need help newbie

[GrooveMeister]

Hi Everyone,

I am super new in this hobby, i have been reading alot and finally picked up enough courage to start a marine tank.

I have a JBJ 24 Gallon tank, i removed the bio balls and ceramic rings, and just placed 7kg of uncured live rocks to start the cycling process.

a) I added coral sand as a substrate, very thin layer bec i read that thick ones can trap nitrites and ammonia. Was thinking of adding some live sand from a LFS. Is it advisable?

I just found a small black crab residing in one of my live rocks, should i remove him?

Is there any way he will die when there is an ammonia spike?

c) Its been 4 days, and already i see worms dying on the sandbed, is it normal?

d) The coralline algae on the rocks is turning white. is that bad?

e) Will the coralline algae all disappear and is there any chance of it growing back once my tank and water parameters stabilize? Or will it turn to dead rocks?

I really dont know if im doing the right things, i dont have anyone to help answer my questions, cant seem to find the answers, would really appreciate it if you could help.

*Thinking of changing my pump to a MAXI JET 1200 POWERHEAD, do you know where i can get one?

Thank You so Much For Your Time.

[Alvin Tan]

Hi Everyone,

I am super new in this hobby, i have been reading alot and finally picked up enough courage to start a marine tank.

I have a JBJ 24 Gallon tank, i removed the bio balls and ceramic rings, and just placed 7kg of uncured live rocks to start the cycling process.

a) I added coral sand as a substrate, very thin layer bec i read that thick ones can trap nitrites and ammonia. Was thinking of adding some live sand from a LFS. Is it advisable?

I just found a small black crab residing in one of my live rocks, should i remove him?

Is there any way he will die when there is an ammonia spike?

c) Its been 4 days, and already i see worms dying on the sandbed, is it normal?

d) The coralline algae on the rocks is turning white. is that bad?

e) Will the coralline algae all disappear and is there any chance of it growing back once my tank and water parameters stabilize? Or will it turn to dead rocks?

I really dont know if im doing the right things, i dont have anyone to help answer my questions, cant seem to find the answers, would really appreciate it if you could help.

*Thinking of changing my pump to a MAXI JET 1200 POWERHEAD, do you know where i can get one?

Thank You so Much For Your Time.

hi....below are jus some of my suggestions..

1) hmmz....for a small tank its advisable to take the sand out n go BB...

2) remove all crabs tt u seen......there are real pest...

3) yes its normal to see organisms dying during the cycling period...

4) its normal to lose some coraline algae at the beginning because of the change of water parameters in ur tank...ensure stable water parameters and increase the magnesium....lightings plays a part too..

[GrooveMeister]

Hi Alvin,

Thank you so much

Cheers

[Marinesavy]

no worries.. worms and crab commonly seem in the rock. me have this problem too.. the worm will die eventually, if visible to you,,,, you might want to take it out, crab.. if too big.. advise to take out too.

For my jbj 24g cube... i only left with the sponge to trap big and dirty particles.. every week, i rinse and replace with new one. i removed the carbon and ceramic rings, replace with biohome, purigen and rowa, for rowa... advise to run with FR to run more effectively..... i connect to a chiller with the stock pump, only run when chiller is on. for ciculation.. i got a new maxijet 1100 pump, very effective with a 360 degree rotation dozzle. Water change.. 10% every weekend. My tank has been running for ard 8 months, now quite stable.. just change water every week.

[GrooveMeister]

Hi Guys,

Thank you all so much for the advise

Cheers: