Hi all,
I need some advice, and not from the good looking chick at the local pet store... Im new to the hobby although have had some experience in the past. Ive set up my first ever marine tank.. Nano.. and only 40 litres(about 8 gallons). Ive got clean sand, not live, and about 5kgs of LR. Its just a cheap beginner setup with a hang on filter/skimmer(got LEDs though). My question is basically, Im expecting to be cycling for about 4-5 weeks and in the meantime learn some patience...
I bought a test kit, and have been keeping an eye on lvls.. which are as follows
pH NH NO2 NO3
5/11 8.2 0.2 0 0
6/11 8.0 0.25 0 5
8/11 8.0 0.5 0 10
12/11 8.2 0.1 0 0
What Im seeing is a constant zero on the Nitrites(why), a small peak to zero on the Nitrates and some fluctuation on the pH and NH..
I started the tank off about 12 days ago!! surely its not cycled yet. I did however give a small piece of LR a freshwater bath after seeing it full of Aiptasia in the first few days so was expecting that die off to help with the cycling... The LR was also from a well established aquarium, but I wasnt expecting this to really speed anything up..
Should I start putting a CUC in ie hermit crab, theres some algae growth starting to take shape
Im learning about patience but would still love some feedback from all you pros out there
The protein skimmer/filter is also doing my head in... its working nocely, but micro bubbles everywhere, though theyve subsided minutely in the last 2 days. Ive heard corals dont like microbubbles. I told the local FS about my problem and even showed good looking their display tank like mine, its running beautifully, way less LR, but still cycling, with no microbubbles, how can I get rid of them
Thanks
Troy
I need some advice, and not from the good looking chick at the local pet store... Im new to the hobby although have had some experience in the past. Ive set up my first ever marine tank.. Nano.. and only 40 litres(about 8 gallons). Ive got clean sand, not live, and about 5kgs of LR. Its just a cheap beginner setup with a hang on filter/skimmer(got LEDs though). My question is basically, Im expecting to be cycling for about 4-5 weeks and in the meantime learn some patience...
I bought a test kit, and have been keeping an eye on lvls.. which are as follows
pH NH NO2 NO3
5/11 8.2 0.2 0 0
6/11 8.0 0.25 0 5
8/11 8.0 0.5 0 10
12/11 8.2 0.1 0 0
What Im seeing is a constant zero on the Nitrites(why), a small peak to zero on the Nitrates and some fluctuation on the pH and NH..
I started the tank off about 12 days ago!! surely its not cycled yet. I did however give a small piece of LR a freshwater bath after seeing it full of Aiptasia in the first few days so was expecting that die off to help with the cycling... The LR was also from a well established aquarium, but I wasnt expecting this to really speed anything up..
Should I start putting a CUC in ie hermit crab, theres some algae growth starting to take shape
Im learning about patience but would still love some feedback from all you pros out there
The protein skimmer/filter is also doing my head in... its working nocely, but micro bubbles everywhere, though theyve subsided minutely in the last 2 days. Ive heard corals dont like microbubbles. I told the local FS about my problem and even showed good looking their display tank like mine, its running beautifully, way less LR, but still cycling, with no microbubbles, how can I get rid of them
Thanks
Troy
Last edited:
