noob to saltwater - new tank setup

[switchico]

hi reef philippines!

i've been doing a lot of research and reading for a really long time (actually registered on this forum in 2012) and finally took the plunge when i visited cartimar last tuesday for entirely different reasons but went home with an aquaone 380 10g tank, 6 kilos of live sand, 5.5 kilos of live rock, and 16 gallons of natural sea water.i know of cartimar horror stories when sellers convince buyers to bring home the whole lot - livestock and all - and leave the customer clueless on proper tank setup. the shop i got my stuff from, whose name escapes me right now (i misplaced the business card but still have the receipt and mobile number), fortunately did not try to upsell me fish and corals and gave me a crash course on how to setup the tank.

i got home pretty late that day and didn't have a stand for my tank yet so i submerged the live rocks in some of the saltwater overnight. the next morning, i washed the sand numerous times with tap water and did the final rinse with saltwater. after a quick trip to nearby tiendesitas to get the matching "aquaone" stand, i was finally able to start the set up process. i washed the ceramic noodles as instructed but had to google how to properly arrange the different filters/cartridges. i ended up not using all the live rock (probably just 4.5 kilos) because otherwise it would've been too crowded. i was happy to see that the water virtually did not cloud at all which i suppose means i washed the sand properly.

here's a picture of it from last night

lots of small bubbles

here are pictures from this morning.

less bubbles

live rock up close

what are those things on it? those small white lines? was it okay to leave the liverock submerged in a bucket of saltwater overnight?

i was told by the shop that it will take 4-6 weeks to cycle the tank. my plan is to do FOWLR for now and then maybe eventually add a few hardy corals.
i am already in contact with fevmarine and plan to get NSW from them from now on.

i'd really appreciate any expert input and also answers to my questions:
1) should i get the api marine test kit or go for the reef test kit for the future corals?
2) what cleaners (shrimp?) should i get and when do i add them in the tank?
3) what hardy corals that are available locally will thrive in my small tank with just 11 watts of light?
4) how often should i test my water during the cycling process - when can i add fish?

i apologize for the long post and looking forward to hearing from you guys!

[symphiii@gmail.com]

1) should i get the api marine test kit or go for the reef test kit for the future corals?

basically you need them both kung mag reef tank ka. but you're still in the cycling process and don't have a corals yet so API marine test kit will do since when cycling ammonia, nitrite and nitrate yung need mong itest.

2) what cleaners (shrimp?) should i get and when do i add them in the tank?

snails like turban, nerite snails basically the one who eats algae since after cycling I'm sure puno ng algae at diatom yang tank mo. Place them after your tank cycled. and pag may fish kana lagay kana rin ng nassarius snail to clean up your sand for detritus.

3) what hardy corals that are available locally will thrive in my small tank with just 11 watts of light?

ito yung stock light na kasama nung aquarium no? I believe none masyadong mahina yan.. regarding kung ano yung tamang ilaw wait mo yung iba since di rin ako expert dito.


4) how often should i test my water during the cycling process - when can i add fish?

depende sayo. ako before every week nung nag cycling ako.

pag zero na yung ammonia and nitrites tapos na yung cycling and puro nitrates nalang wait mo nalang bumaba or waterchange ka nalang para bumaba yung nitrates then pede kana mag add ng fish. pero pakunti kunti lang wag mo biglain siguro 1 or 2 fish muna para di mabigla sa bioload. usually 1 1/2 months cycling, mas matagal mo icycling much better siguro 2months para safe. pero depende sa tank eh may mabilis may matagal ma cycle better to check the parameter nalang para malaman mo.

[switchico]

salamat ng marami sir symphiii!

bibili na ako nung test kit by this weekend. nakakaexcite kahit matatagalan pa bago ko malagyan ng isda yung tank.

[pclear]

Got your PM, the light i am using is the stock light that came with the hood. It couldnt keep corals alive

Planning to retrofit it with LED mr16s but for now i am content with having just fish and some inverts. Get some feather dusters to add softness to those rocks. They are pretty tough mofos and you dont have to feed them really.

[switchico]

pcclear: i see. i think i'll stick to fowlr for now, too.

symphiii: i got the test kit from fevmarine and on the 3rd day of cycling my tank, these are the readings:

pH 8,2
ammonia 0.5
nitrite 5.0
nitrate 160

given these readings, should i do anything to help the cycling process?

[symphiii@gmail.com]

[Gremory]

Bro, nabasa ko ata na dumadaan ka sa FEV marine ....
malapit lng ako jan , kaya ng walking distance ..hehe
ibibigay ko nlng sayo phone number ko ..and just text me if pupunta ka ulit doon, para sabay tayo..hehe..
PM mo nlng ako if interested ka

[switchico]

can anyone identify what these are on my live rock? are they good or bad hitchhikers?




this one looks like a flower


another angle

Edited to add water parameters this morning.

Ammonia 0-0.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 160+

[symphiii@gmail.com]

di ko ganong sure since malabo yung picture eh.. pero google mo yung feather duster worm kung same.. if ever feather duster nga good yan filter feeder..

[switchico]

i'm 80% sure they are feather dusters. still don't know about those white hairs though...

water parameters today

Ammonia - 0.25
NItrite - 0
Nitrate - 160+

should i do water change?

[Excalibur26]

Hi bro welcome to rp!

Halos same specs tau ng tank. May hood ba ung tank mo? Feeling ko same lng ung atin hehehe 20g lng ung sa akin and after 2 months, natapos din ang cycling.

As per the masters' advice, yaan m muna ung tank mo since may amonia kpa. Hintayin m mag 0 amonia and nitrite mo then tsaka ka mag WC at least 50%. in the first week after 1st WC pag d bumaba ng 80ppm ang nitrate mo 50% WC ulit until you reach at least 20-40ppm. After nun lagay ka ng 1 isda, test the water after 2-3 days. Baka mag spike pa uli ang amonia mo kc may isda kna.

Lesson learned sa hobby na to, a lot of patience..

Regarding sa lights, ihuli m na yan mahirap kasi mag decide sa type ng tank natin since ug hood nya kailangan natin tanggalin permanently kng may DIY light ka.

Let the cycle finish first before going to the next step

[switchico]

thanks for the welcome Excalibur26

i will try my darndest to be patient

for the meantime i am looking into lighting options and canvassing around for options.

[Excalibur26]

bro musta tank mo? pag medyo ok na yang tank mo kunin mo na ung electric blue damsel ko

[switchico]

water parameters at 2 weeks:

ammonia 0-0.25 (not exactly yellow and not really yellow green or ewan ko hehe)
nitrite 0 (constantly been 0 for a while now)
nitrate 160 (still high but not as dark red as before)

Excalibur26: since my tank is barely 9 gallons lang pala (34 liters), i can only put two fish and i'm leaning towards a clownfish couple. but if you have corals let me know!

[symphiii@gmail.com]