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Hi Ned,

We got a tank from you just before xmas... 29g, LR, etc. Set it up that day so that makes today somewhere around day 9/10.

As you may recall we got 3 snails and the LR had many baby featherdusters on it. As far as I can tell we still have most of the dusters, we do think we lost a couple but not many at all, and the snails are still around also. Generally they look to be fine. We didn't have ammonia test kits pre day 6, but our last 3 readings over 4 days have indicated around .25 amm, 0 nitrites and trace (20?) nitrates. SG stable around 1.023, temps stable at 78, ph stable around 8.0. And the first dip stick type tests concured on nitrites/nitrates (they still do).
No change at all really in that time, and it kind of seems like at least one of the 3 amm/trite/trates should have changed if we were cycling.

I am trying to figure out if this means
a) we haven't started cycling
b) we are in the middle of a cycle
or
c) we're misreading the test kit yellow vs very light green/yellow... and are more likely to be at 0 amm, e.g. we have enough of the good bacteria to keep things happy

From what (little) I understand, lots of die off would be happening if we were in the middle, and at the 5-7 day mark would have hit our amm highs; a few more seasoned reefing friends of ours pretty much have said "it will all die off." But yet the existing gang seems to be doing reasonably well. If it's possible we haven't even started to cycle, should we be kickstarting it somehow? Don't get me wrong I'd be delighted if we could keep what we've got... right now, I just can't tell if we are making progress.

Just curious to hear your thoughts. We are experiencing a pretty mild diatom bloom but it is not bad. We have not had our lights on a lot but we've usually had them on for a bit of inspecting & observing each day

If you'd like to see a pic btw, this was taken Dec 31st.

Looks great!
Put some critters and a couple fish in there!
You have enough light for corals, if you want.

The Live Rock you bought was already cured, so
it sounds like you are good to go.
Seeing Diatom (light brown algae) is a great sign.

If you come by the store bring some water (maybe 12 oz.) and we'll double check your test results.

I can't tell from the picture...
is that tank supported on all outside edges?...
what is that tank sitting on?

what's that purple edge I'm look at...
and what is that space I'm seeing?.....

if your tank is 30.25 inches x 12.25 inches on the outside molding,
your stand needs to be the same dimensions , if not 0.25 inches wider....

that tank weighs 300 pounds full of saltwater
...you want to spread the 300 pounds over the entire length of the bottom molding (86 inches = 3.5 pounds per inch)....
don't put 300 pounds on 4 points of the bottom glass
(75 pounds each of 4 points)
or the bottom glass is likely to break.

Ned,
The purple edge is just some cabinate matting put down on a file cabinate. It's a solid top filing cabinate. Only 2 inches on each end are unsupported, so, 98% of the base is supported. I believe this to be supporting the tank quite stabily.
AO

oh ... I see
yes that sounds ok

now you've got the 300 pounds spread out over about 56 inches which should be fine