Live rock / sand at startup

[scuttlebut]

An friend put me in touch with a salt tank guru and after speaking with him, he states the only way to properly start up a new tank is with live sand and rock and using that as biological filtration in conjunction with a sump and skimmer. Considering the size of my tank and the fact I really don't want to invest $1500.00 in rock and sand, is there a less expensive means of start-up like possibly using crushed coral as a bed and a few pounds of live rock to get the tank established?

Can a bed of crushed coral be seeded with bacterias to get a tank started and cycled?

[tongareefer]

I would not do the crushed coral.
What size tank?

[scuttlebut]

90 gal and i have an old 30 that i plan on seting up as a sump/filter

[tongareefer]

I used white play sand.
There might be a better option.
Try looking in the DIY forum for other options.
Check a local reef society for someone selling live rock.
You can use alot of base rock. I would just make sure it
is true reef rock. The live rock will seed all base & sand.
I like to put it all in at once. There is a less of a chance of
having a second cycle.

[AlbaTiVo]

You can also see if someone local can help you seed the tank with some sand from their setup.

[scuttlebut]

Any thoughts on undergravel filtration? From what I read some swear by it and others say it's old technology and really serves no purpose. Keep in mind I don't intend to set this up as a reef tank but more of a fish/invert tank.

[viodea]

I'm starting a 120 gal tank. My plan is mainly use dry rock (much cheaper) and add a few live rock for seeding. I've told after a few months, all dry rock will turn live. I think it's a good way to save some money... if you are patient enough.

[the floor guy]

no undergravel fliter no crushed coral it holds nitrate's

yes live sand and rock and using that as biological filtration in conjunction with a sump and skimmer. u dont have to buy it from lfs buy it from some one getting out of hobby $2-3 lb

as far as sand u can get (Pavestone)pulverized limestone from lowes or homedeopt and get a cup or 2 of live sand from some one to seed it


read read read

[Percula9]

Get one bag of live aragonite sand. The rest dry aragonite sand, the live sand will seed the rest. The general rule is 1 lb of live rock per gallon. You don't have to load the tank with all the live rock immediately. Start off with 25-30 lbs of rock to cycle the tank. You can use uncured rock to cycle the tank. Once the tank is cycled then slowly add cured rock until the desired amount of rock is procured. You haven't stated what size of tank you are going to start.

[scuttlebut]

Finding someone getting out of the hobby is apparently not as easy as it sounds. Especially not living near a big city. Only a handful of marine enthusiasts in my area. as for sump/skimmer, how big and should I use a refugium or just a sump with skimmer?

[scuttlebut]

My tank is a 90.

[Percula9]

A combo sump refugium is a good idea. For that size tank any where from 30-40gal sump would be good.The Skimmer you will have to do some research to see which size will fit your needs. Euroreef, ASM, Bermuda and Fission come to mind.

[scuttlebut]

Is ther a rule of thumb on size of partitions in a sump/fuge and amount of flow?

[RocketEngineer]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-01/newbie/index.php

[MrSquid]

Good timing... I'm putting the RO/DI water, salt and substrate in my tank today. This is what I've got - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...6&pcatid=7326.

I'm ordering my live rock tomorrow and I'm wondering how it would look if I mixed some live sand in with my aragonite? I'm thinking 30-50# in my 125 in addition to of the 80# of the aragonite I have.