my 5.5 gallon nano diary : D

[freeborder_01]

so with my current water parameters doesnt it look like its working? my ammonia spiked and is coming down im guessing nitrites are about to spike then will come down and then nitrates will spike? am i correct?
I swear i had this cycle down but im worried that the like 6 month break i took messed up my knowledge and all these noobs at this fishstore arnt helping

 

[freeborder_01]

ahhh im so happy, i bought the aquaclear 20 today and it made a HUGE difference. I love the thing except now i have no room for a mini refugium but i might just throw some chaeto in the back of my tank behind this huge piece of rock. I also did a little rockwork and that too gave me a ton more space. Overall i had a very very happy day
also, i read a lot about people saying zomg take this out of the filter zomg nitrate trap *roaaaaar*
any suggestions on what to do with the filter? my tanks been cycling so i dont wanna mess with it too much? Opinions?

 

[mckevinfang]

any updates?

 

[freeborder_01]

Testing my water in the morning, I was in southern California for the weekend so nothing much as far as updates. The new filter seems to be working out much better than the old one, its a lot quieter and way less bubbles. Hopefully ill be adding a CUC within the next week or two

 

[zanoshanox]

I used to have a 5.5 man theyre cool loaded up with zoas and rics! very cool

 

[freeborder_01]

yeah, I'm really excited. I'm going to take it easy for a while as this is my first actual salt water tank just to get into a rhythm of water changes, feeding, filter work, water tests, and the little things. I ultimately plan on only stocking really nice pieces which means I'm going to be forking out a lot of money and ordering a lot online but to me that's what looks the best : D

 

[freeborder_01]

so this is easily fixed with my own test kits but im waiting until i got home in 2 weekends to buy my own. So i went to my lfs again today, luckily i get the young girl who i dont trust very much. She tested my water everything came out to 0. Ammonia had been at .5 nitrite was 0 and nitrate was 20. I never saw a nitrite spike which worries me. but ammonia, nitrites all came out 0 and i think my nitrates were between 0 and 5.
Normally id be like woot woot all done but i never saw a nitrite spike. I had readings of ammonia .5, nitrites 0 nitrates 20 exactly a week ago. So I'm not sure if my nitrites spiked then came down in that week and i just never saw it?
any advice on my next step? i plan on my first fish being a yashia goby and id rather not kill a 30$ fish...60$ some places.
Also i havent had any algae at all since i set the tank up. I used 2 pieces of cured lr and 1 big chunk of established live rock covered in coraline and sponges and other goodies. I also have about 10 pounds of live sand in there.

 

[subielover]

Start with a couple of snails and make sure they do OK, then you can feel more comfortable adding your goby, which is a great choice by the way. Also once you add some inhabitants the algae will come

 

[freeborder_01]

so should i just ghost feed some flake food for the CUC? also im going to try and buy a test kit asap i just need to find one that my lfs hasn't doubled the online price of. Also what would you guys recommend as far as a CUC goes for a 5.5 gallon
thanks a lot : D

 

[subielover]

4 nassarius and 2 cerith, that should be a good start, after that you can adjust accordingly. Are you getting a pistol shrimp with your yashia?

 

[freeborder_01]

uhhh duhh : D and maybeeeee a small clown goby but that might be too much for this tank. I saw one at my lfs and he was like skinnier than a pencil and no more than half an inch. he was sooo cute
Ill call my lfs today and see if they have any snails they arnt the best. Otherwise i gotta wait until after my midterms tomorrow eww...
i was also thinking an emerald crab because i noticed a little bubble algae. will he get too big?

 

[freeborder_01]

yes!!!!!! so I'm desperately trying to avoid studying for an econ midterm and caught myself staring at my fish/coral-less tank and notices 3 of the sexiest little spots of algae i have ever seen. They are on the glass and very small but it just confirms to me that my tank actually may have cycled : D going to get one more test tomorrow to 100% make sure then buying a CUC
IM SO HAPPY!!!!!

