29gal Build

[Elizabeth94]

DianaKay- rotting shrimp produces ammonia, I skipped the shrimp part and dosed ammonia instead. I have done this many times bc I dont want to deal with a stinky shrimp in the living room haha.
Mayja- You don't think the ammonia is so high that it is killing the bacteria instead? Also, my nitrites are staying the same and my nitrates are getting lower which I find to be very strange. Its like my cycle hit a brick wall.

 

[Mayja]

How much ammonia did you put in to start? If you used too much, you may have lowered your bacteria count. Also, are you using new sand?

 

[Elizabeth94]

Yes it is new "live" sand (wet in the bag). Ammonia wasn't measured. I added some, tested, and added some more. I deff over-added but I had no idea high ammonia can stop a cycle until I researched this stuff today. I figured that even though it was high it was just "more food" for the bacteria so I didnt think of doing a water change. :tears:

 

[Mayja]

Yes it is new "live" sand (wet in the bag). Ammonia wasn't measured. I added some, tested, and added some more. I deff over-added but I had no idea high ammonia can stop a cycle until I researched this stuff today. I figured that even though it was high it was just "more food" for the bacteria so I didnt think of doing a water change. :tears:

Awww... I would do a partial water change to see if you can bring the ammonia level below 5.

 

[Elizabeth94]

I appreciate your quick response time. I did a 5gal water change and it didn't change the readings a bit. Im gonna give it a couple days and see where I am at. Maybe itll work itself out, after all it is only day 5. I moved my return line so it is agitating the surface a bit more to get some more oxygen in the water for the bacteria. My tank has been 85 degrees that past couple days from the heat wave and as far as I know, warm water doesn't hold as much oxygen as cold water.

 

[Bearjohnson]

85 is HOT Do you have any thoughts on how you will control the temperature in the tank?

 

[DianaKay]

I appreciate your quick response time. I did a 5gal water change and it didn't change the readings a bit. Im gonna give it a couple days and see where I am at. Maybe itll work itself out, after all it is only day 5. I moved my return line so it is agitating the surface a bit more to get some more oxygen in the water for the bacteria. My tank has been 85 degrees that past couple days from the heat wave and as far as I know, warm water doesn't hold as much oxygen as cold water.

What is your good bacteria source? Without using any live rock, I'm not understanding where it's going to come from.
You need a good starter for it. I'm thinking that's why your ammonia spike in not coming down. Wait & see what others think, I only know mine didn't go up very fast but it came down pretty fast.

 

[DianaKay]

Also, don't be trying to bring down ammonia & nitrites with water changes during your tank cycle period.
You won't need to do a water change until after they ZERO out naturally. This lets you know your good bacteria is growing. This process takes patience....mine took about 6 weeks. Hang in there

 

[Elizabeth94]

DianaKay- Good bacteria does not need to be introduced in the system by us. The air contains the bacteria which them enters the water and attaches to the rocks. Many people start their tanks with nothing but dry rock and dry sand, you just need to add ammonia (or in your case a decaying shrimp) to the system. I chose this way so I could avoid any hitchhikers from live rock. (I learned all this through research). However, people do add live rock to shorten the length of time it takes to complete a cycle. I think you are right about the water changes though. I have the bacteria because there are nitrites and nitrates but I think they just have a lot of ammonia to process. Its only been five days and I am already impatient

 

[whippetguy]

What test kit are you using? Some are much better than others.

 

[Elizabeth94]

The API test kits. I think they are okay because when I tested my RO supply water I got zeros across the board. I think I just need to be a bit more patient. If the levels dont budge in another week something is up

 

[Mayja]

Keep us posted and we'll help you see it through!

 

[Stewa7nise]

I have never has saltwater but I feel confident that all my research will lead me in the right direction.

 

[Elizabeth94]

Welcome to the forum Stewa! This is my first saltwater tank as well. Feel free to follow along my thread and take a look at the other chronicles they are awesome! Well, I just went out and bought 5 pounds of cured rock and have some pictures of the pieces. I paid 5.99/lb is that a good deal? The rocks are kind of brown in color idk if thats good. One of the rocks has a weird "thing" attached to it. Kind of looks like dead coral attached with putty?

 

[Elizabeth94]

I just tested the water and my ammonia>8ppm , nitrites>5ppm, and nitrates 20ppm. My nitrates have been dropping and rising day by day which is strange. I hope the live rock I added is going to help and the high ammonia isnt stalling the cycle...
I have seen some dead pods in the tank floating around and 2 very small snails along with one three-legged starfish.

 

[Elizabeth94]

Okay. I was set on the vega but my lfs has the radions and they look amazing. He is keeping sps on the sandbed 28" down.. Here is my question. If you were to pick between these three lights WITHOUT thinking of the cost would you pick the AI Vegas, ATI Sunpower 6x24watt, or ecotech radion gen2 and why? I love leds but for some reason I am leaning toward the t5's and apparently they are dimmable with an inbuilt timer (which is an absolute must for me)

 

[blackbeltmom]

I have two Radions in the hood of my RSM250. I chose them because the way they are made(fan is on the side with light, cord comes off the side). They work well to fit in my hood. Since you only need one some of the neat features that I enjoy won't be important to you. For example, I can program one and it wirelessly programs the other.

I like the look they give my tank and the programming capabilites.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

 

[kyle4201]

WOW,, just looked up the radion pro,, $900 for 1,, i need 4, lol. guess im sticking with my t5 hood.

 

[Elizabeth94]

Yes they are expensive but I wouldn't be getting the radion pro. The Gen2's are about $650 and I only need one.. I am a college student so it sucks but it is good to have something to work for. It also helps that my boyfriend is supporting my "addiction" of aquariums and he will be going halves on whatever light I choose (to my dismay but there is NO talking him out of anything). Blackbeltmom- have you had success with your radions?

 

[Elizabeth94]

Just tested my water and my ammonia is no longer off the chart!! Its actually green instead of the deep blue. Its still very high (5ppm) but readable! My doubt about a stalled cycle is now gone. Now my readings go ammonia:5ppm, Nitrite: ~4ppm, Nitrate:40ppm.