Cycling my 20g saltwater tank

[gmeazy01]

Hello everyone, after moving from a beach town to a valley with no ocean nearby, I decided to get a saltwater tank as I love being by the ocean. I started doing a fishless cycle 3 weeks ago using Dr. Tims ammonia and Microbacter 7. I measured my ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels every other day.I actually work as a microbiology so having to do this makes my room like a little wet lab , so I was very happy about that. I saw how my ammonia level went up then down and then my nitrite to nitrate. Got my water tested at a lfs and a week ago and told me my nitrites we're off the chart. 2 days a go, I went to another lfs that can read my NH4, NO2-, NO3- very accurately with like a machine for 10 bucks and informed me that my cycling is almost done.. (0.1 ammonia, 0.4ppm Nitrite and 10 ppm nitrate).. Today I tested the water myself and I saw a reading of 0 for all three molecules (maybe some nitrate but very low <5PPM). I am very excited to add my first fish tomorrow but as I was reading different forums and how people cycled their tank, I read from some hobbyist that they continued to dose ammonia. I did not do that. I only added 60 drops of dr. tims ammonia on the first day for my 20 g as that is what the instruction says. DID I CYCLE MY TANK INCORRECTLY? was I supposed to dose ammonia and keep it at 2 or 5 PPM? Now I am afraid to add my fish tomorrow, but I have been waiting for this day (to see 0 ppm) PLEASE HELP NEED PEOPLE's opinion. Also I changed the set up of my rocks 2 days ago, I used gloves to make sure that I don't contaminate my tank. Would that mess up my live bacteria. As a microbiologist, I would assume no but I never had a saltwater tank so I'm not sure. I also didnt see any growth of algae as I didnt have a light during cycling and just got the ai prime 16hd yesterday. Anyways any opinion or information is appreciated. Also please don't judge me for adding live bacteria and not doing this naturally. I believe this is modern day natural. I grow bacteria in my lab all the time and its not that different from seeing it in lab and in field trials.

If need pictures just comment and I can upload.

 

[Specific Ocean]

How long have you been cycling your tank?

did you use live rock or dry rock? Live sand?

 

[gmeazy01]

HI I actually got it tested from a local fish store. Paid $10 to get it accurately checked and they said my cycling is done.

 

[UnderseaOddities]

@gmeazy01 you should be good my man get.what were you thinking of stocking it with?

 

[gmeazy01]

This is my tank now i put 1 clownfish and bunch of lps i feel bad for Mone the clownfish tho its swimming by the glass. I checked my ammonia with my api test and its showing i have ammonia :/ idk if its being inaccurate

 

[UnderseaOddities]

I'd get 2 turbo snails 6 to 10 dwarf hermits for cuc maybe nextweek

 

[CrimsonTide]

Clowns are hardy fish. He might hate you but "should" be fine. He's probably trying to find a place to sleep in his new habitat. You can always change out some water if there is ammonia to help him out. The bacteria is in the rocks and sand (also filtration).

 

[gmeazy01]

I'd get 2 turbo snails 6 to 10 dwarf hermits for cuc maybe nextweek

Oh the lfs actually gave me 3 turbo snails. Also when should I do my first water change LOL i got my first fish this past sunday. I made a mistake of feeding the clown twice a day. Im stopping that lol. I tried direct feeding my corals idk if they ate the frozen food that i defrosted and pipetted onto them

 

[UnderseaOddities]

It takes 5 weeks for a tartration curve to occur week 5 is when coral should be added ime(lost alot of money over the years mostly sps) some people say wait until 8 months for hardcoral(spa lps)I say wait until you see cyano or if you wanna do it right wait for coraline algae to form then you know your system is mature enough on a microbiological level(I say start cuc, add fish then inverts(shrimps,clams,lobsters,stars) then macro algae then soft then lps then sps.a man doesn't accumulate a tool collection overnight it takes time sometimes years to quote walt kowalski same goes with coral if your trying to collect a good starting point ime are soft corals get a mushroom rock 8-10p (80-200$) and a nice 4inch kenya tree(40$-60$) this will build up your collection fast and you can trade up locally for what you want or to lfs ffg or nicer pieces

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Oh the lfs actually gave me 3 turbo snails. Also when should I do my first water change LOL i got my first fish this past sunday. I made a mistake of feeding the clown twice a day. Im stopping that lol. I tried direct feeding my corals idk if they ate the frozen food that i defrosted and pipetted onto them

Every week 10 to 15 percent of tank volume to replenish trace minerals for optimum ion exchange and nutrient export

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Top off with fresh ro daily(draw line on side top off evaporated amount ,daily then down the line make or invest in an ato if you're going too keep hardcoral

 

[346700984]

This is my tank now i put 1 clownfish and bunch of lps i feel bad for Mone the clownfish tho its swimming by the glass. I checked my ammonia with my api test and its showing i have ammonia :/ idk if its being inaccurate

API tests are known to show ammonia even when at 0. Try Salifert test kit, Red Sea test kit or even the ammonia reader that suction cups to the inside of the tank. You will have more accurate ammonia results. Sometimes people add ammonia in a fish less cycle to test that their nitrifying bacteria are present and that the ammonia zeros out as it’s converted to nitrites, then nitrates. As long as your ammonia and nitrites are 0 you are good for adding fish, but when it comes to adding corals you may want to wait for your parameters to stabilize for a length of time. Also important to check all parameters for corals such as calcium, alkalinity, magnesium and phosphate. Also good to monitor nitrates as well after cycling is complete. You will also go through the ugly algae phase which is normal. Happy reefing!

 

[CrimsonTide]

Turn off your lights completely or have them dimmed to near zero and he should calm down and sleep somewhere. My clowns sleep from the moment it gets dark until the lights come back on. They will also sleep in really and I mean REALLY weird places in your tank.

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Also did you qt your fish @gmeazy01 ?
A dip will even help we should always assume the worse even if the fish appears perfectly healthy

 

[gmeazy01]

This is mone the clown and he sleeps by the black glass of my tank sideways the other night lol it hasnt touched my lps yet at all.

 

[UnderseaOddities]

Turn off your lights completely or have them dimmed to near zero and he should calm down and sleep somewhere. My clowns sleep from the moment it gets dark until the lights come back on. They will also sleep in really and I mean REALLY weird places in your tank.

It may even do something like host power head overflow or hob until you get a flower pot or coral he likes

 

[gmeazy01]

Also did you qt your fish @gmeazy01 ?
A dip will even help we should always assume the worse even if the fish appears perfectly healthy

No i did not qt. I dont have a qt tank. This is my first saltwater tank actually i dipped my coral using this coral dip solution from lfs

 

[UnderseaOddities]

I reccomend this to beginners and pros alike and is a nice reference point I listen to this before bed sometimes

Here enjoy this playlist I've made on reef chemistry to help you better understand the how and why

 

[CrimsonTide]

My pair sleep above the skimmer intake and surf the area there because they can stay in that area without much movement needed. Then when lights come on they move back down to the right side of my tank and stay there for 12 hours.

 

[UnderseaOddities]

No i did not qt. I dont have a qt tank. This is my first saltwater tank actually i dipped my coral using this coral dip solution from lfs

You can dip your fish in praziquantul or annehyde product or something with cupramine then dip them in clean water for a quick fix if you can qt or setup hospital itll save you in the long run