cuteios Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Hi, I'm new to the forum and the nano reef. I've been reading a lot of literature online on the basics of marine fish keeping and tank setup and maintenance and am starting to feel confident enough to attempt my first nano tank. I'm just having a difficult time deciding which one of my two spare tanks to use for this endeavor. I have a couple of 35 gallon fresh water tank setups, but I have a spare 5.5 and 10 gallon that I'm trying to pick from for my first try. For starters I want to try and culture the live sand from dead sand which is readily available around here. I live in the philippines so am relatively close to the ocean and would not have a difficult time obtaining water from the local reef...I think there's one less than 2 km away...so I guess water won't be a problem as well as live rock...but the local stores don't really carry live sand. I'm not sure how to start the cycling process for culturing live sand since the additives I keep reading about aren't so easy to get from where I live. And I'm pretty much going to be working on this blind since last time I checked the test kits would cost more than all my equiptment at local prices I'm on a very tight budget. So I guess the real question is what would be a good start for someone like me? Cuteios Link to comment
tinyreef Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 you've got a great advantage over most of us so i think you'll be fine. first, you just need to dump in the sand to start the cycle. i'd do the rock and sand together since you'll be cycling from scratch anyway. as for additives, you don't need them (this coming from the dosing king btw ). you've got the biggest sump and water change reservoir there is. you may want to filter it in a bucket for a day or so, each time you do a wc but other than that you should be good to go. calcium supplements would be the only thing i would worry about as NSW is lower than what we typically aim for in our closed systems. maybe you can crush aragonite and sprinkle that in occasionally or something. testing in the beginning is pretty critical but if you have patience it can also be unnecessary. watch your tank for signs and it will tell you what is happening. if the coralline grows, your calcium and alk is pretty good. if the water's clear (not yellowed or colored), your doc's are probably low. ammonia and nitrite usually take care of themselves after cycling. you'll see livestock reactions long before you'd think to test for ammonia/nitrite. (e.g. "holy crap! why is my clownfish on its side gasping?!" hmmm, maybe ammonia) hint: do a wc at that point. get the wild sand and rock. get a hob and a couple of buckets. set the tank by a window and presto, you've started. after a month or so (depending on what came with your LR/LS) you may be ready to start populating it & equipment setup (depending on your budget, of course). these are just the abbreviated versions btw. read up more on cycling and waste export and you should be fine. good luck! Link to comment
cuteios Posted April 17, 2003 Author Share Posted April 17, 2003 Thanks tinyreef. I've got another question would putting a single say blue damsel fish in the tank help in the cycling or should I just keep it bare with the rock and sand for now. The damsel would be a sacrificial lamb of sorts as I expect the conditions to fluctuate quite a bit before the tank settles...but it would provide the necessary ammonia to get things started...what do you think? They are rather cheap around here...i could get one for about 10 pesos which is about 20 cents US. I also seem to have a problem with the lighting...I'm looking at building my own hood for the 10 Gallon tank...but the light fixtures I found at the local hardware store are a little too bulky which would give me a problem in fitting two in one aluminium fixture...unless I make a wooden hood or something. I really should look into that. I really wanted to try out the 5.5 gallon tank but finding suitable lighting for that is a lot more difficult if what I saw at the store was any indication. Would a two bulb fixture with a reflector and the proper bulbs be sufficient for such a setup do you think? And I was reading the thread about the use of undergravel filtration by the guy in malaysia. I have an overhead filter that behaves the same way but it uses a powerhead so it can draw water up to the filterbox through some medium and then back into the tank. But it has another nozzle that just propels water in the tank thus creating flow. Would such a filter work do you think...it's abit bulky though and I'm not sure if it would fit on top obf my tank...I'll go check it out. Just thinking it would be beneficial for water flow. feedback would be nice on this idea. Link to comment
duckhuntboy Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Hey man, if you can get a damsel for 20 cents, it's not necessary, and probably cruel if you're sacrificing him, but I'd do it. My tank didn't really noticeably even cycle even without a fish, but it would be a good indicator to make sure a fish could make it in your tank. I use test kits, but I've never really needed any of them except ammonia and PH. Like tiny said, if your coralline is growing, more power to you (also if your fish isn't dying). What do you know about reef lighting? Are you going power compacts or what? I've been trying to talk the guy from Malaysia into building a hood, but he wants to keep his filter. What are the "two bulbs" you're talking about? 10k and actinic or what? The tank size is up to you. 10 gallons would be probably more stable, but 5.5 would be cheaper to stock and look good, and lighting would be cheaper. In my tank, I dont use a filter. Well, I do use one with no media. You could probably do the same. You could add the media only when you need it, but your LR will suck up the same ###### your filter will. The rest will fall onto the sand bed eventually. With or without the filter, your tank will be the same clarity, and probably the same health-wise. Corals sometimes benefit from things your filter gets rid of. If I were you, I'd keep it if you can get good enough lighting jammed in there to work well, and ditch it if you can't. I really like my last tank, a 4.3 gallon with a wood base and hood, and I'll probably always build my own tanks from now on. It gives you so much more versatility when you want to put things in the hood. Where do you live in the Philippines? My best friend is from Manila, and I see pics of it a lot. Beautiful water there, from what I've seen. I'm sure you know not to take water from the beach areas, immediately offshore. Sometimes you get some nasty ###### in there, from what I've heard. Also, if you get red tides, and when there's storms, don't get water either (I live 600 miles from the ocean, so this isn't from experience). Anyways, that's all I had to say. Link to comment
cuteios Posted April 17, 2003 Author Share Posted April 17, 2003 Well I really am just researching on stuff like lighting right now. I was thinkin gof a daylight and an actintic bulb. assuming I could find one. I wanted to work with power compact but I'm not sure where to get them around here. I'd look online but like I said I'm on a very limited budget. The regular bulbs are a little pricy to I think I really have to go to the pet market maybe next week. We have this big pet market in manila where they sell most any kind of marine stuff. I haven't been there in a while...it's time for me to really canvas the costing for this new project. I live in Cavite which is across the bay from manila. it's a one hour bus ride into the city for me but it's still pretty convenient. I also know about the unfortunate water conditions along the coast. I'm thinking of getting a local fisherman to haul some water for me. it's fairly easy for them to get to the reef which is closer to bataan really. I took a one week vacation to zambales, a different province and we got to scuba dive in this really cool reef. the shallow end was only 4ft deep and the fish...man I was in heaven. So when I got home last weekend I started working on this project. just researching the stuff to get started is already a chore...I haven't gotten around to actually setting up a tank though. Probably sometime next week after I'm able to canvas the cost of it all. Link to comment
offsprg01 Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 check this post out has cool solutions to chep lighting. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=11122 Link to comment
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