My first reef (90g)

[PoonTang]

Originally Posted by Rikotek

Well, the tank has been cycling for about a week now, I decided to take my first batch of measurements to see how things are progressing.

Temperature: 76

Salinity: 1.025 (added some water just now, trying to get it back to 1.023)

pH: 7.5 - I am told that my pH should always be above 8.1 I don't know yet if this is something remedied by the cycling process or if there is some sort of pH adjustment chemical/proceedure I need to use. If anyone knows that would be great!

Ammonia - 0.04 - Looks safe to me. I figured there would be more Ammonia this early in the cycle process but I guess it's going along better than I thought.

Nitrite - 0.0

All in all it looks like the cycling is going well but it is going to take a while longer before I begin to introduce any livestock or anything like that. Picking up some more rock from a coworker who got out of the hobby a while back. I will work on adding that and aquascaping until all of my levels read safe.

-Eric

Your ammonia reading will of course read really low because you have nothing that ads ammonia to your tank. You need to add ammonia to your tank to get your cycle started. Also your going to need atleast 1.5 pounds/Gal of LR for your tank. Tank will not be anywhere cycled after 1 week, this is going to take about 2 months. Dont worry about your algea outbreaks, they will come and go naturally as your tank progesses through the cycle.

[Rikotek]

I dodged a bullet yesterday with regards to a protein skimmer purchase.
I don't really need it yet but I have the budget for a cheap one so I figured I would get it out of the way.

I didn't do too much research as this was sort of an impulse buy online while at work but I put in an order for a Seaclone 100. I deciding, after I had placed my order *dumb*, to see what others thought of this model and the results were frightening. Luckily I was able to cancel the order before it shipped.

Does anyone know of a good, preferrably cheap, protien skimmer that I can 'set and forget' somewhat? I was looking at a couple of the AquaC Remora's that everyone seems to like but they are a fair amount more expensive. I will go with it if I have to but that may mean putting it off for a while.

[Dragonsteeth]

When i set up i used a Lee's in tank protein skimmer (needs air pump) for cheapness. It worked fine and did the job. I only upgraded it after 3 years to take my tank to the next level.
If you lived nearer you could have mine.
I only have a 33G tank so i dont know if you can find one for bigger but it might get you going.
Also, better to bite the bullet and get all your uncured live rock in there now so that when the cycle is done you are ready to go. Otherwise you will have to add cured rock at more expense each time unless you add one small piece of uncured each time.
This is the limit of my experience. More experienced auarists could give you better advice.

[Rikotek]

You know, I never even thought about an in tank model skimmer. When I mentioned it to some people over at Big Al's they said that they frequently get a lot of returns on those. I always take their advice with a grain of salt however as some of it has proven to be good but a lot seems to be just very strong personal preference.

I will look and see if I can find an in-tank unit that would work for 90g. That would be preferable as I do not have a sump (yet), and, when I set up my tank, I don't believe I left enough clearance for a HOB model (I only have about 3" from the wall live and learn I suppose)

[woodcarver]

keep the log going! Very interesting for us newbies

[Rikotek]

So last night was a big day, I bought a Remora HOB protien skimmer (it just barely fits behind my tank, damn me and my poor planning). I rinsed it with hot water to reduce the break in period and already it is generating a bit of foam and a tad bit of tea colored water.

Figured this called for a photo update. I swear that one day I will buy a camera to replace my broken one, but for now, its cell phone pictures :|



Haven't done a livestock update post yet, so here is whats in the tank. I don't plan on adding much else for a little while. I am going to let the tank age (and my wallet replenish) for a bit.

4 Clowns
10 Turbo Snails
10 Hermit Crabs
1 Zoo Frag

I put a sofa near the tank and it has become my favorite reading area in the house. I find the sound of the water to be very relaxing and I can just stare into the tank for hours. I can only imagine the effect it will have when it is fully matured with lots of healthy fish and corals

[michika]

Looking good!

[BCOrchidGuy]

Not trying to be critical just offering an opinion but you may want to add at least one more power head or a couple of small ones to move water around your rock etc... Any dead spots meaning low or no water flow and you'll see red algae show up. As for your skimmer I had one before and liked it but I added a wooden airstone and a small air pump and I liked it a lot better. If you keep your feedings down, and do water changes you should be fine with the skimmer as is.

Keep us posted as to how things are going.

Doug

[jslaney]

Thanks for posting your setup,

I am one step behind you in setting up my first Salt tank as well. I was thinking about the cycling process too, as I will soon be starting it.

Is it possible to cycle your tank with the lights off? I mean not indefinitely but once your live rock has been in there for three weeks you could then switch them on. It would probably reduce your chances of getting nuisance algae.

Its just rough to have all those nutrients floating around without being able to put in anything to eat the inevitable algae. Lights off mean no algae can grow right? Unfortunately neither can anything else. Might be worth it in the beginning though.

[Rikotek]

Originally Posted by BCOrchidGuy

Not trying to be critical just offering an opinion but you may want to add at least one more power head or a couple of small ones to move water around your rock etc... Any dead spots meaning low or no water flow and you'll see red algae show up. As for your skimmer I had one before and liked it but I added a wooden airstone and a small air pump and I liked it a lot better. If you keep your feedings down, and do water changes you should be fine with the skimmer as is.

Ah, that explains a lot! I have been noticing a bit of red algae showing up on the far end of the tank. It seems to be spreading a bit but I did not know if it was a bad thing or not (as it has yet to get out of control). Incidentally, that area of the tank is the area that has the least water circulation. I have an additional powerhead that I have been using for mixing new batches of saltwater, I will mount that on the other side of the tank. Perhaps if the currents from both sides of the tank collide somewhere in the middle I can reduce the likleyhood of this algae appearing futher?

As for the skimmer, it seems to be doing just fine so far, but if I run into troubles, I might just have to give your method a try

-Eric