Hi NRers,

I'm looking for all the advice and suggestions that I can get. I'm in a bit of a predicament. I'm adopting from a friend her FOWLR tank. I've been taking care of her tank on and off for years while away on vacation, and I have been reading up here on NR since January of this year with plans to get my own tank (so this timing was perfect). I'm not too worried about my ability to take care of the tank once it's here, (since there are such great people around here for advice if I were to stumble on the way) but I have a few initial concerns.

First of all this tank is fully established and has been operating for 3-4 years. It has about 150lbs of live rock, the following live stock:1 blue tang. 2 clown fish and 2 damsels. crab, 2 sea urchins and a sea cucumber, and crushed coral .

It has the following equipment:
Eheim 2028 filter
inline heater from ehiem
coral life super skimmer (yes i know people love to hate these!)
powerhead pump
2 maxi jet pumps
eheim pump

then the beauty:
the light is 760 watts total with 12 leds for moonlight simulation, 2 metal halide bulbs i believe they are 15k and 4 actinic bulbs. built in fan. 2 ballasts and 6 different switches to change light settings to how you want it

It will be sitting on a black pine stand.

Anyways my first concern is the crushed coral bed. Since I definitely want to change that to sand as soon as possible, do you think it would be better to change it during the move, or leave the crushed coral alone (for fear of causing the tank to crash if it were to stir up) and wait a few weeks until things have adjusted before changing it out one cup at a time? (Yes I know a tedious process but would be worth it to do the right thing).

Then my other concern. Transporting the live rock I will do easily by keeping the existing established tank water (about 50-70 gallons I'm hoping to move with me) and putting the LR into big tupperware bins. My big concern is how to transport the fish for the HOUR car ride ( do they need an air stone or anything) and when you suggest what I would transport them in please keep in mind that once I get home it will take another hour to move their tank in and fill with LR and water.

Also if someone can give me a step by step for the moving process that would be great too (ie first pack all equipment, then drain water, then remove rock, then try and catch fish etc).

I know I'm forgetting information you'll probably need to answer this equation so please ask lots of questions and I'm hoping this will be a success with all the advice available.

(Also keep in mind I have a week to plan this thing as I'm not picking up the tank until next Saturday)

Thanks and I'm psyched to see what's said
Sara
P.S. Even more psyched to start posting photos and creating a tank thread as so many others have done!
P.P.S. I will have more questions, no doubt.

Here is a thread on my latest move. Maybe it will give you a few ideas.

Definitely change it during the move. Use a cup or two of the crushed coral to seed the new bed.

5 gallon buckets work well (no air stone required).

I have moved my Biocube 3 times already an I pretty much have a set way of doing it that works great.

1.) At the new location have a batch of fresh saltwater ready & up to spec enough for 50% of tank volume
2.) Remove all corals and place them in baggies
3.) Remove all rock and put them in tubs, keep the rock submersed in old tank water
4.) Remove livestock, it can either be bagged or put in plastic containers... I prefer containers because right now I only have 3 fish.
5.) From here drain the rest of the water to where you know you have half the tank volume between the rock bins & the stuff you are currently collecting
6.) Move the tank/stand to the new location - do not disturb the sandbed

Once you get to the new location & after you set the tank/stand up.

7.) You can aquascape now... or pour the drained water in and then aquascape.
8.) Pour the 50% water change you had waiting into the new tank
9.) Turn the tank on - let the filters/rock clean the water.
10.) Acclimate fish/add fish
11.) Acclimate corals/add corals

NOTE: In your case of wanted to replace the sand bed what I would do is sift through the sandbed to remove all the bristleworms/snails you want to keep and then later toss them into the aquarium bare bottomed.

Week by week add some sand that you have been cycling in another tank, or that is just dry.

There ya go, hope I made things easy.... all you have to do now is the heavy lifting lol

Hi Sara, will this become a reef tank, or are you keeping it a FOWLR?

If the skimmer works, then it will be fine, but for a reef:
• Refer to these threads about using canister filters.
• Total flow in the display should be around 2500gph.
• You will have to verify that your livestock is reef compatible (I'm thinking about the urchins here).

It sounds like you're going to have a lot of fun with this.

Hi SeaBass,

Thanks so much for the suggestions so far, and I'm glad you've asked more questions (as I knew there'd be things I'd forgotten).

