beginner

[mallerly020703]

hello to all mr i love this site and the people in here well here it is i need help setting up my tank i have a 33 g long with 50p live rock 40p live sand wet&dry filter with a aquarium system protien skimmer i have bio balls in it i also have a heater and its been running for about a week i want to know how long would it take for the tank to cycle the only test i have is amonia and ph test any help and tips thank you:givebeer:

 

[masterswimmer]

Welcome to MR and best of luck with your new system.

In order to determine when your nitrogen cycle is complete you'll need to test for ammonia, nitrites & nitrates. All three of those parameters will begin at zero. As the cycle begins your ammonia will spike. Then your ammonia will begin to fall and your nitrites will spike. As your nitrites fall your ammonia will return to zero and your nitrates will begin to spike. As your nitrates spike your nitrites will return to zero. Now your ammonia will be zero, your nitrites will be zero and your nitrates will begin to fall. When the nitrates fall to 20ppm and below your cycle is complete and ready for a clean up crew.

Be patient, have fun and read, read, read.
Russ

 

[mallerly020703]

After the cycle is completed what do i do next

 

[James]

I am new here as well but not to reefing so I will give you a couple tips, take em or leave em. First, you should really get NO2 and NO3 test kits in addition to what you have. They will help you know what is going on with your cycle. Most experienced reefers will tell you to ditch the bioballs, the LR you have will be the main filtration. As for the wet&dry, I would suggest ditching it but you should read up more about the bioballs and wet dry filter and see what you want to do. Ultimately, all decisions are yours. You will save $ , frustration and animals if you are patient, read a lot and listen to constructive criticism from people who know more about this hobby than you. Good luck and happy reefing.


One last tip A period or comma wouldn't hurt every once in awhile. Sorry I couldn't resist. I am an English teacher.

 

[mallerly020703]

i have been reading and many people have different answer and opinion about the the cycling process i just want to narrow it down to one simple step or steps again thank you for all the help i get

 

[James]

Cycling really isn't hard at all. Keep the tank between 78-82, keep 1 or 2 powerheads in for circulation, top off the water when it evaporates. Test once or twice a week so you know where you are with the process and when your Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates are 0 you can start with your clean up crew for your upcoming algae outbreaks.

 

[masterswimmer]

i have been reading and many people have different answer and opinion about the the cycling process i just want to narrow it down to one simple step or steps again thank you for all the help i get

Cycling a saltwater tank is the same as cycling a freshwater tank. All you're doing is generating colonies of bacteria to break down ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Have you ever maintained a freshwater tank?

 

[mallerly020703]

my tank is changing color and there is some type of little worm inside the rocks.
After the cycle is done what should i do next

 

[aznt1217]

A nice water change lol.

 

[mallerly020703]

all the water or how much

 

[masterswimmer]

all the water or how much

20%-25% should suffice.

 

[dsgray16]

Also, while you are waiting for teh water to cycle, do as much reading as you can.

 

[mallerly020703]

all u guys are great hopefully i will have some pics soon my tank cycle and is doing perfect. thank u guys for all the info i truly love mr and what is all about thank you..

 

[daisy]

Have you decided what to do in terms of the wet/dry? Most folks on this site do not use one because it ends up doing more harm than good.

What you do next really depends on what your dream for your tank might be. Take a look through the Tank Threads forum. Take a look at different members' tanks. When you see several that you like, then look within those threads to see what they are doing - ask questions of them specifically either within their threads (folks tend to check their own tank threads) or via pm to get an idea of how they did what they did.

Things to think about might include -

what kind of fish do I want? - this will impact your aquascaping (do you need caves/pass-throughs/hiding places) as well as what types of inverts and corals you can have.

what kind of corals do I want? -this will impact your aquascaping (do you need high ledges as well as rock face?) as well as the skimming (if you have a mixed reef, many say you need to skim and run carbon aggressively). it will also impact the types of fish you can have.

Best of luck! and read, read, read!