The best way to cycle a reef tank.

CYCLE THE TANK WITH LIVE ROCK ONLY

Step 1. Purchase all (or if your budget is low at the time, get at least 1/2) of the live rock you will use, and proceed to step 2. When ready, get the second 1/2 of the rock.

Step 2. When all the live rock is in the tank, test for ammonia and nitrite. You need to get a zero reading, which could take 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the amount of die-off on the rock. Do not proceed to step 3 until steps 1 and 2 are complete.

Step 3. Begin to add inverts (clams, shrimp, starfish, crabs, snails). Add a few at a time, checking ammonia and nitrite. After all inverts are added, and the test results for ammonia and nitrite are zero, proceed to add your corals, a few at a time. Continue to test for ammonia and nitrite until all your corals are added. When the readings are at zero (this will usually take about 2 weeks, possibly longer), proceed to add the fish in the same manner as above, until all the fish have been added.

Cycling the tank with live rock is the simplest, most trouble-free way to start a reef tank.

Step 4. When the test results read zero, and you begin to test and record nitrate, your tank is completely cycled. When you cycle this way, the live rock does most of the conditioning. This is the way to start your system. It is definitely the safest procedure, because it is hard to know how much die-off the live rock has on it. This way you won’t endanger the valuable, delicate specimens you will add later. Remember, only bad things happen fast. You will need to exercise patience, resisting the impulse to do things in reverse. Remember: live rock first, inverts second, corals third, and fish last. You are now up and running. This will take about 2 to 6 weeks, possibly longer.

Once all the rock is in the tank, the cycling of the water will begin. In approximately three days, there should be a measurable amount of ammonia. Test and record the ammonia at this time. Continue to test and record it at three to four-day intervals. The reading will rise and rise, until one day it will drop off and be zero. At that time, begin to test for nitrite.

The nitrite cycle is very similar to the ammonia cycle, so use the same procedure as described for ammonia. Do not become alarmed with the test results! This is the cycling process, and the tank will balance out! As long as you do not have any fish, inverts or coral in the tank, you have nothing to worry about. Be patient, let nature take its course, and the tank will cycle.

When the nitrite test reads zero, you should begin to test for nitrate. You will get only very faint nitrate readings, because the tank is now balanced and has virtually no bio-load (waste products from fish, invertebrates, etc.).

When the bacteria “catch up” (multiply to process the waste in the tank), you will get zero readings of ammonia and nitrite The tank has now had its first and largest cycle. When you add more livestock, this will increase the waste load, and the bacteria will have to multiply and catch up with the increased load. You will get mini-cycles of ammonia and nitrite when you add livestock. These small cycles will be insignificant as long as you don’t add too many creatures at once. Begin by adding inverts, two to three at a time, until they are all in. Do the same with the corals (possibly slower because of the cost). Test for ammonia and nitrite a few days after each addition. If the test results are zero, proceed to add creatures as described until all inverts and corals are added. Give them a week or so to acclimate. Test for ammonia and nitrite. When they register zero, and the inverts and corals appear to be well adjusted, you are ready to add fish in the same manner as described.

Cloudy water problem in my reef tank

History:  62 gal. plexi that has been up and running for a year and a half.  Conditions have been real good until about a month or so ago.  Brownish/clouded water has been plaguing it.  I have a Fluval 303 canister filter and a CPR Backpack protein skimmer.  2 powerheads and a good heater.  I do 30% water changes every month along with changing the carbon in the Fluval. The tank used to stay crystal clear but not any more!  So far I have done extra water changes, bought two new bulbs (daylight and actinic) because the daylight was a year and a half old and the actinic 9 mos. old.  There has not been much in the way of algae on the surfaces (no more than usual towards the end of
  the cycle) but there has been a lot of tiny bubbles in the water and many have been accumulating on the Plexiglas.  I do NOT have an air stone and the protein skimmer does not seem to be putting many bubbles into the water. When I took a water sample out to show the local fish store, it was brownish/cloudy at first but then cleared up with just “dark brown cob web looking things floating around”.  All my water tests (ph, kWh, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia) have been great forever.  I tried covering the tank with blankets for a three day period to keep all light out in the hopes of killing a strange algae strain, but it didn’t do much.  My last water change was 50% about a week ago.  I’m almost ready to take my fish into a store and drain my tank and start all over.  Please help.  Any suggestions or question that I may answer would be greatly appreciated.–