You're absolutely right I do want to set it up as a reef tank (with the gorgeous light fixture it comes with how could I not?! lol) and I am hoping to trade in the sea urchins to my local LFS for credit towards other live stock/coral purchases.

I wasn't sure about the canister filter in all honesty because I would rather spend the extra money and get extra live rock and live sand for the filtration, or is it necessary for me to have the flow? I do have 4-5 powerheads and can purchase additional ones if that would help to compensate. The reason why I was going to leave the tank "as is" for the first few weeks is because I'm terrified of 'disturbing the peace' lol. I don't want to cause any system crashes or substantial changes to their(the livestock) environment. (I have been looking for tanks for the last few months but never intended to purchase one that had live stock, so its really throwing me for a loop).

Another question for you, I have a styraphome insulted container to transport the fish/fish containers in, does each fish need a separate bag/container, or for example can the two clown fish go together (clearly the tang will be kept by itself hahaha don't worry).

Thanks for everything (yet again!)

2 clowns can go together just give them a bit more room/water

Sweet.

Like the threads in the search that I provided say, you can use it if you wish (following the suggestions about media and cleaning). However, canister filters are not normally included in reef equipment lists.

You will have to cycle new live rock first (in a separate container). Don't introduce any into any established system (or while moving an established system).

However, you will be replacing your entire sand bed. Which should be alright. Use the bagged live sand as it doesn't require rinsing and the bacteria will become fully established sooner.

Flow is necessary, but not from any specific source; you should have about 2500gph total. Powerheads with more dispersed flow are preferred.

Don't worry about changing equipment, it should actually help. Just don't add any new live rock (LR).

Sure, as long as they get along (you can tell if they hang out together). For example, I moved my clownfish and gobies in the same bucket.

It's not as overwhelming as you might think. Good luck.

I would not waste money on bagged live sand. Use dry sand and seed it with a few cups of your established crushed coral or better yet bum a few cups of real live sand from friends or a local reef club.

I am a big fan of deep sand beds so I choose to not rinse my sand as the fines are an important part of of a fully functioning deep sand bed. You will end up with a milkshake for a few days but the benefits far outweigh the few days of cloudiness.

If you are wanting to make this system a reef you may want to invest in a sump, overflow and return pump. You might not be able to do it at the moment so make sure when you set the tank up at you place, you leave enough room between the tank and wall for a hang on overflow box. Don't scoot up up against the wall or a box will not fit. All good things take time so don't get in a hurry, get the system set up and operating pretty much as it is today, minus the crushed coral, and continue to research and study the various overflows and sump configurations.

When moving a tank I try to have a smaller quarantine or hospital tank already set up to transfer the fish and livestock into while I take my time setting up the main system that way there is no hurry on getting things going. The rock can stay in the tubs for weeks if need be as long as you stick a powerhead and maybe a heater in each one. I recently stored my whole 160 lbs of live rock in Rubbermaid totes while I rebuilt my entire 100G system over a 6 week period. The fish and corals lived in 20G QT tanks.

I just moved all of my tanks 3 weeks ago. I think I've moved a total of 18 tanks now.

Okay, first off, it's going to take longer than that "another hour" you mentioned to move the tank in and set it up. So don't make plans immediately after your tank move.

About transporting the fish; I use a cooler, and put them all together. The insulation of the cooler keeps the temp pretty stable. I've actually added a powerhead and a heater to the cooler and let them chill for a few days before.

Drain half the water (or any significant amount, maybe the 50-70 you plan to take with you, I'd take more if you can). Then move all of the LR into some of that water. (side note: I don't bag up my corals and stuff either, I just keep them separate from LR w/o corals and take special care to not damage the livestock) After the LR is removed, catch the fish and all of the snails/crabs/worms/etc you can. After that, throw away the water you don't want and the crushed coral you don't want. (I vote dry sand also, just mix in 5 pounds or so of the old CC).

To set it back up, work backwards, minus the fish. Save them for last. I fill the tank as I'm aquascaping, doing my best to keep all LR wet. If the sand doesn't settle quickly maybe do the powerhead/heater in the cooler and let the fish chill for a day or so. If you do this, be sure to match the temperatures of the tank water to the cooler water as best you can. The more you can reduce the shock on your fish, the better.

