Ready for CUC or First Fish?

[floydie83]

I just finished my cycle about a week ago with all my parameters in check on my 72 gallon.

Salinity 1.026
pH 8.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0-5

Diatoms have disappeared and now hair algae seems to be dying out. There is barely any left. Cyano seems to be coming in. I am performing regular water changes and have got some cheato growing in the fuge.

I am thinking about running some carbon and GFO in an old HOB filter in the next couple weeks. I am sure there is phosphates since I am using marco rock and sand.

Am I ready for a CUC (few peppermints, snails, hermits) or a fish (blue green chromis)? Should I wait a bit more? The tank will be 4 weeks old on monday.

 

[kkrawler]

sounds like your in almost the same boat as me! I started with the CUC Blue leg hermits, asteria, cirith, and a peppermint shrimp. I haven't added anything else because my Phos' were/are high so I've been working on reducing those before moving any further

 

[MCCOOL]

Sounds like you are ready to SLOWLY start adding livestock, i'd start with a few snails or hermits and make sure they do ok for a week or so.

 

[floydie83]

Sounds like you are ready to SLOWLY start adding livestock, i'd start with a few snails or hermits and make sure they do ok for a week or so.

Any recommendation on how many? I will ask the LFS but I want a second opinion.

Thanks!

 

[MCCOOL]

I'd start with a couple (<10), just to be sure they aren't going to die from some unknown factor. Assuming they do good for a week or so, i'd slowly start adding 5-10 more at a time.

 

[drew8]

my as well buy a fish and put in a QT tank so its ready when the tank is

 

[drew8]

go Blue by the way...

 

[Nakzter]

I would start with probably 10 hermits and 10 snails (small ones) and a couple of nessarius snails if you started out with live sand.

 

[floydie83]

I would start with probably 10 hermits and 10 snails (small ones) and a couple of nessarius snails if you started out with live sand.

The sand started out as dead. Should i forego the nessarius then?

 

[floydie83]

go Blue by the way...

Go Blue as well. Thanks for the QT idea.

 

[kkrawler]

how are the additions coming?

 

[floydie83]

how are the additions coming?

kkrawler,

I added 6 small red leg hermits, 6 cerith, and 3 turbos. There is a lot of eating going on. everything seem to make it okay.

I'm thinking about getting a BRS dual reactor in the next few weeks to run carbon and gfo and reduce some of those levels.

how is your tank going?

 

[kkrawler]

Sounds good!

In my tank I'm having a small battle with phosphates and trying to bring them down. I have a few asteria snails that are become a small PITA because it seams every other day I have to save one as they fall off the rocks and land upside down and they can't flip themselves back over. Dumbasses LOL!

 

[floydie83]

Sounds good!

In my tank I'm having a small battle with phosphates and trying to bring them down. I have a few asteria snails that are become a small PITA because it seams every other day I have to save one as they fall off the rocks and land upside down and they can't flip themselves back over. Dumbasses LOL!

I've had to save a cerith a couple times too...makes you wonder how they actually survive in the wild. I guess there isnt any glass to crawl up