New to the Saltwater world

BellBoy04

BellBoy04

New Member
Hey how is it going? I am new to the forum and I have recently purchased my first aquarium it is a RedSea Max C250. I have it set up and now letting it cycle. I been wanting an aquarium since I was a kid and now I have one. I am having issues with my skimmer, water level is a little above optimum. I have the skimmer set exactly like the manual says but nothing foaming into the collection cup. Any ideas?
 
Pat24601

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
As Mike just said, your skimmer may not be foaming because your tank is new and it doesn't have anything to skim. Basically, the answer is to not worry about it too much until you've added fish and have a real bio-load and the skimmer has work to do.
 
BellBoy04

BellBoy04

New Member
Thanks for the info, I am just starting into aquariums and I am slowing learning what I should do to get my aquarium running properly. The system has been running for almost a week now. Honest opinion I have no clue what I am doing. Just learning as I go, should there be minerals I should be adding to my system?


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DianaKay

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
Hi BellBoy! :wave:
:rbwwelc:WELCOME to Reef Sanctuary :crowd:
Great choice of tanks & the best place to give you advice right here :D
Starting a tank thread will allow us to follow along & help you be successful with your new exciting adventure in saltwater.
:camera:We also L:heart:VE PICTURES!
 
Joeys Tank

Joeys Tank

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be adding any minerals to your newly setup system as it is cycling. The goal of this stage is to let your tank achieve a balance of incoming waste and nitrifying bacteria. This will occur naturally (as long as there is a waste source producing ammonia). There will be several stages your tank will go through over the next 12-18 months; however, this first stage tends to bring a few issues along with it.

The first issue is learning patience :) There are additives you can use in the tank to accelerate various portions of your tank's maturity. My approach would be to let the tank find its balance on its own. If it is forced down a particular path, it may be meeting your expectations but not its own and will eventually start to fight against your efforts as it finds a balance.

The second issue is there is so much information out there from various perspectives on what is right or not-as-right to doing things. In fact, the above paragraph was one example :) This beginning stage is a great time to read/research/question topics to increase your knowledge and understanding. With luck, you can keep pace (or get a little ahead of your tank), but from a lot of what I have read, beginners to the hobby tend to eventually find themselves reacting instead of being proactive. Know that your tank is a living ecosystem and is usually your best "test kit". It will let you know when it is struggling, when it is thriving, and when it is content. Again, various perspectives on this, but I am looking for a "content" tank. While thriving systems are exciting to watch as it goes through an "explosion" of growth and activity, I tend to be a little cautious because of the saying "nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank".

I will stop here because I don't want to overwhelm, but I am looking forward to following along on your journey. Diana encourages you to start up a tank thread and I want to echo this. It is a great way of chronicling your journey, post progress, ask questions, and receive inputs/thoughts/guidance all in one convenient location.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
welcomefish.gif

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

Start a tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics :dance:

Good advise ^

On cycling...
Here is one way you could proceed - add a deli shrimp, let it rot for a week or two...

Start testing and watching... the Ammonia will raise then drop, followed by the Nitrites raising and then dropping, then the Nitrates will soar - once the ammonia & nitrites are gone, then do water changes to reduce nitrates.

Ammonia > Nitrite > Nitrate

Tank Cycled - now you can add a cuc (clean up crew) 1st coral, 1st fish or pair - then wait a month before adding more fish... :)
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
welcome!!
@nanoreefing4fun hit it on the head... patience and a quality cycle are key... i used three deli shrimp to cycle mine, NOTHING GOOD IN A REEF HAPPENS FAST!
skimmers need waste to work and they need to "slime up" so dont stress over that yet... it's a great fun hobby and i'm excited for you!! i remember when i first started and how exciting it was seeing the first signs of life, i'd have a flashlight and magnifying glass out all the time haha
 
BellBoy04

BellBoy04

New Member
I can't post pictures because tapatalk won't registery account...I have tapatalk pro but can not find this forum on there


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C

Chuck Dortenzio

New Member
Welcome. I started the same tank a couple weeks ago and this forum and the great people in it have been instrumental in me not making too many mistakes. I don't think it can be said enough, patience patience. You are not setting up a fish tank, you are creating an ecosystem.

Lots of people have suggested the rotting deli shrimp to get things started. Depending on what you are using for live rock, you may get some algae growth, plus a generous helping of light will help too. Then add a CUC to eat the algae and it's off to the races. I didn't test my water often enough so I think I missed the cycle but slowly it's coming along.

Start a tank thread. I'm going to too.


Chuck
RSM C-250
Caribsea Life Rock 80lbs
Caribsea Fiji Pink Live Sand
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
uhm no offense intended here but "off to the races" is a little risky..
also, "missing a cycle" is like my fiance' saying she missed her monthly cycle.. it's not somethng you just miss haha.. A proper cycle takes WEEKs and isnt just simply missed, also many people prefer to cycle with lights off not a generous helping of light so we can avoid algae blooms, theory is that the algae take away from some of the oxygen that the bacteria utilize and there's no clean up crew yet anyways so lets have it stay as clean as we can...
Let's go slow... finish the cycle and add a fish and a minimal clean up crew... as the tank establishes maybe a month later maybe another fish and some more clean up crew... stabilization is key especially once corals start being introduced, the nitrates that a fish can tolerate are deadly to corals...
 
BellBoy04

BellBoy04

New Member
Should I even bee running my lights or my skimmer at this time? It has been running for 1 week solid now with skimmer and lights running 8 hrs a day.
 
Pat24601

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
BellBoy04 said:
Should I even bee running my lights or my skimmer at this time? It has been running for 1 week solid now with skimmer and lights running 8 hrs a day.
Click to expand...

Opinions actually vary on lights. I think I went reduced hours of lights (3 ish). Many go no lights. At first I ran for 8 until my LFS said that was silly I was just growing algae, but some people do run 8.

Same with skimmer. Opinions vary. I think I went no skimmer. The theory being you don't necessarily take those nutrients out if the water while cycling. In practice, it probably doesn't matter much.

I think in practice, either way your tank will cycle and all will be find in the long run. :)
 
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