I Need some help

[Rellikdloc]

Ok i am very new to all this. Been doin alot of research and im just not sure what to do next. I have my 28g Nano Cube up and running, all vitals ( salinity, gravity, temp, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, ph ) seem to be good. I have 14lb of live rock and about 5-7lb of i guess you call it dead rock and some Ocean Direct Carribean Live sand in it. The rocks i just put in about 2 days ago. Ive had the sand and water and tank running for a week now. Now im just wondering what i should do next. Should i go get a hardy damselfish to start the cycle? Should i get a protein skimmer 1st? If so what kind? Should i wait a little bit for the rock? Or i am just missing something all together. Plz Help! thx:question:

 

[Kazarko]

you may eventually want more rock in that tank. I recommend a skimmer when you get fish in the tank.. do you have waterflow or lights yet? Fish in the tank or some waste decay will both produce ammonia for the cycle, the live rock helps.

 

[Rellikdloc]

do you have waterflow or lights yet? Fish in the tank or some waste decay will both produce ammonia for the cycle, the live rock helps.

yea i have lights and waterflow

 

[ErinCahir]

You really shouldn't cycle with fish. You can throw in some food or even a table shrimp to kickstart your cycle. And unless you want to deal with a big bully in your tank, you should stay away from damsels.

 

[Bifferwine]

I agree, pass on using a fish to cycle. Instead, add a pinch of fish food and let it rot. The waste the food produces is the same as the waste a fish would produce.

 

[Rellikdloc]

How often do the cycles occur?

 

[ErinCahir]

Most of us experience them just at the beginning (just the one). But I know you can start "mini cycles" from stirring up you sandbed too much, among other things.

 

[carter]

slow and steady is your best bet dont try to rush things its just a waste of time
just sit back breath and waitfor the day you get to sit in front of your tank full of fish eating fishsticks its totally worth it.

 

[Bifferwine]

Ideally, you won't ever have another cycle after you initially set up your tank. But as it has been mentioned, things can set off a new cycle, like messing around with your rocks or sand, or if some food gets dumped in the tank accidentally, or if you overstock.

 

[Rellikdloc]

slow and steady is your best bet dont try to rush things its just a waste of time
just sit back breath and waitfor the day you get to sit in front of your tank full of fish eating fishsticks its totally worth it.

yea i dont wanna rush and waste my time and $$$, its def hard tho, its exciting :)

Thank you for the the help all. Im sure i will have more questions, this stuff gets confusing for me sometimes.

 

[ErinCahir]

This site is a great reference to have!
And I forgot to tell you before... but welcome!

 

[Rellikdloc]

yes it is, im glad i found it :)

 

[BL1]

Since you put your rock in the tank after you had added the sand, I would suggest (while it's still safe to disturb the sand bed) that you make sure your rocks are laying on/touching the bottom glass on your tank. If you just put the rocks on top of the sand some fish or invert will start burrowing under your rocks cause a rock slide and possibly cause a flood on your floor.

If you are planning on adding a skimmer, I would suggest you look at the Tunze 9002. It's IMO the best skimmer you will find for the nano cube but, it's also not 100% necessary for a tank this size.

 

[rdahlke1105]

You can almost go skimmerless if you use the chemi-pure elite, phosban and purigen in the back chambers. If you have questions on what I am talking about I have pictures of the containers in my build thread.

https://www.livingreefs.com/and-begins-jbj-nano-cube-28-gallon-led-t31109.html

 

[little_fish]

You can almost go skimmerless if you use the chemi-pure elite, phosban and purigen in the back chambers. If you have questions on what I am talking about I have pictures of the containers in my build thread.

https://www.livingreefs.com/and-begins-jbj-nano-cube-28-gallon-led-t31109.html

Actually you dont need any of those if you want to run skimmerless. Just keep up with water changes, feed frozen food (and dont overfeed) and dont over stock you tank.

In my opinion, the less you use those things the much better your tank is going to be. Less chance of creating a disaster.

 

[rdahlke1105]

This information came from the individuals who run the JBJ nanos over on nano-reefs.

 

[little_fish]

I guess everyone has their own way of running their reef, but i try and stay away from extra chemicals.

 

[Rellikdloc]

ok so i was reading a thread and the guy said he was new and just bought abunch of live rock and was wondering why his cycle hadnt startd, some1 answerd him and said he might not have a cycle at all. So now im wondering if mine is goin to cycle or not, and if not should i try and make it cycle?

 

[Bifferwine]

You can often skip the cycle if you use fully cured and mature live rock. If you think you are skipping the cycle, try adding a bit of fish food to the tank. If your parameters don't go up, then you probably won't see a cycle.

 

[PRC]

The best advice I could give a new reefer is use the "sticky's" that are located in most of the topics. They're at the top after you open a specific topic. And then, before you purchase anything for your tank whether it be fish or equipment post a thread on the forum. Generally somebody will answer within a couple of minutes at the most.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.