A New Adventure

[andrew71583]

I Had a 46 gallon Bow Front salt water tank. Unfourntaly my landlord came over on day and said I Cant have it. I mean I live on the Third floor I cant say I dont Understand. Anyways she said I can Have a Smaller tank insTead.

So yesterday I purchased a 20 Gallon. I am going for NANO REEEEFFF.
I am an active reader of DarthPadres Journal. But I am going to see if i can StartT one I am new to Nano Tanks never had corals nothing/ My old tank was Fish Only. SO this is going to be a Fun Adventure. Any and All Advice Giving would be Greatly Appreciated and most likely helpful.
(sorry darthpadre for copying your Journal Layout)


June 1st

Went to Petco and PurchaSed a "Aqueon 20 Gallon Deluxe Kit" Which came with a Power Filter 20 (125gph), A 100watt Heater, the tank, the hood and a 15 watt fluorcent light.
Also bought a Hydrometer and a powerhead (160gph)

Unfourtnalty ran out of time and had to go to work.

June 2nd

Woke up at 8am this morning, took my tnak out of the box set it all up and off to the pet store i went. I bought 15 gallons of premixed salt water (the water he uses in his tank) (i figured r/o water was 50 cents a gallon, i might as well pay the 1.50 for the premixed saltwater).
I also purchased 20 lbs of live sand, almost 55 pounds of live rock (now realizing it might be a bit much.

Came home I poured 5 gallons of water in, foloowed by the sand, then another 5 gallons of water, followed by live rock, finally followed by the remaining 5 gallons. which filled my tank up nicely. (i had a empty flower pot lying around so i made sure that was cleaned and when i poured the last ten gallons i poured it into to flowerpot. that way the direct flow of water didnt hit the sand hard and stir it up to much).

SO now my tank is on my equipment is running. when i went to the pet store in my excitment i forgot to purchase a test kit, so that will be tommrrow. And go figuer my hydrometer is calibrated wrong, its reading way to high. i know its the hydro meter because when i put tap water in it, it read .025 which is insane. so hopefully my cycle is starting right now. tommrrow i will buy the test kit.

anyone have any advice should i leave the equipment on during the cycle
the powerhead the lights the heater and the filter?

ive attached pictures.

let me know any thoughts.

 

[andrew71583]

i think this is the goal

 

[Lotus]

The filter, heater and powerhead do need to be on during the cycle. The lights don't need to be. If you want to put them on to look at the rock for an hour or two, it's fine.

If you can afford one, get a refractometer (about $50), as they're much more accurate for testing salinity.

You definitely need the test kits. Ammonia and nitrates are the main ones you need during cycling. Once you're ready for corals, you'll need calcium, alkalinity and perhaps phosphate and magnesium tests.

 

[andrew71583]

is there a test kit you recommend. and yes im going to buy a refractometer tommrrow most likely im gonna return the hydrometer, and i was confused about lighting and i bought a light bulb which i dont need, so that alone should cover most of it.

 

[zoalover34]

Salifert makes the best test kits IMO, they are a little pricey but you get what you pay for..

 

[andrew71583]

june 3rd

im about to go to the pet store for my refractometer and my test lit. but first i have a question? i have my powerhead going, its got an attached tube that hangs outside of the tank for air pressure or something. My question is, it seems to be so strong its blowing tiny air bubble in my tank, not just one or two a whole **** load. I mean is that normal. there so intense you cant see thew the tank in that one area.

 

[andrew71583]

i heard i could just pull the air hose out, is this correct?

 

[andrew71583]

June 3rd
Bought a top of the line refratometer 80 darn dollars. Lfs talked me into getting a sun dial t5 I belive 100 watts built in fans and a built in timer. Water cleared up rocks look perfect can't wait. How long does a cycle take?

 

[rdreed]

from what i've read and understand, about 2 to 3 weeks for the cycle. and you can pull the air tube out of your powerhead, if there is not a little valve to control the amount of air it pulls into the water.

 

[andrew71583]

they didnt have any descent test kits at my lfs so im gonna order on online, for now i bought the strips. here are the results

nitrate 20
nitrite .05
ph 7.5
alkalinity 180
hardyness 120
and salinity at 1.26 according to my refractometer

any input on these rusults would be awesome, anything thats way off the map?

also i understand a cycle take a while nad gotta be patient with these things. my question is though. is my tank gonna cycle or is it possible it dosnt need to?
the reason i say this is because the water i put in my tank came straight from my lfs, he has all his salt water circulating, and 5 big containers in the back room that are part of the circulation. he sold me all the water thats in my tank. the live rock i have in my tank is all form the same pet store, and its fully cured. the live sand i bought i bought in a bag and the bag said pre cycled just add fish.

im gonna wait a while to make sure my levels are good but just a thought.

