Brand New Fluval Evo 13.5 Questions

[findingnemo23]

Hello Everyone,

 

I'm brand new to the saltwater tank hobby, and have been cycling my evo 13.5g for 4 days now with Fritz Zyme 9. My salt level is somewhere between 1.022-1.024 every time I check it. Temp is steady 78, and i've got about 3.5lbs of live rock and about 5lbs of dry rock, stock filtration and return pump, aquedon pro 50w heater, and a budget nano tank wave maker. I also have a blue leg hermit crab in there at the moment.

 

Here are my two questions so far:

 

1. How long must I wait for the tank to be completely cycled using Fritz Zyme 9? Ammonia level is approx 0.25ppm, Nitrite and Nitrate are 0ppm. I'm also using tap water after researching and seeing how many others have not bothered with RO-DI water with success.

 

2. Will inverts such as shrimp and snails be able to escape through the feeding hole that is in the lid? I would like to keep the stock lid and light for now if it is bright enough for beginner corals, but I will upgrade the light and replace the lid with glass if I must.

 

 

 

 

[Clown79]

There is no exact time limit for cycling. Each method, the rock you use, and tank is different.

 

You want ammonia to rise, preferably 1-2ppm which then converts to nitrite and the same occurs, the final stage is nitrates which can get high for some during cycling.

 

Once ammonia and nitrite are 0 you do a waterchange(size depends on nitrate levels), monitor and if no spikes in ammonia, the tank is cycled.

 

 

Tap water is usually not a great option. It can work for some but not for most. Tap water is filled with a lot of crap from treatment of chlorine/chloramine, copper, phosphate, nitrates....the list is long.

 

 

 

The only way to know is by getting your municipal water treatment test results and then  testing it yourself for phosphates, nitrates, and tds levels.

 

 

 

[Ash1176]

+1 what @Clown79 said.

 

i used zyme 9 for my cycle, and the nitrites showed up real quick, but all in all it still took me a month to cycle, and it could be different for everybody... 

what are you using for your ammonia source?

 

i wouldn’t worry too much about the feeding hole, haven’t had any issues so far (I’ve had Fish, shrimp and snails over a month in mine)

 

a lot of reefers including one LFS use tap water in my area (Ottawa, Canada) as we do have pristine water, but you have to deal with extra phosphates, so they all use GFO. Find out what is in your water and make plans from there! And use a good dechlorinator like seachem prime!!!

i find that using RO/DI just gives me peace of mind, specially as a saltwater beginner! 
 

apart from that the tank looks great! 

[findingnemo23]

10 minutes ago, Ash1176 said:

+1 what @Clown79 said.

 

i used zyme 9 for my cycle, and the nitrites showed up real quick, but all in all it still took me a month to cycle, and it could be different for everybody... 

what are you using for your ammonia source?

 

i wouldn’t worry too much about the feeding hole, haven’t had any issues so far (I’ve had Fish, shrimp and snails over a month in mine)

 

a lot of reefers including one LFS use tap water in my area (Ottawa, Canada) as we do have pristine water, but you have to deal with extra phosphates, so they all use GFO. Find out what is in your water and make plans from there! And use a good dechlorinator like seachem prime!!!

i find that using RO/DI just gives me peace of mind, specially as a saltwater beginner! 
 

apart from that the tank looks great! 

 

36 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

There is no exact time limit for cycling. Each method, the rock you use, and tank is different.

 

You want ammonia to rise, preferably 1-2ppm which then converts to nitrite and the same occurs, the final stage is nitrates which can get high for some during cycling.

 

Once ammonia and nitrite are 0 you do a waterchange(size depends on nitrate levels), monitor and if no spikes in ammonia, the tank is cycled.

 

 

Tap water is usually not a great option. It can work for some but not for most. Tap water is filled with a lot of crap from treatment of chlorine/chloramine, copper, phosphate, nitrates....the list is long.

 

 

 

The only way to know is by getting your municipal water treatment test results and then  testing it yourself for phosphates, nitrates, and tds levels.

 

 

 

Thanks for your replies! 

 

I may end up using premixed saltwater RO/DI water from the fish store for my water changes. 

 

As for the ammonia, I have the hermit crab that is eating pellets and producing waste. Will this be enough to spike the ammonia level and cycle on it's own?

[Ash1176]

I would empty out as much water as possible and then refill with RO/di saltwater.
 

im not sure how much bioload a crab puts out, but I doubt it’s in the 2-3ppm range of ammonia which is usually what you want to achieve to kick start your cycle so that your tank will be ready for a bigger bioload...

Can re-home the crab while you do a fish less cycle? 

 

 

[debbeach13]

22 hours ago, Ash1176 said:

I would empty out as much water as possible and then refill with RO/di saltwater.
 

