# Aquanutt 90G Shallow Reef



## aquanutt

Okay,
I'm starting my new tank, I would like to get something in a range of 80-120gal.
After doing lots of reading I think I will go with...

48w x 30d x 16h rimless.

I sent email to Miracles Aquariums and North America Breeders to get a quote on a custom build tank. 

I like the look of shallow reefs, I looked into tall tanks and cubes it just doesn't cut it for me... So my new project is shallow reef.

any suggestions or ideas about the size of the tank?

thanks


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## caker_chris

I like shallow reefs as well and can't wait to see this up and running. The only thing that maybe I would do different is, 60x24x18 or 60x30x18 just because I like the length rather than the depth.


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## 50seven

The bigger the better, always.

How many sides are viewable? Personally, unless you have 3 sides viewable, you might want to reduce the tank width and go longer instead. Otherwise it's fine. You are the final word when it comes to what you want!

How about this for unique:


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## Kweli

wow, cool tank!!!

I like your dimensions.. I would put maybe 2 more inches on the height though..

Once you add sand 1-2 inches, and leave 1 inch for water level... your already down to 13inchs for rocks/corals, which isnt much


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## 50seven

Kweli said:


> wow, cool tank!!!
> 
> I like your dimensions.. I would put maybe 2 more inches on the height though..
> 
> Once you add sand 1-2 inches, and leave 1 inch for water level... your already down to 13inchs for rocks/corals, which isnt much


Unless you want to have a DSB in the DT, then you're down to 9 inches.


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## aquanutt

First few quotes came in,

For
48 x 30 x 16 rimless
www.aquainspiration.com $489 starfire all sides 12mm thick
I was told I can go as high as 20" with this glass.
Not drilled (I was told they don't do that)

For
48 x 30 x 15 rim on the bottom
Oakville reef gallery $1000 starfire glass
Drilled overflow box installed


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## aquanutt

North America Fish B.
They don't take any orders for custom tank at this moment, 
Someone is going on vacation for a long time to Indonesia.


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## aquanutt

50seven said:


> Unless you want to have a DSB in the DT, then you're down to 9 inches.


no dsb, barly 1/2" thats it


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## aquanutt

I found this picture on the internet, this is exactly 48 x 30 x 16
let me know what do you guys think?

PS: this is not my tank, just an idea...


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## 50seven

Nice tank- if I were you, when you get it I'd just raise it higher off the ground. My tank is sitting at 36" off the ground and it's way better of a viewing height than the ones at most LFS where you have to bend over or sit on the floor to get a good view. Also gives more room for the sump and equipment underneath. Nice Vortechs, too.


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## Naoko

Hi,

This is no surprise....  $1,000 for a 94g tank is not realistic in my opinion. Any idea who the big guy would be contracting this out to?

Too bad John is going on a 'business' trip, he does build great quality tanks, he built mine and I'm quite happy with it. 
Have you checked out Envision Acrylics at all? They are a U.S. company, you could have it shipped to Buffalo, since you're close to the border, scoot over and pick it up yourself.
There is a guy in Hamilton who has done this, his tank is a 200g, and I'm almost certain that Jamie(Envision) built it. And I do believe Brad(Untamed) on Canreef.com has one from them also, a 400g?? May be worth looking into especially if you want acrylic.

Have never heard of Aquainspirations, drilling is fairly easy.



aquanutt said:


> First few quotes came in,
> For
> 48 x 30 x 15 rim on the bottom
> *Oakville reef gallery $1000 starfire glass*
> Drilled overflow box installed


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## Kweli

Theres also a place called miracles I think, I cant vouch for them, but i think some people have had tanks made by them.

Good point about the height of the stand... . You really want the tank to be high enough to see in a standing possition... bending down to look at your tank will not be fun for anyone.

Either raise the height of the tank, or raise the height of the glass


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## aquanutt

I got few more quotes

Aquatic Kindom mississauga
48 x 30 x 16 starfire drilled reef ready $770

Toronto Plastics
48 x 30 x 16 acrylic not drilled $699

Still waiting for few other quotes.


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## aquanutt

Naoko said:


> Hi,
> 
> This is no surprise....  $1,000 for a 94g tank is not realistic in my opinion. Any idea who the big guy would be contracting this out to?
> 
> Have never heard of Aquainspirations, drilling is fairly easy.


I don't know, but it is not a first time I got a price from the big guy and it was way more then market price.... ORG is just not reliable in pricing, maybe that's why nothing is ever priced there.


