[Uvajed]

My tank has been processing about 4 weeks now, all my levels but NO3's are zero, the NO3's are about 20 ppm. I haven't done any water changes, I've added sand about 3 weeks ago. Should I wait, or can I put in some cleaner critters? I can understand "WAIT", so, I am, but I really am chomping at the bit........

[spanko]

do a 10% water change than go ahead and add a small clean up crew. You did not tell us about your tank, size, lighting, amount of rock both live and base, amount of sand, lighting etc. this would help with a recommendation of clean up crew. Oh yeah how about some pictures too.

[hosser]

I was chomping at the bit too so I bought a couple blue legged hermits, no snails though. I will be getting a full clean up crew in another week or two. Hard to wait isnt it uvajed?

[nunch]

Yeah go ahead and get a crew especially snails they'll help out alot w/ your algae bloom. put em in early so the algae doesn't have a chance to get going. you might lose some if your tank isn't fully cycled but they're cheap. it sounds like your tank is cycled and ready for a water change, if so your golden.

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by spanko

do a 10% water change than go ahead and add a small clean up crew. You did not tell us about your tank, size, lighting, amount of rock both live and base, amount of sand, lighting etc. this would help with a recommendation of clean up crew. Oh yeah how about some pictures too.

Sorry, I have a 75 gallon tank. The lighting is the cheapo stuff that came with the tank. (I'll upgrade as needed) I have 90 pounds of Fiji rock, 80 pounds of fiji pink sand. My pic is my avatar.

I bought 5 blue legs and 5 red legs. Also picked up a couple extra shells. But, I think the shells might be too big, so, I'll look for some smaller ones.

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by hosser

I was chomping at the bit too so I bought a couple blue legged hermits, no snails though. I will be getting a full clean up crew in another week or two. Hard to wait isnt it uvajed?

I remember you were going to have a full reef in 3 days (well, not quite three days, but you should re-read your first couple posts, LOL!) I'm really happy you decided to take it slower. I waited 4 years to get a tank, so waiting isn't "THAT" bad, LOL! See my post above, I bought some crabs today. But, waiting is one of the hardest parts of this process.

I'm happy to say, my water is good, so, if all goes well, I'll pick up a couple chromis's next week.

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by nunch

Yeah go ahead and get a crew especially snails they'll help out alot w/ your algae bloom. put em in early so the algae doesn't have a chance to get going. you might lose some if your tank isn't fully cycled but they're cheap. it sounds like your tank is cycled and ready for a water change, if so your golden.

I don't have green algae bloom yet. I do have some brown algae falling off my rocks, but those crabs zeroed in and started attacking it right away.

I want to thank everyone for taking time and helping me. I really appreciate everyone's opinion. The gal at my LFS is great, she told me, don't buy this and that yet, let my tank cycle a little longer. I think I'm real fortunate to have this store from the stories I've read about experiences others face with their LFS.

So far, they've been real close to what I'm reading here. This is a HUGE bonus!

Uvajed

[nunch]

Awesome sounds like your on the right track. did u put any fish fish to start the cycling? To create a lil' bio-load?

[hosser]

I gave up a long time ago giving details on my tank because of responses like that. And all those I ask questions to will attest to my patience and diligence to find the correct way of doing things rather its their way or another way. I still feel the same as I did in the beggining and would have done so if I felt thats the way I wanted to go , I have since gained respect for corals and non fish livestock.
Good luck on the tank and cant wait to see it mature

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by nunch

Awesome sounds like your on the right track. did u put any fish fish to start the cycling? To create a lil' bio-load?

No fish yet, I think I'm going to pick up a couple chromis's next week. I'll let the crabs adjust first. My LFS has some really pretty green and blue ones I've been eying. But, the store is popular, and their shipments come in on Wednesday. I'll probably go there Thursday to pick out some.

I've heard damsel's get aggressive, and to start, I'd like to have tame fish. What's your take?

Uvajed

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by hosser

I gave up a long time ago giving details on my tank because of responses like that. And all those I ask questions to will attest to my patience and diligence to find the correct way of doing things rather its their way or another way. I still feel the same as I did in the beggining and would have done so if I felt thats the way I wanted to go , I have since gained respect for corals and non fish livestock.
Good luck on the tank and cant wait to see it mature

We're new, a lot of the posters are not trying to be mean, just cautioning on their experience. Also, remember reading sentences are not the same tone as talking to someone, the message can get misconstrued. IMO, You did get hammered hard, but in a way, that was good, you didn't lose a lot of money doing stuff you should have waited to do. And this is not a cheap hobby. I'm excited to see your tank mature as well! Let's make sure we contact each other on our journey. We practically joined on the same day!

