15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method

[Brew12]

Sorry - I´m active in to many threads about this object for the moment

My apologies Lasse. I loved this article so much I've been posting it everywhere!

 

[Lasse]

My apologies Lasse. I loved this article so much I've been posting it everywhere!

Nema problema - keep on posting

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Subsea]

Lasse,

Lets’s move past the start up phase.

What are your thoughts on algae filtration?

In my experiences, using an opposite photo cycle with a powerful agae filter allows DOC to move back and forth between algae filter and coral in display tank. DOC from photosynthesis is composed of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates. Considering that carbon dioxide & oxygen also have a two way street during Photosynthesis why not let the lights off system exudates feed the system energized by light.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

The one aspect of the method that feels uncomfortable and a little controversial for me is the fish feeding for the first few weeks. Every third day etc is a tough one. I normally try to feed a small amount 2-3 times daily. When I snorkel in Hawaii or elsewhere and see how fat and huge reef fish are in the wild, it makes me feel a bit sad about how often our reef tank fish are small and skinny. So it's the ethical implications, and the responsibility of providing the best possible care for the fish, that make me hesitant to what can almost be considered starving a fish who'd otherwise be picking constantly at food throughout the day. I also consider that the fish we often get are fresh from the importer/wholesaler and may already be in a distressed state and unfed for some time. Thoughts?

 

[Lasse]

Lasse updated 15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method

The first sentense in step 5 "Introduce a healthy, lively fish that is not shy" is changed to "Introduce a healthy, well feeded and lively fish that is not shy" It will make it more clear what I mean

Sincerely Lasse

View updates to this article...

 

[Lasse]

The one aspect of the method that feels uncomfortable and a little controversial for me is the fish feeding for the first few weeks. Every third day etc is a tough one. I normally try to feed a small amount 2-3 times daily. When I snorkel in Hawaii or elsewhere and see how fat and huge reef fish are in the wild, it makes me feel a bit sad about how often our reef tank fish are small and skinny. So it's the ethical implications, and the responsibility of providing the best possible care for the fish, that make me hesitant to what can almost be considered starving a fish who'd otherwise be picking constantly at food throughout the day. I also consider that the fish we often get are fresh from the importer/wholesaler and may already be in a distressed state and unfed for some time. Thoughts?

The trouth about this is sad but true - In capitivity - IMO - on every fish that die of starvations - are there thousands that die of overfeeding. However - of some reason "a well feeded " is missing in the english test - I have changed it. Of cause - you should not use a newly imported fish - thanks for the remarks

Most fish is adapted to eat when food is aviable - it not often that can eat every day. In general - our aquarium fishes is normally larger and more fat compared with wild fish of the same age - the problem is that if you see a grown up fish in nature - you do not have any idea of how old it is. If you feed with dry food - 1 gram of that coresponding nearly 5 grams of natural foods. In aquaculture today - some dry foods can rise the weight of the fish more than the weight of the food! It means that 1 kg of food can give 1.2 kg of fish biomass.

But once again - thanks for the remark

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

Lasse,

Lets’s move past the start up phase.

What are your thoughts on algae filtration?

In my experiences, using an opposite photo cycle with a powerful agae filter allows DOC to move back and forth between algae filter and coral in display tank. DOC from photosynthesis is composed of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates. Considering that carbon dioxide & oxygen also have a two way street during Photosynthesis why not let the lights off system exudates feed the system energized by light.

Of cause - I have an opion of this - but this discussion is linked to the article about start up - let us discuss that topic here and algae filter at some other place

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Subsea]

Of

My wish with this article was to show an easy way of starting up and stabilize the biological system. IMO – the first 3 to 4 months it is important to have the system up and running in a stable way. After this period and if the system demands it you can use different type of biological manipulations. Ozon, UV-C, oxidators; GFO, active carbon and other tricks can be handy to use. Because I do not use QT – it is handy to have access to something that can help you minimize pathogen pressure – I use an oxidator for that. I do not do any WC – the oxydator help me to control yellowing substances. I use a skimmer in order to aerate my water – sometimes I run it without using the skimmer cup – sometimes I use the skimmer cup. I use GFO sometimes and a small biofilter. This type of equipment are tools – nothing else. Because I have an interest to do experiments and want to control my aquarium – a computer is a handy thing to have. But necessary – No


Sincerely Lasse

I really like your overall point in this paragraph about establishing stability by allowing natural cycles of microfauna & fana to establish themselves, with the emphasis on bacteria.

No matter which way you start up a system, bacteria are the mirobial overlords that enable our EcoSystems to operate and for that matter , if it were not for bacteria, Planet Earth would look like Mars.

If you don’ believe that, just ask the Martians who won in “War of the Worlds”.

