Whats next?

I have a 12 gallon starter reef tank with(no skimmer, no sump) 14 lbs. of LR and 25lbs. of LS that has been sitting for about 25 days. All types of algae have made slowly made their presence felt. Today I went out and bought 2 turbo snail(biggest one about the size of a golf ball,...good, bad??) and 2 red legged hermits. I have to admit i'm a little paranoid about the Turbo's, it almost seems to me that they will have eaten all the algae by weeks end, should I worry? When and what should my next steps be?

 

wait out your cycle still ryno. youve got test kits? gotta take your time with this. and welcome to 3reef

 

Do you have any means of filtration other than the LR? Do you have any means of water movement? Do you have any lighting?

 

The kit included a 3-stage BIO-wheel filtration a carbon filter that actually needs changed shortly. The only water movement is where the water ejects from passing through the filtration system. Its kinda hard to think of a place to put a powerhead....I'll take pictures so I can get advice where to place it. As far as lighting, it's supposed to be "high-quality fluorescent lighting" according to the box it came in.

 

wait out your cycle still ryno. youve got test kits? gotta take your time with this. and welcome to 3reef

Can you please explain a "cycle" to me. I have a couple of books I read before starting this and both said that once you start seeing algae its probably time to get some cleaners, was i wrong in doing so? I have test kits for pH, NO2, NO3, AMMO. pH is right where it should be the ammo never really jumped up as I thought it should have, neither did the nitrite after a month of testing. But just this weekend the nitrate jumped a bit higher than it has been, that in combination with I have read convinced me to get a CUC.

 

A cycle is the process of your tank evolving from a dangerous place, to a place where you can safely place fish and corals. First ammonia shows up, then nitrites, then finally nitrates. There are bacteria that grow as their respective food source (ammonia, nitrites then nitrates) becomes available.

Use your test kits to determine when ammonia and nitrites are gone, and then in some time (usually a maximum of 14 weeks from day one), nitrates will begin to accumulate, and if you have enough live rock--they'll disappear too.

When your tank is free of these three compounds, the cycle is complete and you can begin to slowly add fish and corals.

With a 12 gallon tank, you'll be drastically limited to the number of fish you can safely keep--but should be able to house several corals as long as you have adequate lighting, use a top notch protein skimmer, and have copious amounts of LR. For water movement, consider either a nano powerhead (Koralia makes one), or the output of your canister filter--but canister filters are high-maintenance.

With such a tiny tank, it's going to be a challenge, but it's nothing you can't handle, providing you take it slow and keep asking questions.

Keep us posted, and we'll keep your in the know.

Good luck!!

 

also ryno, didnt notice if you were thinkin of corals. if so, im not sure youd have the proper lighting and also youd need calcium and dkh tests.

 

If I'm not cycled yet, will the snails and hermits survive when it starts or any other cleaners like crabs or star fishes? At this point shouldn't I have already seen a slight spike in NH3 or NO3?

Should I change filters every month(Is that why you said they're high maint.?), and when it comes to cleaning should I do as the instructions tell me(ie. clean tube, impeller, along with filter)? I only ask since I read in one of these forums that a guy switched filters and that led to the cycle supposedly restarting, is this true? Is it a good idea to get more LR(only have about 14lbs. in there)? I would guess this is also the best time to change the aquascape if I were to get more LR. Would moving the old rock around be good, bad or doesn't matter?

I'm more likely to want anemones and maybe a couple corals, but regardless what are some lights to look into? I heard that corals grow fast and in such a small tank I don't want to have it look nice for a while then not know what do do with it when it gets crowded in there.

I only plan on getting 3 fish in there, 4 if possible(brazil. gamma, yellowtail blue damsel, green or spotted mandarinfish).If you have suggestions on this cluster let, or advise me to get others let me know.

When should I get the skimmer and upgraded lighting? Would an Aquatic life skimmer be the way to go? And to cap this interrogation off can you explain waht a sump tank is, its purpose and will I need one.

 

I could be wrong, going from memory but I think that clean-up-crews are very sensitive to ammonia, nitrites and -trates. Best left to after the cycle is finished.

If you're referring to mechanical (filter floss and the like) filtration--once a month is not going to cut it. Yes. That's why canister filters are high maintenance. My sump has filter floss as the first barrier. Depending on conditions, this needs to be replaced at the very least once a week. Sometimes more if you stir stuff up, overfeed, or move LR around.

Generally speaking, yes--unless it's really cutting down on your water volume or preventing decent water flow; it's always a good idea to get more live rock

Some nano's come with a single halide pendant, which might be too much for a 12 gallon tank such as yours (unless placed high enough). I don't have any experience with nano's, but if it were me, I'd look into ways to make a single halide work.

Your selection of fish isn't as crucial as the fact that they're all reef safe fish, and you can provide them with food, and an environment in which they can thrive. Just go slow, add one fish at a time, and give it at least a few weeks between additions. I don't think more than 2 or 3 fish are going to work in a 12 gallon tank.

The skimmer won't be necessary until your cycle is complete and you have begun to add fish and inverts. The lighting won't be needed until you have corals.

A sump is another tank, usually placed below the display tank. Its purpose is to provide more water volume, and a place to keep your protein skimmer and reactor chambers. It is also useful in oxygenating your water from the mere movement of water from DT to sump, and back again--coupled with the added surface area of water to air.

 

So it seems that at this point the little livestock I've got might be in peril if I haven't cycled yet..... steps 2 learn on the way to a nice reef, poor little guys.
What I'm getting from all this is that All I really have to focus on for another month or two is to test, test, test until all results stay steady at zero and salinity stays in range as well as pH, is that pretty accurate?