Newbie Here ... I have no experience as of yet but have spent the past week scouring the net for information, have read many of the great threads on this forum, and have now joined the fold of reef-keepers. I just purchased a 12 gallon tank, added saltwater, three pieces of live rock that I placed in the shape of an arch, added 10 pounds of live Caribbean sand, a heater, a Koralia Nano, and 4 hermit crabs to keep the place nice and tidy. I also just ordered a ReefKeeper Lite to keep control of the environment. I am now waiting for the tank to cycle before adding fish and coral ...

Just wanted to introduce myself and am sure that I'll have a lot of questions

It look very nice!

The rock looks awesome! Nice arch too. Can't wait to see how things go.

DAY 4

Ok ... so I went to the LFS yesterday and took a water sample to be tested. The LFS told me that my water was perfect and that I could take home a couple of corals and one fish to put in the tank to see how they do. I told him that I had been reading a lot online and asked why I didn't need to wait a few weeks for the tank to cycle like everyone else. He said that is why he had me bring 3 five gallon buckets to his store when I got the liverock ... the liverock I purchased had already been in his tank for two months and since I filled my tank with his water from the same tank my liverock was in, I only needed to wait a few days to make sure my system was stable. He also said that he would replace the test corals and fish free of charge if they didn't make it.

So ... I picked up two corals and a clownfish and put them in the tank yesterday. Almost 24 hours later, everything still seems to be happy. The coral closed up when I turned off the lights last night and reopened when I turned them on this morning. The clownfish ate last night and again the morning and seems to be contently exploring his new home. And, the four hermit crabs do not seem to notice the new additions and are still meandering around the tank.

I'll see how these guys do for a week or two before I put anything else in the tank. I plan on getting only one more fish (another clownfish) as the tank is just 12g, but hope to raise a nice variety of corals ...

Well I was gonna say youre going way too fast, but maybe youre one of the lucky ones. Even with your fully cured liverock and water from the LFS I would expect a small cycle and it prob would have been a good idea to let your tank sit for at least another week just to be safe. Trust me I know it sucks sitting looking at an empty tank, but you dont wanna waste your time and money watching everything die. Not to mention killing anything that might not survive. The tank looks great though, hope everything works out. Good luck!

He's a cute little guy.

Fish on day four

Is your rock secure?

to nano-reef.com

You should have your own tests, especially when making decisions on buying livestock. The API saltwater master kit is a good choice for beginners.

The LFS has made too many important decisions for you. While they are correct that rock that has been in a tank for months will likely have a minimal cycle, they are incorrect about the influence of buying water from an established tank. There is little benefit in buying such water over getting newly mixed water, and it has no influence on whether or not your rock is going to cycle. They apparently haven't explained the cycle to you or even what "perfect" water quality should be. Try reading the articles in the library at the top of the page.

Another useful habit in becoming a responsible reefkeeper is to always research livestock before you purchase them. You were lucky to get relatively hardy corals (zoanthids and a frogspawn) and fish. So, slow down and make purchase decisions before you get to the LFS.

Thanks ... just ordered 2 API saltwater master kits and a AquaEuroUSA Nano Protein Skimmer from Marine Depot.

DAY 8

Fish happy, coral happy, I'm happy.

Parameters:

Temp - 80 (I hate this Stealth 50W heater, it is set on 72, stays ~78 most of the time)

pH - 7.8

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - 5.0

Question: Will the pH being low harm any of the creatures?

Thanks :-)

Never rely on heater dials to set the temperature. Use an external thermometer to set the desired temperature.

Your pH is in the normal range.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

I don't want to be a doomsayer... but my cycle didn't start until day 11... sometimes there's a delay. Watch your parameters closely and be prepared to find a safe place for your fish if it comes to that.

WOW day 4!!!! I am also a newbie and have done tons of research, bought "cured" rock, live sand and still thought better to wait a month before I even added a CUC. I just added 2 margarita snails to take care of the GHA (look at me usin' reef talk) and a GSP frag and plan on waiting another 3 weeks to maintain parameters and maybe add a few zoas if all goes well. I think you are moving way too fast, but from newbie to newbie I wish you luck.

