Hello Everyone New to the Reef game pleasure to join

[Reefpete]

Good Evening,

Names Pete just go into the salt water hobby and I started out with a 20gallon setup that will be upgraded to a 100 gallon soon. Any newbie advice would greatly be appreciated. Right now no fish in my tank because I am cycling it now and just added live sand and rock. My ph so far is 8.0 and salinity is right on. Any secrets to this or good info i would thank you kindly.

[Reefpete]

was wondering anyone have a good protein skimmer you could recommend for a 20gal setup? i would want to be able to use it on a larger tank after as i upgrade?

[Retired_AF]

Welcome to AA!

There are several good skimmers. People's opinions vary (of course) but you can find several threads discussing the virtues or shortcomings of each using the search option on this forum. I am in the process of building a 90 gallon and have a reef octopus which is supposed to be pretty good.

You will find a lot of good people with a tremendous amount of experience here and they are very willing to help.

We look forward to seeing your build!

[Reefpete]

Thank you for the advice I will take a look in that section. That is awesome, you should be able to keep a lot of nice fish in that tank. Hope all goes well.....I've seen a couple of the reef octopus and they are def a cool fish to have. I will post a pic of the tank now but it is just in the cycle phase. Live sand, Fiji live rock, and of course the lighting and the filtration system with a under water power head and heater.

ps dont mind the salinity meter on bottom right of picture there is a current hitting it from the power head. My levels are all good and just need a couple more days to make sure everything is fine before introducing fish.

[redsea]

Welcome!

My one piece of advice would be to be patient. Good things come to those who wait.

[Reefpete]

Originally Posted by redsea

Welcome!

My one piece of advice would be to be patient. Good things come to those who wait.

I am learning that now lol thank you

[Reefpete]

With my setup now i have temp at 81 degrees and testing water daily and it has been cycling for three days now is that good enough ?? I have live rock and sand

[AquaRick]

A 3 day cycle is awfully short. Most can take 1-2 months. Have you been monitoring your water parameters? Did you ever see a nitrite and nitrate spike?

[Reefpete]

Originally Posted by AquaRick

A 3 day cycle is awfully short. Most can take 1-2 months. Have you been monitoring your water parameters? Did you ever see a nitrite and nitrate spike?

I tested so far and I have a low ph 7.6

No nitrite showed up but I have 20 on the nitrate scale

My salinity is 1.027. .01 higher

And my Alkalinity is between 180 - 300. On the scale

P

[Reefpete]

Originally Posted by Reefpete

I tested so far and I have a low ph 7.6

No nitrite showed up but I have 20 on the nitrate scale

My salinity is 1.027. .01 higher

And my Alkalinity is between 180 - 300. On the scale

P

Also my Ammonia came to .25 just about

Any ideas would help

I will cycle this for a month to be safe

[Reefpete]

Originally Posted by AquaRick

A 3 day cycle is awfully short. Most can take 1-2 months. Have you been monitoring your water parameters? Did you ever see a nitrite and nitrate spike?

Thank Rick any help I can get will be greatly appreciated

[AquaRick]

I would add an ammonia source to your tank again. Get your ammonia up to around 4ppm and see how quickly it turns into nitrite, and then nitrate. Some folks like using raw shrimp as an ammonia source, but i prefer the liquid stuff.

Ace® Ammonia - 6 Pack - Industrial Cleaners - Ace Hardware

Ace brand ammonia works very well. Couldn't find the single bottle online, but it's a few bucks in store for 1 bottle. Go very easy on the stuff if you do decide to use it. I think a few teaspoons might be all you need.

[Reefpete]

Now how often do I need to do a water change and what would be the correct way to do this?

[Reefpete]

I don't understand the whole point of getting rid of ammonia but then wanting to bring it back up?? Can u explain sorry lol new to this ....I do have the live sand and rock if that helps

[AquaRick]

No problem Pete. In your cycling process, you want to provide a constant source of ammonia to your BB so that they can multiply and seed your tank. Take a look at this guide. It's written very well. Though made for freshwater, it works just as well for saltwater etc.

The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling