Newbie from New Mexico

[jaws789832]

Hi All,
Brand spanking new to the hobby, so go easy on me. I bought a 28 gallon nano cube, intermediate from DrF&S. Mixed up some salt water using reef crystals, put in some Reef sand and Substrate, and had the tank up and running the same day I received it. Let it all settle until it was crystal clear and ordered and received (today) my live rock. I ordered 45 lbs (which I know is a lot for that little tank) but since I was ordering it online I wanted to make sure I had a good selection to choose from. Upon receiving it I immediately placed it in a tub of saltwater, and then proceeded to meticulously scrub each piece with a toothbrush (which I must not have done a great job because I am already seeing green moss-like algea growing on them LOL), then just placed them in my tank to start the cycling process. PH was at 8.2, salinity 1.024, 0 ammonia nitrites. I am running the stock pumps but also have a magnum HOT running to help with circulation and clear the water. I cant wait to see what (if any) critters come out of the rock, and am very pleased with the selection they sent.
I was going to wait about a week to actually aquascape and at that time I will pull the rock all out, rescrub, then place them in their final place. Any suggestions or hints would be greatly appreciated and if it seems I am doing anything horribly wrong let me know. Was planning on a 50% water change a week until cycled then dropping down to a 10% per week.
Thanks to any and all help I get and its nice to meet you all!

 

[ziggy]

Greetings and welcome.

for hints.. I would not do any water changes till the cycle completely finishes
I would take daily ammonia, nitrite, nitrate measurements to identify the peaks
I would also throw in a raw deli shrimp to move it along
Inor would I scrub the rock again. Just watch what happens over the next few weeks

Great to have you

Pls take some pics so we can follow your journey along with you

For sand using a fine sand causes clarity issues if you're going to have high circulation flow across it

 

[jaws789832]

OK an update. Just did an ammonia test and it skyrocketed to 8 already, in only 4 hours after putting in the LR? Is this normal? Also I would love to post some pics if I could just figure out how LOL.

 

[whippetguy]

Hi and welcome to Reef Sanctuary! If you had lots of die off on that rock, the ammonia level will be high early.

You can post photos after 5 posts.

 

[yorkieUK]

I'm a relative newbie to SW reef tanks and I have found this forum to be the best on the net.
If you have any questions, just post them on the forum and someone will help you out.
They're a friendly bunch of people on here and you'll be sure to make some good contacts and great friends.

The advice and tips on the thread by Woodstock are invaluable to any beginner as I myself have found.
If there is anything else that you're not sure of, just post a question here on your thread and someone will help you out pretty quickly.
I checked out a few reef forums before joining this one and it is definitely the best for good advice and great new friends.
Once you have posted 5 messages, you'll be able to start a Reef Chronicle and add some photos to show the rest of the world your handy-work.

Once you start your Reef Chronicle, the following instructions will put your photos into your messages.

When you go to your library in Photobucket, you need to "Copy" the http:// address that is in the "Direct" tab of the photo.
When you go to your thread on RS, click on "Insert Image" and "Paste" the http:// address.
You can add one picture at a time, or put a ";" followed by a space, between each http:// address.
I hope this helps.

Good Luck and I look forward to see your photos in the near future.

YorkieUK.

 

[goma]

Welcome to RS!! Sounds like you are off to a great start! Here's a chart showing how a typical cycle will proceed. Don't worry about the number of days listed as they can vary quite a bit based on a number of variables.

 

[goma]

This is a good article that breaks the myths about "Bogus Information" that runs rampant at times.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2009-04/newbie/index.php

 

[forestal]

Welcome to reef sanctuary ! A great spot and look forward to watching your tank progress

 

[jaws789832]

thanks for all the info thus far. Ya'll have been a great help

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Great advise from everyone ^

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

 

Start a new tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along - we love pics

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

Hi Jaws,

Welcome to the hobby and RS!!

There are only two things you need to tweek with your plan which the friendly people of RS have already stated, so good luck, all the best and I look forward to reading your chronicle and following your journey.(with plenty of pics)

Just to stimulate some conversation, do you have a plan on what your going to stock the tank with once your cycle has taken its course?

