First s.w. Tank 32g

[Michael78]

I plan on documenting my tank and since I am new to sw I would appreciate any critique/advice.  I will also update as the cycle progresses and what was used.. hopefully won’t take to long but I’m patient so I can wait.

 

32g bio cube Leaving everything stock for now.

20 lbs Arag alive pink Fiji sand

25 lbs caribsea life rock (dry)

Marine land 150w heater (Temporary) considering the hygger with the digital display)

Liqa-gen 5 stage R/o/di 75 g.p.d. For the water

Instant ocean sea salt

Just gonna run Filter floss For now

Jebao SOW Wave Maker sow-4

 

May consider a skimmer after cycle. Any recommendations? all my reasearch points to the tunez 9001

 

Added Bio-spira bacteria and

api quick start nitrifying bacteria today.. Shut the filter off for a bit to let the bacteria settle however have the wave maker on very low setting.. gonna turn filter on shortly then after another hour add some ammonia. Will document measurements as they come. 

 

 

[Steemax]

Yay!, following along, 

 

My only two recommendations would be to switch to using Instant Ocean Reef crystals once you're going to start adding corals. You would do this gradually with your normal water changes. Don't do it at once. Reason for this is it has the proper levels to keeping corals and should provide enough Alk, Magnesium, Calcium etc... with just water changes for the time being. Normal instant ocean has fairly low levels of these components. If you only plan on ever keeping soft corals you could get by with regular instant ocean. 

 

As for a skimmer you probably won't need one at all but they are beneficial to have. I just added one at the 3 month mark and a very small lime wood stone type at that. (check my build thread in signature). If you do want to add one I hear good things about the Tunze skimmers so you can't go wrong there.

 

Good luck, you'll do fine, I can tell you did a lot of research first... and post lots of pics! 

 

 

[Michael78]

Ok.. good to know.. and will definitely do that with the reef crystals slowly in the future..thanks a lot.. now comes the wait..

 

[Michael78]

29 mar 2020

 

day 1. 
 

added 20 drops of ammonia to start will bump it up another 10 tomorrow probably.

 

ph 8.0

nh3/nh4  1.5 will bring up to 2.0 tomorrow 

no2 obviously 0

no3 obviously 0

salinity 1.024

[Michael78]

Day 2 

 

wow... most of the ammonia has been processed already..

 

ammonia .25

no2 .5

no3 10-20
 

so today I will bump up the ammonia another 10 drops which should bring it around 2-2.5 ppm..

but that was awfully fast first day of cycle  .is that normal? Cycles have never started that fast for me. 

Edited March 30, 2020 by Michael78
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[Steemax]

1 hour ago, Michael78 said:

Day 2 

 

wow... most of the ammonia has been processed already..

 

ammonia .25

no2 .5

no3 10-20
 

so today I will bump up the ammonia another 10 drops which should bring it around 2-2.5 ppm..

but that was awfully fast first day of cycle  .is that normal? Cycles have never started that fast for me. 

Yup! I had the same exact experience with Bio-Spira. Still give it some time to establish on all surfaces even though it's already processing ammonia quick. Once it consistently processes 2ppm of Ammonia into Nitrate within 24hrs then you're golden. 

[Michael78]

Day 3 Of cycle added 30 drops of ammonia last night.

24 hrs later

 

amm. 0

n2      2.0

n3.     20-30

[DreC80]

You'll want your nitrites to be zero as well.  

 

Once the cycle is complete, do a large water change 50% or so to get your nitrates back down and then you can start adding a few clean up crew members.

[Tired]

I would very much recommend adding some live rock at some point. Real live rock, with bacteria and creatures on it. It greatly helps the stability of your tank to have an assortment of detritivores and other little creatures running around. 

[Michael78]

Yup will do! I figure will take at least two weeks.. hopefully will only need to do a 50% w/c.. thanks! 

[Michael78]

The live rock thing I really didn’t want to do as I’m new to s.w. And really don’t want the hitchhikers. Fortunately I’m patient! 

[Tired]

Live rock is a good thing, and will make things easier on you. Tanks started from dry rock, without hitchhikers, are harder to get and keep stable. You rely entirely on things coming in on snail shells and frag plugs to introduce vital biodiversity. 

 

If you have no algae, any pest algaes that inevitably show up (like hair algae- things that grow fast and overwhelm) will have free rein, and will cause problems. If you have multiple types of slower-growing, non-pest algae, the pest algae has lots of competition, and can't go as wild as fast. You also want the rock to introduce copepods, an assortment of scavenging worms, and a good chunk of mature biofilter. Biodiversity is one of the most important parts of a mature reef tank, and is particularly hard to establish without the addition of something like live rock.

