A Few Questions about my new 120 I have set up

[gmanjeep]

<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Hi,I finally got my new 120 and got it up and running Monday morning.The tank has now been running a full 24 hours.I have a few questions about it though.First off, I bought a brand new reef Octopus 200 Protein Skimmer.I love the size of it, and was amazed when I first plugged it in.It seems like today though, that the pump is not pumping as much water through the skimmer as it was yesterday, nor does the pump seem to have much sucking power at the intake. The bubbles inside the chamber are barely making it to the bottom of the collection tube/cup.There is nothing in my water that could have "clogged" the pump that I am aware of. The instructions with the unit are very vague and it seems to me as though it is just a plug and play unit with no adjustments on anything. Am I missing something? My other questions are concerning a few pieces of cured live rock that I got with the tank set-up.The rocks were very beautiful rock with a lot of coraline growth on them. Since I have moved the rocks into the new tank, They are losing their color.They have been in salt water the whole time during the moving process. Is this normal? I dont know that much about coraline. I know in time the coraline will grow back, but I was just wondering.I have not checked any of my water parameters as of yet, being that it is a new tank. I did use all RO-DI water and I have my salinity at 24.5. The water temp is ranging between 78-80. I have not moved any of my 65 reef inhabitants into the new tank yet. Just taking a wait and see approach.</span>

 

[xyzpdq0121]

You want the tank to fully cycle before you move your other critters over.. (And then wait a week after yout THINK it is cycled to make the move IMHO)

As far as the coraline, Yes this is normal and expect it to continue. The algae will die off and then come back when the system matures. It is just like a critter, it needs to get used to the new tank. Also, coaline dies very rapidly when exposed to air (Yes even the move from the bucket of water into the tank will cause it to turn white). So do not be alarmed, it could take 6 months for your to really see if get pretty again. As far as the skimmer, have you checked the intake to make sure nothing is blocking it? Have you changed the water level in the area that the pump is (Sump or main tank)? Other then those two factors, I will defer comments to someone like Cameron who might know your specific skimmer.

 

[gmanjeep]

Nothing has changed in the water level of the fuge,and there is nothing blocking the intake of water as far as I can tell. As far as cycling my tank, I was told by Eric, Who is a marine Biologist and owns the "Fish Garden" In Newnan, that I would be fine moving all my rock and corals into the new tank as soon as the water cleared and the salinity was stable. He said that my rock and corals would contain all the bacteria bed I would need to cycle the new tank.( I have had my other tank set up for about 4 years) What are your thoughts on this? Also the rock that I already have put in the new tank was also cured rock out of someone elses tank.Wouldnt this rock also have a bacteria bed in them? The only difference between this tank and my old one would then be the sand. Everything else would stay the same for the most part I would think.I would think that once everything was moved into the new tank, my levels of nitrates and nitrites might go up a little at first, but should not spike anywhere close to Dangerous levels, especially taking in that I am moving everything from a 65 to a 120 gallon tank. ??????????????????

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Best I can say to that is different strokes for different folks... Fact of the matter is he is kind of correct, you will not see a full cycle but you might see a spike in chemestry as things get adjusted. By no means should it take 4 weeks or longer but I would give it atleast two. Expect to see a algae bloom and some cyno. The misconception by alot of people is the cycle is just the ammonia cycle, there is alot more to it then that. It is a development of an ecosystem that can take a long time to perform. By no means am I saying that you have to wait till the tank is mature but I would wait longer then a week to move all your fish over. If it were my tank, I would go about three weeks, let the sand bed get seeded, throw some food in the tank and let it decompose and check the levels to make sure you have no spikes, let the micro critter have a chance to breed and find a safe haven. I think you are better off in the long run for it.

 

[george]

Nothing done quickly is good in this hobby except water changes.

You could move everything right away with no problems at all. However, the longer you let your new tank settle and cycle the more stable it will be when you move stuff over and the less and less likely an adverse bloom will be.

If you are doing a sand bed in the new tank, I would definitely advise you to let it cycle. With the sand bed, if it were me, I'd treat it like a huge refugium for 3-4 weeks and get some Cheato to throw in there and let the bed seed with critters and get bacteria going. Maybe move several pieces of rock over from your current display into the new tank to help seed and get your current tank's bacteria colonies going in there too.

Patience will reward you with a great new tank that's healthy and ready to absorb a bio load and minor die-off.

 

[gmanjeep]

I would be interested in doing the MOD to my skimmer if it will make it better. Do you have the instructions or the link to do this modification for the gate valve Mod? So...I could start moving some of my rock from my current tank into the new tank right now, but I should wait a couple of weeks to add my corals and fish from my current tank, correct? Thanks for all your help, Gary