Cycling a 10 gallon aquarium

[Crreef]

Did you just say urinate in the tank

???????? Ok.......please do not urinate in your tank.

 

[Invader_Moose]

If things aren't looking right then testing needs to be done to find the issue. Ammonia, pH, alkalinity, calcium, Phosphate, temp and salinity. Enough flow to keep the polyp moving is fine, increasing it should help mitigate the Cyanobacteria for now

And urinating in the tank is while not common a method many have used with success to cycle a tank or feed some giant clams, though your initial cycle is done and would not help [emoji16]

 

[Andrewalex11]

Urinating into the aquarium to begin a nitrogen cycle in your aquarium is old school but it works.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Did you just say urinate in the tank

it is an old school method to kick start the cycle. we have other alternatives now but still a method proven to have worked in the past.

 

[jgoad92]

I’m thinking about upgrading the light on this tank to something that can grow harder corals. Are there any recommendations on a good light that won’t cost too much?

 

[Big G]

SB Reeflights entry level black box is a nice price point with good quality: https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-lights/1-sbox-basic.html

 

[Jesterrace]

Just my two cents bacteria in a bottle is nothing but waste of money.

Agreed. Twice I tried the aqua vitro seed and both times it failed. I screwed up and added a few snails and crabs too early and over fed frozen spirulina and that sure did got the cycle going. Thankfully I hadn't added fish yet, so the damage was minimal. In December I upgraded my tank to a 90 gallon and took the 40lbs from my old 36 gallon and put it in right away with no issues. I have 50lbs cycling in a garbage can and again did the bacteria dosing with no luck. I then switched to an every other day feeding of reef frenzy chunks and waited a few weeks and it finally went through the cycling process. Food, ammonia or cured rock are the only ones that I know that will work for sure.

 

[jgoad92]

So the cheap light I had over my tank just now quit working. I guess it’s a good excuse to go ahead and upgrade but in the meantime what should I do? How long can the corals go without the light?

 

[Big G]

Got a compact flourescent light bulb or a plant grow light bulb? And one of these? Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot sell them.

 

[jgoad92]

Got a compact flourescent light bulb or a plant grow light bulb? And one of these? Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot sell them.

Ok I will do that until I can get another light ordered. Hopefully that will hold me over at least a few days

 

[Big G]

Lots of reefers use them ^^^ to grow chaeto in sumps.
Get a bulb that is as close to 10,000K as possible. Make sure it's compatible with the light fixture. Some fixtures have a limited power capacity.

 

[jgoad92]

I had a spare fluorescent I put in. I don’t think it’s anywhere close to 10,000k but it will have to do for tomorrow until I can get to Home Depot tomorrow evening. I’m thinking about ordering an AI prime hd for this tank