Wifes new tank

Well the wifes new tank is up and running. Got the live rock just the way she wants it:.

After 6 days:
PH 8.0-8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Calcium 420
Salinity 1.021

LR came with a lot of Coraline Algae? And a hitchhiker I believe to be a Asterina star?;D From all the pics I've seen I'm almost certain.

Have 3"-4" LS.

Were using a Fluval 205 until I build the sump/fuge for it.
Got a skimmer off Ebay last night.

One ?. When should first water change take place? And how much the first time. I will be using pre made water from my LFS, which is what we started with.

Thanks All

 

i would put a piece of raw shrimp in there to get the cycling going. doesnt look like it has started yet...ammonia will rise, followed by nitrite, once those reach zero and nitrates begin to develope then the cycle will be complete. could take up to 12 weeks for this to happen...

 

I like the rocks! Nice

 

I like the aquascaping too. I do worry about the rocks on the left though. They are close enough to the glass that it will be hard to clean.

 

Thanks. The wife choose the aqua scape. I just got to move it 15-20 times:. Thanks for pointing out the rocks close to the side, bumped them over a tad now have cleaning room. About the shrimp, I was under the impression that the cured LR and LS would do the work of starting the cycle, or does the shrimp hasten the proses. My LFS told me that with the LR/LS my cycle would start. But if I must install a dead shrimp in the tank then so be it.

 

Nice tank!! Enjoy it! Keep us posted on how it's all going!

 

Your cycle will start from the die off from the liverock,but the die off is pretty minimal,adding a peice of shrimp puts more dead organics in the water,with ls and lr you allready have the benificial bacteria to start munching away.So you could say that it does speed it up some.My tank cycled in just about three weeks with using ls, lr,and a peice of shrimp.Nice looking tank by the way.

 

good luck on your cycling! hopefully yours cycle's faster than mine. My tank is on week 7 and still not done. Tank looks good though . I also used the ls, lr, and dead shrimp as well

 

Good thing I got a nano, I don't know if I could have waited that long, mine only took about 5 days with a damsel.

 

Tank cycled

Well the tank gas cycled and we got a CUC.
6 Hermits
3 Turbo snails
2 Narsissis Snails

Also after the CUC the wife wanted a little something else so she got a rock with Yellow Polyps. I was worried that the tank was to green for these but they seem to be very happy with their new home.

All kinds of stuff showing their selves in the tank now. Most of it being hitchhikers that came with the LR. Featherdusters(very small), what appear to be anenomes also very small.

Will be starting to build a sump/fuge next week when I get home from AZ. Bought a return pump and am getting a skimmer. Hope I'm as good with my hands as the wife says: