New Tank Cycle - Done or not started??

[Marlin65]

As far as your cycle did you add anything to start it? like a dead shrimp.
If you used uncured rock it would have enough dead stuff on it to start it but if you used mostly cured there will not be much to start it.

Add Kalkwater to bump your PH and calcium at the same time just make sure to add it slowly and preferably at night when your lights are off.
Or you can use buffer to bring it up.

Your saltwater will keep a long time if you keep it dark and cool. A few weeks with a heater and air in okay though. You should leave it for at least a day to mix it's better that way than fresh made.

Rubble rock is just small pieces of live rock you could try the store or just use bigger pieces. Does not make that much of a difference. Smash it with a hammer to make it fit in the canister.

On a 27 gallon just do the water changes if you want to buy the skimmer later. The skimmer just lets you do less water changes less often as it removes the crap. Don't do any water changes until your cycle has finished though as that prolongs the cycle time.

I started with adding a few soft corals first before CUC and fish.
as they are a bit more forgiving. Most people add CUC then fish then corals.
But I would say try a mushroom or two to test they are cheap and are a good indicator of your water quality.
Usual time is about a month but you started with rock from an established tank and it is possible you have already gone through you cycle. I cycled mine in two weeks but same as you had established rock and only had a small NO2 spike no Ammonia. I then went to no NO2 with 10 ppm NO3
My tank is now a month old and my NO3 is at 2.5ppm
Have 2 clowns SPS and some soft corals all doing great.

Hope that helps don't forget to test magnesium as thats tied to your Calcium.
Most salt does not have enough of both so you need to add it to get your levels where they need to be.

[dsaundry]

One more thing, as for your filtration. I am not sure by ring things but you may want to watch it as they can be little nitrate factories.. I use sponge in mine and carbon or chemi-pure in my others..the rock will do a good job, as for rubble, I have heard both pros and cons on that as well.
Good water flow is critical as well. I have a couple of power heads in mine. When the time comes to add livestock you may want to consider a nice little Pistol Shrimp and Goby combo. The little guy does a nice job moving sand...that is if you are going with sand and not just a glass bottom tank.

[Myka]

The "ring things" should be taken out. Use some LR rubble...available at LFSs usually.

If you're getting algae growth, I'd add a single Astrea snail to help eat it. If you notice the snail can't keep up, add one more. Don't get Turbo snails...they get huge and knock your corals over.

As far as a skimmer goes...IMO definately necessary. The more you can spend the better, but definately go with a used one over a new one if money is an issue. The cheapest one I would recommend would be an AquaC Remora. You should be able to find a used one for about $100 ($200 new). A step up would be a Deltec MCE-300, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a used one. They are about $300 new.

[Carmen]

Thank you so much for your opinions and advice. It has been helpful. The thing I have noticed is there are varied opinions on just about EVERYTHING to do with SW!!! So from the comments I've deduced that I need to start testing Calcium and Mg and possibly start adding those before corals. Also Those may help the pH?(Is that what your getting at?) I use Instant Ocean for now and will upgrade later.

And take out the rings and add rubble - general consensus? Okay, do I fill it completely and add nothing else or do carbon/chemipure too?

And shouldn't I be getting some kinda readings to show evidence of a cycle by now??

Okay so hold off on putting anything in.
I have not made my decisions on coral,fish etc. since I had planned on waiting another month or 2 and still have time to do research in that department. Also have not got my lights yet - ordered but not received yet. I thought I was supposed to start with CUC first so that is what I have started to look into? So many ways of doing things I guess hey?

And I will look for a used remora skimmer. Thanks again.

Carmen

[michika]

For the rock rubble, don't over fill it. Stack it so its like a giant piece of swiss cheese, lots of holes for water flow, and lots of surface area for bacteria. You'd probably be better off running carbon, if you want, you don't have to, in a filter bag and putting it elsewhere.

Benefits of running it within; good contact with the carbon. Downside; could clog up your filter if you don't change it frequently or keep an eye on it.

There are other skimmers out there that may also serve your purposes. No, you don't HAVE to have a skimmer, there have been some successful tanks without. Its your choice, it really is.

You may actually not see any cycle, you mentioned you had used established rock. At this point I'm thinking there may have been a mini cycle, but it could have been so small as not to show on your test kits. Go ahead, toss something in if your water parameters are fine. A mushroom, or even a single crab or snail will do.

Have you visited anyone to see their set-ups? Take a trip over to reefkeepingmagazine.com and go through some of the tank of the month articles. They can show you a great deal of variety, although most of the tanks are SPS dominant, and you can get a good feel for what you like in terms of rockwork, etc.

[Marlin65]

Originally Posted by michika

For the rock rubble, don't over fill it. Stack it so its like a giant piece of swiss cheese, lots of holes for water flow, and lots of surface area for bacteria. You'd probably be better off running carbon, if you want, you don't have to, in a filter bag and putting it elsewhere.

Benefits of running it within; good contact with the carbon. Downside; could clog up your filter if you don't change it frequently or keep an eye on it.

There are other skimmers out there that may also serve your purposes. No, you don't HAVE to have a skimmer, there have been some successful tanks without. Its your choice, it really is.

You may actually not see any cycle, you mentioned you had used established rock. At this point I'm thinking there may have been a mini cycle, but it could have been so small as not to show on your test kits. Go ahead, toss something in if your water parameters are fine. A mushroom, or even a single crab or snail will do.

Have you visited anyone to see their set-ups? Take a trip over to reefkeepingmagazine.com and go through some of the tank of the month articles. They can show you a great deal of variety, although most of the tanks are SPS dominant, and you can get a good feel for what you like in terms of rockwork, etc.

I second this advice.

[Marlin65]

Oh Kalkwater is a calcium additive. You buy it in powder form and mix it with your top off water it adds to your calcium, but it also adds to your PH and ALK.
So you have to add it slowly and preferably at night because the PH is lower with the lights off.
You need to mix it then wait for it to settle and then only add the clear liquid from the middle. I use a small tank with a hole about 2" up from the bottom and have a small piece of airline and a small valve so I can just drip it in at night.
IO is low on CA and MG to start with so you will have to top it up if you want corals or inverts.
There are other ways to add CA but I am partial to Kalkwater.

Just remember don't add anything you don't test for.

[michika]

I am also partial to kalk. its been good to me in the past and its cheap.

Send me a PM if you want a bit to start yourself off, free, but you have to bring a container for yourself. If you want to do your Ca. another way, you can look at liquid additives as well. There are LOTS of brands for pretty much anything. Liquid though can be made expensive by adding water and charging based on weight.

Do you know what your Ca. and Alk. are at?

[Carmen]

Thank you so much Michika. It is really great to have some support here because there really are so many options and everyone seems to have a different answer. I appreciate the advice and will definately get some large rubble to put in along with some carbon in a filter bag.

[michika]

Originally Posted by Carmen

Thank you so much Michika. It is really great to have some support here because there really are so many options and everyone seems to have a different answer. I appreciate the advice and will definately get some large rubble to put in along with some carbon in a filter bag.

I forgot to mention. If you want to be cheap and not pay the price for the filter bags (some carbon products give them too you for free), you can use a pair of well washed nylons and make your own bag as big as you want.