Get rid of the Sea Clone which is a POS. Get a refractometer online somewhere and listen to people here. Do not listen to your LFS guy. I waited more than a month and a half before I added my first fish. But once your temp is right and your params are in check(get test kits if you dont have some, ask around for the best) after thats done, go buy some Live rock. Let it sit in your tank for a week or two. Then a clean up crew. More waiting. And in a month or so, maybe a fish if everything goes write. Probaly add a few weeks onto what i said, just in case.
20 Gallon Build
- Thread starter skippy23
- Start date
sorry guys my digital camera is on the fritz i think the battery's are low, which sucks i got some really good pics, even though it was of water and sand lol BUT still nice pics
ANNETATE - i go to Allegany College of Maryland, but im transforing this fall im goin to West Virginia University, im sorry to say it but the only employee is the owner
henry22 - yea it is a POS, but im kind of stuck with it now, i dont have ANY money left ( i actually used my Bday money for the tank-setup) and i hate to admit that i paid almost 300 for the skimmer (that makes me sick) its giving me hella problems, but the guy at the fish store has the same one on one of his SW, actually i have the same set up he has and his tank is beautiful, its clear, and everything in the tank is doing well
do u guys think i should just abort while im in the early stages and start over sell the skimmer and filter and everything and just start over new
ANNETATE - i go to Allegany College of Maryland, but im transforing this fall im goin to West Virginia University, im sorry to say it but the only employee is the owner
henry22 - yea it is a POS, but im kind of stuck with it now, i dont have ANY money left ( i actually used my Bday money for the tank-setup) and i hate to admit that i paid almost 300 for the skimmer (that makes me sick) its giving me hella problems, but the guy at the fish store has the same one on one of his SW, actually i have the same set up he has and his tank is beautiful, its clear, and everything in the tank is doing well
do u guys think i should just abort while im in the early stages and start over sell the skimmer and filter and everything and just start over new
dantodd
New member
First thing is to turn off the skimmer. I have a seaclone and they will work, though not as well as many. You don't want the skimmer on until the cycle is complete.
It will take much longer than a week for the tank to cycle, expect the clams at least to die if you add the LR that soon, the mushrooms have some chance of surviving but they'll shrivel up for a couple months most likely.
Add the live rock after the cycle is complete and your ammonia and nitrite test out at zero. Also, don't do any water changes until your cycle is complete. You didn't mention a general reef water test kit but you MUST have one.
It will take much longer than a week for the tank to cycle, expect the clams at least to die if you add the LR that soon, the mushrooms have some chance of surviving but they'll shrivel up for a couple months most likely.
Add the live rock after the cycle is complete and your ammonia and nitrite test out at zero. Also, don't do any water changes until your cycle is complete. You didn't mention a general reef water test kit but you MUST have one.
dantodd
New member
You don't really want the other filter to be a biological filter, you'll use it as additional volume and, if needed supplemental chemical/mechanical filtration. You should just turn it off during the cycle.
I never found that there was a particular secret to getting it to work but I'll help if I can once you're ready. There really aren't any organics to skim at this point so you won't be able to get it working no matter what you do right now.
I never found that there was a particular secret to getting it to work but I'll help if I can once you're ready. There really aren't any organics to skim at this point so you won't be able to get it working no matter what you do right now.
**UPDATE**
i just took a nitrite and amonia reading
there the only 2 tests i have
im planning on getting a full test kit (the big one)
as soon as i get money (next on list)
and the amonia was 1.5 and the nitrite is 0
i bough 3 small peices of live rock today and dropped them in
about 2.5 pounds worth
i just took a nitrite and amonia reading
there the only 2 tests i have
im planning on getting a full test kit (the big one)
as soon as i get money (next on list)
and the amonia was 1.5 and the nitrite is 0
i bough 3 small peices of live rock today and dropped them in
about 2.5 pounds worth
Get some base rock, is usually cheaper and create the base of your rock work. Or you can always make PVC supports so what actually looks like a pile of rocks is actually just a few rocks on a PVC support and you can create caves out of them which is always good for fish and inverts.
dantodd
New member
Good, sounds like things are going well. You should see the ammonia continue to climb for a little while then they'll plateau and the nitrites will start to climb.
You'll probably see the cycle prolonged a little with the addition of LR because the ammonia is deadly to many of the organisms on the LR. A lot will survive though.
