I won’t have fish for a month or two

Angel_V_the_reefer

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Hello reefers, so I have started cycling my tank with bio spira it’s been about four days and I’m at 0.8ppm. My tank is being cycled fast and honestly I don’t get why do the 2ppm to 0 ppm. Many reefers have told me to cycle it once and there. They have had much success.

I won’t have fish for a month or two as I’m going to set up my qt tank in a month and won’t have the fish ready for the DT until a month after they have been medicated. I was wondering if maybe I could kickstart the ugly phase ? I don’t know what would happen and I hope it’s not a dumb question. Of course I’d do this after I’m done cycling and I would want to do it to first add inverts and my cuc then once my fish were done being medicated, they would go in. I won’t add corals until may so I would be fine I guess? I’m new to this and I want to see what you guys say !
 

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I didn’t have fish for the first couple months. I just had my snails, shrimp, hermits, and some corals.

After you finish your cycle, you just have to make sure something in your tank is producing ammonia so the bacteria has something to feed on. How big is the tank? You may want to consider dosing ammonia if it’s large while you wait for fish. 50 gallons or less should be just fine with the method above. It worked for my 20, 25, and 45 with zero issues.

If you’ve got a light on the tank and okay parameters, the ugly phase will start itself. Don’t worry too much about it, it’s just gonna happen so let it do it’s disgusting algae filled thing and you’re gonna have to deal with it unfortunately. All I can suggest is a good amount of snails and hermits to help keep the algae under plague proportions.

it sounds like you have a pretty good plan. Good luck!
 

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Without something producing waste and creating bioload, youre going to have zero readings.
 
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Angel_V_the_reefer

Angel_V_the_reefer

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I didn’t have fish for the first couple months. I just had my snails, shrimp, hermits, and some corals.

After you finish your cycle, you just have to make sure something in your tank is producing ammonia so the bacteria has something to feed on. How big is the tank? You may want to consider dosing ammonia if it’s large while you wait for fish. 50 gallons or less should be just fine with the method above. It worked for my 20, 25, and 45 with zero issues.

If you’ve got a light on the tank and okay parameters, the ugly phase will start itself. Don’t worry too much about it, it’s just gonna happen so let it do it’s disgusting algae filled thing and you’re gonna have to deal with it unfortunately. All I can suggest is a good amount of snails and hermits to help keep the algae under plague proportions.

it sounds like you have a pretty good plan. Good luck!
I have a nuvo 20 . It’s a nano tank and I’m dosing dr Tim’s pure ammonium chloride. I feel like I should be fine. I have an AI prime over it. I have the lights off. I kind of don’t want to be staring at an empty tank so I want to see some creatures in there maybe some hermits and a shrimp. I’m very patient and I can wait if I have to. Should I keep the lights on ? I have a preset saved for fish only at 20% all lights except reds, greens, and moonlight. It’s boring looking at an empty tank. Should I turn on the lights ? I can be patient with not putting anything in the tank or turning on the light if I don’t have to. Could I just keep the tank running with out anything in there for a month or two and just top off the tank ?
 

footgal

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I have a nuvo 20 . It’s a nano tank and I’m dosing dr Tim’s pure ammonium chloride. I feel like I should be fine. I have an AI prime over it. I have the lights off. I kind of don’t want to be staring at an empty tank so I want to see some creatures in there maybe some hermits and a shrimp. I’m very patient and I can wait if I have to. Should I keep the lights on ? I have a preset saved for fish only at 20% all lights except reds, greens, and moonlight. It’s boring looking at an empty tank. Should I turn on the lights ? I can be patient with not putting anything in the tank or turning on the light if I don’t have to. Could I just keep the tank running with out anything in there for a month or two and just top off the tank ?
If you’re dosing ammonia, you don’t need to put anything in there. I would put the light on though so algae can start growing and you can get through the uglies. Then to combat the uglies you’re gonna need at least a skeleton CUC maybe 5 snails (your choice, astrea, trocus, stomatella, etc), 5 hermits, and 5 sand bed snails if that applies to you. As always, I suggest starting with this and adding more if you see the need, I hate it when people dump way more cuc into their tank than it can handle and many end up dying of starvation :(.
 
