questions about first reef tank?

uh hey so im new here how is every one doing? anyways i have a forty five gallon tank with a rena xp filter on it and bubbles in the tank. six days ago i put live argonite sand in it and a lot of live rock (enough to cover the back wall and one side of the tank) in it. my salt level is at 1.025 and i have four damsels in the tank as starter fish. yesterday i put in a forty gallon treatment of "suberbac aquarium live! nitrifying bacteria" in it. I was told that this bacteria would eliminate the need to wait six weeks for my tank to cycle before i can start stocking it, is this true? has anyone used this before? my next question is I have already ordered a reef light for the tank, I know i need a protien skimmer and power heads too. will it mess up my tank to add this stuff on with fish already in there? How many power heads do i need and does anyone know a good brand and how powerful they should be? my final question is how many fish will i be able to get away with in the tank? i know i have to slowly stock it but in the end what would be my max and do shrimp and crabs count towards my limit like fish do or not? anyways thanks for the help

 

questions about my first reef tank?

uh hey so im new here how is every one doing? anyways i have a forty five gallon tank with a rena xp filter on it and bubbles in the tank. six days ago i put live argonite sand in it and a lot of live rock (enough to cover the back wall and one side of the tank) in it. my salt level is at 1.025 and i have four damsels in the tank as starter fish. yesterday i put in a forty gallon treatment of "suberbac aquarium live! nitrifying bacteria" in it. I was told that this bacteria would eliminate the need to wait six weeks for my tank to cycle before i can start stocking it, is this true? has anyone used this before? my next question is I have already ordered a reef light for the tank, I know i need a protien skimmer and power heads too. will it mess up my tank to add this stuff on with fish already in there? How many power heads do i need and does anyone know a good brand and how powerful they should be? my final question is how many fish will i be able to get away with in the tank? i know i have to slowly stock it but in the end what would be my max and do shrimp and crabs count towards my limit like fish do or not? anyways thanks for the help

 

Duplicate threads have been merged.

 

ok ok ok...so that junk you threw into your tank...the nitrifying bactera is a load of hoopla!!

Let's get some things straight. It's going to take you six week to cycle. Maybe longer, maybe shorter. No two cycles are the same! But the only way to TRULY know for sure is with test kits. One for ammonia, one for nitrite and one for nitrate. I'm sure you already know the steps of the cycle and what to look for. So once your levels have become stable then you can think about stocking your tank. Slowly. Especially with a 45g. In the mean time you can think about what kind of skimmer to get and other equipment!! What kind of lighting did you get!? For the skimmer i would suggest something along the lines of a AquaC remora, the octopus skimmers....maybe an ASM G1. Do your research and it will pay off greatly!! You also want something along the lines of a 40-50x turn over rate..so that would be a total of ABOUT 2,000GPH (gallons per hour).

Your shrimp and crabs DO indeed add to the bio-load...they poop too. Just not as big of an impact as fish. With a 45 i think you could get away with 5-6 small fish..<1" I'm not really sure...do please correct me if i'm wrong anybody!!

EDIT: I forgot to ask also...are you using a sump with the 45g as well?

 

I tried that bacteria crap too when i started my 36 gallon.....cycle still took 4 weeks..as far as skimmers go I have a coralife super skimmer 65..I love it but if you don't have a sump it's kind of bulky for a HOB..i agree with ermano though..do your research before you buy anything!!! chances are you'll change your mind at least 3 times..

 

Funny you say that!! I've gone to the LFS countless times to only return back home empty handed because i changed my mind at the store

 

I have a 45H as well. I had problems with my original setup. Used a Fluval canister filter, 10 Gal refugium, Qty 1 Koralia II, Qty 1 Maxi 600, and a AquaC Remora.

I constantly battled with cyano, macros, slime, you name it. My params were never stable. Ended up getting rid of the Fluval and the 10 Gal and made a 30 Gal Sump/Refuge. Instant stability and algae is all but gone.

Would highly recommend a sump or refuge if you already don't have one.
Water movement is hard in these things. They are deep. I still don't feel I have enough.
I currently have 1 tomato clown, 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 bicolor angel, 1 pajama cardinal, 1 queen anthia, plus an assorment of CUC. Have not come close to the bio load of this tank yet. On the other hand, they are all still young, all 3" or less except the blenny. It will eventually get tight.

Just some food for thought.

 

thanks for answering my questions, but yeah so im going to go back to the fish store and choke the woman that sold me the bacteria stuff now. but no i do not have a sump i have a rena xp and that is it. i ordered an octopus BH-100 today and i am going to pick up a couple koralia 1 power heads tommorrow. i also have a rio 600 power head from an old aquarium, i added up my gph and got 1475 with all of that. so how could i squeeze another 500 gph out of that? I am definatly going to hold off now on stocking the aquarium. how would i go about putting a sump on the tank? I would use an overflow box right, because my tank isnt drilled? price wise what am i looking at to do that?

 

overflows vary in price, i would say 30 to 60 for the OF and try and find a 30 long or 29 used on ebay or CL and make your own fuge...

 

the bacteria isn't necessarily bad, it'll increase the diversity of the bacteria in the tank, and can make the tank more stable over time, HOWEVER there is no royal road around a tank cycle. it will take 2-8 weeks.

I usually try to cycle without fish for the following reason:
I DONT CARE WHAT THE WATER PARAMS ARE UNTIL IT'S DONE!;D;D;D
Saves you lots of tests that way. Saves you from an Emergency WC halfway through the cycle to save your damsels if your ammonia spikes to a ridiculous number..

Your tank will also cycle somewhat the first few times you add more livestock. These are the cycles you have to watch carefully, I generally recommend starting with and feeding a cleaning crew. This will let them break the tank in after the initial cycle of death. NB: cuc's, stars, some clams, etc., can be susceptible to poor water quality. In the case where you're putting in an initial cleaning crew, shrimp, snails, and crabs only.

Good luck!