Hey my name is Smith and I just made an account. I’ve been interested in the reef hobby for years now and just now got a reef tank (biocube 32) look forward to asking question and taking advice from more experienced reefers!
New to the reefing community.
- Thread starter Smithhansen
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I got the tank this week and I haven’t had time to set it up, but tomorrow I’m going to get the supplies to set it up. I will try my best to make it to be meet, however I live in Gainesville so it might be hard but I will try my best.
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welcome to the club smith, you're going to love this hobby. oh and i live up in habersham so i know how hard it is to make it to the meetings lol but if you can make it they are well worth it. you get to meet new people and talk about the hobby and learn new things, plus there's food and usually a chance to win stuff so its always a good time.
Hi Smith, welcome to ARC!
Be sure to ask any questions you may have. Setting up a new tank is always exciting and a lot of fun. But it's also an important time to try and get things right from the start.
Be sure to ask any questions you may have. Setting up a new tank is always exciting and a lot of fun. But it's also an important time to try and get things right from the start.
Welcome to ARC, I look forward to seeing your tank as it progresses, I've got a 32 Biocube too.
My first saltwater tank was a biocube 32. It was a great tank and I still have one today. Good luck and welcome to the club!
If you can make it then there are no excuses!
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Welcome Smith
I went to Nemo aquarium today and got live sand, reef crystals, a refractometer, and an RO unit. After I get thibsall set up I’m going back to get rock. Is the live rock worth it at $8 per lb. or just get normal rock?
Welcome Smith!
There are pros and cons to both live and dry rock. To save money, you could use mostly dry rock and a little live rock.
Personally, every tank I set up in the future will be all dry rock and with a bottle of nitrifying bacteria to seed the tank. The risk of any pests with live rock is not worth it to me, and dry rock is considerable cheaper as well. Your tank will cycle faster with live rock, but this is a hobby where patience and taking things slow is the key to success.
I'm not sure there is a right or wrong answer; it is really what is best for you. I will say though, I watch a lot of people on YouTube and have been seeing more and more go with all dry rock.
Pros and Cons:
https://reefbum.com/aquascaping/dry-rock-vs-live-rock/
Also, it is best to put the rock in before the sand. This is especially important if you ever add anything that burrows in the sand as it could make the rocks unstable if you put the sand in first.
There are pros and cons to both live and dry rock. To save money, you could use mostly dry rock and a little live rock.
Personally, every tank I set up in the future will be all dry rock and with a bottle of nitrifying bacteria to seed the tank. The risk of any pests with live rock is not worth it to me, and dry rock is considerable cheaper as well. Your tank will cycle faster with live rock, but this is a hobby where patience and taking things slow is the key to success.
I'm not sure there is a right or wrong answer; it is really what is best for you. I will say though, I watch a lot of people on YouTube and have been seeing more and more go with all dry rock.
Pros and Cons:
https://reefbum.com/aquascaping/dry-rock-vs-live-rock/
Also, it is best to put the rock in before the sand. This is especially important if you ever add anything that burrows in the sand as it could make the rocks unstable if you put the sand in first.
That question will open a can of worms
You will find as many people for as against.
Personally - and this is ONLY my personal opinion and what I like - I prefer live rock. That said - I'll do what I can to keep things alive and happy that some people consider pests. I loved the "gorilla" crabs we've had (they've all been eaten by our largest pest hitch-hiking pest). Urchins & pistol shrimp are fascinating and a joy.
The bad side - quite a few whelk snails, one of which managed to kill a clam.
You can almost instantly cycle a tank with the right rock - but, that convenience will come with tradeoffs.
Below is a video of me feeding our toadfish - which came in as a hitchhiker on live rock.
There are also a lot of weird things that can happen when setting up a tank with only dry rock. A tank goes through several cycles, there's not just the first nitrifying cycle. After that one the tank goes through several other changes as it matures over a couple years and there are many reports of odd alkalinity & calcium imbalances at come in at the 6 month mark or so. Using a mix of live and dry can go a long way towards helping a tank mature quicker. Putting dry rock on the bottom of the tank and some live rock on top of the dry will help cut down on the expense and give you more bio diversity. Going with half and half on a tank your size won't break the bank.
You can also keep the live rock in a cheap tote with a powerhead and heater, a small 10 or 20 gallon tank would be better for viewing. You can then feed the tank with Dr Tim's ammonia to keep the bacteria fed while starving any bad hitchhikers. Within a few days gorilla crabs and whelk snails will start coming out of their hiding spaces looking for food. This makes them easy to pluck out. Chances are that rock from Rit won't have any of these but if you were to get rock from Tampa Bay it would most certainly have something bad.
You can also keep the live rock in a cheap tote with a powerhead and heater, a small 10 or 20 gallon tank would be better for viewing. You can then feed the tank with Dr Tim's ammonia to keep the bacteria fed while starving any bad hitchhikers. Within a few days gorilla crabs and whelk snails will start coming out of their hiding spaces looking for food. This makes them easy to pluck out. Chances are that rock from Rit won't have any of these but if you were to get rock from Tampa Bay it would most certainly have something bad.
Welcome to the hobby! How’s the tank coming along?
Sorry about getting back to you so late. It’s good. Still cycling.
Thats awesome welcome to the hobby. Itll eat up your bank account be ready lol. The only thing i would recommend (which sounds like you are doing) is let the tanks cycle for as long as you can Ive found it best to let it do its thing for 1 month. Put in some good bacteria and leave the lights off and come back to it and itll be ready to go. Whats the plans for the tank?
Nothing too big. A couple easy corals and a couple hardy fish.
I went to the fish store and bought 5 pounds of live rock.
