Hello Im new, wondering about fishless cycling?

[Bodhi-Licious]

Hi I had a friend give me a 5 gallon tank the other day so I went to the pet stor to get a fish. Well those salt watter fishys looked soooooo pretty well anyways, now I have,

 

a 14 gallon 18'' tall tank

a coralife 20' 96 watt lite

40 lbs of carib sea agrialive sand

a power sweep 212

 

I'm not quite sure what happend???

I want to try skimmerless dsb? my spefic gravity is at 1.025 and I'm going to add sand tomorah.

any ideas when should I add my sand, does a new cycle start every time you add sand, and can I add rock as I go or do i need it all at once ?

[caja]

Welcome to NR. Here's all the information you need to get started. Read on...

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/

[Bodhi-Licious]

Thanks now that I have read all the articles. Anyone have more input than a link?

[seabass]

DSBs work but I wouldn’t put one in my first nano. I consider them a tool for more of an advanced reef keeper. You can get rid of excess nitrates via partial water changes (without the risks associated with a deep sand bed). Do a search and you’ll get lots more info. For beginners I recommend a 1” to 1.5” sand bed.

 

You will need about 20lbs of LR; adding it before your sand can make it more stable, but you can add it afterward if careful. Add LR all at once or you will start another cycle whenever you add a substantial piece. Adding sand typically won’t start another cycle because there should be little die off, but just add it all right away so it can become an established biological filter.

 

That Power Sweep 212 pumps 125gph. I would supplement that with a power HOB filter. Be aware it is relatively common for algae to cause Power Sweeps to stop rotating. Also, remove the sponges and cartridges that come with the HOB filter; you can run carbon and/or phosphate remover in a media bag instead.

 

If you don’t have one already, you should also get a 50 to 100 Watt heater.

[Dingo]

I believe that a DSB will just plain take up too much space in the small tanks used in Nano's. I would let the rock handle the nitrates, and make sure that you keep the fish load very low, otherwise you will have algae problems.

 

Generally, everyone who looks at your tank should say something like,"You only have one fish in there?"

[Bodhi-Licious]

What might the risks associated with a dsb be?

[seabass]

There is a great debate about deep sand beds. I’ve read various books and posts and have determined that there is more to learn about the effects of keeping a DSB.

 

DSBs do convert nitrates to nitrogen, but I’ve also read that they produce other substances that can be toxic to a reef (sorry about being too general here but I can’t recall the particulars).

 

DSBs have been blamed for tank crashes (which may or may not be justified). I have read that stirring a DSB will release harmful substances in your tank. Keep in mind that there is less tolerance for error in a nano reef.

 

I have also read that a DSB acts like a sponge in that it traps and builds up substances that can be harmful if released back into your tank. Many reef keepers have reported that their DSBs have eventually become saturated and quit working.

 

There are other threads that question how effective they are in a nano reef. However, we do know that they take up valuable space and water volume.

 

There are several successful reef keepers here that have utilized a DSB for several years and report no problems and low nitrates; I believe that it can be done. I just consider DSBs a tool for more advanced reef keepers and not for beginners.

 

The primary purpose of a DSB is to remove excess nitrates produced by the nitrogen cycle. This can also be accomplished with partial water changes, which provides the additional benefit of replenishing buffers and trace elements.

 

Due to special feeding requirements of some inhabitants, some of our tanks produce more nitrates than a 30% weekly water change can remove. For these cases, a refugium and/or a protein skimmer will assist in keeping nutrient levels in check.

[david]

thanks seabass. now that I think of it, I overheard a conversation at a reef meeting recently where someone was saying there is anectodal not scientific evidence that at some point deep sand beds can turn bad. an aquarist from the monterey aquarium there said he still trusts in his sand beds until he has problems or sees scientific studies that prove probs.

 

in the meeantime, to avoid all this and leave more room for water, how deep is a deep sand bed in a nano, anything over 2"?

 

thanks.

[seabass]

I believe that it depends on the size (surface area) of the sand particles. Here's another thread discussing the subject.

[Bodhi-Licious]

Thanks seabass for all the info. I allready have just over three inches of sand in my tank noew so I guess I will just wait and see what happens. I need more rock. Wow I sound like a crack head.

[david]

perfect thread, seabass, thanks again.

[offsprg01]

bochi i heard this once from another nano reefer.....

 

"my next hobby will consist of me flooding my basment and throwing all of my money in there while i beat my head agianst the wall."

 

 

that is so true.

 

 

welcom aboard bochi and some last words of wisdom.

 

you can never have to much light

 

anemones are not easy to keep

 

somthing is going to eat your most expensive, not to mention your favorite, tank inhabitant.

 

from now on your lfs will get your entire pay check.

 

you WILL get need new tank syndrome at some point.

 

at some point in time you will get flamed. we all do at least once. then we discover the search button.

 

check out reefaquarium.info you will find many answers to lifes most troubling questions there. like... what do ricordia and crackers taste like?

[harbingerofthefish]

To jump on this...

 

 

I have been wondering the possibilty of stirring and replacing the top 1/4 or so of a SB.

 

If things build up, can't we replce the top layer, thus forcing the bacteria to reastablish itself.

 

The Bac. in a dsb can only go so far. We can't, no matter how hard we try, recreate the natural flow and filtration of the ocean. Therefore, by replacing the sand bed a little at a time, couldn't we more naturally recreate the ocean enviroment? A constant building and rebuilding.

 

I think with most of us, we do weekly WC's and we don't touch the sand bed. By subtratring and adding to the sand bed, are we not both increasing the surface area for filtration, but also adding to the growth of a healthy tank? By WCs we add lost nutrients for corals etc... but if you leave the sand bed untouched yur leaving the same good and bad elements inthe tank. If you force the tank to rebuild every now and then, are you not helping the life of the tank as a whole?

 

I'm not saying to take out the whole top layer, but maybe scoop out one side at a time, and give it time to reestablish, then do the other side. Of course doing this periodically might need use of carbon to remove ammoinia that is ure to spike, but the the natural enviroment is sure to contain constsnt traces of ammonia. In a contained system, we need to help remove it form the system.

[Bodhi-Licious]

well I have about 7 wats of light per gallon so I think thats a good start. The LFS did get my entire pay check this month and I forgot to buy a bus pass for next month, Doh! Well new tank syndrome I can belive that, I bought a 14 galon tank and I'm allready staring at the empty 5 my friend gave me. do they have 12 step meetings for reefers?

[offsprg01]

here's what you do, take the 5 gal and plumb it as a sump for your 14 gallon then you'll have a fuge. fuges rock and they are a great addition to any tank. taht way you'll curb the new tank syndrome. trust me just doing some dyi on your tank from time to time helps. (especially since my school decided to change the pet policy to only one fish tank per resident becuase i had 12 last year.)

[Bodhi-Licious]

Ok that sounds cool Im not quite sure how to do all of that though. I guess it's time for my to do another search. thanks for the input.