 

[DarthPadre]

How cool (you didn’t copy anything from me I didn’t copy from someone else)...

Yeah, the air hose connected to the powerhead is specifically there to add those bubbles, or aerate the water. Aerating your water will oxygenate it, which all life forms, including unwanted, enjoy. It will also help dispose of Phosphates. This is a good thing but can cause unwanted algae growth.

Your tank is cycling now. I don't see an Ammonia reading so you'll want that test also. You have Nitrites, which are bad. Ammonia and Nitrites need to be at 0, then your tank is done cycling, for the time being, and you can add your clean-up crew. From the sound of it, your tank will be finished cycling in less than a week.

pH is low, but I know it changes throughout the day. Test twice a day (morning and evening). You may want to invest in buffer. You want somewhere between 8.1 - 8.3.

Good luck, have fun, and I'll be reading...

 

[andrew71583]

June 6th

ph 7.8
ammonia 1
nitrite .50
nitrate 20
salinity 1.25
calcium 400mg
temp 78


seems like most of my paramaters are a little off right now? am i on the right track? anything at all i can do or just sit back and try to be patient.
i also decided to buy another powerhead as well.

i got my new light it is beautiful. i cant wait to put some corals in there.
i am posting some pictures.

i ended up adding three damsels to my tank, i know its not cycled yet but a "buddy" of mine didnt want them and he was gonna flush them. i couldnt see that happening so i put them in my tank. i hope this is okay????

i hope i am doing everything correct lol im kinda winging it take tips from here there and everywhere. lol alls i know is i prob spend about 500 on this nano so far. oooo but it will be well worth it

any advice ill take it as usual.

also darth said i could put my cleanup crew in there, any suggestions. i want a variety but i also want the tank to stay as clean as fishaly(humanly) possible. my dads tank has outbreaks of dark red alagea and green alagea all the time i dont want that at all.

also whould i put something in there now to stir up the sand bed???

 

[andrew71583]

o boyy should i have tooken the lil carbon bag out of my filter?

 

[Lotus]

The carbon is fine, as long as you change it weekly.

Your ammonia is a little high. You'll need to reduce that through water changes to help the damsels out. I think with three damsels you're pretty much stocked for that tank. In addition, they likely won't tolerate (and will kill) any other fish you try to put in there. At least they're reef safe.

Wait on the cleaning crew until your ammonia and nitrites are at zero, consistently, for a week.

 

[DarthPadre]

pH still low. Again, you want between 8.1 - 8.3, and it may change throughout the day. Ammonia at 1 ppm can be deadly to fish. Even the Nitrites at .5 ppm is harmful. Your tank is definitely still cycling. Gravity (not actually salinity) of 1.025 is definitely within range. The goal with gravity is to keep it as consistent as you can. Temp is also good. You might even want to crank it up to 80 to help with the cycle.

For the clean up crew, check out my journal. Google for images or check a site like liveaquaria.com.

 

[andrew71583]

ok im stuck with damsels, i guess thats alright there still pretty compared to freshwater. eh besides the fish are gonna just be an after thought when im done and i get all my corals. i will wait on a clean up crew for a little my only concern is i thought i needed something to cleanup after the damsels and maybe stir the sand, trust you, i do, lotus.

as far as water changes, to my knowledge its always been recommended to do a 10% water change. is that correct, should i only change 2 gallons of water? should i do that immediatly or let the cycle go a little longer.

and Darth i check my ph twice daily adn it never hits over 8 any suggestions for me in that area?

 

[Lotus]

If the ammonia is at 1ppm, you can do a 20% water change. Usually 5 or 10% a week is fine, but if there's a problem, you can do a larger water change.

The tank will be fine without a cleanup crew for a few more weeks.

Sometimes the cycle will cause pH to drop. And, if there isn't enough water movement, that can also cause pH problems. Make sure your powerhead is moving the top of the water.

 

[andrew71583]

june 10th
i cant getmy ph over 8 for some reason, maybe kuje y saud lotus cause its cycling still. i think i have pleanty of water movement on top. i have the filter sitring the water, and a powerhead point up stirring the surface. if thats not enough i can raise my other powerhead as well.

Yesterday i did my tests heres what i got.

ph 7.8
ammonia .25
nitrite .50
nitrate 0
salinity 1.25
calcium 400mg
temp 78


So my temp stayed the same, my calcium is the same, my gravity stayed the same my nitrates dropped to 0 the nitrite stayed teh same, and my ammonia dropped to .25

as usuall gimme some input on theses

i also decided to do a 20% water change so maybe it will be just what i need.

one last thing, im noticing brown spots on my sand and my rocks any ideas?

 

[andrew71583]

June 11

i did my water change last night
heres the output

ph 8.2
ammonia 0
nitrite .15
nitrate 0
salinity 1.28
calcium 400mg
temp 78


looking good to me, anymore thoughts from anyone?