New to the game

[OcellarisClowns]

Hello to the reef sanctuary community, I recently set up a 37 gallon saltwater tank and have a few questions about the "breaking in period." My local pet store set me up wth a emperor 280 filtration pump and I think around 20 pounds of sand give ot take. They assured me that this is plenty since i am starting with a f ish only tank. After a week of water circulation I then added 20 pounds of live rock and waited another week before adding two Ocellaris Clownfish which are doing just fine. It's been over a month now and i have noticed the rock seems to have a darker brown color and some sort of brown particles on thie surface of the sand. My question is should i be worried about these factors or is this just normal for a new tank? Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[essmaker]

Two weeks is too soon to be adding livestock to your tank.

What you are seeing on the sandbed my be a diatom bloom (normal for the tank cycle) and what is on the rock is probably some sort of algae.

I suspect you are still cycling your tank (posting param readings will probably show that).

Don't add any other livestock until the cycle is complete. Below are a couple threads that will help you determine when that is.

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...something-cycling-breaking-new-reef-tank.html
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...ners/20945-just-exactly-what-cycled-tank.html

 

[tnwillia]

Welcome to RS!

 

[SecretAgent]

Welcome OC!

 

[DrHank]

:welcomera I would recommend that you gradually add live rock to bring your total up to 1 1/2 to 2lbs per gallon. Keep an eye on your parameters. I agree that your tank is undoubtedly still cycling.

Try to make sure that the live rock you add is already cured of you'll wind up with a mini cycle when you add it. Keep your eyes open and you may be able to pick up the rock from someone moving down in size or getting out. Good luck.

 

[Cassette87]

I'd also like to mention that curing your LR in a separate container with some good water movement is a good way to remove any die off from the rock. It'll also give you a chance to make sure you don't have any unwanted pests on the rocks.

Welcome to RS, and to a great hobby

 

[OcellarisClowns]

Thank you for the advice, I will post parameters and hopefully a picture here soon. During these first stages ive been doing 5 gallon water changes every week. Is this to often? I hear the more water changes the better. Also should I leave the sand be or siphon the top layer of sand out. Does the bacteria on the surface of the sand eventually go away or change from its brownish color?

 

[Cassette87]

The more the better is true to a certain extent, you don't want to be changing water so frequently that you begin to deplete the tank of beneficial bacteria.
The diatom bloom will go away on it's own within a couple of weeks, and will likely be followed by a green hair algae bloom then die off. it's all part of the initial cycle. Being patient is the key, and often times the hardest part!

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

 

[OcellarisClowns]

Just added a hydor koralia nano 425gph for water movement and have already noticed an assortment of new life on the rocks. One rock is covered with some type of tube worm I assume, not sure what they are called. I have also seen some clear looking invertebrates crawling on the sand and rocks what are these?

 

[Schwa]

Welcome to the obsession er I mean hobby.The small bug inverts are copepods and baby amphipods both are a good thing to have and is in a way telling you that your tank is going in the right direction.These are very beneficial as they clean up uneaten food and are also a natural food source for your fish. In the future you may want to get rid of the emporer filter you really dont need it and it could pose a nitrate problem in the future especially if you are planning on keeping corals in the future but for the time being will help establish a bacteria colony. For your circulation you may want about double or triple what you have already and point the outputs of the pumps so they bounce off the glass and create random current in your tank. Cycling fish is kind of a mean thing to do since ammonia is very toxic and they are essentially swimming in poison of course a Pet store wont tell you that because they want you to have to buy another fish ASAP. The wives tale of water changes ruining your filter bed in a cycling tank is just that a wives tale . You should be doing a minimum 10 percent of your water volume once or twice a week(Reefkeeping online magazine) I believe the article is called the 10 greatest fallacy's in our hobby.This was second or third on the list.
Hope this helps there is lots of great info on here but there is lots of bad too.
In my opinion the best and humane way to cycle a tank is to get a piece of raw shrimp from the grocery store and toss it in and let it rot. This will actually give a better bacteria bed than sacrificing a fish and cheaper too.
After your nitrite starts depleting you will want to get a cleanup crew Cerith snails ,Turbo snails and astrea snails and if you want hermits a few blue leg hermits. The mix of those will eat your algae bloom including the diatoms and also get something that will stir your sand a little but not too many sand sifters because there is not much for them to eat yet.
We keep fish because they are beautiful I dont know how we are doing our hobby or our planet any good by sacrificing any living thing just for the sake of some bacteria .we are making ourselves more inhumane than we already are. It may just be a fish but it is a living breathing being just as we are.

 

[DaveK]

Hello to the reef sanctuary community, I recently set up a 37 gallon saltwater tank and have a few questions about the "breaking in period." My local pet store set me up wth a emperor 280 filtration pump and I think around 20 pounds of sand give ot take. They assured me that this is plenty since i am starting with a f ish only tank. After a week of water circulation I then added 20 pounds of live rock and waited another week before adding two Ocellaris Clownfish which are doing just fine. It's been over a month now and i have noticed the rock seems to have a darker brown color and some sort of brown particles on thie surface of the sand. My question is should i be worried about these factors or is this just normal for a new tank? Thanks to everyone for the help.

(Emphasis mine)

The first thing you are going to learn in the hobby is that most LFSs are either clueless or set you up with the wrong equipment.

First off, I'd want to see about 20 more pounds of live rock in there, the amount you have just isn't enough. Live sand doesn't count toward the amount of live rock. The new rock must either be cured in another container or added little by little.

Second, I would add a decent skimmer to the setup. Something like an AquaC Remora, This will do far more in maintaining water quality than any hang on the tank filter.

The darker brown color your seeing is a algae bloom, but it's typical for a new tank. Nothing to worry about there.

To tell if your tank is ready for fish, you must see the levels of ammonia and nitrite rise, peak, and then drop back down to 0. They is no other way to be sure. If you don't have them, get yourself the necessary test kits for a SW system. Yes, there are quite a few you'll need. The raw shrimp method to cycle a tank, mentioned by Schwa, is an excellent way to cycle a tank.

 

[OcellarisClowns]

I got a test kit when i first set up the tank and have been checking Ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates on a regular basis. After adding the live rock and the two fish there was a spike in nitrates to 10ppm that has now gone back down to zero. Ammonia has been at zero so have the nitrites. Ph has been steady at 8.4 is this a safe level? Specific gravity is at 1.023. I hope i havent injured the fish that is the last thing i want to do but so far they seem to be doing alright. I have been feeding them omega flake food and picked up some frozen mysis shrimp the other day which they seem to enjoy. What type of food is used to feed the filter feeding tube worms? Should i go ahead and pick up another hydor nano pump for even more water movement?
Thanks for the advice.