New tank on the block

Zach D · Feb 17, 2017

Well hello everyone. Name is Zach, I am very much a newbie to reef tanks. I set up my first fresh water in December of 2016. It is a 40 gallon with South American cichlids. Always wanted to start a reef tank but was discouraged by the complexity of the equipment and what not.

Anyway. A coworker of mine notified me of what Petco call a "dollar per gallon sale" this past January. I went and purchased a 20Long. For, you guessed it, $20. Started researching and purchasing.

Today I still have my 40 gallon fresh which is well planted and currently housing our friend ICH who is in treatment and about 20 fish. And FINALLY, 9/10 days into my fishless cycle using Seachem Stability in my 20 Long.

The equipment:
20 long
AquaClear 50 HOB (only the sponge in it for cycle)
Cobalt Aquatics Neo-therm 100watt heater

Regretfully. Current ic led loop 24" to 36" light. (Soon to be replaced with 2 Kessil A160 tuna blues as long as a little more research and discussion permits)

Current 660 gph circulation pump
20lbs base rock
20lbs CaribSea ocean direct original grade sand.

At this point I have quite a bit of brown Algae covering my rocks and substrate. Had the LFS test my water yesterday and had

0 ppm ammonia
1.5 ppm nitrite
0 ppm nitrate

They suggested a 2 gallon water change and another test in a few days. I plan on going back Sunday which is two days from today.

I'm loving the process so far. Well all but the waiting. I'll share a few of my most current pics from yesterday for now. Any tips or suggestions welcome.