Critical decisions: Important to understand what the Issue is:
1. Acclimation: is almost totally about salinity. Equalizing the temperature can be done with a 15 minute float of the still-sealed bag under most circumstances. That is less critical than a salinity match.
a. It is safer to jump DOWN in salinity than up.
b. It is not safe to raise salinity more than .002 at a go.

2. cycling: is all about ammonia. Which is what you DON'T want. Clean water is ALWAYS...

CYANO: how to fix it.
Cyanobacteria AKA cyano is not an algae. It's a bacterial sheet. It's red or brown (according to your lighting) and it has oxygen bubbles in it. This stuff is ancient and ubiquitous (everywhere). It gave Earth its oxygen after the Permian Extinction (before the rock that got the dinos). It is the foundation of the photosynthesis of all green plants.

So forget trying to avoid it. It's probably in every house and pond on the planet.

Every...

Snails first for four weeks, then fish: bullet-proof set-up.
There's this notion that's gotten started that the goal line for finishing the cycle is to drop a fish in.

I recommend you get your fish, yes, but put him in a quarantine tank.
At the same time, get a handful of micro hermits (scarlets are my favorite) and appropriate snails and put THEM into your main tank. And get your refugium (fuge) going if you're going to set one up.

Have your lights and...

How often to test: informational.
I admit I'm compulsive.

But first of all, I want a test that doesn't go 'green' or 'sorta green yellow.' I want numbers. I want exact numbers.

I recommend a logbook, especially for beginners. In this you write down the date and every test result. This becomes a valuable record over time. You can look back over a year and see changes. You can hand the book to a tanksitter you've taught to test, and say: run these tests---if the...

Does QT stress a fish? Informational.
Putting a fish into a tank with sand and rock---vs putting them into a bare glass qt.

Does it bother them?

Not as much as you'd think. What are a fish's priorities?
1. a place to hide that's not *owned* by someone who's going to kill him.
2. a place that's fairly dimly lit.
3. being able to breathe for a while without being chased
4. a place generally free of politics and bigger fish...remember...