[benbull]

Hi,

Just wanted to ask your advice on setting up my reef tank... I bought a Juwel trigon 190 litre corner tank about 3 months ago...still dont feel prepared to get going! I thought i would list the parts I have purchased, and perhaps ask your opinion and advice on getting started!?

Prism 'red sea' deluxe Skimmer
Eihem Professional 2 filter
Dymax T5 light box with 2x Marine White 14,000k and 2x Dymax Tropical 24w
(all the above came with the tank from the previous owner...ebay)
oh, and heater!

I have bout the marine sea salt for the water
and have bought a 50/50 mix of coral sand and medium marine gravel.

I have also bought some rock which is not 'live'. although im thinking I might take this back and buy 10kg of pacific live rock from live-rock.co.uk
advice on this would be really appreciated! (other suppliers/products/choices)

I was also advised to get a rack to sit the rock on...is this my best option?
...looking to create a natural looking environment with corals and fish (not a crazy amount of fish)...maybe the odd crab.

I'm going on holiday (for 1 week) in 2 weeks time and thought now might be an ideal time to fill the tank with RO/salt water and let things cycle? I'm going to egypt and was going to try and get a very little sample of live rock directly from the sea...a little memory to put into the tank...do you think this could work?

Ive got some good books and have read them all cover-to-cover but would really feel comfortable listening to some experienced 'real-world' voices!

Thank you to all for your time!

Ben.

[Danakor]

Live rocks can be a god send, the thing is though that if you get them from the sea directly there can be very bad consequences not sure of the local laws in egypt but I know in Flordia that it is illegeal for a non registered diver/supplier to take live rock/sand from the ocean. Also something else to look out for is some types of rock can alter chemical levels in the tank, this can be good/bad. Your best bet is try to find a fish supply store in Egypt(not sure they even have one there...seriously who has an aquarium in the middle of a desert?) and see if they have any local live rock that is in stasis.

The crate thing that I have heard of can be almost as bad as an under gravel filter.(yes I got rid of mine :P) They offer nooks and crannys that can cause build ups of waste that causes higher nitrates/ammonia. Your best bet is to get some aquarium safe cement and acutally build your rock the way you want to. Even if you do go with the crate I still recommend the cement so that if you have a curious fish who decides to attack/eat the rock it won't tumble down on him causing a bloody mess.

I do recommend setting up the water and letting it cycle. it takes about 3 weeks for a complete cycle IMO. (or at least it took that long for my tank). Your equipment seems fine to me, although protein skimmers are not necessary( yes yes you can calm down all you screaming masses). so long as you do about a monthly water change. The lighting should be enough I think. Might want to consider getting a powerhead or a pump to add some flow in your tank. Some corals and such require good water flow. Since your equipment is from a previous owner I recommend cleaning them very very thoroughly before use. Yes this will kill old bacteria that may be useful but it will also help clear any problems that the previous tank owner might have had. DO NOT USE BLEACH OR AMMONIA TO CLEAN THE TANK!!! granted that is probably a no duh dip but better safe than sorry.

[jimw369]

Wow! Trip to Egypt! Thats pretty wild. Hope you have a great time.
Hey , Im pretty new here at RB and at this whole saltwater thing in general but if I may,let me tell you what you are going to miss if your tank is cycling while you are in Egypt.
You will not get to check your tank parameters everyday and you will not get to write these down and see how your tank fluctuates. This is also a good time to buy whatever test kits you will need and learn how to use them. Along with the test kits is what additives you think you might need. There is a TON of them out there and it is challenging to learn what to use and when. Tank cycling is a good time to learn just how a protein skimmer works, get timmers set up and maybe a quarentine tank ( if you are going to do this ), set up an RO/DI unit or at least figure out where you are going to get the water to do those topoffs and water changes. Do your heaters work and how does your water temperature change throughout the day. Learn how to change your filters at this time.(if you have any, I do) It is a time to start learning how to do mainainence. You will not get to play with the power heads and see where your dead spots are and how you may position these for your best water flow based on what you plan on keeping. There is so much more that can be learned while your tank is cycling. This is a time when you can learn some things hands on and not worry so much that you might really put the lives of your critters in danger. You will miss BROWN ALGEA GROWING! Talk about excitement! Im am almost finished cycling a 90 gallon tank like yours. I am having the time of my life (maybe I dont have one) doing all the things I have listed above. I would just hate to see you miss all this. Good luck. Have agreat trip! See ya at RB!

[Danakor]

/agree...however just because a tank has fully cycled does not mean that you have to start filling it up with critters and such and causing you to miss on such excitement..heck my tank was running for a good 2 months before i even put anything other than water in it. It has been said many many times. Patience will pay off. I have had my tank running now for about 6 months and i have a total of 3 fish in it, along with about 5 lbs of live rock. If you take things slow and easy and give the tank time to set up then you will have no problems. Yes watching brown algae is grow is very fun(sarcasm). On a side note i recommend live sand for your substrate. I just recently changed to it but already i am seeing a great imrpovement in ammonia and such.

[jimw369]

I agree with you. Just because a tank has cycled does not mean you need to fill it up with critters. I know for me, patience, is something I have to work at and sometimes I assume everyone is the same. (you know what happens when we assume)