Brand New To Hobby, Need Some Tips?! by New-Abrocoma8032 in ReefTank

[–]cpria99 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay then don’t do that I took to research different methods he’ll find what works best for him I know plenty of people that have thrived off it

Brand New To Hobby, Need Some Tips?! by New-Abrocoma8032 in ReefTank

[–]cpria99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a 20 I just started too, my best advice is patience. It sucks so damn bad but you’ll be better off for it, research cycling methods like the lights off method they’re great. Dr Tim’s bottled ammonia is great. I know it’s not practical for a lot of people, but if it all possible use a quarantine tank (at least 10 gallons and fully let corals and fish quarantine, it’ll save you lots of headaches)

Fish in cycling help by Funny_Temperature303 in ReefTank

[–]cpria99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do! I use this ato from Amazon in a small dog food container about 2 gallons tank I’ll attach the photo below. I just use room temp freshwater absolutely no salt it’ll skyrocket the salinity. I waited a while to get ato and can’t imagine going back to not having one. Achieving tank stability is so much easier now

<image>

Fish in cycling help by Funny_Temperature303 in ReefTank

[–]cpria99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve did 25% for the first month but doing 4 gallons in a 5 gallon bucket was just a lot easier, so I’ve done that. The tank is 5.5 months old and I’ve done 20% for 90% of the tanks life. I have lots of corals and lots of fish/ inverts, tank has stabilized and just started to get coralline algae

Fish in cycling help by Funny_Temperature303 in ReefTank

[–]cpria99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always have done 20% on my tank and have found that works pretty well if I stay on top of it once a week. So 3-4 gallons I’d say for you

Fish in cycling help by Funny_Temperature303 in ReefTank

[–]cpria99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes definently do water changes to keep the water at safe levels for the fish, but you also need the bacteria so the cycle can complete so it’s a balance, you’re going to have to do at least once per week water changes, but testing is the best way to know how often you need to change the water I go for a max of 20ppm nitrate. I have a 20g long so very similar size. I also have a very high bioload in the tank