Anmarium reef tank build

[nmo0ory]

Hello everyone
this is Anmar and today i am happy to announce planning for start a new aquarium in my new home
i did have a 500L reef tank with zeovit and i really like the support that i get over the years
https://forum.zeovit.com/forum/gener...ce-for-my-tank

so now in my new home i am planning to start one of my 2 aquarium that i was keeping in the storage so i have a 2000L tank and a 800L tank

depend on the design and space i will pick one in the next 2 month
but for now i am trying to get ready for it
first of all i would like some support on it for all the journey
my old tank i will close it and i will start fresh as i have in the last 2 month lot of problems and 90% of my corals are dead
i had multi problems at once
1- cyano
2- Aiptasia
3- Acropora Eating Nudibranches
4- Montipora eating nudibranch

and much more due to lake of time with my tank and can't dose everything on time

so now with the new build
i will have dry rock
what is the best way to setup the rocks before the tank start
i will add it to a bucket for the 2 next month
what bacteria should i add ? or what should i do

also some details that will be updated soon
1. Gross water volume of your complete system (incl. sump etc.) - US gallons / UK gallons / liter : 2000L | 800L
2. Net water volume (incl. sump etc.) - US gallons / UK gallons / liter : null
3. Are you using a CaCO2 reactor or other technique : null
4. Are you using a PO4 reactor (how long, how long ago, etc.) : null
5. Are you using Ozone : null
6. Are you using UV : will use 2x 57w for alage and for fish
7. What skimmer are you using (type, rated water volume) : reefoctops Regal 300SSS
8. What are your actual PO4 and NO3 levels : null
9. What are your actual Ca, Alk and Mg levels : null
10. What filtration method do you use (refugium, DSB, Miracle Mud, etc.) : null
11. Type of light (Watt, color temp, how old, etc.) : Radion G3 - T5 - Orphek light
12. What corals do you keep : Mix
13. Tissue color (light or dark) : null
14. How long has the tank been running : not running
15. Why do you want to use the ZEOvit system : to get all thing out of it
16. Any supplemental dosing (type, amount, why, etc.) : null
17. Live rock (how much, how old, etc.) : want to use dry rock
18. Any present problems : null
19. Problem description (tissue loss tips, tissue loss base, diatom bloom, algae, etc.): null
20. What test kit do you use (how old, recently switched, etc.): GHL kh - Hannah for others
21. Present dosing, amounts and intervals (ZEOvit, ZEObak, ZEOfood, ZEOstart, ZEOspur2, etc.) : null
22. Other water parameters and water stability (salinity, temp, etc.): null
23. Which salt brand do you use: Instant Ocean

[jacky]

Congratulations on your upcoming new tank, I'm also excited about it. If it were me, I would use fresh and high-quality Live rock as the new cycle of the tank. The main display system uses dry rock, adding fresh high-quality Live rock to the sump is another good choice. If dry stone is used, this will prolong the process, beyond half a year, and may also encounter some additional problems. If dry stone is an option for you, choose a suitable material, soak in RO/DI water before use, change the water a few times, if the water has zero PO4, it is ideal.

I don't have experience with another cycle, so I can't speak to the Zeo base dosage.

In addition, if there is an opportunity, using some old Zeo zeolite materials can speed up the development, which is also a good choice.

A shallow sand bed is also my choice and suggestion.

[G.Alexander]

Hello Anmar, can you share some more details about the rocks you plan to use ?

As Jacky said if you use dry rocks the cycle of the system will consume much more time, the biological stability in the first couple of month will be minimal compared to the a system with live rock however basically it is possible it does just consume more time and patience if the used material does not leach any kind of harmful substances.

There is a good step by step guide to start a new system from the scratch, I would recommend you to follow it, it is the same with dry or live rock:

https://forum.zeovit.com/forum/gener...803#post290803

Please keep in mind that UV is not compatible with the system, it does destroy many of the elements from the products you dose as long as they are in the water column. Usually you will not need it, in the case you like to use it make sure to just use it a limited time and do switch it off for 2 hours while dosing.

G.Alexander

[nmo0ory]

jacky
Thank you, unfortunately locally we don't have any good Live rock, as always with everything i will need to order everything from outside the country
even now for the rocks i will get it from France or USA depend on the types and till trying to find something good if you have any recommendations, i am looking for someone who will design it for me as well

another option is to use some of the media i have in my old tank, but i don't want to risk transferred anything from my old tank as i have lot of worms and parasite i am fared to move it to my new tank

as for the sand i am not sure if i will use any, i might go without sand at all.

i still have around 6 month tell i move to my new home and to setup the tank and get it ready i have like 2 month still, so at this time i was thinking to start the cycle of the rocks in a barrels what do you think ?

G.Alexander
for rocks still not decided
i have 3 options
1- dry rock from the beach
2- dry rock from USA ( MarcoRocks, Real Reef Solutions or CaribSea )
3- dry rock from France ( aquaroche ) https://aquaroche.fr

last option if i will go with live rock i can bring rocks from inside the Redsea will ask some divers to get it for me, but this might have lot of worms and other unwanted materials.

UV will keep it as an emergency in case i have withe spots in fish for example or at any required time.

[jacky]

I have no other experience cycling rocks in barrels, you may want to ask G. for recommendations and Zeo base dosages.

Personally, I would recommend that you wait until everything is in place before starting the Zeo14 cycle program. I have no experience with dry stone materials and can't say anything, sorry about that. In addition to using some old zeolite materials, any transfer I also support the use of new dry rock/fresh high-quality Live rock/new KZ aragonite dry sand as the new cycle of the tank.

Of course, the shallow sand bed depends on your personal preference, I support the use of a shallow sand bed.

[G.Alexander]

Hello Anmar, a shallow sand bed with a medium sized grain size does improve the biology something very important so if you have a chance to use it I would also recommend to. If not the system basically should be fine also but from the view of biology not as “strong” as with sand.

Before using any kind of dry rock make sure to soak them very well in RO water, check the RO water regular to PO4 and replace it regular also. Once the water doe not contain PO4 anymore you can use it or start to “cycle” it. My personal choice would be number 2 from what you mention. If you have a chance you can add some fresh live rock additional even if it is just in the sump.

If you have a change to “cycle” the rocks before you can speed up the whole cycle. Personally I would use any kind of a old aquarium, installing a skimmer, pump to move the water and a light and doing the cycle with ZeoStart, ZoBac, and SpongePower like recommended in the link I have posted before. If you run ZeoVit on your recent system also place old zeovit rocks in the temporary holding thank also in a mash bag for example.

G.Alexander