Newbie, New tank, New LR, first test results

[brianK]

Well purchased some LR from Aquatek, think it looks pretty good. I've got a full shot of the tank...and some of the growth on the rock, what are these??

Test Results:

Temp: 80.8
SG: 1.025 (actually 1.0245 the way I read it)
ph: 8.2
Alk: Normal
Ammonia: 0.044
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: 0

Are these in the ball park for a very new tank ( just filled up last Friday)? The temp. seems to be hangin at or around the 80-82 range, from what I read it should be around 72-79 range. Whats a good way to keep the temp down without getting a chiller (out of my price range at the moment).

[NaCl_H2O]

What size is the tank? Is that cured or uncured LR, looks cured? I assume the polyps came with the rock? You will most likely loose those as your ammonia spikes in the next week or so.

Your temp isn't that bad, given the time of year! anks looks relatively small (<50g?) so your best approach to temp control is probably the temp in the room! Some fans in the canopy if you have room, or across the sump (if you have one?).

Your amm is kinda low for a 1 week tank, but resonable if that is cured LR. Read up on the nitrogen cycles so you understand what is taking place in your tank for the next few weks. Getting some sand or filter media from someone's established tank would really help your cycling along.

Good luck & welcome to MAAST - you will soon be addicted and poorer!

[brianK]

The tanks a 58 gallon. The rock was cured, the polyps were on the rock. Thinking of adding a sump, just not jump right into it at the start. Have done some reading
up on the nitrogen cycle, have a rough understanding of the process, and understand not to add in critters until after the ammonia spikes and then stays at or near 0
for a few weeks consistently. Gonna do more reading up to make sure I understand the whole process. Thanks for the pointers!

Brian

[NaCl_H2O]

An outstanding book (considered the Reef Bible by many) is "The Reef Aquarium" by Chakes Delbek & Julian Sprung, Vol I & II. A little pricey, but sometimes you can find it on EBay, or go full price for new from Amazon.

For a 58g, you really should consider a sump & a decent skimmer.

[matt]

80-82 F is the right temp for a reef tank; 72 is WAY too cold. Where did you read that? If you added fully cured live rock, you might not have a big ammonia spike. That would be very good; less die off and nitrate build up, much smaller algae bloom. So far so good! I would suggest you add a "live sand" starter kit from either IPSF or inland aquatics to get your sand bed fauna going. As an alternative, you could get some sand that is full of worms, micro crustaceans, etc.. from a well established tank. Ideally do both of these things. The more diverse your sand bed population is, the better.

A great book for the beginner is "The Coral Reef Aquarium" by Ron Shimek. It's short, simple, to the point, and really will help you get through the initial confusing times without the barrage of conflicting information that seems to hit all new reefkeepers. Since you're using in tank circulation and a hang on skimmer, you'll want to make sure you have enough water movment, and remember that when a powerhead is "rated" at 300gph, in reality you're probably getting far less than that. 4 sizable powerheads would not be too much flow by any means; one in each corner. Another thing you'll have to think about pretty soon is calcium/carbonate replenishing; I would suggest dripping some kalkwasser for starters. You can get one of those big kent dosers and hang it on the wall beside your tank. They work fine and they're not too expensive. Once you really get into the calcium load of corals you'll wish you had a sump as it makes adding this stuff easier. The dripper's fine for a while though.
Have fun and welcome to MAAST!

[brianK]

I'll look into both of those books...Yeah I'm plannin on a sump just trying to work up to it. I've got a Prizm skimmer hanging off of the tank and a Tetratec Power filter running on the tank, which I'll move to the
sump when I get it setup. Gonna look at adding more powerheads also. Yeah, was thinking about the calcium level, will look for the doser.

I was just looking at some sites on the web and they stated the 72-79 range, it seems to stay fairly stable now at around 80. Gonna see about adding
more life to the sand also, just have some papers to work on for the end of the semester at St. Edwards for some graduate classes I'm taking and thats
taking me away from the reefing :grin:

Brian

[Saltyintraining]

Brian,

Tank looks good. I'll give you a call tomorrow to see how things are going. I thought I recognized that power head in your tank

Be Patient for the cycle to finish. How are the lights looking on the tank?

Torrey

[brianK]

Hey Torrey,

Thanks for all the help in getting started. The lights work great but need to work on a stand so there no so close to the
tank, the tank seems to be staying in the mid 80s range on tempeature which worries me a little since it should be in
the low 80s, gonna try a few things to get the temp down a little, or look at a chiller.

Think I may go looking for more LR after work tomorrow also. Got a 12.5 gal Rubbermaid container that just fits in under
the stand to start a sump with so working on getting that setup also.

Brian

[Instar]

If the Alk is "normal" then the Calcium should also be "normal". The two go together and normal would
mean that alk is 7.5 and calcium is 380. Thats good, but, most reefers like to boost those up a little to
see all their corals grow faster for some reason. (That only works for calcium consumers though and
polyps are not in that class.) Matt made some good recommendations in references. You'll do well with
that advice. Welcome to MAAST! Enjoy yourself!

Get a salifert or equivalent calcium test kit. Use it often. Suppliment or change water when calcium falls off
and also keep the buffer (alk) in balance with it. B-ionic part A and part B will help you a lot in that and as
you study to understand the chemistry and whats going on in there. The live sand advice is good, but, there
are many sources to get a cup of sand from around here. Also add a starter bacteria culture to beef up your
sand bed. LFS's are starting to carry more and more of that now and it really helps stabilze the tank and thats
a key factor in stopping ick before you have to deal with it. 80 degree temp is perfect for most animals we have
access to unless you get a Garabaldi Perch (damsel) or Catalina goby as those are from cold water in S. California.
Keep the temp constant, day and night and you're on your way. You may not get a noticeable NH3 spike with cured
rock, bacteria and/or live sand in there.