New 12 gallon nanocube DX-nano reef

[aquaman24]

Hello everyone, just wanted to keep you updated:
My nitrite finally hit 0 today and my ammonia has been at 0 for the past 2 days. The only problem I have is with my nitrate. It read 10 yesterday but 5 today so maybe it is lowering. My pH finally moved from 7.8 to 8.2. There is a large outbreak on the diatoms in the tank; the diatoms are everywhere- on the LR and sand.
I also have a couple of questions:
1. There is this cotton, fuzzy-like pieces of brown algae that grow near the diatom spots on the rock. Should i be concerned?
2. I either have 1 of the two growing in my tank- green hair algae or bryopsis, please tell me how to tell the difference.
3. There are many small air bubbles attached to the LR, would this be affecting anything?
4. For the tank to fully cycle, does the nitrate have to be neutralized as well, or is it just the ammonia and nitrite?
Thank you for reading this and please reply.

 

[BigAl07]

NO3 is removed/exported via water changes. Check out my signature for more details.

 

[aquaman24]

Should I do the water changes after I add the CUC or before? And now that the ammonia and nitrite are neutralized, how long do I wait before I can put in the CUC? Thanks alot!

 

[BigAl07]

My thought process would be:

I want NO3 as low as possible before anything else is added to the system. Do substantial water change (depending on how high NO3 really is) and shoot for something less than 20 (the less the better IMHO) but be realistic and understand a new system probably wont be able to maintain ZERO NO3 for long if at all. I like to see new tanks <20 and more mature tanks <10. If you can keep them this low then with a good hefty water change (50%) you can get them VERY low VERY easily.

Once I got the NO3 to acceptable levels I'd add a small CUC and add my first (least aggressive) fish.

 

[aquaman24]

Thank you very much this helped a ton. But I have to ask you on adding small CUC. There is a truck-load of diatoms in my tank right now, so my question is, what would you suggest for a CUC? (I am thinking about an emerald crab) Thanks!

 

[BigAl07]

I really don't give Diatoms much effort in my CUC.... they will pass with time as long as your tank parameters are in order.

 

[aquaman24]

Alright, you helped a ton BigAl. I just finished testing my water and it read:
nitrite- 0
nitrate- 0
pH- 8.2
ammonia- 0
Do i have to wait a week before adding my CUC or can I add it whenever?
:spinner:

 

[redsea reefer]

Alright, you helped a ton BigAl. I just finished testing my water and it read:
nitrite- 0
nitrate- 0
pH- 8.2
ammonia- 0
Do i have to wait a week before adding my CUC or can I add it whenever?
:spinner:

I would wait a week and check Ammonia and Nitrite, test every other day and if tests say 0 for a week then you are ready for CUC.

 

[aquaman24]

Hey everyone, its been a while but i have encountered a problem. I am going to leave on vacation on the 27 for a week and i am planning to add my CUC on the 17,but now with my vacation i have no clue what to do. should i add very little CUC?( i have plenty of algae in my tank) and also with the CUC in the tank, should i continue the lights schedule? i am only planning on add a blue hermit crab and an astrea snail, maybe an emerald crab due to the fact that i have a lot of hair algae and i heard that emerald crabs are very good hair algae eaters. Please post your ideas/opinions, Thanks

 

[redsea reefer]

I would wait till you get back to add your CUC.