12 Gallon Nanocube looking for advice

[bryancb]

Well not sure where to start or what to ask. I got a great price on a 12gal nanocube and just had to setup a saltwater, hopefully nice little reef. Got it up with water on Mar 26th, added about 14 lbs live sand(plus a scoop from an established tank) and 8 lbs live rock on 27th. Running with bio-balls and ceramic rings as came with it, and PC 2*24W standard bulbs also. SG is lower then it should be @ 1.21 but im raising slowly each day. Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates have been reading at 0 for a few days now. Ph is at 8.2. I believe im getting diatoms, sand getting brown anyways. Oh and also pretty sure i have a tiny bristleworm which looks cool but not sure if its good or not. Too much info on the internet so hoping yall can give me some advice on what to do or probably more importantly what not to do

I like the reef look so thinking i want to get into corals, and maybe a few tiny fish. One of my rocks has a tiny kenya tree and a nice zoa which thankfully have survived...didnt notice the zoa till last night. Ill try and get some pics up but havent figured out how to get a good one yet

Anything yall can tell me might help im brand new to this so feel free to tell me anything, well anything helpfull that is lol

[SoLiD]

First off, Welcome To MAAST. Secondly, always keep this in mind when dealing with saltwater tanks.... "Nothing good happens fast". It looks like you are in the right place and on the right path. You have most of the basics covered when it comes to monitoring your water parameters. Here is some interesting reading material that I wish was here when I got started. :)

http://www.maast.org/showthread.php?59961-A-Little-Education

[allan]

Nice!

You will want to see a rise in ammonia, then when it starts to go down you will see a rise in nitrites. When that goes down you will see a rise in nitrates. Then your tank will be cycled.

Remember, as solid inferred above, to add slowly. Each time you add an organism you will see a mini-cycle. If you add too much too quickly you will have a massive cycle which could prove to be disastrous to the inhabitants.

As much as I hate to disagree with solid there is one quickly changing aspect to reefkeeping that does not impact your tank. You will feel this primarily in the wallet ;)

Looking forward to some pictures.

[FireWater]

Allan and Solid gave great advice. Another one is patience. It sounds like you are doing a good job on waiting and testing. Start of diatoms are a good thing and should be followed by a little hair algae - most normally a good start to a cycle. It will take time.

On my 1st tank I got lucky with my impatience and started adding all kinds off stuff right off the bat with no ill effects. On my 2nd tank I took it really slow and actually did not put anything into it for 3 months - it was a killer just looking and waiting. But, it paid off for me in that I did not see any adverse reactions, like mini cycles, when I started to add live stock because the tank was stable.

Just remember to read and study all you can and ask questions - there is no such thing as a stupid question by the way. You will be likited as to what types of coral will survive and/or thrive in your tank because of the PC lighting. Also remember to research any fish you put in for size of tank needed.

Welcome to MAAST also.

[SoLiD]

... You will be likited as to what types of coral will survive and/or thrive in your tank because of the PC lighting....

???

I think he meant to type: "You will be limited as to what types of coral will survive and/or thrive in your tank because of the PC lighting."

[Big_Pun]

the one thing I ran into with my many bio cubes is heat issues and flow needs to upgraded, bigger pump in rear or a nano koralia works well.

[FireWater]

???

I think he meant to type: "You will be limited as to what types of coral will survive and/or thrive in your tank because of the PC lighting."

You're right. I got a case of fat fingers and didn't proof read. LOL

[Drift Monkey]

I'd take out the bio-balls and the ceramic rings and just run filter floss for the time being. Diatoms are a good sign you're cycling. Tiny bristleworms you'll wanna keep. They'll be a helpful part of your clean up crew.

[bryancb]

Thanks yall

How often should i be testing?
As far as the lighting is there certain corals i should avoid?

Yeah the temp in the tank can get to 80-82 if i dont raise the lid some during the day
Have seen the little koralias but figured id wait till i got something in the tank to add

Diatoms are still all over the sand and walls, and guessing hair algae on rocks. Some is light green some brown and some whiteish long strands
Wasnt sure if i should add some cleaners like snails or shrimp

Ill keep checking in with new questions, and really do appreciate the help
with all the information out there its nice to have a local group like this to rely on

[Drift Monkey]

I'm not sure how far along you are, but once every few days should suffice. If you didn't test during the beginning, you won't see any spikes in anything (the ones mentioned above).
You should probably stick with softies with the PC lighting.

That's not terrible, but 77-78 would be better.
Add a power head whenever. Sooner is probably better though, so you can if the flow is sufficient.

You might be done with you cycle already. If it's been a few weeks and your ammonia is 0, you can safely add a cleanup crew.

