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| Copyright 2005. All Rights Reserved. Dave's Aquaria |
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| Article |
| February, 2004 |
| Setting up a 12 Gallon Mini-Reef Aquarium |
| David B. Korzuch Jr. |
| Now it is time to get started on the fun stuff, decorating the tank. First take the substrate of your choice. (These next few steps do not have to be done for live sand) Take a clean bucket, that has never contain cleaning items or any types of chemicals, and dump the substrate into it. Fill the bucket with cold water and churn the substrate so all the unwanted debris floats on top of the water. Dump the water out of the bucket leaving just the substrate inside the bucket. Spread the cleaned substrate on the bottom of the tank. Next fill the tank up with water. Make sure you declorinate the water once it is inside the tank! Add enough salt to |
| the water to make a specific gravity of between 1.023 and 1.025. The water will most likely look very cloudy. Let the tank run with the filter for a few days until all the salt is dissolved and the water looks clear. Now, you are ready to add live rock. Rule-of-Thumb says that you should add 1.25 lbs. of live rock per gallon of water. I would suggest adding about 15-20 lbs. of live rock. This number varies because live rock comes in all shapes and sizes. Just buy enough to make to rock structure of your desire. Remember to make caves and crevices for fish and invertebrates. Make it look as natural as possible. Let the live rock stay inside the tank for 4-6 weeks undisturbed. This is the period when your tank is cycling and colonizing bacteria in the filter. Be patient, just focus on doing things the right way. If you try to cycle to quickly, you will not mature the filter properly. It is not unusual for the cycling period to last for 8 weeks. Test the water once a week at the same time until your levels are in good condition. You can add up to 2 1/2 inches of fish to the tank. Make sure whatever fish you purchase are compatible with invertebrates and the reef environment. I recommend purchasing the 10-20 |
| Gallon Reef Package from etropicals.com. Now you can buy some beginner corals or anemones to start off on your journey into keeping a coral reef. |
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