 

[Subsea]

I quote myself

The reason is that I have just realize that free inorganic P and N in the water column during a start-up may have other positive effects as well. The nitrification bacteria need inorganic nutrients in order to grow well and if it zero in the water – you probably can stall the nitrification process, I was close to this in this thread but probably did not fully realize its importance. But it makes sense.

Sincerely Lasse

You and I have used activated sluge bacteria as powerful biofitration in municipal waste water treatment, which is the nitrification process.

In the warmer climates of the South, we use oxidation ponds. For a city population < 50K we used 30 acres what the heck two ponds. The second pond at 5 acres had water hyacinth with ducks as bioindiator of good heath. The 25 acre pond was not stirred and relied on natural stratification of oxygen & bacteria. In the “facultative zone” with low oxygen, nitrifying bacteria are starved for oxygen and the scavage oxygen from a nitrate molecule, this is denitrification resulting in nutrient export of a nitrogen gas molecule. Julian Sprung & Charles Delbric address that in Reef Aquarium Volume 3: “close cuppling happens when nitrification & denitrification chemistry happen in close proximity to each other.

 

[Subsea]

@Lassie

Excellent article with much attention to detail. Kudos to you sir.

The section about selecting appropriate reef inhabitants is spot on and should emphasize to newbies that SPS require much more attention to detail ( money & labor ).

I got a reef tank to enjoy it by relaxing “stress free”.

I think the reef inhabitants will continue to tell us what is best. We just need to learn the language of the Coral Holobiont. Because it is holistic in nature, it cannot be taken apart and analyzed by components only.


https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9890/84be6ee8f3015386f9cd222844f0ded5a9f1.pdf

The scientific community has recently come to appreciate that, rather than existing as independent organisms, multicellular hosts and their microbiota comprise a complex evolving superorganism or metaorganism, termed a holobiont. This point of view leads to a re-evaluation of our understanding of different physiological processes and diseases. In this paper we focus on experimental and computational approaches which, when combined in one study, allowed us to dissect mechanisms (traditionally named host-microbiota interactions) regulating holobiont physiology. Specifically, we discuss several approaches for microbiota perturbation, such as use of antibiotics and germ-free animals, including advantages and potential caveats of their usage. We briefly review computational approaches to characterize the microbiota and, more importantly, methods to infer specific components of microbiota (such as microbes or their genes) affecting host functions. One such approach called transkingdom network analysis has been recently developed and applied in our study.1 Finally, we also discuss common methods used to validate the computational predictions of host-microbiota interactions using in vitro and in vivo experimental systems.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 16 September 2015 Revised 28 November 2015 Accepted 30 November 2015
KEYWORDS
Antibiotics; bipartite betweenness centrality; germfree mice; holobiont; microbiome; microbiota; metagenomics; systems biology; transkingdom networks

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Lasse, when do you recommend the introduction of dry flake food, pellets etc into the newly established reef tank?

 

[Lasse]

With my other aquaria - I have started to use dry food after around 4 weeks but in my present aquaria - I have never use dry food at all. The reason why is that I think that dry food will make my fish to grow too fast. I have a rather small aquaria 80 gallon and I want a lot of fish with natural growth rate. At that time I use NLS.

I´m not sure that you can´t apply my method and use dry food already in the start - it probably will work too but I think it is more easy to use frozen food in the beginning. The reason why I use frozen adult artemia is that they often have littel more PO4 in them (as a preservative) and I need it in the start.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[William Buchanan]

I would like to hear your opinion on skimmers. I’m not exactly sure what they do in regards to nutrients in the water. Seems to me that skimmers remove a lot of the stuff in the water that the corals and algae need. Is it just an aide to help remove the excess excess nutrients?

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Quick and dirty Lasse Method Nitrate solution metric to US standard conversion: 2.7 tablespoons powder to 16 ounces RO/DI filtered water. 1ml of the solutions per 26.4 gallons raises nitrate by 0.5 ppm. Target 3ppm.

 

[Subsea]

I would like to hear your opinion on skimmers. I’m not exactly sure what they do in regards to nutrients in the water. Seems to me that skimmers remove a lot of the stuff in the water that the corals and algae need. Is it just an aide to help remove the excess excess nutrients?

Foam fractionators
http://www.advanced-aquariums.com/aquarium-products/aquarium-foam-fractionator/
AAT Foam Fractionators effectively and efficiently remove microscopic organic compounds, protein particles, amino acids, bacteria, water tints and other waterborn detritus from salt-water aquaria.

 

[Lasse]

I would like to hear your opinion on skimmers. I’m not exactly sure what they do in regards to nutrients in the water. Seems to me that skimmers remove a lot of the stuff in the water that the corals and algae need. Is it just an aide to help remove the excess excess nutrients?