If I'm planning on doing any change to a tank during a move, I try to do it all at once. The fish are going to be stressed regardless of whether you set it up exactly the same or not, so my thoughts have always been lets get all of the stress out of the way now. No sense in letting them get settled and then 2 weeks later stress them out again with your changes. Just do it now.

PM me if you have any specific questions, but I'll try to remember to check back on this thread, I'll be glad to offer my advice on anything.

-Chris

P.S. - my sister is a no H Sara also. I don't see it spelled that way very often.

Pyro, can the two damsels also go together?

I just moved my RSM 34g and 12g 20 mins down the road no casulties

i used plastic tubs for the non stinging corals, bagged the stingers, coolers for the fish and shrimps (which went all together), kept the sand in the aquarium with just enough water to cover it, and used whatever buckets i could find to transport all the water and live rock, (for some of the live rock i just put wet paper towels over them to keep them moist, and didnt have too much die off of the coralline still

for a long trip you might go into the fish cooler/container and just airate the water by cupping some and letting it fall back into the water

it was a pain, but just think you get to rescape how you always wanted to, and in my case i finally glued things down, anyways good luck and hope it goes swimmingly!

AZ: Unfortunately the local reef club is quite far from my house and consequently not so local (over an hour drive). I love the idea and maybe when I get my own car will explore this option, but for now it's only a dream. Are you sure it would be ok to use a few cups of the crushed coral? I am just so concerned about the size and sharpness of it I don't want to hurt my future gobies blennies snails and things that I plan on getting.


I very much appreciate the advice about tank placement but I know I won't be able to have a sump. The extra weight that it would add to the area where the system is set up would tip the scales on the floor supports I think.

I love this idea. Infact I have a spare 25 gallon (24*24*12) that I could set up this weekend in preparation for next week. However, wouldn't that tank need to cycle and I worry that it might be too small for all the live stock to live in for 4-5 hours (if I were to really take my time instead of rushing). And if I were to set up such a tank would I just have an air pump, heater and pre mixed saltwater in it?

Just use the water that you're bringing them in. You're basically doing the same thing I said to do with the cooler, except with a tank.

A small amount of crushed coral in the sand bed won't make much of a difference as far as inhabitants. Eventually it will work its way to the surface of the sand bed and could be scooped out with a net during tank maintenance. Over time you will end up with larger particles anyway just from live rock breaking down and erosion. No big deal. I'll bet if you quizzed people in your area someone keeps a saltwater system and would gladly donate a cup or two of live sand from their tanks, the more cups you get from different systems the more diversity of critters you will have.

You will want to keep it away from the wall ragardless as things like hang on back protein skimmers will also take room. It also helps with air circulation and cooling too.

The inhabitants will do just fine in a smaller tank for weeks even. Look at the fish at the LFS, they live in a 20 or 30 or sometimes smaller for months. What I try to do is keep a new foam or sponge filter insert for my AquaClear hang on filter soaking in my sump or out of the way in another canister or hang on filter at all times so it is charged with beneficial bacteria and can be used in a quarantine tank at basically a moments notice. I can set a QT system up in about 30 minutes if need be that way. In your case, I would set the 25 up with new saltwater, a HOB filter or airlift sponge filter and heater and get it circulating. Once you arrive at home with the new tank, remove the sponge filter or bio rings or whatever media from the canister and stick it in the 25 somewhere so you get a transfer of bacteria to get the cycle going quickly. Another option would be to install the canister on the 25 if its not been out of service too long or is too dirty. Just saving old tank wate ris not usualy sufficient as bacteria does not float around in the water, it colonizes live rock, filter sponges and sand.

I like the AquaClear hang on filters since the replacement sponges are cheap and easy to replace. I never reuse a filter sponge once it has been used in a hospital or quarantine tank since it may have diseases or viruses that could be passed on, for $1 I just throw it away and replace it with a new one. You might keep this in mind for future fish purchases, once you are set up and established you will probably want to add your own choice of fish down the road. Always quarantine them in the 25 before addinge them to your display tank so keep a filter sponge somewhere ready to go. If you have an extra hang on you could leave it running on the back of the display and transfer it to the QT tank whne you need it since you will not have a sump.

Sorry Chris I think I misunderstood your earlier post, and for some irrational reason (no sarcasm meant) I'd just feel like the fish were safer in a tank, rather than a cooler. I also don't have a cooler that's clean enough to put the water and fish into directly, whereas I do have a tank up and running.

