Cycle Complete...Now What?

[jsteiert]

Beginner enthusist here... I have a 37 gal Tall that has been set up and cycling for 8 weeks now. My PH is 8.4, Nitrates and Nitrites are 0, Ammonia is 0. Salinity is 1.024.
Im going to do a 25% water change in hopes of bringing down my salinity to 1.022.
I think I am ready for the cleaning crew to come in, what recomendations do you guys have for a cleaning crew?
Also need to get a power head or a couple of power heads, and recomendations on size and quantity?
I currently have a standard light that came with the tank, I need to upgrade to a CF soon. What do you guys recommend as faras lighting goes? I plan on having corals, fish, and inverts in time. Im not in a hurry with the tank and want to get it set up right. But I am working on a budget.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Tank Stats:
37T
25lbs LR
20lbs Base rock
40lbs LS
Penguin 350 Bio wheel
Aqua Medic Protein Skimmer
Heater

 

[bigarn]

If you plan on a reef tank down the road that SG is fine. Do the water change and check everything again. If everythings good I'd get hermits and various snails (nassarius, turbos etc.) ..... be sure to get extra shells for the hermits to grow into. I'd try to keep the temp between 80-82 and with a SG of 1.024-1.025 the salinity should be around 35ppt which is about perfect for a reef system.
I'd get 2 maxi-jet 900's for water circulation and upgrade the lights to a minimum of good PC's.

Ohh, and Welcome to the boards.

 

[grumpygils]

As far as a cleaning crew, SWF's "reef package" cleaning crew is tough to beat!
gg

 

[birdy]

Hello and Welcome!!
Sounds like you are off to a great start and have done your homework.
Like the others have said, reef tanks or any tank with inverts should have a SG of 1.025 at 80 degrees F, or a salinity of 35ppt with a refractometer. That is what NSW (natural sea water) levels are and is much healthier for inverts.
Honestly in a cleanup crew I prefer snails only.
I like Nassarius snails for a sandbed, somewhere around 25 for your tank.
Astrea Snails- around 15
Cerith Snails- around 15
Mexican Turbo Snails- 2-3.
Some of this depends on how much algae you have growing in your tank, if you don't have much then you don't need a so many snails but this is probably a good number for your tank.

 

[jsteiert]

I dont have a lot of algea growing as yet... So I will probably reduce the numbers, I can always increase as needed.
Would you recommend putting in any fish right now suck as Tangs?
It would be nice to see fish in my tank after all the work and patience I have invested to date. But if it is too early then I will wait..

 

[stevil]

I'm at the same point as you. My tank is finished cycling and I'm looking to add the cleaner crew. I have a 90 gallon, but instead of getting a full-on cleaner crew package right now, I think I am just going to add a smaller number of snails like mentioned above, and some crabs.
At one point between 1-3 weeks ago, I had 2 turbo snails and about 5-6 small (pea-sized) starfish, and even a blue-legged hermit crab that all hitchhiked from the other aquariums that I bought my live rock and sand from, but I don't see them at all now. I don't know if they have survived or are just lost in the rock work.
At any rate - I don't think I have enough algae, and other things generating detritus so that a full-on 100gallon cleaner crew package would have enough "to-do".
I think I am going to wait until the first week of January to add my cleaner crew (because of Christmas travels), but that would include 1 or two serpent stars and maybe a cleaner shrimp, and then mid-to end of January start adding some fish (probably some clowns and an anemone).
I think it pays to be patient in this hobby - luckily my work schedule has _forced_ me to be patient, but now I'm seeing it pay off. I'm going to spend some time putting together a wish-list of fish so I can work out a plan for what order to add them, compatibility that I will then execute over the next 4-6 months. Probably at that point I'll re-fresh my cleaner crew with a reef-package like is for sale here.
If you have no lights now, I would look into getting some T5s, I don't have any of them, but I've seen lots of people switch to them and they seem to really like them - they are cost-effective, bright and don't generate a lot of heat. If you are planning to have any corals, then you will need to get some bright light. For myself, I have 2 strips of VHO installed right now and have 2 MH fixtures that I'm going to add next month.