Questions about beginner tank cycle

My new 75 gallon has been cycling for a grand total of 3 weeks now. I have about 70lbs. of dry rock, 14lbs. of live rock, and about 70lbs. of sand. My ammonia is 0, my nitrite is 0, and I just tested my nitrate and it was also 0. We had a dead shrimp from the grocery store in there for about 5 days, and we took it out about 4 days ago or so. I don't have a lot of algae yet, but there is a small amount of brown algae diatoms on some of my live rock (I'm trying to avoid the tons of algae all over the tank mess if I can...). For some reason the algae prefers being in my refugium (probably because the refugium light has been on more, since the cheap home depot timer is difficult to figure out). We have a lot of brown algae diatoms all over the sand in the refugium.

We don't have any chaeto yet, but we will probably wait until my aquaillumination new controller gets here and we can get the display lights controlled. I don't want to add a full clean up crew yet, because I think it might be best to let the tank cycle for another week and a half before that. I am wondering if I might be jumping the gun if we go buy a little hermit crab and maybe 2 snails from the pet store later today. I turned on the skimmer today, and I'm waiting for that to kick in. My live rock looks good, and I have been seeing all kinds of cool little things growing out of it, so I think it's happy ;D

 

I think you are doing an excellent job, especially with your patience! I personally think that if you are showing 0's for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, you are good to add a CUC. No issues if you start with a small one and expand as needed either.

And it is very common to have more growth in the sump than in the DT. This is preferred of course anyways

Depending on the skimmer, it may take a week or so before it actual starts to work. There may not be much in the water anyways.

 

Hey thanks for the quick reply! I agree, I think at this point a hermit crab and a couple of snails would probably do pretty well in the tank. If not, it's really just a hermit crab and a couple snails... I am just dying to see stuff crawling around in there....watching the little tube worm feather duster thing on my live rock retract gets old after a while. I think adding something might help the stability of the tank by allowing the bacteria to feed on some waste instead of dying off and causing my nitrates and phosphates to go up. I did get some GFO for the tank, but I haven't set it up yet because I don't have a reactor yet. I have to do one thing at a time, but we'll get it eventually.

 

There really is no definitive way to run a successful tank. However the one common denominator in successful tanks seems to be patience

I do think waiting 5-6 weeks before your first fish would be a good idea. By that time you could have expanded your CUC as well.

Edit: And feel free to feed your tank a little (maybe every other or third day) once you get the CUC in. Will give them something to eat and give a source of ammonia for the bacteria to feed off

 

Yeah, I think a lot of it is trial and error and patience. I do try to learn from others too and that's part of why I like these forums. I think your right about the fish. I'm definitely nervous about adding a fish. We have a tank we are going to set up as a quarantine, but I have a ton of concerns about that process alone. I think I'd like to first see how these critters do for about 2 weeks, then add a larger CUC and some chaeto. Then some copepods. If all goes well, I'll add a shrimp or two. Hopefully by mid to late October I can add my first fish (I'm thinking a goby fish or midas blenny).

 

That sounds like a good plan. I have a 46 bow that I am using as a QT. It is a complete tank (sand, live rock, skimmer, carbon reactor), and working out great so far. I did not QT my first fish though, just every fish since. Either a goby or blenny (especially a Midas, since it is an omnivore and not just herbivore) would make a great first fish.

You could actually add the Chaeto once you are feeding the tank. All it needs is light and some nutrients (from the food). It should come with pods, so this will help boost the population before you even get your first fish in.

 

Thanks for the great advice! I'll keep some updates of the tank going, and if we have any problems you'll be seeing more posts....

Hopefully with this plan, we won't have any significant issues.