Noobie Cycling Question

nark54321 · Nov 16, 2017

Ok so last Sunday 11/12 I finished restarting my 30G tank due to neglecting it and it overgrowing with micro algae. Sunday is the day I got the water, 35lbs of sand and 15lbs of live rock into the tank and the pumps on.

Current parameters are

Ammonia- 0 ppm
pH- 8.5
Nitrite- 0 ppm
Nitrate- 30 ppm
Salinity- 0.024

I have a light amount of brown diatom bloom on the sand and some on the rocks I noticed today and is which made me think to test parameters.

Do you think it is time for a WC to remove some of the Nitrates?
When do you think is a good time to start up my bio pellet reactor and skimmer?
When should I start putting in a few members of the CUC?

I appreciate the help in advance!

skiergd011013 · Nov 16, 2017

Run the skimmer from the get go. Is this all new sand and rock? Dry or live?

nark54321 · Nov 16, 2017

skiergd011013 said:
Run the skimmer from the get go. Is this all new sand and rock? Dry or live?

Sand is live and the rock is also live. It was pulled from a LFS tank not sure how long it was in there for but I think its one of the slower stores in my area so I would imagine a good while.

skiergd011013 · Nov 16, 2017

Ok. Youll be in good shape. Get everything running, let the tank run a week or so. The longer the better but i understand the desire to get things moving. Id let it run for a bit, test, and do a small water change. Then maybe add a small clean crew and a small hardy fish. Keep an eye on the water and change if needed. If all goes well, slowly add more livestock. The absolute key to sw tanks is to go slow, especially if your new to it. You will save yourself a lot of money and frustration.

skiergd011013 · Nov 16, 2017

What are your plans? Coral? Fish only?

MSB123 · Nov 16, 2017

skiergd011013 said:
Ok. Youll be in good shape. Get everything running, let the tank run a week or so. The longer the better but i understand the desire to get things moving. Id let it run for a bit, test, and do a small water change. Then maybe add a small clean crew and a small hardy fish. Keep an eye on the water and change if needed. If all goes well, slowly add more livestock. The absolute key to sw tanks is to go slow, especially if your new to it. You will save yourself a lot of money and frustration.

+1!

nark54321 · Nov 16, 2017

skiergd011013 said:
What are your plans? Coral? Fish only?

Plans are 1 or 2 fish. The tank is only 30G so I would rather save myself the headache of battling a ton of pollution. Mostly coral otherwise.

skiergd011013 · Nov 16, 2017

I have a 30 gallon reef. Have 2 clowns and a royal gramma.

Its a good size tank. You can do quite a bit.

nark54321 · Nov 16, 2017

skiergd011013 said:
Ok. Youll be in good shape. Get everything running, let the tank run a week or so. The longer the better but i understand the desire to get things moving. Id let it run for a bit, test, and do a small water change. Then maybe add a small clean crew and a small hardy fish. Keep an eye on the water and change if needed. If all goes well, slowly add more livestock. The absolute key to sw tanks is to go slow, especially if your new to it. You will save yourself a lot of money and frustration.

Yea this is my second go on this tank and I understand the value of patience even know it is tough to stare at an empty tank

lol.

If my Nitrates are at 30-40ppm when is a good time to do the first WC?
Also what should the target be for Nitrates before I add in a few CUC members?

nark54321 · Nov 16, 2017

skiergd011013 said:
I have a 30 gallon reef. Have 2 clowns and a royal gramma.

Its a good size tank. You can do quite a bit.

Beautiful tank! How long has it been running for?

And yeah my girlfriend really enjoys clown fish as do I and they are pretty easy to keep. I had one in my previous tank.
I also saved my Mandarin Goby from the last tank and he is being held at my LFS so he will be joining the party when the time is right and I can get the proper food source started for him.

skiergd011013 · Nov 16, 2017

nark54321 said:
Yea this is my second go on this tank and I understand the value of patience even know it is tough to stare at an empty tank lol.

If my Nitrates are at 30-40ppm when is a good time to do the first WC?
Also what should the target be for Nitrates before I add in a few CUC members?

30-40 is a bit high. You could go ahead and do it now. I do 6 gallon changes on my 30. Youll probably need to do more to drop those way down. My nitrates are probably between 0 to 5. Havn't checked lately. I dont know what others like their nitrates at, but i wouldnt want anything over 5. With a low stocked tank, good skimmer, etc thats where my nitrates stay, and everything looks happy. I like testing, but i rely even more on looking at my tank and seeing how everything looks.