It's a great day, and, MY CYCLING HAS STARTED!

Hi everyone.

I'm new to the forum, so I thought today would be a great day to introduce myself.

I'm a 22 year old RN student, working towards becoming a physicians assistant. I currently live in Fl, but hope to move to CO as soon as I can.

I've wanted a reef tank my whole life, but have always had a very good excuse or reason to put it off.. Last week I bit the bullet, and told myself it was now or never, and like everything else in life, there will always be a reason to put it off a little longer, so I did it.

I picked up a 25 gallon tank, and have a Hydor heater and Koralia 2 powerhead, both rated for up to 50 gallons or so. My filtration is also rated for up to 60 gallons or somewhere there, so I think I've covered my bases. I picked up a few bags of live sand, and around 15lbs of live rock so far. I've just ordered a coralife lunar aqualite, with some awesome LED's, and from what I've read, more than adequate wattage for what I intend to do with my tank.

So, this cycling process has been absolutely agonizing. I just want to start doing stuff to my tank, but can't. I've been checking levels every 2 days, but they've been unremarkable, until this morning! 2 days ago I stole a giant cocktail shrimp from the fridge, and put that sukka in the tank. Last night, I woke up to a foul odor, and this morning, the shrimp is covered in a film of..... white fuzzy grossness. ;D My ammonia level this morning is at least 1.0, maybe 1.5ppm. Nitrates haven't changed yet.

I know I'm not supposed to ask questions in here.... but... should I take out the shrimp now that the ammonia has started to rise, or do I just leave him in there for a few more days until the level really peaks?

Here's a look at the tank:

http://www.3reef.com/forums/members/brew0688-albums-beginning-picture5528-initial-setup.jpg

Thanks in advance for your wealth of knowledge and advice!

Brett

 

Hi and welcome to 3reef!

How big is the shrimp? If it's about an an inch and a half long, i'd maybe leave a quarter of it to rot in there seeing as your ammonia is already at 1ppm at least.

 

For those of you joining us that are new to the hobby - the best piece of advice you'll get around here as a saltwater newbie is 3Reef's slogan
"Go slow, let it grow."
And for those experianced hobbyists joining us - it's still good advice
good luck and post pics soon

 

Welcome to 3reef!! Looking forward to more pics!

 

welcome to 3 reef
Im sure you will enjoy your time on here
Steve