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## aquanutt

Kweli said:


> Theres also a place called miracles I think, I cant vouch for them, but i think some people have had tanks made by them.
> 
> Good point about the height of the stand... . You really want the tank to be high enough to see in a standing possition... bending down to look at your tank will not be fun for anyone.
> 
> Either raise the height of the tank, or raise the height of the glass


Oh I agree with the height, that's why I'm having custom build stand for this tank.
I want this tank to be high enough so no one has to bend over too see fish or corals.

PS: some hot chicks bending over to see corals wouldn't be such a bad idea... Lol


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## aquanutt

50seven said:


> Nice tank- if I were you, when you get it I'd just raise it higher off the ground. My tank is sitting at 36" off the ground and it's way better of a viewing height than the ones at most LFS where you have to bend over or sit on the floor to get a good view. Also gives more room for the sump and equipment underneath. Nice Vortechs, too.


36 inches sounds like a right height, I will definitely raise the tank much higher.
I'm also trying to have the tank build with external overflow not internal box.

Cheers


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## shiver905

love the dimentions,
But id up the height a little.

i got a 36x30x18 its its perfect dimentions.

for the 48" long id go with 20"

If its too shallow, it dosent look like a display, More like a frag tank
IMO


As far as the stand, Mines on 34"
Im really considering droping it 4"
If the stand is too high and its a shallow tank it looks very bottom heavy.

Another reason for a shorter stands is (look down boxes) 


As far as extrenal overflow, 
I was concidering this but, its pointless,

Its going to stick out 4" out of your tank. Whats the point, save that space and make whole tank 4" wider.. Youll end up getting more surface area and more water. with the same about of human space wasted.

ALL this is My oppnion.



BTW this hobbys is not a good way to impress Chicks, LOL
I learned to never even bring it up. LOL


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## aquanutt

shiver905 said:


> love the dimentions,
> But id up the height a little.
> 
> i got a 36x30x18 its its perfect dimentions.
> 
> for the 48" long id go with 20"
> 
> If its too shallow, it dosent look like a display, More like a frag tank
> IMO
> 
> As far as the stand, Mines on 34"
> Im really considering droping it 4"
> If the stand is too high and its a shallow tank it looks very bottom heavy.
> 
> Another reason for a shorter stands is (look down boxes)
> 
> As far as extrenal overflow,
> I was concidering this but, its pointless,
> 
> Its going to stick out 4" out of your tank. Whats the point, save that space and make whole tank 4" wider.. Youll end up getting more surface area and more water. with the same about of human space wasted.
> 
> ALL this is My oppnion.
> 
> BTW this hobbys is not a good way to impress Chicks, LOL
> I learned to never even bring it up. LOL


lol, awesome. I was thinking about it whole day, should I do external or internal overflow. Good point, it is wasted space on the back.

I know what you mean about the chiks man... my girlfriend didn't know know I have fish tank until we moved in together. lol


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## aquanutt

Should I go with double overflow drain or single hole drain is enough?

I would like to have two holes for the return water, on the left and right side.

In the middle I was thinking to put single overflow drain, just one hole. Some reefers told me just for emergency to have two holes for drain overflow.


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## Naoko

Hi,

One reason why I don't shop there, in my experience the pricing there has been inconsistent, and at times exorbitant, I drive an extra 40Km to go to SUM.



aquanutt said:


> I don't know, but it is not a first time I got a price from the big guy and it was way more then market price.... ORG is just not reliable in pricing, maybe that's why nothing is ever priced there.


Your stand height should be relative to your height, you will be the one doing most of the viewing and the maintenance.
The tank will only look like a frag tank if you design it that way, I've seen a few shallow tanks that look amazing, height(floor to viewing) and aquascaping make a huge difference. And as Shiver noted, some look like frag tanks, top down viewing or kneeling down 
Here's one that is 40cm tall ,early stages of build.


I personally love my coast to coast overflow, external, no wasted real estate in the tank. 
Having the overflow centered in the tank may also be an option, depending on how you are setting it up, even more so if all sides will be viewable.

Drill two holes for overflow, one for emergency drain.

Have you decided on lighting yet?


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## aquanutt

Glass or Acrylic?
I have to make a choice .... I dont have enough about it, whats better?

thanks


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## caker_chris

IMO, Glass


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## shiver905

id do glass also,

its personal preff,


an extra drain hole dosent hurt.
Do it now, or it will never happen after its set and running,

On my tank, I know i didnt want a closed loop, Yet I still got it drilled. Its going to be plugged in but if I ever change my mind. Its there.