SaltineSage, introducing the fish/feeding will increase the bio-load of the tank. So you're right, pwfletcher should closely monitor the cycle (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) for awhile to see if the new rock is able to handle the increase. Slowly adding livestock in stages allows the bacteria populations to adjust to the increasing bio-load.

NU2REEFIN, it's good advice to wait longer as you have, and you can't really rely on someone else's definition of fully cured. However, it is possible that pwfletcher's rock will be able to handle the bio-load that was added.

Note: the Margarita snails are a cooler water species. I wish more places wouldn't stock them as the stress of tropical reef temperatures will shorten their lifespan.

DAY 11

Fish happy, coral happy, anemone happy, I'm happy.

Parameters:

Temp - 78

pH - 8.0

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - 5.0

Yes, yes, I know ... I'm going too fast. However, my LFS guy has been right about everything so far and all of the life in my tank is thriving. Also, I am testing the water every other day and changing 15% of the water every fourth day.

I have two clown fish now and will not be getting any more fish for the tank ... I think two is the max for a 12g tank. I have a serpent star to clean the sand, 4 hermits to clean the rocks, a red star and two snails to clean the glass, and four corals that are flourishing.

I also got an anemone that is just the strangest creature. It completely shrivels up to almost nothing every time it takes a poop and then plumps back up to full size an hour later ... weird. Also, the first two days, my clowns (tank bred) wouldn't go anywhere near the anemone. So I printed out a picture from the internet of two clowns in an anemone and taped it to the tank ... within an hour both clown fish were in the anemone and brushing it like a couple of crack heads :-)

That is all for, now and I will not be adding anything else to the tank for a few months ... and when I do, it will only be more coral ...

Omg, that's moving really fast. You like to live fast and dangerously huh?

Just some friendly advice and don't take it to wrong, but adding an anemone withing 11 days is not going to give you the results you wanted before starting.

Still alive anyway.

Then why are you proceeding like this?

How can you tell? It's only been eleven days.

That starfish was a mistake at this point and for that sized tank. At this point, it's like a cut flower (beautiful, but it won't last).

hmm

I'm actually quite interested in how this turns out. Looks good, personal reservations aside.

That Anemone is going to outgrow your tank. Those dudes get pretty damn big and can't be easily removed, like a softy or LPS. They also require very stable conditions, that only a matured tank (6 mo. +) can usually provide.

I'm also a noob, but I think I'm going stick with the tried and true method... just did my first water change @ 28 days last weekend, added a small CUC and will be doing my 2nd water change and adding and true perc and frogspawn this weekend. After that I'll be sitting for atleast a month or two, before introducing anything else.

Enjoy spending money on a protein skimmer, controller and all the other stuff though. Sort of takes away the whole point of a self contained product like a JBJ Nano, but if you got it... spend it.

Please take the nem back, you'll thank yourself later. Also absolutely stop listening to your LFS guy, you'll also thank yourself for that. People here are giving you free, good advice. Listen to them for the sake of the animals in your tank, and also if you want to reef long-term. I can guarantee that if your tank crashes you'll be ready to throw in the towel especially if you lose a couple hundred dollars worth of livestock....

I am on day 15 with only rock and live sand (besides gear) ... I have yet to see any cycle. Only now beginning to see some pink/purple color on the rocks and have seen nothing from the sand. Think I'll wait another 2-3 weeks before I add anything else.

Do you think you can get tank equilibrium in just a few days? I didn't think so.

My parameters are:

SG 1.024
Calcium 400 ppm (borderline low)
dK 250ppm (high)
Nitrate < 25 ppm
Phosphate <0.5 ppm (WC with RO now to reduce)

I am running 10k/actinic lighting 10 hours per day. Is this o.k. for cycle? I also upped the flow to 400 gph in a 10g tank.

I agree with a lot of the other people who have been posting. I know LFS people can be very convincing (in the beginning they sold me 2 majano anemones and said they were polyps, I didn't know any better), and ultimately they are out to make money, not to ensure your success. I would suggest taking back the anemone (what kind of lights do you have anyways?) and some of the other livestock. Your tank just isn't mature to handle any kind of bioload. I am really not trying to be mean, I am sure you had the best of intentions. But take some stuff back, let your tank cycle and mature, and then you can move forward.

DAY 14

Fish happy, coral happy, anemone happy, I'm happy.

