Rookie Reefer

[Nitroxdiver63]

Though I've had aquariums most of my life, this is our first reef tank. Tank is 90 gallons, 1 Protien Skimmer, 1 HOB Penquin 330 with biowheels (left over from fresh water set up.) We can't use a sump because tank is built into the wall and room does not allow without cutting a hole in the support... only access is from the back "closet." We've added 50lbs cured LR, 60lbs LS and 30lbs DS. Even after doing "dead shrimp method" we have yet to have ammonia or nitrite spike after 3 weeks.

Nitrates are continuing to rise and are at 20ppm currently... Water change coming soon.

My questions are:
Is the LR and the biowheels too much biofiltration? Could the cured LR be the reason we haven't seen the spike?

Is it possible the tank has already cycled? Ready for some life (other than the hitchhikers from the LR) but want to make sure cycle is complete.

That's the first of my questions, I'm sure I'll have many more.

Any info or advice is greatly appreciated!

[SoloChromis]

Though I've had aquariums most of my life, this is our first reef tank. Tank is 90 gallons, 1 Protien Skimmer, 1 HOB Penquin 330 with biowheels (left over from fresh water set up.) We can't use a sump because tank is built into the wall and room does not allow without cutting a hole in the support... only access is from the back "closet." We've added 50lbs cured LR, 60lbs LS and 30lbs DS. Even after doing "dead shrimp method" we have yet to have ammonia or nitrite spike after 3 weeks.

Nitrates are continuing to rise and are at 20ppm currently... Water change coming soon.

My questions are:
Is the LR and the biowheels too much biofiltration? Could the cured LR be the reason we haven't seen the spike?

Is it possible the tank has already cycled? Ready for some life (other than the hitchhikers from the LR) but want to make sure cycle is complete.

That's the first of my questions, I'm sure I'll have many more.

Any info or advice is greatly appreciated!

Sounds to me like you're on the right track :thumbsup: I'd keep on top of testing for another week or so to see if anything fluctuates and if everything checks out, slowly start adding fish, little by little. I'd also grab a bottle of Dr. Tim's One & Only. It sounds like snake oil, but I've used it on every tank I've ever set up, and every tank (except for my current 60g) took less than a week to establish itself, especially given in the past I've always used mostly cured live rock. I'd start with a pair of clowns, ocellaris, percula, and skunk complex clowns are the most docile by far. I'd stay away from chromis, despite the fact that many people *do* start out with them, they typically can't sustain a group for very long (and there are exceptions, but they're exactly that, *exceptions*), and it seems like in recent years many chromis I see in stores are suffering from uronema. Banggai, pajama, and yellow striped cardinals (Ostorhinchus cyanosoma) are also good starter fish. Good luck :beer:

[Nitroxdiver63]

Thank you! Appreciate the help! Never thought of starting with clown thought we've had them before in a FO tank. I've read a lot about Dr. Tim's - seems that's available through Foster & Smith?

What's your thought on the biowheels?

[Nitroxdiver63]

Moved to the Midwest from Florida - miss the coast and the fish... miss diving with the fish the most. Where in FL are you?

[Dkuhlmann]

It does sound like it's cycled but you can test it as long as you don't have any livestock in it by simply adding pure ammonia that has no additives and dose it up to 2 ppm then recheck the ammonia in 24 hours. If its 0 after 24 hrs your tank is cycled, if not then the cycle will have been started with the addition of the ammonia.

If it's 0 after the 24 hrs I'd wait a week then retest all parameters again.

[SoloChromis]

Thank you! Appreciate the help! Never thought of starting with clown thought we've had them before in a FO tank. I've read a lot about Dr. Tim's - seems that's available through Foster & Smith?

What's your thought on the biowheels?

Foster & Smith sell it, but I've been ordering 4oz bottles(enough for 60g) from Amazon for $13 a piece. I see no issue with using biowheels, as long as it's large enough to hold enough media to make a difference, should work just fine alongside the skimmer :dance: