Cycling temperature recommendation and some questions

Ettercap

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
May 2, 2022
Messages
44
Reaction score
15
Location
North Dallas
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Im brand new to saltwater and this is my first sw tank. Im attempting to keep a simple saltwater tank and challenge myself for a year. If I can maintain a nano tank then once I get a new home, hopefully in a years time, I will be upgrading to a larger tank Red Sea. So, this is my budget build re-using equipment from my freshwater community tank.
My gameplan so far:
Day 0-14 - Do nothing but add dry rock and live sand. I picked up 45 lbs of Caribsea "life" rock (not live rock but its the fake purple dry rock) and 40 lbs of caribsea Arag-alive special grade.
Day0.JPG
Day2.jpg
Day3.jpg

Note: I labeled Day - 0 fail because idk why I thought I would have enough LFS saltwater to fill a 36g. I thought the water displacement of 45 lbs of rock would get me under 30 gallons of SW but apparently not.
I am using a 407 cannister (think budget friendly) since I am re-using it from my previous community tank and I have 2x Hydra 32 HDs from my high light planted tank. FYI, I only took the picture with lights on to see what it looks with lights and during the cycle, I am keeping all lights off.
Question#1 - During this time, what should I keep my temperature at? Im reading 78-86 but also reading that I can keep it in the 90s to improve bacteria growth. Im not dosing anything right now because Im hoping the live sand will give it a small kick start.

Day 15-30 - I want to start dosing bacteria and adding in a couple of clowns. I prefer the fish-in cycling with hardy fish.
Month 2 - Once all parameters are NH3, NO2, and NO3 are 0 (NO3 probably may never get to 0 but at least <.5) then I will add corals and CUC.
Month 3 - I want to add utility fish, algae eaters and pest eaters, and add more corals.

Question#2 - Where do/should I post the beginner reef builder thread? Is it in this forum or a different one?
Question#3 - Algae eating fish? What is recommended for a nano-tank? From what I understand, a yellow tang can "get" too big but if I get a smaller one from the beginning, will it really outgrow a 36g in a year? Plus, I think yellow tangs are pretty expensive right now so Im looking for alternatives? Im also wanting to get a Lawnmower blenny and six-line wrasses for pest eating.
Question#4 - I plan to use the lighting profile from BRS series. I am keeping this low budget so I dont plan to get expensive corals and will focus on getting <$50 corals like softies.
Question#5 - I will be purchasing 2x Nero 5 (mainly because I have AI lights and I like the compactness of them) and a RODI unit. Is the 2nd Nero5 way overkill?
 

SlugSnorter

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 19, 2021
Messages
3,847
Reaction score
2,508
Location
Long Island.... maybe north korea
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would recommend an ATO to prevent salinity from changing due to evaporation.

Day 15-30 - I want to start dosing bacteria and adding in a couple of clowns. I prefer the fish-in cycling with hardy fish.

Why? it has no benefit whatsoever, and will cause harm to the fish. SW fish are far less hardy than FW fish.

Also, if you are using tap water, stop, it will cause a number of issues. Use RODI or Distilled water

Month 2 - Once all parameters are NH3, NO2, and NO3 are 0 (NO3 probably may never get to 0 but at least <.5) then I will add corals and CUC.

0 nitrates will cause dinoflagilates or cyano. Nitrite isn't super important. You should also check your ALK, pH and phosphates.

May be too early for corals. the basic CUC should be added once algae starts to grow.

Month 3 - I want to add utility fish, algae eaters and pest eaters, and add more corals.

Careful not to overstock or go for a fish that will outgrow your tank. Your CUC does the heavy lifting algae wise, and im not sure what pests you are talking about.

Question#1 - During this time, what should I keep my temperature at? Im reading 78-86 but also reading that I can keep it in the 90s to improve bacteria growth. Im not dosing anything right now because Im hoping the live sand will give it a small kick start.

Live sand doesn't do much. Remember to add ammonia/food otherwise nothing will be happening. Personally I like keeping it at just 78.

Question#3 - Algae eating fish? What is recommended for a nano-tank? From what I understand, a yellow tang can "get" too big but if I get a smaller one from the beginning, will it really outgrow a 36g in a year? Plus, I think yellow tangs are pretty expensive right now so Im looking for alternatives? Im also wanting to get a Lawnmower blenny and six-line wrasses for pest eating.

CUC does the heavy algae lifting in this size of tank. That Lawnmower will do some work too. That tang will grow fast, and I wouldn't' recommend it. What pests? Six lines will just eat your CUC. and are too big for that tank.

Question#4 - I plan to use the lighting profile from BRS series. I am keeping this low budget so I dont plan to get expensive corals and will focus on getting <$50 corals like softies.

the hobby has a way of sneaking up on you and biting you in the wallet. I don't wanna be rude or anything but a smaller tank is harder to keep than a larger one. Your current lights should be fine.

Question#5 - I will be purchasing 2x Nero 5 (mainly because I have AI lights and I like the compactness of them) and a RODI unit. Is the 2nd Nero5 way overkill?

you will likely have to run them fairly low. You can reuse them if you get a larger tank.

SIDENOTE:

Make sure you cleaned out and changed all the media inside that canister. If not, I would recommend doing so as soon as possible
 
Last edited:
Back
Top