Brand new tank, a few noob questions

atschultz1 · 10/07/2013, 07:35 PM

Greetings,

Background: First off, this is my first post on RC as well as my first hobby related post. I am new, and I mean NEW to this hobby. My wife and I decided to get into the hobby recently. I have a 29g tank with about 25 pounds of rock (LR and Dead Base Rock Mix). I have a MarineLand Emperor 280 Filter and 2 Maxi-Jet 400 Powerheads running. We added Bacteria and We've also added a Scooter Blenny to help with the ammonia part of the cycle following drtimsaquatics standpoint on adding fish right away for the cycle, which I've now heard isn't the best way to go. Either way, the fish is in...This is the 4th day of the tank being up and running and as expected, the Nitrite levels are rising. Everything else seems optimal.

The Questions:

1) I intend to do weekly 10% water changes beginning immediately but should I do water changes on the spot if the levels call for it? (i.e. Nitrite raising to 1.0-3.0 ppm, or, the Stress level on the tester chart)

2) Running only my filter and 2 powerheads, will that be enough to sustain life properly or do I need to seriously consider adding stuff like Skimmers, Sumps, or Refugiums? --this is easily the most difficult for me to decide/execute.

3) Should I remove the "stock" filter inserts from the Emperor 280 and put fragmented rock in there as I have seen in some posts?

That's all I've got at the moment. I appreciate any advice and am excited to be getting into this hobby.

acabgd · 10/07/2013, 07:38 PM

You should measure ammonia which is the stuff that actually kicks off your cycle. You should not make water changes during cycle. You should not cycle with fish (but you already know that). And finally, you should get rid of that fake skull.

Reefmedic79 · 10/07/2013, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atschultz1

Greetings,
The Questions:

1) I intend to do weekly 10% water changes beginning immediately but should I do water changes on the spot if the levels call for it? (i.e. Nitrite raising to 1.0-3.0 ppm, or, the Stress level on the tester chart)

2) Running only my filter and 2 powerheads, will that be enough to sustain life properly or do I need to seriously consider adding stuff like Skimmers, Sumps, or Refugiums? --this is easily the most difficult for me to decide/execute.

3) Should I remove the "stock" filter inserts from the Emperor 280 and put fragmented rock in there as I have seen in some posts?

That's all I've got at the moment. I appreciate any advice and am excited to be getting into this hobby.

1. I too don't believe in water changes during a cycle, but being that there is already a fish in the tank, I would start doing them weekly regardless of the measured water parameters.

2. The powerheads you have are enough to sustain life in terms of oxygen exchange and flow for future corals, dependent on the species. Because of your experience, and the small size of your tank, adding a skimmer, a refugium, a sump or a combination of all will make keeping the tank a little easier in the long run. The skimmer and fuge would be the easiest to implement, IMO, as you can just purchase hang on the back varieties.

3. Keep everything in the powerfilter for now and replace the carbon every 30 days or so and you should be fine.

atschultz1 · 10/09/2013, 05:41 PM

My ammonia levels have been .25 for the last few days straight.Thanks for the advice! Although I can appreciate the purist approach to keeping the reef tank natural, the skull is here to stay lol.

ViktorVaughn · 10/09/2013, 08:47 PM

I was going to say the same, if you like the skull keep it. Unless of course it is made of some sort of non-friendly aquarium plastic or other material. As for the filtration, I have a 40 gallon breeder with limited room under the tank and didn't want to try and squeeze a sump under it so I have a HOB skimmer and have a HOB refugium on the way. I just added a black background on the back wall and it blocks out all the power cords and most of the skimmers body. Look into the Reef Octopus HOB skimmers, that is the brand I went with and so far I am very happy. Very little break in period and it pulls some nice skimmate from the tank.

SpartaReef · 10/09/2013, 09:35 PM

You need to do as much research as possible...

10/09/2013, 05:41 PM	#4
atschultz1 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: ND Posts: 12	Thanks for the help My ammonia levels have been .25 for the last few days straight.Thanks for the advice! Although I can appreciate the purist approach to keeping the reef tank natural, the skull is here to stay lol.

10/07/2013, 07:38 PM	#2
acabgd Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Belgrade Posts: 1,086	You should measure ammonia which is the stuff that actually kicks off your cycle. You should not make water changes during cycle. You should not cycle with fish (but you already know that). And finally, you should get rid of that fake skull.

10/09/2013, 08:47 PM	#5
ViktorVaughn Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Aurora, CO Posts: 619	I was going to say the same, if you like the skull keep it. Unless of course it is made of some sort of non-friendly aquarium plastic or other material. As for the filtration, I have a 40 gallon breeder with limited room under the tank and didn't want to try and squeeze a sump under it so I have a HOB skimmer and have a HOB refugium on the way. I just added a black background on the back wall and it blocks out all the power cords and most of the skimmers body. Look into the Reef Octopus HOB skimmers, that is the brand I went with and so far I am very happy. Very little break in period and it pulls some nice skimmate from the tank.

10/09/2013, 09:35 PM	#6
SpartaReef Registered Member. Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Sparta, Wisconsin Posts: 783	You need to do as much research as possible...