In terms of your earlier post regarding the step by step break down, that's super helpful. It's just hard for me to imagine this move will go so smoothly as everyone here seems to predict, these lil fishes are so super delicate I feel horrible doing this to them.

Thanks for the idea!

They're not nearly as delicate as you think. Just work diligently, don't rush, and everything will be fine. I really wasn't exaggerating when I said I've moved 18 tanks, and I've never lost a single inhabitant to a move, except for maybe a snail or something that got left dry in the sand for too long.. I've never moved one farther than 30 minutes, but an extra 30 minutes of drive time is just a little more time for the fish to calm down in their transport container. It might not be a bad thing.

damsels should go in a sep baggy... if they are put in the same one will tear the other apart.

Just go through the steps as I've said and you'll be fine... a tank that big will take prob half a day to move and set up atleast

I know I will definitely want to add more LR to the system, (probably close to double what is in there now) why do I have to cycle the LR before putting it into my tank if I were to add it 10 lbs at a time would that make a difference? I have no intention of adding more LR for at least 2-3 weeks don't worry. I don't rush anything. lol

Thanks
Sara

Thanks again SeaBass, I have a 15 gallon tank that's not in use here that I guess I will use to 'extra' cure the LR I'm getting. Do you think 2-3 weeks is a reasonable time for me the budget for the cycle for it?

Also, how soon can I add a clean up crew? Right now there are no snails and only one crab. I was thinking for a tank of my size it should be able to support 60-100 snails and 15-20 crabs.

I also don't want the crew to starve since I will probably scrape any algae that might be in there when I move it.

You're welcome.

Since you will be moving an established tank, you can add to the cleanup crew as soon as you feel that everything has stabilized from the move.

I feel that's too much. I'd recommend starting with 4 to 6 Nassarius snails, 4 to 6 Cerith snails, and 4 to 6 Trochus (and/or Astraea) snails (you can add more as time goes on). Crabs are fun to watch, but they can be detrimental to the infauna, so I wouldn't get very many (just a couple will add some interest to your tank).

Just keep the clean up crew small for now, and add to it as you need.

When re-aquascaping the newly moved tank, should I 'glue' the rock work together? Or if its placed solidly will it be ok? If I glue it together should I use Mr. Sticky's Underwater Glue?

If you are like most of us, you will fiddle with it for awhile and still not be completely satisfied, so you will redo it again later. Also, you mentioned that you will be adding more rock. I wouldn't attempt to glue it, just make sure that it won't topple over.

Note, you should place the rock on the bottom glass (this will help prevent it from toppling over should the sand shift). You can add a shallow sand bed (less than an inch) around your aquascape.

So how soon could I start dosing purple up? The tank doesn't have much coraline right now and that's something I'd like to fix.

Also feeding every other day is ok? Or would that make too much of a bio load upheavel for the 'new' tank?

I wouldn't plan on dosing anything for now. If you maintain your water changes, your water parameters should stay fine and Coralline algae should start to spread.
If you do start to dose, you will need to test for calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium.

With all of your livestock I would feed a little everyday. Just don't overfeed.

Ok I need some more clarification as usual. This time in regards to what kinds of containers I can use to transport the LR and water (Since I'm hoping to take about 70 gallons of existing tank water with me).

I was reading that when using containers you should be careful and make sure you are using only food grade plastic for fear of water contamination. This makes sense to me, however, then I was thinking about all the people with large tanks like mine that have to use garbage bins as their mixing tubs and thought... those can't be food grade plastic?

I ask because I went to evil Walmart hunting for rubbermaid bins and tubs to see how many I'd need and realized that there was nothing food grade available except for 7 gallon water jugs (which I'd need way too many of).

Rubbermaid Brute containers are food grade (it's even printed on the bottom). You can buy them at most home improvement stores. Keep in mind that water is heavy, so sometimes smaller containers are easier to move.

Right now I'm having trouble finding the brute bins here in Canada. I did like the idea of the smaller containers but they're $15 to buy so 10 of those adds up really quickly.

Some people had suggested 5 gallon buckets. Would it be something like this? http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/To...on%2BBucket.jsp

For the big container I was thinking something like this http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/...source=ShopToIt

or this http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/To...llon%2BTote.jsp

I liked the idea of using one of these for each of the livestock http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/Sp...am%2BBucket.jsp
or
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/8/Ki...%2B15.3-Cup.jsp
but wasn't sure if they were too small.

