30g FOWLR cycling...

[bkcup]

Hey all- This is my first post here in a long while & any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I set up a 30g FOWLR about 2 weeks ago. Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate all zero still. Good amount of diatom starting to show up on the rock & sand in the last few days. Here are my questions:

1. Any way to control the diatom during cycling (light levels, etc.) or will this be taken care of over time & a good clean up crew after cycling?

2. What kind/how much of a clean up crew should I use for this size tank when ready? (I've seen some conflicting opinions about blue leg crabs & astrea vs trocus snails...)

3. Aside from my KENT superbuffer is there anything else I should be using to ensure healthy live rock? (Coral Vital, B-Ionic, etc.)

Here's my full set-up:
30g tall
25 lbs cured live rock & ~10 lbs base rock
SmartPaq Daylight 10000°K/Actinic 460nm - on 9 hrs a day
1 1/2" aragonite sand
Eheim Professional II canister w/ carbon & ehfimech
Eclipse hood will be running with Purigen
cycling with 2 dead shrimp

No protein skimmer since I plan to keep up with water changes, but feel free to slap my wrist about that or my use of a canister as well...

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[lando]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!

1) I would not worry about the diatoms. They are just a natual process of cycling. They will burn themselves out once the excess nutrients are used up from the water. What method did you uses to cycle the tank?

2) For a clea up crew look at a couple dozen various snails. I am also a fan of reef hermits. Scarlets tend to do very well in reef tanks. Finally, a cleaner shrimp or two and some peppermint shrimp are great cleaners. I would consider waiting until your tank is a bit more stable before adding shrimp.

3) DO NOT ANY suppliments to your tank. It is not needed at this point and keeping up on the water changes will help replenish any depleted elements from the water. Dosing any type of product in a 29gal tank is VERY risky due to the lower water volume.

 

[bkcup]

Cool. Thanks, Brian. I'm cycling the tank with cocktail shrimp in some netting, but it seems I have a ways to go yet...

The more I read about protein skimmers the more I think I may not be able to get away with not having one in a FOWLR... any thoughts? Thanks again.

 

[melosu58]

The more I read about protein skimmers the more I think I may not be able to get away with not having one in a FOWLR... any thoughts?

I think this is a wise observation. Skimmer remove DOC`s that end up being excessive nutrients and cause nuisance algea in the tank. They would be an excellent addition in any tank.

 

[lando]

I would certainly go for the skimmer. It will do your tank wonders, regardless if it is a FOWLR or a reef. They are a wonderful addition to any SW tanks. Don't skimp on a skimmer...you will be happy you got one.