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yiyi67

My 325 is finally cycling!

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7 Comments
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yiyi67
, 05-10-2010 at 03:48 PM (2443 Views)
I have long been lurking on many forums researching and ogling many peoples tanks. I have learned the immense value that these threads/ blogs have for everyone who is willing to read them and have decided to try to start my own in hopes that others will be able to learn from my mistakes and use my limited knowledge to help them succeed in this wonderful hobby. So without further ado, here are the system specs.

Goals: This will be a predominantly SPS tank with a few choice pieces of LPS and softies thrown in for flare. I plan on heavily stocking with fish, hopefully many tangs! Ideally this system will be somewhat self sufficient only requiring the normal weekly/ monthly maintenance. If there is one thing I have learned in this hobby it is cheaper to do everything right off the bat, rather than buying cheaper stuff first, then buying the nice stuff once you decide you aren't happy with your original stuff. I think you will see how firmly I believe this throughout my build.

Tank/ Stand: The tank is a 84"x30"x30" eurobraced Lee Mar tank. It has a floating overflow with 3 drain lines drilled so I can run the famous Bean Animal Overflow Design. The stand is a custom steel stand that I designed and made with the help of a couple of buddies. It is all 1.5" square tubing with 1/8" wall. This thing is so strong you could park a tank on it! (Pun intended )

Flow: I am using a Reeflo Dart split between 2 Vertex MOceans as a return pump. I will also be using 4 possibly 5 of the new Ecotech MP40W's for additional flow.

Filtration: I am using a Bubble King 250 Supermarin for my protein skimmer. I will also be running 2 or 3 BRS dual media reactors containing carbon and GFO. My sump has a built in refugium that I will be putting some cheato and live rock rubble in.

Lighting: This consists of 3 400W MH lights being driven by Icecap electronic ballasts. I am using 3 Lumenbright Mini reflectors for these as well. I also am running 8 36" T5's split between 2 Icecap 660 ballasts for actinic supplementation. I am also using 12 Digital Aquatics moon light pods to provide moonlighting effects. All of this is on a canopy that I have designed to move up and down on a linear actuator/ rail system. This will allow me to really dial in my lighting to achieve the intensity and coverage that I am looking for as well as letting me raise the whole lighting system up out of the way to work above the tank.

Other: I will be using a Geo 624 calc reactor for chemical supplementation. I decided to use Marco Rocks dry rocks and sand for my aquascaping. I will be seeding these with live rock/ sand from my current tank. I will be controlling all of this equipment via my Reefkeeper Elite. I love this system and it lets the user do practically anything you could ever want.

With all this info I have a couple issues I need advice on. What light cycles do you normally run during the cycling of a new tank? When is it best to add the live rock/ sand that I will be using to seed my dead stuff. I don't want to kill any critters during the ammonia/ nitrite spike. Is this a non-issue?

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Categories
‎ Tank Entry , ‎ Tank - Full Summary , ‎ Plumbing , ‎ Lighting

Comments

  1. fchidsey's Avatar
    If you are worried about a cycle take all the dry/ and live sand and "dead stuff" stick it in a tank and cycle it with a dead shrimp or squid while you build the awesome setup I just read about. if you are going to run a tank controller like a neptune for example they come with a season table that you can set up moon light on a normal 30 day cycle and sunlight on a normal 30 day cycle and the times change according to the lat and long set for the seasons. then just adjust the tank time to when you want the lights to be on and you are good. IMHO
  2. Turbosek's Avatar
    Wow, I like the sound of your set up. I agree with you on buying the best and only buying once.

    I am just about to start the cycling process, so I have been doing a bit of research. Here is some info I really like:
    New Aquarium Cycle Methods - http://www.chucksaddiction.com/cyclemethods.html
    The Clean Up Crew - http://www.chucksaddiction.com/cleanupcrew.html

    He is very specific about how to add everything. This is just one guy's opinion. The overall theme he subscribes to is this...."A reef tank should be just that, a reef tank....not a coral display tank."

    I also just read a good article by a phd student in marine biology..who also is quit and expert on reef aquariums. I cannot remember where I saw it though. He argued that no one should attempt to stock fish or corals in a tank during the first 12 months. There are sooo many dying off and rebirth cycles of different bacteria in the first 12 months, that huge levels of stress are passed on to fish and corals. There were a couple corals that were exceptions, that helped in the stabilization process. He also speculates that "old tank syndrome" can possibly be averted by replicating what nature often does. He says to move your rocks around every couple years, to emulate a dynamic natural occurrence that prevents any one species of anything in the tank from becoming dominant. This seems quite ambiguous, but interesting to think about none the less. One would want to make sure not to stress out things too much.
  3. yiyi67's Avatar
    Very interesting articles. I have to agree with his ideology on reef tanks. I think half the fun of these is the fact that you are basically making a little ecosystem. It seems the consensus of the info I have gotten says to not run the lights during cycling and to add your live rock and live sand once the ammonia has settled down.

    Regarding the idea to not stock anything for 12 months... I think I can safely say thats just not going to happen! LOL. I can see the reasoning behind these ideas, but I just can't see the practicality of doing it in our hobby.

    Thanks for the compliments, if this tank turns out at all like what I've seen in my head for the past couple months it should be pretty cool. Then again who knows what the chances of that are!
  4. melev's Avatar
    I wouldn't even turn in the lights during the cycle, as it will only result in more algae. When you are ready to turn on some lights, that's when you should have a clean up crew in there to keep up with the growth.

    Sounds like it is going to be a very nice setup.
  5. upster's Avatar
    Awesome, exciting day to be sure! What have your past reefing experiences been like and can you post some pictures of the new setup?
  6. upster's Avatar
    Opps, just found the pics. Looking good!
  7. yiyi67's Avatar
    I've been in and out of the hobby for about 10 years, but have been serious about doing real research and learning about how to do everything for about 3. I was pretty young when I first started and had a 75 gallon FOWLR setup for a few years. Then I moved out of my parents house during college and re-setup my tank as a true reef a couple years ago. It's all been downhill since then LOL. Thanks for the comments. I will be attempting to get some real pictures of the setup and equipment this weekend so you can have a better idea of how everything is laid out.