Fluval Flex 32.5 gallon with Tampa Bay Live Rock

[Kilman805]

I've been reading a lot and gathering equipment and supplies for a several weeks. I'm hoping to get started for real by mid-September.

Equipment:
Fluval Flex 32.5 gallon tank
Two Fluval Marine 3.0 LED lights
Ultum Nature Systems 90P tank stand
Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Pro 50W
Inkbird heater controller
Two SICCE Voyager Nano 1000 Wave Maker Flow 270 GPH powerheads
RODI water (from Air, Water & Ice) and Instant Ocean salt
API master saltwater test kit
Salinity and TDS tester

I'm aware of the mixed opinions on the Fluval tank and especially the stock lights. But I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible and the tank will be located in our living room, so there's some priority on keeping things neat and attractive. I also have no immediate plans to use ATO, so the covered lid should help reduce evaporation.

The heater is undersized according to the manufacturer, but I know the lights generate a fair amount of heat under the closed lid. I've also had bad experiences with runaway heater failures in freshwater tanks, so the Inkbird controller and undersized heater hopefully keep that from happening again.

I have another thread going about the UNS tank stand with some photos and my first impressions on build quality (very good!):
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ultum-nature-systems-stand-great-build-quality.1067839/

I need to add leveling feet to the stand before I can finish setting things up.

My plan is to purchase "the package" of live sand and live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Based on my initial contact with them, I'm planning to buy the "20 gallon" package, which is 20 lb live sand, 20 lb base rock and 20 lb premium rock. They advised that the 30 gallon package would be too much, especially since the Fluval Flex is an AIO tank.

Questions for now:
I would love some advice and/or reassurance on the procedure for getting started with the live rock. My understand is to just have the tank mostly filled with salt water in advance and then add the live sand and base rock, wait until ammonia stabilizes, then get the premium rock and clean up crew shipment and add that.

How far in advance can I fill the tank before adding the live sand and base rock? There will be no life until then, so no cycle. Is it ok to sit for a week or two?

There's no point trying to cycle the tank in advance to populate bacteria in the filter media? I think that's the whole point of live rock is that you jump start the cycling process with the massive biodiversity of the live sand and live rock?

I'm in Santa Barbara county, CA and there's no real LFS for saltwater closer than 1-1.5 hours away. Any emergency supplies / equipment I should have on hand since I can't run out and buy it same day?

I appreciate any other feedback and advice too.

Thanks!

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

You'll want to add the live sand first and then place your rock as needed. Do this before filling your tank with saltwater. Then to avoid blowing the sand around you can use a bowl on top of the sand and slowly fill into the bowl, letting the water overflow onto the sand. The water is still going to be cloudy but it will be a lot less cloudy than adding the sand after the water.

 

[LiverockRocks]

I've been reading a lot and gathering equipment and supplies for a several weeks. I'm hoping to get started for real by mid-September.

Equipment:
Fluval Flex 32.5 gallon tank
Two Fluval Marine 3.0 LED lights
Ultum Nature Systems 90P tank stand
Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Pro 50W
Inkbird heater controller
Two SICCE Voyager Nano 1000 Wave Maker Flow 270 GPH powerheads
RODI water (from Air, Water & Ice) and Instant Ocean salt
API master saltwater test kit
Salinity and TDS tester

I'm aware of the mixed opinions on the Fluval tank and especially the stock lights. But I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible and the tank will be located in our living room, so there's some priority on keeping things neat and attractive. I also have no immediate plans to use ATO, so the covered lid should help reduce evaporation.

The heater is undersized according to the manufacturer, but I know the lights generate a fair amount of heat under the closed lid. I've also had bad experiences with runaway heater failures in freshwater tanks, so the Inkbird controller and undersized heater hopefully keep that from happening again.

I have another thread going about the UNS tank stand with some photos and my first impressions on build quality (very good!):
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ultum-nature-systems-stand-great-build-quality.1067839/

I need to add leveling feet to the stand before I can finish setting things up.

My plan is to purchase "the package" of live sand and live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Based on my initial contact with them, I'm planning to buy the "20 gallon" package, which is 20 lb live sand, 20 lb base rock and 20 lb premium rock. They advised that the 30 gallon package would be too much, especially since the Fluval Flex is an AIO tank.

Questions for now:
I would love some advice and/or reassurance on the procedure for getting started with the live rock. My understand is to just have the tank mostly filled with salt water in advance and then add the live sand and base rock, wait until ammonia stabilizes, then get the premium rock and clean up crew shipment and add that.