You'll probably see the cycle prolonged a little with the addition of LR because the ammonia is deadly to many of the organisms on the LR. A lot will survive though.
ok its been about a week, since i dropped in the live rock (even though it was little) and the shrimp cocktail, when do u guys think my tank might be close enough to finished cycleing, to put some cleaner uppers in?
i bought another pound of LR
woo hoo 3 pounds baby lol, i only need around 15 more
i guess my question is, is it time to get a clean up crew
i bought another pound of LR
woo hoo 3 pounds baby lol, i only need around 15 more
i guess my question is, is it time to get a clean up crew
dantodd
New member
Stop adding rocks. It will extend your cycle. Your tank is still toxic and will kill things on any new rocks you add. This stuff dying will add more ammonia which has to be converted to nitrite and so on....
Don't add your clean up crew yet. Wait until your ammonia and nitrites spike. Once they drop to undetectable levels you should get a bunch of algae. When you do, wait 4 more days and then add your clean-up crew.
The algae means that you have nitrates, which is the last of the cycle the extra wait is to make sure there aren't any more things dying off and generating ammonia.
I would just add a few astrea snails at first maybe 8 or 10. Let these do their job for a little while, 4 or 5 days should be enough. Then start your normal water changes. Keep track of your levels every couple days and make sure you don't see any detectable ammonia or nitrites for another week or so to allow the denitrifiying bacteria to get build up for the new bioload then start adding the rest of your cleaning crew.
Assuming you have zero ammonia and nitrite you can add your additional LR too. You may see a small ammonia spike from things that don't survive the transfer. Some stuff are very bad travelers and can die with minimal exposure to air which is hard to avoid in this situation. If there is no visible algae in the tank and you have hermit crabs in your clean-up crew you might want to feed them, it will keep your snails alive!
Once the live rock is all added and your ammonia and nitrite levels are undetectable start keeping a closer eye on nitrates. You should have very low nitrates levels with such a small bioload assuming you've been doing your water changes.
Now that you have a nice full clean-up crew and full assemblage of LR with good quality water yo ucan add your first fish. You can also start adding some of your soft corals like zoanthids and xenia at this point.
I know it's still a long way off but it's worth it to take your time. It's much better to go slowly and avoid problems than to have to go back and fix them later.
Don't add your clean up crew yet. Wait until your ammonia and nitrites spike. Once they drop to undetectable levels you should get a bunch of algae. When you do, wait 4 more days and then add your clean-up crew.
The algae means that you have nitrates, which is the last of the cycle the extra wait is to make sure there aren't any more things dying off and generating ammonia.
I would just add a few astrea snails at first maybe 8 or 10. Let these do their job for a little while, 4 or 5 days should be enough. Then start your normal water changes. Keep track of your levels every couple days and make sure you don't see any detectable ammonia or nitrites for another week or so to allow the denitrifiying bacteria to get build up for the new bioload then start adding the rest of your cleaning crew.
Assuming you have zero ammonia and nitrite you can add your additional LR too. You may see a small ammonia spike from things that don't survive the transfer. Some stuff are very bad travelers and can die with minimal exposure to air which is hard to avoid in this situation. If there is no visible algae in the tank and you have hermit crabs in your clean-up crew you might want to feed them, it will keep your snails alive!
Once the live rock is all added and your ammonia and nitrite levels are undetectable start keeping a closer eye on nitrates. You should have very low nitrates levels with such a small bioload assuming you've been doing your water changes.
Now that you have a nice full clean-up crew and full assemblage of LR with good quality water yo ucan add your first fish. You can also start adding some of your soft corals like zoanthids and xenia at this point.
I know it's still a long way off but it's worth it to take your time. It's much better to go slowly and avoid problems than to have to go back and fix them later.
<-------UPDATE------>
i think im starting my 3rd week and i can see a little bit of brown algea starting to grow in the back a little bit
and i really apologize about no pics, if i had a camera that worked :S id be whorin the crap out of this thing lol
im gonna try to get my sisters camera tonight so hopefully ill have pics very soon for you guys
i think im starting my 3rd week and i can see a little bit of brown algea starting to grow in the back a little bit
and i really apologize about no pics, if i had a camera that worked :S id be whorin the crap out of this thing lol
im gonna try to get my sisters camera tonight so hopefully ill have pics very soon for you guys