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Angel_V_the_reefer

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If you’re dosing ammonia, you don’t need to put anything in there. I would put the light on though so algae can start growing and you can get through the uglies. Then to combat the uglies you’re gonna need at least a skeleton CUC maybe 5 snails (your choice, astrea, trocus, stomatella, etc), 5 hermits, and 5 sand bed snails if that applies to you. As always, I suggest starting with this and adding more if you see the need, I hate it when people dump way more cuc into their tank than it can handle and many end up dying of starvation :(.
Yes I’m aware that the snails need algae to eat. I actually enjoy watching the cuc do their work but some people do overboard. Okay Ill wait for the tank to cycle to turn on the lights to make sure the BB isn’t being overcompeted. I’ll run the lights on low for 8 hours ? Maybe 12? Perhaps 8 I’ll do my research haha thank you footgal for the advice. I really appreciate your contribution on the forums !
 

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Yes I’m aware that the snails need algae to eat. I actually enjoy watching the cuc do their work but some people do overboard. Okay Ill wait for the tank to cycle to turn on the lights to make sure the BB isn’t being overcompeted. I’ll run the lights on low for 8 hours ? Maybe 12? Perhaps 8 I’ll do my research haha thank you footgal for the advice. I really appreciate your contribution on the forums !
Aww thank you! Some people don’t get that you actually need algae to have snails, it’s the strangest thing idk.

8 hours should be plenty of time, focus on getting the blue/white ratio right; I use 100% both blues, UV, Violet and however much white I think looks good usually 13-22%, then as much red/green as I need to make the corals/fish pop. I have the AI Prime HDs now but I used regular ones for a long time, it’s also a 20 gallon tank but mine is a peninsula so I used 2 to get full coverage. You can check out my build thread to see kinda how I did things in more detail :)
 
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Aww thank you! Some people don’t get that you actually need algae to have snails, it’s the strangest thing idk.

8 hours should be plenty of time, focus on getting the blue/white ratio right; I use 100% both blues, UV, Violet and however much white I think looks good usually 13-22%, then as much red/green as I need to make the corals/fish pop. I have the AI Prime HDs now but I used regular ones for a long time, it’s also a 20 gallon tank but mine is a peninsula so I used 2 to get full coverage. You can check out my build thread to see kinda how I did things in more detail :)
Even if I won’t get corals soon should I increase the light intensity ? And yeah at full intensity I have the white at 20%. And for sure I’ll check out your thread ! Thank you once again !
 

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Even if I won’t get corals soon should I increase the light intensity ? And yeah at full intensity I have the white at 20%. And for sure I’ll check out your thread ! Thank you once again !
No problem! It’s really your choice about the light intensity. If it were me, I’d go ahead and set up the lights the way I’d like them for corals. It’s especially good if you print out a color wheel, put it in a plastic bag, and sink it in the tank. This way you can fine tune the lights to bring out a specific color you really like in the tank and make sure your colorful corals won’t get dulled out :).

You can have it just on 50% intensity right now if you want, so like 50% blue and 10% white just cut all your % in half :)
 
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Angel_V_the_reefer

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No problem! It’s really your choice about the light intensity. If it were me, I’d go ahead and set up the lights the way I’d like them for corals. It’s especially good if you print out a color wheel, put it in a plastic bag, and sink it in the tank. This way you can fine tune the lights to bring out a specific color you really like in the tank and make sure your colorful corals won’t get dulled out :).

You can have it just on 50% intensity right now if you want, so like 50% blue and 10% white just cut all your % in half :)
Will do once again thank you ! And one last question. After I’m done cycling, obviously I’ll perform my water change but , should I go ahead and add my media such as carbon and bio media ? I have GFO as well, should I add that once the algae grows ? Thanks! Also I see you live in the Houston Area, I live in Cypress. Do you know of any really good and maintained saltwater stores ?
 

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Will do once again thank you ! And one last question. After I’m done cycling, obviously I’ll perform my water change but , should I go ahead and add my media such as carbon and bio media ? I have GFO as well, should I add that once the algae grows ? Thanks! Also I see you live in the Houston Area, I live in Cypress. Do you know of any really good and maintained saltwater stores ?
Wow! Welcome! Join our local forum marsh-reef.org there’s lots of very nice people over there :).

FJW is one of the best and its pretty close to you as well but it’s also definitely the most expensive. That Aquarium Place is hit or miss depending on when the last shipment was, watch their Facebook they usually post when they get new shipments. If you also run a freshwater tank then they’re a great source, awesome stuff.

Galactic coral is my personal favorite, awesome stuff, healthy corals & fish, fair pricing, great employees with actual knowledge. It’s a little bit of a drive for you but it’s worth it :).