[hosser]

While I still defend how my tank was done, and that it was done a pretty neat way, I do learn alot here and more often than not Im the ones hogging chat asking questions. I agree we should keep in touch on our tanks it will be nice to see a comparison simply on sizes.

[nunch]

Yes they're aggressive, but just in case your tank hasn't cycled i wouldn't go buying anything else for now. they're cheap so if you lose em, it's not that bigga deal, so don't get too attached. you haven't had any bio-load in your tank so you might spike again, assuming you already had one.

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by hosser

While I still defend how my tank was done, and that it was done a pretty neat way, I do learn alot here and more often than not Im the ones hogging chat asking questions. I agree we should keep in touch on our tanks it will be nice to see a comparison simply on sizes.

Don't be hard on the posters, they're trying to steer you from mistakes. And we will make mistakes. One guy from my LFS tried selling me something that would equalize my tank overnight. If it wasn't for reading here, I probably would have bought it, and lost hundreds of dollars in fish. Plus, the process of setting up a tank is half the fun!

[hosser]

Okay Im gonna just clear up my whole cycling issue real quick so its not taken as I dont listen or I get upset (which Im not) I didnt mix ALL my water just some of it the rest of the water came from an established tank which also housed my live rock. Hence the quick cycle. I am now overly cautious about maybe a mini cycle but thats just more my own concerns not based on anything. I strongly feel I will never see a full cycle due to how it was done but I am cautious. And again let me ephasize Im not one to get upset, other than when people jump to conclusions and that hasnt happened since my first day, Ive since made friends on here and am constantly reading info that is provided from great posters to this site.

Anyway thats done with, I cant wait to see more pics and yes Damsels are crazy aggresive and Jim has pointed out to me that when or if I do get rid of them I will have a hard time catching them so chromis may be alot better for a tank with quite a bit of rock.

[nunch]

Originally Posted by hosser

Okay Im gonna just clear up my whole cycling issue real quick so its not taken as I dont listen or I get upset (which Im not) I didnt mix ALL my water just some of it the rest of the water came from an established tank which also housed my live rock. Hence the quick cycle. I am now overly cautious about maybe a mini cycle but thats just more my own concerns not based on anything. I strongly feel I will never see a full cycle due to how it was done but I am cautious. And again let me ephasize Im not one to get upset, other than when people jump to conclusions and that hasnt happened since my first day, Ive since made friends on here and am constantly reading info that is provided from great posters to this site.

Anyway thats done with, I cant wait to see more pics and yes Damsels are crazy aggresive and Jim has pointed out to me that when or if I do get rid of them I will have a hard time catching them so chromis may be alot better for a tank with quite a bit of rock.

Well not all tanks go through a real huge spiking cycle. I know people who have had their tank for yrs. and never saw a spike (or just missed it). so i'm not telling you, you're doing it wrong i'm just telling you about the repercussions if you are wrong. and nitrifying bacteria doesn't live in the water it stays on all surfaces of the tank and rock and filters, so the "established" water did very little, if anything to help your tank cycle. so don't get offended, just look at the advice and take from it what you will. you don't have to defend anything, if it's working for you, than it works. simple as that.

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by nunch

Yes they're aggressive, but just in case your tank hasn't cycled i wouldn't go buying anything else for now. they're cheap so if you lose em, it's not that bigga deal, so don't get too attached. you haven't had any bio-load in your tank so you might spike again, assuming you already had one.

My NO3's are about 20 ppm, everything else is zero. I did a 10% water change. I'm going to wait a week or so and see what happens. Like I've said, I've waited 4 years to start a tank, a couple months won't be that hard. I'm trying to do this the 'right' way. It doesn't hurt I'm an engineer. And this site has been so great with advice and such, plus, my LFS is mirroring much of what's been said here. It's fabulous getting to know people here, chatting about issues, and getting advice from experts. I can't tell you how helpful you all have been.