Or if I poked holes in the lid of this how about one of each of these for the livestock http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/8/Ki...%2B10.8-Cup.jsp

For long-term use, I would only use food grade containers. You can sometimes even get them from restaurants.

However, if you can't find any reasonably priced food grade containers, you should be fine using regular 5 gallon buckets for this move. They can hold the weight of water, and are still easily movable by one person when almost full.

Notes:
Some storage totes are not designed to hold the weight of water, so be careful. It's probably warm enough now that you shouldn't need insulated containers. You can probably get by without any large containers; if a piece of LR is too large, you could wrap in in wet newspapers.

Ok so I'm hoping to take as much of the existing water as I can in an event to avoid another cycle. I have two mini-vans going to move all the stuff in one go.

Tomorrow's the big day (fingers crossed). By the way here are the two 'urchins' in the tank. I don't know if I believe my friend that that's what they are because they don't have the large spikes I'm used to seeing. What do you think?
Click to view attachment (PS It's cool it collects shells for its back eh?!)

Click to view attachment

its an urchin.

pincussion urchins dont have the very long spikes like some others do.

I wouldn't worry too much about saving the existing water. Fresh saltwater is not going to cause a cycle, its the substrate and rock that support the colonizing bacteria not the water. When moving a tank with a functioning deep sand bed I have always tried to disturb the substrate as little as possible so I don't expose the anaerobic bacteria to air which will cause a cycle. I leave the sand in the tank with enough water to just cover it and transport it that way. If its not a DSB then disregard the above and rinse the heck out of the crushed coral or sand before placing it back in the newly relocated tank.

If you don't have enough water to completely submerge the live rock for transportation then put what you can in the tubs or coolers and cover the rocks with wet newspaper to keep them moist. The bacteria will survive as will any critters on the rock.

I bet Sara is having some major fun now. Did anybody tell her to bring some extra towels?


It's kind of cool when urchins are wearing a GSP mat on their head, but then they start ripping up coral frags to keep up with the latest fashion trend (and spreading coral to areas that you hadn't planned on).

Well I don't know if I would go so far as to say it was fun. How about exhausting and a labour of love. Actually I guess the best way to describe it is like labour - Messy and Exhausting, and it never goes as smoothly as you'd hope.

Long story short, the person started dismantling the tank first thing in the morning, while taking it apart the live rock fell and crushed the two clown fish . Then the tang died of stress. So by the time I showed up there were only 2 urchins, a sea cucumber and 2 damsels left. I was heart broken That being said of the fish that were alive when I got there all of them survived the move.

It took me 4 hours when I got home to fill up the tank, it was a bigger tank then I thought. Even though I knew the size of it (4ft*2ft*2ft) for some reason I definitely didnt make enough water, or transfer enough water. Luckily I bought an RO/DI unit the day before and had started working with that. Anyways I am still about 3 inches from the top for water because my RO/DI unit only makes 24 gallons a day. I’m waiting until my tank is completely full before running any tests.

I did decide to change out the sand bed which added more time to the process as well. It made my water cloudy for about a day (but not too bad, the fish are all fine) and I have been "turkey bastering" (if that's a real verb) the LR to keep the sand off of it.

I will have pictures up and available in 3-4 days. I decided to set up the rockwork in 3 pyramids, the middle pyramid is close to the front, the outside pyramids are towards the back of the tank (no worries, the rock was placed before the sand was put in, so hopefully it won't shift) and none of the LR is touching the glass.

So now I'm officially a fishy/urchin/cucumber mommy.

One quick question, does anyone else have problems with lack of outlets? Between the heater cord the two ballast plugs the fan plug the led plug the 4 powerhead plugs, skimmer plug, the how do people get all of this into the same outlet? lol powerbar into a powerbar?

Stay tuned for updates and pictures.

Thanks to everyone for the help along the way thus far.

That sounds about right.

That's so sad.

Good move!

It can be an issue, especially with the high wattage lights (you don't want to trip the circuit). Also, if you don't have one, get a GFCI outlet.

+2

how is everything doing?

Things are doing well. I was trying not to post until I could get some pics up, but hopefully I will be able to pull that off this afternoon.

