New to Saltwater and Reef and learning a lot!

[CasperOe]

Welcome to R2R! I hope you find what you're looking for here! The community is here to help!

 

[3Poodles&Fish2]

Welcome to R2R! I can't really help with your question about the fish as I've never had Mollies but personally I would just leave them. They seem to be doing okay. A skimmer isn't really needed, at least early on. When you start seeing your Phosphates and Nitrates starting to elevate is a good time to decide whether or not to add a skimmer or some other nutrient export mechanism. Add a clean up crew fairly early. It is better that you add them before you see issues with detritus/algae. Since you have fish, you have nutrients so I'd go ahead and add them. You don't want to add them to a tank that is too sterile, like right after a fishless-cycle because there would be nothing for them to eat.

Thanks for the advice and knowledge. I talked to my LFS and they suggest that I wait until both Ammonia and Nitrites are near zero before adding any CUC or inverts so that they can hit the ground running so to speak. My Ammonia has not crested yet, so I plan on waiting a few more days (maybe a week) before starting this chapter...

 

[revhtree]

Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family!

 

[tharbin]

Thanks for the advice and knowledge. I talked to my LFS and they suggest that I wait until both Ammonia and Nitrites are near zero before adding any CUC or inverts so that they can hit the ground running so to speak. My Ammonia has not crested yet, so I plan on waiting a few more days (maybe a week) before starting this chapter...

Sorry, I guess I missed your Ammonia levels. Your LFS is right.

 

[vlangel]

Welcome 3Poodles&fish 2! It sounds like you are off to a good start and I agree with your lfs too. Many inverts can't tolerate extremely high nitrates so best to wait til cycle is finished and water change schedule is begun.

To answer your question about a skimmer it is not necessary. I have a similar size system as you and have no skimmer or any other filtration except biological. I use macroalgae to take up nutrients and then prune those and remove from display tank. They add a lush beauty in my opinion. My coral like higher nutrients too.

There is a thread on minimalist reefing if that appeals to you. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/minimalist-reefer.1030960/

 

[LiveWire]

Welcome to the REEF!!

 

[Reef By Steele]

3Poodles&Fish2 welcome to the reef. I discovered this forum as it seemed to always come up when I googled a question. Finally joined, then chose to become a supporting member and later a partner member to keep the forum available for others to come. My wife @Ocean_Queenie and I started culturing copepods and phytoplankton eventually selling some on here as a hobbyist. Eventually we decided to try to make a career out of it so we are now sponsors as well. I love the Reef2 Reef community here and the wealth of knowledge. Thanks for joining us.

 

[jsker]

 

[Buckster]

Hello and Welcome to R2R! Awesome that the little guys are doing fine. Sounds like you should add a cleanup crew now

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Welcome. Mollies are good algae eaters but also little waste factories. You can always syphon the debree out and do water changes. Sounds like you are on right track.