New from Orange County, CA

[Espino963]

Hi everyone,

I just finished cycling my 1st ever salt water tank (Fluval 13.5) and added a clean up crew. How Long does everyone recommend I wait before adding corals and a fish?

I am completely new to this hobby and testing myself to see if I can commit. I hope to learn more about the hobby and hopefully meet with some local members.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R

 

[bryanfuel]

Welcome from Costa Mesa!

Do you have a test kit yet?

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Welcome to R2R! What kind of light do you have?

 

[Espino963]

Welcome from Costa Mesa!

Do you have a test kit yet?

Hi Bryan, my test kit is arriving tomorrow but I had my water tested today at seaside in HB. All the water perimeters looked good but I will verify myself in the morning.

Welcome to R2R! What kind of light do you have?

Hi Arsenal,

I just have the standard light that came with the Fluval, I did some research and found this.

 

[Quietman]

Welcome Aboard!!!

 

[P-Dub]

Welcome! How do you know that you have completed your cycle? How long was the "Cycle"? How did you cycle? Question from @The Aquatic Arsenal important. What kind of coral do you want?
Edit: Some answered...

 

[jsker]

Welcome to R2R and reefing.

Nice looking setup

 

[fishface NJ]

Welcome to r2r

 

[bryanfuel]

Hi Bryan, my test kit is arriving tomorrow but I had my water tested today at seaside in HB. All the water perimeters looked good but I will verify myself in the morning.

Hi Arsenal,

I just have the standard light that came with the Fluval, I did some research and found this.

Seaside is awesome for fish, they have a massive collection. My go-to places for coral is Reef Lounge USA in Orange and Amazing Aquariums and Reefs in Tustin.

When you say your parameters are good, does that mean 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and <10 Nitrate? How long have you been cycling?

 

[bryanfuel]

Hi everyone,

I just finished cycling my 1st ever salt water tank (Fluval 13.5) and added a clean up crew. How Long does everyone recommend I wait before adding corals and a fish?

I am completely new to this hobby and testing myself to see if I can commit. I hope to learn more about the hobby and hopefully meet with some local members.

Also, love the aquascape! Looking forward to seeing this tank progress

 

[S.Pepper]

Welcome to R2R

 

[PanchoG]

Welcome to R2R !!!

 

[El_Guapo13]

Welcome to R2R!! You say you finished the cycle, but how long ago was it that you started the cycle? Most people woulds say to cylce for at least 1.5 to 3 months (at least 3 months for larger tanks), and then start adding livestock (fish, clean up crew, corals, etc.) slowly. What type of fish do you plan to keep? What type of coral do you plan to have?

Whatever you do, DO NOT add a lot of livestock at once as it will overload to your biological filtration and most likely lead to a crash. Space it out. Especially for fish. It is fine to add a few corals at once, same for some small inverts
But fish. They are much larger animals, with much more waste. So space fish additions out. That said, if you plan to get a pair of clowns, try to get a bonded pair and add them together.

 

[flyline]

Welcome murrieta here

 

[Espino963]

Welcome! How do you know that you have completed your cycle? How long was the "Cycle"? How did you cycle? Question from @The Aquatic Arsenal important. What kind of coral do you want?
Edit: Some answered...

I only have the stock Fluval light so I’m not sure what I can actually keep. The more colors the better. I cycled for over a day but used water and live rock that has been cycling for about 3 months in my buddy’s basement. I only added live sand and bottled bacteria to help speed the process.

Seaside is awesome for fish, they have a massive collection. My go-to places for coral is Reef Lounge USA in Orange and Amazing Aquariums and Reefs in Tustin.

When you say your parameters are good, does that mean 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and <10 Nitrate? How long have you been cycling?

I was at 0 ammonia, 0 Nitrite and I don’t remember the Nitrate. This was early today at Seaside. I will confirm in the morning with my own kit. Also I need to swing by reef lounge, I’ve never even heard of them.

 

[Espino963]

Welcome to R2R!! You say you finished the cycle, but how long ago was it that you started the cycle? Most people woulds say to cylce for at least 1.5 to 3 months (at least 3 months for larger tanks), and then start adding livestock (fish, clean up crew, corals, etc.) slowly. What type of fish do you plan to keep? What type of coral do you plan to have?

Whatever you do, DO NOT add a lot of livestock at once as it will overload to your biological filtration and most likely lead to a crash. Space it out. Especially for fish. It is fine to add a few corals at once, same for some small inverts
But fish. They are much larger animals, with much more waste. So space fish additions out. That said, if you plan to get a pair of clowns, try to get a bonded pair and add them together.

El Guapo, I’m more interested in coral then fish. I plan on having a pair of clown fish in a few months but want to move extremely slow as I’m still new to the hobby. I still don’t know what to feed the corals or where to even place them in the tank based on flow. There is still much research I need to do as I want to do it right.

I know I’m limited because of my light, but it’s important I keep the hood for now as I have a 4 year old son and fear him throwing something in the tank.

 

[bryanfuel]

I only have the stock Fluval light so I’m not sure what I can actually keep. The more colors the better. I cycled for over a day but used water and live rock that has been cycling for about 3 months in my buddy’s basement. I only added live sand and bottled bacteria to help speed the process.

I was at 0 ammonia, 0 Nitrite and I don’t remember the Nitrate. This was early today at Seaside. I will confirm in the morning with my own kit. Also I need to swing by reef lounge, I’ve never even heard of them.

I would wait until your test kit comes in and retest your water in a few days. Having precycled rock really helps but you never know. The hardest part of this hobby is patience but if you try to rush things, everything will crash. What are your plans for fish and coral?

RL USA is awesome. I got this frogspawn there a couple weeks ago and it’s expanded like crazy since then. Super healthy.

 

[bryanfuel]

El Guapo, I’m more interested in coral then fish. I plan on having a pair of clown fish in a few months but want to move extremely slow as I’m still new to the hobby. I still don’t know what to feed the corals or where to even place them in the tank based on flow. There is still much research I need to do as I want to do it right.

I know I’m limited because of my light, but it’s important I keep the hood for now as I have a 4 year old son and fear him throwing something in the tank.

With the number you showed earlier, there’s a lot of cool coral you can have success with so I wouldn’t worry about the light right now . Start by watching some “Top corals for beginners” videos and see what excites you! Softies like mushrooms, zoas and leathers would be a great place to start. Personally, I would avoid Xenia and approach green star polyps with caution. They grow to quickly for their own good.

 

[Espino963]

I would wait until your test kit comes in and retest your water in a few days. Having precycled rock really helps but you never know. The hardest part of this hobby is patience but if you try to rush things, everything will crash. What are your plans for fish and coral?

RL USA is awesome. I got this frogspawn there a couple weeks ago and it’s expanded like crazy since then. Super healthy.

I’m leaning towards a pair of clown fish (maybe in 3-6 months and for corals I’m not 100% sure. I still need to do more research, but I’m leaning towards something like that frog spawn. Something colorful that pops but not something basic either