First Tank Cycling Log

[cnewman402]

Hi all I have started my first saltwater tank. As everyone who builds a tank I am excited to get some live entertainment in my livingroom. Another thing I am excited about is the technical aspect of the saltwater tank and how much goes into it. I already expect there to be ups and downs, and im ready for this rollercoaster.

I joined the forums not because I have not studied but because I want to share my experience at starting my first tank with you all and get more opinions on some of my thoughts.

I purchased a 29gallon Biocube from the LFS, some Live Sand for bacteria, and some Dry Rock on their bottom shelf under the tanks. The plan is to grow life in this tank up to the rocks through the sand which seems to be working. I also went with pre-manufactured water from PetCo because I didn't have any buckets with lids for buy RO water at the time.

I have a heater and placed in back in the 3rd pocket of the BioCube on the far left hand side to supply heat to the water. Currently I am sitting in the "Green Zone" at 78 degrees Fahrenheit. From what I have read this is not actually a very green zone for some coral, as some prefer a cooler temperature.

I am cycling my tank currently and I am on week 2 of the cycle. I did not measure much the first week I just observed so I apologize for not having any read outs for that time. At the beginning of week 2 I began to measure ammonia levels. On week 2 I also added a timer to my lights which matches the solar revolutions.

Week one was kind of dry.. no pun intended not much going on I moved the rocks around a few times. I don't plan on staying with these rocks to be honest. I plan on buying some Ultra Buna Live Rock and placing it in my tank once I know its safe. I also plan on carrying a few fish as well, probably some hardy fish, a few damsels and clowns to make the kids happy.

Note I also feed into the bare tank a few froze brine shrimp chunks for a bout 3 days.

So to the picture show:

Week 1 a weird thing developed on the rocks-

I asked around for peoples opinions and they thought it might be some type of sponge, but is it possible to grow a sponge from a dry rock? (water cloudy because I moved the rock kicking up sand)

Week 2 algae started to grow, I was excited life was forming-

This was the beginning of week 2. I began to add frozen brine to add life into the tank. Not only did it help me focus my powerhead, but it introduced bacteria. The algae begins to flourish with air bubbles which is gas escaping if I read correctly. You can see this happening in the pictures. I felt like I was making progress with my tank. Now the algae has really begun to form through the tank and has began to cycle into brown. As new algae spurs it is green.



So I have began to track levels and ordered a full testing kit because the LFS didn't offer one, and I needed to know what the other level are to feel more comfortable with introducing a cleanup crew and the Buna Live Rock.

I am referencing a chart I found and keeping track of levels in Excel to chart my testing using the chemical tests. I may switch to a digital reader.

Found Chart-

I assume this chart uses RO water with Salt added. I haven't seen my ammonia spike like that really.

Any insight is appreciated in advance. I would like to add a clean up crew and my Buna rock as soon as possible, but have no problem being patient.

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R

 

[cnewman402]

Not sure why but my pics are not showing up and it posted twice, only submitted once.

 

[KJ]

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

 

[jsker]

Not sure why but my pics are not showing up and it posted twice, only submitted once.

welcome and I am try to figure out the picture posting too.

 

[cnewman402]

They showed up in the BB Editor as

 

[JSeward]

Congrats on the new tank. Patience now will make for a better tank a year from now. If you don't mind, I have a few comments and some recommendations.

There is a good chance your heater will never turn on. The all-in-one type tanks with sealed canopies run pretty hot. Temps in the 80-82 degree range, maybe higher depending on the type and quantity of pumps/power heads, your photo period, and room temperature. These temperatures are okay as long as they are stable. I aim for 76 in all of my tanks, but I have two 28g Nano Cubes that never drop below 82 ish and have been growing coral and keeping healthy fish for years.

