27 replies to this topic

[shane78]

Hey guys so I got myself a 34l nano tank yesterday, and put some water in from the ocean, do I still need to go thru cycle, is it quicker because

I got ocean water or does not make any differance also can I put live rock in straight away or should wait for cycle, also

what are good parameters to put fish in, sorry bout the noob questions just really excited bout my first saltwater tank.

[Jules]

beneficial bacteria and denitrifying bacteria is not just within the water.

with a marine set up you rely greatly on your live rock and sand as means of biological filtration, with maybe the aid of sponges for mechanical filtration and the use of purigen zeolite or other forms of chemical filtration.

good parameters for marines would be nitrate, nitrite and ammonia at 0ppm (nitrates are tolerable but 0 is desirable), pH around 8.2, and salinity in the means of 1.023-1.028. this is very basically put.

google is your friend, marine aquariums work differently for everyone. research and decide what method you want to go for. hope this helps a little

[shane78]

so I can add live rock now as this will help with the cycle?

[Bermont]

go talk to steve at avid aquaria, he will sort you out with everything you need to know and sells live rock and corals

[shane78]

is there any decent marine shops in the northern suburbs im in merriwa. just south of geraldton haha

[MrLeifBeaver]

Hi Shane78. I think I got the same tank an Ocean Free - Nano 3. Yeah you still need to get it cycling. Mine has been goin for nearly a month so it is just about ready for fish.

No idea about Marines NOR. Sorry.

[Jules]

OCEAN REEF AQUARIUM in wangarra

marine only store, they get some real amazing corals and fish.

SOR vebas is definetly th best in my opinion.

 

live rock will be the starting point for your tank cycling ideally, as organisms will die off causing an ammonia spike, then anerobic and aerobic bacteria and other things will start a nitrate cycle so to speak. depending on the quality / freshness of the rock depends on cycle time etc etc.

Edited by Jules, 28 January 2014 - 12:46 PM.

[malawiman85]

What Jules said +1

[Redevilz]

Agree with Jules.

Also, I would recommend adding another pump or wavemaker as the current one is insufficient for SPS and also has dead spots where no flow reaches.

Goodluck!!

[shane78]

yeh gonna add another pump and hopefully pick up a couple of kgs of live rock tonight person im buying it off has had  in there  tank for few yrs

[shane78]

also guys just curious if I was to buy ro/di from oceanreefs how do i keep it, as in do I need a powerhead in there aswell to keep things flowing I plan on getting bulk so I dont have to do weekly trips.

[shane78]

Ok I dont know if this is a good thing or not but I am officially addicted and obsessed,

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Picked up this live rock last night, she told me its fully matured live rock

and also got the is little guy will have to ask her what it is have forgot already.

Never thought I would be so interested in something that doesnt swim

haha. Now I have to find cheap coral..... didnt realize coral was so

expensive haha.

not sure bout the bunny ears.

[malawiman85]

Check out: http://www.masa.asn.au/masa/

Really good marine resource, always something to learn on MASA.

[MrLeifBeaver]

Where's your protien skimmer for the Nano?

[shane78]

Where's your protien skimmer for the Nano?

ok so I havnt got one, I am thinking bout putting a hang back filter with refugium can anyone advise me how to do this and if it will benifet the tank

it is a aqua clear 200

[Jules]

skimmers aren't 100% necessary.

I have seen some of the best reefs skimmerless.

check out nano reef . com for some of the feature tanks 1/3 no skimmers, just a lot of waterchanges, good chemical filtration and minimal bio load.

 different set ups work different for everyone.

try get a surface skimmer, these feed into the intake of the HOB filters well and work a treat, removing surface skimmate etc.

good thinking with the fuge in the back too!

 

my newest 400mm cube is skimmer and filterless. just lots of live rock and live sand, bulk water flow. tank turn over approx. 20 times an hour. high quality Cree LED, and ill be doing large water changes. Bio load of 1-2 fish with an emphasis on LPS and SPS corals

Edited by Jules, 29 January 2014 - 03:16 PM.

[shane78]

Can anyone tell me what these are.

 

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[shane78]

Here is another pic

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[Jules]

the first thing some kind of nudibranch / sea slug perhaps.

second thing on the rock looks like apitasia. an undesirable nuisance anemone that can sting many corals and spread quickly. best way to eradicate them (if you chose to) is apitasia x or pure calcium solution in which you use a pipette or syringe to inject them. otherwise peppermint shrimp and certain chelmon (butterfly fish) species are know to eat it.

[shane78]

damn I found that apitasia in the bucket of live rock and thought it looked cool so put it back in and in that hole, doh can I try and get him out, also is the other thing ok to have in there, it

was also a hitchhiker.