Brandon,
Taking your time is definitely the way to do it but it's freaking HARD. I just ran a bunch of tests and it appears that my cycle is just about over. I'm in the middle of a diatom bloom and my research indicates that the bloom usually occurs near the end of the cycle. I'm also experiencing what I think might be some cyano, as well as brown slime on my LR. Is this a correct assumption?
Test results:
sg 1.023
pH 8.1
NH4 0-.25 ppm
NO2 .25 ppm
NO3 5 ppm
Ca 340 ppm
KH 7.4 dKH
PO4 .03 ppm
The Ca/KH are too low for my liking, but all I have in the tank right now are the hitchhiking star polyps, so it's not really a big deal. I've been watching my readings slowly dwindle down closer to 0, and hopefully by the time our local club meets next Sunday, things will have leveled out across the board so I can add a few small frags. There are a few local guys that have offered to start me off with some freebies, and they also sell some sweet frags. Mostly SPS but some other various stuff, including hydnophora and blue ridge, both of which I may try out before too long.
As far as fish go, I'm torn between a Orchid Dottyback or a Six Line Wrasse. There are a lot of caves considering how small the space is, so I want a fish that will fully explore the rockwork. At the moment I'm leaning harder towards the Dottyback, they've always been one of my favorites.
Some club folks and I are also going to order from GARF and Reeftopia for inverts and grunge. I plan to add a nice mix of snails and some of GARF's mexican red leg hermits. The hair algae is really hindering my ability to look in my tank and spot hitchhikers... it's gotta go!
Will definitely post some pics here when I have something worth updating with.
