New to the Hobby

[ISR Jimmy]

Hello to all the reef builders out there. Making my first attempt at building the ideal reef habitat for my family. I have plenty of experience with fish only tanks (sharks), thought I would give it a try with the reef.
I recently purchased I neat little Cardiff 24g nano, cleaned it up, and got started. After reading 100's of posts on here (thanks to all), I figured water quality and lighting seem to be paramount. With that I purchased a 6 stage RO/DI water purification system with a dual TDS meter to closely monitor the quality of water going into the tank. This little puppy kept the 125 PPM tap water down to 0 PPM every gallon.
Several buckets later, I started every thing up. I let it cycle for a few days before testing the water parameters.

27 July - PH/8.0 NH3/0.0 NO2/0.0 NO3/0.0

My local reef shop recommended tossing in a piece of raw shrimp to start things off. After a week with the shrimp I had some change

3 August - PH/8.0 NH3/0.25 NO2/0.0 NO3/0.0

Then I added a small damsel and red hermit crab to take it to the next leve. Also used some "Proper PH" from API to increase my PH a bit. Seems like good results so far.

10 August - PH/8.2 NH3/0.0 NO2/0.0 NO3/5.0 ppm

I have 35lbs of live rock and 15 pounds of live sand arriving on Tuesday. I am unsure if that's enough or if I will need more. I plan on doing a 20% water change when I add in the LR and LS on Tuesday to see if I can get the Nitrate (NO3) down to 0ppm

Few questions I have:
Do I need a UV sterilizer? I have a 45w on my 300g and an 18w on my 125. Not sure if I need one on a nano reef system
Is the MH light this system came with enough or should I add more?
Do I need a heater added on? My house stayers a cool 72 degrees year round
How long after the LR and LS are added should I wait before adding the SPS?
The local reef store uses pickling lime for calcium in his tanks. They all look healthy, but is that the norm?
Is there anything I have missed?


Thanks in advance for your time
James

Few pics from today

 

[mike007]

Welcome to r2r!!!

 

[ISR Jimmy]

Thanks much Mike

 

[Nurse Payne]

Welcome!

1.) I've had a 29, 92, & 300. All reef tanks, never used an UV. It can be done without it, so you don't "need" one. Some people prefer them, but I've never seen a need to add one to my systems.

2.) I didn't see what kind of metal halide system you have. Most people have a supplemental actinic with a MH bulb. Need more info to advise on this.

3.) Yes. You need a heater to keep the temperature stable. When you're halides are on, they'll raise the temp. When they turn off at night, your temps will drop and corals don't like big temp fluctuations. The heater will keep it steady for you.

4.) are you having your rock shipped to you or will you be purchasing directly from a lfs? Even cured live rock goes through a cycle when shipped. I wouldn't recommend adding to a system with livestock without curing first in a brute garbage can with power heads and a heater. No light needed. Test ammonia every other day until zero (nitrites too). Add to tank and enjoy. Your tank will have to go thru the "yuckies" as I call them (diatom algae bloom). Once that's over, you could try some of the hardier corals but I wouldn't put any expensive sps until 6 months at the least.

You seem off to a great start!!

 

[fishroomlady]

welcome to the forum and I believe nurse payne gave you great answers to your questions.

 

[Nurse Payne]

I couldn't remember all of your questions. Lots of people use pickling lime to replace calcium. Others use kalkawasser which is essentially the same thing. Your calcium levels won't drop much until you have stocked your tank with corals. You can do lots if research in the meantime.

I would advise a skimmer and plenty of water movement. They will make your life much easier. Also, buy the better (and usually more expensive) item you need the first time. I wasted thousands trying to "get by" only to toss the cheap piece of equipment and buy what I needed to begin with.

 

[ISR Jimmy]

Ms. FR Lady, thanks much

NursePayne,
Appreciate the assistance.

With this Cardiff nano, it came with a skimmer. After reading through the manual and running it for a few weeks, seeps to be operating fine. I did get some good foam / discharge after I added the raw shrimp.

As for the lighting, I will have to do more research. It's clearly a MH pendent light, just not sure much more then that.

Already added the heater. Happen to have a spare 200w heater as my backup. A bit large for this tank, but should suffice until I can pick up a smaller one later.

I will start reeding the forums for a good power head to add. Any recommended models?

Thanks again
James