  Humm.. this is a stumper
  Do you use reverse osmosis or deionized water? If so when was the last time you replaced the resin? The resin has a certain life span depending on the impurities of your
  water.  I would look into that.  Your maintenance sounds very good so I leads me to the source water.  Another thing is that canister filters are not generally used on modern reef tanks. I would seriously consider getting rid of it or if you must use it for a pump then remove the internal media. The internal media becomes a nitrate factory.. something you *Don’t* want or need.  do you have a sump? or area where you could put a fairly large amount of carbon where the water doesn’t have to flow *through* but around. Using sizable amounts of carbon this way will generally strip most any questionable material from the tank. I would go to a paint store and ask for nylon pain strainer bags about .50 ea. and use them to hold the carbon. In a 60 gallon tank I would use approx 3 to 4 oz of carbon at a time (in the bag) for about 3 to 4 days then replace and continue for 2 or 3 applications. If you see an improvement continue, if for some strange reason your corals react badly… discontinue use. They shouldn’t but one never knows.  Also, the small bubbles may be being created by not having enough skimming. It could be small particulate matter coming from the fluval.  I know a
  backpack is rated for a 60 but that’s probably pushing it. You may want to thorough clean the skimmer and possibly consider upgrading to a larger
  model.

What do I need for a Successful Reef Tank?

ITEM w/APPROX. COST

All the items here are needed for a successful reef tank

Note: these are approx retail prices,your cost may vary.

1. Deionizer or reverse osmosis water purifier $ 270
2. Resin for above, to replace every 6 months: 1 gal. $ 60
3. Bulbs: 48″ actinic blue & actinic white, 4 @ $25 $100
4. 30″ protein skimmer (Venturi)* $300
5. Pressure pump for skimmer, 500 to 600 GPH $90
6. Carbon pre filters for tap water: 1 @ $60, 1 @ $25 $85
7. Cartridges for above: 2 @ $12, 1 @ $5 $29
8. Sump box (for prefilter)* $150
9. Material, 6 packages floss prefilter $50
10. Main pump 500 to 600 GPH $90
11. Tank: 55 gallons* $70
12. Tank stand* $75
13. Light canopy to house four 48″ bulbs (with VHO ballast)* $300
14. Salt mix: 1 for setup for 55 gallon tank $18
15. Salt mix for water changes $18
16. Phosphate test kit $20
17. Test kit for ammonia, pH, nitrite, nitrate $45
18. Test kit for K.H. $12, calcium $12 $24
19. Specific gravity meter $12
20. Misc. (books, power strips, Kalkwasser, trace elements, etc.) $100

TOTAL: $1,906

* These items can easily be made by the hobbyists to save money, my book shows you how! Plus! other items not on the list. . .

What else do I need?

There are a couple of items I left out, such as a wave maker or surge buckets, timers for the lights, electronic pH testers, a generator in the event of a power outage, etc. I omitted these from the startup figure because they are not absolutely essential at the very beginning. They are important, beneficial components, but they can be added to the system later on if you prefer.

Simplified Reefkeeping

What is the best way to "CYCLE" a Reef Tank?

CYCLE THE TANK WITH LIVE ROCK ONLY

Step 1. Purchase all (or if your budget is low at the time, get at least 1/2) of the live rock you will use in your reef aquarium, and proceed to step 2. When ready, get the second 1/2 of the rock.

Step 2. When all the live rock is in the tank, test for ammonia and nitrite. You need to get a zero reading, which could take 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the amount of die-off on the rock. Do not proceed to step 3 until steps 1 and 2 are complete.

Step 3. Begin to add inverts (clams, shrimp, starfish, crabs, snails) . Add a few at a time, checking ammonia and nitrite. After all inverts are added to the reef aquarium, and the test results for ammonia and nitrite are zero, proceed to add your corals, a few at a time. Continue to test for ammonia and nitrite until all your corals are added. When the readings are at zero (this will usually take about 2 weeks, possibly longer), proceed to add the fish in the same manner as above, until all the fish have been added to the reef tank.

Cycling the reef tank with live rock is the simplest, most trouble-free way to start a reef tank.

Step 4. When the test in the aquarium results read zero, and you begin to test and record nitrate, your tank is completely cycled. When you cycle this way, the live rock does most of the conditioning. This is the way to start your system. It is definitely the safest procedure, because it is hard to know how much die-off the live rock has on it. This way you won’t endanger the valuable, delicate specimens you will add later. Remember, only bad things happen fast. You will need to exercise patience, resisting the impulse to do things in reverse. Remember: live rock first, inverts second, corals third, and fish last. You are now up and running. This will take about 2 to 6 weeks, possibly longer.

Once all the rock is in the tank, the cycling of the water in the reef aquarium will begin. In approximately three days, there should be a measurable amount of ammonia. Test and record the ammonia at this time. Continue to test and record it at three to four-day intervals. The reading will rise and rise, until one day it will drop off and be zero. At that time, begin to test for nitrite.

The nitrite cycle is very similar to the ammonia cycle, so use the same procedure as described for ammonia. Do not become alarmed with the test results! This is the cycling process, and the tank will balance out! As long as you do not have any fish, inverts or coral in the tank, you have nothing to worry about. Be patient, let nature take its course, and the tank will cycle.