As far as testing, the only stuff that matters right now is ammonia, nitrate, temp, and salinity. Testing for calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, phosphates, and others will just have you stressing and chasing numbers when they don't matter at all during cycling. Buy a refractometer (if you don't already have one) and calibrate it. Well worth the money. The price difference between a swing arm hydrometer and a refractometer is less than the cost of replacing your favorite coral or fish when your salinity gets way off.

I recommend you leave your lights off for this part of cycling. You don't want to promote algae growth in an empty tank. My cycling routine is lights off and a daily feeding of pellets until ammonia is zero and I can measure nitrates. Then, with the lights still off, add a lot of pods(I think adding them now is an important step in the long term success of a tank), then a large clean up crew consisting of nessarius snails, dwarf ceriths, trochus snails, and blue leg hermits. I then leave the tank alone for another 2 to 4 weeks,with the lights still off (unless I add coral), before adding fish. This time allows for the pods and other microfauna to establish itself. Easily 2 months between setup and adding the first fishes. That's what I do in a nutshell and it works well for me and others I've helped. I also have new tank and beginner livestock recommendations if you're interested.

 

[cnewman402]

Interested in your suggested livestock.

 

[JSeward]

You mentioned you wanted clowns and they are a great choice. When it's time to add fish, I recommend getting two orange clowns (percula or ocellaris) at the same time, preferably from the same tank at your LFS. Getting one larger than the other isn't a bad idea either. After waiting so long for cycling and looking at an empty tank, two clowns will make it fun. A single clown can just hang out in a corner somewhere and not do much. After waiting 2 weeks or so for the tank to adjust to the new bio-load, I like to add a goby. Any of the watchman varieties are good (except the Diamond), with the yellow probably being the easiest. Gobies are fun, stir the sand, and are really cool when paired with a pistol shrimp. Other fish like cardinals and fire fish aren't bad choices at this point in a new tank.

I do advise you to stay away from damsels, chromis and six line wrasses. The are inexpensive and very easy to care for, but they are territorial and will make it difficult to add additional fish to your tank. A $6 damsel quickly turns into a $100 fish when it kills your new angel. It's best to avoid them. Other popular fish I would avoid (because your tank isn't mature enough or the fish get too big) are Mandarins, Scooter Blennies, all wrasses, all tangs, sleeper gobies, and non centropyge angels.

My favorite beginner corals are duncans, candy canes/trumpets, and euyphyllia (in that order). Those LPS are fun to watch, grow well, and can usually tolerate mistakes. The best part is that they'll eat whatever you feed your fish. Just toss a few pellets or some frozen their way whenever you feed and they'll do fine. You won't need to dose supplements or special coral food. Very low maintenance and hardy coral. A lot of people say that zoanthids are good for beginners and I disagree with that. Most are picky about the environment they are in and tend to melt when conditions aren't stable. They can be frustrating at times. Whatever you chose, I would avoid Xenia Elongata and most palythoa or "button polyp". They grow like weeds, are difficult to get rid of, and usually aren't aesthetically pleasing once they are on every rock in your tank.

Hopefully that gives you some ideas. There's certainly other options, but the livestock I mentioned will help get a new tank up and running while keeping it low maintenance.

 

[Justiful]

I love these kinds of posts. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[cnewman402]

My ammonia is at a 0 with 10 Nitrates, so I think my tank is coming along pretty well. Thank you for all the suggestions. I read about pods and ill have to call around and see if anyone offers them locally. I think its time to add a cleanup crew for a few weeks and let the establishment begin.

Do you think its okay to add some Live Rock now?

Note: To add pictures to what I assume is a new board since the tutorial, I just hosted over at TinyPic and wrapped in the sqaure bracket IMG tags!

What is this?

 

[cnewman402]

In my OP most of the information I spoke of was referencing the link KJ inserted. I actually have it on my bookmark bar because it is the most comprehensive post I have found online.

 

[Azarus]

The price difference between a swing arm hydrometer and a refractometer is less than the cost of replacing your favorite coral or fish when your salinity gets way off.

That's a great way to think about it!