[bryancb]

Well been up and running for 10 days now and all 0's
Got a tip to leave lights off so running in the dark now
First pics are of first days, last few are from today
1129711300112991129811296

[SoLiD]

That's good, but I don't know if 10 days would be enough time for a tank to cycle. It usually takes 3-4 weeks minimum. I'd put a raw dead shrimp in there and leave it in there for a day. Test your parameters the next day and test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Your nitrate should register something and your ammonia and nitrite should be close to if not zero.

[excal]

welcome to maast. my tank took 3 1/2 months to cycle. every tank is different just take things slow and everything should be fine.

[bryancb]

Yeah i didnt figure it was cycled just giving an update
and wanted to post some pics

but now got another question about zoas
when i got my rocks i found one on front piece, and about 5 days later i find one on my big back piece but i swear it has moved
and now today it looks like its on same piece just different section
do they move or do i got something else?
it looks identical to the tiny one i have which hasnt moved
wish i could get a pic of them both but can figure out how to take a good shot

[SoLiD]

Hmmmm.... Zoa's don't move around unless it has broken free. Try to get a picture. See if your camera has a "macro" mode on it. It will help your camera's auto focus work better on a close up shot. Also might help to shut off the pump for a little while when taking pictures. You can also move the rock closer to the glass to allow you to take a better picture. Then move it back when you are done with it.

[bryancb]

Took a crappy cell phone pic to Gabes and he told me it might be a Mojano(thanks for the help, especially since you could barely see)
started looking for those and saw a tulip anemone in a pic, and its got to be that
looks like its not as bad as aiptasia but guessing i should remove them

whats the best way to remove these?
ive got aiptasia x, or should i just pluck them out?

[SoLiD]

Majano's are worse than standard aiptasia. There are things that eat aiptasia, but none that I know that eat majano's. Only way I know to remove them is to manually remove them with a knife or burn them off.

[Drift Monkey]

That's good, but I don't know if 10 days would be enough time for a tank to cycle. It usually takes 3-4 weeks minimum. I'd put a raw dead shrimp in there and leave it in there for a day. Test your parameters the next day and test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Your nitrate should register something and your ammonia and nitrite should be close to if not zero.
Definitely DO NOT do this because it will only rot and could lead to unwanted bacteria growth; adding pure ammonia is safer and more direct. If you put decent LR in the tank there's a good chance it has enough bacteria on it to gobble up the ammonia that's being produced by the decaying shrimp. If the rock came from an established tank with fish in it there's a good chance you are wasting your time with the shrimp and just producing nitrate.

FWIW, it took me about two weeks to cycle my tiny 3G tank...

[bryancb]

Well i got rid of the pests and all seems fine
On the 8th was given a chromis. The little guy had gotten trapped in the HOB skimmer filter for about 2 days(luckily it was off) before he was given to me so i wasnt giving him much chance, but so far hes doing good. Tested after i got him and showed maybe a .25 in ammonia, and since then running all 0

[allan]

You should be seeing a rise in nitrates. This will be a definite sign that you're cycled.

Chromis are pretty hardy, I've still got the four in my tank that I started with all those two years ago :)

[bryancb]

Chromis is doing great and ive got all 0's
Couldnt resist Mr Cobs auction and picked up a nice Dragon Eye mini colony
Also FireWater had some Nuclear Green Palys i had to have
I may have rushed into them but all seems fine so far.... knock on wood
glad to have the addition of some color

Was thinking down the line id like to add maybe just 2 clowns and anemone or something for them to host in
any suggestions on what i could keep for them as far as size?

[SoLiD]

Definitely DO NOT do this because it will only rot and could lead to unwanted bacteria growth; adding pure ammonia is safer and more direct. If you put decent LR in the tank there's a good chance it has enough bacteria on it to gobble up the ammonia that's being produced by the decaying shrimp. If the rock came from an established tank with fish in it there's a good chance you are wasting your time with the shrimp and just producing nitrate.

FWIW, it took me about two weeks to cycle my tiny 3G tank...

Um... Maybe I should have clarified the "Leave the shrimp in there for a day" part; as in, remove the raw shrimp after a day, then Wait until the next day to test for Ammonia and Nitrite. If the tank is cycled then it will only raise nitrates and the first 2 parts of the cycle will be virtually undetectable. That would be the easiest scientific proof if the right amount of bacteria is in the system. Right !?!? The advice was meant as ONLY a Test to see if it WAS or WAS NOT Fully Cycled. There is no such thing as "Wasted Time" when it comes to the well being and benefit of the animals we care for. I know when I was new it took me a little time to fully understand the cycle process and why some tanks cycle faster than others.