I've Been Thinking!(NEVER A GOOD THING)

[LizStreithorst]

funny...Who'd have thunk?

[b125killer]

Yea, i was kind of hoping that it was the same stuff with a different label. It must bind with the salt. Kind of sucks. I need ammonia in the tank to start the cycling presses. I don't want to just just dump a bunch of ammonia in there. I was told I need the ammonia around 4.0 ppm. I have done enough things wrong with this tank. I don't need another set back. Other than that the tank looks good.

[b125killer]

I got my "clean" live rock today. Wouldn't think I would be so excited about rock, I am! Look at the purple coralline on it, this will seed my rock nicely.  I'm also dosing it for coralline growth and enzyme starter.
I got my test kit in too. My ammonia is at .8, that was from the live sand. It might go up a little more from the rock also. Now it can start the cycling process.

[Mugwump]

Most excellent....let the cycling begin....

[b125killer]

I also got my first coral for my tank. It's pulsing xenia, it's  only two small heads. I didn't take a pic of that because it only looked like a little piece of rock with two little slime balls. But the pic is from the colony it came from.
I gave it to Dan to grow out, the stuff grows like a weed. By the time I'm ready for it I should be able to pull a nice colony from it.

[Mugwump]

..nice looking....what colors are you striving for overall  ??

[b125killer]

I'm looking for a bunch of colors. I want a blue frogspawn, green duncan, and a rose tip anemone. The only fish I'm thinking about is a pair of clowns.

[Mugwump]

I'm looking for a bunch of colors. I want a blue frogspawn, green duncan, and a rose tip anemone. The only fish I'm thinking about is a pair of clowns.

Yellow tangs would look nice too..

or some of these..??

https://www.google.com/search?q=orange+tangs&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CFIQ7AlqFQoTCN6k0obu3sgCFUc5Jgods8cONg&biw=1536&bih=701

[b125killer]

I really want a scopas tang. But I need the bigger tank running to get a tang they get too big for a 40b

[b125killer]

I also want a magnificent foxface. There poisonous but the lfs has one and he's so cool. They will also eat algae.

[Mugwump]

colors and known personalities are what to look for imho....knowing how they interact with others is important to having a nice serene population...

[b125killer]

It's the personality of these fish I like. At least the ones at my lfs. The scopas I feed by hand. The foxface I feed with tongs. I could feed him by hand but with him being poisonous I don't want to take the chance of getting tagged by him.

[Mugwump]

It's the personality of these fish I like. At least the ones at my lfs. The scopas I feed by hand. The foxface I feed with tongs. I could feed him by hand but with him being poisonous I don't want to take the chance of getting tagged by him.

Tongs, you bet....

[b125killer]

I have diatom algae! It's a start. Not really what I was expecting but it's something. This is going to be a long process. I was reading the different stages of cycling saltwater. Basically after the ammonia spike the algae starts growing. I didn't know that was going to happen. I guess cyanobacteria will be next. Then heterotrophic  bacteria and protists  that eat the cyanobacteria. Next will be hair algae. At that point I should be able to add some clean up crew. 
I also tested the water. I already knew what it was going to tell me. I still have ammonia but it's low .2 ppm the nitrite is .5 ppm and nitrate is 20 ppm.  I knew the algae wouldn't take off it the nitrate wasn't high. I can almost see the stuff grow. I'm thinking by tomorrow the tank might be fully covered in it. I was kind of hoping by adding the live rock I could avoid the the process and wake up to a nice coralline covered tank. I guess it's true nothing that happens fast in a saltwater tank is good and nothing good happens fast.

[LizStreithorst]

As I've said, the only thing I know about salt is that it is an exercise in patience while the tank works it's way to stability.  After that, it's an exercises in restraint.