Now lets discuss preparing your tank for livestock. The general rule for liverock is to add 1 pound of liverock per U.S gallon. Live rock is available in different states,these are;un cured when rock is removed from water the life begins to die off releasing toxins this process typically last for about a month. Rock still going through this process is called uncured. Cured rock is another type available,simplly it has finished the die off process. The last type is called dead rock,it has no life on it what so ever and typically has been dried for storage,this type can be picked up cheapest but needs to be (seeded) with life from a piece of cured live rock. There are also man made live rock,one brand of these is called eco rock again these types need to be seeded.
There are two ways of thinking as far as substrate goes,adding sand will give you added biological filtration as well as a place for critters to dwell,some species of fish require a sandbed for various reasons so thats something to consider when making this decision.
Others swear by the barebottom method,this method makes it easier to clean the waste material from your tank and some believe its a cleaner look than sand. A dirty sand bed can be a breeding ground for toxins but I personally suggest starting with a sand bed until you get a feel for caring for your tank because of the added filtration value of the sand. You can go as deep or shallow with your sand as you like,personally I like the deep bed method 4'' of sand,you'll get the best biological production this way.
Now we are ready for water (YAY) the tank needs to be filled with reverse osmosis water (ro) either via an ro/di filter unit (recomended) or via bottled water. Put in your powerheads and heater. Bring your salinity up to the proper level of 1.023-1.025 using a hydrometer or preferablly a refractometer. Then adjust your alkalinity to between 8 and 11 using reef builder there are other methods but I suggest this one for beginners. Now you can add your sand and water,the order doesnt matter. When your water temp is right and your tank has clarified you can add your live rock and skimmer/filter.
Now you need to wait for something called a cycle to run its course this takes on average of 30days. IT IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST to cycle your tank. During this process your tank is building beneficial bacteria and leeching pollutants ie;nitrate,ammonia,nitrite and phosphates.
There are hundreds of methods for cycling a tank and speeding up the process I'll leave the method up to you. Regardless the endpoint should be 0 or very close to on all the chemicals I mentioned. Once your cycle is finished you can add your clean up crew (crabs and snails) and 1 fish. Each time you add a new fish you should let your tank mini cycle for 2 weeks before adding another as your tank needs to develop extra bacteria to handle the load of the new fish. Adding too many fish too fast will over tax your tank and cause toxins to skyrocket.
This concludes the build section of my blog,if you have any questions or concerns..or just want to point out an error I've made please feel free to post. There are hundreds of methods and opinions on reef keeping but I believe this is the best safest way for somebody to begin,save the advanced techniques for when you get a feel for caring for your tank.
Next time I will highlight some good starter corals and fish,as most corals and fish need an established tank which you dont have yet.
There are two ways of thinking as far as substrate goes,adding sand will give you added biological filtration as well as a place for critters to dwell,some species of fish require a sandbed for various reasons so thats something to consider when making this decision.
Others swear by the barebottom method,this method makes it easier to clean the waste material from your tank and some believe its a cleaner look than sand. A dirty sand bed can be a breeding ground for toxins but I personally suggest starting with a sand bed until you get a feel for caring for your tank because of the added filtration value of the sand. You can go as deep or shallow with your sand as you like,personally I like the deep bed method 4'' of sand,you'll get the best biological production this way.
Now we are ready for water (YAY) the tank needs to be filled with reverse osmosis water (ro) either via an ro/di filter unit (recomended) or via bottled water. Put in your powerheads and heater. Bring your salinity up to the proper level of 1.023-1.025 using a hydrometer or preferablly a refractometer. Then adjust your alkalinity to between 8 and 11 using reef builder there are other methods but I suggest this one for beginners. Now you can add your sand and water,the order doesnt matter. When your water temp is right and your tank has clarified you can add your live rock and skimmer/filter.
Now you need to wait for something called a cycle to run its course this takes on average of 30days. IT IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST to cycle your tank. During this process your tank is building beneficial bacteria and leeching pollutants ie;nitrate,ammonia,nitrite and phosphates.
There are hundreds of methods for cycling a tank and speeding up the process I'll leave the method up to you. Regardless the endpoint should be 0 or very close to on all the chemicals I mentioned. Once your cycle is finished you can add your clean up crew (crabs and snails) and 1 fish. Each time you add a new fish you should let your tank mini cycle for 2 weeks before adding another as your tank needs to develop extra bacteria to handle the load of the new fish. Adding too many fish too fast will over tax your tank and cause toxins to skyrocket.
This concludes the build section of my blog,if you have any questions or concerns..or just want to point out an error I've made please feel free to post. There are hundreds of methods and opinions on reef keeping but I believe this is the best safest way for somebody to begin,save the advanced techniques for when you get a feel for caring for your tank.
Next time I will highlight some good starter corals and fish,as most corals and fish need an established tank which you dont have yet.
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