Got Help? 12g Nano newbie....

[jaitaen]

I have always been attracted to the look of saltwater aquariums. So, now that I'm older, I've decided to start a 12g Nano reef tank with hopes of success.

Here's what I've got so far:
Fluval 205
12g Odyssea tank
20lbs ls
10lbs lr

The tank has been running for about 8 days now. Two days ago I did a water test w/the lfs and they feel that the tank is cycling.

At the advice of another lfs I added 2 hermit crabs and a partial water change. Was this a bad idea?

Photos at: web.mac.com/jaitaen

[Steven0000]

WELCOME TO RC!


most reefers believe it takes more time to fully cycle and tank
and to actually start you need a fish

i believe the tank has 2 cycles
once you add lr or ls
the bacteria start to multiply
and colonize

after about 3-4 weeks
they have colonized some what in your filer and sand bed

then when you get a fish a different kind of bacteria multiply and colonize to remove the wastes the fish produces
then that goes to nitrite then nitrate and ammonia
through other bactera
but what a mistake a lot of new reefers make is adding a lot of fish or waste producing animals at the same time and the different kinds of bactera have not had a chance to colonize and are not able to remove wastes fast enough so ammonia builds up and kills everything

i think adding some hermits wouldnt hurt but i would have waited a little longer

but dont add a fish for a little while
if you see waste all over the place from the hermits do not add a fish, once you see that the waste has gone away (a few weeks)
i would test your water and when you have ZERO of everything you should be fine

make sure your LFS is testing for
pH
Ammonia
Nitite
Nitrate
Phosphate
Salt

goodluck!
Steven.

p.s. if you have anyother questions don't be afraid to ask :)

[jaitaen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7886706#post7886706 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jaitaen
I have always been attracted to the look of saltwater aquariums. So, now that I'm older, I've decided to start a 12g Nano reef tank with hopes of success.

Here's what I've got so far:
Fluval 205
12g Odyssea tank
20lbs ls
10lbs lr

The tank has been running for about 8 days now. Two days ago I did a water test w/the lfs and they feel that the tank is cycling.

At the advice of another lfs I added 2 hermit crabs and a partial water change. Was this a bad idea?

Photos at: web.mac.com/jaitaen http://web.mac.com/jaitaen/iWeb/Jeremy%20Hiser/My%20Reef%20Tank.html

[kass03]

You need to know what the ammonia and nitrite levels are when cycling a tank. If they are more than 0 I would'nt add any inverts or fish.

it first goes ammonia which turns into nitrite and then nitrate.
ammonia being most harmfull then nitrite less harmfull but it still needs to go to 0 and nitrate is only harmfull with higher numbers.

it usually takes about a month or so for this whole process to occur depending on how much live rock you start with and if it's cured or not.
It's easier if you have your own test kit because then you can see when the ammonia and nitrite start to go up and then back down to 0.

Then when they are finally back to 0 and you add a fish or inverts it could do a mini cycle for the bacteria to catch up to the bio load.

That's why it's always better to only add 1 fish at a time.
In a 12 gallon you can only maybe have 2 fish anyway.

The crabs might not make it through a cycle.

kass

[jaitaen]

well it's been a bit since i've been back on here... relying on lfs. i've been doing well all my numbers are at 0 and ph is good. i had some blue mushrooms in my tank for about 2 weeks. they were doing well untiil i left on a business trip. my roommate was managing the tank and i get back and they are all gone. he said they just dissapeared. lfs says they melted like the wicked witch of the west, and to test everything. well, i did test and nothing was wrong. any suggestions? i loved thos things...