LR just cycled.. now what???

[bgoldwyn]

34 gallon 35 lbs live rock almost fully cycled. hair algae and brown green forming on rock. ammonia .1 nitrite .5 nitrate 5. planning on a water change. ( rock was purchased fully cured and all ready has a lot of red coraline)

i expect the ammonia and nitrite to soon be zero and THEN only add a clean up crew. all other parameters are in range. planning on using B-ionic 2 part and monitor PH and calcium

once they adjust and all looks well i would like to have 2 percula clowns and perhaps an intereting beneficial wrasse or goby ?? before i add any coral

tank has 110 actinic pc lighting ( lights on now 5 hours) protein skimmer and about 30x water flow
planning on zoanithids softies and LPS only after the fish

hows my plan guys

 

[deelucky]

ok well your basicly there once that ammo is 0 and trites are 0,then you can get a water change under way.then just like you said add your clean up crew and your set.just remember to go slow because adding to fast will cause a spike and you could end up losing fish.but other than that your good to go.as far as corals always check lighting demands,softies are great to begin with well almost all.just do your research in the type of stuff you want to keep and you'll be ok.good luck.

 

[bgoldwyn]

how do you feel about adding the two perculas when everything is stabe

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

When stable I would say go right ahead. Remember to have the store tell you it's tanks parameters (SG, PH, Etc....) and also remember to have them feed the fish in front of you to make sure they are healthy. Then acclimate them slowly.

 

[marki24]

damn thats a good idea of having the fish feed in front of you to see if its healthy its logically right but never thought of it. Thanks. Sorry to butt in this thread.

 

[bgoldwyn]

is it reccomended to add all the fish slolwy first before any coral and what dddo you feel is compatible with two percula clowns

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

It is recommended to add all livestock slowly. This means fish, inverts and corals.

 

[deelucky]

if you get 2 clowns i would then wait atleast two weeks before adding another fish.i usually add corals as i get them but i do acclimate them before adding to the tank and inverts should be acclimated as well.

 

[PalmTree]

Everything sounds like it is going just as planned. Like dee said just take it slow and start with a clean up crew. They will help to take care of some of the algae. Good luck!

 

[ReeferGoneMad]

Sounds like your plan will work once its fully cycled. I would say when everything is good add the percs. Give it a week or two and buy some pretty zoas. From there after about another 2 weeks you could add a blenny, or one of my favorites a firefish because they are pretty but not beneficial like a blenny. From there on you should be able to add any softies or LPS you want. Just take it slow its the best thing you can do. Oh and don't buy damsels I have one and I wanna punch him in the face sometimes. Somewhere down the line you might wanna fully cure some more live rock and add it to the tank, once again slowly and let this be the last thing you do. I have a 29 gallon with about 45 lbs of live rock and I still want to add more over time if I could fit it. IMO you never can never have to much bio filtration.

Best of luck with your tank.

 

[PalmTree]

Good point Reefer made. I added fish that were benificial to the reef. I would look for algae grazing fish like tangs or blennies.

 

[bgoldwyn]

ty..one more question
is it ok to put carbon behind the skimmer return under a small piece of poly filter .. this is before the protein skimmer. can i also put there some phosban in a small bag????? being there its easy to change or rinse from debris???

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Do you have a QT tank? You should Qt the fish before adding them to you display for safety.

 

[bgoldwyn]

is it ok to put carbon behind the skimmer below a poly pad with phosban ina mesh bag. this is before the protien skimmer and has 20X times the tank volume flowing throuhg it