Thoughts - Plans - Questions - The new-guy post

[JeF4y]

Well, after lurking for a week & reading pretty much everything I can, I figured I should probably say HI and ask a few questions, etc.

We're brand new to saltwater anything, and are looking to ease into things, keeping it simple and successful (hopefully).

Where we're at today is all in the signature. I suppose it won't benefit anyone for me to type it out again.

Right now we simply have 30# of fully cured liverock in the tank (as well 30# crushed coral). It's been there for about a week now. There has been no remarkable spike in ammonia or any of the other levels, but everything on the liverock seems to be doing well.

There are some tiny shrimp in the tank from the rock, as well as some very small snails, and what I guess are tube-worms.

Our ultimate goal is to have some LPS corals and a pair of clownfish and a mandarin blenny (and the obligatory CUC).

Our thought/gameplan is to add a few (3) corals and a CUC at the same time, likely late this week.

And after that sits for a month or so, start adding the fish.

Questions...

1. Is this a reasonable plan? Is there any reason I should not add Corals & CUC at the same time? If so, which should be in first?

2. Regarding CUC, I would like to get a cleaner shrimp, a peppermint shrimp, and assorted other critters, but I don't exactly know what is reasonable for this tank or my fish goals. Thoughts?

3. We have a small spot (about the size of a nickel) of clear algae that appeared on a piece of liverock. At this point I'm not overly concerned about it and figured the CUC would snack on it, but is this something I should worry about further?

Well, that should cover it for now. Thank you all for your replies in advance...

Cheers.

-Jeff

 

[Reddog170]

First off I want to say welcome to RS. I think you would be wise to wait just a bit before adding anything. You said that you have not had a spike in the ammonia yet. The first thing you will have in your cycle is a spike in the ammonia followed by the nitrites then nitrates (witch you will have to do water changes to get rid of). Also did you add anything to "kick start" the cycle? I would put in a deli shrimp (raw) just to get it going. If your tank is indeed cycled then you will have a small ammonia spike then a small nitrite spike then a nitrate spike all pretty quick and done with in a short time. You just do not want to rush and end up killing off anything that you put in. Also what corals are you planning on? For starters I would go with things like Candy Canes, Leathers, and the like as they are easy care. Also with LPS calcium may be an issue in a small tank, depending on your water change scheduling. Everything we do anymore is rush rush rush. In this hobby everything is take it slow and easy. Best of luck and keep us posted, Shaun

 

[lcstorc]

Welcome to RS!
Have you added anything to kick off the cycle? If not, that is the next thing you need to do. Put in a piece of shrimp from the deli or any piece of raw seafood. When it starts to decompose it will create amonia which is the start of the cycle.
At that point you will want to monitor the cycle. You will see amonia rise and fall followed by nitrites followed by nitrates. Once the amonia and nitrites are 0 then it is time to do water changes to reduce the nitrates. Then you are ready to add your CUC.
If you haven't seen the levels spike then you have not had a cycle. If you add livestock now the tank will cycle with the livestock.
As far as adding the corals, I would wait until the tank is stable. Corals are more sensitive to changes in chemistry and every time you add livestock you are going to have a small spike.
I wouldn't worry about the algae for now. There will be a number of algae spikes at the beginning of a new tank and they are just part of the process.
Hope that helps.

 

[JeF4y]

Thanks folks, I appreciate the input.

How long should I leave the deli shrimp in? (yes, I'm sure the answer is "until the ammonia spikes & drops", any idea on timeframe of that process?)

For starter corals we were considering Trumpets, Zoa's & leathers. Still undecided, but that's what we like so far & seem reasonable for conditions.

(and for the record, I have to say that the whole "deli shrimp" thing is bizarre & almost unsettling. I haven't read anything about this in any book we've picked up on reef aquariums, and the LFS of course makes no mention of it. The only place I see it is online, and the amount of conflicting information everywhere is enough to drive a person insane. -- whew, got that off my chest! :shades: )

 

[lcstorc]

The deli shrimp basically replaces the cycling with damsels that people did for years. The bacteria just needs a source of amonia to get started and it is just more humane to use the piece of shrimp than to stress/kill the fish going through the cycle.
Actually, you don't need to wait that long on the shrimp. Once the amonia has gone up significantly it has done it's job so you can throw the stinky thing away. Generally it takes a couple of days or a week at most with the shrimp.
I would hold off on the trumpets for the start but either zoas or a leather would be a good starter coral. Another good one to start with is mushrooms. Trumpets would just be a bit more difficult but not out of the question.
I completely understand about the conflicting info. There is a lot out there. The one thing I would caution you about, is taking the advice of the LFS. They make money off of selling you things so it is generally not in their best interest for you to succeed. The more livestock and equipment they can sell you, the better.

 

[JeF4y]

The one thing I would caution you about, is taking the advice of the LFS.

ROFL... The LFS said (and I quote) "Stay OFF the forums! The nutjobs there will tell you to pee in your tank to cycle it"

I understand both sides (I run several large motorcycle oriented forums, so I understand the good/bad/ugly advice that can come from them).

Right now I'm not all that keen on the LFS after telling them "Look, I'm not interested in cutting corners to save money only to spend more later" and having them turn around and sell me a rio 600 pump which pushed my tank over 80 degrees because of the huge motor on it... Pulled that out, shelved it and bought the koralia with better mounting, better flow at 1/3 the motor current (temps dropped below 80).

Thanks for bearing with me..

(and I will say that I see your logic in the method, and have a bit more trust in site staff with +20,000 posts..)

-Jeff

 

[Jeremy0322]

Welcome to RS! I only have one thing I would like to throw in, but is there a reason why you are using crushed coral? It can be a pain in the butt down the road, it loves trapping detritus.

 

[JeF4y]

Welcome to RS! I only have one thing I would like to throw in, but is there a reason why you are using crushed coral? It can be a pain in the butt down the road, it loves trapping detritus.

(how many times have you heard this)

Because that's what the LFS recommended & sold me :scram:

 

[Jeremy0322]

You can use it, some people really like it, its just really hard to keep clean. There is a reason you dont really see too many AWESOME tanks with crushed coral. I would say take it out and replace it with sand, it will look more natural and stay much cleaner.

 

[JeF4y]

honestly, we probably got into this at a bad time as we're anticipating moving within the next year. However, at that time we will likely be going *MUCH* larger. So this is kinda the trial & error time.

Next tank will be done different for sure and will be done with sand.

 

[Jeremy0322]

There is nothing wrong with that, and you may find that you like the CC. First tanks are rough, you will get pulled everywhere about different ways to do everything, and its really hard to sift through all of that, but you will get the hang of it. My first tank was a 55, and I changed SO much when doing my new 90.

 

[lcstorc]

ROFL... The LFS said (and I quote) "Stay OFF the forums! The nutjobs there will tell you to pee in your tank to cycle it"

I understand both sides (I run several large motorcycle oriented forums, so I understand the good/bad/ugly advice that can come from them).

-Jeff

That is funny.
I have actually heard of using urine to cycle a tank though I certainly wouldn't do it. In theory you just need amonia from somewhere and urine certainly has amonia but that is certainly not a method I would try or encourage.
In some cases the LFS is telling you what they believe to be true but they operate on a different level than the average hobbiest. Things like the heat from the pump would not be noticed in their large systems while being a major issue in our smaller closed systems.
You really just have to take all of the advice and combine it with common sense. I'm one of those people who always asks why. Then I can decide if it makes sense to me or I can ask more questions etc.
BTW I love my Koralia power heads. That was a great choice.