New to the hobby......

reefjunkie420

New Member
hello everyone.... im new to the hobby and im just trying to learn as much as i possibly can..... i got a 30gal with 10 gal sump/refugium..one drain hose and one return hose i got 80lbs of live sand in my DT and 20lbs in my sump, 20lbs of dry lace rock...and i got a ball of chaetomorpha in the sump as well...... its been running for a lil over a week now and all seems to be fine my rock is starting to turn a brownish color and was wondering if thats natural.... and how would i be able to tell good algae from the bad... i got a CUC in the tank and so far so good... i tested my system the other day and the results were good ph was at a good level and everything else was at .0.... how long do i have to wait until i can start adding fish and coral.... and if you have any tips feel free to tell them.....anything will help thanks:fishy:
 

Built347

Has been struck by the ban stick
Its been a week?... if I read correctly an you started with dry rock I'd recommend spiking ammonia before adding anything... a week is very fast to be showing 0's.. Im suspicious of there not being a cycle yet.. also I'd step up the rock a bit, in the long run 20lbs is not going to be sufficient for a 40g system....as far as algae goes the brown is normal.. it will probably cover everything before it gets better... this is natural... sounds you are off to a good start tho... better than most...good luck.. :)
 

Built347

Has been struck by the ban stick
Upload images to photobucket.. then link photobuckets "image code" to your post in rs... just copy it and paste it here...
 

reefjunkie420

New Member
i just set it up as my avatar.... u still think i should add more rock .... i also got some rock in my sump (3) peices
 

reefjunkie420

New Member
thanks i will go to my lfs and pick up a few peices of live rock...... hopfully it has some good hitch-hikers dont really see to much action in my sand yet...
 

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
Toss in a deli shrimp n let it rot dude. Kick that cycle off.

.............I'm feeling salty.
 
you said everything was 0, but im curious as to what your nitrates really read. if they are in fact 0, then its possible you havnt even started cycling. however, strange things happen in the cycle when chaeto is introduced. i had ammonia at 4ppm+ for 3 weeks and i added chaeto and ammonia zeroed out after 2-3 days. i dont think the chaeto absorbed the ammonia but rather the bacteria that came in on the chaeto. the chaeto came from a well established system. another factor is where and how you got your live rock. if that also came from an established sytem or a cured lfs tank its possible you had a very quick cycle.

i would toss in the shrimp like recommended and see if it provokes ammonia as it decays. if you dont get any readings you are already cycled. if you do get readings, you need to wait it out until ammonia/nitrite is 0.
 

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
welcomefish.gif

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

reefjunkie420

New Member
I actually started off with dry lace rock I got snail and hermits 1 emerald crab 1 CC starfish and a coral banded shrimpi woke up this morning to find out that my shrimp had molt'd everyone seems happy I stared my system with a lot a beneficial bacteria. I will do another test in a couple days I ell let you know how it comes out.... and thanks for the advice and the welcomes
 
Top