Lol Shano!

Ur skimmer is still an option but its still early days for me. I did see ur one in the shop for $790 so I know its a good deal

Cheers for your input reef

:lol: like I said they are over rated volume wise (up to 1200lt tank volume) and as I said I wouldnt put one on anything over 500lt. MCE-600 are good skimmers and worth spending the extra bit on.

BUT really seawater+bubbles=foam + collection cup=skimmer :lol:

BUT really seawater+bubbles=foam + collection cup=skimmer

If only it was that easy.

So back to a different topic, I've purchased some dry base rock and setup a 90L container in the garage with Reef Salt, Heater and Power Head. Today i'm going to pickup some live wetrock to put in there to give it a kick start. Question is, will it upset the process if I decide to move the rock into the main tank before its fully cured? I am assuming that new water and sand needs to do its wee bit of curing aswel?

Also, should I pop some of the filter media in with the curing rock? Will it gain the beneficial bacteria this way?

There has been debate in the past about wether transfering it 1/2 way through the curing process will slow things down. I don't see why it would, but there was a guy who did it a couple of years ago and claimed it made his cycle start again.

Even if you add no bacteria the cycle will still start, there are plenty of bacteria floating around. However some are better than others and there are some products you can buy to add the best types of bacteria, or even a handful of gunge from the bottom of a rock pool at the beach will have "good" bacteria in it.

But most people don't bother with any of that & the rocks still cycle fine.

as you did this morning talk to john he knows alot

your questions were spot on the same things that i asked when starting lol

:lol:

Had a good chat to John this morning, he helped me with HEAPS.

lol i was there

you're always there wilson

Oh! hahah didn't realise

How was ur coke?

BTW, one of the powerheads I got with the tank is fairly noisey. Have had it apart and can't find anything wrong with it. Its circulating water at the mo, but will want another one if I can't silence it. Any tricks to these things? Unsure of the brand but it looks Atman almost

check the impellor

Have checked, looks fine to me

it'll be a bubble lock somewhere.

Point opening up, and shake well.

Or, CAREFULLY point nozzle out of water, and bring it up until its out of the water, and then it should work..

Have noticed the plastic sheath over the wires has split aswel. Might be time for a new one

Can anyone recommend the best way to cycle dry rock? Someone had suggested a big container filled with water to sit them in and do a 25% water change everyday (freshwater).

Was just concerned with the accuracy of the above statement. It came from a very very reliable source with years of experience in reefs & marine fish but I'm just wondering if maybe i've heard him say something he didn't mean? (Or misinterpreted it). Next time I see him i'll ask to clarify unless someone can confirm.

Are there other methods, perhaps quicker methods? Not trying to rush anything, but u people know how it is. Just keen to get to the next step, or see something happen so I know I'm making progress

P.s, Nano Streams for the tank now

Can anyone recommend the best way to cycle dry rock? Someone had suggested a big container filled with water to sit them in and do a 25% water change everyday (freshwater).

the above is ok except no water change. use saltwater to start the cycling process. if you use freshwater you will kill the bacteria.

P.s, Nano Streams for the tank now

Did you shop at organisms again

Haha yep, mmm Nano Streams

Well, tank is setup, salt water, filtration and nanos, any reason why I shouldn't just put the rock into the tank to do its thing?

Still waiting on the skimmer, should I wait til then to put the rock in?

Yes, put the rock in, get things kicked off .

Usually takes around 6 weeks, minimum.

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

BTW Fmxmatt, not sure how much you know already, but just incase, you monitor the rock cycling by testing the water, so for the first couple of weeks or so you see ammonia build up then dissapear once the ammonia eating bacteria kick in, then nitrite builds up which is being made by the ammonia eating bacteria. This takes about another 4 weeks + to dissapear once the nitrite eating bacteria have kicked in. Once ammonia and nitrite are down to zero your rock is considered "cycled" and you can start stocking the tank.

The rock is not FULLY cycled though untill nitrate levels are coming down low, which can take several months. But nitrate is not as toxic as nitrite and ammonia so you can start stocking even though nitrate levels are elevated.

The big thing with cycling rocks is it is rather testing of our patience as it can seem to drag on, but not much can be done other than wait it out. But keep us tuned in how it's going!

Thanks Wasp, I do know the basics from keeping Freshwater tropicals. Its actually a step that I think needs to be taken before anyone attempts marine as its definatly taught me alot of things, patience being one of them!

I'm keen to do this right, hence the upgrading of all the gear that came with the tank lol. Speaking of the gear, my nanos are a bit noisey, but I vaguely remember reading on these forums that this is normal and after the first week they should quiet down? I'm stoked with them, they make the tank look very smart and add plenty of movement!

Might have to look at getting some webspace so I can post links to some pics of the progress

heh, a piece of plastic that makes water go woosh everywhere is "smart"?

new toys

Smart Looking is what I meant

U know, doesn't look big and ugly like the oldschool Seio M1100 I had in there. Still need to find out bout that noise tho, can anyone help?