When the nitrite test reads zero, you should begin to test for nitrate. You will get only very faint nitrate readings, because the tank is now balanced and has virtually no bio-load (waste products from fish, invertebrates, etc.).

When the bacteria “catch up” (multiply to process the waste in the tank), you will get zero readings of ammonia and nitrite The reef tank has now had its first and largest cycle. When you add more livestock, this will increase the waste load, and the bacteria will have to multiply and catch up with the increased load. You will get mini-cycles of ammonia and nitrite when you add livestock. These small cycles will be insignificant as long as you don’t add too many creatures at once. Begin by adding inverts, two to three at a time, until they are all in. Do the same with the corals (possibly slower because of the cost). Test for ammonia and nitrite a few days after each addition. If the test results are zero, proceed to add creatures as described until all inverts and corals are added. Give them a week or so to acclimate. Test for ammonia and nitrite. When they register zero, and the inverts and corals appear to be well adjusted, you are ready to add fish in the same manner as described.

More details are in the book Simplified Reefkeeping

Simplified Reefkeeping

What type of Filtration is reqiured for a Reef Aquarium?

The standard method of “purifying” the water for most reef aquariums has been to use a filter that is separate from the tank. This device, with which I’m sure you are familiar, is a container holding material that (1) traps particles from the water, and (2) has a sufficient surface area for nitrifying bacteria to colonize. This has usually been an enclosed type or “canister” filter.

A more advanced design was the “trickle filter.” This is an open style, relatively large, Plexiglas box containing a drip plate, prefilter, and spherical-type plastic medium. The drip plate would evenly disperse the water onto the prefilter material to trap particles. This in turn would trickle through the plastic medium, where the nitrifying bacteria would colonize and purify by nitrification. With all this “trickling” taking place, oxygen will get pulled into the water, ensuring that the aerobic bacteria remain aerobic.

The trickle filter is an excellent filtering system for fish-only tanks, where you need a large external area for the bacteria to colonize. Also, the open design of the trickle filter allows easy access to the prefilter material. These filters have been used on reef tanks, but most reef hobbyists realize that the bacteria will colonize any porous substrate (the live rock), and that oxygen is provided by protein skimming. The primary concern of reef keepers using trickle filters is that particles and debris get trapped and accumulate in the plastic medium. This accumulated, nutrient-rich debris then provides a food source for micro-algae.

Plastic media can trap waste, causing high nutrient levels—a food source for micro-algae A trickle filter on a reef system would inhibit bacteria from colonizing on the live rock, by maintaining a high flow rate of water through the media and providing oxygen to that immediate area. This would encourage the bacteria to colonize on the plastic media instead of on the rock.

If the plastic media were ever cleaned, the bacteria would die, sending the reef into an ammonia/nitrite cycle. This may cause death of the more fragile species of the reef, and at worst could cause a domino effect that would involve all but the most hardy specimens.

Faced with these two outcomes of employing plastic media, and realizing that live rock is an optimum substrate for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, many advanced reef hobbyists simply did away with the plastic media. Those who had trickle filters with plastic media in operation would remove small amounts at a time (approximately 10% at every prefilter change once a week), ensuring that an ammonia/nitrite cycle would not occur, and thereby naturally relocating the bacteria to the live rock.

When I started in the hobby, it was recommended to have a trickle filter as described above. As time went on, even though I had live rock and sand and purified tap water, algae eventually became a problem. When I described this phenomenon to a friend, he shared his knowledge of plastic media and recommended the gradual removal of the plastic media. Slowly, the algae problem diminished in my tank. I will admit I was skeptical at first, but he was correct. This has become standard practice with almost all advanced reef keepers.

USING A TRICKLE FILTER AS A SUMP BOX

In perspective, the recommended filtration is still basically a trickle filter, without the media. We can use the box for a sump (to hold and control the water), and the drip plate and prefilter to provide their benefits. The concept is to change the prefilter once a week, to keep it from going “biological” (which could possibly lead to a small cycle), and to confine and remove the nutrient particles.

If you are currently using a trickle filter, you may be able to use it as a sump. It would have to be large enough to accommodate all the water needed for this type of method. Also, plumbing inlets and outlets may have to be added for feeds and drains to and from the protein skimmers, and possibly a main drain for the system. See Diagram 6 for the concept of a sump box with a prefilter and the location of the skimmers in relation to the sump box, as well as the relation of the sump box to the tank.

The following is an overview of the components for a modern reef filter.

1. Live rock, 1.5 to no more than 1.75 pounds per gallon.
2. Large protein skimmer capable of turning over water in the tank 6 times per hour.
3. Easily removable drip plate and prefilter material to clean or change once a week.
4. Large main pump capable of turning over water in the tank 6 times an hour.
5. Large sump box providing considerable turbulence, and capable of holding all the overflow of water from the tank, including the “working water.”
6. Denitrification areas .
7. Proper lighting.
8. Photosynthetic livestock.