NickF's RSM C130

[DianaKay]

Greg has a chart but what you are testing to see is in this order:
1. Ammonia rises & begin to fall
2. Nitrites rise, then begin to fall
3. Nitrates start to rise as nitrites decrease.
BOTH ammonia & nitrite should ZERO out & stay ZERO.
At this time your Nitrates could be fairly HIGH.
This is when you do a large water change (WC) as this is what brings them down.
You want Your Nitrates to be around 5ppm to 10ppm.
If they stay higher than that....another WC will be needed.
Then is when most add their 1st CUC to the tank followed in a week or 2 by the 1st fish & coral. (If you are adding any coral) Adding only 1 fish (or a pair if they intend to be a bonding pair) per month after the cycle is a good way to make sure your tank can handle the bioload. ADD FISH SLOWLY...several at a time can cause an ammonia spike.

Edit: I didn't know Zig already posted about the same thing

 

[yorkieUK]

This is the one Greg sent me.

 

[ziggy]

pay little attention to the days a tank is cycling because that will vary tremendously based on a ton of factors.

From what you're stating you're ready for the major water change and adding the CUC

 

[goma]

Ammonia and Nitrites are the most dangerous to your tank inhabitants. Now that those have dropped, you can do a water change and add a CUC. Retest for Nitrates, if they stay below 10 then you should be able to add a fish or two.

 

[NickF]

Thanks for the advice everyone,

I did a 30% water change yesterday, and todays readings are salinity 1.026, temp 27.5, amonia 0, nitrate 10, nitrite 0.
I'm going to wait till next weekend to make sure everything is stable, then I think I'll add a coral or two and see how they get on, hopefully I'll add a fish in a couple of weeks.

I'm still using the Reef Mature Pro Kit, it's just 3 ml no3po4-x till day 21 then that's it. Not sure if I'd recommend the kit or not as I've got nothing to compare it to, it's easy enough to use but it doesn't really explain anything in any detail. It's a good job I can come on here for help and advice

 

[DianaKay]

Good Update Nick! Sounds like your tank is ready for some added life. BJ:
If you want zoas or mushrooms, they are great starter corals.
Any idea what fish you want to add 1st?

 

[NickF]

I will probably go for a pair of clowns first, unoriginal I know but it has to be done.

I've just managed to catch a pic of this on one of the rocks:



it shot back in just after I took the picture. It's only a few mm size, any ideas what it is?

 

[DianaKay]

You should post that in the hitchhiker ID forum.
It's pretty from that picture is all I can tell
I highly recommend starting off with a pair of clowns!! I did and they had time to bond with each other before I added another fish. Just try to stick with the peaceful variety. Don't get aggressive ones like Maroon Clowns.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

hard to see, a bit too blurry ... but a guess, from your pic & description "shot back in just after I took the picture"
... watch this vid & see if he looks like this

[video=youtube;oo3DZYdAD2Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo3DZYdAD2Y[/video]

 

[DianaKay]

It might be an Aiptasia but IF it looks a little more like feathery, it could be a little feather duster. They often "shoot back in" rapidly. Watch for it to come back out.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

If it's a feather duster - that's good

[video=youtube;E4uYCI62-Nc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4uYCI62-Nc[/video]

 

[ziggy]

do you have a CUC in your tank? You're mentioning adding coral.

 

[NickF]

I did another 30% water change yesterday, and my readings were salinity 1.026, temp 27.7, amonia 0, nitrate 5, nitrite 0.

I also purchased my first 2 corals, a hammer & a tree coral:





they both seemed to settle in very well. Sorry about the picture quality they're off my phone, I'll have to think about getting a digital camera (or a better camera phone, nokia 1020?)

Hopefully if my readings are the same next week I'm going to get a pair of clowns, not a mated pair though as they're 5x the cost. The lfs has some small juvies, I'll pick one slightly bigger & hope they pair. I'll give them at least a month before I think of adding any other fish so they are settled, plus I can get some more corals while they settle in, probably some zoa frags.

 

[DianaKay]

Congrats on your 1st coral additions, they both look healthy & happy!
I think you're smart to just pick out two clowns & skip paying a premium price. As long as they are a peaceful variety of clownfish, I think they will get along just fine. I know I got lucky & found a couple that had been on hold for another buyer (who wasn't ready for them yet) and had been at the LFS for at least a month. A little insurance that they were healthy as they showed no signs of sickness.
Look them over really good & maybe even pick a couple out and ask for them to be held in a separate tank for a week. I read so much about sick clowns these days, I just hope you get very healthy ones. :fingerx: not having a QT set up is a bit scary.

 

[Wrangy]

Congrats on the new corals mate!!! You've just begun the long and wonderful hobby of having a reef tank, you're going to love it from here on in
Tank looks fantastic too Clowns always make for great first fish in a tank

 

[NickF]

Can anyone help me id this plant growing on my live rocks?





There is quite a lot of it and the snails don't seem interested, I'm not sure if it's a nuisance? Would a red-legged hermit crab help, they had some
at the lfs but I wasn't sure if they were reef safe (or snail safe)

On a seperate note, my fire shrimp molted yesterday, pretty cool:

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

If you don't get an ID here... post the pic in the RS subforum
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/marine-algae-plants/

 

[NickF]

I bought my pair of clownfish yesterday, I'm very happy





When I went to pick them they were already in a separate tank from all the other clowns. I watched them for 1/2 hour and they were already getting on so I think I was lucky there. They settled in the tank straight away, and I've not seen them apart since.


I aslo bought some coral frags online last week as the zoas in my lfs never seem to have much colour. I was a bit weary about buying livestock online but they look in very good condition. Here are the zoas:







& I also got a yellow tipped torch, as the shipping was nearly as much as the zoas I decided I should buy something else as well :



That's it for now, I'm not going to add anything to the tank for at least 4 weeks. I'm just going to do my weekly water changes & tests, sit back and watch everyone settle in.

Thanks

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Beautiful clowns ! zoas & torch too - great additions !

 

[DianaKay]

Awesome additions, hope they are all doing well & that you are throughly enjoying them!
Love those zoa colors