Logical_Plan
Active Member
Hi Everyone,
Brand new reefer here and planning on my first tank, that may also be my dream tank, since it is the largest amount of space that I can commit to in my home.
It is 240 gallons of display, 3 tanks, 120 community reef, and 2 - 60 gallon cubes. The 120 will be a community reef, the first 60 gallon for reef with caution fish and the last 60 gallon for a mantis shrimp. All commonly sumped to start. Will separate down the road if water quality becomes an issue.
This is an addition to my home and a large time and money investment that I am happy to make. I am struggling with picking a path for being successful in the long term for a healthy reef. I see three options since I am starting with dry rock and dry sand. The problem is I don't know what I don't know and how hard each fight I might pick may be. I am looking for resources in helping make my decision as I know the path to success is more about a plan than an absolute right or wrong.
Option 1: Full Sterile and Zoo grade QT, fight cyano and dinos early on as biological filter gains diversity slowly with livestock additions after full QT
Option 2: Wild west to start, dump and pray in the beginning to build biological diversity and then switch to full QT before too much investment in livestock
Option 3: Wild west as many sources as I can and run fallow before stocking, then QT everything that enters after that.
Option 1: Full Sterile / QT option:
So my first thought is to run strict quarantine and keep the system sterile with zoo style Qt. I have space to keep 3 quarantine tanks for new additions with proper 10' spacing to run 76 day QT on invert and coral additions and strictly follow Jays QT for fish additions. This appeals to me, but it also seems that my biological filter may struggle for a long time and invite short term problems like dinos, cyano, gha, etc. Fighting this fight in the short term seems like a reasonable trade off to avoid aptasia, bristle worms, fire worms and other hitchhikers as well as mitigating the risks of parasites like flukes, ich, brooke and velvet.
Pros:
Pending no mistakes in QT, tank is free of major parasites that would cause loss of many fish
Aptasia would not exist in tank, should be able to be spotted and eliminated during QT process
No pests in tank, everything was dry to start
Process requires going slow, monitoring testing, learning
Most if not all tools are in place to respond to tank issues if practice does not go to plan
Learning good QT protocols early on inexpensive fish / corals will build skills to keep / QT more exotic fish and corals in the future without risking my entire reef.
Cons:
I am a beginner, I will make mistakes
My biological filter will be immature for much longer and I will be dependent on lab bacteria to start tank maturation cycle (after nitrification) limited to what livestock introduce after QT
With a immature biological filter, I will most likely struggle with gha, cyano and dinos in the first 1.5 years
I need to manually cultivate microfauna and phytoplankton populations (Algae barn might be an option?)
Option2: Wild West Option (to start then QT):
My other extreme is just put things into my system for the first year, alive, diverse, let it all come in, parasites, bristle worms, fire worms, and all other hitchhikers. But keep my livestock simple and inexpensive. After I have coraline growth and 2 ish years of establishment, pull everything to separate QT, run fallow and then go to strict QT knowing I have the biological filter for long term success and perhaps minimized my algae fights.
Pros:
To start I can focus more on water quality and parameter management, rather than QT
Mistakes can happen because stocking is kept to a level where losses are not devastating
Biological filter has high diversity, limiting major algae battles (maybe)
Microfauna and phytoplankton are all at the party
Bristleworms, flatworms and other hitchhikers are all there as part of a complete ecosystem
Cons:
Ich lives in my tank, until fallow and QT (probably after still, but maybe I have a higher chance of success after some experience)
Bristleworms, flatworms and other hitchhikers live in my tank
Aptasia will be there (no matter what I will inspect and monitor in brief quarantine to attempt to avoid this)
Tank will be fallow and empty after I enjoy it for a while to switch to QT mode after biological filter is established
No matter what I do, after it is in the tank, it is always in the tank
Option 3: Semi-diversity/ Full QT
I have two local fish stores that will let me soak rubble for a month. I do this and buy some ocean direct sand. I can add the rock and the sand to my main displays during the start-up fallow period. I run full fish, coral and invert QT.
Pros:
Biological diversity is better at the start
Microfauna and phytoplankton get established early as well
May be able to establish coraline algae more quickly
Major fish parasites are mitigated by QT of all incoming livestock and fallow period on tank
Major algae issues and dinos are limited due to diversity of biological filtration
Cons:
Hitchhikers like bristleworms, fireworms, flatworms, etc are now part of my system
Aptasia in the water column of other systems may now be part of my system
Mistakes in fallow or QT still allow disease in
Hopefully this post comes across well. I don't know what I don't know.
I am afraid of pests. (But I don't know what they all are yet)
I want good biological diversity in my bacteria filter
I am looking for 10+ years of success
I don't mind work
I'm not wet yet or stocked, this is just for a plan that is in progress
I'm looking for resources and better organized thoughts so I can make my next decisions. I realize at some point I have to learn by doing, but not matter what I chose the better prepared I am with with appropriate contingencies for my decisions, the better path to success I will have.
Thanks for all who have read this far.
