I have had a 14G bio cube running for the last 7 years and I am making the jump to used 75G system (30g fuge). My #1 problem is (after reading countless posts, listening to podcasts, going to LFS to discuss dry rock, dead rock, live rock) each time I think I have an answer, I get another opinion that twists me up.
Original idea: Guy at the local fish store said don't use any rock from your existing system. We are going to start you out fresh, no crud in tank. Take the "dry" rock (I would actually call it dead) that you got with the system that has been sitting idle for a year or whatever, stick into a Brute can, do the Dr Tims ammonia treatment with starter bacteria and you should be good to go in a couple of weeks. This will prevent all pests and you will be good to go in about 10 days. Put in main tank, fill it up, add more bacteria, GO (monitor for a while, make sure all good . . . . . weeks/months).
Modified original idea: Rocks in my existing system always fall over and I can't get them perfect. SO, I was going to set up my new tank just the way I want, get everything glued when dry, so no messing with wet rock that I can't ever get to stick perfect, and cycle in my new tank that I would have about 1/2 full with pumps running. After the cycle in a couple of weeks fill the tank up the rest of the way, add the 30g sump, GO.
New religious battle discovered: Bio-diversity is good, you want to start with live rock even if some pests get in. This makes sense to me, I NEVER had any pests originally even though I started with live rock. Through the years after getting coral ONLY from reputable LFS guess what. Well, I had a palythoa outbreak a few months back and I am fighting to kill all of those AND if I get behind in water changes red bubble algae starts to pop up so I know it is there, but not a problem if I keep water parameters good and don't get lazy. I even had a flat worm outbreak 3 years or so ago. No idea where this came from. There all along? I doubt it.
New bad news: Dead rock is bad, you don't know what you have, could take months to get all the crud out, you need to use acid, bleach, cook for 2 months . . . . .
Middle ground, my current plan: Cycle the dry/dead rock in the Brute container per original plan. Stick in tank to get it going. GO. THEN, add 1 rock at a time from existing tank knowing bubble algae will be introduced, but do everything possible to kill all palythoas (currently using Joe's Juice). Use existing tank like a hospital tank.
Thoughts?
Original idea: Guy at the local fish store said don't use any rock from your existing system. We are going to start you out fresh, no crud in tank. Take the "dry" rock (I would actually call it dead) that you got with the system that has been sitting idle for a year or whatever, stick into a Brute can, do the Dr Tims ammonia treatment with starter bacteria and you should be good to go in a couple of weeks. This will prevent all pests and you will be good to go in about 10 days. Put in main tank, fill it up, add more bacteria, GO (monitor for a while, make sure all good . . . . . weeks/months).
Modified original idea: Rocks in my existing system always fall over and I can't get them perfect. SO, I was going to set up my new tank just the way I want, get everything glued when dry, so no messing with wet rock that I can't ever get to stick perfect, and cycle in my new tank that I would have about 1/2 full with pumps running. After the cycle in a couple of weeks fill the tank up the rest of the way, add the 30g sump, GO.
New religious battle discovered: Bio-diversity is good, you want to start with live rock even if some pests get in. This makes sense to me, I NEVER had any pests originally even though I started with live rock. Through the years after getting coral ONLY from reputable LFS guess what. Well, I had a palythoa outbreak a few months back and I am fighting to kill all of those AND if I get behind in water changes red bubble algae starts to pop up so I know it is there, but not a problem if I keep water parameters good and don't get lazy. I even had a flat worm outbreak 3 years or so ago. No idea where this came from. There all along? I doubt it.
New bad news: Dead rock is bad, you don't know what you have, could take months to get all the crud out, you need to use acid, bleach, cook for 2 months . . . . .
Middle ground, my current plan: Cycle the dry/dead rock in the Brute container per original plan. Stick in tank to get it going. GO. THEN, add 1 rock at a time from existing tank knowing bubble algae will be introduced, but do everything possible to kill all palythoas (currently using Joe's Juice). Use existing tank like a hospital tank.
Thoughts?