Parameters:

Temp - 79

pH - 8.2

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - 4.0

Sorry to disappoint all of those predicting doomsday, but my tank is flourishing.

On a side note, my daughter likes to check on the fish throughout the day so I put a webcam next to the tank and we can see the fish on my iphone from anywhere using an app called RemotePatrol

Just don't say nobody warned you , most people on here are giving you advice from their own errors and its best to take that advice instead of learning a lesson the hard way.

What lighting is on this tank? Is it a biocube?

I like the shape of the rock a lot! I love the addition of a powerhead, the fish and corals will enjoy it! I am just about at the same stage as you with a 12g nano tank. I have my live sand and rocks in, just still waiting it out. I'm at about day 17. I hope all works out great for you! I can't wait to see update pictures, and I will be sure to post pictures of my tank once I get my roomie's camera. I lost the battery charger for mine

I'm glad that everything is still alive, but 'flourishing'? Seriously? You've had these animals in your tank for just a few days. You can put just about anything in a tank for a week and it normally won't die right away. I was an early defender of yours, but you seem to be posting in defiance of the advice given to you.

Actually, most people haven't predicted doomsday, and I don't think that will really happen. The anemone is a bit early (by months) for your tank and the starfish will probably die in a month or two (not everything will 'flourish' in a nano) . However, most everything else you have should be fine.

The age of the 'tank' isn't as important as the quality of the live rock (and how cured it is). Taking it slow is a responsible and tested method that has been proven to work. It's a nice looking tank; I wish you the best of luck.

DAY 15

Modding the tank today and incorporating controls into my home automation system. Separated power supplies for Day CFL lights and blue LED moon-lights so that they can be controlled separately. I put them on individual automated Insteon controllers, wirelessly tied them into my home server, and set day CFLs to be on from 8:00am to 3:00pm.

I now need to find an underwater digital thermometer that can output to xml so that I can tie it into the system and have the ability to monitor temp remotely. Any suggestions?

Fun, fun fun

That's pretty cool. You can get alerts from Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Controllers with their optional Net module. However, I'm not sure it it could be used for your application. Check the above link to see if any of those controllers might work for you.

I am reminded of the tortise and the hare ...

You should read this thread. He is 2+ weeks ahead of you.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=224526

bump ... is this tank still going well?

I would like to know too.

DAY 24

All is well, parameters are all good. Made a few coral placement changes, added a few more, removed one clownfish because he kept getting beaten up by the other one and replaced him with a blenny (still only two fish in the tank). They get along much better. The anemone got up and moved to the back of my arch of his own accord ... those thing are just weird. Also, added a protein skimmer. The only issue I am having is that my sand still keeps blowing around the bottom of the tank. I pointed my both my power heads up, but the sand keeps drifting.

Still having fun

Some close-ups of my coral ...

Looking good!

Thats a very nice tank! So clean... watch out for algea

I think your moving fast... I mean I took water and sand from my 2 year old 75g and put it in my 20H and I didn't get a coral for 2 weeks... even after using cycled water.
But I mean everything looks good in the pics, so who knows.... maybe you were the 1 in a 1000 that had luck going fast.

Yes, I hope you get lucky. My tank is 3 1/2 months old and I have only 4 corals. But the tank looks great!

Well, went to the LFS tonight to ask about the sand drift problem ... they told me that there is a flow control knob on my main pump and that I should turn it down. DUH!!! I didn't know that I had flow control ... got home, turned it down, problem solved. I bet that my coral will like their new home better as well.

Really no such thing as cycled water. "Cycling" is the development and growth of the beneficial bateria that break down the pollutants like Nitrate that the Marine organisms either give off as a byproduct or due to their decay from death. The bio load could also come from any organic material decaying in the tank (uneaten fish food, detrius, etc...). True you could carry some of that bateria into a new tank with using "aged" water, but unless you're dosing and monitorring your water parameters efficiently, you probably are not going to be carry all the trace elements that come from mixing new water. For what it's worth, I just did the same thing on my two week old tank but did so knowing that I'm going to go through a three month cycle (maybe more) before even adding the CUC.

