New To the forums

[aibocyrus]

Hi all

 

My name is Cyrus and I am new to these threads. I originally got into this hobby back in March. I got a little ahead of myself and just completely failed. It did discourage me from the hobby for about a month or so, but after stopping into one of my LFS it reignited the spark. I decided that if I am going to do this again, I am going to start completely fresh and on a smaller scale... and be patient. That was my biggest mistake last time and I don't want to do that again.

 

Here's where I am at currently:

 

I picked up a Fluval Evo 12 yesterday. Got the tank set up. I have new dry rock on the way(10lbs), and I have a 20lb bag of live sand. I planned to get the sand in today as well as the water, and then go tomorrow or Wednesday to my local saltwater fish store and get a small piece of cured live rock to start seeding the tank for the Cycle.

 

So for now, other than testing the water every other day, is there anything I should be keeping in mind while its cycling for the next month? I'm under the impression not to do any water changes while it is cycling. I am waiting on one of my stores to get the protein skimmer in as they didn't have one in stock, but I have been told I really shouldn't start running one anyways until there is at least one fish in there or my clean up crew. Whichever comes first.

I was going to use a cycling product to help with the initial cycle. Is this ok instead of using raw shrimp or whatever else? lol

 

I think that's everything for now. If I am forgetting anything, definitely let me know. I joined here because I want to be successful this time around. I made enough mistakes last time by rushing things, and I am not going to do that again. I still feel terrible.

 

Also, end goal is 2 clowns, a small clean up crew, and either a shrimp goby pair, or a mandarin(I am prepared to continuously purchase copepods for the tank in order to make this a reality).

 

 

Alright, that's it for now. I appreciate the time you have taken to read this and offer any help/advice.

 

-Cyrus

 

p.s. Will post pictures once I start filling the tank

[Astinus]

Hi There and

This is a great place to learn and research. A lot of folks with all forms of various experience(es), very happy to share their knowledge.

Some have great lighting expertise, others have a great grasp on chemistry.

I have learned a lot here.

[gena]

Hi, Cyrus! Sounds like you have a great plan in place. Since you have the patience to cycle for a month (which is GREAT) just spend that time researching on this forum. Sit back and relax and plan the future for your tank. Read up on husbandry for a mandarin, have fun watching the critters that come out of your seed rock . And you are right about not doing water changes during the cycle.

 

Also, you can run a successful tank without a protein skimmer. It has more to do with what type of corals you are planning to keep. If you want to keep SPS corals with a mandarin fish then a protein skimmer would be very helpful to keep your water quality in check. If you are planning to keep just softies like mushrooms and leathers, a protein skimmer isn't needed at all. Those types of corals love dirty water.

 

Hope this helps .

[seabass]

I picked up a Fluval Evo 12 yesterday. Got the tank set up. I have new dry rock on the way(10lbs), and I have a 20lb bag of live sand. I planned to get the sand in today as well as the water, and then go tomorrow or Wednesday to my local saltwater fish store and get a small piece of cured live rock to start seeding the tank for the Cycle.

I would hold off on the live rock and dose nitrifying bacteria and ammonium chloride: http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling

 

Then after your dry rock can process ammonia, add your live rock and monitor ammonia.

 

So for now, other than testing the water every other day, is there anything I should be keeping in mind while its cycling for the next month? I'm under the impression not to do any water changes while it is cycling.

Yeah, hold off on water changes.

 

I am waiting on one of my stores to get the protein skimmer in as they didn't have one in stock, but I have been told I really shouldn't start running one anyways until there is at least one fish in there or my clean up crew. Whichever comes first.

I was going to use a cycling product to help with the initial cycle. Is this ok instead of using raw shrimp or whatever else?

There is nothing wrong with running a protein skimmer even while establishing the cycle. If there is nothing to skim, it won't do anything (good or bad).

 

Don't ghost feed or add a dead shrimp. That will just add organics and nutrients which can cause problems down the road.

