Let's watch my new tank grow

[althea2you]

welocme to rs... i like the aquascaping.. looks good with the many caves!! and cool old school fridge!

[certainti420]

So day two after my LR was added. The test results are as follows.

Temp 77.0
pH 7.8 ( need buffer)
Nitrate 20
Nitrite 2.0
Ammonia between 4 and 8 ppm

I am still waiting on my hydrometer which should be here in a week or so.

Ok so I have been hearing that i should throw in some shrimp to kick off my cycle but my ammonia reading have been crazy. So I am a little reluctant to add it. And should i cook the shrimp first or throw it in there raw?

[tbittner]

When you received the rock, did you scrub it off with a brush? It looks like you're getting a lot of die off from the rock, based on those numbers.

I would let it go for a few weeks (not doing anything) and see where the numbers take you. In a few weeks, it might be necessary to pull the rock and scrub it good, but I'd wait a few weeks before making that decision.

[koffee]

Since the ammonia test is already quite high, I don't think you need the shrimp.

And regardless of the test results (if everything is good and 0, for example), I suggest not adding any life until you get used to checking the salinity and keeping it stable by topping off with fresh water(to replace evap) or salt water as needed.

[certainti420]

Well the rock arrived on Wednesday. I emptied about 5 gal from my tank into a bucket and proceeded to clean my rock. I let it soak in the water for about 10 min then got a toothbrush and scrubbed off anything that was black or dark brown everything looked pretty good and smelled fresh. After cleaning the rock I then started my aquascaping. I then filled my tank the rest of the way with clean R/O, DI premixed saltwater I got from my LFS. So I also did a partial water change too. Now two days later the water is very clear but I am noticing what looks like white tissue that is stuck on the rocks and is blowing in the currents of my tank.

[Craig Manoukian]

Tagging along and good start! Go slow and test, test, test, but you already knew that!

[certainti420]

ok well I decided that maybe I didn't clean the rock well enough so got the old tooth brush and started scrubbing away there was a lot of die off from the last two days. There were huge pieces of tissue and flesh as well as some more of these brown rice grain looking things that some said were copepods. I let all the debris sink and settle then vacuumed the sand and the rock surface as well. I also added some "Cycle" its a bottle of bacteria supposed to eat ammonia and nitrates. If anyone knows about this product let me know please. I did about a 2.5 gal water change which in a 35 gal. tank that is about 7% give or take. I will do another one next Wednesday. I plan on changing the water every 5 days or so to keep my water quality as high as possible. Is this a good plan?

[tbittner]

Thats a good plan. What are your tests showing now?

[certainti420]

Well day three after LR was added.. My ammonia levels seem to be stabilizing. It went from 8.0 ppm to 2.0 ppm. I have a huge nitrite spike at 5.0 ppm compared to 2.0 ppm yesterday. My nitrates are showing a bit of a spike as well testing between 5.0 and 10.0 ppm. My pH is still a little low at 7.8. I rearranged my aquascaping a bit as well pulling it out from the walls of the tank and allowing more circulation around the rocks.

Now is time to plan on fish. I want start with FOWLR I want to add a flame angel, a saddled Vanlintini puffer, and a fu manchu Lionfish, Are these good fish for my size tank or will I be pretty much stuck with clowns, damsels, and grammas

[certainti420]

I really want to thank everyone that has helped out so far, great advice. As I surf the site some more and read more threads I am sure I will get to know everyone a little bit better It really helps out to know that other "Reefers" Like yourselves are concerned with the well being of my tank I almost feel that it is our tank except I feed it, test it, clean it, change it. But seriously I have been researching saltwater aquatics for about 3 months now and have learned a great deal about the delicate conditions required for sustaining marine life, but I can read and read and read and never get the same answers or have people with real experience answer my questions. So kudos to you Reef Sanctuary thanks for your positive feedback and concern. I hope this thread grows for many years or at least as long as my tank survives. I will be sure to keep everyone updated on my progress, successes, and failures (though with your help I hope those are few and far between). I will also be posting more pics and vids of my tank ( I know how much you guys LOVE pics) And who knows maybe I'll be one of those big dogs like Terry and set a 450 gal monster.

[tbittner]

Looks like your tank is proceeding nicely through the cycle. You're seeing what you expect to see.

Thank YOU for joining us! The more, the merrier.

[certainti420]

Here are several more shots of the tank as it sits now. Ok guys it killing me I can't take it!! The antici......pation

[DeepBlue]

Welcome to RS! Your pre-planning and research will serve you very well, but as has been said here, patience is vertue (as hard as it may be to resist). Many of us waited months before adding fish, partcularily the species you want to add. Flame Angels are sensitive and need a more established tank (i.e. over 10 months old)

Your set up looks great, your parameters are progressing nicely and I give you cudos on your rockscaping. By the way, the "tissue or flesh" that you described that you scrubbed off the rocks is sponge. This is a indicator of healthy rock. It is a good thing that you scrubbed the rocks as sponge typically is the first thing to die off on the rock in shipping, so now new healthy sponge will grow on the rock. This is a GOOD thing.

As has also been said, a good protien skimmer will be the first thing you will want to add to your system. It is one of the most important piece of equipment you will use for your biological filtration. All the best to you and I look forward to watching your tank grow!

[tbittner]

I love your aquascaping. Lots of caves and crevices for the fish to play in. I like the rock scattered on the bottom too. It really looks natural.

[althea2you]

like the scaping!!! kinda looks like a face! lots of caves too very cool!