Finally Cycling Tank

[Luvthekeys]

After two broken tanks and one that did not break I finally received my live rock today. I recieved 17 lbs and added it to 20 lbs of dry rock. I am going to post a few photos or at least try to post them.




I am a newbie in case you have not guessed. Here is some type of coral I think, can anyone identify. I know it is tough with the LED lights. This one look great under Actinic lights. These photos taken under daylights.




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The only snail hitchhiker I have seen can anyone identify. The rock has only been in the tank four hours so I might see more hitchhikers



Also what type of plant is that on the rocks.



Mucho thanks as always

 

[seaqueen]

pretty sure the snail is a nassarius snail my personal favorite! their so cute and go underneath your sand bed to eat the crap underneath .
the 1st photo looks like some kind of mushroom
unfortunately i don't know any of the others :'( sorry

 

[bang guy]

The snail is a Buccinid Whelk. It is a predator but it will also eat carrion. If it were me I would remove it.

 

[Luvthekeys]

Thanks Seaqueen and Bang guy. The snail is less then a quarter inch long right now. I have no fish or other invertebrates in the tank so for a little while I will let him live. He might not make it through the cycle. Bang guy when should I do water changes during the cycle. i.e. Ammonia high, Nitrites high and or Nitrates high? Is twenty percent enough for partial water change when I do them. Is there a chance those plants growing on the live rock will survive the cycle?

 

[bang guy]

I would only be concerned with Ammonia. I recommend doing enough water changes to keep ammonia below 0.5ppm but still have at least a trace or around 0.25ppm. If you keep saltwater ready and just do a 10% whenever ammonia tests higher than 0.5ppm it will work out best in my experience.

The macro algae (not plants) will probably survive the cycle as long as it's getting enough light.

 

[bang guy]

Found an old picture I took of one of those snails eating one of my Keyhole Limpets.

 

[Luvthekeys]

I guess I could wait for him to grow big enough so I could have scungilli, but no He is history. I will follow your advice and do my testing for ammonia every day. Thanks again for helping a newbie who had too many questions. I also will remember Macro Algae not Plants.

 

[Luvthekeys]

Bang Guy, I did what you said. I checked the ammonia level and it was close to 0.5 ppm I did a ten percent water change and it was just below 0.25 after the water change.
My question is if I keep lowering the ammonia level to 0.25 will it lengthen the time of cycling the tank. I understand it is worth it since I will be keeping the live rock alive. Since this will be my main source of filtration I have no problem if it will take longer. Also the macroalgae is looking pretty beat. Should I remove as much as i can or leave it alone and hope it recovers. I only ask since that much rotting vegetation will surely increase the amount of ammonia. Thanks for any enlightenment on the two subjects.

 

[bang guy]

Maintaining an ammonia level between 0.25 and 0.50 ppm will speed up a cycle, not slow it down.

Remove any dead sponges or visibly dying macro algae. You don't want a lot of macro algae in the tank during a cycle but a small amount is OK if you want to keep macro algae in the display tank.

 

[Luvthekeys]

The Tank is full of pods already and I have the beginning of Diatom algae. If I keep the water below 0.025 ppm could I put some cleaner crew in there to get a head start on the alage? Cleaned out quite a bit of Marco Alage last night. I can already see the beginning of new shoots. Most of the feather dusters on the live rock have seen better days I suspect the high ammonia level or maybe I moved the rock too many times trying for the perfect display. Yes i know stop messing with stuff in the tank. Thanks again for your sage advice.

 

[flower]

Don't add a cleaning crew until after the cycle. About the green macroalgae attached to the rocks... Macros can help to stabilize the tank faster, since it absorbs ammonia, nitrites, phosphates and nitrates to grow. Beaslbob insists using macroalgae the best way to cycle, but if you plan to keep coral, you may not want macros in the display...they have to be harvested (pruned back) regularly, or they can cover over coral.