 

Also, end goal is 2 clowns, a small clean up crew, and either a shrimp goby pair, or a mandarin(I am prepared to continuously purchase copepods for the tank in order to make this a reality).

It's not that realistic to think you'll continue to buy pods for a mandarin. However, it is possible to train them to eat frozen and/or pellets. Do a search on it before you get one.

[aibocyrus]

Already great responses. I thank you all for taking the time.

 

I've heard they can be trained to eat frozen foods. I just wouldn't know the first place to begin to train. Lol

 

I'm just going to get the tank up and cycling this evening.

 

I do also keep a whiteboard I write everything down on; water test dates and results, water change dates and percentage, date a particular fish was added. It just helps keep me on schedule and holds me accountable.

 

With this tank, I initially only want to do fish. I did have luck with my corals in my old 60 Gal before it crashed. I just want to be absolutely sure everything is healthy and conditions are good. I am curious though, when it comes time to add fish, weekly water changes? 2 water changes a week? Bi weekly? I know different people have success with different schedules. The full capacity of the Fluval Evo 12 is 13.5 Gal.

Also, when I'm ready to add my first fish, should I do a small water change before or after adding it? Or let it be for a week and then do a small water change, thinking 10%?

 

Again, thank you all for the warm welcomes and awesome advice.

[Astinus]

Training

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/256327-the-many-methods-of-training-dragonets/

 

Mandarin Info.

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/161389-lgreens-mandarin-faq/

 

Both are awesome Threads.

[seabass]

I am curious though, when it comes time to add fish, weekly water changes? 2 water changes a week? Bi weekly? I know different people have success with different schedules. The full capacity of the Fluval Evo 12 is 13.5 Gal.

Also, when I'm ready to add my first fish, should I do a small water change before or after adding it? Or let it be for a week and then do a small water change, thinking 10%?

15% weekly water changes are fairly typical; but your tank's nitrate level will dictate whether you need to change more, or could get away with changing less.

 

I always do water changes a day prior to adding livestock, this way you don't add the stress of a water change on top of the stress of moving.

[vision]

welcome! these forums have a plethora of information.

 

my best advice is to read. read. read. read and read more.

[aibocyrus]

So appreciate all the great advice. I am going to go ahead with the products that were recommended for the fishless cycling of my tank. I will definitely keep you all posted!

 

It isn't much, but here is what I've got so far. Dry rock is on the truck for delivery today.

I'll update later with the aquascaping.

[Clown79]

Welcome

 

So once you've added the dry rock and choose to either seed it with Liverock or use Tim's Bacteria the cycle will begin.

 

Definitely test ammonia and nitrates during the cycle.Nitrites aren't as important to test for but if you have a kit, then go ahead.

 

Once the tank has cycled, you can do a water change. If the nitrates aren't very high then you can add a small cuc. Keep testing, if there are no spikes in ammonia you can add a fish.

 

Go slow when adding livestock. Test to ensure you have no spikes in cycle and the tank can handle the bioload before adding more.

 

Water changes, most common is 15 - 20% weekly but some do more as Seabass stated for various reasons.

 

 

Do you have a powerhead for water movement?

 

Tank looks good so far. Have fun, go slow, do lots of research and never fear asking any questions

[aibocyrus]

Thank you so much for all the info!

 

I will test tomorrow evening for Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Just so I can log where I am at to start.

 

Here's the aquascape I have settled on =]

 

 

 

I don't have a power head yet. I saw that they made small ones for Nanos like this. I would definitely like to pick one of those up.

[Astinus]

I like ur Scaping Nice Rock as well. Hidey holes and Shelving

[fishfreak0114]

Very nice!

[Clown79]

Very nice! I like it.

 

Yes there are a few options and in all different budgets.

 

Hydor koralia nano - 240 or 420

Sicce

Tunze nanostream-

Then you have jebao

[aibocyrus]

I did get a nice little power head. works great and I have it set up in a way that isn't affecting sand or anything.

