MichaelFita
New Member
Good Morning Reefers !
I am writing this thread in order to help out the brand new reefers within the community . I have combined my knowledge and experience into a step by step guide in setting up your brand new reef tank .
The goal we all have while setting up and keeping a tank is pretty straight forward ..... Stable Parameters !!
Out of all my Reef tanks i have put a very good system into place to make sure your cycle and startup is successful.
Here are the steps i take to cycle my reef and keep it stable
STEP 1 :
Add water and live sand aswell as your aquascape . I used Dry Marco rock to create my aquascape.
Turn on all pumps and wavemakers and all the things you will be using in your reef tank , Carbon, Skimmer , GFO , UV reactor , etc etc and leave it on for about 48 hours or until the sand settles .
STEP 2 :
Once everything is set up , Add Dr Tims one and only !
Make sure you turn off your skimmer , UV sterilizer and Roller Mat before adding Dr tims .
Once Dr Tims is added , keep your skimmer , UV sterilizer and Roller mat OFF for 7 days
Once you add the bacteria i like to throw in a cube of Mysis Shrimp so the bacteria has a food source . You can pretty much add a large frozen shrimp if you do not have mysis .
A week later , do a 10-15% water change and you will want to continue doing these weekly water changes no matter what !
STEP 3:
After 2.5-3 months after Step 2 ,Test your parameters and if all is well introduce your first fish as well as another bacteria booster , whether thats Dr Tims or Brightwells Microbacter. for the second bacteria dose i choose to go with microbacter as ive noticed it helps the corraline algae grow a little faster than Dr Tims ( again , just my experience) During Step 3 it is important to go ahead and introduce corraline algae to your tank . For that i recommend going to your LFS and picking out a few hermits with a nice layer of corraline algae around the shell . This will help out A LOT!
Step 3 also is the step in which you introduce your fish , It can be a pair of clown fish or a utilitarian fish such as a Yellow Tang . During this time please keep the lights completely off , ambient lighting will be enough to make sure your corraline algae thrives as it does well in low light conditions .
STEP 4:
4 weeks after Step 3 , add some more corraline algae from a clean and reputable source . Along with that feel free to add another utilitarian fish . Step 4 is finally the step in which you can flip your lights on and enjoy the show . If your lights have an acclimation mode start out with 5% lighting and let that gradually increase to the par ratings that you desire .
STEP 5:
If you start seeing corraline algae grow after step 4 , you are ready for corals ! Just please be sure to go ahead and test your parameters .
I myself added a few frags of euphyllia and they were striving .
Once all these steps are completed you should have somewhat stable parameters .
Parameters may vary since everyone has their preference of salt . I myself use Tropic Marin Pro reef , it is hands down one of the best salts and the results are impressive . I keep my salinity at 35 PPT and my temp at 78 Degrees .
10 months in , these are my parameters :
Salinity - 35ppt
Temp -78 Degrees
Calcium - 510ppm
Alkalinity- 10dKH
Magnesium-1300ppm
Phosphates - .02
Nitrate- 2/3ppm
Nitrite - 0pp,
Ammonia - 0 ppm
PH-8.2
I am writing this thread in order to help out the brand new reefers within the community . I have combined my knowledge and experience into a step by step guide in setting up your brand new reef tank .
The goal we all have while setting up and keeping a tank is pretty straight forward ..... Stable Parameters !!
Out of all my Reef tanks i have put a very good system into place to make sure your cycle and startup is successful.
Here are the steps i take to cycle my reef and keep it stable
STEP 1 :
Add water and live sand aswell as your aquascape . I used Dry Marco rock to create my aquascape.
Turn on all pumps and wavemakers and all the things you will be using in your reef tank , Carbon, Skimmer , GFO , UV reactor , etc etc and leave it on for about 48 hours or until the sand settles .
STEP 2 :
Once everything is set up , Add Dr Tims one and only !
Make sure you turn off your skimmer , UV sterilizer and Roller Mat before adding Dr tims .
Once Dr Tims is added , keep your skimmer , UV sterilizer and Roller mat OFF for 7 days
Once you add the bacteria i like to throw in a cube of Mysis Shrimp so the bacteria has a food source . You can pretty much add a large frozen shrimp if you do not have mysis .
A week later , do a 10-15% water change and you will want to continue doing these weekly water changes no matter what !
STEP 3:
After 2.5-3 months after Step 2 ,Test your parameters and if all is well introduce your first fish as well as another bacteria booster , whether thats Dr Tims or Brightwells Microbacter. for the second bacteria dose i choose to go with microbacter as ive noticed it helps the corraline algae grow a little faster than Dr Tims ( again , just my experience) During Step 3 it is important to go ahead and introduce corraline algae to your tank . For that i recommend going to your LFS and picking out a few hermits with a nice layer of corraline algae around the shell . This will help out A LOT!
Step 3 also is the step in which you introduce your fish , It can be a pair of clown fish or a utilitarian fish such as a Yellow Tang . During this time please keep the lights completely off , ambient lighting will be enough to make sure your corraline algae thrives as it does well in low light conditions .
STEP 4:
4 weeks after Step 3 , add some more corraline algae from a clean and reputable source . Along with that feel free to add another utilitarian fish . Step 4 is finally the step in which you can flip your lights on and enjoy the show . If your lights have an acclimation mode start out with 5% lighting and let that gradually increase to the par ratings that you desire .
STEP 5:
If you start seeing corraline algae grow after step 4 , you are ready for corals ! Just please be sure to go ahead and test your parameters .
I myself added a few frags of euphyllia and they were striving .
Once all these steps are completed you should have somewhat stable parameters .
Parameters may vary since everyone has their preference of salt . I myself use Tropic Marin Pro reef , it is hands down one of the best salts and the results are impressive . I keep my salinity at 35 PPT and my temp at 78 Degrees .
10 months in , these are my parameters :
Salinity - 35ppt
Temp -78 Degrees
Calcium - 510ppm
Alkalinity- 10dKH
Magnesium-1300ppm
Phosphates - .02
Nitrate- 2/3ppm
Nitrite - 0pp,
Ammonia - 0 ppm
PH-8.2
