60 gallon canister first time salt tank

[ClaySaltman]

Hello everyone, my name is Ned from Indiana and this will be my first attempt at a salt water aquarium. I've been taking care of several South American Cichlids in a 70 gallon tank for the last 5 years and was perfectly content. But recently my brother in-law had a 60 gallon tank with all new equipment that he needed to get rid of and I inherited. I thought this would be the perfect time to finally make my first attempt at salt water. The problem is I barely got the wife on board to get a 2nd tank started so I'm going to need to use every bit of equipment I was given to keep my cost low, then over the next few years slowly upgrade to keep the heat off my back.

Tank equipment:
60 gallon tank (48 length, 12 width, 24 height)
Canister Fluval FX4 filter
1 Powerhead-unknown brand
200W Aqueon heater
Fluval Aquasky lights
Fluval 202 air pump


Wish me luck!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Good luck! Any updates?

 

[ClaySaltman]

So far I'm patiently waiting for it to cycle, but stuck still with high nitrites. Not sure how long this will take, but hopefully soon so I can start with a pair of clownfish.

 

[1112-425XL]

Off to a great start!

And

 

[Gumbies R Us]

So far I'm patiently waiting for it to cycle, but stuck still with high nitrites. Not sure how long this will take, but hopefully soon so I can start with a pair of clownfish.

Glad the cycle is going smoothly

 

[ClaySaltman]

Since it looks like my Ammonia is starting to bottom out with the Nitrites still high, does the Nitrites need more Ammonia to convert to Nitrates or does it convert on it's own.

 

[ClaySaltman]

Since it looks like my Ammonia is starting to bottom out with the Nitrites still high, does the Nitrites need more Ammonia to convert to Nitrates or does it convert on it's own.

Looks like Ammonia is 0 ppm, Nitrites still at 5 ppm, but Nitrates are ramping up to 20 ppm so it sounds like it's speeding up.

 

[Cdavis66]

Looks like Ammonia is 0 ppm, Nitrites still at 5 ppm, but Nitrates are ramping up to 20 ppm so it sounds like it's speeding up.

Yeah I am new to this as well, when cycling I did notice the nitrites lingered around a little longer to be converted (3-5 days then started dropping). When mine was done cycling I would never get a nitrite reading. It has been zero since. Glad you're here, enjoy the hobby!

Also do not let your nitrates and phosphates bottom out. I did not realize this was an issue until too late and got dinos early on!

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Since it looks like my Ammonia is starting to bottom out with the Nitrites still high, does the Nitrites need more Ammonia to convert to Nitrates or does it convert on it's own.

The nitrites are converted ammonia. I would not add any more ammonia to the tank. Just keep waiting patiently and you should see the nitrite numbers start to drop as the final stage of the cycle catches up and converts them to nitrates.

 

[ClaySaltman]

As far as my next steps once the Nitrites are zero I plan on doing a small water change and then starting with two clown fish. I want to then start preparing for my first soft corals since it seems like those are the easiest ones to care for. As far as the next water parameters to look for, do I need to start looking at Alk, Phos and Calcium to know if I'm ready for corals?

 

[ClaySaltman]

As far as my next steps once the Nitrites are zero I plan on doing a small water change and then starting with two clown fish. I want to then start preparing for my first soft corals since it seems like those are the easiest ones to care for. As far as the next water parameters to look for, do I need to start looking at Alk, Phos and Calcium to know if I'm ready for corals?

I finally got through the cycle and water is crystal clear so I wanted to start slow and just get two clown fish....but of course I also made an impulse buy and hope I don't regret it. While at the LFS I saw two small blue damsels and the employee said they are good hardy beginner fish so I picked up two. Currently everyone is happy, but after searching around blue damsels it seems like I keep reading they are very aggressive and not great with corals. Am I going to regret these two damsels? I plan on starting with soft corals and inverts next step.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

So far I'm patiently waiting for it to cycle, but stuck still with high nitrites. Not sure how long this will take, but hopefully soon so I can start with a pair of clownfish.

Well from the looks of parameters, you are close. The tank looks great. Welcome to R2R!

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

I finally got through the cycle and water is crystal clear so I wanted to start slow and just get two clown fish....but of course I also made an impulse buy and hope I don't regret it. While at the LFS I saw two small blue damsels and the employee said they are good hardy beginner fish so I picked up two. Currently everyone is happy, but after searching around blue damsels it seems like I keep reading they are very aggressive and not great with corals. Am I going to regret these two damsels? I plan on starting with soft corals and inverts next step.

They can be a problem. Are they all blue or do they have a yellow tail?

 

[ClaySaltman]

This is one of the two blue damsels I bought but it only said "Assorted Damsel" from Pomacentridae family so I'm not sure which specific Damsel this is and if it's the aggressive type.