My new tank

[Connor]

Hey i was wondering if anyone had any advice on setting up a 30 gallon tank cause im about to get one from a store near my house. It has really great lighting so if anyone has any coral based suggestions let me know. I also have a question on something i bought from the spring meeting so ill try to get a picture on as soon as i can.

[Caribbean Jake]

Connor

have your tank gone through the Nitro cycle? or is this your first tank?

If it is your first tank., I suggest you pick up a book on saltwater reef keeping or saltwater aquarium keeping. Read a little about cycles, setups, and NTS before you go forward. After that we will be more than glad to help you out with starter frags, softies and lots of expertise.

[lanman]

Hey i was wondering if anyone had any advice on setting up a 30 gallon tank cause im about to get one from a store near my house. It has really great lighting so if anyone has any coral based suggestions let me know. I also have a question on something i bought from the spring meeting so ill try to get a picture on as soon as i can.

 

Coral needs to wait until the water is at least a little bit stable, and measured parameters are within acceptable range. Then you can put in some little cheap things (Kenyan tree was mine) and see how they do. To be of much assistance, we need to know the whole story - like where does the rock come from? How 'cured' is it? How much rock in your 30-gallon tank? Be sure to get some kind of test kit to get started - for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, ALK. Something to measure salinity with. Thermometer, heater. As soon as your ammonia drops a bit, and nitrates rise a bit - start doing regular water changes. It may take a while before you see anywhere near zero, zero, zero - but if you start testing right away, you will see the improvement, and have an idea when you are approaching good numbers. Keep us in the loop as you progress through purchase, set-up, and cycling. Everyone is happy to help - including giving you some easy-keeper corals when you're ready.

 

bob

[Grav]

Connor,

 

If you got the coral from the big tank at the end of the hall, farthest from the door... that was me. No need to take a pic, just describe it (most of us will be able to guess what it is from the description) and ask your question.

 

Phil

[Connor]

thanks but i have found out what type of coral i got. I would also like to thank you for the coral offer im pretty sure i dont have to tell u guys how expensive some of that stuff can be when your buyng it from a store. Ill post a new more specific reply in a couple of days when i actually get my tank i know who im getting it from i just havent bin able to buy it yet

[Sugar Magnolia]

What are you keeping the coral in, in the mean time?

 

I have a 30 gallon cube tank so if you need some specific questions answered, just let me know.

[Connor]

im keeping it in my current 10 gallon tank

[Gatortailale]

It has really great lighting

 

So what kind of lighting is it? (MH/T-5/VHO).

[Connor]

Im not exactly sure what type of lighting it has but im friends with the guy who is selling it to me and he used to keep a whole bunch of corals in it that did really well. I also have a question for Phil i saw you had a plate kind of coral it was pink and looked pretty flat can u telll me what that type of coral is called

[MOT]

Hey connor, I don't know how much you know already but I have found www.wetwebmedia.com to be an extremely helpful resource for almost anything you want to know. It is Robert Fenner's website, a renouned marine biologist. His books are very good also. Just google whatever it is you want to learn about with wetwebmedia ex. "plate coral wetwebmedia". I can get lost for hours reading on that website. Anyways good luck, Tom

 

 

Oh yeah, one more thing... Use Reverse Osmosis filtered water from the getgo and always aerate your water for preferably one week in advance as you make up your saltwater.

[Grav]

Connor,

 

That was a frag of a pink and orange plate coral or Fungia. I had one that was very large and round (that is the normal shape) and fragged it into 7 or 8 small square ones. It will take a while but they will eventually grow and become round again.

 

GOOD LUCK with your new tank.

[Connor]

thanks i finally got my 30 and it looks great the stand is a little ruffed up but the tank looks great and the light on it is awsome all i need now is a filter and maybe a protein skimmer. I want to make this tank a mini reef so if anyone knows and good corals for beginnners and good fish for mini reefs let me know.

 

Connor

[Connor]

hey i just set up my new tank today i added the sand and the water and set up my filter. Right now im running a backpack Penguin 350 Bio Wheel Power Filter thats good for up to 75 gallons and since i have a 30 gallon tank it should be fine i stilll need to get a heater so if anyone know where i can get a good one for my size tank please let me know if anyone wants to see il try to get some pics posted but right now its just water so its not that interesting. I was also wondering if anyone could tell me how to have my tank go through the nitrogen cycle

Edited April 20, 2007 by Connor

[lanman]

hey i just set up my new tank today i added the sand and the water and set up my filter. Right now im running a backpack Penguin 350 Bio Wheel Power Filter thats good for up to 75 gallons and since i have a 30 gallon tank it should be fine i stilll need to get a heater so if anyone know where i can get a good one for my size tank please let me know if anyone wants to see il try to get some pics posted but right now its just water so its not that interesting

 

All of the LFS have heaters. Not the most expensive thing you'll be putting in your tank - but one of the most important. Ask at the store what size you need for 30 gallons.

 

If you want to show it off - go ahead and post a picture. Then another with the rocks in it, etc...

