matt bills March 31, 2011 Share March 31, 2011 Hi all.......... I just setup a 28 gallon nano and have been reading the articles here. I live in leesburg. 20 lbs of sand and 29 lbs of live rock salt water from Fins and feathers in Ashburn. Turned on the systems with the lights off, filtering with carbon and protien skimmer. I have a cloud from the sand but it is setting little by little. My fault I just poured the sand in. I hope to address with putting floss in the filter to filter that out. Should I put in a shrimp for cycling to get the amonia up? Or just check the levels? the tanks on here are are beautiful. I hope some day I can get to that level. Thanks Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 31, 2011 Share March 31, 2011 If you purchased live rock from F&F, I'd not bother with adding a shrimp, as the rock is already colonized with bacteria. Instead, take ammonia and nitrite measurements over the next few days to make sure that you don't have any die off from the new setup. Once things have settled, add your clean up crew: Some snails and hermits. Be sure to follow proper acclimation procedures! Inverts are typically much more sensitive to salinity and other parameter changes than fish. Once your cleanup crew is in place, pick a hardy fish (a smallish one) and introduce it to your tank. Pick your livestock with forethought given to the size of your tank and its compatibility with other livestock that you intend to introduce. If you've not already got an auto-topoff system, you may want to consider making that your next investment. It really relieves you of the mundane and frequent, but necessary chore of topping off the tank (with freshwater) to compensate for evaporation and to stabilize salinity. As for the cloudiness you have from your sand: It'll settle in a day or two. Once bacteria begin to colonize the surface of the sand, it will stay down a little better. By the way, welcome to our forum! If you haven't yet considered it, click on the "Why Join WAMAS" link in my signature.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills March 31, 2011 Author Share March 31, 2011 thank you I will keep you all updated with my progress. Thanks for the help. I have had a 55 gallon salt years back but moved. I didn't have coral in that tank but this one is my starter for coral so i can learn about them. This morning the ammonia was .0-.05 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 31, 2011 Share March 31, 2011 Those numbers are good. If you find your ammonia climbing, I would start water changes at 0.5 to 1 ppm, in an effort to keep ammonia below 1 ppm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills March 31, 2011 Author Share March 31, 2011 Thanks i need to find a top off and ro/di unit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 31, 2011 Share March 31, 2011 This is a nice ATO switch made by one of our sponsors and local companies: http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/rigging/Top-off-Kit I have one on my wife's office tank which is a 34 gallon Red Sea Max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills March 31, 2011 Author Share March 31, 2011 Greath thanks so i just hook a power head up to it in a bucket of water run a hose to the tank, does the powerhead plug into this devise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 31, 2011 Share March 31, 2011 Greath thanks so i just hook a power head up to it in a bucket of water run a hose to the tank, does the powerhead plug into this devise. That's pretty much about it. I modified a maxijet with this arrangement which makes for an easy-on/easy-off connection and, because the tubing size is constrained to 1/4" limits the flow perfectly for an ATO application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills March 31, 2011 Author Share March 31, 2011 looks simple enough I will have to give it a try. Thanks again..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 31, 2011 Share March 31, 2011 Your probably already know this, but be sure that you top off with fresh (not salt) water. Topping off with salt water only drives your salinity up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills March 31, 2011 Author Share March 31, 2011 Does it hurt to have the sand on the live rock. I blow some off with Turkey baster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 31, 2011 Share March 31, 2011 Does it hurt to have the sand on the live rock. I blow some off with Turkey baster No. Except for the aesthetics, it shouldn't. Now, if you had loads of it on the live rock and it was there for a while, it could kill off any coralline algae growth that was beneath it due to lack of light, but that's about it. Using a turkey baster to blow it off is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills March 31, 2011 Author Share March 31, 2011 Yeah I love making the water all cloudy but I will work on it everyday to get it off. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills April 1, 2011 Author Share April 1, 2011 This morning the tank was clear love seeing the live rock but had to move the rock a little bit which caused a storm ammonia was 0 and nitrite was 0-0.05. Can i us the GE RO unit at homedepot i didnt see any thing on the box about deoxinization does that matter? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami April 1, 2011 Share April 1, 2011 RO, or reverse osmosis, is only one part of the water treatment program that a lot of us use here. Under pressure, the RO membrane (which is like a mechanical nano-filter) can remove 90-99% (depending upon the membrane and the pressure) of certain dissolved solids. The water that comes out often still has some TDS (total dissolved solids) in it. Much of the residual TDS come in the form of small ions, though, that pass through the RO membrane. That's why we run the water through a deionization (DI) stage. The DI resin attracts and binds these ions so that your water is purer (0 ppm TDS). Rather than waste your time with the GE unit, head over to our sponsor (Air, Water, Ice) and check out their Typhoon series of RO/DI systems for reefkeepers. (The Typhoon III is a popular model.) WAMAS members get an additional 10% discount. So if you decide on a Typhoon III, then 1) Join WAMAS, 2) Get the discount code, 3) Order your Typhoon III and get 10% back (which nearly covers the cost of a 1-year WAMAS membership, and 4) enjoy the benefits of both. By the way, AWI has great customer service. If you have questions give them a call or drop them an email. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills April 1, 2011 Author Share April 1, 2011 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills April 2, 2011 Author Share April 2, 2011 I am doing a circle rock formatio and higher in the back. Besides snails and crabs for the crew. What else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami April 2, 2011 Share April 2, 2011 You're going to need good flow in the tank. Do you have a power head in there? Something like a Koralia nano or Koralia 1? You could also put a sand sifter in there. Something like a small star. Be careful when acclimating stars, though. They are extremely sensitive to salinity changes and it must be taken reeeeeeaaaaaal slow. Do you have a livestock list that you're considering? You're really not that far from one of our better local fish stores (LFS) around here. Have you ever been to Fins & Feathers over in Ashburn? They're in the shopping center with the Safeway just off of Claiborne Parkway next to where it crosses the Greenway. If not, you should make time to swing by there (today) if you can. Sean can show you what he's got in stock, which normally includes a variety of fish, corals, equipment, etc. He'll give you good advice for free, too. Blue Ribbon Koi (aka BRK) is a little further out and is down near Manassas off Route 234, east of 66 (down toward Rt 15). It's another good place that carries a lot of stock and supplies. Both are must-visits in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatortailale April 2, 2011 Share April 2, 2011 Welcome to the hobby & the club. The tank looks great. Just remember to take it slow. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills April 2, 2011 Author Share April 2, 2011 Today's readings are Ammonia 0 Nitrite. .25 Ph is darker than 8.6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills April 2, 2011 Author Share April 2, 2011 Tank has only been running for 4 days how long should I wait before adding crew. I have been to fins and feathers twice. That is where I got my live rock and sand and water. Not sure what stock I want with it being a small tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills April 2, 2011 Author Share April 2, 2011 The power heads are in the back and have two out lets at the top. Do need more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami April 2, 2011 Share April 2, 2011 If these are the standard outlets from the built-in sump, then, yes, I would recommend at least one more because you normally don't get that much flow from these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John April 2, 2011 Share April 2, 2011 The power heads are in the back and have two out lets at the top. Do need more? How many powerheads (and type) are there? What are these outlets you speak of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bills April 2, 2011 Author Share April 2, 2011 They have two power hooked to two outlets and I just bought another 425 power head and am piutting it in the tank now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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