Cycling a 10 gallon aquarium

[Big G]

Well is been longer than I wanted but I have finally got something stocked in the tank today. A cleaner shrimp and three small hermit crabs. I will get a couple of clownfish if they ever have them in stock the same time I go in. They sell out quick

Any particular type of clownfish?

 

[jgoad92]

Any particular type of clownfish?

Probably just ocellaris but I'm not sure because I really like some of the other ones

 

[Big G]

Too many to choose from Have you seen the Clarkii?

 

[jgoad92]

No I don't think I have seen that one. I'll have to look it up

 

[jgoad92]

I just looked them up. Those look good

 

[Big G]

Saw some at Petco that were "hosting" on a torch coral. A guy wanted to buy the coral only but the fish would not let it go. Hilarious. He ended up buying the coral and the two Clarkiis.

 

[jgoad92]

Haha that's funny. At this point I'll take what I can get my hands on. Well except for the fancy stuff. I really like some of them like the black ice but I couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of money since I'm a beginner. That's a lot of money lost if I mess up.

 

[Big G]

Haha that's funny. At this point I'll take what I can get my hands on. Well except for the fancy stuff. I really like some of them like the black ice but I couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of money since I'm a beginner. That's a lot of money lost if I mess up.

I hear ya. Perhaps that's why I've grown partial to the Clarkiis. Tough, durable and the cool, unusual yellow color. And affordable. Enjoy all those decisions LOL!

 

[NewSaltWaterGuy]

just wanted to thank @Big G and the OP for making and assisting in this thread. Going to start my own tank pretty soon, now Big G I'm on a more flexible budget (sorry to ask this in this thread BTW, but though other people could consider this to) and I'm starting my own 5 gallon soon actually. This "journal" or thread, has helped a bunch parameter wise.
So could I use one of those just cheap lights, I have a... Fluval... something its just white and blue lights that I'm sure wouldn't work for corals, but i'd use it to. Should I get one of those bulbs the op listed or something else?

 

[Big G]

just wanted to thank @Big G and the OP for making and assisting in this thread. Going to start my own tank pretty soon, now Big G I'm on a more flexible budget (sorry to ask this in this thread BTW, but though other people could consider this to) and I'm starting my own 5 gallon soon actually. This "journal" or thread, has helped a bunch parameter wise.
So could I use one of those just cheap lights, I have a... Fluval... something its just white and blue lights that I'm sure wouldn't work for corals, but i'd use it to. Should I get one of those bulbs the op listed or something else?

Welcome to R2R! Sure, the white and blue would work fine for a fish only tank. You need those blues, reds and whites for corals.
Check out this info from SB Reef Lighting. When you are ready, I highly recommend their lights. Nonetheless it is great info on "colors" of light necessary for a reef light: https://sbreeflights.com/content/7-faq
Cheers!

 

[NewSaltWaterGuy]

@Big G thanks for the warm welcome,
https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-reef-lights/1-sbox-basic.html checked out this light, looks good. But I don't think I'm that flexible money wise lol, well not right now at least. But nonetheless its a fantastic light by the looks. Maybe ill just save up a bit here for it

 

[jgoad92]

For mine I just got a bulb off eBay for about $15 and put it in a fixture I already had. It says it's supposed to be able to grow corals but I haven't been brave enough to try yet. I may end up getting a cheap coral just to test it out soon and if I do I'll let you know how it does.

 

[jgoad92]

Well it took me long enough but I just finally got a fish put in my tank yesterday and I put 3 hermit crabs in a couple of weeks ago.

I’m just not happy with all that algae.

 

[Big G]

Normal new tank uglies. Toothbrush that algae and water changes will help a bit. Cheers!

 

[Big G]

You may want to play with the duration and position of your lighting as well. Stirring the sand a bit will help with the algae growth. Some stir daily; some stir every other to once a week. Cheers!

 

[jgoad92]

I just got my first coral today. Hopefully I can keep it alive so I’ll be confident enough to get more

 

[dealseer]

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

I can’t understand this comment at all.

 

[Invader_Moose]

Glad to see you took the extended time to cycle your tank thoroughly before adding any livestock! Everyone looks happy and healthy and that's a pretty mushroom! Off to a good start keep it up [emoji106]

 

[jgoad92]

Any ideas why my mushroom has been closed up for a few days?

 

[jgoad92]

Well the mushrooms have been doing good and I just added some zoanthids a few days ago. Hopefully they open up soon