If you can make it to ADG, their stuff is amazing. It’s fresh and salt water but their name really describes them. Their display tanks are to die for, the aquascapes are incredible. There are some good deals in the discount racks ($20, $30, $40, and $50) but the individually priced corals are usually outrageous.

OceanLife is my favorite for fish, awesome stuff and they do a half qt process for you which is nice. A full QT upon request
 
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Angel_V_the_reefer

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Wow! Welcome! Join our local forum marsh-reef.org there’s lots of very nice people over there :).

FJW is one of the best and its pretty close to you as well but it’s also definitely the most expensive. That Aquarium Place is hit or miss depending on when the last shipment was, watch their Facebook they usually post when they get new shipments. If you also run a freshwater tank then they’re a great source, awesome stuff.

Galactic coral is my personal favorite, awesome stuff, healthy corals & fish, fair pricing, great employees with actual knowledge. It’s a little bit of a drive for you but it’s worth it :).

If you can make it to ADG, their stuff is amazing. It’s fresh and salt water but their name really describes them. Their display tanks are to die for, the aquascapes are incredible. There are some good deals in the discount racks ($20, $30, $40, and $50) but the individually priced corals are usually outrageous.

OceanLife is my favorite for fish, awesome stuff and they do a half qt process for you which is nice. A full QT upon request
Yes there’s a new place on highway 6 and longenbaugh i believe (estimate location). I forgot the store name but I went there the other day and it looks very well maintained. As of right now they only have fish, which look very healthy. They do have a frag tank that they’re constructing which is pretty big so I expect they’re going to receive coral shipment soon. Yes I will for sure join the club!
 

footgal

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Yes there’s a new place on highway 6 and longenbaugh i believe (estimate location). I forgot the store name but I went there the other day and it looks very well maintained. As of right now they only have fish, which look very healthy. They do have a frag tank that they’re constructing which is pretty big so I expect they’re going to receive coral shipment soon. Yes I will for sure join the club!
Are you talking about Nemo and friends? I hate the name, but the fish looked really good. I went there for their grand opening but haven’t been back since, if they’re building a coral section then I’ll probably make that my main LFS since it’s much closer than TAP or FJW and was much cleaner and healthier then TNT or City Pets
 
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Angel_V_the_reefer

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Are you talking about Nemo and friends? I hate the name, but the fish looked really good. I went there for their grand opening but haven’t been back since, if they’re building a coral section then I’ll probably make that my main LFS since it’s much closer than TAP or FJW and was much cleaner and healthier then TNT or City Pets
Yes that’s the name ! I live perhaps 8 minutes away and yes they’re building a frag tank that I would estimate to be a more than 200 gallons, it’s decently sized. They have a variety of fish and very clean place. For sure I’d like to make that my go to lfs. I went to one called OceanLife aquariums and its was pretty clean for the most part, some fish looked healthier than others but IMO it was well organized and a great variety and pricing on corals, LPS,spa, their softies could be better looking but they have a few.
 

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Yes that’s the name ! I live perhaps 8 minutes away and yes they’re building a frag tank that I would estimate to be a more than 200 gallons, it’s decently sized. They have a variety of fish and very clean place. For sure I’d like to make that my go to lfs. I went to one called OceanLife aquariums and its was pretty clean for the most part, some fish looked healthier than others but IMO it was well organized and a great variety and pricing on corals, LPS,spa, their softies could be better looking but they have a few.
Yeah I talked about OceanLife earlier. It’s called OLA btw on marsh :). They do qt for you and the sickish ones aren’t for sale which is really nice. I agree with you that the corals aren’t amazing but the fish are very good and fairly priced especially for QT. I did get this gorgeous cristata from them about 2 months ago for $30 though, they have some gems
B53E78F9-AC41-4BE7-8EDE-4A3ED12DDBBC.jpeg
 
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Angel_V_the_reefer

Angel_V_the_reefer

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Yeah I talked about OceanLife earlier. It’s called OLA btw on marsh :). They do qt for you and the sickish ones aren’t for sale which is really nice. I agree with you that the corals aren’t amazing but the fish are very good and fairly priced especially for QT. I did get this gorgeous cristata from them about 2 months ago for $30 though, they have some gems
B53E78F9-AC41-4BE7-8EDE-4A3ED12DDBBC.jpeg
Oh wow ! Haha yes they have a dope place! And man I bought all I need for a qt tank, I’m just in need for the medications and a filter for the tank. I want to start right now but I’m on a budget since I’m graduating this year and saving up for college, and I train bjj and I compete so money is tight right now. I do plan on at least passing my budget to get the medications soon so I can start ASAP!
 
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