 

This is happening right now though. I've done dr tims one and only and then have done ghost feeding of 2 pellets a day.

 

 

I think from what I was reading, this was going to happen?

[ninjamyst]

Nice choice in tank. I just started mine too. Diatoms are normal. Have you been checking your parameters daily? What's ur ammonia and nitrate right now?

[aibocyrus]

Nice choice in tank. I just started mine too. Diatoms are normal. Have you been checking your parameters daily? What's ur ammonia and nitrate right now?

 

I literally just came back here to edit my post to put down that I was currently testing and would put my parameters up as soon as they were completed lol.

 

I'll go ahead and edit this post as soon as they have set for a few minutes.

I actually have not been testing every day, only because I wanted to give everything a couple days to start settling and running through the system. Today will be the first test.

 

I would love to see what your set up looks like!

 

Current Readings:

pH: 8.0

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 0

 

Should I just keep letting it run at this point? Do I add a fish? I just don't want to rush anything. I've been fully intending to allow this the time it needs. If it has cycled, however, I do want to do what needs done next.

[seabass]

Don't ghost feed or add a dead shrimp. That will just add organics and nutrients which can cause problems down the road.

I've done dr tims one and only and then have done ghost feeding of 2 pellets a day.

whatever

[Clown79]

Ghost feeding and adding the shrimp can increase the nutrient levels in your tank and starting a tank with high nutrient levels can cause some pretty nasty algae issues, which you want to avoid.

 

No livestock until the cycle is done.

 

Ammonia will rise, process and drop to 0

Nitrites then do the same ^

Nitrates will start to increase and a water change is done to lower them. If the nitrates aren't high you can add a cuc. Keep testing, if no spikes in ammonia for a week, a fish can be added.

 

If you have seen no ammonia, no nitrite, and no nitrates- you aren't cycled

[ninjamyst]

 

Current Readings:

pH: 8.0

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 0

 

Should I just keep letting it run at this point? Do I add a fish? I just don't want to rush anything. I've been fully intending to allow this the time it needs. If it has cycled, however, I do want to do what needs done next.

 

your nitrate shioldn't be 0 if you are cycled and haven't done a water change yet. Have you seen your ammonia go up and then down? The best way to make sure you are cycled is if your ammonia goes from 2ppm to 0ppm in 24 hours.

 

here's my setup:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/376008-ninjas-fluval-evo-12-first-fts/

[seabass]

As I see it, the problem was that you didn't build up the biofilter on the dry rock prior to adding the live rock. But speaking of the live rock, I'm not seeing it in the picture. Normally it would be a different color than the dry rock. It makes me wonder if this came from the ocean or was just some dry rock that has been in a tank (so it has some bacteria on it, but not much else). It makes a difference because you would want to preserve life on a piece of live rock from the ocean, but dry rock (with just some bacteria on it) could use some ammonia.

[aibocyrus]

The rock I got is some man made rock. I didn't want to contribute to taking rock from the ocean. I was going to go today and get a small piece of cured live rock to help seed the tank.

i will keep checking the parameters ever 2 days or so.

[seabass]

I was going to go today and get a small piece of cured live rock to help seed the tank.

I wouldn't do that just yet. Instead, I would use a clean ammonia source like DrTim's Ammonium Chloride to build the biofilter up prior to adding any live rock: http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling This way you can add live rock to seed your tank with some biodiversity without exposing it to ammonia.

 

I would also try to siphon out the decaying pellets. I can't really tell what's on your sand (if it's cyano, diatoms, or decaying pellets). This is the result of ghost feeding food pellets:

[aibocyrus]

I am definitely not going to do anymore ghost feeding. I did it one time and I will just leave it at this point. Just going to check levels every three days or so.

[seabass]

Have you added your live rock yet? If not, I'd pickup some ammonium chloride to build up the biofilter prior to adding the live rock. If you have already added it; yeah, I'd just wait and monitor ammonia and nitrate.