Miscellaneous help regarding first marine, fish only tank

Chirag Marwaha · Jul 8, 2017

Hi!
My first post here. I've got a few queries. Hope someone experienced would help out.

1) I've already got Chaetos macroalgae for my refugium, but my sump tank isn't ready yet. Now, I might not be able to collect it till the next weekend. I've kept it in a bucket of saltwater. Will it survive for the next 7-8 days? Also when in the tank, how do we keep it there. Does it remain suspended in water all the time, floating here and there or do we have plant it in the sand/substrate with or without fertilizers. I don't have any experience with freshwater plants either. I have dealt with just my garden roses and lilies whose roots are in the soil.

2) I've got two bacteria additive products Continuum Aquatics Bacter Gen-M and Continuum Aquatics Bacter Gen-MD, are they any good? The only review I could find for it was here: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2014/8/review and I'm still not convinced as there are little to no user reviews.

3) I also got some Aragonite sand, do I have to wash it before I put it in the display tank, will it not lose the calcium content this way?

4) The same way, if I get live rocks, and cure them for a week or so, would most of the organisms in it not die and be washed out?

5) Will the sump tank do without a bubble wall before the pump. I've seen people having 2-3 glass panes inserted to stop the bubbles before they reach the pump that pumps out water to the display tank. What is it and what bubbles are created, what effect do they have.

6) Does the salt in the water accumulate inside the pump, will that not be damaging it? If yes, how often to clean it?

Thanks.

Hely'sreef1 · Jul 8, 2017

I'm curious to know too.....

ciscomania · Jul 8, 2017

1. i think you should be good for 7 days but give it some light and you just let it float and tumble in your sump. small powerhead helps.
2. never heard or seen any of those product. I used Biospira and it worked perfectly and is the most common bacteria additive I believe.
3. you want to wash it or your tank might be cloudy for days when you first put in the tank. I don't know what you mean by calcium content, maybe you are referring to the live bacteria, but that's only if you buy live sand and not dry sand. Either way washing won't matter.
4. reason ppl buy live rocks is so they don't have to cure it and just put it straight in the tank and start reefing!! I started with dry rocks cuz I didn't want to deal with any unknown hitchhikers but I'm real anal about what goes in my tank and is way way cheaper than buying live rock but you do need to cure it.
5. those walls you mention are baffles to trap bubbles so it don't get into the display tank.
6. yes it does accumulate but with any salt water equipment, you should be cleaning it every 6month or so depending on how often you like or it will seize up down the line.

hopefully this helps and welcome and enjoy reefing

Sobo's Reef · Jul 8, 2017

1. Chaeto should be fine in saltwater, I'd get a cheap light fixture tho just so it has something to thrive off of til it's ready to go into the sump.

2. Can't comment on the additives, haven't used them before.

3. Does not require rinsing if it's indeed "live sand".

4. Live rock doesn't need to be cured as long as it's coming from an established system.

5. Usually bubbles are created from a skimmer but in most sumps, just having the water run through it will cause bubbles. The bubble trap(3 panes of glass) will help eliminate all the bubbles so they're not being pushed in the display tank. They really have no effect to my knowledge but it's more pleasing to the eye to not have excessive bubbles in the display.

6. You'll get a resin on pumps/powerheads/skimmers/ etc etc. equipment should be cleaned monthly or bi-monthly depending on what kind of system you're running.

Hope this helps!

Chirag Marwaha · Jul 9, 2017

1. OK.
2. OK I heard Tetra SafeStart is also good. I'll see what to do about the additives.
3. No not live sand, I was asking about the regular packed sand. I heard Aragonite and probably Coral Sand and some others too contain calcium content that slowly dissolves in the tank. That's why I was asking so that it doesn't lose any significant amount of calcium content on washing.
4. OK.
5. OK
6. OK
Thanks a lot guys for helping out.

Maritimer · Jul 9, 2017

Chirag Marwaha said:
Hi!
My first post here. I've got a few queries. Hope someone experienced would help out.

1) I've already got Chaetos macroalgae for my refugium, but my sump tank isn't ready yet. Now, I might not be able to collect it till the next weekend. I've kept it in a bucket of saltwater. Will it survive for the next 7-8 days? Also when in the tank, how do we keep it there. Does it remain suspended in water all the time, floating here and there or do we have plant it in the sand/substrate with or without fertilizers. I don't have any experience with freshwater plants either. I have dealt with just my garden roses and lilies whose roots are in the soil.

2) I've got two bacteria additive products Continuum Aquatics Bacter Gen-M and Continuum Aquatics Bacter Gen-MD, are they any good? The only review I could find for it was here: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2014/8/review and I'm still not convinced as there are little to no user reviews.

3) I also got some Aragonite sand, do I have to wash it before I put it in the display tank, will it not lose the calcium content this way?

4) The same way, if I get live rocks, and cure them for a week or so, would most of the organisms in it not die and be washed out?

5) Will the sump tank do without a bubble wall before the pump. I've seen people having 2-3 glass panes inserted to stop the bubbles before they reach the pump that pumps out water to the display tank. What is it and what bubbles are created, what effect do they have.

6) Does the salt in the water accumulate inside the pump, will that not be damaging it? If yes, how often to clean it?

Thanks.

Hi Chirag Marwaha, and welcome to Reef2Reef!

Your Chaetomorpha should be OK in a saltwater bucket, if provided with decent light and a bit of water movement. Most folks keep it in the sump, where it doesn't need to be planted, but takes nitrate and phosphate from the water column as fertilizer. That's kind of the point of chaeto, to remove excess nutrient from the water.

I've never used Continuum products, but I believe that company is run by the same fellow who originally created Kent Marine. Should be good stuff to start your bio-filter. Tetra's "Safe Start" advertises itself for freshwater tanks, so not sure that it'll work for you as well as the Continuum products.

Rinsing the sand will remove fine, dusty powder that clouds your water to some extent, but won't leach the calcium from the sand grains.

Generally, some of the life on liverock will die during transport. "Curing" the rock gives that dead organic material a chance to be processed through ammonia and nitrite before dropping it into water with life you want to keep.

As Sobo's Reef mentioned, bubbles from your skimmer or simply from the water dropping from the display and through the sump will get a chance to slow down / get removed from the water by a baffle before the return section. Some people use a foam insert to help slow them further.

Salt doesn't accumulate inside your pump, but biofilm and other buildup can (will!) slow the flow over time. Cleaning the pump's internals in a vinegar solution on a regular basis will help to restore its power.

~Bruce