College Dorm 10G Nano - Into IM 25 Lagoon (First Post)

[danielreef]

Hey everyone, I started my first tank over the summer and have made some wild turns to get where I am now. I initially bought an IM 25G Lagoon in late June but couldn't begin the cycle until August. When school started, I decided to get a 10G that I could keep in my dorm and transferred as much as I could. I bought a clown fish within a week and some corals later, I was slightly worried about the cycle but I frequently changed the water and used Seachem Stability to help. The dorm I live in only allows for tanks up to 10G gallons, but I was eventually able to get an exception and moved the IM 25 from home here. The tank has been running for a few days after a 100% water change, everything from the 10G was moved over and seem to be doing well. This post is pretty brief because I might post details about them individually in the future, but any opinions on coral health or quick tips would be great as I've never kept a reef tank before Finally, I'm excited about becoming an ARC member and see myself keeping saltwater reef tanks for a long while!

 

[danielreef]

 

[danielreef]

 

[danielreef]

 

[danielreef]

 

[danielreef]

 

[saltwaterwannabe]

That is an awesome looking dorm tank.  If you did not wait for the cy le make sure to routinely check you amonia and nitrite levels until everything settles down.  Stability will certainly help, but it is not a fix all replacment for a cycle.  Two questions...

Was the rock live and wet when you set it up and what light is that?

 

[spike]

Great looking tank

 

[danielreef]

https://atlantareefclub.org/boards/data/uploads/hm_bbpui/1021293/bwbhgh39mabdjiw4j2gywshwofp7rwms.JPG" alt="Newest Pic" width="1048" height="786" />



The rock was live at set up and the light is an AI Prime HD. This pic is from 2 days ago and has completed its cycle, only problem was low PH but am now dosing a buffer.

 

[bcavalli]

Welcome to our community.   Ask lots of questions as we have so many incredibly experienced members that will help any way they can.  Your tank is looking like its off to a great start.

Personally I wouldn't worry about your pH levels.   Usually fresh air will help get your pH up (which might be tough in your case).  With pH its a relative number to keep an eye on as it really wont effect your tanks performance.  Just a suggestion, when you add a buffer (as with most of them) it will raise your Alkalinty.  Then you will find your out of balance between Alkalinity and Calcium levels (it happened to me when I started out).