Questions about a new tank

ok, first off I have 2 tanks. The questions here are for the bigger one, a 125g.
Here is what I got as of right now.
125g with wet/dry with a ca 4000 return pump
a Rio 1700 and 2100 pumps for circulation
about 50 pounds of base rock
6 damsels cycling the tank
about a 2 inch CC substrate
300w titatium heater
Kent Nautilus Skimmer(just ordered one so not here yet)
crap lighting(just haven't upgraded from the NO that came with)
I was wondering if this stuff is ok?
Is LS better than CC?
Do I have enough damsels to properly cycle this tank?
I have about 50 pounds of LR that should be delivered tommorrow. Should I add this to my tank since the tank is still cycling or use a trash can and let it cure first.
I have read and been told that I should take the bio-balls out of my wet/dry if I want to do reef. Is this true?
Most likely this tank will stay FOWLR but want to keep options open.
Should I wait to put the skimmer in until after the cycle is over?
Sorry about all the questions, but just curious.
BTW, nice site you got here.
Thanks for any answers in advance.

Benjamin
P.S. Other tank is a 29g soon to be full blown reef

 

These days, people definitely prefer sand. Crushed coral works, but it is not as efficient as sand and tends to collect more debris. Sand looks better too.

Just enough I think. That should work. That is kinda an old school way of doing it, do a search on the net for 'reef cycle shrimp' and see what comes up.

Since it is a new tank, I would add it. The damsels should take it. Is this more base rock?

If you have 1 - 2 lbs/gallon of quality live rock, you can do that. At that point you have enough rock to replace the balls as a biological filter.

Some say with a sand bed there is enough surface area to ditch the balls too. I would be a little nervous to do so if you feed your fish a lot.

I didn't and I don't think you need to. But not to long ago I saw a thread where someone said that you should wait, but they didn't say why. Maybe someone can chime in here.

Well I think it is a pretty good start for a FOWLR. The crushed coral might be something you wan't to change if you can afford to. Doing it now would be a lot easier than doing it later. I don't know what the flow rates are on a ca 4000, but you want it to be able to cycle the water 5 - 10 times an hour.

THanks! ;D

Quite a few new members this week, that is a good sign. Next week I am starting to advertise (made a banner last night!) so there should be a lot more activity in weeks to come. Just in time to help me decide on options for my new tank! Heh. Should be cool. Thanks for joining!

Later!

Matt

 

Just an answer to a couple of your questions.

The Live rock I am getting tommorrow is not base rock, It is premium fiji

The flow rate on the ca 4000 pump is approximately 1100 gal/hr at 5 ft head.

 

Flow rate looks pretty good.
Fiji? Cool. Where are you getting the rock from?

 

getting rock from a place called liveaquaria. Any dealings with these people? They had a sale going on figured it couldn't hurt to try them

Benjamin

 

No I haven't. Maybe you can post some pics when you get it so I can check it out.

Generally I recommend gulf-view and harbor aquatics. I hear that harbor is out of rock right now though because they are rehabing their holding tanks.

 

Just got my LR in this morning, looks pretty good. Will have to get my camera downloading to computer before can post any pics. (Computer is kind of not working 100%). I only have what I have seen at a couple of the LFS to compare to and in comparison I beat the hell out of what they are charging for LR. If anyone is curious www.liveaquaria.com has/had LR for 99.99 for 45 pounds plus shipping. I think mine came to around 150ish once I paid for everything so around $3 per pound for premium Fiji.

Should be getting my Kent skimmer in a couple days and will get it hooked up and busting some scum.

Benjamin

 

Hey Benjamin,

Got the rock, eh? I bet that made your morning. Not a bad price, how was it packaged?

 

yeah, it did make my morning. I thought it was packaged very good. I was extremely pleased with it. I also got a fish this morning for my other tank from same place, and was extremely pleased with the way it was packaged as well. Still working on getting pictures to download from camera to computer, should have them up soon.

Benjamin

 

hmm, ok, quick question. How do I get a picture in one of my messages?

Benjamin