starting nano with existing water?

[yellowtruck75]

I have a 125 tank setup at home and I just got an internship in Delaware for 6 months starting in May. I was thinking of starting a 29 gallon nano in my apartment while I am working. Can I use water from my 125 at home to start my nano so I can skip the cycling time?


Anyone have any suggestions for equipment? I was thinking of either using T5s or a 250Watt MH. I want to be able to keep SPS and clams. I was also thinking of trying something new and drilling the back of the tank near the top and making an overflow that runs the whole length of the tank to optimize surface skimming. What do you guys think? I am going to run a 10 or 15 gallon sump. Anyother suggestions for equipment? Its been awhile since I have setup a new tank.

[ArubaRock]

Using your existing water is the best thing you can do.

As long as you dont add additional live rock or something that can "die" you will not have much of a cycle, if any at all.

I think a MH for a 29 is fine. The tank is probably not that deep so penetration will be optimal. Keep in mind the temp. Not sure if you will have a canapy or if it will be open.

As far as equip for this tank. No idea, have not really looked into anything for a tank this size for a long time...sorry!

[yellowtruck75]

How can I overcome buying new live rock for the tank and not having it go through a cycle? If I buy cured rick will it be ok?

[mightymouse]

if you can look into local reef clubs and you will many times find people who are dismantling tnaks and selling lr and some stores will offer cured liverock on occasion

[skipm]

If you buy fully cured and transport it as fast as possible to the tank keep it as wet as possible (*preferably water packed) you should have little to no dieoff so you should be able to avoid a cycle. I would also check to make sure that the rock has been at the LFS for at least three weeks to amke sure it has completed its cycle before buying. HTH, Skip

[yellowtruck75]

Any ideas on equipment? Is a 250MH to much for a 29 gallon? Would T5s be sufficient?

[ratimpulse]

about the rock, just put the rock in with the water your putting into the tank. Like inside the buckets holding the water. That way there only exposed for like 10 seconds.

[billpa]

I would go MH if you want to keep clams and sps. However, you will be running fans which = evaporation. So you are going to have to top off more often. The overflow is a great idea. No matter what, you are going to go through a cycle. Using water from another tank helps but really...most of the beneficial bacteria live in your rock and your sand. Best to get some rock in there as well as seeding your bed with some sand from another tank. Don't expect a miracle when it comes to cycling the tank.

billpa

[jedininja]

Originally posted by ArubaRock
Using your existing water is the best thing you can do.

As long as you dont add additional live rock or something that can "die" you will not have much of a cycle, if any at all.

I think a MH for a 29 is fine. The tank is probably not that deep so penetration will be optimal. Keep in mind the temp. Not sure if you will have a canapy or if it will be open.

As far as equip for this tank. No idea, have not really looked into anything for a tank this size for a long time...sorry!

Using water from a tank will do almost nothing for cycling. There is very little bacteria that is free floatingin the water unless you have a bacteria bloom wich is caused by excess nutrients. Using aged water is good though becaue you know the water is at correct levels and when you add your cured LR, you'll know that your water wont cause any die offs.

The main way as many others have stated of skipping the cycle is good quality live sand with cured live rock. Using a sponge or any other type of filter media from your tank will also help.

Even after using cured LS/LR and media from your other tank, I would still not dare assume that everything is perfecly cycled. You can still throw in a shrimp to rot like you would if you were trying to cycle your tank. If after 2 days you dont get any readyings of ammonia or nitrites, then its safe to say that its fully cycled. But if you get any types of spikes, it just means that there wasnt enough bacteria to handle to shrimp meaning it proably would've spiked if you added fish in there.

As for lighting, as others have stated, it all depends on what you want to keep.

[billpa]

Originally posted by jedininja
Using water from a tank will do almost nothing for cycling. There is very little bacteria that is free floatingin the water unless you have a bacteria bloom wich is caused by excess nutrients. Using aged water is good though becaue you know the water is at correct levels and when you add your cured LR, you'll know that your water wont cause any die offs.

The main way as many others have stated of skipping the cycle is good quality live sand with cured live rock. Using a sponge or any other type of filter media from your tank will also help.

Even after using cured LS/LR and media from your other tank, I would still not dare assume that everything is perfecly cycled. You can still throw in a shrimp to rot like you would if you were trying to cycle your tank. If after 2 days you dont get any readyings of ammonia or nitrites, then its safe to say that its fully cycled. But if you get any types of spikes, it just means that there wasnt enough bacteria to handle to shrimp meaning it proably would've spiked if you added fish in there.

As for lighting, as others have stated, it all depends on what you want to keep.

I totally agree with you except I would wait a week with zero amm and nitrite readings before adding anything. The first tank I set up took 5-6 days before my test kits read ammonia levels and that was cycling with uncured rock.

billpa

[jedininja]

Yes a week would be much better. Patience is definatly a virtue in this hobby. 2 days would be a minimum if you had a established sponge in there. And established doesnt mean add the sponge for a few days. More like more than a month.

[yellowtruck75]

sounds great guys. I have a few more months until I move so I have some planning time. What do you guys think of my full length overflow idea to optimize surface skimming? I have only seen it done once on RC but it seemed like a good idea. Any other ideas for equipment?