new to saltwater aquariums

[sandmanfd]

Hello guys, glad to be here learning from so many knowledgeable people. Ive had fish for about 28 yrs or so but freshwater and cichlids. I finally stepped up after all these years and got a RedSeamax 130d about a month ago. I went to the swap meet at Pace University this Sunday and had and outstanding time even though it was torture, i couldnt buy frags because my tank is going on its 28th day of nit cycle. Ill def will destroy u guys with many questions : ). So far this is what i have, i will try to post some pics and video.

Red Seamax 130D 34 gallon
145 gph stock powerheads x2
Hydor Coralia 550
Hydor Coralia 750
40lbs Caribsea live sand
50lbs of fiji uncured live rock ( starting to show some signs of life )
Kit heater, thermometer, skimmer, lights, hood, hood fan for cooling
DD Ocean pro salt
i use D/I filter for water

a problem im having is i live in manhattan, my heater has always been off, well ventilated area, ceiling fan on and no direct sunlight but temp is always between 82-85/86 F i know im gonna need a chiller but spent so much already in such a short time, if someone needs to get rid of one or has another cheaper solution pls let me know. Last thing are those micro bubbles, if i get to put up video youll see, it looks like undisolved sand particles but i know theyre not i mix the sand beforehand in my 5 gl bucket.
Thanx very much for any help and enjoyed the frag swap hope to see you all in the next one.

PH 8.2
Ammonia 0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 160ppm
this was last Friday before the Frag Swap, ill test again this Friday

Thanx again guys any help would be appreciated

 

[shmibly]

Welcome to MR, and dont worry, these guys will help you out like they did for me!

 

[sandmanfd]

Thanx I'll be needing all the help I can get, I just noticed today a lot of very small green tumbleweed like things growing all over the glass and also notice some clear small spots on the glass as well clearing up tank free of diatoms I guess so hopefully this is the beginning of the end of cycle, I will test water in 2 days see where nitrates are.

Thanx again guys n thanx Shmibly.

 

[garys reef]

you can try an fan but your gonna loose alot of water due to evaporation azoo cooling fans look it up

 

[sandmanfd]

Would they fit the Red Seamax hood.

 

[garys reef]

yeah u can mount them to the glass i used them on my 90 gallon before i went to leds and they worked great just set them on a timer when the lights come on the fan comes on and when the lights go off the fans go off

 

[sandmanfd]

Thanx Gary

 

[garys reef]

no problem buddy marine depot has them

 

[jhart]

Welcome to MR..
I would suggest keeping your white lights down to a minimum and use mainly your actinics ,Seems your getting green algae mainly from the cycling process and the white lights. I suggest you start dosing asap..
Those fine bubbles are most likely from your skimmer. Which you really dont need to have it on just yet , But with uncured rock in side the tank it can be beneficial, Only if it was live rock , Other wise your skimmer can be turned off till you start getting some live stock..
As far as the bubbles try and add some foam around the output of the skimmer.Or if you have baffles in your sump add the skimmer away from your return.
Now if your rock isn't live rock with coralline on it , I suggest you get some coralline to jump start your system, There's a many ways, Snails with corralline, scraping's form other people, I personally like Garf's Grunge, it has worked wonders for me and its great for seeding tanks, and helps with lowering your Nitrates, Of course dont forget to do your water changes.. And when you Nitrate levels go down add a clean up crew .

 

[sandmanfd]

Awesome, thanks for the info Jhart. Im about to test the water now to see what my all my levels are at, then im gonna do a water change. I have only been turning the lights on for about 1 hr at night sometimes just to see the tank , its too hard to resist lol but theyre off all day. im on day 31 now, only had the skimmer on for first wk until i read here to turn it off during cycling. Ill try the foam next to skimmer.

Thanks again

 

[darod850]

What plumbig do you have? Is it a new tank? small bubbles are normal specially with new tanks, once your pipes slime up a bit, the water will flow much smoother, creating less bubbles. As jhart said your skimmer is most likely the culprit tho'.

As far as your heat problems are concerned, I take it you live in an apt? I had heat issues with my 90G in the summer, as I did not want to spend more money on an already expensive hobby, I found that keeping my AC on normal cool, brought my temps down dramatically, without the use of a chiller, and being that my AC was on anyway, it was of no additional cost to me. My apt gets extremely hot being that it gets light from all angles and im also on the top floor so I get no shade and I never had problems since. I found it just as effective as having a bunch of fans all over the place blowing warm air all throught my livingroom.

One of our vendors here, reefscreations is adopting the same AC method this summer when i last spoke to him.

Just a thought...There MAY be also sand particles flowing around in your tank right now, until your sandbed develops a "film" of bacteria to weigh it down its also normal in new tanks be patient.

 

[sandmanfd]

Thanx DaRod, yes I do l live in an apt it's very hot. I had the A/C on yesterday all evening but temp only went down to 84-83 even at night. The microbubbles issue is fixed I changed one of the stock pumps from the RSM and bubbles are gone I also bought some filter floss.
I guess im gonna invest in a chiller, trying to find a used one before going to new.
Thanx for the info DaRod

 

[Paolissimo]

I am not familiar with your tank, so i googled a pic and it looks like the hood sits on top of the tank tightly. Does the hood pretty much sits like a cap over the tank? The only way to lower the temp, is either use a chiller (which will in turn generate more heat in the room)or have a fan blow over the water surface. That will create more evaporation, but lower the temp a couple or more degrees and help in gas exchange. Also during cycling, and I cycled my tank for about 3 months, I didn't turn on the lights, lights are not needed during the nitrogen cycle. Micro bubble at the beginning are normal, even the pump creates them, until is "broken into". Again I am not familiar with the tank so I don't know how the plumbing is set up.

 

[sandmanfd]

Than Paolissimo, the tank is clearing only few brown algea I guess diatoms remain but clearing up quickly everyday I have kept lights off for a while now and yes the hood closes tight on top like a lid. Just got home today and the temp was at 86f @ 8pm and I live in manhattan apt, way too high I know so

 

[sandmanfd]

Than Paolissimo, the tank is clearing only few brown algea I guess diatoms remain but clearing up quickly everyday I have kept lights off for a while now and yes the hood closes tight on top like a lid. Just got home today and the temp was at 86f @ 8pm and I live in manhattan apt, way too high I know so I'm def gonna buy a chiller 1/10 this week. Everything is where it's supposed to b when I tested the water 2 days ago except for Nitrate still at 160 ppm but I did a 20% water change 2 days ago, added aquavitro alpha so will test water tommorrow. Thanx for the help everyone.

 

[sandmanfd]

Sry tank is a 34 gal nano cube and on 33rd day of cycle

 

[Paolissimo]

How often do you change the water? You don't have to do frequent water changes. Nitrates will come down, in my opinion you still have a good month before I would add anything alive. It sound like you gonna need a chiller, what kind of light does the tank have?