Hello to all! I am new to the hobby but have been reading posts in forums for quite a while. I've seen where people rush things or don't do research and end up wasting money and fish so I have been trying to do the opposite. My first setup ever is a 46 gallon bowfront with black stand. I started with just water and sand, then purchased 50 pounds of dry rock from reefcleaners.org. My only means or circulation so far is a brand new marineland canister filter I purchased about a month ago. Perfect example of being uneducated and buying a product without doing the research. I had only had freshwater aquariums in my life, and just assumed that filters were a must have in all aquariums. Now I know the canister filters eventually do more harm than good in saltwater aquariums. So eventually that will get sold or traded. About 3 days ago I finally got a good quality piece of live rock from a LFS and placed it in my tank to seed my dry rock. And went ahead and threw in a raw shrimp to get my cycle started. I will be buying test strips today because my quality test kit will not be in for a week or so and I know I need to be monitoring my water while the shrimp is in there to see the ammonia spike and to know when the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates return to zero. Is there anything so far that I am overlooking or forgetting? I am going to careful about adding livestock so I plan to wait at least a month before adding any fish. I also would eventually like to try coral. My light is a 4X39 watt odyssea t-5. I know its not the best light out there, but it was farely priced and from the reviews I have read the company is making better products now. If I have any problems I will replace the ballasts and bulbs. But I figured this light would be sufficient for what I will be attempting. I have ordered 2 koralia 750 powerheads and will order more if needed. I haven't purchased a skimmer yet. But the one I will be purchasing is the SCAquariums 150. I have read very good reviews on these skimmers and they are really fair on prices. Sorry for the lengthy post but I am getting more excited by the day and needed to vent and ask the experts for advice! I was curious, will it hurt anything since I started seeding my dry rock and started my cycle on the same day? I didn't think about this being an issue at the time...Thanks in advance!
My progress so far!
- Thread starter txfan
- Start date
Smitty
Reef pro
Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard. Sounds like you've done your research, which is good to hear. You don't have to get rid if the canister if you don't want to, just keep it to run carbon and other chemical media in case of emergency in the future. Save your money on the test strips(they're unreliable), and just wait for the liquid kit to come. Oddysea does make a nice light fixture, I've had them in the past also, with great results with my corals. And there was no harm with adding the live rock with the base rocks, that's actually what you're supposed to do. Don't forget to post pics and start a tank thread so we can follow along with your progress. :)
marcah
Reef enthusiast
howdy and welcome to the site.. :D
research is always the best way to get into this hobby...
+1 smitty all looks good to get going, the odyssea lights have come a long way but like most fixtures the bulbs should be replaced. When you jump into corals I would change them out for a good set of bulbs like ATI's..
research is always the best way to get into this hobby...
+1 smitty all looks good to get going, the odyssea lights have come a long way but like most fixtures the bulbs should be replaced. When you jump into corals I would change them out for a good set of bulbs like ATI's..
Thats exactly what I plan on doing on the bulbs. I was also wondering if/when I replace the ballasts, is there any harm in upgrading to a higher rated set to increase my wattage? And the test kit I ordered was this one.
Aquarium Water Testing: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit
I also plan to add more rock. I will make another 50 pound order from reefcleaners but this time I will ask for smaller pieces (aprox half footballs) because the last box I got had large pieces in it. I think 100+ pounds should be enough for me. Also, I was very pleased with their service and product. I wish I would have had a scale because the box I got looked and felt like much more than 50 pounds. One thing that killed me was paying $50+ for one piece of live rock when I got SO much dry rock from RC for $105 shipped! But I knew it was mandatory so oh well. I knew when I started this that it wouldn't be cheap.
Aquarium Water Testing: Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit
I also plan to add more rock. I will make another 50 pound order from reefcleaners but this time I will ask for smaller pieces (aprox half footballs) because the last box I got had large pieces in it. I think 100+ pounds should be enough for me. Also, I was very pleased with their service and product. I wish I would have had a scale because the box I got looked and felt like much more than 50 pounds. One thing that killed me was paying $50+ for one piece of live rock when I got SO much dry rock from RC for $105 shipped! But I knew it was mandatory so oh well. I knew when I started this that it wouldn't be cheap.
little_fish
Moderator
Hello and Welcome!!
The wattage of the bulbs is set by length, so the only way to increase wattage is to have a fixture with more bulbs. But I have a 4 bulb fixture and with a nice set of bulbs I havent been too limited on corals.
The wattage of the bulbs is set by length, so the only way to increase wattage is to have a fixture with more bulbs. But I have a 4 bulb fixture and with a nice set of bulbs I havent been too limited on corals.
Ohhhh ok. Well thats good. I will just be trying the basic stuff for a while anyhow. My ultimate plan is for my 46 gallon to end up being my coral tank with a few fish. Then later on down the road get a large FOWLR tank for my living room. I have always been in love with puffers and lionfish and other aggressive fish. But they just don't fit with what I can offer them right now. I've always thought the puffers have so much personality! And they always look like they are smiling! How could you not love them?!
ErinCahir
Sausage Wrangler
Hello and welcome to the site!!
beeguiles
they call me fish geek ;p
Hello and welcome to the site. Looks like you are doing very well so far. Nice to see that you have done your research ahead of time.
clownfish cj
Reefing newb
Welcome to the site!
little_fish
Moderator
i think cloudy good is a pretty good discription :D
HA! So its a good thing right??
little_fish
Moderator
yep! you can actually pull the shrimp out now, its pretty well degraded
Ok so my test kit came in. I got the saltwater master test kit by API. Not sure if this is the most accurate, but I was pleased with the results! The shrimp was in the tank for almost a week and I haven't ran my lights at all. Here are my readings as of today at 5:00 p.m.
Ammonia- 0.5-1.0 ppm
Nitrite- 2.0-5.0 ppm
Nitrate- 5.0-10.0 ppm
PH- 8.0
SG-1.024
Temp-77.5
Some of them were hard to tell from one color to the next so that is why I listed both. Does any of this look odd? I have read the PH will change from morning to night. And also, how often should I test during the cycle? Daily? Thanks again!
Ammonia- 0.5-1.0 ppm
Nitrite- 2.0-5.0 ppm
Nitrate- 5.0-10.0 ppm
PH- 8.0
SG-1.024
Temp-77.5
Some of them were hard to tell from one color to the next so that is why I listed both. Does any of this look odd? I have read the PH will change from morning to night. And also, how often should I test during the cycle? Daily? Thanks again!
little_fish
Moderator
You can test daily or every other day, and your results look good for a cycling tank
Tested a few times this week and the numbers are still up! I didn't realize the spike would last this long but oh well. Today I also added 2 koralia 750's. I will probably add one or two more on down the line if need be. But it looks like i'll just be playing the waiting game some more!
marcah
Reef enthusiast
sounds like you are nearing the end of your cycle.. :D you may find you might want to add one more down the road but it wont be needed in the near future( if at all).. You are over 30 times per hour now so you can keep most corals you would want..
