method is better, I'm not sure but the approach I took appears to be working well. Good luck!

neoalchemist74
06/07/2011, 12:47 PM
Worry less about your cycle and more about stocking.When your numbers look good 0-ammonia, 0-nitrite, some nitrate but below 20ppm, Stock slow, and use common sense don't add anything large or sensitive. you probably don't need the shrimp since you are adding some live rock, but, whenever I cycle a tank after the initial cycle, zero nitrites, I add some hermits and snails and drop in a tiny bit of food for the hermits every day for a couple of weeks which helps to beef up the bacteria population in advance of the comming fish or other livestock. Good Luck!

fitzgeraldjw
06/07/2011, 02:02 PM
Thank you for the responses! I'll go ahead and fire up the skimmer once I get the remainder of the tank filled then. I'll also refrain from using the shrimp, seeing as I am in no hurry for the cycle to finish, I just assumed that it was a standard practice. I'll update this thread as things progess, and I'm sure I will have tons of other questions along the way.

neoalchemist74
06/07/2011, 02:08 PM
The shrimp is only really needed if you're using only dry rock and dry sand. As for the skimmer I'd run it from day one,IMHO.

Prairie Reef
06/07/2011, 03:40 PM
I know a cycle is caused by dying plant and animal life in the live rock I got from a local established tank, but what would cause the die off and wouldn't the rock already have the needed bacteria?

The reason I'm asking is because I filled with RO DI water matched salinity to the previous tank, added about 20 gallons of water from the original tank to my tank and from hitchhikers alone there are about 8 small starfish (alive after a week) a dozen or so polyps that are growing, and even some feather dusters. Will all these die off during the cycle?

I'm not getting anything soon anyway, but could it be possible the cycle will be small or nonexistent?

Http://prairiereefproject.wordpress.com for tank specs, water tests.

Thx.

hogben
06/07/2011, 05:49 PM
I'm not getting anything soon anyway, but could it be possible the cycle will be small or nonexistent?

Yes.

RocketSurgeon
06/08/2011, 10:40 AM
If your skimmer is new, there is generally a break in period. I would go ahead and get it all plumbed and turned on. I would also be running your lights, paying particular attention to heat build-up if using halides.

Generally, using live rock and sand, shrimp is not required.

Use these next 60 days to plan out the rest of your system. What are your stocking plans. Get your Quarantine Tank set up and ready to go.

Best advice I can give, is don't impulse buy. Ask here .Talk to your LFS, then confirm that advice here again before making a purchase.