Hello!
I am Emma and I am completely new to the saltwater tank life.
I would love to get some tips and advice on how to successfully setup and finish cycling my brand new 38 gallon tank. Here are the specs:
Marineland 38 gallon bow front biowheel tank kit
The filter is a penguin biowheel filter suitable for up to 50 gallons.
Two small LED strip lights (will be replacing before adding corals! Dont worry!)
A heater of some sort, i don't see a name for this heater but it does that job. It came with the kit, so should be sufficient?
Protein skimmer and sump will have to come laters guys and gals! I will change the water more or do whatever i need to do to make it work until i can afford those items. But it's a pretty hefty investment, even without those things, so i need to ease into this. My next equipment purchase will be decent lighting so i can start my reef.
FISH:
I haven't completely decided on my stock, but i know one thing is for sure, and that is that I will have a Flame Hawkfish, and he will be called Elmo. There is a photo below of my guy, who is waiting for me at the store.
I may get some "designer" clown fish for my future lovely anemone. I am looking at the fish with fun personalities to entertain me. Any suggestions would be awesome! I also LOVE color, but who on here doesn't? We are into reefs, after all.
Also looking at the Midas Blenny (another winning personality) and the Watchman Goby with his Pistol Shrimp homey, because team work is the best work.
All of those were chosen because they cracked me up and relaxed me tremendously in the store. So if anyone has a fish like that, or one that is just ridiculously unique or colorful (like the purple fire fish), please tell me!
Also, I really want at least one weirdly big fish. The biggest that can fit in a 40 gallon....obviously not one that will grow too big. Just the largest fish I can have in this size tank. Because size matters.
Ok, heres the play by play for those if you who are detail oriented like myself:
Approximately 48 hours ago (Wednesday afternoon) I filled the tank with fine, white live sand, saltwater from the local marine fish store and rocks (10lbs of live rock and 15lbs of dry rock). Side note: I am a 5'7" 120lb woman who hasn't seen the inside of a gym since I worked at one in college, but I was so bound and determined to start my new hobby, that I carried the table I purchased as a stand, (8) 5 gallon jugs of water, 40 lbs of sand, and 25 lbs of rock up to my second floor apartment by myself. Not to toot my own horn, but i pretty much felt like a boss. A very, very sore and out of shape boss. I digress...
Immediately, after putting the sand and rocks in I added the 2 packets of water clarifier found in the sand bags (carefully, and as directed) and the correct dosage of the StartSmart Complete Multi Purpose cycling aid that i was sold at the store. I am impatient. They said it would speed things up a bit. Easy sell.
The filter ran for a total of about 2 hours on day 1, in small increments. I was trying to avoid sand clogging my new filter and wanted to reduce movement as much as possible so that i could actually see inside of my new little ecosystem :p (I made this idea up in my head and had no guidance whatsoever, so if that was incorrect, feel free to correct me now).
Yesterday the tank was significantly clearer by the end of the day (Thursday evening) so I turned on the filter permanently. The only thing I have done since then is added a little of my Betta fish food to the aquarium to jumpstart the ammonia content. There are bits of dried shrimp and i read online that this could help. One pinch, thats all.
At lunch today i finally got the test kits i needed. The nitrites and ammonia are 0 (two readings today), the nitrates look like they could be about 5 (not quite 0, but definitely not near 20 on the test strip). I tested the ammonia with the liquid tests and used a 6 in 1 kit of strips for the rest. All numbers are in ideal range, nitrates being the only thing that is a little higher than 0. Im assuming this is good/okay, due to the conversation I had with the lady at the fish store stating that nitrates are the final step once the ammonia turns into nitrites. Again, I'm super new, so if I sound ridiculous, please unapologetically correct me, or b**** slap me. :nuts:
I have read multiple sources advising that you can add more of the StartSmart every day to speed things along. I wont be cycling with fish because, duh...that's rude.
So, now that I have given a detailed history, my main questions are:
1. How will i know if my tank has cycled yet? I know I messed up by not getting the test kits sooner, because if i had detected an ammonia surge and then a drop, I would just know that it was done. I know it has only been 2 days, but i have gotten WILDLY different opinions on how long it will take. The guy at a different reef store who did not even care to sell me anything because he was too busy with other things to want to help little old me, told me that with the StartSmart Complete, combined with the live sand, live rocks etc...it could be fully cycled in a day or two. But I have also heard that there is no way that could be true. Im lost.
So how do i know now, on day two, if she's all ready to get her first fishy?
2. What should I be doing daily/weekly/monthly during the initial setup, to take care of and maintain the aquarium? I know there is a standard for maintenance on an established tank, but is that the same for a cycling tank? Like if i do a water change, will that mess up the cycle? How much water should I change at first and how often? I also got 5 gallons of treated freshwater to top off. Do i need to do that daily? If so how much?
3. Lastly, i know this is a common one, but when can I start adding some sexy corals?? How "established" does it need to be? Because again, reef store 1 said once it cycles i can add more hardy, soft corals immediately. Reef store 2 said wait 3 weeks. Fish store three practically advised me not to even look at the corals so as not to be tempted to buy for at least 3-6 months.
What gives, y'all? Which way is up?
Anyone who made it through
So sorry for the questions!
