live from new york its vinnie knish

ok, so after 10 or so years of freshwater and keeping close to every possible freshwater fish available (i missed out on my chance to do a snakehead tank) i figured why not try killing fancier fish. or maybe even keeping them alive, who knows? im currently running a 2 week old biocube 14 with a semi modified filtration/flow system. i just finished with the brown algae thanks to 5 turbo astreas. the tank also has 3 blueleg herms, 1 peppermint shrimp who will soon be evicted and forced into 10 gallon solitary confinement for aggressive behavior, 1 electric blue herm, and a 4 stripe damsel. oh and a feather duster currently living in filter chamber 1 waiting for shrimpy boy to move out. 8 and a half lbs live rock, 6 lbs base, 10 lbs live sand. all my levels have been in target range consistantly so for my first shot at salt i think im doin ok. still waiting for my first real big problem since im sure something just has to go wrong eventually.

 

welcome to 3reef!
i also have a biocube!

 

welcome to 3reef!

 

Hi and welcome! I'd say keep on reading reading reading and learn from the mistakes we've all made and maybe you'll avoid them. Happy reefing!

 

Welcome to 3reef. Dude( I hope ur a dude and not a dudette;D), you have way too many things in there for only being 2 weeks old. When your Nh3 levels start to increase, you may lose some inverts. you need to pass your cycle first before you buy anything. bTW, where in NY are you from?


Luna

 

im from upstate ny near middletown. as for my cycle i cheated it somewhat. the water i started with was a mix of alledgedly cycled, actually cycled, and some brand new water. the brown algae stage barely lasted 2 days, the green never showed, and some green and purple coralline are popping up. this all took place in week 1. amonia? i vaporize amonia.

 

I dont want to burst your bubble, but the water doesnt cycle. Your LR and LS and any other biological matter is what cycles. A cycling period CAN last up to 12 weeks. Luna

 

luna i think he will be ok.
depending on die off of what you buy,
i have heard of biocubes cycling in one to two weeks

mine cycled in 2 and a half

 

Welcome to 3Reef!

 

its cool, i definitely appreciate the advice because it couldve been disasterous if i put my other tank on a turbo cycle without the benefits i had the first time. lucky for me the live rock came from the same place the cycled water did (2+year old system). thats why i used less live sand than advised, i just didnt trust it if it wasnt coming from an established system even if it says "live sand" and "instant cycle" on the bag. when i cheat the system i do it right.