Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
- Thread starter jahmic
- Start date
LOL. Don't worry, I'll hit a standstill soon enough with the DT...unlike Mike I don't have a few hundred gallons of water just waiting for me to plumb in to. 
Right now, the plan is to get the tank filled by running my RO/DI into the tank, then adding salt. Once a few days pass with the saltwater running in the tank, I plan on adding a 2" bed of live sand to the fuge along with some additional dry rock. Not sure if I'm going to add chaeto before or after the cycle...but I'm leaning towards after so that any microfauna in there have a chance of surviving and provide some benefit to the tank. I'll also probably be waiting well after the cycle to finish before putting a skimmer online since there shouldn't be much crud to pull out after dipping all of this dry rock in muriatic acid.
Then...it'll be the waiting game for the first algae blooms before adding pods, snails, etc. I'm not going to start adding fish until the pods are well established since I have 2 wrasses and a diamond goby that tend to feed all day.
While waiting for the tank to cycle, I'm going to work on a little side project for the build. That old ice chest I picked up is going to be semi-gutted; I'm using the bottom compartment for storage of an ATO bin...the top section will hide my powerstrips, wiring, controllers, etc. Pretty excited to see that come together...almost as much as the tank to be honest. lame? yea...I know.
Right now, the plan is to get the tank filled by running my RO/DI into the tank, then adding salt. Once a few days pass with the saltwater running in the tank, I plan on adding a 2" bed of live sand to the fuge along with some additional dry rock. Not sure if I'm going to add chaeto before or after the cycle...but I'm leaning towards after so that any microfauna in there have a chance of surviving and provide some benefit to the tank. I'll also probably be waiting well after the cycle to finish before putting a skimmer online since there shouldn't be much crud to pull out after dipping all of this dry rock in muriatic acid.
Then...it'll be the waiting game for the first algae blooms before adding pods, snails, etc. I'm not going to start adding fish until the pods are well established since I have 2 wrasses and a diamond goby that tend to feed all day.
While waiting for the tank to cycle, I'm going to work on a little side project for the build. That old ice chest I picked up is going to be semi-gutted; I'm using the bottom compartment for storage of an ATO bin...the top section will hide my powerstrips, wiring, controllers, etc. Pretty excited to see that come together...almost as much as the tank to be honest. lame? yea...I know.
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Re: Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
Woke up to water trickling into the overflow! My 50gpd system managed to fill the display in about 30hrs...hmmm. no complaints though.
I have around 20g of RO on standby, which should just about fill the sump, so it's looking like the tank should cloud up nicely while mixing the salt in this evening.
Woke up to water trickling into the overflow! My 50gpd system managed to fill the display in about 30hrs...hmmm. no complaints though.
I have around 20g of RO on standby, which should just about fill the sump, so it's looking like the tank should cloud up nicely while mixing the salt in this evening.
jahmic;241653 said:
Woke up to water trickling into the overflow! My 50gpd system managed to fill the display in about 30hrs...hmmm. no complaints though.
I have around 20g of RO on standby, which should just about fill the sump, so it's looking like the tank should cloud up nicely while mixing the salt in this evening.
I have around 20g of RO on standby, which should just about fill the sump, so it's looking like the tank should cloud up nicely while mixing the salt in this evening.
Re: Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
Added salt yesterday...gonna work on getting the fuge filled with some live sand and more dry rock today. I'm not going with a DSB in the fuge...there will probably be about 1"-1.5" of sand in there so that I can siphon it as needed. After speaking with Cris over at aquatic art on Friday, decided that it wouldn't hurt to give my tank's bacterial filter a little boost...picked up a bottle of microbe-lift "special blend". Any thoughts on whether that should be added immediately, or if I should wait for ammonia to appear so the bacteria has something to feed on?
Don't panic...that's not a crack/scratch...just a temp probe to monitor the DT temporarily.
Added salt yesterday...gonna work on getting the fuge filled with some live sand and more dry rock today. I'm not going with a DSB in the fuge...there will probably be about 1"-1.5" of sand in there so that I can siphon it as needed. After speaking with Cris over at aquatic art on Friday, decided that it wouldn't hurt to give my tank's bacterial filter a little boost...picked up a bottle of microbe-lift "special blend". Any thoughts on whether that should be added immediately, or if I should wait for ammonia to appear so the bacteria has something to feed on?
Don't panic...that's not a crack/scratch...just a temp probe to monitor the DT temporarily.
Re: Jahmic's Tasty Cubed Reef Recipe
Thanks! I just added the live sand and did a great job of clouding the tank, despite my best efforts. I'll add the bacteria once things start to clear up again...no reason other than wanting to see what effect, if any, it has on water clarity.
Really appreciate the offer for some sticks once I get it going. I'm leaning toward a nem only build...but don't know how much self control I'll realistically have when it comes time to stock the tank haha
Thanks! I just added the live sand and did a great job of clouding the tank, despite my best efforts. I'll add the bacteria once things start to clear up again...no reason other than wanting to see what effect, if any, it has on water clarity.
Really appreciate the offer for some sticks once I get it going. I'm leaning toward a nem only build...but don't know how much self control I'll realistically have when it comes time to stock the tank haha
