Cycling new tank

chorizo619

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So I got my new used 100 gallon(5’x18”x20”). Tested it for leaks, we’re good. I got some live rock (about 40 pounds) that was fully submerged In good filtrate water at my LFS. I got a Bashsea Bio-Fuge 30"X10"X14" sump coming in later this week. For that I got the refugium starter pack from algae barn with the lettuce, I got chaeto coming in 2 days. For the return pump I got the Danner Supreme Aqua-Mag 9.5. I have the IceCap K1-130 protein skimmer. I got Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Natural Aquarium Sand (60 pounds, will get 2 more bags today). Two hydor powerheads and the marine depot overflow box. I also have two heaters to heat up my tank which I was dropping in the sump, and a bought the lifegard aquatics 10” led refugium light. So I Hope gear wise I’m good to go. My question is, can I start to cycle the tank with two canister filters while I wait for the sump to come in? If I can, do I just place my sump and drop all the equipment in it once it comes in? the previous owner had his saltwater tank running with two canister filters. It’s because my RO filtration takes forever to fill up my 20 gallon bin that I use to mix my salt water in. So I wanted to start dumping the water in but I’ve been reading the rocks go first, then sand to keep them from smashing any of the fishes or tipping over, then the water. I don’t want to have the water sitting there with no filtration because I feel like it would give the bad bacteria a thriving place to live so I was hoping to run the two canister filters while I wait for my sump. What do you guys recommend?
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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your cycle is done, due to the pounds of already live rock. the whole cycle is done when those get set in the water, they do not die off at all. they transfer all bac

the other surfaces not inoculated don't matter, that degree of live rock will run your whole system if you added nothing beyond it. there is no reefing bioload that will surpass forty pounds of already cured rock. this is a skip cycle tank, here's 100 more:

I bet you were not expecting that for an answer
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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don't buy bottle bac for this cycle, its a waste. not needed.
 
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chorizo619

chorizo619

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your cycle is done, due to the pounds of already live rock. the whole cycle is done when those get set in the water, they do not die off at all. they transfer all bac

the other surfaces not inoculated don't matter, that degree of live rock will run your whole system if you added nothing beyond it. there is no reefing bioload that will surpass forty pounds of already cured rock. this is a skip cycle tank, here's 100 more:

I bet you were not expecting that for an answer
This is amazing! So should I just wait for my sump to get here?
 

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For the cycle you don't need the canisters on, if your rock is truly live then your cycle is near enough done, the rock will seed the sand soon enough, just keep the water moving in the tank and heated, then add the rest of the equipment as it comes in, the extra time whilst you wait will help with the cycle and seeding the rest of the tank, such as sand and the other surfaces.
 
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chorizo619

chorizo619

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For the cycle you don't need the canisters on, if your rock is truly live then your cycle is near enough done, the rock will seed the sand soon enough, just keep the water moving in the tank and heated, then add the rest of the equipment as it comes in, the extra time whilst you wait will help with the cycle and seeding the rest of the tank, such as sand and the other surfaces.
Sweet Jesus, you don’t even know it but you literally made my month! I did not want to plug in the canisters only to remove them when the sump comes in.
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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nice team work. all the bac and goodies from the live rock just sloughs off and travels around the whole system, free :) agreed to the above. you can't lose using someone else's cured live rock

who cares if they get aiptasia or some algae, its better than eight months of dinos the all dry starts tend to accumulate. we have easy ways to beat aiptasia, scientific ones:

take a sharp knife, shove it down alongside the aiptasia, poke down into the rock base a little, twist and peel it up and back out like an apple core and shear that __________ right out of the hole it rode in on. scientific.
 

Reef.

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Sweet Jesus, you don’t even know it but you literally made my month! I did not want to plug in the canisters only to remove them when the sump comes in.

lol yeah that would have been a pain.

Just look after your rock as that is the key to the cycle, keep it covered in salt water and heated if possible until it's in the tank.
 
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chorizo619

chorizo619

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lol yeah that would have been a pain.

Just look after your rock as that is the key to the cycle, keep it covered in salt water and heated if possible until it's in the tank.
yes it would have been. Good thing I asked first lol
Will do, thanks
 
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chorizo619

chorizo619

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So I got my sump in on Friday, barely got a chance to finish the plumbing. I’ve been filling the box with water from the tank and letting it drain into the sump. I have about 15 gallons of salt water in a bin, can I dump the Water from the 15 gallons in the sump until it fills to the required level I need or do I need to keep using the water that’s already in my tank?
 
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chorizo619

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634B4C98-DE55-486D-BF1B-75CE5184EBD2.jpeg
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I have my emergency drain going into the refugium so I can hear it if something were to go wrong or clog my main drain. Main drain is going into the sock and into the skimmer and heater section. Refugium will be in the second slot, I got sand and the kit from algae barn with some chaeto from saltwater aquarium. Last is the return pump. Any tips and criticism is welcomed.
 

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looking great! just a gate or ball valve on the return to adjust flow, and using soft tubing for the part attached to the pump then transition to hard tubing for the rest, and a big vibration pad under the pump. Reliable return pump but just want to kill all the vibration noise imo
 

dedragon

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nvm, the soft tubing how u did it looks very secure, did you pvc cement a fitting to the check valve?
 
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chorizo619

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looking great! just a gate or ball valve on the return to adjust flow, and using soft tubing for the part attached to the pump then transition to hard tubing for the rest, and a big vibration pad under the pump. Reliable return pump but just want to kill all the vibration noise imo
Can I add the gate valve later? Or would I need to add it now since I’m not pumping water right now?
 
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chorizo619

chorizo619

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nvm, the soft tubing how u did it looks very secure, did you pvc cement a fitting to the check valve?
No on the check valve I just shoved in there to where I had marked so I know it was pushed in properly.
 

dedragon

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best to do it when its not plumbed yet, i had a smaller bashsea sump and it was a b---ch to get the hose off the pump sometimes in the small return section
 
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chorizo619

chorizo619

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best to do it when its not plumbed yet, i had a smaller bashsea sump and it was a b---ch to get the hose off the pump sometimes in the small return section
Cool, I’ll head to Home Depot since my lfs is closed today. Thank you.
 

dedragon

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np, just check to make sure u can get the tubing on and off the pump and not mess up the other plumbing (this was my whole issue), its hard to tell the head room under the sump to tell how much room you are working with. Dont want a flood happening or anything, when you are settled on the position of everything, see if the check valve is pvc and pvc cement the fittings just in case
 

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