[RadioPlay]

Hey Everyone, I'm new here to the Reef Keeping biz and I'm loving every minute of it, I can't get enough of this stuff, these forums are great!

Anyway now on to my question, I started my 55g tank about 3 weeks ago and before I got started I did quite a bit of research n DSBs over a few months of prep time. Most of it made sense but no one really touched on the best way to introduce the DSB to the tank. Time(before or after cycle), LR placement(embedded or on top), etc...

So what I ended up doing was going off a book I read by Paletta which was placing LR in on PVC frames for first part of cycle. Then laying down the DSB. SO what does that give me? Basically partially embedded LR with pretty deep dips in the DSB. So my question is do I need to pull out the LR, level the DSB and then place the LR on the top?

Also I made the newbie mistake of thinking the tap water would be fine for the tank, Doh! So after a short battle with diatoms and doing some water changes with RO water I got it cleared up except for one piece of LR that has a brown hair algae on it. Is that more diatoms that will eventually die off or should I be more concerned. I've decreased the photo period to about 7 or 8 hrs. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!

RadioPlay

[Bughead]

Welcome to the board.
Don't worry about the diatom bloom, it will take care of itself even without decreasing the photo period. If you want, you can take that one rock out and scrub it in a bucket of used tank water (so as not to kill off the life on the rock), using a toothbrush that has been designated for tank use only. Sometimes that is the quickest and most effective way to get hair algae under control before it becomes a plague.

As far as your DSB construction, I'm a little confused about why you were instructed not to put in sand for the first part of the cycle. ??? I've always put in my 5" of sand, then "screwed" in the pieces of pvc pipe then put the rocks on top. Some people lay down the pipe or base first, then sand. Some people dispence with the pipe or base altogether. But, believe me, the biological filtration of the DSB will function just fine by adding all the sand from the start. Now is the time for you to innoculate the sand with some life, like worms and copepods. If you have somebody who can give you a cup of their live sand, that would be perfect. Otherwise, your sand will liven up in time from your live rocks.

Sounds like you have a good start. Good luck, and have fun.

[Bughead]

Well, I guess I didn't answer your question. I'd pull out the rocks and level the sand, just to make it all more stable. Extra work, but now is the time to do it. You can scrub that hairy rock while you're at it and get things arranged again. You'll probably get another diatom bloom of lesser degree, but don't worry about it. A little patience and your tank will clear itself in a couple of weeks.

[hcp28]

I would also wait too add any fish or anything until your ammonia and nitrite spikes are over. There are also plenty of places online to buy starter kits of pods and worms and live sand if you can't find any local reefers in your area. Have you thought about adding a sump or refugium? These are all things that would be easier to start ealry in your tanks life. If you search this site you can find information to all these questions and probably a lot more questions than answers. Welcome to Reefland!!

Henry

[kevinpo]

First off.... Welcome to Reefland

The answer to your question can have a couple of different answers depending on your plans for the tank. IMO that's the hardest part of reefleeping (making a plan an sticking with it).

For example if you plan to have burrowing fish such as shrimp gobies, or jaw fish, and you set your rock unsupported on the top of the deep sand bed when they dig under it your rock could come tumbling down. I used egg crate set on top of 1/2" PVC rod laying across the bottom to support my rock. I then poured the sand around the rock to a depth of about 3-5". In 18 months no rock slides so far.

This is just one example there are many other ways to accomplish the same goal.

If you don't plan on having any diggers it's fine to set the rock on top of the sand. Just try to leave as much sand as possible exposed.

HTH,
Kevin

[RadioPlay]

Thanks everybody for the quick responses! I appreciate the advice!

Bughead:

My guess with not adding the sand right away is that they were referring to starting a tank with uncured LR. And me being new to this I didn't know how much die off I would see from the LR. I now know better, thanks! I plan to reorganizing the DSB and LR this weekend.

hcp28:

Thanks for the heads up, one thing I plan to do with this tank is take my time. I'm in no rush to stock the tank just to watch it turn into a swirling grave. For seeding the DSB I'm planning on ordering a detrivore kit from Inland Aquatics, but it's amazing how much life I have already gotten out of the LR. Thanks again.

Kevinpo:

Thanks for the suggestion if I hadn't already started the tank I probably would rethink the pvc structure, but live and learn right? I don't plan to have burrowing fish so i should be fine. Thanks

Question about LS, I had a friend at a lfs that gave me a bucket of LS from a tank that crashed. When I got around to putting sand in I grabbed the bucket and the top 1/3 looked find but then the bottom 2/3 smelled of death. is that sand basically toast? I have not used any in my tank yet, just curious.

RadioPlay

[kevinpo]

(IMO/IME) Live sand should be treated like any other living marine animal. Which means providing water, heat, air, circulation etc. If that hasn't been done then most of the critters will die off. This will result in cycling just like a new tank. If you want the most diverse collection all you need is 3-4 cups of sand from an well established (1 year and older) reef tank.

HTH,
Kevin