New Tank Set Up & Cycle

[dileggi]

Thanks to mmbuna and bertoni for the replies. Also, thanks to anyone else that had replied as well. I'm sorry that I forgot your name.

Anyway, I was able to get the tank to cycle with only the live sand. All my parameters spiked and went back down. I didn't have to add the live rock or food or anything. Maybe because the tank was only a 29 gallon and I put in 30lbs of live sand? I'm not sure.

But, in any event, it's now been about a week and half with it's first inhabitants. I added some live rock, mostly Fugi rock and, unfortunatley, cannot remember the name of the other piece. Also, probably another newbie error, I'm not sure how many pounds of live rock that I actually added. Will this be a problem?

I also added two Green Chromis as well. Mainly to see how the tank was holding up. So far, everything is still alive, so that's a plus.

I also have noticed some algae growing on the rock, sand and tank. I believe it's green to brownish green. Do I let this continue to grow? So far, I've only been scraping it off of the glass.

Thanks again!
Eric

[danch]

Scraping it off the glass will be a weekly ritual for a while. It will settle down as all the stuff in there finds a balance. You probably want to get a clean-up-crew - cerith snails if you can find them, trochus. I wouldn't suggest astrea unless/until you have a lot of rock. I like hermits (more as entertainment than algae eating), but a lot of people will warn you away.

Don't add too many snails - most of the clean-up packages that are sold are way over stocked. Put a few in, and see how they do. Bear in mind that you'll see a number of algae blooms over the next couple months - don't overreact.

It'd be nice to know how much rock you have in there, but I think most people lose track eventually.

[dileggi]

I'm sorry guys...I sent the first part through wtihout adding this information as well.

I also purchased the heater, as suggested. It's regulating the temp anywhere from 78.4 to 79.6.

I purchased the nano-skimmer, but for the life of me, cannot figure out where to put this thing. I tried putting it in the 3rd compartment of the bio cube, where the power head and sump is, but then my power head just starts blowing a lot of minnie or macro bubbles if I run the sump. So, if there are any secrets to getting that skimmer hooked up, I would certainly appreciate the feedback!

Again, thanks to any and all that can help out!
Eric

[uscharalph]

Hopefully the added rock will not cause your tank to cycle again.

[dileggi]

Thanks for the info Danch! As you stated, it's been close to a daily ritual. I guess since this is my first tank, and it's so new, I've been going a bit overboard with everything.

Am I OK adding these "clean up" snails now? Like I mentioned, the rock and the 2 Green Chromis have only been in the tank for just over a week. Since the tank was small, I was thinking I needed to add at a slow pace so that my water doesn't get out of whack.