Uvajed

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by hosser

Okay Im gonna just clear up my whole cycling issue real quick so its not taken as I dont listen or I get upset (which Im not) I didnt mix ALL my water just some of it the rest of the water came from an established tank which also housed my live rock. Hence the quick cycle. I am now overly cautious about maybe a mini cycle but thats just more my own concerns not based on anything. I strongly feel I will never see a full cycle due to how it was done but I am cautious. And again let me ephasize Im not one to get upset, other than when people jump to conclusions and that hasnt happened since my first day, Ive since made friends on here and am constantly reading info that is provided from great posters to this site.

Anyway thats done with, I cant wait to see more pics and yes Damsels are crazy aggresive and Jim has pointed out to me that when or if I do get rid of them I will have a hard time catching them so chromis may be alot better for a tank with quite a bit of rock.

I sincerely hope you don't think I was the source of your stress! I'm really glad you posted your stuff, I really learned a lot from others chiming in.

[nunch]

Originally Posted by Uvajed

My NO3's are about 20 ppm, everything else is zero. I did a 10% water change. I'm going to wait a week or so and see what happens. Like I've said, I've waited 4 years to start a tank, a couple months won't be that hard. I'm trying to do this the 'right' way. It doesn't hurt I'm an engineer. And this site has been so great with advice and such, plus, my LFS is mirroring much of what's been said here. It's fabulous getting to know people here, chatting about issues, and getting advice from experts. I can't tell you how helpful you all have been.

Uvajed

I think you should buy a fish or 2. have you spiked in ammo., nitrite ? usually ammo & nitrite (fish waste) goes way up then bacteria turns the 2 into no3 (nitrate) then a water change and your good. generally speaking

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by nunch

I think you should buy a fish or 2. have you spiked in ammo., nitrite ? usually ammo & nitrite (fish waste) goes way up then bacteria turns the 2 into no3 (nitrate) then a water change and your good. generally speaking

I don't have ammo, nitrites are zero, the nitrAtes are about 20, this is with no critters. I haven't seen a spike. I'm testing about 3 times a week, that's with nothing in the tank but rocks and sand. Will that change with the addition of the crabs? The blue and green chromis's are really pretty, I'm dying for "something" in the tank......

[nunch]

I would suggest buying a fish or 2 something cheap that you won't get attached to. I could be wrong but my guess is your tank isn't cycled if you've never seen ammo or nitrite. but it's a lil' wierd u have no3. u need the fish waste(bio-load) to start the cycling process. if no waste, no bacteria to eat it. bacteria is the cycle. bacteria colonies double about every 16 hrs. you need enough bacteria to handle the bio-load of whatever you plan in putting in tank. buy fish see what happens.

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by nunch

I would suggest buying a fish or 2 something cheap that you won't get attached to. I could be wrong but my guess is your tank isn't cycled if you've never seen ammo or nitrite. but it's a lil' wierd u have no3. u need the fish waste(bio-load) to start the cycling process. if no waste, no bacteria to eat it. bacteria is the cycle. bacteria colonies double about every 16 hrs. you need enough bacteria to handle the bio-load of whatever you plan in putting in tank. buy fish see what happens.

My ammo and nitrItes were high a week or so ago, I guess I didn't understand what you were getting at. Now, the nitrAtes are higher than before, but the others stablized. NitrAtes are 20.

[nunch]

Awesome, if they were high and now 0, your golden, do a water change and get whatever you want, slowly. like 2 weeks between fish at least, unless u see an inseperable pair.

[Uvajed]

Originally Posted by nunch

Awesome, if they were high and now 0, your golden, do a water change and get whatever you want, slowly. like 2 weeks between fish at least, unless u see an inseperable pair.

Excellent! I'll watch my crabs, they really zoned in on the rocks. I'll keep testing. I've priced fish, and I don't want to lose a hundred dollar fish, those purple tangs look really cool! I plan on taking it slow. I'm really excited about getting something moving in my tank!

I guess I'm 'golden'. Now, I'm going to have a ton of fun!

[Uvajed]

It's been a couple days, and my crabs seem to be happy. Although, it's hard to see the blue legs, as they are kind of small. But, the larger red legs seem to be happy, hunting down all the junk and just doing their crab thing. I think Monday or Tuesday, I'm going to get a couple blue or green chromis. (I don't want the more aggressive damsels) Do you think it's necessary to quarantine my first fish since it's the first fish in the tank? Or is is safe to place them in the tank after a couple hours of adjusting? Or is it wise to quarantine them like any other fish?