My first reef setup - cycle almost done, what now?

[Formulator]

Hi All,

This is my first post, but this forum has been invaluable to me over the last few months as I've jumped head first into this great hobby!

So far, this is what I have done:
Bought used 125 gallon "tall" tank.
Drilled 2 holes in bottom for overflow.
Built acrylic overflow and siliconed to glass.
Installed 1in PVC overflow plumbing according to bean design with 20 gallon sump (I know its tiny, but planning to add larger sump and make the 20 into a fuge).
Installed 1200 gph "waterfall pump" from pond store - is this ok?
Installed return pvc with T so I have 2 return pipes acting as additional powerheads with elbows underwater (I drilled 1/8 inch holes in the pipes just below the water level line to prevent reverse siphon if pump fails).
Added RO water, reef crystals, 3 inch sand/aragonite bed, and about 200 lbs live rock.
Installed additional powerhead and circulator.
Ghost feeding and seachem stability for cycle.
Todays project is installing float valve with RO system for topping off.

Been 2 weeks and ammonia and nitrite are down to 0. pH is 8, temp is 82, specific gravity is 1.024.

Two weeks seems pretty short for cycle to be done, right? Any suggestions for a protein skimmer, if Im on somewhat of a budget? What is the best order of addition for livestock? If I pick a particular region, say Fiji, is that a good strategy for picking compatible fish and coral? Do I really need to wait a full year of tank maturation to add anemones (My fiance really wants a "Nemo"). Any other comments suggestions based on my setup so far?

Thanks!!

-Chris

 

[Capt.Nemo]

Get a QT tank set up too for your fish.
What are your Nitrates at? They should be up and you should be ready for 25-30% water change. You can put in a clean up crew.
Trust me thought, get the quarantine tank up and observe your new fish for a couple weeks, make sure they are acting normal. I learned the hard way.
Had to leave my tank fallow for 72 days, that sucked.

Your temp may be a smidge high, bring that down to 78 key.
Have fun.

Oh, I was on budget too, but skimmer may not be the place to skimp. You get what you pay for. My Reef Octopus is great.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[DrPheel]

+ 1 on high temp , I like to hang around 76-78

At this point some people like to dose pure ammonia and make sure the tank can process 2PPM in 24hrs. 2 weeks of cycle is kind of fast did you start with live rock or dry rock ? If all tests good , add the CUC and you can add your first fish (or QT him) For the skimmer I also like Reef Octopus but they are many other brands that have good rep on here. get something a little bigger then what's recommend for you water volume and you should be good to go. A 20G sump may restrict you on the skimmer you can use so I would look into that first.

Happy Reefing !

 

[Formulator]

Thanks guys. I will check nitrates. Ive been avoiding that because its a PITA with the API kit. I cycled with live wet rock from my LFS sump. Also, for temp I have heard a lot of differing opinions. Is there a reason so many folks are running around 78, rather than 80-82 which would be closer to natural habitat?

Any recommendation for a clean up crew?

 

[cougareyes]

Thanks guys. I will check nitrates. Ive been avoiding that because its a PITA with the API kit. I cycled with live wet rock from my LFS sump. Also, for temp I have heard a lot of differing opinions. Is there a reason so many folks are running around 78, rather than 80-82 which would be closer to natural habitat?

Any recommendation for a clean up crew?

The temp question is a good one, I suspect it's just one of those things that been repeated so many times it's just what people do. I've kept my tanks at 80.6 for years and you are right the average temps in most reef are higher. You can find some research about very positive results in keeping tanks 80-82. As far as clean up crew, I don't get people throwing a bunch of snails, crabs, and the like in a tank with nothing much to eat. I wait until there's something to eat, you'll first probably get diatoms(brown), cerith snails will chomp that up, nerite snails also. Once I start getting other algae I'll add turbos and/or astreas. Once I start feeding fish I'll add hermits and Nassarius snails to eat leftover food. No need to add those ridiculous calculations you'll find for cuc, add a few at a time so they actually have something to eat; and you won't just have a bunch of rotting snails in your tank.

 

[Formulator]

Sounds good. After a bit more research, I think I will keep my tank temp right at 80. As for my ridiculously fast cycle, ammonia and nitrite still reading 0. Nitrate is up to 0.5 ppm. Anything to be concerned about? Im planning to do a 25% water change and add 2 clownfish next week. Or should I do the CUC first? Or simultaneously? Also, I think my salinity is a little on the high side at 1.024. Should I bring it down a bit? Thanks!

 

[Chibils]

80-84 is natural for many reefs, but above that many corals will start to bleach and die. So a lot of people shoot for 78 because it gives them a "buffer zone" in case their AC dies or their heater goes haywire, etc. It gives you a chance to correct problems instead of riding on the edge. If you run at 82-84 and your heater dies, you may only have 30 minutes to an hour before corals, nems etc start to freak out instead of an hour or two. This is especially valuable if you have an aquarium controller sending you texts and emails when your tank hits a certain temp.

The only advantage to running hotter is speculation that corals and fish may grow faster/have a higher metabolism at higher temps, but that's not known and either way it's a small advantage.

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[Reeferfourlife]

Your salinity is not high. I keep mine at 1.026. The recommended is 1.024 to 1.026.

 

[cougareyes]

Your nitrates at .5 is pretty low for a healthy cycle, I like my nitrates well over 10 if not 20 before I feel confident I have enough bacteria to handle even a light bioload. At .5 that means a very small amount of ammonia and nitrite has cycled through, you have a cycle but I would feed my tank more and establish a bit more bacteria. My fish tanks with inverts I keep at 1.023, my reef at 1.025

 

[Formulator]

Sorry, I meant 5 ppm, not 0.5. Misread the color card. Im planning to have 2 tangs, 2-3 clownfish, a goby, and some smaller reef fish I havent decided on yet. Is there a preferred order of addition for fish? I know aggressive fish should go last, but anything else to consider? Thanks.