Point is man, DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF IN ANYWAY when first starting the tank.
If you want something in the future and it revolves a tank tear down, your most likely never going to do it.


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## explor3r

I would go with glass for sure, acrilyc can easy get scrach and u dont want that


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## shiver905

explorer is right,

But, If you were to scratch glass its not repairable, acrilic is.


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## Naoko

Hi,

Honestly, whatever your budget dictates. But personally, for me it would be acrylic  


aquanutt said:


> Glass or Acrylic?
> I have to make a choice .... I dont have enough about it, whats better?
> 
> thanks


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## gucci17

I'm thinking of selling my tank, stand and sump. 

The link in my sig will have the details.

PM me for further info.


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## shiver905

Try NAFB, 

Even tho id never go there,

It should be around 550$ I got a tank quoted around that size starfire 3 sided or 2 sided cant remember.

dibs on gucci


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## wtac

If you have the realestate in your living space and a DIY'er external overflow is the way to go. Build the cabinetry in a penisular style similar to this:










There was extra work done and there is an access panel to the back section of the aquarium.

With an external overflow box, you don't have to deal with the aquascaping of LR b/w the overflow side and the glass/acrylic.

It all depends on what you envision your system in your space.

both acrylic and glass have their pros and cons. If only they can make the silicone seams like Elos or Jewel aquariums w/o the inner bead, you won't see the nicks caused by using a razor attached "MagFloat".

JM2C


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## aquanutt

Hey guys

Few days ago I found a good deal on a custom tank used, so I went to visit fella reefer to check out the tank. I liked the tank and I picked up the tank last night. It sitting in my living room waiting for major clean up tonight.
90 gallon, just like planned. 
48w x 24d x 18h, it has internal overflow made by Aquatic Kindom from Mississauga. Its rimless but it has a small rim on the bottom. Its not perfect but I spend 1/3 of a price so I’m not gonna complain. Spending $200 vs $1000 makes a big difference here!
Tank is close to what I wanted and its perfect shape for shallow reef. Its made out of glass by the way, nice thick glass!

Thanks guys for helping me out here
I’m working on a pictures, I will post them tonight after I clean the tank from all the salt and so on.

Cheers
Sly


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## aquanutt

*Metal Stand*

I never owned a tank with a metal stand before. I worry if all the weight won't push the skinny legs thought my floor? Myabe I should put something underneath the skinny legs to distribute the weight?


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## aquanutt

*Black Background*

Tank came with a black background, my old tank has blue.
Whats the difference black vs blue? I kind of like the black look, it matches the overflow box which is inside the tank....

cheers
sly


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## aquanutt

*stairo foam*

I noticed some of you use stairo-foam under your tanks, is it a good idea to do that?


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## gucci17

aquanutt said:


> I never owned a tank with a metal stand before. I worry if all the weight won't push the skinny legs thought my floor? Myabe I should put something underneath the skinny legs to distribute the weight?


I've used rubber pads but I really doubt it would go right through the floor. If you're really paranoid, just build a wood stand for it.



aquanutt said:


> Tank came with a black background, my old tank has blue.
> Whats the difference black vs blue? I kind of like the black look, it matches the overflow box which is inside the tank....
> 
> cheers
> sly


It's all preference. Black does help blend in the overflow a bit. 



aquanutt said:


> I noticed some of you use stairo-foam under your tanks, is it a good idea to do that?


Some people use foam some don't. I almost alway do but I've seen tanks perfectly fine sitting right on a metal stand. I do it because I feel like it helps with any irregularities that my cause the tank to crack.


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## caker_chris

nice find, and nice dimensions, this should be a great build follow


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## aquanutt

*Transfering stock*

Question...

If I transfer just live rock, same water and my fish without the sand bed to my new tank, would that cause a new cycle?

never done it before, i dont know what to do.


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## aquanutt

caker_chris said:


> nice find, and nice dimensions, this should be a great build follow


thanks, i'm going to clean up the tank tonight after work and take some pictures of the tank. I will post few here to let you guys see what I got.

I was always into shallow tank looks, I think I made a good choice with 18high tank... i can make that look very good.

cheers


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## aquanutt

*Refugium*

I need better refugium, I kinda don't like my old one.
anyone outhere selling a nice refugium system?


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## aquanutt

*Mag Drive 12*

So after reading here and there, I'm gonna go with MAg DRIVE 12 as my return pump. In about 3-4 feet it should give me about 1100 gal of flow, which is good enough for my new 90 gal reef tank.

