New to the world of saltwater reef aquariums! and boy do I have a lot of questions

nick0604 · 10/24/2011, 01:12 PM

So, I just started a 20 gallon saltwater aquarium. I added 30lbs of aragonite, 25lbs of live fiji rock that is currently helping the tank get cycled. I have a 100w heater, aquaclear 70 and an airstone to circulate water. A few questions I have been considering, it is almost at the end of day 1 and ammonia is at .25, nitrites are at 0 and ph is 8.2 or 8.3. Temp is around 77 degrees, specific gravity is 1.027. Okay now for my questions, how long will it take the tank to cycle? When should I add my 50/50 65 watt compact fluorescent light? And how often should I do water changes to cycle the tank? Thanks.

crankbait · 10/24/2011, 01:29 PM

Hey Nick im no expert but from the 4 months ive been reading on this very subject i can tell you the www has a zillion places you can find this. start at the stickies in this forum. also youtube has some good stuf. i recommend the bulk reef supply videos series on starting a tank

greech · 10/24/2011, 01:35 PM

There is really no telling how fast a tank will cycle. It all depends on the status of your rock when you got it. If you took rock out of an established tank you probably won't see much (if any) cycle versus uncured rock that can take weeks/months to cure. With the 0.25 ammonia reading, it sounds like there is at least some die off. I think a month is a good estimate to start but testing is really the only way to know for sure a tank is cycled. Maybe throw in a table shrimp to jump start the cycle. No need to do a water change IMO until ammonia and nitrites peak and fall and you are left with nitates. Lighting can be added at any time.

michaelr · 10/24/2011, 02:54 PM

+1 to greech. also if the live rock was bought online then there inevitably will be die off even with pre cured live rock just because of the travel to your house.

GuySmily · 10/24/2011, 03:25 PM

Won't light just allow algae to grow on top of all the stuff already happening in the tank? I thought I read somewhere that I shouldn't add my light until I needed creatures that rely on it.

That said, I had some clove polyps that I assume only survived because there was at least some ambient light in my tank, plus we DID turn our lights on when we were looking at the live rock. We spent several hours a day looking for hitchhikers. (And we did get algae growth, which was good food for our new snails, though it took them a week or two just to clear off the front glass)

stevek480 · 10/24/2011, 05:23 PM

Algae is going to happen on a new tank regardless. Might as well start off with light for a few hours a day so at least you have something to look at for the first month.

hollister · 10/24/2011, 05:51 PM

The air stone is useless. Salt water gets its DS , disolved oxygen from a gas exchange at the surface. So you want good steady water movement and plenty of open areas to do this. Think of the water as it is , a living and breathing thing. Let it cycle for 3 to 4 weeks. there's beneficial bacteria in the water you cant see but is very important , we want this population to grow. This is alo why we make changes slowly. Add stock little by little and whene you do water changes add the new batch slowly.

You can get a good tank with minimal effort if done slow and you have the basics down.

10/24/2011, 01:12 PM	#1
nick0604 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 18	New to the world of saltwater reef aquariums! and boy do I have a lot of questions So, I just started a 20 gallon saltwater aquarium. I added 30lbs of aragonite, 25lbs of live fiji rock that is currently helping the tank get cycled. I have a 100w heater, aquaclear 70 and an airstone to circulate water. A few questions I have been considering, it is almost at the end of day 1 and ammonia is at .25, nitrites are at 0 and ph is 8.2 or 8.3. Temp is around 77 degrees, specific gravity is 1.027. Okay now for my questions, how long will it take the tank to cycle? When should I add my 50/50 65 watt compact fluorescent light? And how often should I do water changes to cycle the tank? Thanks.

10/24/2011, 01:35 PM	#3
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	There is really no telling how fast a tank will cycle. It all depends on the status of your rock when you got it. If you took rock out of an established tank you probably won't see much (if any) cycle versus uncured rock that can take weeks/months to cure. With the 0.25 ammonia reading, it sounds like there is at least some die off. I think a month is a good estimate to start but testing is really the only way to know for sure a tank is cycled. Maybe throw in a table shrimp to jump start the cycle. No need to do a water change IMO until ammonia and nitrites peak and fall and you are left with nitates. Lighting can be added at any time. __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

10/24/2011, 02:54 PM	#4
michaelr Young Reefer Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Missouri Posts: 507	+1 to greech. also if the live rock was bought online then there inevitably will be die off even with pre cured live rock just because of the travel to your house. __________________ I wish there was an undo button on reef keeping Current Tank Info: 55 long and 28 gallon biocube

10/24/2011, 05:23 PM	#6
stevek480 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Flemington, NJ Posts: 605	Algae is going to happen on a new tank regardless. Might as well start off with light for a few hours a day so at least you have something to look at for the first month. __________________ 125g Mixed Reef w/ 40g Sump. 2x Reef Breeders Photon 32. MSX200 skimmer.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Reef Aquarium 1350 gallons in Bucharest	andytripa	Large Reef Tanks	693	09/04/2014 12:26 AM
Looking for a reef club in Upstate/Albany NY area	Psirex	Announcements	6	10/10/2012 02:10 PM
Help A Newbie - New Tank Questions	jrlevins	New to the Hobby	17	06/05/2011 07:32 PM

10/24/2011, 01:29 PM	#2
crankbait Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Tulsa ok Posts: 180	Hey Nick im no expert but from the 4 months ive been reading on this very subject i can tell you the www has a zillion places you can find this. start at the stickies in this forum. also youtube has some good stuf. i recommend the bulk reef supply videos series on starting a tank

10/24/2011, 03:25 PM	#5
GuySmily Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: El Dorado Hills Posts: 181	Won't light just allow algae to grow on top of all the stuff already happening in the tank? I thought I read somewhere that I shouldn't add my light until I needed creatures that rely on it. That said, I had some clove polyps that I assume only survived because there was at least some ambient light in my tank, plus we DID turn our lights on when we were looking at the live rock. We spent several hours a day looking for hitchhikers. (And we did get algae growth, which was good food for our new snails, though it took them a week or two just to clear off the front glass)

10/24/2011, 05:51 PM	#7
hollister Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 2,037	The air stone is useless. Salt water gets its DS , disolved oxygen from a gas exchange at the surface. So you want good steady water movement and plenty of open areas to do this. Think of the water as it is , a living and breathing thing. Let it cycle for 3 to 4 weeks. there's beneficial bacteria in the water you cant see but is very important , we want this population to grow. This is alo why we make changes slowly. Add stock little by little and whene you do water changes add the new batch slowly. You can get a good tank with minimal effort if done slow and you have the basics down.