I am Emma and I am completely new to the saltwater tank life.
I would love to get some tips and advice on how to successfully setup and finish cycling my brand new 38 gallon tank. Here are the specs:
Marineland 38 gallon bow front biowheel tank kit
The filter is a penguin biowheel filter suitable for up to 50 gallons.
Two small LED strip lights (will be replacing before adding corals! Dont worry!)
A heater of some sort, i don't see a name for this heater but it does that job. It came with the kit, so should be sufficient?
Protein skimmer and sump will have to come laters guys and gals! I will change the water more or do whatever i need to do to make it work until i can afford those items. But it's a pretty hefty investment, even without those things, so i need to ease into this. My next equipment purchase will be decent lighting so i can start my reef.
FISH:
I haven't completely decided on my stock, but i know one thing is for sure, and that is that I will have a Flame Hawkfish, and he will be called Elmo. There is a photo below of my guy, who is waiting for me at the store.
I may get some "designer" clown fish for my future lovely anemone. I am looking at the fish with fun personalities to entertain me. Any suggestions would be awesome! I also LOVE color, but who on here doesn't? We are into reefs, after all.
Also looking at the Midas Blenny (another winning personality) and the Watchman Goby with his Pistol Shrimp homey, because team work is the best work.
All of those were chosen because they cracked me up and relaxed me tremendously in the store. So if anyone has a fish like that, or one that is just ridiculously unique or colorful (like the purple fire fish), please tell me!
Also, I really want at least one weirdly big fish. The biggest that can fit in a 40 gallon....obviously not one that will grow too big. Just the largest fish I can have in this size tank. Because size matters.
Ok, heres the play by play for those if you who are detail oriented like myself:
Approximately 48 hours ago (Wednesday afternoon) I filled the tank with fine, white live sand, saltwater from the local marine fish store and rocks (10lbs of live rock and 15lbs of dry rock). Side note: I am a 5'7" 120lb woman who hasn't seen the inside of a gym since I worked at one in college, but I was so bound and determined to start my new hobby, that I carried the table I purchased as a stand, (8) 5 gallon jugs of water, 40 lbs of sand, and 25 lbs of rock up to my second floor apartment by myself. Not to toot my own horn, but i pretty much felt like a boss. A very, very sore and out of shape boss. I digress...
Immediately, after putting the sand and rocks in I added the 2 packets of water clarifier found in the sand bags (carefully, and as directed) and the correct dosage of the StartSmart Complete Multi Purpose cycling aid that i was sold at the store. I am impatient. They said it would speed things up a bit. Easy sell.
The filter ran for a total of about 2 hours on day 1, in small increments. I was trying to avoid sand clogging my new filter and wanted to reduce movement as much as possible so that i could actually see inside of my new little ecosystem :p (I made this idea up in my head and had no guidance whatsoever, so if that was incorrect, feel free to correct me now).
Yesterday the tank was significantly clearer by the end of the day (Thursday evening) so I turned on the filter permanently. The only thing I have done since then is added a little of my Betta fish food to the aquarium to jumpstart the ammonia content. There are bits of dried shrimp and i read online that this could help. One pinch, thats all.
At lunch today i finally got the test kits i needed. The nitrites and ammonia are 0 (two readings today), the nitrates look like they could be about 5 (not quite 0, but definitely not near 20 on the test strip). I tested the ammonia with the liquid tests and used a 6 in 1 kit of strips for the rest. All numbers are in ideal range, nitrates being the only thing that is a little higher than 0. Im assuming this is good/okay, due to the conversation I had with the lady at the fish store stating that nitrates are the final step once the ammonia turns into nitrites. Again, I'm super new, so if I sound ridiculous, please unapologetically correct me, or b**** slap me. :nuts:
I have read multiple sources advising that you can add more of the StartSmart every day to speed things along. I wont be cycling with fish because, duh...that's rude.
So, now that I have given a detailed history, my main questions are:
1. How will i know if my tank has cycled yet? I know I messed up by not getting the test kits sooner, because if i had detected an ammonia surge and then a drop, I would just know that it was done. I know it has only been 2 days, but i have gotten WILDLY different opinions on how long it will take. The guy at a different reef store who did not even care to sell me anything because he was too busy with other things to want to help little old me, told me that with the StartSmart Complete, combined with the live sand, live rocks etc...it could be fully cycled in a day or two. But I have also heard that there is no way that could be true. Im lost.
So how do i know now, on day two, if she's all ready to get her first fishy?
2. What should I be doing daily/weekly/monthly during the initial setup, to take care of and maintain the aquarium? I know there is a standard for maintenance on an established tank, but is that the same for a cycling tank? Like if i do a water change, will that mess up the cycle? How much water should I change at first and how often? I also got 5 gallons of treated freshwater to top off. Do i need to do that daily? If so how much?
3. Lastly, i know this is a common one, but when can I start adding some sexy corals?? How "established" does it need to be? Because again, reef store 1 said once it cycles i can add more hardy, soft corals immediately. Reef store 2 said wait 3 weeks. Fish store three practically advised me not to even look at the corals so as not to be tempted to buy for at least 3-6 months.
What gives, y'all? Which way is up?
Anyone who made it through
So sorry for the questions!
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