Fish are added, now what?

[LeftyReefer]

The tank has cycled. The first fish and CUC members have been in the tank a little over a week now.
Just added a skimmer and lights.
So far, so good.

I started with all new dry rock and sand. The tank has been up for almost a month now. So far, my marcorocks still look brand new, sparkling white. Same with the sand. My CUC snails were covered in pink coralline algae. I also added a bottle of the coralline algae hoping to speed that up.

What now? Wait for the new tank uglies to hit? Anything I should be keeping an eye on? Or anything I need to watch out for? What kind of photo periods should I be running now? I currently have my lights set to run for 9 hrs per day... Is that too much?

I bought the Red Sea reef pro foundation test kit so I can start checking Ca, Mg, and Alk now. Ran a series of those tests last night and everything seemed OK.

Happy with how things are going so far, but the ugly phase has this noob worried....

 

[Perthegallon]

Yes wait up to 6 months before adding corals I would suggest sea urchins when the hair alage stage strikes with a fuge when the time comes if possible

 

[Perthegallon]

Don’t worry you are doing perfectly fine the lights can be off or on it doesn’t affect the fish but you can kill the alage be leaving off for a few days when the ugly stages come it usually takes some time

 

[LeftyReefer]

My LFS always has tuxedo urchins.... Will those do? When the hair algae comes.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Also, you mentioned a fuge... Should I be keeping nitrates as low as possible for now?
What is a good target for nitrates during the ugly phase?

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Evening,

Saw your rock in the build thread.looks good, Update the thread when you get a chance so we can keep up. The bracket for the lamp was awesome to.

Which fish and CuC did you put in so far? I would also ask where you basic numbers are now, Ph, alk, No3 and Po4. There are generally target ranges that are best for each .

 

[Perthegallon]

My LFS always has tuxedo urchins.... Will those do? When the hair algae comes.

Yes any are great I like the white ones as I got them for 10$ and they were younger so they are crazy eaters the only concern with having them is when you get corals they will pick them up and walk around with them so just make sure your corals are glued down or you pay attention

 

[LeftyReefer]

Evening,

Saw your rock in the build thread.looks good, Update the thread when you get a chance so we can keep up. The bracket for the lamp was awesome to.

Which fish and CuC did you put in so far? I would also ask where you basic numbers are now, Ph, alk, No3 and Po4. There are generally target ranges that are best for each .

I started with a pair of small clowns. A peppermint shrimp and 2 Mexican turbo snails.
So far all are happy but I worry the snails don't have enough algae to eat yet.... Actually hoping some pops up for them soon. Haha

pH. 8.0
Alk. 9.8. (first time using red Sea kit could be some user error here)
No3. 0-5 per API test.
Po4. No test yet. Leaning toward the Hanna phosphate ULR hi774 ,for this soon.

Thanks!

 

[LeftyReefer]

1.026 35ppt
78 temp
Ca. 465
Mg. 1200


As I mentioned, I just got the Red Sea test kit and will need to get a few tests under my belt using those syringes before I put too much stock in these results. They might be off a bit but I think I'll be able to get the tests dialed in after a few tries.

 

[JReef85]

Seems like you are right on track. Take your time and allow everything to get into a good balance. Tuxedo Urchins are awesome algae eaters, I have one myself. I wouldn't add one till you start seeing algae otherwise they will starve.

 

[Perthegallon]

I started with a pair of small clowns. A peppermint shrimp and 2 Mexican turbo snails.
So far all are happy but I worry the snails don't have enough algae to eat yet.... Actually hoping some pops up for them soon. Haha

pH. 8.0
Alk. 9.8. (first time using red Sea kit could be some user error here)
No3. 0-5 per API test.
Po4. No test yet. Leaning toward the Hanna phosphate ULR hi774 ,for this soon.

Thanks!

Is there no alage on the glass if not you can break apart those algae sheets and throw those in there

 

[The Night Driving Avenger]

The tank has cycled. The first fish and CUC members have been in the tank a little over a week now.
Just added a skimmer and lights.
So far, so good.

I started with all new dry rock and sand. The tank has been up for almost a month now. So far, my marcorocks still look brand new, sparkling white. Same with the sand. My CUC snails were covered in pink coralline algae. I also added a bottle of the coralline algae hoping to speed that up.

What now? Wait for the new tank uglies to hit? Anything I should be keeping an eye on? Or anything I need to watch out for? What kind of photo periods should I be running now? I currently have my lights set to run for 9 hrs per day... Is that too much?

I bought the Red Sea reef pro foundation test kit so I can start checking Ca, Mg, and Alk now. Ran a series of those tests last night and everything seemed OK.

Happy with how things are going so far, but the ugly phase has this noob worried....

something i've found useful as a newbie is going to the pound shop (dollar store for those across the pond) and getting a cheap magnifying glass (they often come in a pack of 3 at different strengths) very handy for id'ing nuisance algae, checking out any suspicious marks on animals and coral etc

 

[LeftyReefer]

something i've found useful as a newbie is going to the pound shop (dollar store for those across the pond) and getting a cheap magnifying glass (they often come in a pack of 3 at different strengths) very handy for id'ing nuisance algae, checking out any suspicious marks on animals and coral etc

That sounds like a good idea. thanks!

 

[LeftyReefer]

Is there no alage on the glass if not you can break apart those algae sheets and throw those in there

Ok, will do. I had planned on getting one of those magnetic veggie clips to hold some seaweed sheets, but I'm not sure that is all that useful for snails....might be better off rubber banding some to a rock or something for the snails.

 

[Perthegallon]

Ok, will do. I had planned on getting one of those magnetic veggie clips to hold some seaweed sheets, but I'm not sure that is all that useful for snails....might be better off rubber banding some to a rock or something for the snails.

They will get ever away