First Marine Adventure

[juantrox]

Hello guys,


I'm looking forward to give an awesome home to some marine life. My goal is to have the proper setup for a mandarin dragonet although I know I'm far away from it, I'd like to start in best possible way. The list of my equipment is below, please share your thoughts on the setup, I try to go as budget friendly as possible.


- Tank/Stand: IM Mini 40 Fusion (150lt - 40 gal) - I didn't like the build quality of the stand but having a custom one would be more expensive
- Skimmer:
- Wave Maker: Jebao WP-10P with standard controller
- Heater: Resun Sunlike 150W
- Refractometer, Thermometer, Testkit
- Ceramic (aquaroche) for landscaping --> my awesome fiance's gift and she did the aqua-escape which looks very cool...
- Bacteria (Denitrol)
- 20lb of Live Carib Sea Sand - very well priced
- Enough saltwater
- Light V2 IluminAir 600

Questions:
1.- Cycling, will the live sand be enough or should I use the denitrol ?
2.- Tunze comline DOC Skimmer 9001 --> I don't know if a bigger will fit (please comment as I can go for refund or change) Do you know if 9004 fits ?
3.- I'm using the stock media basket. Any recommended media?

Thanks for your time! :bounce1:

 

[Kyle461]

Live sand may or may not have enough bacteria to start the cycle. What you need is an ammonia source to kick start it and give the bacteria a chance to populate. You could use a piece of raw shrimp or find some pure ammonia to dose. If you don't see the ammonia levels going down (with nitrites/nitrates levels rising) after a while then you may need to add the bacteria (denitrol).