30 gallon cube, am I ready to add rock?

[Talonstorm]

Hi. I have a 30 gallon Oceanic cube which I recently started as my first salt tank. Here are the specs:
aragonite sand in the bottom
CPR bak-pak filter/skimmer
zoo-med rotating power head
Lighting: 175 mh + 36 watts actinic pc

Readings last night:
Salinity: 1.023
Temp: 77.7 degrees F
pH: 8.3
Alk: 2.8 meq/l
No2: 0.1 ppm
NO3: 3.0 ppm
Ammonia: 0.3 ppm
Phosphate: 0.4 mg/l
Calcium: 375 mg (this may be a little higher, the solution was supposed to turn pale blue, I stopped adding drops at a dark blue/purple)

The tanks has been set up and running with just salt water and sand for several months now (the holidays are terribly busy for me at work and home). Do my readings seem normal? I would like to start with just live rock and let it cycle before thinking of adding any fish or inverts. Is it ready to go? Any advice on things to change? Does my calcium level seem unusually high? Should my skimmer be producing skim mate with these readings? It has not produced anything, which makes me nervous. Also, the water seems slightly cloudy, like a whitish haze when you look through it toward the lights, what could cause this? Should I make a water change?

Thanks for the help, this is all brand new to me!
Tina

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Tina,
First... Welcome to RDO!!
Good job at setting up a tank right, the first time out

You don't have anything in the tank to produce skimmate so no worries there. When you add your live rock then you'll start to see a cycle and skimmate. You're doing well.

With your lighting choice, I believe your heading towards a reef tank? How much rock do you plan on using? If I could suggest getting it all at once, that way you get the cycle process over and done with. Each time you add anything to your tank you get a mini cycle. So why prolong the process with adding small amounts of rock if you can do it all at once.

Other than that your on the right track.
Good luck 8)

 

[Talonstorm]

I am planning on a reef tank eventually. I am going very slowly with this because I am very inexperienced with saltwater. I have had freshewater planted tanks for years. I learned from them to try to set it up right to begin with or you just end up re-purchasing equipment.

I was planning on 30-45 lbs of live rock. I know the different types are different densities, so it kind of depends on that. I haven't found anywhere local to buy rock yet, I am in the central NJ area. I hate to order it by mail because I am afraid with the weather (and the stories I have heard about what people got when they opened the boxes). Plus shipping can be so expensive!

Thanks,
Tina

 

[Anonymous]

Here this first one will help you find live rock locally.

http://www.reefs.org/lfslist/ lfs list

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=33928 some good reading

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7679 more useful info.

 

[Anonymous]

I am in south new jersey and gave up on getting rock around here.

I bought some from Marine Depot, it was nice.


That was 2 years ago though....


Hey, and it looks like a nice start to a tank there.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd love to see some pics actually, as I'm thinking about a cube for my next tank.

Oh, and you're about ready to start adding stuff, slowly, as the others said. Rock first, in one go if possible, then bit by bit the livestock, once the rock has cycled.

 

[ChrisRD]

If you can't find rock/prices you are happy with locally, I recommend checking out http://www.premiumaquatics.com/. I have lived in a few places on the east coast and I've yet to see an LFS that has rock as nice as PA's so I always end-up having it shipped. Never had a problem.

 

[Talonstorm]

Thanks for all the information and recommendations! I will try to take some pictures to post this weekend.

Tina

 

[Anonymous]

Talon, Dr Mac Corals are in Maryland. Maybe worth a drive down there to get some LR. Give them a call.

I am on the NY/NJ border and the LR prices up here are $8-$10/lb. The rock they get is mail ordered just the same way you would get it. They just cure it for you.
_________________
Ferrari 195 S

 

[cjsrch]

well.. that zoomed powerhead is going to stop working soon . any one wann place bets on how soon?
i bet within 4 to 6 weeks of the tanks LR going in


a tip . when placing lr in the tank never set it on the sand. always have it touching the bottom glass ( or as i am doing ) place egcrate down to protect the bottom of the tank then put your rock on that then pour sand around it.

if you dont do this you risk the possiability of your rocks falling

 

[Talonstorm]

Ok, I got the live rock. It is a mix of Figi and Solomon Island rock. I bought 32 pounds, but it really doesn't look like there is enough in the tank. When I was picking it out it seemed like a lot more. I don't think it has any hitch hikers on it, or much live at all for that matter, but it might surprise me. I thought I found a tiny little crab, but then I realized it was dead. :roll: I will keep everyone updated on the progress. Thanks again for the advice.

