Fluval edge 46l marine

[Abno10]

Hi,I was always interested in marine tanks,so i decided to get one.
I bought the fluval edge 46l,12kg of live rock,2 bags of crushed coral sand,a hydro koralia wavemaker,I got a new heater also.
Firstly I would like to get a new lighting system as I would like to keep corals.
I would like info on how to know when the tank cycles.
Any info or tips would be very welcome as I am new to this.
P.s my tank has been set up for the last 2 weeks

 

[Abno10]

Live rock

 

[Abno10]

Any1 identify these for me!!!

 

[Abno10]

Any1 identify these for me!!!

Any1 identify these for me!!!

 

[Bearchumjs]

Love the rockscape! You made a nice cave in there.

As for the things you want identified. I don't know. I'm sorry.

 

[Abno10]

Love the rockscape! You made a nice cave in there.

As for the things you want identified. I don't know. I'm sorry.

Thanx a lot bearchumjs!!!!!

 

[Bearchumjs]

Cycling- do you have a test kit? You test your ammonia. It will spike, then drop to 0. When it starts dropping start testing for nitrites. They will spike and then drop to 0. When your nitrites start to drop, test for nitrates. The cycle is over when ammonia is 0, nitrites are 0 and you have some nitrates. Then you do a big water change and get the nitrates 10 or less and you can then add stuff to the tank!

Lighting- I have a par38. (LOVE IT!) I will look back in my thread to see how many watts it is and what my color temp for the white lights are. I have a candy cane coral and some zoas so far and they are doing great!

 

[Abno10]

Yea I have a test kit,have you a fluval edge!!!i will have a look at your thread,sorry if I annoy anyone with stupid questions but I am new to this"/

 

[Bearchumjs]

Oh- I forgot to mention. You need a source ammonia. The easiest thing to do is go to the supermarket and buy a fresh shrimp. Put it in a piece of pantyhose and then drop it in the tank. It will rot and give the bacteria an ammonia source to feed and grow off of. When your ammonia spikes to at least 4ppm you can take it out if you want.

 

[Bearchumjs]

Yea I have a test kit,have you a fluval edge!!!i will have a look at your thread,sorry if I annoy anyone with stupid questions but I am new to this"/

I have a 5 gal. Fluval chi! My thread is fluval chi nano? Or something like that.

Here's a video of my tank.
http://youtu.be/-LAjFT2-YME

My advice is to take it slow and don't rush things. You have a hydrometer or refractometer?

Don't feel like your questions are silly. We are here to help people learn! It would be very frustrating to try to figure it out on your own. I would have probably wasted a lot of money if I tried to do my tank on my own. I'm still pretty new at saltwater, but I know enough to get you started.

 

[Abno10]

Your advice is greatly appreciated,but I was told to just leave the tank alone and not to put any thing in(I know you can put dead fish in to speed up things but I was told not too because you have to be experienced to do that!!!

 

[Bearchumjs]

Your advice is greatly appreciated,but I was told to just leave the tank alone and not to put any thing in(I know you can put dead fish in to speed up things but I was told not too because you have to be experienced to do that!!!

You don't need to be experienced to put a raw shrimp in there. Here's what I would do:

Test ammonia nitrite and nitrate.

Get a raw shrimp and leave it in until you see an ammonia reading of 2-4ppm. Take the shrimp out and test every couple of days until you get 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites. You should get a reading when you test for nitrates. Then you will know for sure you are cycled and you won't risk losing money on livestock in case your tank isn't fully cycled. Since you have liverock it should cycle pretty quickly. Do a big pwc to bring the nitrates as low as possible and then you can safely add livestock.

You want your nitrates to stay low (Id say less than 10ppm) because some inverts are very sensitive to them, and algae feeds on the excess nutrients in the water. Nitrate =excess Nutrients.

 

[Abno10]

Any1 here have an idea what is a good light system I could get for my fluval edge 46l,I know nanocustoms had a good light that would fit perfectly under the hood,it's hard to get proper lights here in Ireland,

 

[Abno10]

Can any1 on this site identify this critter(it's like a tree leg star fish)and I know there's not that many experienced marine keepers here,any 1 recommend a good advise site for marine......



3 leg star fish????good or bad?????

 

[Bearchumjs]

Asterina starfish! I think they are fine in the tank, but I'm not sure.

 

[Beengirl]

Asterina are fine. They stay really small. I've had a few, they disappear fast in my tank, not sure if someone is eating them. Some people say they multiply like crazy in their tank, but never had that problem in mine.

 

[Abno10]

Thanx girls,yer very helpful,pity I can't say the same about the lads,lol

 

[Bearchumjs]

How is the cycle going? Have you put a raw shrimp in there?

 

[Abno10]

How is the cycle going? Have you put a raw shrimp in there?

The cycle is going fine,I'm just gonna be patient and let nature take its course,dont have the nerve to put a shrimp in there!!

 

[Bearchumjs]

The cycle is going fine,I'm just gonna be patient and let nature take its course,dont have the nerve to put a shrimp in there!!

If you don't provide a source of ammonia the bacteria won't grow.