New 29 Gallon reef tank

[eliramos]

welcome to the forum! i just got my first 29 g reef tank today i added everything in there already except for fish and invertebrates i was wondering how long should i wait to test the water?

You can test daily but personally I wouldn't go by any numbers for at least two weeks.

 

[LetItReef]

Thanks

Just installed my aquac remora hob protein skimmer

Ph 8.4
Salinity 1,025
Ammonia 0,50 - yeees
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - low - I would say max 5 ppm

Any thoughts ??

Ammonia should be 0.

 

[westend]

I thought increase in ammonia was the first sign of the beginning of my cycle ....

 

[LetItReef]

But you do not want to add livestock yet.

 

[Pork Knockers]

Welcome!

 

[westend]

Nop

I understand life stock will be later

 

[_Conway]

I thought increase in ammonia was the first sign of the beginning of my cycle ....

Yep

 

[MarkDarnell]

Add a raw shrimp from the grocery store and let it decompose in your tank. It will start the cycle. You can also add bacteria in a bottle to help also.

 

[saltyphish]

Off to a good start and as you stated patience is key. Good luck and keep us posted

 

[westend]

Thanks for the support

Still no real ammonia outbreak

Maybe I should add a shrimp as suggested

 

[_Conway]

Thanks for the support

Still no real ammonia outbreak

Maybe I should add a shrimp as suggested

Ghost feeding with flakes works too

 

[KillerKlownFish]

It's only been 10 days it's gonna take a while. I would give it a month monitoring it frequently. At 6 weeks you can try the shrimp idea. It should cycle faster then usual with live rock live sand live water (not the mix) after 2 months you can add snails and or hermits. After 3 month from start it should be cycled. It does take time. Don't add fish unless you are completely certain it cycled and don't add a lot of fish. Just one and not an expensive one.

 

[westend]

Perfect

I will wait - it was actually dry cured rock and live sand

Maybe overkill with the protein skimmer at this stage

 

[KillerKlownFish]

If there's nothing in the tank making turds I don't think you would need to skim. Then again I also left mine skimming.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Perfect

I will wait - it was actually dry cured rock and live sand

Maybe overkill with the protein skimmer at this stage

Was the live sand the bagged and sitting on the shelf kind? As far as using dry live rock, this can make the cycle take a little bit longer, because it takes time for the bacteria to colonize.

Good luck with your journey!!

 

[westend]

Part of the live sand I got from an online place in California and the other part I bought in a local store

 

[aquaman84]

Need help identifing these corals!!! Newbie!!!

Can someone tell me what these are? I just started my reef tank a week ago and these are frowning with my live rock

 

[westend]

So went to the fish store yesterday - he convinced me to add some turbo circling stuff and a fish - I know probably not the smartest move - it's a kind of tomato clown fish

So today ammonia and nitrite is still zero but a little worried about ph which I would say is somewhere between 7.8 - 8 - any suggestions on how to get it up ??

Salinity is still 1,024-1,025 - so all good here

Temp is 78-79F

Still need to measure nitrate

 

[westend]

Nitrite is also low - between 0-5 - the fish was swimming nicely around yesterday but yesterday night it started hiding behind a rock - still sitting there this morning - tried to feed him for the first time but he is staying behind that rock :-(

 

[Seth fhy]

Nitrite is also low - between 0-5 - the fish was swimming nicely around yesterday but yesterday night it started hiding behind a rock - still sitting there this morning - tried to feed him for the first time but he is staying behind that rock :-(

I used bottled bacteria, live rock, regular sand not live, and mixed instant ocean water. I put a blue damsel in the tank less than a week after setting it up! I put my first corals at less than three weeks which were zoanthids, and hammer coral, and a kenya tree coral! All are still alive including the damsel 1 year later! I'm not telling you to do that, I'm just telling you how I did it.