Hey everybody!, Took the saltwater plunge after 4 yrs of freshwater. its been cycling for a week now today, have 10 Lbs of live rock (all purple coralline) and 25 Lbs of live sand (aragonite). Made my own salt water at 1.023 ppt, plan to add another 10 pounds of live rock. The Ammonia is gone but my nitrite and nitrate spiked at the same time. i also want to know if i should buy a T-5 light model that has 2 T-5 24W light tubes or a 31 inch 65W compact flourecent 50/50. if not either, any suggestions. (oh i have a 20 gallon high and im cycling with a green Chromis and 2 nac. snails).mi would like this to be a reef tank with zoanthids and mushrooms (nothing to advanced)
Hey everybody!, Took the saltwater plunge after 4 yrs of freshwater. its been cycling for a week now today, have 10 Lbs of live rock (all purple coralline) and 25 Lbs of live sand (aragonite). Made my own salt water at 1.023 ppt, plan to add another 10 pounds of live rock. The Ammonia is gone but my nitrite and nitrate spiked at the same time. i also want to know if i should buy a T-5 light model that has 2 T-5 24W light tubes or a 31 inch 65W compact flourecent 50/50. if not either, any suggestions. (oh i have a 20 gallon high and im cycling with a green Chromis and 2 nac. snails).
I'm a compact florescent guy myself, but it really depends on your ultimate goal in livestock. You're not going to go wrong either way, given that a 20 gallon 1st tank is probably just a simple soft coral tank.
Have you given thought to the additional livestock?
You're nitrite should go away very quickly, within just a few days. I'm surprised you had much of a nitrate spike. If it stays high after the cycle, i'd suggest a 50% water change, maybe even 2 consecutive days at 50% each day.
hmm, any suggestions how a new light cuz im on a budget. the light im using is a 19 watt flourecent light. If the light is good enough to support sps life then awesome but if it cant any suggestions cuz i can easily get a glass top for the lights.
T-5 give off more PAR light than a compact flourescent does. Your thoughts on a 2 lamp unit is good. If your going to have SPS, I'd also recommend using 2 10k or 12k lamps and not using an Actinic, the more white light you have the better off you are.
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