Karah

Thanks everyone for all of the great tips! Ill let you know when I get everything under control

As for the filtered water question... I was told tap water is fine... Im guessing that is a mistake?

yeah... just started out. I have a few fish (goby, tang, and two clowns) and a few hermits... maybe 3 or 4. Ive been doing water changes periodically but only about 5 gallons at a time or so. So more often? Or more water removed? Or a bit of both? Lights are running about 12 hrs a day... 4 or so hrs being actinics only.

So as of the past couple of days the tanks has started to have an algae problem Its light green and all over the place. How can I get rid of it???

@WaterDog... lucky for me there is a great grocery store like that right around the corner from me... I couldnt believe the amount of fish they carried when I first saw it. Looks like a trip to the asian market is in order as well. Thanks!

Thanks a million zygote2k! Revive is now on the shopping list. I just got done buying 2 hydor koralia 750's (on sale for 25 bucks) b/c I really dont think there is nearly enough water movement to start putting a bunch of corals in there as the tank is now. Those should be here between the 24th and the 29th As for feeding fish and corals, anything in particular recommended? I simply want to be well informed when going to a LFS or searching online for this type of stuff and dont want to get conned into stuff that is completely pointless ya know? I saw some recipes for fish food on here... would it be better to just make all my own food?

T5's I got at this awesome place called House of forrealb50 Outside of that, I dont quite remember all of the specifics

Literally just finishised uploading a few pics to my profile gallery. Nothing impressive, but they are there at last

So my tank finally finished cycling last week or the week before ish and has been running smoothly since. I got a few hermit crabs and a couple of snails that are working away on that diatom bloom that sprung up the last few days of the cycle. I would like to get a few fish and some corals soon but was hoping to get some advice as to what supplies I want to be certain I have everything alive and healthy. For fish, I'll probaby start off with a couple of clowns and a few chromis. As for corals, pretty much anything that is deemed "beginner" or "easy" and is colorful will be on the list of possibilities.

Yep! Seeing the small white stars and spots... both only as of today. but I think Ive officially run into my first real problem with my tank... the plumbing from the return pump has got a very slow leak Oh well... Two steps forward, one step back. I definitely didnt expect to get off to a flawless start in this hobby so its actually going more smoothly than expected. And it was great meeting you too Bob!

Checked my water parameters today and I believe the cycle is FINALLY over! pH is 8.2 and the Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates are all reading zero... Oh and those diatoms have really taken over...

My pleasure! Nice getting to know people in this club and getting a chance to learn what I can every chance I get... Have a good one Steve! And good luck with the new tank! Cant wait to see how it all turns out!

Mine is patchier on the sand... but looks about the same on the rock. I also didnt have my lighting on the tank for the first couple of weeks of the cycle and there is little to no natural light in my apartment, so that may be why it didnt come up any sooner like yours has.