24G My first saltwater tank

[clockwurk]

I have some questions about getting started. This is what I have done so far.

Again, its a 24G Nano Cube.
I have 20lbs of live sand, 25 lbs of live fuji and tonga rock.
I mixed the salt and dechlorinated the tap water 24 hours before w/ Instant Ocean Sea Salt.

My test results 2 days later are:
AMMONIA: 2.0 -3.0
NITRITE: .5
NITRATE: 0
and PH: 7.8

Everything seems normal because I'm still cycling, but why is my PH so low? My tap water comes in at 8.8. Is low PH normal when the tank is being cycled?

I and just now, I added Super Bac nitrifying bacteria on the tank to help with the cycling.

Another question I have is supplements. After going to the LFS, I felt overwhelmed as far as what to get as far as supplements. I ultimately want to get ready for corals ( hardy corals like, zoos, mushrooms and xenias ), and I have no idea what I should be getting. I saw a kit by Kent named Reef Starter Kit. It has Contains concentrated, 4 fl. oz. bottles each of Iodine, Strontium & Molybdenum and Liquid Calcium. Is this good to start with? If so...umm..WHAT the heck is it?

I think its common sense why corals need calcium, but whats the rest of the other stuff?

Can anyone here recommend a good start up plan as far as suppliments to get my tank ready for corals?

Oh, and here are pics of the tank so far...

 

[drty811]

looks good. excited to see your progress pics. let the evolution begin.... :mrgreen:

as for suppliments....rule of thumb, if you dont test for it dont add it. In my opinion if you stick to regular water changes you shouldnt have to suppliment. the water changes will replenish the elements. another couple helpful hints to cycling are to keep your lights off until cycling iis over, it will keep algae growth down to a minimum, you can turn them on when you want to check things out and i would use RO/DI water rather than dechlor'd tap water. this will also keep harmfull elements out of your tank and it will keep algae growth down. hope this helps good luck and patience is your best freind. happy reefing.

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

I'd agree with drty811, don't use tap water but RO/DI water,
Why? Because when you start up you want to minimize these unknown unknowns as Rummie would say.
RO/DI water has nothing in it other than H2O. So when you test your water you can see what you have added into it via fish, food, or whatever.
This can help.
Later it may turn out that all or partial tap water may be OK, but at first keep it simple.

 

[Trogdor]

If you plan to use tap, you will want to get a water sample report. Your water company should have them readily available. If tap water is suitable, it can be used. I've been running tap on my tank for about 7 months now and everything that i test for is good.

I agree with drty on supplements. Most nano tanks don't need supplements unless you start housing hard corals. Keep up the good work and can't wait to see it progress

 

[clockwurk]

Cool. Thanks guys! :maitre
Im going to look into RO/DI water now. I know about RO water, I was actually thinking of getting one before to use as drinking water. Is DI water drinkable? Sorry, that might be a dumb question.

Also, is my PH going down because of the cycling process? This is normal correct?

 

[Trogdor]

pH is a finicky thing to measure. it can go up and down during the day. it is affected by temperature and maybe salinity. I would shoot for a general number close to 8.2 or get a pH buffer that will take it to 8.2. The problem is when you go to test it again, it could change slightly. pH in my tank is something that i don't watch really carefully. I might test for it when I do a water change but not often. I know that mine stays around 7.8-8.0 depending on when it is tested.

DI water is drinkable, it just has a funky taste from what i hear. There are so many RO units out there but if you want drinking water, then i would find one that gives you the option to dump just RO out of a separate line before it gets to the DI media.

 

[clockwurk]

Thanks Trogdor I will keep those things in mind.
I was thinking also, do you think since there is a decent amount of dying organisms on the live rock and sand, that its also causing the PH to go down?
My ammonia just peaked right now, i just tested it and its showing up as 8.0.

Also, I noticed that there is a white, transparent filmlike growth on my live rocks :shock: It kinda looks fungus but I'm not sure. Ive seen this before in freshwater fish but Im not sure if its the same thing. I read somewhere that saltwater fungus is cured by iodine. Since I need to add iodine anyways for corals later on, can I go ahead and add this now? Will this help get rid of it?

 

[Trogdor]

I believe that is cyanobacteria. It will darken to a reddish color as the day goes on. I have never found a cure for cyano, other than letting it run its course. When I got it in my tank, I just blasted it off the rocks with a turkey baster and let my filter suck it up. You will want to do weekly changes on your filter pad and maybe even your filter media. Eventually it will go away.

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

Yeah, RO/DI is drinkable, but would you want to drink it, that's the question. It is totally devoid of minerals and trace elements which give good natural water its refreshing taste. It is flat and insipid.