I just hope its not too loud, the pump looks very big, bulky. 
I might get it on friday from Big Als, I saved some points there.

cheers


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## caker_chris

You should transfer all your rock, use as much of your water from your old tank as you can and then seed the NEW sand with a cup or two of your OLD sand.

If you do get a cycle its because of new rock. How big it is will all depend on how well your bacteria is established on your old rock and water. If its possible you should get your new rock and start cycling it in a container with a powerhead and heater while you are getting everything else ready.



aquanutt said:


> Question...
> 
> If I transfer just live rock, same water and my fish without the sand bed to my new tank, would that cause a new cycle?
> 
> never done it before, i dont know what to do.


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## caker_chris

aquanutt said:


> thanks, i'm going to clean up the tank tonight after work and take some pictures of the tank. I will post few here to let you guys see what I got.
> 
> I was always into shallow tank looks, I think I made a good choice with 18high tank... i can make that look very good.
> 
> cheers


I think you made a good choice with the 18" as well, I think 16" would have been too shallow.


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## Kweli

wtac said:


> If you have the realestate in your living space and a DIY'er external overflow is the way to go. Build the cabinetry in a penisular style similar to this:


The thought of having to do work on the bottom of that tank (ie, reposition corals on the substrate) seems difficult... Bathing suit and snorkles on standbye?


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## aquanutt

*flex return hose*

Hey guys

Where do I get flex house for my 1.5" overflow bulkhead? I know I can go with home depot pluming and build it but I was thinking on putting flex hose so I can run it down to my refugium.

thank you,
PS: beside Big Als,


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## Chromey

BWI Plumbing, Tyler has good prices...


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## aquanutt

Chromey said:


> BWI Plumbing, Tyler has good prices...


Thanks but I wont buy from any company that has no proper CONTACT US information on their website...

cheers


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## aquanutt

Kweli said:


> The thought of having to do work on the bottom of that tank (ie, reposition corals on the substrate) seems difficult... Bathing suit and snorkles on standbye?


how do you clean this tank? looks awesome but clean up must be hard on this tank...


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## 50seven

He has a phone number there, just call him and tell him what you want. BTW I'm going to see him at his house in about an hour....

Sent from my HTC Magic using Tapatalk


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## Chromey

Dealing with Tyler Is too easy... Either way your loss.

If your ever @ AP site, Looks whos 1 of the biggest sponsors...


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## shiver905

BWI is less then 2$ per feet,

ORG has it.
Also NAFB had it, not shure anymore They are all at 3$ Or greater tho.


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## aquanutt

50seven said:


> He has a phone number there, just call him and tell him what you want. BTW I'm going to see him at his house in about an hour....
> 
> Sent from my HTC Magic using Tapatalk


sorry guys, I must be on a wrong bmi website then, the one i was on, the contact info had no information at all...

what is their website?


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## aquanutt

shiver905 said:


> BWI is less then 2$ per feet,
> 
> ORG has it.
> Also NAFB had it, not shure anymore They are all at 3$ Or greater tho.


sorry guys, i was reading on my phone and i was looking for bmi, its BWI!
I got it, I got it...

thanks


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## Naoko

Hi,

MOPS has it also.


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## wtac

Kweli said:


> The thought of having to do work on the bottom of that tank (ie, reposition corals on the substrate) seems difficult... Bathing suit and snorkles on standbye?


It's pretty easy...just need the right tools (original version of AquaTongs as the new ones are CRAP) and accessibility of all sides to do the work .


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## bigdannydiesel

*hey aquanutt*

im planning to do the same thing move everything in a 40 gallon to a 90 gallon how did the moving and did you have to cycle it all over again.....thinking doing the same some1 mentioned cup or 2 of old sand and a few gallons of old tank water and im getting a metal stand also, i just notice on metal stand when u walk near the vibrations are more and spook the fish on wood stand it absorbs the vibration of the floor. getting my 90 gallon for 140.00 at big als stand is 90.00 i duno why people are mentioning 500 or 600 for tanks if your starting from scratch yaaaa


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## shiver905

Mops dosent carry 1.5" .
Which is a bummer because it 4 mins away.


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## aquanutt

HOME DEPOT,

black flex drain hose 1 1/2" 25feet $17.99
black flex drain hose 1 1/4 25feet $9.99

still good, does the job.


