it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my 60!

[arcab4]

hey guys,

okay. so today was suppose to be the day where i put everything together on my 60gallon tank. all my equipment was here, lights, filter etc..and i just got my stand/tank/canopy. woohoo.

so yesterday, i went to pick up my stand/tank/canopy. guess what. they only had the stand/tank. they dropped the canopy so i would have to wait another week. oh wells..no biggie..but it was a sign of things to come....

so today, i moved my livestock from my 10gallon into my friend's established 60gallon (for now..unless we don't catch them..then they stay there. haha). then as we were putting the filtration together..guess what? i piece of plastic was broken in the wet/dry! ah man! and then..i wanted a blue background on my tank but then the overflow box had a black background! (yeah..u kinda see where this is going?).

so i went to my LFS..and (dattack should be happy. hehe) i bought a 20gallon tank as a sump. woohoo. (oh yeah..i'm planning on returning that wet/dry). so i come back, spend about 10minutes scrapping tediously those sticky stickers on the tank. i go to my stand to put in it..and guess what? it doesn't fit! HAHAHA. maaan. so then back to the LFS..got a 15gallon that fitted and spent another 10minutes tediously taking off those stickers...

so where are we now...well, i'm ordering my overflow/powerhead etc from marinedepot on monday (which means it'll arrive on tuesday) and then i can go ahead and start to set things up.

oh yeah..if any of you remembered, i posted something about a guy who was selling liverock/livesand and some critters for $150dollars? since i didn't have much to do, i went to his place to check it out. it was cool...i'm still waiting to hear from him cause he has a guy that called before me..but he said i have first dibs on the corals...(a openbrain, closedbrain, hammer-something, something-tree, green star polyps, two medium clusters of mushrooms and some assorted corals) for $100dollars. not bad considering those two clusters of mushrooms would cost me at least 70dollars at my LFS.

anyways, phew..thanks for reading. it's been a long day.

oh yeah..my LFS told me to go with 1inch substrate..and not go with the DSB. any ideas? but that's when i had the wet/dry filter..... *thumbsupsmiley*

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

Is your tank cycle or do you have enough live rock or sand?  Watch out because if nitrates are high, all your corals will die.

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

Oh yeah,
$100 is a good deal depending on how healthy his corals are.  If you don't get it, you can always go to jeff's exotic in gardena for 9 corals for $99.  There selection is o.k. but you can choose since you can walkin and check it out.

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

oh yeah..the corals..i was going to put them in my friend's tank so i can make sure my tank is fully cycled first. actually..here's a picture of them...

i told him that i would take it. hopefully he'll have the liverock also still available.

also, can i re-use his livesand? what's a good overflow box? i'm thinking of the CPR overflow....

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

Of course you can use his live sand but I would fill that in your tank first and see if your nitrates/ammonia are o.k.  Sometimes people have live sand filled with copepods, snails, and worms.  When you transport or stir it and when you do a massive move, they might die and and cause a nitrate spike.  
You can leave the corals in your friends tank until your water condition is good.  You won't have a long cycle in your tank if you use his water and his sand since their is beneficial bacteria in his rock and sand.
If you have moving space or buckets, maybe you should take his water too because saltwater does cost over 50cent a gallon.

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

Just when I post this I had realized that my toadstool leather and my nice colt coral were dying.  I couldn't figure it out until I picked up a few snails that were clumped together at the bottom of the sand.  They had the worst smell ever and apparently my nitrates are up the roof.
(I bought 5 snails the other day and they died on me).  

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

cool. i'll see if i can drain his water and then somehow shovel his sand nicely into a rubbermaid or something so i'll minimize the dying off of the stuff in the sand. i looked carefully at his sand it's definately full of life. here's a few more questions..

1. that picture with his stuff is in a 29gallon. my tank is a 60. so should i add his sand in first and then add more to get about 3-4inches? or add my sand in and then lay his sand on top of it.

2. when i'm monitoring the tank as it cycles, do i need to have the lights on or can i just leave them off to reduce algae growth.

3. so if i've around correctly, i should have 4inches of a DSB?

4. could i go ahead and start adding my cleaning crew? or do i wait.

thanks for the help. i've just gone out and looked at the empty tank for the umptenth time. haha. i can't wait to get started.

oh yeah..hey dattack..u've been to marinedepot before right? do u know if they're open on sundays? i tried to call last week but was put on hold forever.

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

1.  You need to lay his sand on top of your sand.  If you do the reverse, it will smother the creature and it will die.  It takes awhile for the creatures to dig up to the top.

2.  You can have either it on or not.  Either way will work.  You can have it on for 4 hours a day if you wish.  It might keep a few things that's living on the rock alive like some mushrooms that might be there.

3.  4 should be the minimum I think because most people recommend 6 inches but that is pretty high.  You need it deep to get an anaerobic area.

4.  Add the cleaning crew when your tank is done cycling or nitrate/nitrite/ammonia is undetectable.  You don't want your cleaning to crew to die because they are expensive.

5.  Marinedepot opens on weekends 10-4 but only accept cash on weekends.  You must call in your order so they can have it ready when you come.

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

thanks,

so i'm doing some massive research online and i'm reading about the kits u can buy to seed the DSB. what do u think about those.

i'm guessing that if i take that guy's livesand with all the critters i'm going to have a massive dieoff right? which equals higher nitrates...would it be better to just buy new sand and buy those kits from inlandaquatics.com or ipsfm.com.

thanks again and again..hehe.