How far in advance can I fill the tank before adding the live sand and base rock? There will be no life until then, so no cycle. Is it ok to sit for a week or two?

There's no point trying to cycle the tank in advance to populate bacteria in the filter media? I think that's the whole point of live rock is that you jump start the cycling process with the massive biodiversity of the live sand and live rock?

I'm in Santa Barbara county, CA and there's no real LFS for saltwater closer than 1-1.5 hours away. Any emergency supplies / equipment I should have on hand since I can't run out and buy it same day?

I appreciate any other feedback and advice too.

Thanks!

Howdy,

We recommend under sizing the TBS Package especially if you don't have a sump to house extra rock. In this situation, you may be a little light on sand but can always add more.

With new tanks, highly recommend having them full of water and running a few days before arrival of TBS products. This way you can address any new tank troubles in advance.

When adding sand; turn off all water movement, siphon out and reserve 3-5 gallons of tank water, discard shipping water from bag of sand, gently place bag of sand on the bottom of the tank, slowly pour the sand out as close to the bottom as possible, let the tank settle 10 minutes and turn on water movement. The water will clear in a few hours.

Ocean farmed products are naturals at cycling new tanks especially when ordered in the correct ratio. Most customers experience 0 ammonia when testing. The tank will cycle within a week and be ready for the addition of premium rock. This 2 phase process boosts microorganisms and matures/establishes the tank quickly. It's important to start out with dim lighting slowly ramping up over 1-2 weeks, turkey baste the rock to remove silt, and add new lifeforms gradually which allows bacteria/micro critters to grow/process extra waste.

Happy to answer questions here or via email for a faster response.

Rock on.

 

[Kilman805]

Thanks! I really appreciate the replies.

I'll be reaching out next week to place the order.

 

[Kilman805]

First shipment of Tampa Bay Saltwater live rock arrives on September 11th. Intank media baskets arriving this week, which will let me get the tank filled and running with time to spare.

In the meantime, I’ve got a 10 gallon quarantine tank setup and running. Not much to look at, just a $15 PetSmart Labor Day special. I opted for sponge filters since they are easy to clean, good biofilters, and quarantine treatments can deplete oxygen. I’ll dose it with Fritz turbo start tomorrow to get it cycling ASAP.

 

[Dipolyps]

First shipment of Tampa Bay Saltwater live rock arrives on September 11th. Intank media baskets arriving this week, which will let me get the tank filled and running with time to spare.

In the meantime, I’ve got a 10 gallon quarantine tank setup and running. Not much to look at, just a $15 PetSmart Labor Day special. I opted for sponge filters since they are easy to clean, good biofilters, and quarantine treatments can deplete oxygen. I’ll dose it with Fritz turbo start tomorrow to get it cycling ASAP.

Nice, following along.

 

[Woodyjj]

I've been reading a lot and gathering equipment and supplies for a several weeks. I'm hoping to get started for real by mid-September.

Equipment:
Fluval Flex 32.5 gallon tank
Two Fluval Marine 3.0 LED lights
Ultum Nature Systems 90P tank stand
Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Pro 50W
Inkbird heater controller
Two SICCE Voyager Nano 1000 Wave Maker Flow 270 GPH powerheads
RODI water (from Air, Water & Ice) and Instant Ocean salt
API master saltwater test kit
Salinity and TDS tester

I'm aware of the mixed opinions on the Fluval tank and especially the stock lights. But I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible and the tank will be located in our living room, so there's some priority on keeping things neat and attractive. I also have no immediate plans to use ATO, so the covered lid should help reduce evaporation.

The heater is undersized according to the manufacturer, but I know the lights generate a fair amount of heat under the closed lid. I've also had bad experiences with runaway heater failures in freshwater tanks, so the Inkbird controller and undersized heater hopefully keep that from happening again.

I have another thread going about the UNS tank stand with some photos and my first impressions on build quality (very good!):
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ultum-nature-systems-stand-great-build-quality.1067839/

I need to add leveling feet to the stand before I can finish setting things up.

My plan is to purchase "the package" of live sand and live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Based on my initial contact with them, I'm planning to buy the "20 gallon" package, which is 20 lb live sand, 20 lb base rock and 20 lb premium rock. They advised that the 30 gallon package would be too much, especially since the Fluval Flex is an AIO tank.

Questions for now:
I would love some advice and/or reassurance on the procedure for getting started with the live rock. My understand is to just have the tank mostly filled with salt water in advance and then add the live sand and base rock, wait until ammonia stabilizes, then get the premium rock and clean up crew shipment and add that.