I am running an experiment using tap water with prime but absolutely would not recommend it for a person new to reefing or a new tank. I had the luxury of being able to pull live rock from an established tank. I think this could have made a huge difference because there was no cycle. Good luck with your tank and welcome to NR.

[findingnemo23]

1 hour ago, debbeach13 said:

I am running an experiment using tap water with prime but absolutely would not recommend it for a person new to reefing or a new tank. I had the luxury of being able to pull live rock from an established tank. I think this could have made a huge difference because there was no cycle. Good luck with your tank and welcome to NR.

The people working at the fish store in my area told me that algae growth would be increased with tap water. I'm mostly concerned about the health of my future fish and inverts, as some people say that the trace amounts of copper in tap water isn't good for inverts...but my hermit crab is doing fine so far

[debbeach13]

I have also read that tap promotes algae. As suggested if you are set on using tap you should get the report. I still think switching to the 

On 7/22/2020 at 12:50 PM, findingnemo23 said:

I may end up using premixed saltwater RO/DI water from the fish store for my water changes. 

 

is a good idea.

[Friendofish]

I currently have shrimp, crabs, and snails and have not had any issues. And I’ve had success growing a bunch of softies and even a hammer with the stock light. I also glued 2 12” true lumen actinics to the lid. This was a really cheap way to upgrade the light slightly and all my corals are doing really well. Even my psammacora. 

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, findingnemo23 said:

The people working at the fish store in my area told me that algae growth would be increased with tap water. I'm mostly concerned about the health of my future fish and inverts, as some people say that the trace amounts of copper in tap water isn't good for inverts...but my hermit crab is doing fine so far

Algae is 1 down side of tap water due to the tds levels in most tap.

 

Copper and a slew of other chemicals you can't remove can effect all the livestock in a sw system. 

[findingnemo23]

3 hours ago, Friendofish said:

I currently have shrimp, crabs, and snails and have not had any issues. And I’ve had success growing a bunch of softies and even a hammer with the stock light. I also glued 2 12” true lumen actinics to the lid. This was a really cheap way to upgrade the light slightly and all my corals are doing really well. Even my psammacora. 

I’ll definitely keep this in mind if it allows to keep the lid and reduce evaporation. What is the schedule for your lights being on and off for the day? I have a timer outlet coming in the mail soon

[Friendofish]

2 hours ago, findingnemo23 said:

I’ll definitely keep this in mind if it allows to keep the lid and reduce evaporation. What is the schedule for your lights being on and off for the day? I have a timer outlet coming in the mail soon

I have the truelumens start to ramp up at 8:30am and the stock light ramping up starting at 9:00am. Then the stock light starts to ramp down at 6:00pm and the truelumens at 6:30. 

[Jimpens71]

On 7/22/2020 at 11:30 AM, findingnemo23 said:

Hello Everyone,

 

I'm brand new to the saltwater tank hobby, and have been cycling my evo 13.5g for 4 days now with Fritz Zyme 9. My salt level is somewhere between 1.022-1.024 every time I check it. Temp is steady 78, and i've got about 3.5lbs of live rock and about 5lbs of dry rock, stock filtration and return pump, aquedon pro 50w heater, and a budget nano tank wave maker. I also have a blue leg hermit crab in there at the moment.

 

Here are my two questions so far:

 

1. How long must I wait for the tank to be completely cycled using Fritz Zyme 9? Ammonia level is approx 0.25ppm, Nitrite and Nitrate are 0ppm. I'm also using tap water after researching and seeing how many others have not bothered with RO-DI water with success.

 

2. Will inverts such as shrimp and snails be able to escape through the feeding hole that is in the lid? I would like to keep the stock lid and light for now if it is bright enough for beginner corals, but I will upgrade the light and replace the lid with glass if I must.

 

 

 

 

Patience is the hardest thing to have when you have a new tank and want to put fish in. Looks good but wait until the numbers support love stock

[findingnemo23]

2 Week Update:

 

I did a 50% water change with pre-mixed RO-DI saltwater last weekend since I had originally started with 100% tap water. I plan on doing a 20% water change with RO-DI saltwater next weekend.

 

 I had about 4 days last week where diatoms were growing, and now that has turned into green algae.

 

I've had to clean my glass about twice a day to keep it clear, and I reduced my light schedule from 10 hours to 6 hours per day.

 

My water test results have been the same since setting the tank up. But today I noticed that as the solution sat in the test tube while taking pictures, the nitrate test tube went from bright yellow to slightly orange. I'm finding it difficult determine the API test result colours.

 

I'm definitely not going to add more livestock until I'm fully cycled. But so far I have:

 

1 coral banded shrimp 

2 blue legged hermit crabs

2 trochus snails

 

The snails have been falling from above when they climb up the sides of the tank, and landing upside down and they cannot seem to flip themselves back over. 

 

If anyone has any advice or tips to give me I would appreciate it a lot! I'm still brand new and this is a learning experience for me.