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

There wouldn't be massive dieoff if you transfer within that day.  So long as the sand is in some bit of water, it would be o.k.  You might get an "egg" smell coming from his sand when you dig it up because that's the anaerobic bacteria working.  I transferred all my sand from another reefer within 6 hours and everything lived.
You could buy those critters from the site you mentioned but I didn't because they were a little too expensive for me.  Other reefers have never bought any of that and they manage to do well over the years.  They said much of their critters came from their live rocks that seeded to the sand.  If the sand you are getting from him contains some life then I wouldn't buy another until you figure if your tank is doing pretty well.  People on a budget get a cup from other reefers to seed their tank.  I got a cup from a few reefers.
But I have heard nothing but good stuff about IPSF and inlandaquatics.
If that dude's tank has been setup for awhile, hold off on spending more money because the tank is probably has a lot of life.
So don't buy new sand and use his sand on top of dead sand.  Don't spend too much too fast because you don't want to end up a few months later saying "Oh boy, I was stupid to buy that when I already have that".
Take things slowly because I have the urge to spend all at once too.  
The cheapest snails you can get are probably at exoticfish.com in Gardena.  Half of the reefers use exclusively only snails as a cleanup crew.  Majority of the hermit crabs do eat algae and waste too but they also attack snails.  I have a few hermit crabs that attack the snail so they can get to the shell and hide in it.  

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

i guess i still have to add some new sand first to the tank because his sand won't be enough to get 4inches worth. i think i'll be dreaming about DSB tonight considering how much i've been reading about it at reefcentral. haha.

thanks for the help. oh yea..do u know where's the cheapest place to get liverock?

thanks again.

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

If you are cycling your tank, you can just cycle with live rock you buy.  If you get rock from established tank (from recycler), then it will only take a couple of weeks or less to cycle.  These rocks are probably all cured if it's been sitting in someone's tank for months.
What I did was buy 20-30lbs at a time from people from the recycler.  They were selling their reefs and I asked if I can buy the rocks of them.  Usually I get it around 1$/lb.  I like to bargain and usually you will get it.
But if you like to cycle from beginning, you can buy a box of uncured live rock (44lb) from exoticfish.com for $2.45/lb.  There are a couple of stores in orange county that sell them for 2$ a pound.  BTW this is fiji rock.  Most LFS sells them at 3-5$/lb.  Usually more most rocks you buy you have to cycle it first.  You need good protein skimming while cycling.
And I don't know if you saw the S. California guy selling aragonite sand in Chino at $15 for a 50lb bag on reefcentral.

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

thanks. i just sent the guy an email asking if he has anymore available. that's a steal. thanks for pointing it out. i didn't even know there was a section to sell/buy on reefcentral.

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

You might also check out this post.  He has 250lbs of live sand for $100.  You can get 125lb for only 50$ then.  So it's live sand!
Probably don't even need to cycle if you have this much live sand. *crazysmiley*

http://www.reefs.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=003513

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

thanks. i emailed the guy. see what he says. how many lbs of sand do u think i need for a 4inch dsb.

also, what would u suggest as a return pump? i'm trying to put together an order at marinedepot.

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

I am not sure about the amount of sand you need but there is a DSB calculator at reefcentral home.  For your pump, how much GPH do you need from your pump?  How many overflow boxes do you have and what is it rates?  You want your pump to be submersible right or external?
So long as the pump is rated less than your overflow, you will be fine.  For submersible, I think the Mag drive pumps and dolphin pumps are fine.  Some people also like the Sen pumps but have heard good things about them.
Most external pumps are a little more expensive and do make a little more noise like Little Giant and less noise of Iwaki.

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

okay. i'll check it out at reefcentral.

i was thinking of getting that c90 overflow box at marinedepot. it has a 600gph flowrate. then i was thinking of getting the rio2100 but then heard bad things about it. plus it has a greater flow than my overflow. i'm looking for a submersible. looking at marinedepot, all i really see is the dolphin. i don't see a mag.i guess it would be the dolphin DP-560 which has a flowrate of 560gph.

thanks for the help and bearing with all my questions. haha. i just want to do it right the first time.

 

[dattack]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

There is a mag at marinedepot.  I think you need to look under powerheads.  Those are the submersible pump area I think.

http://www.marinedepot.com/a_ph_danner.asp?CartId=

Sand bed calculation.

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/SandBed.htm

Have you checked out the recycler 12/2.

4ft.wideX16inX15in. Includes wood stand with cabinets, a whole bunch of Live Rock & beautiful big coral. I have over $1,000.00 invested. Must sell .  Cost $100.  Maybe you should bargain with him for all the live rock and coral for $50.

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

thanks for the links. i had a buddy call marinedepot and they suggested the dolphin. have you had any experiences with either the mag or the dolphin?

i'll take a look at the ad. so many options to choose from. too bad i'm at work otherwise i'd be calling and visiting all these places to check it out.

 

[arcab4]

Re: it just wasn't meant to be..and updates on my

since it's taking awhile to set everything up, might as well do it all at one time......

how can i go about setting up a refugium in my 15gallon sump? i tried to do a search at reefcentral but found few topics on it..most were about custom sumps people made. i have a regular glass 15gallon tank as a sump.

thanks,