There are plenty of others out there

 

[yorkieUK]

Livecock,
This is a fantastic chart for any newbie to sort out the compatibility of different species within the tank.
This kind of information is invaluable to help us start right and keep on the right track from day one.
Thanks for sharing it.
YorkieUK.

 

[jaws789832]

I was planning on :
1 clownfish
1 clown goby or green coral goby (if I can find them)
1 orchid Dottyback (wife wanted a purple fish LOL)
and 1 6 line wrasse if I can swing it
4 fish in that little tank might be pushing it but we will see how it goes.

As for coral I am still in the research process of that. Being brand new and the limitations of my tank its been kinda hard to figure out what I want and what my tank can support.

My skimmer (just a cheepie stock nano cube skimmer) should come in in about a week. Any suggestions on a UV sterilizer? They make a cheap inline one for the cube, was thinking about getting it, figured it couldn't hurt. Are they worth it? does it do anything? Some books say every tank should have one and others say don't bother (kinda like most things with this hobby LOL).

hehehehe Like everyone said though, I shoulda went big. I am already starting to say wish I just woulda put the money into a bigger tank with a sump and fuge. We are having a lot of fun just staring into a tank full of rocks. cant wait until I actually get something living in there (but I will LOL)
Thanks again for the help and that chart is awesome. Way easier to read than the one I had.

 

[ziggy]

I was planning on :
1 clownfish
1 clown goby or green coral goby (if I can find them)
1 orchid Dottyback (wife wanted a purple fish LOL)
and 1 6 line wrasse if I can swing it
4 fish in that little tank might be pushing it but we will see how it goes.

As for coral I am still in the research process of that. Being brand new and the limitations of my tank its been kinda hard to figure out what I want and what my tank can support.

My skimmer (just a cheepie stock nano cube skimmer) should come in in about a week. Any suggestions on a UV sterilizer? They make a cheap inline one for the cube, was thinking about getting it, figured it couldn't hurt. Are they worth it? does it do anything? Some books say every tank should have one and others say don't bother (kinda like most things with this hobby LOL).

hehehehe Like everyone said though, I shoulda went big. I am already starting to say wish I just woulda put the money into a bigger tank with a sump and fuge. We are having a lot of fun just staring into a tank full of rocks. cant wait until I actually get something living in there (but I will LOL)
Thanks again for the help and that chart is awesome. Way easier to read than the one I had.

I'm not a fan of UV as it does not prevent or cure anything but merely reduce the likelyhood.
It has cons:
adds heat
cost of replacing tube
uses electricity
tube must be cleaned frequently
is completely useless if your flow exceeds its recommended flow window

 

[ziggy]

with ur small tank, and the large amount of fish you want to put in, it's going to be ever so important you do it slowly so your tank bacteria adjusts for the bio load.
I recommend 1 fish a month so things stabilize and you check for stable params

 

[Mr.Reeefer]

Nice mate, good luck!!

Just remember in this hobby you usually get what you pay for

UV sterilizer is up to you, I think small frequent water changes is good once your tank is fully cycled and stocked, and RO water

 

[saltfan]

welcome...nice start, looking forward to some pics.

 

[jaws789832]

OK live rock has been in the tank for 5 days now.
temp 74.3 and staying steady
PH 8
ammonia 8+ppm
nitrite 1ppm
nitrate 20 ppm
salinity (sp) 26ppt 1.020 using refrec
1.022 using hydrometer
mg 1600
dkh 10.9
cq 390

does all this sound about right? also is there a way to raise ph without raising alkalinity?

 

[goma]

Your tank is very young and has not finished cycling yet, so don't chase numbers. The only thing I would do right now is work to raise your salinity to 35ppt

 

[ziggy]

Yes as GOMA has said, you'll see your numbers change daily so it's better not to chase them till you cycle completes.
Salinity at the end needs to be at 1.025

Glad to see your ammonia start to spike.

Do not do any water changes until ammonia and nitrites both stay at 0

Did you throw in a raw deli shrimp?