Hello I wanted to introduce myself and get to know the r2r community better.

jhast0n · Jan 31, 2015

Good evening!

Today, my husband purchased a BioCube tank, 14 gallon (my first saltwater tank) for my birthday and we were blessed to run into a gentleman at PetSmart who told us about your r2r community and was so encouraging and really inspiring to keep chasing my dream of having a saltwater tank one day. So to start off, my name is Jamie and my husband Jeremy. We live in Missouri and are currently getting a couple of inches of snow. So if you have any suggestions or tips on how to start this journey please share your thoughts and suggests are VERY WELCOMED. Thank you in advance for the support and encouragement I know my family will find here!

Thanks,

J&J

mike007 · Jan 31, 2015

Best advice Is to go slow and do your research.

Rob.D · Jan 31, 2015

Welcome to R2R!

This is a great article to read: How to set up a saltwater reef aquarium tank- REEFEDITION

kschweer · Jan 31, 2015

Welcome to R2R!!! Best advice I can give is to do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions. Take your time and have fun with it. I have rushed things in the past and have seen others do it as well and things never turned out well. Only bad things happen fast in this hobby. Best of luck with your new tank!

Greenstreet.1 · Feb 1, 2015

Best spot on the net welcome

SeahorseKeeper · Feb 1, 2015

Welcome to R2R!!

kireek · Feb 9, 2015

*Welcome to Reef2Reef,Jamie!* Once again,research every critter before buying it.Best of luck with your new aquarium!

Reefing Madness · Feb 9, 2015

jhast0n · Feb 9, 2015

Need help... fast, please! We just added our first fish, coral and cuc. Yesterday I did my tests again to make sure we were ready for the "next step". So today we took the big step and bought a clown fish, sand shifting starfish, Halloween crab, 10 blue leg hermits, a peppermint shrimp, maze brain frag, rosta zoanthid frag, and a grass looking frag, I forget its name. Oh and a feather duster who keeps teasing me when I come near the tank he goes away. So Nemo (my daughter named the clown), hes kind of hanging out at the bottom and not really swimming around. I did add a few drops of prime to drop my ammonia from .30 to 0 and now all of my readings are off. What should I do, ahhhhhhhh!

Rob.D · Feb 9, 2015

jhast0n said:
Need help... fast, please! We just added our first fish, coral and cuc. Yesterday I did my tests again to make sure we were ready for the "next step". So today we took the big step and bought a clown fish, sand shifting starfish, Halloween crab, 10 blue leg hermits, a peppermint shrimp, maze brain frag, rosta zoanthid frag, and a grass looking frag, I forget its name. Oh and a feather duster who keeps teasing me when I come near the tank he goes away. So Nemo (my daughter named the clown), hes kind of hanging out at the bottom and not really swimming around. I did add a few drops of prime to drop my ammonia from .30 to 0 and now all of my readings are off. What should I do, ahhhhhhhh!

What do you mean that your readings are off? When exactly did you begin the tank cycle?

jhast0n · Feb 9, 2015

Okay yesterday, PH 8.4 ammonia .30 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0. I add just a couple drops of Prime to drop my ammonia to 0 and now my readings today are, and my led lights were on when I tested, not sure if that matters. But my PH 7.8 Ammonia 0.0 Nitrite .25 Nitrate .30.

jhast0n · Feb 9, 2015

Okay yesterday, PH 8.4 ammonia .30 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0. I add just a couple drops of Prime to drop my ammonia to 0 and now my readings today are, and my led lights were on when I tested, not sure if that matters. But my PH 7.8 Ammonia 0.0 Nitrite .25 Nitrate .30. 

jhast0n · Feb 9, 2015

Oh, and I have the cycling for 2 1/2 weeks with live rock and live sand.

jhast0n · Feb 9, 2015

My husband just pointed out that we did a change in our filtration, we took out the Bio Balls and add a fluval filter with a bag of chemi-pure elite, so would that have messed things up?

