[TimH07]

ok. my tank is at 7ish weeks. ive heard the cycle process with live rocks goes through a brown algae stage, then it turns green. that has happened and the green is dissapearing leaving only beautiful purple rocks. life is flourshing, ive just had a very large amphipod/copepod outbreak (i hear this is good, but frusterating cause i want to clean the glass but dont want to kill these little guys)

so the opinion i could use is, is it too soon to get a few zoa's?
my ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate 10 ppm, ph is 8.4 (not too high?) SG is 1.023...... ive not gotten the calc or alk tests yet, i have to get them from the LFS and that is a 30ish minute drive, so i want to get some zoas while im there, rather than making 2 or 3 more trips

this trip, if the water conditions are ok, will be. me taking the 2 damsels to the store (i dont kill fish) perhaps getting a clown and some zoa's as well as the other 2 tests.

is this a good plan or should i wait a bit more?

ps also the water is a tad cloudy, not too bad, just a bit clouded

[BinaryReefer]

I wouldnt go so far as to say you dont kill fish..lol. A LOT of things can and do happen in this hobby, even to the most experienced aquarist.

Your paramiters look great actually, I would slowly add some livestock. Although a cloudy tank is a sign of ammonia when cycling. But you have tested it otherwise.

I would wait until the tank is established to add coral, it will be well worth the wait.

You have described things that many in the hobby dont achieve until thier tanks are 6+ months old, it is amazing.

[TimH07]

well to be honest i cheated a little. i know i read to NOT touch the ph while cycling, but i kept testing 7.8 with fish in it, and i didnt want to stress or kill the fish so i tossed in some seachem marine buffer. and i know the instructions say it will be cloudy in water that is NOT ro/di, and i used tap as my base water so......... ugh, but its not the first time ive done that (my 55g freshwater is cloudy a little too)

as far as "killing fish" i ment earlier that some jerks will just flush live non wanted fish. i perfer to return them to a fish store for no credit just to save them if i cant have/dont need them

edit, first things first will be a few more snails and 2 peppermint shrimp as i have some aiptaisas (spell check)

[BinaryReefer]

Sounds good! Glad you dont flush fish! haha. I know the LFS is a long haul, I would pick up some RO water if possible, when you get corals especially. You dont even want to know what is in tap water...lol.

You can also run a small media reactor or cannister filter with GAC for a few hours a day and that can help out to clear the water. If a cannister GAC and filter floss can work.

[TimH07]

thanks, i plan on gettin ro water. they have it for like 50 cents a gallon. im sure tap is loaded, till now its all ive used but im not rich, but im getting a load of ro for top offs and and hte 20% changes. its not too bad with a 26 gallon tank.

also im going to wait just a bit more for the water to clear, it was perfectly crystal clear up until i put in the ph buffer.... hard to say, i added 3 nass snails via one of my previous posts, but the "local" LFS sux, is over priced, and 2 of the 3 were dead when i got home(and i didnt pull them out yet cause my arm diplaced enough water to spill over the top.. just topped it off). so i only go to philly's East Coast Aquatics for anything anymore.