High Tide Aquatics

Shred Ripmaster's First Tank

Shred Ripmaster

Shred Ripmaster

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Hey Guys,

I'm super stoked on this project as I have wanted to put together a reef tank since I was in my 20's. I had a great success with a planted aquarium awhile back but this is my first attempt at saltwater. I picked up a brand new 65 gallon rimless tank and stand on CL which included a 20 gallon sump and UV sterilizer for $1100. I filled it up it 2 weeks ago and finally put 2 Clowns and 6 Chromis in last weekend and they seem to be doing well. I'm feeding every other day and dosing with starter bacteria and just waiting for the tank to cycle. For flow I'm running 2 Hydor Nano 425's behind the rock, a single Tunze 6055 in the front and a Hygger 1060 for my return.
 

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Welcome! Let us know what other equipment you have (if any yet) and what are your plans for the tank, lots people with good advice around here.
 
Welcome. Wow..that is a stunning stand. That's a nice find on CL. I like the distinctive look of that wood. I'm looking forward to seeing more pics as your tank develops.
 
Thanks! The guy I bought it from built it himself. The thing is sturdy as hell. As for other equipment I have 2 Kessil A160's for lighting but I'm waiting for a few months before turning those on to avoid algae growth. I also bought a Reef Octopus 110 which I'm not running yet either. I'm planning on doing soft corals but not sure which yet and adding a few more fish like a yellow tang but open to other suggestions.. I'd also like to put an anemone in the tank for the clowns.

I guess one question I have is that after 1 week of having fish I'm still not seeing any increases in ammonia. I am dosing the tank with bacteria daily but don't I need some ammonia for the tank to cycle?
 
Shred Ripmaster said:
Thanks! The guy I bought it from built it himself. The thing is sturdy as hell. As for other equipment I have 2 Kessil A160's for lighting but I'm waiting for a few months before turning those on to avoid algae growth. I also bought a Reef Octopus 110 which I'm not running yet either. I'm planning on doing soft corals but not sure which yet and adding a few more fish like a yellow tang but open to other suggestions.. I'd also like to put an anemone in the tank for the clowns.

I guess one question I have is that after 1 week of having fish I'm still not seeing any increases in ammonia. I am dosing the tank with bacteria daily but don't I need some ammonia for the tank to cycle?
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With a good bacterial starter and low fish burden you won’t see much if any ammonia spike. It’s being produced, just kept at very low levels because the bacteria consume it immediately. That‘s what you want to see actually when using bacterial starters and early fish. When people talk about looking for the ammonia spike as a part of the cycle is fish-less cycling when they are adding a huge organic burden like a dead table shrimp, especially without bacterial starters (old school). A lot of people, maybe the majority, still do one of those methods, so you see it talked about frequently. In my opinion the method of bacterial starters with low fish burden just normally fed small amounts is the better way to do it.

With the method you are using, if you see a significant ammonia spike it is actually a big problem since it isn’t good for the fish, so it’s still worth test/looking for, but for the opposite reason of what you usually see discussed.
 
You may as well start using the skimmer now. Not because there will be much organics to skim out, but because it helps aerate the water for the fish (and bacteria). And gets the skimmer broken in so that it’s working well by the time you need it, which isn’t far off.
 
Welcome to BAR. Rose bubble tip anemones are frequently sold for $30 in this forum but you need to be a supporting member to access it. Lots of softies are given away to supporting members as well. Looking forward to your progress.
 
Nice start and welcome to the group! Best advice I can give if you want a full blown reef is start working on a testing schedule. Imo proper testing and logging of data goes so far in this hobby and is often overlooked as a part of basic maintenance. Even if things are golden I still run a full parameter check once a week for piece of mind.
 
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