How to save money on s.w. reef set ups.

[Max]

live sand: Never buy live sand always get plain old normal play sand with a diameter of from 1 to 2 mm. If you can find arogonite great if not that's ok to. It's true that silca sand will cause a brief diatom bloom but, after the free silica is exhausted from your water you should be good to go. If you get a few chunks of live rock you will introduce all sorts of little critters to your sand. If you have it over about 3.5 to 4 inches deep it will also help with denitrification. IF YOU ARE RAISING PREDS DON'T DO THIS your sand will pick up phosphates over the years and begin to release them into your tank.

Live rock is expensive and in a lot of the country your selection is very limited. Just get a little live rock and the rest base rock throw in a cocktail shrimp or other meaty item like raw fish or pure ammonia etc. Allow your ammonia to go up to about 4 or 5 ppm and raise your temp to about 85 f turn off your lights and allow to simmer . After your nitrates vanish give it another week and then do a water change to lower your nitrates to lower nitrates to about 20ppm. Then go out and get some curred live rock if you can a premium live rock with a lot of little critters etc. Add to tank so that you can get good populations of small life established. You'll have to feed the tank at least a little after you introduce your little critters.

You can now stock tank as normal you'll need to stock slowly but, it will work. If you add stuff like purple up and keep your ph and kh good your rock should colour up nicely.

hth
max

 

[Princley]

Max i agree very much with all ur sayin but Y r u against live sand... the cost? i also see ur old skool like me

 

[AquataHolic420]

what other critters would be good to add?? and how what is a good ratio for base rock to live rock?!?! (2 to 1 live rock ex)

Any cool inverts that would be easily housed with non Halide lighting?!?(corals .etc)

 

[Max]

I'm not agianst live sand man I'm against payin for what's going to happen anyway.

 

[AquataHolic420]

How long would it take for reg. agronite sand to be considered Live sand? and the same question goes for base rock to live rock? we talkin months or....?

 

[Max]

what other critters would be good to add?? and how what is a good ratio for base rock to live rock?!?! (2 to 1 live rock ex)

Any cool inverts that would be easily housed with non Halide lighting?!?(corals .etc)

It just depends on how much time you are willing to spend man you could do it with a pebble to seed the tank with bacteria. I'd go for more though at least a lb the first time and a couple lbs the next time so that you can get as much diversity as you can. As a matter of fact on the 2nd intro of live rock I'd get it from as many sources ,"fiji,gulf etc"
as possible. You can absolutly have some soft corals under p.c. hvo etc. You'll just be a bit limited you might be better off though if you can buy used lights from someone getting out of the hobby etc. They are avail a lot of the time check in the for sale on ac or on craigs list, ebay etc. Hey, I've never had f.w. what is a green sunfish?

 

[ewurm]

Just guessing but I imagine it would take the same amount of time as it would to cycle the tank.

 

[Princley]

thats what i thought .. i am ols skool i remember a old product called fritzime or somthing like that and what junk it was ..... i my self think that live sand from mother natuer is a betterway to start it up then useing any thing in a bottle..and if people want to use just fish thats fine as well but give ur cycle a good amount of time b4 u add to much

 

[Max]

I'd just throw something in there and let it rot. It will produce way more ammonia than a fish could. If you are doing reef ammonia 3 ppm if you are doing preds 6pp at 84 it will take about 6-8 weeks sometimes much less but, I'd rather impress than disapoint. it will save you more than half where I am off the cost of bulk live rock .

 

[ewurm]

For my size setup, I didn't think I paid that much. I have paid a couple hundred for a fw setup of the same size, although I definitely get your point.