It took me a while to fill up the tank with my RODI unit so I was waiting until it was full and I have cleaned it up all and it's looking at it's best before I take some photos.

There is a bit of a mini-cycle I suspect going on in the tank, ammonia is at 0.25 nitrate at 0.2 nitrite 0.1 Alk at 2.8 pH is at 8.2 and I'm getting a little bit of algae build up on the glass so I decided to add a small clean up crew.

4 Hermits (mix of left handed, hairy, blue leg)
2 Turbo snails
1 Cleaner shrimp
1 Blood Shrimp
1 Sand Sifting Star

I took forever to acclimatize the crew last night. Got them home at 8 and floated the bags and drip method-ed them until 11pm so I think I took enough time.

Now the mini-cycle that's going on can't be that bad because the 3 corals that came with the tank that are in there are thriving and doing well.

Also I might have found a home for the two urchins (since they are continuously bulldozing my tank). They make me nervous around my coral (octo-bubble, flowerpot, red zoas- I think, and 3 recently acquired frags last night mixed zoos, kenya tree, amazing blue zoos)

Ok time to head down stairs and check out the tank, here's hoping nothings floating or angry with me!

Are you sure that they are all reef safe? I'm just asking, I don't know.

The starfish might be fine in a large tank like yours, but I'm sure that it would prefer a more mature aquarium. It will feed on beneficial infauna in the sand along with the crabs and shrimp. Hopefully they won't prevent the infauna from becoming established.

I'd normally suggest a 20% water change, but that's a tall order for a large tank. However, I would still do a water change. Also get some Seachem Prime or Kordon Amquel Plus to help with the ammonia spike. I wouldn't add anymore livestock until your tank's cycle has stabilized.

Click to view attachmentWell today I am doing a tank maintenance day my list so far includes:
Inspect corals (talk to them and tell them how big and strong they will grow)

Clean out eheim 2028 filter floss

Remove 25% water for water change

Wash extra sand in bucket and old water

Add in extra sand

Collect small live rock rubble from around the bottom of the tank (set aside for mounting coral frags on in future)

Top off Water change

Deal with algae (use Mag Float, pep talk snails!)

Get new suction cups for power heads

Re position power heads

Wipe down external glass

Put up background (just a plain blue runner)

Clean out skimmer cup

Hook up skimmer

Test water

Remove light fixture

Clean light fixture of salt creep

Set up 15 gallon tank in preparation for 25 lbs of cured live rock getting next week

Turkey baster rocks

So I'm thinking I can have this all done in 3 hours (fingers crossed).

Anyways I've had a chance to upload the pics I took from last weekend, they're by no means good, I have to learn how to make this cheap cannon camera cooperate. It's surprising that in the pictures the tank doesn't look that big!

Also Seabass, you should pat me on the back. The LFS near me (Big Al's) had some huge, healthy coral on sale for 50% off (59.99 -> 29.99) and a red scooter blenny (which is on my fish wishlist) and I walked away. Telling myself until I get the rest of the LR and my param's are back at 0... "NO". lol

Otherwise my tank is surviving. I've heard no complaints from the fish or CUC, and the coral is still there too. So I think things are going moderately well. I'm trying that's for sure lol.

Attagirl . . . looking good!

XD

i lol'ed because it sounds like something my mom would say.
and that damsel must be beefy cause it looks like a 55 from how I see it.

You can't even imagine. It was the one live fish that I inherited with this tank, and I'm terrified of adding new livestock. Mostly because even though I completely re-rockscaped the tank (Into a M Shape) he is still super territorial with the clean up crew (like my blood shrimp).

The size of this damsel is definitely a solid 5" maybe 6".

I'm hoping that by this weekend I can add a little bit more to the tank. I'd like a peppermint shrimp (I have 2 aiptasias and want to nip it in the bud before they get out of control) and a goby and blenny. Either those or some more coral, but I'd rather wait until my LFS gets more calcium/iodine/strontium (reef) test kits back in because I'd like to start using a product called Reef Roids.

Has anyone had any experience with it, there's a local reefer in the neighbourhood that swears by it...

A very valid concern especially since it was the first fish in the system.

I hate those buggers (Peppermint shrimp and aiptasia), but they can help with aiptasia (so get two or three). They do a better job if they are hungry. However, be prepared to give them away after they cleaned up your tank and they start picking at your coral.

