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reyno26 · 04-15-2008, 05:33 PM

Newbie to forums in general

. I have a 4 yr running 37 gal FOWLR (more rock than water, I think). Went out for a 55 gal, but came home with a 90, so it's my new project. I'd love to get into "reefing", but am a bit intimidated by my lack of knowledge. We'll see what grains of wisdom I pick up.

Executivelevel · 04-15-2008, 05:35 PM

Well hello there, welcome to 3reef. the 90 was a much better choice than the 55 btw! you found a great place to start your reef tank!!

reyno26 · 04-15-2008, 05:38 PM

Thanks. I'm pretty uneducated with regards to reef tanks, so I've been reading forums for the past 2 months. Took the plunge with the 90 (got it used with stand & canopy for $200) and will slowly work my way into reefing. Looking forward to continuing my education with other enthusiasts.

missionsix66 · 04-15-2008, 05:43 PM

Welcome to 3REEF! Ask alot of questions. You'll find everything you need here.

reyno26 · 04-15-2008, 05:53 PM

Okay, while I've got some ears.....how do I cycle a tank with cocktail shrimp? I've been reading posts about this and can't figure out how many, how big, etc. Or maybe they're not talking about cocktail shrimp at all.

Executivelevel · 04-15-2008, 05:59 PM

jst get your tank up and runnin with the lights off and everthing else on and throw in a couple or raw shell on frozen shrimps!!! thats it, let it sit for a few weeks and check all your levels, when all are 0, your good to go, slowly of course!!

tazzy695 · 04-15-2008, 06:02 PM

this is simple just drop one in about once a week and let it rot while testing your parameters also do your waterchanges and skimming and filtering as normal

about 3 weeks you will be done

however if you have small kidds you may want to hide the tank some how it isn't the pretyest way to cycle but it works great and dosn't needlessly kill fish

reyno26 · 04-15-2008, 06:05 PM

Thanks. Why lights off?

tazzy695 · 04-15-2008, 06:08 PM

prevents nuicence algae from growing

also why waste all that electricity on an empty tank

Otty · 04-15-2008, 06:08 PM

Lights fuel algae!

Since you have a tank up already then just use a few pieces of rock from it and a cup full of sand to start your 90g. Put one little Yellow Tail Damsel in there to keep the bacteria stable and let it run for a while. You already have the bacteria started in your FOWLR tank.