Cheers!
Brand new reefer here and planning on my first tank, that may also be my dream tank, since it is the largest amount of space that I can commit to in my home.
It is 240 gallons of display, 3 tanks, 120 community reef, and 2 - 60 gallon cubes. The 120 will be a community reef, the first 60 gallon for reef with caution fish and the last 60 gallon for a mantis shrimp. All commonly sumped to start. Will separate down the road if water quality becomes an issue.
This is an addition to my home and a large time and money investment that I am happy to make. I am struggling with picking a path for being successful in the long term for a healthy reef. I see three options since I am starting with dry rock and dry sand. The problem is I don't know what I don't know and how hard each fight I might pick may be. I am looking for resources in helping make my decision as I know the path to success is more about a plan than an absolute right or wrong.
Option 1: Full Sterile and Zoo grade QT, fight cyano and dinos early on as biological filter gains diversity slowly with livestock additions after full QT
Option 2: Wild west to start, dump and pray in the beginning to build biological diversity and then switch to full QT before too much investment in livestock
Option 3: Wild west as many sources as I can and run fallow before stocking, then QT everything that enters after that.
Option 1: Full Sterile / QT option:
So my first thought is to run strict quarantine and keep the system sterile with zoo style Qt. I have space to keep 3 quarantine tanks for new additions with proper 10' spacing to run 76 day QT on invert and coral additions and strictly follow Jays QT for fish additions. This appeals to me, but it also seems that my biological filter may struggle for a long time and invite short term problems like dinos, cyano, gha, etc. Fighting this fight in the short term seems like a reasonable trade off to avoid aptasia, bristle worms, fire worms and other hitchhikers as well as mitigating the risks of parasites like flukes, ich, brooke and velvet.
Pros:
Pending no mistakes in QT, tank is free of major parasites that would cause loss of many fish
Aptasia would not exist in tank, should be able to be spotted and eliminated during QT process
No pests in tank, everything was dry to start
Process requires going slow, monitoring testing, learning
Most if not all tools are in place to respond to tank issues if practice does not go to plan
Learning good QT protocols early on inexpensive fish / corals will build skills to keep / QT more exotic fish and corals in the future without risking my entire reef.
Cons:
I am a beginner, I will make mistakes
My biological filter will be immature for much longer and I will be dependent on lab bacteria to start tank maturation cycle (after nitrification) limited to what livestock introduce after QT
With a immature biological filter, I will most likely struggle with gha, cyano and dinos in the first 1.5 years
I need to manually cultivate microfauna and phytoplankton populations (Algae barn might be an option?)
Option2: Wild West Option (to start then QT):
My other extreme is just put things into my system for the first year, alive, diverse, let it all come in, parasites, bristle worms, fire worms, and all other hitchhikers. But keep my livestock simple and inexpensive. After I have coraline growth and 2 ish years of establishment, pull everything to separate QT, run fallow and then go to strict QT knowing I have the biological filter for long term success and perhaps minimized my algae fights.
Pros:
To start I can focus more on water quality and parameter management, rather than QT
Mistakes can happen because stocking is kept to a level where losses are not devastating
Biological filter has high diversity, limiting major algae battles (maybe)
Microfauna and phytoplankton are all at the party
Bristleworms, flatworms and other hitchhikers are all there as part of a complete ecosystem
Cons:
Ich lives in my tank, until fallow and QT (probably after still, but maybe I have a higher chance of success after some experience)
Bristleworms, flatworms and other hitchhikers live in my tank
Aptasia will be there (no matter what I will inspect and monitor in brief quarantine to attempt to avoid this)
Tank will be fallow and empty after I enjoy it for a while to switch to QT mode after biological filter is established
No matter what I do, after it is in the tank, it is always in the tank
Option 3: Semi-diversity/ Full QT
I have two local fish stores that will let me soak rubble for a month. I do this and buy some ocean direct sand. I can add the rock and the sand to my main displays during the start-up fallow period. I run full fish, coral and invert QT.
Pros:
Biological diversity is better at the start
Microfauna and phytoplankton get established early as well
May be able to establish coraline algae more quickly
Major fish parasites are mitigated by QT of all incoming livestock and fallow period on tank
Major algae issues and dinos are limited due to diversity of biological filtration
Cons:
Hitchhikers like bristleworms, fireworms, flatworms, etc are now part of my system
Aptasia in the water column of other systems may now be part of my system
Mistakes in fallow or QT still allow disease in
Hopefully this post comes across well. I don't know what I don't know.
I am afraid of pests. (But I don't know what they all are yet)
I want good biological diversity in my bacteria filter
I am looking for 10+ years of success
I don't mind work
I'm not wet yet or stocked, this is just for a plan that is in progress
I'm looking for resources and better organized thoughts so I can make my next decisions. I realize at some point I have to learn by doing, but not matter what I chose the better prepared I am with with appropriate contingencies for my decisions, the better path to success I will have.
Thanks for all who have read this far.
Cheers!