Tina

PS - About the zoomed powerhead, it is already acting up, moves very jerky, so I picked up a maxijet 900 today, hopefully that one will work a little better. I have both of the powerheads in the tank for now. If the zoomed quits, then I will replace it with something better.

 

[Anonymous]

Looking there Tina!

Don't worry about it looking like less, when you start buying corals you'll get more rock with it. The dead crab WAS a good thing! And "live rock" isn't about what's on the outside but more about what's on the inside.

Like the set up btw!

 

[Talonstorm]

Thanks for the compliments!

A few more questions. Since I had only saltwater and sand in the tank before adding the live rock, I was not running the lighting. Now I am running the lighting and I have noticed a pretty large temperature increase. It was about 77 degrees F, yesterday I ran the lights for about 12 hours and the temperature jumped to 82.2. I thought it would come down during the night while the lights were off, but at 5:30 this morning it was still 80.9. I put the lights on anyway, so I am curious to see what it is at when I get home. So, is 80-82 too hot? Should I remove the glass cover from the tank? I kind of wanted to keep it on to deter critters from trying to escape (not a problem yet since I don't think I have any hitchhikers on my "live" rock, lol), and to help reduce evaporation.

Also, I used regular tap water for my salt mix originally, but the more I read, the more I think I should buy an RO filter. Is it a big problem if I start using RO water to mix my salt with for water changes, or should I completely change all the water out?

Thanks so much, all the advice has helped alot!
Tina

 

[Anonymous]

Tina your doing ok. RO water is the best way to start out, but since your into your cycle I wouldn't worry about changing all the water. Just do future water changes and top off with ro water.

Other than a couple of snail speices you won't have problems with anything wandering out of the tank. I like going open top, it helps with heat issues or you could use some eggcrate if your considering fish that might jump. If you still have concerns about heat, a well placed fan can help with it. Right now I don't really feel that heat is an issue for you but it may be down the road. Of course there are many here that have warmer tanks than I do and aren't running into problems.

 

[Anonymous]

I would remove the glass top.

I also noticed you have the filter floss in your skimmer. I would remove that as well before it becomes a nitrate factory.
_________________
Sweet spot

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the photo! Looking good Tina!

 

[Talonstorm]

I also noticed you have the filter floss in your skimmer. I would remove that as well before it becomes a nitrate factory.

Actually, there isn't any floss in the filter, it is just a bad picture, hehe.

The tank has cleared up a lot now that the protein skimmer is working properly. One of the plastic pieces on the venturi adapter was not completely punched out, so it was not working before this (I thought it was because there was nothing to skim). It took quite a bit of trouble shooting to hunt down the problem. Now I am getting quite a bit of brownish green nasty smelling "stuff" in the collection cup. :lol:

Removing the glass top brought the temperature down from 84.5 last night to 80.5 within a few hours. I left it off today, so I will see what it goes up to when I get home. Where can I buy the egg crate material if I wanted to put that on top?

Thanks again,
Tina

 

[Anonymous]

I believe egg crate stuff can be bought at places like home depot in the lighting section.

Its the stuff they put in offices in suspended ceilings under flourescent lights....

 

[Talonstorm]

The mh ballast died on me, so I have to ship the entire fixture back and wait for a new one. What a bummer. At least I have a 72 W pc fixture I can use on it in the meantime. It seems almost as bright actually, but I know its not.

Here is a picture of it taken yesterday (before the ballast puked):

You can see it cleared up a lot.

While I am waiting on getting the lighting back for the tank, I ordered an RO/DI filter from Buckeye Supply and a few more lbs of live rock.

Thanks again for all the advice,
Tina

 

[cjsrch]

When getting eggcrat make sure you get the type with holes in it. not just the deflectors ( you know how everything is always mislabled )

what type of ballast was it that went bad?