 

bob

[jason the filter freak]

you need 100 watts for a 30 gallon, and congrats on the new tank, waiting for pics

[Connor]

hey its about time for me to start putting the live rock in my aquarium i just need to put in my clean up crew. The only problem is that i have a bubble anemone stock to my largest piece of live rock which might make it difficult for me to arrange my new tank i was wondering if anyone new any tricks to get a anemone to let go of a rock if its fooot is stuck on it.

[lanman]

hey its about time for me to start putting the live rock in my aquarium i just need to put in my clean up crew. The only problem is that i have a bubble anemone stock to my largest piece of live rock which might make it difficult for me to arrange my new tank i was wondering if anyone new any tricks to get a anemone to let go of a rock if its fooot is stuck on it.

 

I have never had a real anemone - but I have HEARD that if you put a powerhead pointing straight at one, it will move. But I don't know how fast they move. The one little anemone that I do have moves very fast - he has been stuck on the back of a hermit crab for the last two months.

 

bob

[ReeferMan]

you setted the tank up a few days ago and your putting livestock in it already? if so they are doomed. You need to let it run for a month before putting anything in it to let it cycle. Most people would say not to add a anenome to a new tank and say its better to wait a year to allow the tank to stabilize. If you water quality is thrown off it will suffer and could die. You also need to watch your salinty with a smaller tank. Smaller tanks are alot easier for things to get thrown off. take things slow or you will waste your money and livestock.Ask alot of questions if your unsure or do a search. most questions you probably have are covered in a previous thread. Sometimes you can get under their foot and peel them off. Just make sure you dont tear it.

Edited April 24, 2007 by phisigs79

[Connor]

the way i did it was i got my water for my tank from my friends 75 gallon tank he just siphoned it out so it should already be stable for the most part righ.t i was still going to give it a few more days but i didnt think i had to wait as long

[YBeNormal]

Conner,

 

I hate to jump on the bandwagon but adding water from an established tank does not mean that the new tank is cycled or that it is established enough to begin adding livestock--and certainly not something as sensitive as an anemone! Most of the beneficial bacteria grow on/in the substrate and rocks or on the glass, not suspended in the water, and it takes time for the bacteria to become established.

 

I'd recommend slowing down a bit, doing lots of reading and ask lots of questions. You'll save yourself lots of headaches and cash and maybe even the life of a reef creature or two at the same time!

[Rascal]

Conner:

 

The advice above is sound. There is an adage in this hobby that many of us has learned the hard way: "Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank."

 

Here's a good place to read for some concise information on the nitrogen cycle when starting up a new tank: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bionitrog.../a/aa073199.htm

 

Make sure you have some test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrogen so you can track your progress. Adding water from an established tank will not speed this along very much, but adding good quality, cured (this means nothing on/in it is still in the process of dying) live rock might. Since you already have an anenome, the best you can do at this point is monitor your levels and be prepared to do many small water changes if necessary.

 

Here's what I did to get one of mine off of a rock when I was re-aquascaping. Holding the rock underwater, find a place you can work the edge of a fingernail under the foot. Go slow and be gentle. Apply steady but gentle pressure until you start to feel the muscles in the foot near your thumb relax a little, and then work your finger nail in a little bit more. Keep doing this until the anenome finally comes off the rock into your hand. The whole process might take 20-30 minutes. Just keep in mind, if you tear the foot, it is pretty much a doomed.

 

Good luck.

[Connor]

i wasnt actualy planning on moving my anemone or any of my corals straight into my 30 i just thought if i could get the anemone off i could start setting up the rock from my 10g in my new tank so i could get it stacked nice. i do agree though that even though its water from a already set up tank that i should still wait a month or 2 before putting any livestock in. Except of course my clean up crew

[ReeferMan]

i would wait on the cleanup crew as well

[Connor]

how long do u think i should wait for the cleanup crew

[lanman]

how long do u think i should wait for the cleanup crew

 

Maybe I was just born a risk-taker (but if I was HIGH risk, I wouldn't have lived to this ripe old age). It appears that you are using ALL established, cycled live rock, SOME experienced live sand with critters, you have a skimmer and everything all set up. And you have some experience with your nano tank. I'm not sure if using someone else's water is a good thing or a bad thing - after all, we keep changing OUT our own water and putting in new, fresh salt water. But I'm sure it won't hurt much, if anything.

 

My recommendation (remember, I'm a newbie - a master BBS poster, not a master reefer) is to wait about a week, check all of your parameters, and go ahead and put in anything you don't care TOO much about. I'll bet your tank doesn't cycle at all - or if it does, it will be a minor one. I would NOT put the anemone in there for a bit - until you're sure everything else is healthy and happy. Other than that - go for it. The above is how I built my 2nd tank - and it never cycled. I had to dump some rocks with monti digi's and zoa's and mushrooms in there within a week after starting it; too good a deal to pass up, and no space in my 24-gallon tank. They aren't just doing well - this monti is trying to take over the world. I chiseled off the front edge of this a week ago to keep it from over-running the zoa's:

 

So - take a lesson from Agassi and just do it! (Don't mind the salt on the back of the tank - I haven't cleaned it since I started setting up the 58-gallon to replace it)

 

bob