 

[rotarymagic]

Originally Posted by Freeborder_01
http:///forum/post/2814652
uhhh duhh : D and maybeeeee a small clown goby but that might be too much for this tank. I saw one at my lfs and he was like skinnier than a pencil and no more than half an inch. he was sooo cute
Ill call my lfs today and see if they have any snails they arnt the best. Otherwise i gotta wait until after my midterms tomorrow eww...
i was also thinking an emerald crab because i noticed a little bubble algae. will he get too big?
I always end up dropping off or trading out emerald crabs once they get too big and start munching coralline and corals... and some target fish, but thats mainly a strawberry crab thing... while they're small though they do a ravenous job of getting rid of bubble algae.

 

[rotarymagic]

Originally Posted by Freeborder_01
http:///forum/post/2815534
yes!!!!!! so I'm desperately trying to avoid studying for an econ midterm and caught myself staring at my fish/coral-less tank and notices 3 of the sexiest little spots of algae i have ever seen. They are on the glass and very small but it just confirms to me that my tank actually may have cycled : D going to get one more test tomorrow to 100% make sure then buying a CUC
IM SO HAPPY!!!!!
I bet you're excited that you might actually get to see some life in there... you know its gonna rock once you get some fish/shrimp and corals in there.

 

[freeborder_01]

omg yes, ive gotten bored of looking at the tiny star polyps that came on my rock. The last few days ive been watching a tiny bristle worm occasionally crawl around for a few minutes then hide in the rock.
so far my livestock list is
4 nassarius and 2 cerith (getting them tomorrow i hope)
a yashia goby + pistol
a pom pom crab
and a temporary emerald just to clean off the tiny bubble algae i noticed
would i be able to get maybe like 2 sexy shrimp or another tiny goby? what would you recommend i add or should i just stick with the stock list i have planned

 

[rotarymagic]

Originally Posted by Freeborder_01
http:///forum/post/2815682
omg yes, ive gotten bored of looking at the tiny star polyps that came on my rock. The last few days ive been watching a tiny bristle worm occasionally crawl around for a few minutes then hide in the rock.
so far my livestock list is
4 nassarius and 2 cerith (getting them tomorrow i hope)
a yashia goby + pistol
a pom pom crab
and a temporary emerald just to clean off the tiny bubble algae i noticed
would i be able to get maybe like 2 sexy shrimp or another tiny goby? what would you recommend i add or should i just stick with the stock list i have planned
what you listed sounds good... for some reason sexy shrimp go best in odd numbered groups, go figure. I'd wait for the tank to mature a few months before adding anything else. you may be able to get away with a hector's goby down the road once the pod population and sandbed are established. Pom poms are hilarious, they move their anenomes like an airtraffic controller at anything that frightens them.

 

[freeborder_01]

yeah these will all be added slowly over time, ill be very happy and content once i get the yashia and pistol in there. I'm just hoping i can add maybe a sexy and another goby just incase the yashia and pistol decide to be an anti social poop.
im so excited for the pom pom they look badass

 

[rotarymagic]

Originally Posted by Freeborder_01
http:///forum/post/2815688
yeah these will all be added slowly over time, ill be very happy and content once i get the yashia and pistol in there. I'm just hoping i can add maybe a sexy and another goby just incase the yashia and pistol decide to be an anti social poop.
im so excited for the pom pom they look badass
nah, the yashia and pistol won't be antisocial. Get a candy stripe pistol though, they look better, stay smaller, and match! They might be hidden for a few days until there's a good burrow dug.

 

[freeborder_01]

yeah thats what i thought they would do. So would you say if i got a sexy and maybe 1 more small goby that would be too much?

 

[rotarymagic]

Originally Posted by Freeborder_01
http:///forum/post/2815693
yeah thats what i thought they would do. So would you say if i got a sexy and maybe 1 more small goby that would be too much?
I'd get like 3 sexys and have a ricordea mushroom or something for them to host and then small goby way down the line i.e. rainfords or hectors once the tank is established and call it a day. Just pack it with corals from there on out. what about some sort of macro algae or fuge? it'll help keep nutrients down.