 

Most common hitchhikers are harmless, if not outright beneficial. You may be able to get some "pre-owned" rock from someone else's tank to start establishing things, which would have a much lower chance of potentially troublesome creatures. If you can't, at least see if someone with an established tank will pull some shells or bits of rubble out- you want something with the start of multiple algae species on it. Maybe (once quarantine is over) see if your LFS will give or sell you some bristleworms and micro brittles. Plenty of places would be happy to give you some helpful critters for a couple bucks. 

[Michael78]

Ouch.. the more I learn the less I know it seems...lol... the algae thing makes sense....and I guess it all makes sense..just was hoping not to have a tank over run with all that stuff, but guess I shouldn’t look at it as bad stuff.... in f.w. I ensured not one snail or hitchhiker made it in my tank..as nuisance snails can really take over a tank....this s.w. Is a whole different ball game.. Unfortunately I may have to see what my lfs has that can help, maybe a small piece of rock or something as I don’t know anyone with a s.w. Tank....I appreciate all that info. 

[Tired]

Yeah, saltwater is a whole different thing. Personally, I like biodiversity in my freshwater tanks- a few rotting oak leaves for copepods to grow on, that sort of thing. And all my tanks had MTS because, if you don't overfeed, they don't really overpopulate. They keep the sandbed nice and stirred. I did clear out the ramshorn snails I had once, though, those can eat your plants.

 

Saltwater tanks that are kept highly sterile, without all the little critters, tend to be trickier to keep balanced. Besides, it's a lot of fun to watch for the little things living in your tank to come out at night. The sneaky biodiversity that gradually develops is interesting to watch. 

 

The best thing you can do in terms of keeping harmful critters out of your saltwater tank is get a good coral dip, and use it on all corals you get. Especially zoanthids, they can have some really nasty pests. Also, visually inspect anything you're looking at buying, see if there are any aiptasia on it. If you do get any aiptasia in the tank, they're not a big deal as long as you get rid of them promptly- it's when you accidentally get a lot, or let the first few multiply, that you have problems. 

[Michael78]

Will keep that in mind when I start with the corals..now I just have to figure out how to get some Good healthy critters in my tank after the cycle.. not sure I trust my local store to much.... I’ll have to figure something out.....  as far as s.w. snails go do most s.w. Snails reproduce a lot or are there some like nerite snails that clean well in f.w. Tanks but don’t reproduce?

[Michael78]

Added 35 drops of ammonia last night 

 

Day 4

 

Ammonia.  0

nitrite.        1-2

nitrate.       20-30
 

gonna add 45 drops of ammonia tonight.. slowly building up to 2 ppm

[Tired]

Most saltwater snails can't reproduce in your tank. They may spawn, releasing eggs and sperm into the water, but the eggs don't tend to survive. You can get saltwater nerites, actually, some of which I believe CAN reproduce (depending on species), but they're tidal snails and have a tendency to climb out. 

 

You might be able to get someone here to mail you some critters. 2-3 day shipping would probably be fine for a bag with a couple handfuls of sand and some intentional critters from someone's established tank. I'd offer if I had more critters and your tank was cycled. You can also order online from places that have live rock and live sand, though most places have minimum orders. 

[Michael78]

Thanks...Good to know. The only snails I know anything about is freshwater nerites and I know they need brackish water to reproduce..but still never got any cuz I was so paranoid about snails taking over my tanks....lol....I will definitely do some research on snails before I purchase any... anyone know any Stores with clean tanks that that can be trusted in Chicago or Chicago area? 

[Steemax]

On the topic of snails, I recommend Trochus. My 2 Trochus snails decimate any trace of algae in my 20 with the added bonus of being able to right themselves up. 

[Michael78]

Do trochus snails multiple rapidly? Or do they stay in fairly small populations?

[Steemax]

36 minutes ago, Michael78 said:

Do trochus snails multiple rapidly? Or do they stay in fairly small populations?

Mine always try but never happens which I prefer. Don't want a million snails running around with nothing to eat. 

[Tired]

They don't multiply at all. Like I said, most saltwater snails don't reproduce in aquaria.

 

And if they did, you could just remove them and give them to a LFS.

[Michael78]

Great... they are now on my list.. definitely putting a list together for a good c.u.c.... definitely add trochus snails to the list.. any other good recommendations? Or just stick with the basics? 

[Michael78]

Day 5

 

amm  0

nit.    2-4

nat.   30

 

tonight will add 50 drops which will put me slightly over 2 ppm.. figured I’d try gradually dosing the ammonia.. hoping that will speed part two but it probably won’t! 

[Michael78]

Day 6

 

amm  0 

nit.     2

nitat  40
 

 

 

added 55 drops tonight makes it a tad over 2 ppm and that is what I will do from here on out..