How long of a Wait for SPS?

[ReefRockerLive]

I am going to start my 75g tank soon by adding Live Rock and Sand from a fully established 7 year old tank.
I will be getting 40 Lbs. and about 10 pounds of Live Sand. I will be adding a clearner crew eventually.
I currently have a ER ES5-3 skimmer and Dual 400w MH 20K w/128w total PC supplementation.

About how long will I have to wait before I can add SPS frags or colonies? The person whom I am going to recieve the LR and LS from told me that as soon I put the live rock and sand in the tank, I will be able to add frags right off the bat! Is this true at all? I've heard and know that I may go through a small cycle, will this affect any SPS frags that are in the new tank at all. Any chance of them browning out on me?

BTW, I will start ZEOvit method after I get myself financialy established.

Thanks,
Vinny :afro:

[mesocosm]

Greetings All !

I am going to start my 75g tank soon by adding Live Rock and Sand from a fully established 7 year old tank ... About how long will I have to wait before I can add SPS frags or colonies? The person whom I am going to recieve the LR and LS from told me that as soon I put the live rock and sand in the tank, I will be able to add frags right off the bat! Is this true at all?

While technically true ... using fully cured live rock and live sand (... whose bacteria colonies/biomass haven't been impacted by transport ...) shouldn't present any problems, I prefer to let the system "run empty" for 7 to 10 days.

I prefer to take the extra time because it ...
1. Allows me to fix/modify any mechanical issues regarding the system without having to worry about specimens;
2. Allows me time to assess/modify any water quality parameters (... like temperature, salinity, alkalinity, pH, ... etc ...) without having to worry about specimens;
3. Allows me time to test water quality to assure myself that the bacterial colonies have had time to adjust to their new habitat and establish themselves;
4. Allows me time to respond to any "mini-cycle" resulting from transport, and to respond to the beginnings of any secondary consequences like cyanobacteria, diatom, or algae blooms.

I've heard and know that I may go through a small cycle, will this affect any SPS frags that are in the new tank at all. Any chance of them browning out on me?

Any nutrient/chemical spike in you water parameters has the potential to cause problems for SPS frags ... IME.

... I will start ZEOvit method after I get myself financialy established.

Outstanding ... PLEASE post before-and-after pictures!

JMO ... HTH ...

[ReefRockerLive]

Would adding just the Zeobac alone be benefitical for my tank, or will I need the other supplies(Reactor,Rocks,and Food)?

[mesocosm]

Greetings All !

Would adding just the Zeobac alone be benefitical for my tank, or will I need the other supplies(Reactor,Rocks,and Food)?

That's a really good question. I wish I had an equally good answer ... but I don't. Anyone else out there?

In terms of innoculating the system with ZeoBak in order to rapidly increase the bacterial biomass ... this could be of benefit, but I have no data whatsoever to support that opinion. Given that you'll be using "well-established" LR, I would think that you'll have more than adequate bacteria and microplankton biodiversity to begin your new ecosystem without the ZeoBak.

In terms of preparation/anticipation of starting ZEOvit methodology ... absent more data and the experience of others ... I wouldn't think that there would be too great of a benefit, but I could be wrong about this. I view the ZEOvit methodology from a systematic perspective, so ... to me ... the adding of a single component may, or may not, produce any benefit justifying the expense. If you decide to start adding ZeoBak before adding the rest of the system's components, PLEASE let us know how it works out ... you could get some very interesting results.

JMO ... HTH ...

[G.Alexander]

Vinny,

adding ZeoBac without the basic components will give you no benefit. It could be possible, nutrients going down a little bit, but this will not be measurable and consistent, because you do not offer a appropriate food source to the bacteria.

Similar situation if you decide to use just ZeoBac & ZeoFood. Your tank provides a “big” surface to host bacteria, but it is unimaginable how big the surface of one liter zeovit is. IMO it is also necessary to use the possibility of the zeolite, to absorb ammonia running the system effective and successful.

If one decides to use ZeoBac, ZeoFood & ZeoVit (zeolite) the system itself can work proper in cooperation with these three components. IMO this is the minimum configuration together with a zeovit reactor to notice a benefit in reducing nutrients.

ZeoStart plays a “special” role. It can be used with or without the system to lower nutrients. ZeoStart is created to nourish all bacteria in a tank (present & added) and it contains a very effective carbon source to make this for sure.

I would recommend the usage of ZeoBac, ZeoFood, ZeoStart and ZeoVit (zeolite) to run a effective, well working system.

G.Alexander

[ReefRockerLive]

Tomarrow I will be adding 10 pounds of Live Sand and add 40 pounds of Live Rock on the 27th of April? Does adding the Live Sand add enough bacteria tomarrow make up for the perameter spikes or other threats to SPS frags?
In other words:
Does the time between me adding the Sand and Rock count as the 10 days of waiting for the tank to cycle? When will my tank go through most of the cycle? When adding Live Sand or when adding Live Rock?

[gqjeff]

why not go BB or faux substrate.. With zeo either method will work fine though... For sps though you want heavy flow and with a sandbed sometimes that can pose problems to pumps from sand getting blown around in the water. Also I would cook the LR if its from an old system.. It will just make it MUCH longer for your tank to be nutrient poor. Also If you start your new system with cooked or fresh LR and SD or any other reef safe sand you can add sps 2 weeks after being on the zeovit system.. If money though is a problem and getting the old LR and sand will be cheaper it will def work for you.. I would still though COOK the LR. This will give u time to get everything in order and also save some money to start zeovit from the start of the tank.. just my 2 cents...

[ReefRockerLive]

If I cook the LR wouldn't I be killing most of the good bacteria? The live rock and sand is comming from a 5 year old SPS tank. IMO, I'd prefer to go with a sand bed mainly because it gives the tank a better look.

[gqjeff]

Rocker, I did a sweet faux sandbed that looks like a real sandbed.. I used epoxy and mixed in the sand with it.. Gives the natural look and also stays put.. If you are interested in it let me know. Also with zeovit you are adding bacteria with the system so you do not need to old LR bacteria at all.. The old LR with be a HUGE sourch of PO4 and detritus... Here is a pic of my faux sandbed also... Oh yea my LR was 7 yrs old and I am still getting PO4 readings after 6 months on zeovit... The reading are VERY low but they started off at much higher reading because of the old LR...



Peace, Jeff

[ReefRockerLive]

Too late for me to do a BB or Flaux Sandbed because I already have sand in the tank, I would like for the money I put into it to go to good use.

[gqjeff]

Anyway you set it up you will be fine with zeovit.. It will just take longer to reach phase 3.. That does not mean you still can't keep beautiful corals.. I will be posting some pics of my corals tomorrow and I am in late stage 2.. I still test with salifert a very small amt of PO4..

Good Luck with you setup, Jeff