Now with all that being said, I too wish you well and am suprised you haven't seen any signs of even a mini cycle yet. Fingers crossed here, but I'll make a prediction now. (p.s. Not trying to jinx you and will even send you a free frag or two should I be wrong), but here goes. Within the next two months you're going to have some sort of crash..... bateria or algea outbreak. My money is on one of the thee (hair algea, cyno bateria or the dreaded dinoflagelate). I hope I loose this bet and will honor the frag offer as long as you keep the thread going with updates and throw in some progress pics. (seeing is believing). I will you luck!


Guess I should proof read before hitting submit. The one thing I failed to mention above is that the majority of that beneficial baterial in a reef tank is on/in the live rock itself. I mention that to support the statement that using aged water isn't going to help a great deal.

I am really surprised that that nem looks so healthy. I really hope for your sake that your bacteria can keep up with your livestock.

He got live rock from an established system, kept it under water in (the short) transit and monitored his parameters.

It's not ####ing magic, there was probably next to zero die-off and the bacteria populations which are the end result of the cycle were already present. So what exactly is he supposed to be waiting around for?

Should he let the bacteria populations die off by introducing no livestock for 'at least 3 months'?

Maybe the nem is a bad move, maybe not. Seems like no one can agree on what sort of system a nem needs anyway.

It's so irritating to constantly read this bull####.

No need to get upset. However, I basically agree. IMO the anemone was arguably too soon and the starfish was just a mistake; otherwise, things seem to be coming along fine.

Sorry. Nothing like early morning work conference calls to sour your mood

ROARRR!!!

Here is the thing ...

I read up thoroughly on the subject of reef keeping before I began. I also exhausted the topic on various forums before I began. Additionally, I have a great LFS 1/4 of a mile away to run to if I have any problems. And, finally, I have the time to spend an hour or more per day on the aquarium if I need to ... which has allowed me to test the water every other day and adjust the coral, liverock, power heads, sand, etc. as needed to suit the conditions of the aquarium. Therefore, when I am told that I am moving too fast by certain forum members, I listen to what they have to say and then balance their offering of information with all of the other resources that I employ ... I don't take it as a personal attack. SO, I welcome all criticisms and kudos and balance them accordingly to find a path that works for me ...

BTW, the blenny has to be my favorite fish now ... he is just really tough to photograph

Blenny's are the ####.

Speaking of cycling and blennies. Got a hard learned lesson I'll share with you/ya'll. When I originally cycled my tank and thought it had completed it's cycle, the first fish I added was a Blue Damsel. Nice color and super cheap, so should the water parameters flux a little due to the potential instability of a new tank, this hardy fish would probably be OK and if lost, didn't amount to a financial hit. Anyway, much latter on, I also added a orange spotted sand sifter blenny. The dam damsel harassess him so much that he can not feed during the day (ps. make sure yours has some hiding spots). Also be careful he doesn't crush himself under the live rock if he decides to escavate and create his own. Anyway, I'm rambling....... My blenny has turn nocturnal due to the harassment. Still does a great job keeping the sand bed clean, but it's a shame I can't watch him do it.

Still wishing you luck - and still eyeballing those free frags in my tank if you make it. Keep us posted.

I'll take those free frags :-) And, at what point, exactly, will we consider my tank having made it ... 3 months, 6 months, one year?

On a side note, I read all of the LED lighting threads last night and ordered the parts online to retrofit my hood with white and blue Cree XR-Es ... this d4mn aquarium is an addiction.

Just a mere two months (from original offer/prediction). So I by April 16th. You got to be honest on your side as thus far I'm just not sure whether you're lucky as heck or whether I need to rethink my own theory of what constitues a completed cycle with minimal post cycle instability. Either way, this should be fun and rewarding for all of us. Even if you do suffer from an algea bloom, you've done nothing we haven't done ourselves. That's probably why you got so much flak for adding such a heavy bio load so early after what appears to be a short cycle. Most of us have done it (myself included) and ended up with far less favorable results. I'm wishing you luck and hope to get a chance to send out an addition to your tank (i.e free frags).

Now completely on the humorous side....I've got some metalic green mushrooms that (a) are beautiful, ( hardy as hell, but © will absolutely spread and take over every available surface in no time. I always hear stories about GSP, Kenia Trees, various zenias, etc...... but this particular mushroom I have is by far the fast growing, spreading thing I have ever witnessed. Might just throw in a few shrooms in the offer.