My First Tank.. 55 gallon

[billaweed]

Hey Ive been posting here just recently and reading a lot of the threads here. I decided I too would start a thread for my new tank as I will have a TON of QUESTIONS for the experienced members here.

SPECS:

1. 55 gallon tank
2. Nova Extreme T-5's
3. Dual Water filter
4. heat is approximately 75-79 degrees
5. all water params are good according to my API Saltwater Master Test Kit
6. 16 lbs of Cultured Live Rock.. half fiji and half misc
7. Bottom is 50% sand and 50% rock. (will be all sand as soon as I get the money)
8. Critters: one hermit crab and one sea snail
9. 1 striped mushroom anemone, 6 tree corals, 1 pulsing xenia
10. lastly the tank is on its 3rd cycle week.

Ive added Stability, live sand, sacrificial fish (damsil), and live rock to help speed the cycle process. all the live (corals, and critters) have been in my tank since week two of the cycle. Ive been checking my water every other day and so far so good, but I know in a heart beat things can go tits up, so hopefully you guys can help me out on things i should buy, what i should add, and things i should change.. thanks all..

pictures will come later tonight after superbowl..

Brandon

 

[Krish]

Sounds great Brandon! Good luck on the setup! I'll keep an eye out for the pics! Sorry for the late reply as well

 

[billaweed]

lol.. battery's on camera went dead.. I'll get new ones tomarrow on way to work then put some pics up..

 

[Krish]

lol.. battery's on camera went dead

LOL! You even need patience with camera's in this hobby

 

[Meche]

all the live (corals, and critters) have been in my tank since week two of the cycle.

Good luck.

Dual Water filter

What's that?

all water params are good according to my API Saltwater Master Test Kit

How good? Where are they at?

Ive added Stability

:lol: I would love some if you have any extra!
No, seriously... is that a ammonia remover?

Sounds like you have taken the shot gun approach toward starting a tank. I would like to hear more about how it is working out for you. And seeing pics.

 

[returnofsid]

WOW...corals and inverts in at week 2 and sacrificial damsel huh? Scary!! It takes anywhere from 4-6 weeks to do a good cycle. Stability isn't really going to help much at all...neither is the sacrificial damsel (IMO a bad way to cycle) Your corals and inverts are going to have a hard time ahead of them once you get your nitrate spikes. You'd be better off taking your corals back to the LFS for awhile until your tank is TOTALLY cycled.

 

[Krish]

Hey sid! Check post 27 in the link below... Same member you replied to there just I guess, dedicating a thread to his tank. Hopefully we can all get his tank in order and in tip top shape

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22392&page=2

 

[billaweed]

Hey sid! Check post 27 in the link below... Same member you replied to there just I guess, dedicating a thread to his tank. Hopefully we can all get his tank in order and in tip top shape

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22392&page=2

heres the deal..! I am new to this, and being new to this hobby i took advice from not only 1 aquarium hobbiest but 6 or 7. They told be to try all this stuff to get the tank going good and get the cycle done sooner. So if it is bad practice im doing, im only doing what other people (not on this forum) have told me to do. everything I have was given to me except the lights, live rock, and sand.

None-the-less that is why i am hear now. because I was told you people know best and since ive committed mel-practice with my tank by trying to get it cycled super fast, I'm now affraid something bad may happen and if so I am seeking guidence from you experienced people.

I've learned my lesson already, though nothing bad has happened yet, I should have started it the right way and from this day forward I'll do so on my next tanks..

I do, however, appreciate the help you all are giving me..

thanks

 

[Krish]

heres the deal..! I am new to this, and being new to this hobby i took advice from not only 1 aquarium hobbiest but 6 or 7. They told be to try all this stuff to get the tank going good and get the cycle done sooner. So if it is bad practice im doing, im only doing what other people (not on this forum) have told me to do. everything I have was given to me except the lights, live rock, and sand.