You shouldn't dose iodine. Water changes will supply all of your tank needs (so no need to test either). Down the road, you might have the need to dose strontium, but I wouldn't worry about it at this time (again, I would recommend not dosing or testing for it). However, if you are dosing calcium, you should also be testing for alkalinity, pH, and magnesium

Reef-roids is dried plankton with a 'unique' species of zooplankton. It should be fine if you target feed carefully. With only a few corals, you shouldn't use much. Feeding anything will affect water quality.

So I kind of did a good and a bad thing. Someone was selling a huge piece of LR (fully cycled) probably about 15-20 lbs covered in green star polyp coral for only $50 so I couldn't turn it down!!!!

Now since the rock is so big, I was wondering how to minimize the damage to the coral from air exposure when I pick it up from the rubbermaid bin and put it into my tank (air exposure I'm guessing 10 seconds)?

As well how do I acclimitize it to my tank water since I will be transporting it in a rubbermaid bin. I was thinking adding in water from my tank to the rubbermaid bin i bring it home in. Add say a cup of water every 5 mins for a period of about an hour...

Any other suggestions or recommendations?

Don't worry about air exposure; it will be fine.

If you are not quarantining it, then I would just siphon a bunch of tank water into the bin, let is sit for about 15 minutes, and then put the rock in your tank (they are very hardy). You might want to place it separate from your other rocks, so that it doesn't take them over.

So new questions now...

They say it's always good to have RO/DI water on hand and premixed Saltwater as well. I have the extra buckets and space so I think I'm going to do this. However, once the saltwater is mixed up, can I then just leave it sealed up in the bucket, or does it have to have the powerhead and heater with it at all times?

You can leave it sealed up for a few days w/o pumps or airstones... Much longer than that though and it can get a little musty (But I don't think that it's bad for your tank or anything)....

So now I'm finally starting to get close to being ready to tackle my "in and ideal world my tank would have" to do list.

Yesterday I started doing some minor upgrading to the tank.

Until I get the money together for the refugium (there are a few other things that are taking priority first) I went out and picked up some calupera and cheato (and a soapdish). I have it in my tank with hopes that it will help to settle my mild readings of nitrates (ammonia and nitrite are now reading at 0). Also maybe my tangs will nibble at it! (For those cautioning me about the possibility of it becoming sexual not to worry, I don't plan on letting it grown anywhere near big enough!)

Also picked up about 10 lbs of live rock rubble that I'll be rinsing off and putting into the Eheim 2028 filter. (taking out what I'm guessing are ceramic bioballs - about a half inch diameter, cream colour with tiny red dots) I'm also adding some carbon to sit in there (which will be replaced on a monthly basis). I had an "afterthought"... is there anypoint in having the live rock in the canister filter if there is no light getting to it? Would it still be of any benefit? Should I perhaps just run filter floss (I've read here get the pillow filling from WalMart - stay away from the "non flammable" type) and the carbon?

Anyways no deaths in the system and everything seems to be going a-ok.

Infact I saw an online classifed posting someone was moving across country this weekend so I picked up their livestock and some live rock from them. (Bargain discount price of $100 for live stock and $4/lb fully cured live rock with some great yellow sea sponges, feather dusters)

Recent tank inhabitants additions:
2 Yellow Tangs (didn't have them on my fish wishlist but he threw them in)
Brown Anemone with hosting Tomato Clown
4 Convict Blennies
1 Orange/Purple Damsel
1 Royal Gramma
1 More Cleaner Shrimp
2 Blue/Green Chromis

I hope to post tank pictures this evening, but I've meant to for the last week and still haven't gotten around to it so don't hold your breath lol.

The rubble will behave similar to the ceramic media. Your LR is your main bio-filter (along with your sand), there is no need for another bio-filter. Even the carbon will become a bio-filter in that time frame. I'd clean the canister and replace the activated carbon at least once a week.

That sounds better. I believe that the floss is called Poly-Fil (found in their craft department).

Bummer we lost all the posts for the last two weeks.

Oh well, the tank goes on.

Here were the old photos:
My Curly Cue Anemone
Click to view attachment

My tank as of two weeks ago
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Some type of frogspawn apparently (although I've still never seen one like it)
Click to view attachment

Also, there are clearly some dead 'heads' (no grateful dead reference intended!) on the 'frogspawn' can I cut them off? If so how and what would you recommend?

Thanks!