This is a tricky question. In Sweden I was long seen as the "skimmerless" guy, advocating for no skimmers at all because of the things you highlight. However – in my recent tank I run an oversized skimmer on full aeration – how will this fit in – have I – as the devil – begin to be religious when I got older ? No way - but maybe wiser The modern skimmers is most space effective aerators that exist and gas exchange and aeration is IMO – very important. How do I solve this this gordic knot? I open the drain from the skimmer into the return chamber I use the skimmers soley as an aerator normally - but sometimes I use it as a skimmer too - it is depended of how the tanks develop and if I had to take away some particles. But I always skim very dry, very dry

My 15 steps works well both with skimmers and no skimmers. Have test both many times

Sincerely Lasse

 

[hotdrop]

Since the article published has anyone replicated the suggested method? What where the results? Were you happy with the outcome? I would like to use this method to start up my soft coral waterbox 45.2 setup and wanted to incorporate any additional lessons learned.

 

[Hemmdog]

Since the article published has anyone replicated the suggested method? What where the results? Were you happy with the outcome? I would like to use this method to start up my soft coral waterbox 45.2 setup and wanted to incorporate any additional lessons learned.

I do something very similar. Ive had great results. If I have questions in my own methods I compare to Lasses posts. He is a pro!

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

It is meant for starting the tank - after 3 - 4 month - you can manupulate it into what ever you want!

This part I really do not understand – we say that we test in order to have our livestock in a good mood (at least to survive) in the start.

Remember – I´m talking about the first 0-4 months here

What do we test in order to have our animals alive?

PO4 – not toxic

NO3 – not toxic

Calcium – not toxic

Alkalinity – not toxic

Magnesium – not toxic

Nitrite (NO2) – not toxic in salt water

Salinity – not toxic and will not change very much if you follow the manufactures recommendations

Temperature – normally no problems – but okay– a thermometer is easy to use

We will end up with one parameter that can be problematic – the NH3/NH4 complex. NH4 is the first inorganic form that will enter the water as a result of fish metabolism and heterotrophic breakdown bacteria activity. In a clean start – the source for NH4 is the metabolism from the fish (the bacterial breakdown process of organic matter is not established yet) The metabolism of the fish – you will manage with the addition of food – my method includes a very sparse feeding regime the first 3 weeks. The Nh4 (ammonium ion) – nontoxic for organism - will stay as an ion if the pH is rather normal. If the pH is to high – a percent of the complex will be as the highly toxic NH3 molecule. At 25-degree C and pH 8 – around 5.4 % of the NH3/NH4 is in the toxic NH3 form – at pH 8.5 the corresponding values is 15 %. Higher temperature gives higher concentration of NH3. This means that you need to have NH3/NH4 readings around 0.5 mg/l (ppm) and over if there should be a risk for NH3 toxification. With my very sparse feeding regime – you will not have this. There is another things with the NH4 – autotrophic bacteria will convert NH4 into first NO2 and further into NO3 – hence making the produced NH4 into nontoxic forms. This is the reason why I step up in feeding every week and recommend adding nitrifying bacteria (organisms) in one or another form every day.

With my method – there is no chance to get toxic values of NH3 in the start at all – but you must follow the slow feeding regime if you start from total new sand, stone and equipment.

There is one product on the market in the US that could be handy to have – if you are the nervous type and if the product works like the manufacturer says (we do not have it here in Sweden – However - I have never tested it. That’s SeaChems ammonia alert- it says only measure free and toxic ammonia (NH3).


My point is

You put a lot of money and work in order to measure and test parameters of no importance in a start up phase

Let the aquaria develop without too much interference during the first months – after that you can start to measure if you want to alter any values in a certain way. IMO – the most common problem in the start nowadays are the formation of cyanobacteria/dino. Mostly because there is like a holy rule to press down the nutrients to zero in the start. Believe me – you need the nutrients in the start.

Do you run into cyano/dino problems – Then it's time to test PO4 and NO3 and lift them up to levels around 0.04-0.08 ppm PO4 and 2-4 ppm NO3. But I have never been in that situation with my 15 points schedule

Sincerely Lasse

 

[PerplexyHexy]

I do something very similar. Ive had great results. If I have questions in my own methods I compare to Lasses posts. He is a pro!

For the most part... ive followed everything he has said to do for my 300 gallon frag system... im just now dosing kno3... I also already had 300 lbs of liverock thats been in water for over 6 months so thats where I relied heavily on my nitrifying bacteria production instead of additives... Have 6 fish total, 3 in each tank... and added snails last week for algae... everything is looking good... po4 lingering around .03-.07 but 0 no3... Added some corals this week and they look great and are already coloring up with the halides... thinking its gonna take off here soon. Im also using bubble magus curve d9 for skimming and im running a 40 gallon refugium with chaeto, grape cuelerpa and dragons breath, running opposite lights for 7hrs... ohhhhh and I filled 150 gallons of natural sea water and 150 synthetic. I have yet to do a water change yet as well... going on 7 weeks.sorry, reply was meant for hotdrop... lol