Rob.D · Feb 9, 2015

Well if the water is showing ammonia and nitrite, it stands to reason that the tank is still going through it's cycle. I would stop all feeding and don't add any new fish. Keep testing the water, hopefully the end of the tanks cycle is soon to come.

little_ocean_treasures · Feb 9, 2015

Hello and welcome to R2R. I am new to this forum too. Actually, I was reading your intro and I felt major deja vu (kinda gave me goosebumps). lol My name is Jamie too and my hubby's name begins with a "J" but is Jason. We live in MN. Anyways, my hubby bought me a 14 gallon Biocube for my birthday in January 2011...my first saltwater tank. So I was like, wow after reading your story being SO similar to mine. lol

With my first 14 gallon Biocube I didn't even add the fully cured live rock until 2 weeks after adding the water and dry sand. Two weeks later I added my first life, a snail to clean up the brown diatoms that were everywhere. It was a about a month later after that that I added my first fish (yellowtail damselfish) and piece of coral (GSP). I too decided to remove the bioballs after cycling my tank, but I did it like 2 balls a week so I didn't shock the system since I already had a fish and snails in there. Bioballs grow beneficial bacteria just like live rock so essentially it was like taking out a bunch of live rock if you did it all at once. And fully cycling a tank takes a while. I'm thinking perhaps yours may not have quite been over and ready for a fish just yet.

Yes, feed the fish very lightly (light feeding every other day). Clowns are fairly tough, he should pull through. Mine did in a somewhat new set up 40 gallon breeder (was the only fish in there and I used Dr. Tim's One And Only to jump start the cycle). Anyways, if you decide to change anything more, do it slowly. That's a lesson I learned the hard way.

Hope you enjoy your 14 gallon. It's a nice tank. I know I do. Mine just turned 4 years old 3 weeks ago.

jhast0n · Feb 10, 2015

Hi Jamie! Nice to meet you. Thanks for the kind words. I've only had my tank a couple of weeks and am already dreaming of a bigger tank. I LOVE MINE! I did a small water change today and i tested before I did, not sure if I should test before and after or just after, any tips? But this time I did test before and my ph balance is back to 8.2 and ammonia is 0. the Nrite .5 and Nrate .2 So there's hope, right? Nemo is swimming around more and everybody is pretty active, YAY!
Also, do you have to have snails to have a successful tank? Snails freak me out, and so I really don't want them in my tank but if I must, then I must.

little_ocean_treasures · Feb 10, 2015

Yep, you sound just like me. Got my 14 gallon, everything was so so awesome...and then I wanted a bigger tank. lol So 6 months later I got the 29 Biocube. Loved it, twice the size...and I wanted a bigger tank. Year and a half later I got the 40 breeder. Loved the footprint of it and the extra space...and now I want a bigger tank. It NEVER ends. I GUARANTEE it!! lol But cost and space wise, I just put together a 5 gallon rimless that I'm cycling right now. It's a month into it and all I've added so far was a couple snails, mini brittle stars, tiny pods are growing in it, and I added a small ball of Cheato in the refugium in the back. Taking it slow with this one. Gonna be a coral only tank, no fish. Little easier to keep clean that way.

No, you do not have to have snails at all. They are just a helpful part of a CUC (cleanup crew). Honestly, I haven't purchased snails for a few years. But I did get some cool and very reproductive reef safe Collonista snails that hitchhiked on my liverock in the 29 gallon. I like them cause they replenish themselves, eat lots, are reef safe, and get no bigger than the size of a green pea. And now they are everywhere since I put them in all of my tanks. They actually would be a good snail for you since they only come out at night so you don't even have to see them if you don't want...plus again, they are small and kinda cute. lol

Testing water is best done before a water change if you want to know what's going on in your tank. If everything tests out okay before the water change there is no need to test after one. If things are not looking so good, then yes test again after a water change as well to see what changes it made in your tank. Currently, your nitrite (NO2) is a bit high and is a sign that your tank is still cycling. Nitrite is more dangerous to fish than the nitrate (NO3) is, so keep a close eye on those nitrite levels. Hopefully they come down soon. Glad the fish is looking happier.

jhast0n · Feb 10, 2015

ok tested again, Nrate .1 Nrite .25 Ph is 8.4 and ammonia 0. So things got alot better with water change. I think the collonissa snails I could handle. I will consider them. Thanks for the tip. I was curious do you use a protein skimmer on your BioCube? The lady at the pet store told me I'd be wasting my money to get one. I really have seen some positive reviews so now I'm kind of confused. Also how long should my levels be in the right areas before considering another addition? Thanks again for the help and tips!!