None-the-less that is why i am hear now. because I was told you people know best and since ive committed mel-practice with my tank by trying to get it cycled super fast, I'm now affraid something bad may happen and if so I am seeking guidence from you experienced people.

I've learned my lesson already, though nothing bad has happened yet, I should have started it the right way and from this day forward I'll do so on my next tanks..

I do, however, appreciate the help you all are giving me..

thanks

No worries man...I started off a lot worse than you. Atleast you had people telling you what to do where you lived. I just jumped right in with basically no knowledge at all, a wet/dry, well water with over 160ppm of nitrates right out of the tap (that's as high as my kit went ) no flow whatsoever and on and on and on I even left the hobby and RF for a while before coming back and getting it right. This place is awesome with tons of people willing to help so no worries at all

 

[brady816]

good luck with the new tank. Nice size tank for sure

 

[Skimmy]

does the tank happen to have a sump?
do you run any carbon, and do you own a protein skimmer?
these are some things that would help with keeping your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels from going too crazy during a cycle.
avoid excessive water changes during the cycle as this tends to dilute and prolong the cycle, only do them when fish die or tank is dirty/cloudy.
also, in a pinch you can use sea chem's prime to bring down ammonia/nitrite levels, just watch your p.h.

 

[billaweed]

does the tank happen to have a sump?
do you run any carbon, and do you own a protein skimmer?
these are some things that would help with keeping your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels from going too crazy during a cycle.
avoid excessive water changes during the cycle as this tends to dilute and prolong the cycle, only do them when fish die or tank is dirty/cloudy.
also, in a pinch you can use sea chem's prime to bring down ammonia/nitrite levels, just watch your p.h.

Im getting a skimmer from RocketScientist on saturday. I dont have a sump yet, and im not currently running any carbon.. i will asap though..

 

[billaweed]

here are some picture of my tank going on 4 weeks old.. Not much to look at but its a start. And YES!! In front of that window is the only place I have in my house to put that tank.

 

[Krish]

Very cool...I see you still have diatoms on your glass, but it will eventually go away as the tank matures so no worries

 

[billaweed]

yeah.. its practically gone off my sand.. Im starting to get that pink coraline algae on the glass and my rock.. Should I be worried about that? I' know its ok on the glass but not sure about the rock..

Also I got a piece of live rock from Indoor Reef and after it had been in my tank for 1 full day I notice 3 bushells of red and green polyps growing.. pretty sweet

 

[Krish]

Yeah...Coraline will grow everywhere! Some people like it everywhere and some don't. On the rock is where most people desire to have it though to give their rock some color so it's cool

 

[moortim]

It would seem that many of us had a rocky start to keeping reef tanks so don't sweat it too much, just keep asking questions and following advice and you will get it right. If there is one thing to learn about all this it is patience, don't ever do anything fast and if someone tries to sell you on the "quickest way" to do something question it. Other than that your tank will turn out just fine in the long run.

Tim

 

[billaweed]

hey folks! Do aquariums go through new cycles everytime something new is introduced to it such and live stock etc..?

 

[Krish]

hey folks! Do aquariums go through new cycles everytime something new is introduced to it such and live stock etc..?

It all depends on what is added and how mature your tank is and if it needs adjusting to it. What I mean by that is some people will add live stock and their tank will need to adjust to the extra bio-load so you sometimes get a small "cycle". However, in some tanks, you can add new livestock in and your system takes it on without any extra effort and so you don't experience any form of a "cycle". Same goes for live rock etc...It all depends on your setup IMO. Just my 2 cents

 

[Meche]

I agree with Krish.
Scientists will tell you there are earthquakes everyday in Ohio. Which, according to a seismometer, may be true. But do the earthquakes matter? I think it is the same in a tank, when adding livestock. There is a small amount of ammonia that goes unchecked before the bacteria can multiply to compensate, but I wouldn't think you would even notice it (in most cases). Just add stuff slow and you should be fine. I would imagine the key is to not increase the bioload by a large percentage at a time.