Newbie to SW

C

CSCULTHO

Reefing newb
I am new to SW and this forum. I would appreciate it if somebody could explain to me in a "nut shell" what to expect during the cycling process? I just got my tank up and running within the past 3 days and I dont want any surprises. As of today I have brown algae growing on my live rock and want to know if this is ok? My setup is:

125gal
auqualight pro
supper skimmer
live sand
50lbs of live rock
refugium w/live mud
& 3 schooling fish to assist the cycling process.

Thanks for your help. :bowdown:
 
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Read Helpful Articles

If you visit the helpful articles and read the 1st page of threads, then the ones identified for water parameters, cycling etc. you will get a pretty good idea of the process that will occur, how to deal with the brown algae, what causes it, and where to go from here. welcome to the forum. after you spend some time reading the articles come back to your thread here and post any questions you may still have. nice size system. you will have some fun with that one. happy fishin
 
jhnrb said:
If you visit the helpful articles and read the 1st page of threads, then the ones identified for water parameters, cycling etc. you will get a pretty good idea of the process that will occur, how to deal with the brown algae, what causes it, and where to go from here. welcome to the forum. after you spend some time reading the articles come back to your thread here and post any questions you may still have. nice size system. you will have some fun with that one. happy fishin
Click to expand...
Besides the topic of insterest JHNRB has provided us with alot of great info in the articles section.Time permitting you should reead all that is there to help you along with your new hobbie
 
All the articles are of great help and information!! I believe the biggest mistake I have made during the cycling process is leave the aqualight pro light on for 9 hrs a day. I have since turned it off and will keep it off until my cycle process is complete. I have the skimmer running full blast and all the water levels appear to be in check at this point in the cycle process. Now my question for the experts, now that I have eliminated one of the (3) contributors to my brown algae will it now slowly disappear or do I need to get some janitors in the next couple of weeks to help me out?
 
Start With A Half Dozen Snails And Build Your Cleanup Crew Slowly But Give A Short Break Of A Week Between Additions And Only Add As Needed Do Not Over Stock Cleanup Crew As When The Food Is Gone They Will Not Survive And That Contributes To The Bioload Also. If You Have Live Rock And Any Coraline Algae Starting You Will Need Some Light To Keep Things Going. As Long As There Is Food Or Decay You Will Have Fuel For The Algae. You Can Do Water Changes To Lower The Nitrates And You Must Check Your Silicates And Phosphates. Once The Food Source Is Depleted The Algae Should Start To Subside With The Help Of A Few Clean Up Members. Keep Us Posted.
 
Is it ok to do water changes during the cycle process? If so, do I just replace water or do I clean the live sand? What percentage of water would I replace? :grumble:
 
You can do water changes during the cycle process but it will most likely prolong the cycle process. sorry after reading my post i realized i did not point that out. once you reach 0 ammonia, nitrites then you do your water changes to lower the nitrates unless they are very high say over 40ppm then you may want to do a 50% water change and wait it out or add a nitrate sponge/filter( either a nitrate reactor, or, there are nitrate pads available for short term correction). hope this helps. good luck.
 
Please tell me if this is weird or not. I have been in the middle of cycling my tank for now 8 days and I did a reading today and found that my ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all reading zero and my pH is between 8.0-8.2. Is this strange for 8 days? All of my tests I use need to be interpreted by color cards but the last I checked I'm not color blind?? :grumble:
 
This is not uncommon with live rock and no or very little bio load. just means that your system has the needed bacteria to cope with the current bio load. you will need to monitor for another week and if no reading, you can start slowly adding animals, but slowly, by starting with your clean up crew and then to corals and fish(actually if you have algae you can start your clean up crew now. wait at least a week to 10 days between additions and test for tank cycling every 3 days to see when you get a reading. once you start to experiance a reading by new additon you need to really slow down on additons and wait at least 2 weeks between additions and only if ammonia and nitrites are at 0 which goes anytime you make additions if there is any reading at all do not add until you reach 0. also if nitrates register, you will need to establish a water change maitenance program to keep nitrates under control. (nitrates of concern if over 20ppm for fish only and 5ppm for reef hope this helps.
 
I added my janitors today. 5 turbo snails, 2 emerald crabs, 8 blue legged crabs?? and a 5 legged picker bush looking thing (brown). This may be a dumb question but do I need to feed them anything other than the algae which grows in the tank?? :question:
 
1-snails- do not need to be fed as long as there is sufficient algae to be had.
2-Emerald Crabs-Mostly herbivorous on algae, but also preys on small animals and will scavenge aquarium foods. (occasional feeding of small amounts of squid, shrimp, fish meat, etc. say 3 times a week and very little do not feed the tank/ feed the crab)
3-Blue legged crabs-will scavenge on most aquarium foods. Prefers meaty items and will prey on many smaller animals. same as #2 above.
4-5 legget picker bush thing??? I do not have a clue what that is. sorry cant help with that.

(as a recommendation in the future lean more twards the snails. you can use several different kinds. crabs are always risky in a reef system but will be ok in a fish only system as long and you do not have a fish with a taste for crab meat.) keep us posted on your progress and enjoy. happy fishin
 
I plan on adding several corals and few fish. Would you say it is a big risk to have emerald crabs and hermits with my corals? What is your experience with these types of crabs? What does your tank consist of?
 
My tank will not have any emerald crabs only a couple hermits if that. crabs and corals do not mix. I recommend using a combination of different snails, and fish to control the algae and waste. just my two cents.
 
what animal will eat all the turbo snail poop? I seem to be generating alot of it ever since I got them?? :grumble: :question:
 
It will naturally break down, all you need do is lightly and not too agressively stir the top 1/4 to 1/2 inch of substrait to keep things in suspension and your filtration will pick things up. bacteria, and others will consume or break down the excretions. as you nitrates increase when the bacteria bed is established you can control nitrates with water changes.
 
Detritus consumers should clean it up, but, I do not see the neccessity to clean up the snail pellets. once your system is cycled and the bacteria established it will decompose fairly rapidly. I dont recommend it and it is not suitable for everyone due to the risks involved, but, I use sea cucumbers of the holothurin species. also you can add more ceriths snails. hope this helps.
 
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