New At This...Need A Little Help..

[jjisbell]

I have a 30g tank i just acquired and i want to set it up for S/W. I know i want LR, LS to start...In the end i want this tank to house a few small fish, and maybe a mushroom or 2..nothing too fancy. So far from reading a lot of different posts, I've figured I'd get a Protein Skimmer (size?) and (2) Koralia Nano Aquarium Pump 265GPH. Any other suggestions on what else i should get for the cycle period and for down the road when im ready to put a few fish in. My tank is 18 inches tall and 30 inches long. I would just like to know what YOU would do if your starting a 30 gallon tank the way i described how i want mine. When should i test the water? When to replace water? Do i need really need T5 lighting if all i want is a few fish and a mushroom or 2?..How do you cycle?..Leave everything except light running? I know all this is somewhere in past posts but there are ALOT of posts to go through and not many with my size tank..thanks for your help whoever replies!..

 

[andysgirl8800]

You may want to consider adding a sump and/or refugium to your setup. It will help with filtration. You could probably get away with PC lighting if you only want to keep mushrooms. Depending on how much live rock you intend on adding, I would also recommend bumping up your PHs to K1s, IMO. I would also recommend an RO/DI system. Never use tap water.

 

[wontonflip]

+1 andysgirl

Yeah my shrooms do well with just a regular flourscent...but that was on a 10g...they grew, but not as fast as I know they can. So a PC like andysgirl suggested would be good. A sump is not necessary, but it does help. I've gone sumpless before and I hated it. I was limited in the equipment I could use.

So first thing, obviously, to get the cycle rolling, you need to set it up :) You can use table shrimp to cycle the tank faster, and monitor your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels. Once ammonia and nitrites are 0ppm, your nitrates should be detectable, and you can do a water change and get your first fish!

And definitely do NOT use tap water!! No matter how clean you think your water is, it will always have stuff in there that will cause all sorts of problems down the road. Stick with ro/di or distilled.

Start off with just 1 or 2, so you don't overload your tank.

Welcome to the site!

 

[andysgirl8800]

Slow and steady....patience is absolutely KEY in this hobby. You're starting off right by asking lots of questions. We're happy to answer....even if they have already been asked many times. All we ask for in return......PHOTOS!! :D

 

[jjisbell]

I'm considering using a 3 section tank with a sump as my overflow yank i guess you'd call it lol.. I'm not really up to date on the abbrev. ya'll use..one day..one day! lol
I'll take alooot of pictures...I ask alot of questions a few times each cause i want to be 100% sue im doing it right..I'd rather be safe than sorry, especially since im the rookie here ;)

 

[parrotchute]

Not an expert on skimmers, so someone else might want to recommend one. You should have about 30-45 pounds of live rock - I wouldn't worry about live sand, the live rock will "seed" it and become live without the extra expense of buying live sand.

You can start testing it as soon as you add the live rock, and test it every day or to from there on out. You'll see ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites rise, then fall as the cycle completes itself. I'd then do about 20% water changes weekly on a tank that size. A small shrimp from the grocery store should be good enough to kick off the cycle.

 

[yote]

You've got some awesome advice there:D
But I will advise you to go ahead and get a good set of T-5s.You might want to with just a couple of small fish and some mushrooms.But I can just about guarantee that once you start,you'll want more.
BTW
Welcome to the site and THE most addictive hobby on earth.:D

 

[wontonflip]

Is that you in your avatar? Skydiving?