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I would just stay with what you have and see how you like it. Down the road you can upgrade to something bigger and just move over the rock to the new tank. For such a small tank I don't expect there to be a long cycle but I would definitely wait till your parameters are stable.

I think your tank is ready for a small Clean up crew. The rock was already in an established tank so that makes a huge difference. As long as your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are stable tomorrow your good to go. Start small for now. 5 hermits and 5 snails wouldn't add a big bio load to...

Just because it can be done on the cheap doesn't mean it should be done on the cheap. If you don't have enough money to invest in the proper equipment now just wait longer till you do.

I wouldn't stir up the sand bed. Just wave your hand gently above the sand and that would be enough. That would get the algae floating so when you do your water change you remove some algae with the water.

I don't have access to dry sand or rock at my LFS. My rock was already partially done curing since it was in a tank at the LFS so it just naturally started a cycle in my tank when it was added. Makes sense now though that you wanna add ammonia to a tank in that situation.

Before I came to this site I had never heard of dosing for ammonia and I've had my tank running for 2 years. I realize that its required for bacterial growth but you get ammonia from the LR die off when its curing in your tank. That's enough to start your cycle. Maybe adding the additional...

You could definitely add more clean up crew to help as well and you could also move the sand bed a bit to get the algae floating then do your 20% water change.

Why cant you let this cycle naturally happen without adding chemicals to help it along? I didnt have to add ammonia to my tank to cycle it which is why I don't understand this method. But so many people are apparently doing it.

If your only going to have mushrooms you don't need anything more then a compact fluorescent hood at the moment. Is this tank currently running somewhere else or is this just an idea at the moment?

I've never dosed ammonia in my tank and it cycled fine. Just leave it be and let nature do its thing. You can check the water parameters daily and if they stay stable for another week or so you could add some clean-up crew into the tank. You could start with 5 snails and 5 hermits and see...

Low light corals could include zoanthids, mushroom/ricordeas, anthelia, star polyps, kenya tree corals. You have a lot to choose from for beginner corals. You could also probably get away with some LPS like hammer corals, frogspawn, bubble corals or torch corals but these would have to be...

You don't need to change the water completely. I would just do a good 50% water change every 3 days until the parameters are where you want them. No ammonia, no nitrates and no nitrites. If you don't have the test kit you should go get the API one with the test tubes. I've never used the...

How long has the tank been running? If its been running for 1-2 months you probably could add some more Clean-up crew whenever you want as long as the water parameters are good. You could also add more rock but this could set off a new cycle if its not cured. If its from an established tank...

If your new to saltwater I would suggest not spending that much money at once on your first set-up unless your ready to lose money. You could probably pick up a 90g full set-up for around $500-700.

Looks like a diatom bloom. How long has the tank been set-up in all? Do you have any hermits or snails? I don't really see any in the pics. They will definitely help against the algae. You should do 20% water changes weekly until this is fixed and try to get the nitrates to 0.

You will be fine. However do not stick a blue tang in a 20 gallon.

To be honest I wouldn't worry. I've never heard of anyone getting stings from corals but I'm sure its happened if its on the internet. Most corals probably will only irritate the affected area but it also depends on your skin, etc. I have pretty tough skin and no allergies to anything so I'm...

Its really not necessary to use ammonia to cycle the tank faster. I'd keep the tank at the usual 78 because algae will grow faster at warmer temps as well. Like smitty said its hard to keep a tank empty but its worth it for the first bit. Your tank is still very young and has a bit more till...

Well they will bury themselves but they also will cruise the top of the sand looking for food. To reduce the risk of it starving if you see it on the sand you could place some food near its arms and it should start moving towards it.. and take the food into its mouth.

Yes Coraline algae is the pink/purple/red stuff that encrusts your rocks. It adds a lot of color to the tank over time. I figured you probably got some rock that was under or behind the rock that was mostly showing but give it a few months and you will have tons. If you have enough calcium it...

Or you could use an eye dropper and just squirt the phytoplankton at its mouth once or twice a day. Should be interesting to see if it thrives.

I'd say first is a zoanthid of some sort and the second is an aptaisia. Goodluck!

What kind of tank is this? Reef, fowlr, or?

I have seen them at my LFS once. They had them in a shallow tank with sand sifting star fish as well which is why I brought them up. Since I've never had luck with star fish I stayed away, but I do wanna try again someday. Not sure what part of the oceans they came from.

Looks like you got a nice little algae bloom. Try doing a 20% water change weekly till your cycle is over. You could disturb the sand bed surface a bit to get the algae floating as well. How many hermits/snails do you have?