Cycling my 12G

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cburns32

Member
Here's the Nano Cube I've been waiting on, I finally put the live sand, live rock, and water in there...Tell me what you think of the aqauscape and how it looks. I'm wondering whether I should keep the light on (a normal day/night schedule) or should I just leave it off during the cycling process? What should I do with the output, should I leave it how it is or attach that Y-connector (seen below)? Any suggestions or ideas for me...?

Front_Cycling_3.JPG


Left_Side_Cycling.JPG


Pump_Output.JPG


Y-Connector_with_2_Flare_Nozzles.JPG
 
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cburns32

Member
Here are the pictures of three compartments and what I have in each
Compartment 1 (Left)
Sponge - Bag of Chemi-pure - Sponge
Compartment 2 (Middle)
Live Rock Rubble
Compartment 3 (Right)
50-watt heater - Maxi Jet 900

1st_Compartment_Left_.JPG


2nd_Compartment_Middle_.JPG


3rd_Compartment_Right_.JPG
 
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Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Nice aquascaping! You could add the "Y" later if the flow isn't what you want but it will reduce it a bit.

Using Liverock rubble will be labor intensive. Be sure to remove the rock and vacuum out the diterus from the chamber. I would suggest using carbon periodically and phosban instead.
 
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cburns32

Member
Aight, I gotta get a vacuum/syphon sometime in the future, espcially because I want to be vacuuming my sandbed soon. And I think after the cycle I'll remove the LR.

What about water changes, I heard no, because it may remove necessary bacteria for the cycling process, so I heard until the process is over, don't water change. What do you guys suggest?
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
I just use a clear 1/2" vinyl tubing for my water changes. I vacuum (via gravity) the water into 5 gal bucket.
 
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Joe69

Member
I like your aquascape, there is room on all sides for good flow and cool looking caves.

If you really want to use a sponge, I would only use one and clean it twice a week. When I removed my sponge from the system my algae problem went away, you may have better luck though. So far it looks like its off to a great start.
 
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RANDY

Member
I Noticed That You Have Added Boyd's Chemi Pure. You May Have Problems Acquiring Accurate Test Results For Your System As Chemi Pure Is An Ion Exchange Resin That Tends To Skew Readings. Standard Activated Carbon Suffices As A Water Polisher. Just Something To Think About!
 
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cburns32

Member
Aight, I have a bag of activated carbon should I just replace that with the chemi-pure, to have better test results...?
 
C

cburns32

Member
Day 8 Test Results

pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 3.0 ppm
Nitrite - +5.0 ppm
Nitrate - +160 ppm
Specific Gravity - 1.032
Salinity - 42
Temperature - 80.2 degrees F

The reason the specific gravity is so high as well as the salinity, is because I haven't done a freshwater top-off yet, that'll bring it down, I lost about 1 1/2 cm, since it has been up so I'll replace that today, and test the SG and S again. Ammonia has been around 3.0 ppm for a few days, hope it goes down sometime soon. The temperature reaches 80.9-81 at some points and in the night goes down to about 80 is that OK?
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Looks like yoiu have a good cycle going :) You should get into the habit now of topping off any evaporated water DAILY. Salinity swings are very stressful on inverts, fish, anemones, and corals! 80-81 is fine. That is a mild temp shift and should not cause any problems in the future with the inhabitants.
 
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daveat

Member
add water!!!! you should top off with freshwater daily. since the salt doesn't evaporate you should be equalizing it all out.

your salinity is just a ratio of salt to water. if you add more water it will go down, if you add more salt it will go up! once you get your salinity/sg set all you should have to do is freshwater top offs. rarely should you ever add saltwater unless you are doing a water change and only then should you add the same amount of saltwater that you take out

get it????
 
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cburns32

Member
Yeah I get it, it has been about two and a half weeks since I started the cycle, I have loads of algae everywhere on the glass, sand and rocks, I'm going to test today, and then possibly do a water change and go get some inverts at the local LFS, any suggestions on cleaners, or is to early?
 
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dobejazz

Well-Known Member
It is way to early for inverts and a cleaner crew :( You need your Ammonia - trites and trates to read ZERO for at least 2 weeks in my opinion before you add any livestock
 
C

cburns32

Member
Day 20 Test Results

pH - 8.2-8.3ish
Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 5.0+ ppm
Nitrate - 160+ ppm
Specific Gravity - 1.024-1.025ish
Salinity - 34-35ish
Temperature - 81 F

Is this normal for the nitrites and nitrates to be this high at this stage in the cycle?
 
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Ganomish

Member
Somebody correct me if I am wrong, those nitrates are off the chart! I would be worried about killing my live rock critters. Looks like his NH3 and NO2 are done cycling. Wouldn't it be time for a water change? Maybe 50%?
I think you need to get your Nitrates stabilized below 25 before adding any cleaners.

I am no authority, but I would do a water change to push the nitrates down, and see if they are stabilizing over a few days. If they are, then push them a bit more, down to 20 and add some hardy cleaners. You really shouldn't add any corals/anenomes until you are below 5 in Nitrates, preferably 0. Could be a while.
 
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