Getting reef tank started! Question

spivey911

Member
Ok so I have a 55 gal tank w/ Marineland C220 canister filter & a power filter. I am using the regular lighting for now until I get the Nova t5 lighting in about a month. I have 3 yellowtail damsels theyre doinggreat...this is day 5. I also have live sand.. Im really wanting to go in direction of corals & anemones is there any I can start out w/ now or do I need to let tank completely cycle & get the new lighting? Btw my ph & ammonia levels etc are great.
 

rylan1

Active Member
Originally Posted by Spivey911
http:///forum/post/2502401
Ok so I have a 55 gal tank w/ Marineland C220 canister filter & a power filter. I am using the regular lighting for now until I get the Nova t5 lighting in about a month. I have 3 yellowtail damsels theyre doinggreat...this is day 5. I also have live sand.. Im really wanting to go in direction of corals & anemones is there any I can start out w/ now or do I need to let tank completely cycle & get the new lighting? Btw my ph & ammonia levels etc are great.
Its worth it to wait.. Especially for corals and anemones... Let your tank cycle ... You'll get an algae bloom .... I would also consider getting some kind of skimmer before you get lighting... If you want to add corals... you can start slowly with low light corals such as mushrooms or zoas.. yellow polyps...etc. ... But again its worth it to wait... you'll save money and grief due to loss specimans or cyano or whatever...
You'll also have to monitor alk, calcium, and nitrates... some people monitor more.... For corals you'll probably have to add calcium to your tank once you get the results.
 

sk8shorty01

Active Member
If your tank has only been up for five days then you will need to wait a while yet before you think about any corals. Right now you should actually have nothing in the tank but rock sand and water, as those fish will probably take quite a beating with the high ammonia levels that are bound to show up. Your levels are still going to look good because the tank is young, but in a few days you will see a huge ammonia spike and probably have some trace form of nitrites. Once the ammonia goes down, the nitrites should go up for a couple days or so. After that the nitrites drop and the nitrates shoot up. This is where you can start doing small water changes after the nitrates drop and start to plateau somewhere. Using water changes, you should be able to get the nitrate level to 0, then you can add your clean up crew (snails and hermits). After about 2 weeks with the clean up crew doing there job then its time to add fish number one. This is of course assuming you are not quaranteening any new fish (would recommend it but most new to the hobby don't do it). Make sure you go slow or you will end up wasting a lot of money and getting quite aggrivated with the poor success rate. Remember this: Rushing through it will take a lot longer.
 

h3b

Member
Please do not cycle your tank with damsels in the future it is torture to the animals.Also definatly should wait awhile longer. IMO you should wait ATLEAST another month if not more, most people recommend 6 months for corals. Definatly get a skimmer as they are invaluble for corals.
 
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dennis210

Guest
Five day old tank does not need any livestock in it. I suggest reading alot. Books, posts, magazines, etc. Find someone here or in your community that has a tank and develope a raport for getting information. If you want a successful and enjoyable hobby inormation is a key!
 

spivey911

Member
I have been reading & learning tons since I set it up....my lfs sd to get Damsels to cycle now after reading & knowing that it burns their gills etc I wish I would have waited!
 
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