How far in advance can I fill the tank before adding the live sand and base rock? There will be no life until then, so no cycle. Is it ok to sit for a week or two?

There's no point trying to cycle the tank in advance to populate bacteria in the filter media? I think that's the whole point of live rock is that you jump start the cycling process with the massive biodiversity of the live sand and live rock?

I'm in Santa Barbara county, CA and there's no real LFS for saltwater closer than 1-1.5 hours away. Any emergency supplies / equipment I should have on hand since I can't run out and buy it same day?

I appreciate any other feedback and advice too.

Thanks!

I received live sand from Tampa Bay back in June. It is mostly fine sand with small pieces of rock and shell mixed in. It is a high flow tank. My pumps and fish have moved sand around, but because the sand is very dense/heavy, it’s not a serious issue. It’s gorgeous. I’m a biologist, and can’t think of a better way out there to start a reef than with live sand. As for keeping an empty tank before you get your sand… My thinking is, there will be bacteria in your tank. Since not the bacteria you want and will get with live sand, I recommend not going much longer than a week or so before adding live sand. I recommend too, to keep your heater off. Turn it on in time that it reaches temperature right before you add live sand. That way your new bacteria will very quickly out-compete the ones you started with. Once everything settles, add fish and cleanup. The longer you keep your lights off initially, the better.

 

[Kilman805]

Yesterday was a big day. My first shipment of live sand and base live rock arrived from Tampa Bay Saltwater. The nearest Southwest Cargo hub is a 2.5 hour drive away in Burbank, which was the only bad part.

The team at TBS does a great job selecting and packing their product. Even the base rock is pretty beautiful. It was a pretty easy job to get it transferred into my tank.

It's not even been 24 hours yet, but things seem to be off to a good start. The SeaChem ammonia badge isn't registering any free ammonia. The API test kit for total ammonia/ammonium is reading about 0.25 - 0.5 ppm, which I don't really understand. I'll keep an eye on it. I'm preparing a fresh 15 gallon saltwater batch just in case a water change is necessary. @LiverockRocks looking good?

Some pictures below. What's the plant? Are the orangish and purple things sponges or some type of algae?

 

[LiverockRocks]

Yesterday was a big day. My first shipment of live sand and base live rock arrived from Tampa Bay Saltwater. The nearest Southwest Cargo hub is a 2.5 hour drive away in Burbank, which was the only bad part.

The team at TBS does a great job selecting and packing their product. Even the base rock is pretty beautiful. It was a pretty easy job to get it transferred into my tank.

It's not even been 24 hours yet, but things seem to be off to a good start. The SeaChem ammonia badge isn't registering any free ammonia. The API test kit for total ammonia/ammonium is reading about 0.25 - 0.5 ppm, which I don't really understand. I'll keep an eye on it. I'm preparing a fresh 15 gallon saltwater batch just in case a water change is necessary. @LiverockRocks looking good?

Some pictures below. What's the plant? Are the orangish and purple things sponges or some type of algae?

Howdy,

Part 1 of the TBS Package looks exactly as it should.

Minutes before water changes use a designated turkey baster to move silt off the rocks and into the water column; sponges and tunicates will thank you. We recommend giving the sand bed a gentle stir before a water change and consider 1x a month gravel vacuuming open areas / corner of tank to remove detritus.

We like Hanna kits for ease and reliable results. I wouldn't worry about ammonia; ocean rock & sand combo will process it. Remember not to feed the tank, consider running the lights on a shorter duration or dimmer setting for this week, and do a water change in a day or two.

Caulerpa paspaloides is abundant on the farm atm, one of our favorites. The orange and purplish creatures are tunicates. Check out TBS Hitchhikers for identifications as new critters emerge.

Looking forward to harvesting Part 2 for your tank.

Rock on.

 

[Kilman805]

Part 2 arrived Monday with the premium rock. There's a lot of life on it. I don't know what they are, but they're pretty. I've spotted a couple crabs and snails. If anyone can identify something, please do!

For what it's worth, I ordered the "25 gallon" package for the 32.5 gallon tank (as advised by TBS), which included 25 lb of sand, 25 lb of base live rock, and 25 lb of premium live rock. If I had to do it again, I would have gotten some extra sand for a deeper bed. There's plenty of rock. I put a couple smaller chunks in my uninhabited quarantine tank to help it cycle. Another 15 lb of rock would have been too much since I have no sump.

 

[Fishy Guy]

Tank looks great!