Any tips/tricks for establishing new tank? Cycling progression of my first Reef

[diveinheadfirst]

Water went in 8 days ago and have been monitoring the cycle excitedly since. Hoping to grow the tank out with encrusting corals and see where it goes from there. This tank has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, and seeing it come together has been incredibly exciting and fun.

I do have one question about lighting, does anybody have any advice on kessil vs radion? I love the spectrum the kessil provides and it’s hard to argue those number. But WWC and all the major coral players seem to use radion? Thanks in advance!

Jeff

 

[death-by-reef]

radion is the best hands down, but kessil is good too. for a small tank like that, u can gt the same radion lvls out a kessil a360x. looking to see how this turns out.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Water went in 8 days ago and have been monitoring the cycle excitedly since. Hoping to grow the tank out with encrusting corals and see where it goes from there. This tank has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, and seeing it come together has been incredibly exciting and fun.

I do have one question about lighting, does anybody have any advice on kessil vs radion? I love the spectrum the kessil provides and it’s hard to argue those number. But WWC and all the major coral players seem to use radion? Thanks in advance!

Jeff

Aquascape looks great!!! I love the little ledge you have.

 

[diveinheadfirst]

To bring you guys up to speed on how I have been cycling here is a list by day of what I’ve added and in what order.

Prior to filling I dosed my sand with AquaForest LifeSource in an attempt to seed natural biome to the tank, I’m also running their Biofill media in my filter basket

Day 1: filled tank with saltwater and turned on pumps, let run undisturbed for 24 hours.

Day 2: dosed Dr.Tim’s One and Only after testing ammonia and confirming 0 ppm. Dosed ammonium chloride at recommended levels.

inserting my testing log here to show cycle progression. Note that “day 1” is actually day two after initial ammonia testing


Reef testing log

Day 1: tested ammonia, 0. Removed dirty filter floss. Added two part Dr.Tim’s and ammonia.

Day 2: tested ammonia at 1.5 and nitrite at .025-.050, ph 7.7-7.8

Day 3: morning test shows ammonia at 1.5 and nitrite showing a slight increase to .1-.15

Evening test shows ammonia steady at 1.5 while nitrite showed slight increase to .15-.25. Added next ammonia dose.

Day 4: morning test shows ammonia at 1.5 nitrite rising to .4 and nitrate testing at 5.

Evening test showed ammonia, nitrite and nitrate holding steady. Ph dipped from 7.7 to 7.6

Day 5: morning test shows ammonia steady at 1.5, however nitrite is at least 1 while nitrate is around 12. Ph steady at 7.6. Increased temp this morning to 84.

Evening tests show ammonia at 1.5, nitrite between 2 and 4 and nitrate between 12 and 25. Ph at 7.5, temperature 83.5

Day 6: morning tests show ammonia at 1.5 nitrite at 2.5-4 and nitrate at 25. Ph 7.6

Evening tests show ammonia steady at 1.5, nitrites at 4 and nitrates at 40. Ph 7.6. Dosed 2 scoops LifeSource.

Day 7: morning tests show ammonia still stuck at 1.5, nitrites show 4 but could be higher, nitrates between 40-65.

Evening tests show ammonia steady at 1.5, nitrite still showing 4 and nitrates 65 and rising. Dosed MicroBacter7 2 capfuls. Ph 7.6 all day.

Due to nitrite levels being “stuck” above 4 I began dosing Microbacter7 in an attempt to bolster the bacteria colony.

I’ll keep you guys posted as things progress, and any advice is ALWAYS welcomed and appreciated.

Happy Reefing!!

Jeff

 

[diveinheadfirst]

Update!

Day 8: morning tests showed ammonia appearing to decrease to below 1.5. Nitrite still testing at 4, nitrates showing 65-90.

Evening tests show ammonia testing around .5 but tough color match, definitely decreasing though. Nitrites still high, tests at 4. Nitrates also high, tests around 90. Dosed two more caps Microbacter7

Day 9: morning test shows ammonia nearing zero. Nitrites testing at or around 2, and nitrates testing at or around 95.

Evening tests were early today, but ammonia is gone! Nitrites were also down testing somewhere between 1 and 2, nitrates are sky high at 160. 25% water change, dosing 2 caps Microbacter7 and adding pods.