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## aquanutt

bigdannydiesel said:


> im planning to do the same thing move everything in a 40 gallon to a 90 gallon how did the moving and did you have to cycle it all over again.....thinking doing the same some1 mentioned cup or 2 of old sand and a few gallons of old tank water and im getting a metal stand also, i just notice on metal stand when u walk near the vibrations are more and spook the fish on wood stand it absorbs the vibration of the floor. getting my 90 gallon for 140.00 at big als stand is 90.00 i duno why people are mentioning 500 or 600 for tanks if your starting from scratch yaaaa


I moved last night my entire stock, here is what i did.

1: moved 80% of the tank water to the new tank,
2: moved all my live rock with snails, crabs, shrimps to the new tank
3: catch all the fish to the new tank (peace of cake without the rocks)

new tank has no sump so far, its just running on its own with powerheads and heaters... fish ate last night well and this mornning too, which means the stress level was low during transfer.

cheers


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## aquanutt

*Sump System*

Question for the pros...

I want to plug in my sump system soon, my new sump system will be running just with water and chaeto for now. Later I would like to introduce DSB with new sand to one of the sections of my sump. Is that safe? Or should I cycle the new sand in the bucket first then introduce to my sump refugium?

thanks


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## shiver905

you will be fine,
It might get cloudy tho.


But with that said, why not do it now?


Also Make shure you want sand,
It get messy in a sump. And it benifits are debatable.


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## aquanutt

I have problem with nitrates after moving the stock,
cyno bacteria outbreak like crazy


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## acer

all I can suggest is water changes, less food during feedings... and getting the sump going asap (assuming you have a fuge with some macros planned for it).

and did you check phosphates too?


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## Naoko

Hi,

Yes, anytime you transfer livestock to another tank as such, you're going to get a cycle.


aquanutt said:


> Question...
> 
> If I transfer just live rock, same water and my fish without the sand bed to my new tank, would that cause a new cycle?
> 
> never done it before, i dont know what to do.


New sand with no bacteria; you will get the diatoms for a few weeks or so. The sand will need some time to become 'live'.



caker_chris said:


> You should transfer all your rock, use as much of your water from your old tank as you can and then seed the NEW sand with a cup or two of your OLD sand.
> 
> If you do get a cycle its because of new rock. How big it is will all depend on how well your bacteria is established on your old rock and water. If its possible you should get your new rock and start cycling it in a container with a powerhead and heater while you are getting everything else ready.


Tyler's a great guy to deal with, no longer a sponsor of that site though, he does sponsor a bigger and better site ... Canreef.com


Chromey said:


> Dealing with Tyler Is too easy... Either way your loss.
> 
> If your ever @ AP site, Looks whos 1 of the biggest sponsors...


Just give it some time for the cycle to go through its 'cycle'. In a month or so start adding a few Nassarius snails, and later a sand sifting starfish, right now there is little detritus/fauna in the sandbed, and most sand sifters will die.

You can add a DSB later if you wish, or you can add it now. No need to cycle it, just add it to the sump, it will become 'live' over time. Set up properly it will last for years. I've kept one for six years without any issues. No need to add any sifters to this, try to keep it dark with moderate flow, I prefer placement 'downstream' from skimmer output, so that 'clean' water is flowing over it.

Dr. Shimek has an article here on his site in regards to DSBs, this is just a starting point, you can do more research from the links there.

HTH


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## aquanutt

Hey guys
I didn't post for a long time, busy with work and crazy busy at home.
My tank had huge cyano outbreak after my stock transfer. I was dealing with that for about a month until i gave up and used chemi pure! I must say it works like a charm. All the ugly red stuff and hair algae is gone.
After the transfer my nitrates stay at 20, did water changes and i can't bring down the reading for some reason. My coals grow nice and my fish seem to be happy. I purchased bio pellets with brand new reactor from two little fishes. The bio pellets made my water milky white cloudy for almost two weeks! Everything is fine and doing well but those two weeks i was scared a bit. My skimmer first few days after bio pellets saddle down was overflowing with Foam like crazy. That took another week to go back to normal. Now the skimmer is being emptied every 3 days, it works like its on overdrive. Skimmate is dark and very smelly the bio pellets work like a charm. Its too soon to see any results yet with nitrates but i should be able to see any Changes anytime soon. Im planning to add another 100mg of bio pellets soon.

That's it
I have been busy but pictures are coming soon.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I896 using Tapatalk


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## aquanutt

My water results

Ph 8.2 
Salinity 1.23
Temp 79f
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 20 (still!)
Dkh 7 (125.3)
Alkalinty (normal)
Calcium 420
Phosphates 0

After i moved my stock to new tank im having problem with nitrates. 
Everything seems to be happy in my tank. 

Cheers


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