Hey folks. I joined this forum about a year ago, as I started accumulating pieces to start my own little piece of the ocean. I ended up with a 160 gal Oceanic tank, which I had rebuilt and drilled in the back. Long story short, I finally read enough to gain confidence to get the show on the road. This is my first tank, so I'm sure I'll make plenty of mistakes, just bare with me.
I didn't weigh the rock when I put it in, but I'm pretty sure everyone will say I need more. There's 140 lbs of live sand and 145 total gallons of water in the system. I have 2 overflow boxes with (2) 1 inch drains, 1 main and 1 emergency per box. Next to the overflows are 3/4 inch returns. A Jeabo wavemaker on both sides and a big return pump (secondhand so not sure on size) give me a lot of flow. I went with a second hand ReefOctopus 160 skimmer in the sump, which might be a little small, but I don't plan on a giant bioload. For lighting, I have a ReefBreeders led that came with the tank, but I plan to add 4 t5s to supplement.
My plan for the tank is a mainly LPS dominant reef. I really like acans and chalices. I'll have a hammer or 2 and probably add whatever strikes me at the time. Fishwise, I want the goby/shrimp pair, tangs, a blue spotted jawfish, and I'm sure my daughter will talk me into clowns. Any suggestions on stocking will be greatly appreciated.
Anyways, I've started adding water to the tank on 10-4 and had it full on the 6th (1.026). I started phantom feeding flakes on Friday, once a day. Today I tested with the API masterkit, pH 8, 1ppm ammonia, 5ppm nitrite and 40ppm nitrate. Do these numbers sound right, early to mid cycle? I noticed, what looks like, some algae growth today. I think this is the start of the ugly stage of the cycle. What should I do go get rid of it?
Sorry for the long winded post, here are some pics.
I didn't weigh the rock when I put it in, but I'm pretty sure everyone will say I need more. There's 140 lbs of live sand and 145 total gallons of water in the system. I have 2 overflow boxes with (2) 1 inch drains, 1 main and 1 emergency per box. Next to the overflows are 3/4 inch returns. A Jeabo wavemaker on both sides and a big return pump (secondhand so not sure on size) give me a lot of flow. I went with a second hand ReefOctopus 160 skimmer in the sump, which might be a little small, but I don't plan on a giant bioload. For lighting, I have a ReefBreeders led that came with the tank, but I plan to add 4 t5s to supplement.
My plan for the tank is a mainly LPS dominant reef. I really like acans and chalices. I'll have a hammer or 2 and probably add whatever strikes me at the time. Fishwise, I want the goby/shrimp pair, tangs, a blue spotted jawfish, and I'm sure my daughter will talk me into clowns. Any suggestions on stocking will be greatly appreciated.
Anyways, I've started adding water to the tank on 10-4 and had it full on the 6th (1.026). I started phantom feeding flakes on Friday, once a day. Today I tested with the API masterkit, pH 8, 1ppm ammonia, 5ppm nitrite and 40ppm nitrate. Do these numbers sound right, early to mid cycle? I noticed, what looks like, some algae growth today. I think this is the start of the ugly stage of the cycle. What should I do go get rid of it?
Sorry for the long winded post, here are some pics.
