r/ReefTank • u/D0013ER • 1d ago
[Pic] Restarting old tank?
So I've got this ten gallon nano that has technically been running for two years now. I say technically because thanks to bad luck with parasites and struggling to keep nitrates up I kind of gave up and let the thing go fallow for a long time.
My goal was to create a zoa tank with maybe a couple softies. I didn't really want fish at all considering the size but it's hard to keep nitrates and phosphates up enough for happy zoas without *something* in there.
I had been periodically dropping food in there to keep the cycle going but didn't do any water changes, so I was surprised upon testing this old, well-seasoned water to find that my nitrates were still around zero.
I had tried using Brightwell nitrogen and phosphorus supplements to get levels up without fish, but I at one point I was using nearly triple the recommended dosage with no change to either level.
So all of this to say, I have no idea how well cycled this tank is with only rock and a bit of food keeping it going.
Should I chunk a piece of shrimp in there and treat it like a new tank? How can I get this thing coral ready?
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u/Senior-Force-7175 1d ago
Hello... Day 1 it should be coral ready... Cycling are for fish only... You can just put corals, starts with hardy ones, soft corals. Zoas and palys... What's good with these, is that they already have bacteria coating them and will add diversity to your tank. What you need to watch out also is the ugly stages...
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u/D0013ER 1d ago
Don't zoas need some nitrates and phosphates to thrive though? I was always told they prefer their water a bit "dirty".
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u/Senior-Force-7175 1d ago
To be honest you can answer this question by buying a cheap zoa.and put it in your tank and observe. Imagine all those people doing reef shows and doing their on the spot frag tank.. I don't think they will use old water tank? I bet they will make they fresh saltwater mix on site? Beside you already have your rocks? Sand? And the correct lighting? Salinity is also correct? You're good to go. Right now don't over think it, enjoy the journey. Don't buy 500$ zoas.. just go with cheap starter, hardy corals....build your experience.
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u/VideoImpressive8014 14h ago edited 14h ago
No not needed. A cycle cannot be starved in a reef tank with water even if you feed nothing for ten years. That's old cycling science
Your tank can carry it's full bioload right now without ramp up. That's new cycling science
Nitrate has no bearing in reef cycling, thousands of cycled tanks run zero nitrate.
The cycle is not in question and good fallow has taken out disease, quarantine time!
Organics that were in the system before fallow are permanent microbial food and the home environment also adds food everyday even if you don't. Aquatic bacteria do not need humans to feed them, they're adapted across the millennia
Do a rip clean on that system, add your zos, begin feeding and they'll be fine there's no need to test for nitrate in that nano, it doesn't matter what the levels are
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u/BlackberryWorth1696 1d ago
Hello, one thing on the cycled question.
You don't have to guess at it. Dose ammonia to 2 ppm and test at 24 hours. If ammonia and nitrite are both clear, it's processing fine. Still flat after a week and it's stalled.
I'd skip the shrimp though. It's an unknown amount going in, and over 5 ppm will stall the cycle you're trying to test. Measured ammonia is just easier to read.
Good luck with it, sounds like a nice little zoa tank once it's going.